#going with a light and death parallel between these two couples would be fun tbh | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

starsweepersold · 5 years

Text

MY HTTYD 3 THOUGHTS

please keep in mind i didn’t love the film so don’t come here if you want a fluffy, in depth analysis of the good points. and also note that these are my opinions ( on a movie which means this isn’t a big deal ) so, like... if you don’t agree, that’s fine lol. i’m not here to draw fists, i just want to explain my side so that how i approach threads with ruffnut post the movie might make sense ( even though this rant is far from ruffnut centric ).

also. uh. this is long. like. really long.

first, let me clear up two things. one, the plot, while my BIGGEST issue, isn’t really a bad plot overall. it’s just... not what i think the third should have been and, ultimately, was a huge letdown for the franchise. so i’m not surprised people like it and enjoy it. it’s not... a terrible plot, it just. in my mind. ruined so much potential. and could have been handled way better. a few changes, and i think it could have been what i wanted. but how they approached it was just. nah.

two, i’m going to probably address the light fury in a way that makes it seem like i hate her. i don’t. in fact, i liked her more than i anticipated. character wise. i was worried she would be rude, bitchy female who refused to even acknowledge toothless because h00man friends and found him dumb and uninteresting until he majestically saved her and they fly to the moon in loving happiness. but she wasn’t. she was balanced with her caution of humans while also seeing that the ones with toothless weren’t a danger so she didn’t completely and utterly avoid them. she was interested in toothless and not just the other way around. plus, she was just kind of cute. so i have nothing against her as a character. i have every problem with her as a major aspect of the plot which i do not think she should have been. aka i think crappy writing did her wrong. so if it seems like i ever hate or am throwing shade at the light fury, that’s not true, it’s how she’s being treated or used. which isn’t her fault.

okay with those out of the way, one last thing. super brief. the animation and music was ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY LUSH. no issues with that. smooth, gorgeous, stunning, next to lifelike. the imagination of the movie was a+++ so despite my other issues, i have no complaints on that. stunning. i would watch a thousands times over just to look at all those details tbh.

to le rant... dissertation... thing.

the hard part is figuring out how to start this. because there are a couple... many... problem areas i just have with the movie. so i’mma just go and hopefully i’ll get some formulaic or at least coherent explanation down.

i think my biggest disappointment was just. the complete and utter disregard for the friendship between toothless and hiccup for sake of pretty, dragon lady ( here’s where i’m saying i’ll sound like i hate the light fury. i don’t. but i’ll call her being used poorly as “pretty, dragon lady” a lot because that’s essentially her entire plot use sadly ). i get what dreamworks was trying to do, but shit did it fall flat. did it just crumble. it was painful for me to watch because it felt like toothless just fucking did a 180 and everything he had with hiccup was completely sidelined until the goodbye where we finally get some semblance of emotion from him about the idea that he’s leaving hiccup.

it was like watching hiccup being a foster parent and knowing he’s about to send toothless to his forever home and toothless being the happy, slobbery puppy who is just happy to be there and will love whoever he’s with. literally like. hiccup lets toothless go to find light fury and is like “bring her back :D” and toothless just had no plans of coming back from what we can see in his behaviors. which is where i see what dreamworks was trying to do. they were trying to do hiccup and toothless parallel growing up and finding their places in the world and toothless’ was to go lead the dragons while hiccup’s was to remain with berk as chief. except for while toothless was like “yep, cool, i’m good,” hiccup was the one still thinking and worried about him ( as a decent friend would ).

they tried to explain this by using hiccup’s insecurity. that he’s nothing without toothless, right? and then they just. never instill confidence in him. even to the end he relied on toothless or the light fury. like. at some point they just sort of pretend like hiccup found himself, but there was really no turning point. sure, he learns he needs to let toothless go but.

he never... finds his confidence in being a leader without toothless. and then their friendship for the sake of all this is just. reduced to him riding out on a boat to see the dragon and pretty, dragon lady one day when he has small children. we had two amazing movies with these two growing together and as one and learning and developing and then in this one. toothless just. goes on and hiccup faces a thousand and one problems and only solves like one ( again... i understand they were growing up and moving on and it’s a story about that and how friends can last forever despite that but it just felt like they erased the deep friendship to have one move on quickly and the other just be trapped in insecure land and never give him a way out ). it was such a “we just want to get a tear jerker” ending by that goodbye scene. gotta make the dragons leave, gotta separate the two except the two felt on opposite ends of the spectrum the entire movie. like the only time toothless and hiccup really felt still connected like they were in the first two movies/the beginning of the third before pretty, dragon lady was when toothless would look to hiccup while he needed help trying to do mating dances. and even then it was more just, like... “help me win pretty, dragon lady because she’s more important!!!”

which i get it, love is love and wonderful and great but. you didn’t... have to toss hiccup in the pit for this, you just didn’t. and they stopped being friends but “hiccup doesn’t know how to lead without toothless” and... uh. well. toothless was moved on, “peace out, bro, i got pretty lady <333″

their friendship was just so incredibly special to me. so so so so special. it was what made me fall so in love with the first. and hiccup breaking through drago’s control to toothless was so touching. forgiving his friend for indirectly killing his father. their bond. was THE integral parts of those movies. and in this one. it was played off as more of a hinderance for toothless’ chance at love and freedom. so that just. hurt to watch.

what i wished: light fury wasn’t the massive, major plot point she was. a side plot of them finding out there’s a light fury and hiccup trying to help toothless win her would be great. it would have also been intriguing to see grimmel realize he missed a night fury and light fury and it would give both hiccup and toothless more incentive to fight strong and fast together to protect this new friend of theirs.

speaking of grimmel.

what a bloody letdown.

he started off so cool. he was the night fury slayer. he had these awesome dragons. he could play three steps ahead. he wasn’t phased at all by these three other... hunter warlord people. he wasn’t this emo-looking stereotype like drago. he was cold, manipulative. calculating. deadly. went inside hiccup’s house and everything. i was digging it.

but then his entire evil plot started to revolve around pretty, dragon lady and his... fear factor just.... diminished? like.... badly. like. he knew exactly where hiccup and the tribe was going and yet somehow... lost them? he let the light fury go... to... what exactly? like... it was never fully explained what letting toothless and light fury meet accomplished for him. like if toothless had just stayed with light fury in the hidden world and hiccup hadn’t come with astrid, what could grimmel have done? he just. lost. he only had a chance again because hiccup’s needy, ex girlfriend like status got him and astrid caught and toothless had to save their asses. and then somehow he needed ruff to lead him to them?

...he literally pointed at the islands the berkians could be at on a map. how did he just suddenly lose them. how did he not know they were on an island without ruffnut where did his excellent tactical skills go?

oh, wait.

he had to get made dumb and weaker because if he actually remained a decent villain then pretty, dragon lady would get less screen time in favor of a decent fight. and they made him call it a “waiting game” and that the time was what made it fun but. it was just an excuse to forget about him for a bit so we could get back to toothless trying to mate.

you have the guy who wiped out the night furies and he just. sits back and lets them have fun dance time and go find the hidden world and literally never leave the first island they settled on and he does.... nothing....... until they go to him.

i’m sorry, what.

the killer of night furies? more like the killer of a decent villain plot :/

don’t even get me started on his “death” scene. his dragons are detained carrying the cages. wow. no cool fight with them. captures light fury who he already had and let go ( if he knew toothless and light fury were gunna love love then he could have just used her from the start like he really could have and he also just... seemed smart enough to know toothless and hiccup wouldn’t sacrifice her so he just. yeah. she should have been a side plot, would have been more exciting for him to realize he missed two because his anger could have become beautiful with the fight and will to conquer ). oh and even better, the poison which prior to this final scene only put night furies to sleep suddenly can be used to control pretty, dragon lady. so now we’ve got that typical fight where toothless can’t actually fight or wah wah, he’ll hit his girlyfriend oh no.

cue dramatic scene from hiccup which was almost nice because asking light fury to save toothless was such a hiccup/toothless relationship moment and, briefly, reminded me of how close they are and that toothless is his best friend, but then it just becomes dramatic fall where of course we know she’ll save toothless and hiccup.

and then grimmel is just in the ocean and buh bye and that’s it.

the infamous night fury killer, y’all. fucking falls in the ocean after the worst plan he’s probably ever thought out. actually, just kidding, he probably didn’t think it out. it was bad and his three steps ahead turned into like seven steps behind because the fact he wants to kill the night furies and deliver all the dragons to his accomplices is just.

put on the backburner for the pretty, dragon lady plot.

man i just really wanted light fury the side plot, hiccup and toothless’ strong friendship to lead them forward into defeating grimmel and protecting her and the other dragons and then just. learning through each other that they both are powerful people/dragon even independently of each other and they have their own tribes of sorts to lead and toothless is needed there and the dragons can have a better life orsomething. toothless having to leave “because humans aren’t ready for dragons yet” was dumb, y’all. and not at all encouraging or lively.

the final lesson was basically humanity sucks, hiccup never learns that he’s strong on his own but he just has to let toothless go anyway, toothless takes 75% of the movie to even care about hiccup and having to say goodbye... grimmel was the most unimposing villain ever. overall lessons: love means letting going ( cough just fucking forgetting your friends cough ), growing up requires sacrifice... basically getting older sucks.

the flashbacks were almost okay. the one with stoick crying over valka was actually amazing but... the one with the hidden world? way to just shit all over how stoick was in the first movie. makes his intolerance in the first movie seem... less so? like. “oh, i just wanna make the dragons go back to their land so we can be safe and they can be safe.”

no, stoick, y’wanted to fucking murder them all. i guess his motives could have become worse over the years but. then that just makes him more a bad character because he just gives up the idea of harmony and becomes “fuck it, kill them all” and uh........ yeah.

( the irony of this all is that hiccup ends up becoming the one to be like “well, guess we should live separated :///” )

i could get more in depth with these explanations probably but idk is it worth it, this post is already long enough. i’m getting the basics across. i think. if you’re really curious, you can ask for more info on something.

a final thing.

other than, like. eret, valka, tuffnut, and astrid, why did all the characters.... suck? they took... literally nothing seriously. tuffnut didn’t either but, tbh, his “guy talk” stuff with hiccup was so great that i’m okay with him lmao. but... fishlegs was barely there, snotlout was creepy with hitting on valka, and ruffnut was literal hell. sure, her scene with annoying grimmel and all was “funny” but man did it make me cringe.

as a ruffnut stan, she’s... not that fucking dumb. she would have looked back, she would have made sure she wasn’t being followed. even in the show she wasn’t that bad. and the show ruffnut was... bad.

like i just don’t know what to say. they were all useless. there were two solid scenes were they felt like they were there and actually friends with hiccup and part of the gang. the first scene with the raid and then when toothless is, like. practicing his awkward dancing and hiccup is telling them all about the light fury ( fishlegs is running around trying to draw her and the twins are interacting and everything like they all felt there and part of the group, it was awesome, and then they just never play a role again other than ruffnut’s absolute stupidity which was just a horrible moment for her and a weakass moment for grimmel because we’re reminded he went from being in total control to not knowing wtf he’s doing because oh, letting pretty, dragon lady go is actually and problem since she and toothless just flew off bye bye ).

...also tuffnut and ruffnut were HORRENDOUS to each other? wtf? and forgetting his sister? uhm. their whole relationship was just. awful. and just for laughs. it was. cringe fest.

okay lied. now a final thing.

the ending. i get dreamworks wanted to show the kids but just. end it sooner. i didn’t want to see hiccup and toothless reunite. i didn’t. especially not after how bitter everything just made me at least let me be sad and stay sad. you have. all this buildup, you have an actually decent scene with them saying goodbye and being the friends we know them to be. and then you’re just

“lol just kidding here they are again.”

like. have the kids, see hiccup sailing off with them. end. and it just reinforced the idea that hiccup never actually got over the idea that he’s nothing without toothless. i wanted it concluding with strong, hiccup power and the knowledge that we know toothless is off being a badass somewhere with light fury. it would have been much more impactful. if you’re going to commit to the dragons leaving, full on commit. him seeing toothless again would have felt more right if toothless and the dragons had left just for their betterment of lifestyle and not because “humanity no goo.” idk it just. was dumb and dragged on. see the kids, see them sail. end. like i said. i can’t even remember what hiccup was saying over all of it because it hit me it went from something that could have been awesome and learning about letting go and building life and all that to “lol but yay i found my dragon again :D”

also hiccup’s older model was just his same with a beard? at least astrid’s looked better. and then kids were just. baby hiccup boy but with blond hair and little pig tail girl ( isn’t she a model used in one of the other movies? her model was super familiar ) but with brown hair. pretty uh. yeah. and the nightlight babies....................

personally.... not impressed lmao.

and, well. that wraps up my major thoughts for now. i’m sure i had others but it’s been like three weeks since i saw the movie so. i’m going off what fiery embers managed to keep burning during this time.

in regards to ruffnut, you can see i didn’t like how she was portrayed. so for the most part, i’m erasing that section in her canon. she will have looked behind her and been cautious. i’ll do the plot a flavor and just go with how grimmel should have been and that he was actually an intimidating villain who knew where they were and was waiting for the chance to strike. so my ruffnut didn’t fuck up like that. also she escapes by better wit than just being obnoxious :/

and also happy to just ignore a lot of how the movie was handled but. for the sake of partners, i will otherwise accept canon as it is. just. now you can might see why i didn’t care for the canon as is.

ps i haven’t 100% read over this because it’s late, forgive any horrendous typos that i’ll fix later hopefully when less sjklfas;d

#|| the queen sunshine princess ( OOC )#httyd 3 spoilers //#httyd spoilers //#long post //

7 notes · View notes

misscrawfords · 6 years

Text

The Force Awakens Rewatch: Part 2

See Part 1.

So I actually have less to say about the second half of the film, perhaps because a lot of it is following on from themes and characters already introduced and discussed in the first half and not much happens that is surprising. Perhaps also because I’ve had two glasses of reeeeeally nice wine and my head is buzzing and I’m listening to Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella and they’re telling me that it’s impossible for a country bumpkin and a prince to join in marriage. (”But the world is full of zanies and fools who don’t believe in sensible rules”…)

I’m sorry, where was I? Ah yes, Takodama…

- Hux. Already mentioned him separately, but, like, literally, what is the appeal? He is coded as a Nazi with no redeemable features whatsoever. I mean, by all means like him if you want. Fans can like who they want! But I see nothing to like. I mean, the First Order needs people like Hux, but fan favourite? I don’t get it at all.

- OK, I’m now listening to The Pursuit (”I just know I will find you, you’re the girl of my dreams and the thrill is more than I can bear”) and it’s making me think about Kylo going after Rey. I mean, this bit on Takodama (as others have said before and in much more detail) is another example of Kylo Ren the Dark Side Fail. He goes off on his own, abandons his mission when it would be so easy for him to take the droid and the girl and then drops his guard down to sweep Rey up into his arms. I mean, wtf? Again, we have an example of Kylo being just as young and earnest and naive as Finn and Rey. Also, what is up with what his attitude to her? That famous shot of him standing behind her with his lightsaber pointed over her shoulder? It’s such a weird position to take unless you’re meant to think of phallic symbolism tbh. Not wholly convinced by the Romeo and Juliet theme when he’s carrying her onto the ship - maybe for one bar. But the music when they leave is an epic version of Rey’s theme and that’s nice.

- Sticking with Kylo and Rey for now, the interrogation scene. I mean, so much has been written on this I’m not going to attempt anything detailed. Kylo’s removal of his helmet is shocking and deliberate and honestly, if they didn’t want people to think he was a dark prince and a Byronic antihero they probably should have cast somebody different. This isn’t being superficial, it’s being realistic. And that scene is not some massive scene of horrific abuse. I mean, COME ON. Stop saying everything is abuse! Yes, he tries to get in her mind, a fascinating experience for him and his emotions are so clear on his face. And then she stops him! This moment is all about Rey coming to terms with the Force. She blocks him out and then turns the tables. This is a fantasy. Mind reading is a fantasy thing. If they wanted to show this as a metaphor for rape, they would have presented this very differently. What we are clearly meant to take from this scene is that Rey is Kylo’s equal, that she is able to turn the tables on him, that she is awakening to her Force potential, and that he is not at all the monster he appears and is deeply affected by what he sees in her. Remember, the next time we see Rey, she manages to Force control two guards. Is Rey acting like someone who has just been brutally violated or as someone who has awoken to her own power? I’ll leave the answer to that with you. Anyway, it’s an incredibly compelling scene; I remember barely breathing through it when I first saw it in the cinema.

- The Han/Leia scenes are so beautiful and it’s lovely to even have these brief scenes of a mature couple and a little insight into the complexity of their relationship. And how can anyone think that this trilogy isn’t about the soul of Ben Solo/Kylo Ren? I mean, literally every character exists in relation to him and his decisions. I’m not trying to lessen the importance of Rey and Finn as heroes but Kylo and the possibility that he could be brought back to the light is the glue that holds the entire plot together.

- Starkiller base. Han’s death is so predictable. I mean, not predictable exactly, but it is not a twist - it’s set up very well so there’s not much to say about it. But Kylo is weakened immediately. The physical weakening from the bolt from Chewie and then Finn and eventually Rey are a symbol of his mental and emotional weakness. Making him stronger, my foot!

- The fight in the woods… I mean, everyone goes on about the interrogation scene and I do get that, but this is the sequence that does it for me. I really think the moment when the lightsaber nearly whacks Kylo in the face and Rey catches it is THE most important moment in the film. This is the moment Rey accepts her destiny for the second time. The first is when she uses the Force on the guards. Both times are inextricably linked to Kylo. But anyway, yes, this is Rey accepting the call to adventure properly. The look on her face as she glances between the lightsaber and Kylo as the music swells with the Force theme is just so beautiful and full of wonder and Kylo’s face is absolutely amazing. It’s not a look of “oh crap, she’s got a lightsaber” it’s a look of “oh wow, she has my lightsaber and it’s the best thing that’s happened all day”. Then they both ignite their sabers and you just think that this is where they have met their match and everything in their lives so far has led towards them facing each other like this. I could watch this 30 seconds or so of film over and over again (AND GUESS WHAT, I JUST HAVE). Then the fight starts in earnest and it’s interesting to look at it in contrast to Kylo and Finn’s fight. In both fights, they get right up and close to each other but Kylo and Finn seem to be just struggling together, Kylo and Rey take the opportunity for Kylo to offer to train her - he’s not trying to attack her properly - she’s the one on the offensive. And in fact, he actually starts teaching her here. He is the one mentions the Force and that is the catalyst for her to close her eyes and centre herself in the Force and gain enough control to actually push him back and control the fight. And that leads them to them being locked together, not with lightsabers but actually clutching each others’ arms like an embrace, with their lightsabers stretching one from the other and both facing the same way. It’s a really, really interesting few seconds because you could almost be mistaken for thinking they are working together. Yes, they are opposite each other, but they’re not pushing against each other. They struggle and then their lightsabers align with each other - red to the bottom, blue pointing upwards, and their faces are pointing in the same direction and they’re grabbing the other’s arms. All I’m saying is, this is a really different fight scene, especially compared to the Kylo and Finn fight and filled with a different kind of tension. I mean, there are several seconds where Rey has her eyes closed and everything goes completely calm and he’s just staring at her.

- Just to reiterate, in case you didn’t read that massive paragraph, it’s really interesting how both of the occasions when Rey uses the Force are enabled by Kylo. In other words, he is not responsible for her awakening (or is he?) but he is already teaching her to an extent. He invades her mind which allows her to fend him off, block him and invade his mind in turn. This then somehow gives her the understanding that she can manipulate the guards using the Force. He also reminds her that she can fight with the Force using the lightsaber. Thanks, Kylo! Rey’s use of the Force is intimately linked to Kylo Ren.

- Finn and Poe belong together. FIGHT ME ON THIS. What else is the purpose of the jacket line, Finn’s admiration of “one hell of a pilot” and the beautiful Regency dancing twirling camera work. Seriously. I’m torn because Rose looks like a great character but if she erases the potential of Finn/Poe then that will be such a lost opportunity. There is no way Poe is not gay and I headcanon Finn as bi because he does kind of have a crush on Rey. It’s all so beautiful.

- Rey and Leia’s hug makes me so emotional. Women comforting women! Unspoken understanding! Rey gets a mother figure from a woman who has lost her child! It’s so beautiful and sad.

- Finn and Rey remain an absolutely glorious relationship and I ship them platonically to the ends of the earth. And I really don’t think that is somehow lesser than shipping them romantically. For Finn and Rey to have a friend whom they love is the most amazing and important thing. A real friend > a romantic partner any day. I mean, come on. They’ve had nobody and now they have each other. It makes me so happy.

- I’m coming round increasingly to Rey Kenobi. Considering this is a SW trilogy, it makes sense that we should have a Kenobi in there somewhere and Rey’s use of the Force on those guards is extremely suggestive of Obi-Wan’s abilities. It really seems like a massive hint. It would be a great revelation, would link her in to the Skywalker saga, provide opportunities for even more parallels and contrasts, but also not force a relationship between her and the Skywalkers and Solos that would mean Han, Luke and Leia have conveniently forgot they had a child and never talk about it which is just stupid.

Anyway, that was my TFA re-watch and it was tremendous fun! It’s a great film and reading all the meta I’ve been reading recently has only enhanced it. My impressions are slightly different to when I saw it first in the cinema and overall slightly more positive because I’m seeing clever things in, for instance, the parallels with ANH, rather than being irritated by them. And considering how it sets up for TLJ adds a layer to what is going on and being suggested in this film.

Things that still confuse/annoy me:

- The relationship between Hux and Kylo and Snoke and the First Order and the Knights of Ren. How do they all fit together? I do not know. I am confused.

- Rey’s background???????? Lor San Tekka???????

- How did the First Order even arise and become so powerful in the relatively short period of time following the defeat of the Empire? It’s basically an Empire clone and I’m still a bit annoyed they went down that route for the sequel trilogy rather than do something original and deal with the fallout from the defeat of the Empire in a different way. Like, if the Empire was meant to imply the Nazis, then surely the sequel could do a metaphorical Cold War and that could be really interesting. This is where the parallels with ANH do still annoy me.

#star wars #reylo #kylo ren #rey #okay apparently I did have a lot to say #I mention rape and Nazis in this post #so maybe avoid if that's a trigger #meta

1 note · View note