NGL I was enjoying this show after the first two episodes and it looked like it was going to be a cool new story in the Star Wars universe but this episode killed a lot of my expectations. It was BAD bad.
Pros:
+Set/costume design
Cons
- Being a force baby is Anakin's thing, it's one of the reasons why he is an anomaly that the jedi have no idea how to deal with, copying this plot point doesn't make Acolyte better. It shows how the writers don't understand the world that they're writing about
-It's a background episode that should act as a foundation for why these two sisters are walking opposing paths but it doesn't give any explanation or interesting insight of this weird witch bullshit, it doesn't show us why either would choose the path they did, it doesn't give us anything to explain why the last Jedi poisoned himself willingly, and it doesn't give us a more full understanding of the story they began telling. All it does is show two feuding little girls making weird, unprovoked decisions that make no sense.
------ the fire part is laughably idiotic and contrived, I assume there's more to why the entire fucking village dies after burning a book in a room made of rock that will come later but even if it is retroactively explained it's at best wasted time
-Nothing remotely interesting happens in what should be a cornerstone episode for the series
- I know the two little girls are just kids but even ignoring them, the acting was awful. Unforgivably bad. Blacklist all involved bad.
This episode just killed all momentum the show had, they actually should have just scrapped this and went on without explaining exactly how they got separated
Unironically the best show to watch while hanging out and smoking weed and filling your belly with diet soda in between your sessions of playing Burnout Revenge for the PS2
The show is really fun and good. People are going to review bomb it because it isn't as good as Futurama or The Simpsons or whatever but it's still a really fun, solid, comfort show.
The episodes are split up into 8 for Amazon Prime instead of 6. Not sure how these match up since the 8 for Amazon seem to start and send at logical places. Great series though, one of the best
This is the funniest fucking episode I have seen in a long time. Literally crying laughing by the end.
The amount of cliches they jammed into this movie is really remarkable. The most "Written by AI" coded film I've ever seen.... Still watching the sequel tho lmao.
In other words;
Story: D-
Dialogue: D-
Characters:D+
Visuals:B+
World building: C
Acting: F
Cool Vignettes: A
Action: B+
Music: C
I don't get what the people rating this were expecting but this show is way better than I was expecting. I think maybe it's because I'm not the usual demographic of comic book fans but this is a fun, well paced, clever show with enough bad for it to be enjoyable while not destroying the actual story. I think it might be because I hate the typical marvel cheese and kind of expected this to be like that but it turned out to be an actually cool mystery with interesting commentary and a very deep Gotham that feels like a real place. It's not some masterpiece and it's meant for teens so there's some cringy zoomer shit but significantly less than most shows for that age group and I actually really liked all of the characters and the mini-plots as well as the overarching plot. The Harvey Dent and Duella stories in particular were great.
The Rorschach Test of Feminism movies lmao
Pros
+Funny as hell
+Acting from Gosling and Robbie was phenomenal (The rest were fine but nothing noteworthy)
+Interesting story arc that is both super traditional but also very contrarian, it works in the context of this specific movie
+The color palette- Barbieland is obviously very bright and pink/blue but the outer world is exceptionally gray and the movie does a fantastic jobs with using costume design to communicate inner feelings
+The opening scene does a phenomenal job at introducing the basics of what barbie is supposed to be and why she feels so important in a fun 2001:ASO reference
+Every single scene with Ken in the real world was phenomenal
Cons
-The Will Farrell character really meant nothing to the story and felt like they added it on just to have another big name in the credits
-Major scene at the end where Barbie #1 (Margot Robbie) shuts down due to anxiety and is somehow comforted by the mother figure telling her that Women have to put up with tons of shit on the daily to even live a normal life doesn't make sense for multiple reasons. Reason #1: The Barbies lived in a Feminist "Utopia" up until now so none of the things she ranted about should make sense to any of them outside of Barbie #1 and even then she spent like 12 hours in the real world so it shouldn't make sense to her either. Reason #2, is that the barbies under the Kendom weren't experiencing that at all, the Kens were just like having fun with their fellow Kens while the barbies complimented them and handed them "brewskis" while they redistributed the land more fairly. All of the actual jobs in Barbieland are meaningless so who gives a shit if the president is now a cheerleader.
-This is where the film becomes a Rorschach test. The Kens literally did nothing wrong. I know the Barbieland is supposed to be a sort of reverse Chauvinist world but the Kens literally do not have homes and their entire life is just whether Barbies even acknowledge them, that's fucked up man. Even in the most Patriarchal societies Women aren't sleeping in the fucking wild. Gosling Ken (I'll just say Ken #1) starts to talk about how he feels more accepted in the real world and Barbie is just ignores him completely. She literally could have stopped the Ken Uprising if she even paid any attention whatsoever to what he was feeling. It's a problem throughout the movie where the female characters literally don't give two shits about what the Kens are feeling or going through, even the humans who are supposed to be oppressed by patriarchy. Ken #1 even says at the end that he didn't even like being in power (they kind of ruin this moment by saying he just did it because of some weird imagined connection to horses but whatever). The brainwashing part also made no fucking sense, Ken distributed patriarchy like (and yes they actually say this) Smallpox??? What the fuck? This isn't just stupid, it's super lazy writing. Also if they're trying to make it feel like the Kendom was bad then they shouldn't have made all of the Barbies happy in it lmao. The Barbies are literally fine with the whole thing outside of Weird Barbie (who btw is also an outcast from barbieland) and two weird Kens (one of whom is Sugar Daddy Ken...). I don't want to come off like it's a good thing the Patriarchy exists but the movie really makes it feel that way.
-Alan is a little bitch cuck. His entire personality is to be Ken's friend, shame he's actually just a Barbie orbiter
--------- I wanted to separate this part because it's not just weird and lazy but actually super fucked up to teach real people to do this. The barbies decide after a bit that in order to defeat the Kens they need to first free the other Barbies from the "Brainwashing" by literally just brainwashing them back to thinking they're what they were before the Ken Revolution. That part is fine and expected. But the second part is getting them to fight the other Kens by EMOTIONALLY MANIPULATING THEM. What the absolute fuck? This is a terrible lesson to teach young girls. This starts by taking advantage of the Kens mansplaining things to them that they ask for help for (aka the Barbies say they struggle with something easy and the Kens are just generally helpful). Then the second part is agreeing to be in a relationship (in which the writing gives the Barbies an out by making it an long term/distance casual girlfriend or whatever) with Kens and then purposely leading them on, then ignoring them and making them jealous by giving other Kens attention which gets them to fight their fellow Kens. Then While they're fighting the Barbies vote down changes to the Barbieland constitution. Like you couldn't have come up with a more meaningful way to distract a bunch of brainless Kens than to emotionally annihilate them? FUCK THE BARBIES!
-The ending totally fucks up Ken #1's character arc by saying he only liked Patriarchy because he thought it had to do with Horses. I think it was right that Barbie and him didn't fall in love but my dude had wayyyyyyyyyy more reason to start the Ken revolution than the Barbies had to do anything they did. The entirety of what Barbie "accomplished" was re-oppressing the Kens and accepting that she has cellulite and thinks about death
Again, you kind of see things differently depending on the perspective you have in life but it definitely felt weird that a feminist movie, could in any way be interpreted as the female mains mostly being scumbags. I know this reads as very negative but my negatives are all about very specific plot points and their failure to be consistent with the message of the movie. I did enjoy it a lot and think the majority of it was extremely funny and fun. It just had a number of big "what the fuck are they doing?" moments
Inside of all of us there are three Irishman
1) The one who is talented but unsatisfied who can be a real rude bastard and is ultimately self destructive in his behavior
2) The one who is modest, persistent, and kind but dull and lazy, prone to hurt feelings over very little
3) The drunk creep who no one likes even though they're funny as hell
Pros
+Acting all around. I am not a huge fan of Cillian Murphy but he delivered big time, Downey Jr of course did his thing, Damon was great, Safdie was the surprise hit imo, Florence didn't even have much screen time and she made a big impression, Blunt was good (her character is a terrible bitch but she filled the role well). And these are only a fraction of the main cast, but then every other scene has a major actor filling in a minor role, with of course Gary Oldman's Truman being the most notable.
+Sound design was phenomenal with the train going off it's tracks as both a fitting metaphor and a believable match for so many different scenes/sounds
+cinematography was excellent, the way it tied the sound with the events being a highlight as well as the visions where the moral self analysis of Oppenheimer was substituting reality with his mental state (the naked section of the interrogation, skin peeling off a cheering crowd, the missiles flying past his car). The visuals at the beginning are also wonderful, the moving electrons Oppenheimer visualizes to make his theories make sense were gorgeous. Lighting was great as well
+This movie nailed the tension maybe better than any other movie I've seen. This was something that made me concerned before watching because 3+ hours seems too long to maintain tension while also creating interesting events surrounding a science project in the desert but the early life, days as a professor, start of the Manhattan project, and the finale all bleed into each other incredibly well while mostly using metaphor and recurring themes to convey how Oppenheimer views his responsibilities, how others react to them out of his control, etc. in a way that makes a movie about the creation of a bomb complex but entirely worth every scene it contains. The bomb is NOT the only thing this movie is talking about and in my opinion that makes this so much more profound. Everything being interrupted by the "trials" of Oppenheimer and Strauss breaking down the complex questions for both the characters speaking and for the audience, both allowing anyone to be able to understand a very complex series of events but also using that time not to explain but to expand the characters and force them to address their actions which is the core of what this movie is about.
+It was never preachy, which is extremely hard for a movie about a highly political series of events. They address very interesting involvements Oppenheimer has with the Communist party but are sure to accurately portray them as more tangential than defining his beliefs and to address his continued work on a weapon he knew could destroy the world and the pride he takes in that work while also making it clear he is not a chud robot trying to blow up every enemy the US has. They had an excellent metaphor near the start where he explains how light is both a wave and a particle and it is contradictory but it still is the truth. People change their minds, you can associate with those without believing the same things as them, your work is not an encapsulation of your entire being, etc.
+Set/costume design was great, I'm not going to pretend like the 1930s/40s are the hardest era to replicate but they did their job
+Dialogue was above average but there were a number of weird bits
Neutral
*Kind of mis-portrayed Truman considering he literally almost ended his presidency to stop MacArthur from glassing China/Korea with nukes but the scene was fucking hilarious so it gets a pass lol
*You could put this in the negative section but it's more of an interpretation I have than necessarily a fault in the movie itself. The conversations this story had where phenomenal and they way they drove home the themes about the consequences of our actions is done in an exceptional way however one thing that rubbed me personally the wrong way was the entire time Oppenheimer (and his cunt wife) are continually placing the entire blame on him but that kind of goes against the story because he is just the catalyst and there are so many competing/cooperating forces that are determining the creation, use, and further development of the bomb. It feels like the last scene with Einstein is starting to get to this solution with all of these people praising him/Einstein to attempt to forgive themselves but the very end is just Wide eyed Cillian Murphy being like "Nah bro I set off a chain reaction that's going to destroy the world" so it works against itself. No of course you can interpret this multiple ways and maybe I'm reading this scene against its intention but it does really come off that way to me and with the friend I saw it with
*Midwit Nolan fans are going to bitch about this movie not being eventful because they can't appreciate an actually good film
Cons
-Smooth brains will think it's too long (this is not an actual criticism)
-Smooth brains also will not like that they don't show the use of the bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (This is also not an actual criticism)
-The big twist in the trials is extremely predictable and almost everyone could see it coming from a mile away (The good thing is that it isn't really a major linchpin, at least in terms of you needing to be surprised for it to affect the viewing experience
-I think there is a fair argument against the use of black and white in the Strauss hearings. Yes, it kind of makes it look like a 1950s news story but it goes against the traditional psychology of film that says "Black and White=Older, Color=Newer" Since it is some of the last stuff to happen chronologically in the story
Honestly this episode is one of the most disappointing pieces of work I have seen in a long time. Just the most pure example of the "Prestige Tv Tropes" without anything real coming off of it. Arrogant characters, soft but strong background music, power struggle thinly veiled behind stoic acting. Just all of the cliches without anything that actually means anything.
WILLIE DID NOTHING WRONG! he gets bullied to the point where he's thrown off a fucking building into the water and I'm not supposed to root for him to kill the bully? Cmon now
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WHY DID THAT SLOW MOTION BULLET LOOK SO BAD!!?
Best episode of the whole show. Just every piece of the story finally having their beautiful tailspins with such perfect execution
Weirdly preachy in a hypocritical manner with no real substance. Just a bunch of vague questions about privilege where they attempt to tell without showing. A massive mistake for a visual art form where a couple more scenes with the Hawaiian boy interest could have meant a lot but they just stab themselves in the foot with a generic spiteful love triangle. I get the whole show is about rich people being pedantic narcissists with only false compassion for others but they way this episode was written just made every character more 1 dimensional including the characters of color.
Just a fun, casual watch. The fights aren't as cool as they could be and it's very silly but nice to put on in the background and pay attention to the big moments.
Pros
+It takes like an hour to watch the whole thing, I finished it while doing my laundry lol
Cons
-It's shit in every other metric of writing you can think of
-Uninspired, boring animation with zero style
-Mediocre voice acting
-Shitty character designs except for the hot tall girl with the shield and mace... oh wait that's just Brigitte from overwatch... hmm
-0 Lead up or information about the world. I platinum-ed Dragon Age Inquisition, know the entire story of the other games, and it still felt like being thrown into a world that didn't make any sense
Lol why do the main two characters have clothes from the 70s when everyone else looks like they're living in the 1400s?
It's a bad movie but a lot of the jokes were fucking funny. The "fattening" of Derek Zoolander's son alone fucking killed me but the majority was just appealing to nostalgia. Also Justin Theroux not being a model is weird since he's in better shape than everyone
Pros
+The show consistently desires to make Rhaenyra the "good guy" and the Greens are just the 'bad guys" which imo has harmed the actual story since in the books it's very understandable why a LOT of people despise her and doesn't constantly beat around the bush with her intentions when she's doing things that are clearly unacceptable like banging her uncle, or having a bunch of rando bastards, or killing her husband, etc. and it's good to see that that seems to be going off the deep end going into the war. There's no place for the weirdo, fence sitting, old Rhaenyra in the war and the final scene is suggesting she's gone
+Daemon is properly portrayed as the complete and utter piece of shit he is
+Dialogue around the dragon advantage is incredibly important (although unfortunately this seems to confirm Daeron and Tessarion don't exist in this version of the story. Not surprising considering as I said the show plays favorites big time and having the most honorable Hightower boy not exist fits with the agenda)
+Rhaenyra's indecision at first is consistent with the show's portrayal of her relationship with Alicent
+The two Strong bastards being forced into shitty situations by their clueless parents
+Daddy Velaryon is back in business
+ Aemond giving that little shit what he deserved was super satisfying and the Baratheon conversation in general felt very real, great acting and dialogue
+Phenomenal visuals, art design, cgi, costume design, etc.
Neutral
*Her coronation taking place at her dead baby's funeral was mildly hilarious and honestly a decent metaphor for things to come
Cons
-Tired of saying it but the changes they have made only make the story more one sided and less interesting by proxy
-Otto delivering the message himself was an attempt at a mirror of the 2nd episode's bridge negotiation but doesn't make sense symbolically since Rhaenyra isn't on their side nor is she completely with Daemon which kind of shatters the mirroring of events
Pros
+Alicent's emotion
+Small council meeting was great
+Chase for Aegon and reasoning for both sides was interesting
+Despite not really being book accurate the Rhaenys stuff had great dialogue and (even though the end of the coronation was kinda ridiculous) and was fun
++++++Aemond + Criston are the most based duo (soon to be trio with Aegon too)
+++++++Great atmosphere and tension
+Great cinematography
+Sets up the Storm's end fight next episode as well as the Erryk/Arryk stuff
Cons
-Kinda makes 0 sense for Aegon to be running away when he immediately starts whooping ass in battle when the fighting kicks off
-White Worm involvement is kinda eh
Great for weird reasons
Pros
+The bias towards Rhaenyra is now so bad that it's actually gone full circle and is entertaining with how crazy and stupid the writing is lol. Alicent trying to gouge Luke's eye out in the middle of the room full of people while the kingsguard prevent anyone from interfering except Rhaenyra was fucking hilarious. Daemon and Rhaenyra's relationship portrayed as a loving romantic one is fucking hilarious. Laenor and his lover setting up that cheesy ass skit and then throwing someone else's body in the fire, cutting off his dreads to prove it's him, and then rowing away might be the dumbest and funniest thing I've seen/read in the ASOIAF universe.
+Vhagar getting her new rider
+Kid fight was pretty good Aemond firmly grasping how badass he will become
+Funeral was pretty good
+Alicent and the majority of the actors are great
Cons
-Larys being a lil creep
-Aegon being a lil freak
-Helaena getting no character outside of the Kasandra treatment
-Rhaenyra's new actress is kinda mid
Absolutely phenomenal
Pros
+Halbrand and Galadriel legitimately are perfect compliments to each other where they provide mental strength in the most important moments
+The fighting scenes were fantastic
+Adar's origin was fitting and wonderfully portrayed
+The flames of udun issuing forth was magnificent and the way it happened had great lead up and execution (although weirdly I've seen criticism of this even though it was definitely well built up throughout the first few episodes)
+I love Adar's supposed "motives" and how they are definitely a smoke screen lie for the following events
Neutral
*Numenor arrived a little too early for my liking, the pace in this show is decently fast but it was a bit too fast
Cons
-Arondir trying to give the son an opportunity to give the sword hilt back made no sense since before he admits he got a massive power fantasy from it and wanted to have it lol
-Small criticism but Bronwyn immediately proclaiming Halbrand King after he simply presented himself with the crest was strange and out of character
Pros
+Dragon pit scene as well as the scene with Helaena were very good
+Training scene was great at showing the animosity between the two opposing sides
+Daemon and Laena's family are good enough and the whole pentoshi deal is interesting the death was clearly an attempt to add drama but honestly I didn't give a shit
+Larys being crazy was fun
Cons
------The amount of favoritism showed to Rhaenyra is super annoying. Alicent is now just a huge cunt for no reason, it's not even disguised under the pretense of wanting her children to be the successors at this point. Criston Cole's transition to enemy is too complete and the writing makes him seem purely spiteful. Rhaenyra is portrayed as having this loving relationship hidden under her marriage rather than an absolutely unacceptable behavior that threatens not only her sons' legitimacy but also their relations with the Velaryons (who should be fucking pissed about the kids clearly not being their blood), and leaves opening for Daemon to come back and start shit as well. Rhaenyra does whatever the fuck she wants in every single episode, gets no push back from her father and it's portrayed as her being persecuted when it's really her just being an irresponsible, spoiled brat. Harwyn isn't her secret boyfriend, he's just the best looking knight around who has no honor. It's crucial to the Dance of Dragons being interesting that both sides are legitimate, coming at it like one side is just a bunch of assholes trying to steal poor little Rhaenyra's crown is stupid and destroys everything interesting about the politics.
-New actresses haven't really impressed me yet. The jury is still out obviously, but they're both immediately unlikable and cold.
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
Pros
+Delicate handling of the "preferences" of both Laenor and Rhaenyra was quick, realistic, and tasteful
++++++++++Rhaenyra and Criston's conversation on the boat was fantastically acted and the dialogue was perfect. Again, this fantasy show feels almost too real in how it portrays their interactions
++++++++ Criston admitting what happened to the Green Queen was perfectly done where the dialogue had her suspecting Daemon right up until Criston says he participated And the Green Queen's entrance was powerful as well both her entrance to the wedding and to the Godswood after...
+Funny moment with the Lannister telling that sexist joke and neither Viserys or Rhaenyra reacting
Neutral
*They keep on doing Viserys dirty and I get why but he looks like a total wimp here
*Daemon showing up to the wedding and just being allowed there was weird and kind of out of place considering Viserys literally just exiled him from the Crownlands
*Mushroom looks like he's relegated to Bongo player instead of core story teller unfortunately lol
Cons
-They should have had the tournament Criston raging and BTFOing everyone in the tournament while smashing Laenor's love all in one fell swoop is more appropriate than raging and smashing his face in the middle of the wedding
-Daemon killing his wife and then implying he smashed her head in with a rock is comically stupid since anyone could have seen that it wouldn't have been caused by the fall
Pros
+Galadriel and Halbrand's interactions are continuously fun
+Isildur's buildup about Anarion will be interesting to see unfold
+the mystery of Adar is properly vague
+The lore around the hilt is slowly getting interesting
+Elrond and the Dwarves are fantastic
+General music
+ Set design and costumes are as great as ever, the art style is perfect for the second age
Cons
-I know a lot of people will chafe at the slow pace and how it's 4 episodes in and the personality of most characters (exceptions being Elrond, Galadriel, Halbrand, Nori and Durin) have been super thin
-Arondir's place is very strange and him being selected to deliver the message is a strange one
-Nowhere near enough attention to how the Greater Elf kingdoms are reacting to the comet or one of their outposts being overtaken
Pros
+Blackwood boy taking on the Bracken bullies (as is custom)
+Daemon's return was effective
+Alicent's character came through with little to no dialogue and her role as new Queen was a great contrast to the major plot point with Rhaenyra
+The scene showing the views of the smallfolk on Rhaenyra's status is HUGELY important for show watchers. The people of King's Landing specifically have a huge role
+Rhaenyra's main scenes were all great the sex scene was weirdly one of the more accurate portrayal of sex I've seen in a while. The time it took to get Criston's armor off of course giving that somewhat awkward first time feeling as well as symbolism him letting himself be himself rather than just a member of the Kingsguard. and the positioning, music, lighting, etc. made it feel weirdly real. Despite the lead up to it in the awkward pleasure house
+ Daemon lying that he had sex with Rhaenyra to try to pressure his brother into accepting him as heir through her is fittingly despicable for him considering him and Otto are becoming increasingly alike. (Right down to the banishment lol). It'll be interesting to see if this was him making the most of the situation his ex put him in or if it was intentional
Neutral
*No dragons
*Fairly narrow scope and little action (Not a problem for most but some might not feel like this is a very grand episode compared to the last one
Cons
-The prophecy being told YET again is showing even more so that they are trying to lead us onto this idea that Rhaenyra is the main character and one everyone should root for. At this point she IS of course the main character and most people root for her so really the only purpose/effect is to stifle the complexity of Alicent, Aegon, and Criston choosing to usurp her. It paints the smallfolk as sexist morons instead of people who all live under a different set of rules than these spoiled Targaryens and their incest, foreign language, and dragons
It's acceptably good
Pros
+I think some people might dislike this but the world looks like a more magical, less real version of Middle Earth and that fits the time period we are in where the Elves magic is still powerful, great costume design as well.
+The Elves status of overlords over the humans who were deceived by Morgoth is a cool concept
+Dialogue in general was good
+Great intro scene and set up to the conflict between Galadriel and everyone else.
+Harfeet are pretty cool and comfy
Neutral
*Honestly most of the episode was forgettable
*Acting was pretty average
Cons
-Arondir and that random chick are going to be completely pointless fanfic, I can already tell
-They are making the big mistake of assuming that everyone knows that Sauron is going to return and fuck shit up and thus this show carries this smugness where Galadriel KNOWS she's right (and we know she is, only because we have seen/read the other LOTR/Hobbit/Silmarillion stuff) even though it makes absolutely no sense for her to think anything is wrong and the audience is going to think everyone who doubts her is a fucking moron even though given their perspective they are the ones who should make more sense and her only justification is "muh brother died to Sauron" and "I feel it in me bones". I really hope she doesn't continue to act this way but I'm 98% sure she will for a while. Every cuck fanboy/fangirl will be talking shit about Gil Galad and Elrond like they're morons when it's really just a problem of perspective and lack of weight behind reminding everyone that Orcs literally haven't been seen for years. Then the Book crew will pull up and talk about how it's just a dumb fanfic and every review/opinion on this series will be tainted by pedantic arguments between self righteous nerds instead of just people having fun watching some new Tolkien stuff
- also her jumping off the boat was dumb af
Pros
+Dragons doing dragon things
+The silent emotions of Rhaenyra (regarding her fear of Aegon replacing her and her marital status), Viserys (regarding his declining health and politicians trying to force his hand), and Daemon (with his failing campaign against the Triarchy) bled through every scene with them
+Clever groundwork for the next stage with Laenor/Seasmoke's intro, the reconfirmation of Rhaenyra's status as heir to the Iron throne, and Criston Cole's presence
+The action was a bit cheesy but it was entertaining
+Couple of standout scenes: Caraxes landing, Boar killing, Viserys talking about his dreams, and Daemon being angry
Neutral
*Stag scene is kinda exposing that this show is going to be extremely bias in Rhaenyra's favor which considering the Dance of Dragons is not really a good guy vs bad guy kind of conflict is a little unfortunate
*Alicent- I like the actress and she hasn't done anything unreasonable of stupid or anything but she hasn't really been enabled yet either. I know they are building up for later though so I'm not too worried.
*Crabfeeder was kinda wasted, I don't really care about him as a character but they kinda made him sound super cool and gave him a cool design and I thought it would've been fun if he had a few more feats before being disposed of
Negative
-Otto Hightower comes off even more like a creep rather than one of the keenest men in the 7 Kingdoms. I don't disagree that with him saying what he did but we have really only seen him trying to hook up kids with older people so far outside of the meeting with Daemon last episode which Rhaenyra salvaged so he feels kinda one dimensional
-Feels like many of the ancillary figures are also just boilerplate, generic GOT characters. I just know the Arbor lady likes to plot while walking through her gardens and the cocky Lannister likes to drink wine, say "fuck" a lot, and make suggestive slander more than any real human being would. Definitely one of the parts of the original show I wished they'd left behind.
