#he's offscreen GIVING BAD ADVISE

[slightlymessier]

moment of silence for the lovely moon sweater that i so lovingly rendered for phil's bday 3 years ago

#old fran-art #phil lester #amazingphil #amazingphil fanart #phanart #dan and phil #the dan is implied #he's offscreen GIVING BAD ADVISE #HE SHOULDVE KEPT ITTTT IT LOOKED SO GOOD #or given it to me at least. a lesbian w witch vibes and literal moon pronouns #im late to the party cause my wifi wasnt working btw hhh #now that im looking at it in detail the actual sweater is not very rendered huh KHFKDBD #listen its GLOWY and thats all that matters

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Representation

Oh, so NOW child abuse is bad. Could have fooled me last episode!

Let's get into the twenty-fifth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Representation

We start off with an English news report recapping the ending of “Revolution”, stating that Ms. Bustier is going to run for mayor, conveniently ignoring her attempted coup in “Collusion”. We also see that Gabriel and Tomoe are still uncomfortably focused on making Adrien and Kagami appear to be a couple in public, much to their dismay. While Kagami is visited by Argos (who once again sneaks up on her, like he usually does), Adrien realizes he can transform into his space form and see Marinette whenever he wants and transforms into Cat Noir, planning to reveal his identity to Marinette. Hey, did he even tell Ladybug about his sudden departure? Because it didn't go well the last time he left Paris without telling her (New York Special).

We then cut to Marinette right after the events of “Revolution”, going to the end of the year dance... even though when we saw Adrien and Kagami in London, the sun was still setting, and France's time zone is only about an hour later, meaning Adrien and Kagami must have flown there at ludicrous speed.

Meanwile, Argos and Kagami somehow got from London to Paris offscreen, and watch Marinette from afar, with Kagami revealing she knows she's Ladybug. They decide to tell Marinette that Felix knows who Monarch is in order to ensure his downfall. Nah, I'm just kidding. Here's the real reason they're coming to Marinette for help.

Kagami: My mother and Gabriel Agreste will never allow us to love each other freely. Only Ladybug can help us.

Yep, rather than prioritize the fact that Gabriel is endangering the citizens of Paris on a daily basis, Kagami is seriously more concerned about her relationship with her boyfriend being tampered with. This is like saying Lex Luthor is evil because he cheats on his taxes. Argos transforms back into Felix, and... oh, for the love of God... he disguises himself as Adrien in order to get closer to Marinette. You can't keep portraying Felix as this master of disguise if he only has ONE disguise!

Marinette sees “Adrien” and assumes he came back from London from her, assuming her boyfriend is much more active that the writers actually believe he is, so she tries to follow him while avoiding the guests at the party. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Tomoe learn their children are gone, so he goes to talk with Nathalie and—why the hell is she like that?

Seriously, this has never been established as something that happens when someone uses the broken Peacock Miraculous. Why didn't this happen to Emilie? She looks pretty healthy in her little coffin, and I doubt Gabriel is an embalmer.

Anyway, after Nathalie once again reminds us that she hates Gabriel, but not enough to call the cops on him, Gabriel transforms into Monarch and immediately detransforms back in order to akumatize himself into Nightormentor.

Nightormentor is a pretty average recolor of the Collector's design, which kind of makes sense, considering that Gabriel himself intended the Akuma for himself. The star pattern is okay, but there's not much I can really say. As for his powers, he's just another Sandboy, being able to force people to hallucinate their worse nightmares, only instead of a pillow, his weapon is a staff created from a pen containing the Akuma, with the Horse Miraculous' Voyage to boot. Why he didn't just give himself the same powers he gave Truth when he's trying to find Adrien is anyone's guess.

Cat Noir arrives at the Eiffel Tower to talk with Marinette, just as Nightormentor appears. The two fight, and after a few civilians get caught in the crossfire, Nightormentor escapes through Voyage. As Cat Noir heads to the Dupain-Cheng bakery at the advising of Max, Alya and Nino decide that the totally not useless Resistance should get involved.

While Marinette gives chase, Felix leads her into the school's art classroom, where he transforms into Argos and creates a Sentimonster using Kagami's ring. Felix and Kagami use the Sentimonster's power to do... uh... whatever the hell this is.

Yeah, this is basically a flashback, but the animators probably blew their budget needed for the new models on Ms. Bustier's baby bump, so we're getting this instead, thanks to the Sentimonster Argos created. There are several scenes of Cat Noir and Nightormentor interspersed, but like what I did with Marinette's flashback in “Derision”, I'll give you the summary before I talk about my problems with this.

When Adrien's mother and aunt, Emilie and Amelie, were born, Emilie (who was born seven seconds early) was trusted with the family heirlooms, the two rings we first saw all the way back in “Felix”. Even though this meant she would inherit the family name, Emilie didn't really like doing... whatever the Graham de Vanily family wanted her to do, but Amelie did. Eventually, while studying abroad, Emilie met Gabriel, and the two fell in love. Before marrying Gabriel, Emilie gave up her role as the sole inheritor of the Graham de Vanily family's vague legacy, while Amelie married a man named Colt to please her parents. Both couples wanted children, but it's heavily implied that Emilie and Amelie were infertile, so their wishes weren't able to come true. Emilie finally managed to get a bun in the oven thanks to the Peacock Miraculous, but this made Colt jealous that he couldn't have a child. Out of the goodness of her heart, Emilie asked Gabriel to give the Peacock Miraculous to Colt, in exchange for letting the Gorilla guard Adrien in the future. Using his own jealousy as a source of power, Colt got Amelie pregnant, though at the cost of his health. Colt figured this was the price he had to pay for using “sorcery”, and used this as an excuse to treat Felix like a monster and ordered him around using the ring containing his Amok. Felix himself was unaware that he wasn't human until Colt accidentally broke the ring (which wasn't one of the two wedding rings used to control Adrien and was an entirely different ring containing Felix's Amok), which he stole as soon as Colt died. This is meant to explain why Felix decided to steal back the Peacock Miraculous, in order to save his life. Felix later met Kagami, and the two explain that they need “Someone like Ladybug” to help them.

Now if your only information about this episode is through my summary, it seems simple enough. For everyone else who actually saw this sequence in the episode itself, I'm guessing your thoughts were about the same as mine.

Let's go over every problem I have with this scene, starting with...

#1: The Way Kagami and Felix Explain This

Let me just ask something: Why can't Felix just talk to Marinette about what he knows since he now knows she's Ladybug instead of telling her everything through this weird play? You can still tell Marinette all of this without your two-man show. In fact, why did Felix have to wait until he knew Marinette was Ladybug instead of just talking to her the next time he saw her? Yeah, you could argue it's easier this way, but like I've been saying since Season 4, Felix has had no excuse to wait this long to tell Ladybug about the fact that he knows who her greatest enemy is.

And why the hell is it presented this way? Why does Felix have to recontextualize the story of his family's history in the form of a play? Why turn it into a stereotypical fairy tale that leaves out the names of all the important people, like Emilie, Amelie, Colt (whose name I only learned through the transcript of this episode), and Gabriel? If it was like a hidden message Felix and Kagami wanted to convey to Marinette, that would make sense, but why do they have to be so cryptic when they're only putting this show on for one person? You could easily avoid a good chunk of the questions this raises if this was a show Felix and Kagami put on for the public that Marinette was able to learn the information from. Yeah, it still wouldn't explain why Felix can't just tell Marinette about who Gabriel really is, but at least it's something.

The way it all happens kind of reminds me of this scene from this old Halloween special I saw a lot as a kid, Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktacular. In that scene, some of the kids act out a scene of this little girl's parents entrusting her with a flashlight to explain why she carries it around, in order to scare off any monsters she runs into, using the graveyard they were in as a makeshift set. This scene works a lot more because it's done in more of a tongue-in-cheek way, with some of the kids breaking character to boost their own egos (for example, the kid playing the mom comments about how responsible she is), and how one kid in particular gradually gets fed up with the whole thing. The scene does its job at delivering exposition in a way that isn't meant to be taken too seriously, and it's clear this is being done by some kids goofing around in-universe.

With this episode, it's clear that the writers want the audience to take this whole backstory seriously in spite of how absurd it all is. Seriously look at this.

We are seriously expected to take this backstory seriously when it looks like some theater major's midterm project. The animators want it to look artsy and unique for the sake of making it look artsy and unique. Why does it look like a play these two put together themselves if they're supposedly using a Sentimonster's power to do it? If the unnamed Sentimonster's powers is how Marinette is seeing all this, why can't it actually be seen as a flashback? Was it always intended to be a handmade play that was changed to the product of a Sentimonster at the last minute?

I get that the animators probably wanted kids to pick up on the visuals of the play, but even then, it makes it hard to really stomach the serious themes this backstory brings up, like infertility and child abuse, with the way they're presented. Not only do Felix and Kagami all play the characters using these white jumpsuits and masks, they also do all the voices, meaning that the only “dialogue” we hear from Colt is delivered by Kagami putting on a deeper voice. Let me repeat that: the only times we hear Colt, the abusive parent and all around garbage human being, talk, it's done by a teenage girl trying to make her voice sound deeper.

But hey, maybe the goofy voice will be overshadowed by the nuanced depiction of child abuse, right? Right?

#2: The Portrayal of Colt and the Double Standards Regarding His Treatment of Felix

I have never seen a single show struggle this much to convey a lesson as simple as “Child abuse is bad”.

When it comes to the parents in this show, terrible parents like Gabriel, Audrey, and Tomoe are almost never held accountable for the way they treated their children. If the writers aren't claiming they really love their children deep down, they're either downplaying how cruel they are at best or playing their behavior for laughs at worst. But here we are, the penultimate episode of the fifth season, and we finally have a parent who is unambiguously treated as a terrible human being with no redeeming qualities... and I still have problems with this.

This flashback really goes out of its way to let the audience that Colt was a real piece of scum in life. He only wanted a child out of jealousy, used his Amok to force Felix to do whatever he wanted, was heavily implied to have physically beat him at times, and blamed him for his poor health on his deathbed when he was the one who wanted to use the Peacock in the first place. Now that I think about it, why did Colt even use the Peacock to create Felix instead of Emelie? Was the episode so determined to paint Colt as a bastard that he wanted to be the one to create Felix himself?

The point I'm trying to make is that the show doesn't really explain why Colt was like this. Why was he such an angry man who treated his only child like crap? I don't know, because all the show's telling me is that he was just a dick. He honestly feels more like a caricature than anything else. He's only as terrible of a person he is in order to make the audience sympathize with Felix. I'm not saying that what Felix went through was okay, but it has the same energy as scenes of Gabriel talking to Emilie's body. It's mostly there to make the audience sympathize with an antagonistic character in spite of all the things they've done.

What's really weird is that even though the whole point of this play is so Felix can tell Marinette Gabriel is Monarch, so what does Colt have to do with this? I'm not saying he's not worth mentioning, but it makes no sense for Felix to tell Marinette about his abusive father before he tells her about Gabriel. It feels more like Felix wants to find a way to excuse his actions before telling Marinette about Gabriel being Monarch. And remember when “Derision” made a big deal about Chloe's terrible parents not excusing her actions? Funny how that conveniently doesn't apply to Felix in this episode.

In fact, let's talk about the elephant in the room: The fact that this episode aired right after “Revolution”, an episode that literally said a character living under an abusive and controlling parent was a fitting punishment for her. HOW THE HELL IS THIS ANY DIFFERENT FROM THAT? If anything, this episode really shows the double standards this show has about child abuse, how the only way your situation can be taken seriously is if you're a “good victim”. Chloe's a “bad victim”, so she doesn't get any sympathy when her mother outright says she's going to take control of her life, yet when Colt actually takes control of Felix's life, we're supposed to sympathize with him now. Why am I supposed to feel bad for Felix now when you just told me I shouldn't feel bad for someone in a similar situation last episode?

In fact, one theory I have about this backstory is that it was intended to kill two birds with one stone, no pun intended. I believe that this episode wasn't just written to give us more insight into who Felix is as a character, but also to show the audience what “real” child abuse is like. As far as the show is concerned with Gabriel, Audrey, and Tomoe? They're not actually abusive parents, Colt is, so you should condemn his actions, and not those three. It's blatant double standards, which is nothing new for this show.

#3: The Way Amelie Just... Lets This All Happen

In my “Derision” review, I discussed how strange it was that so many people in Marinette's life did nothing to help her against Chloe, and the same thing applies here with Amelie.

This episode never really explains where Amelie was when Colt was abusing Felix, much less if she was even aware of it. At least with Marinette's parents, they didn't know because most of Marinette's suffering was at school. Amelie lives with Felix and Colt, so what's her excuse? She seriously didn't overhear Colt yelling at Felix or notice the orders Colt gave Felix? Was she just that ignorant to her child's suffering? Remember, this is supposed to be Felix's good parent.

In fact, does Amelie even know Felix is a Sentimonster? Yeah, “Emotion” established that Amelie knows Felix is Argos, but this episode doesn't really make it clear if she knows Felix is a Sentimonster or not. If it was clear Amelie knew nothing about what Felix really was, it would arguably make things easier to stomach, as she wouldn't know the power Colt had over him.

Instead, even though she's Felix's mother, the show doesn't really explain what she actually did when Colt was making Felix's life a living hell, especially since the flashback says that Amelie was forced to marry Colt, so you can't even say she was blinded by love here. Hell, I'm not even sure if Amelie knew the cause of Colt's untimely passing.

#4:This Doesn’t Really Do Much to Explain Felix’s Actions

Now before you say I'm being insensitive, let me make one thing clear: My issue isn't with the fact that this was done to get the audience to sympathize with Felix. The problem I have is that the backstory doesn't do enough to explain why Felix did the things he did.

Okay, Felix wants the Peacock Miraculous. Understandable, he doesn't want to die, so he has to do morally questionable things to preserve his life like betraying the only person capable of stopping the man who can kill him. What's less understandable is his plan to get the Peacock Miraculous from Gabriel. You'll notice that the backstory didn't mention Felix's first appearance, where he only stole the rings belonging to Amelie's family, and he didn't even think to look for the Peacock. Instead, it cuts from Felix realizing he's a Sentimonster to him striking a deal with Gabriel, not even mentioning that he gave Gabriel back one of the rings as part of the deal, which still makes no sense.

If Felix's goal from the start was to get the Peacock Miraculous, why did he bother stealing all of Marinette's Miraculous as a bargaining chip for the deal instead of the family ring? In fact, why did Felix even steal the ring and wait an entire season to trade it back to Gabriel for the Peacock a season later? And for someone who claims to care about Adrien, he really didn't see anything wrong with giving Gabriel one of the two rings capable of overriding his free will.

As a matter of fact, why the hell is Felix even so hostile towards Adrien? Why did he go out of his way to smear his reputation in his debut episode if all he wanted to do was make a bargain with Hawkmoth? In “Risk”, he mocked Adrien for how he talked, while Adrien himself was aware of how he made him look bad in front of his friends, and that's not even getting into how he made himself look like Adrien as part of his plan to betray Ladybug, which would have screwed him even more if Adrien wasn't already Cat Noir. For someone who claims he wants to protect him from Gabriel, Felix really doesn't care about his cousin all that much.

In fact, why does Felix even hate Gabriel at all? The show hinted that the two had a history, yet during the backstory, which I need to remind you, was told from Felix's perspective on the events, has a surprisingly generous portrayal of Gabriel. Did Felix know Gabriel was Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth/Monarch during his first appearance? Does Felix blame Gabriel for how Colt treated him growing up? Does Felix hate Gabriel for how he treats Adrien? Did Gabriel intend to get Colt sick in the first place? Seriously, what is Felix's deal with Gabriel?!

How does a flashback organized by Felix himself do nothing to really explain why he did the things he did?

#5: The Fact That There Are STILL Several Unanswered Questions Here

For something meant to fill the audience in on several important topics, there are still so many questions about the history of the Agreste and Graham de Vanily families.

Other than the vague backstory about them being rich, we still know nothing about Emilie and Amelie other than them being rich and possibly infertile. We don't know if Amelie ever loved Colt, if she knew he was abusing Felix, or if she even knew if he used the Peacock to play god.

On a related note, why did Emilie and Gabriel decide to use the Peacock Miraculous to create a son instead of adopting? Scratch that, why did she specifically create a Sentimonster to give birth to like a normal baby? Was there some kind of Macbeth-esque guideline that Emilie had to give birth to a child in order for said child to get the inheritance? Did she use the ring to control Adrien like Gabriel does now? Seriously, this is the character the show's conflict is all based around, and we still know nothing about her other than the fact that she was nice.

This flashback just makes no sense, and is such a stupid and confusing way to deliver exposition.

Anyway, during all this, Cat Noir and Nightormentor are fighting, and for the third time this season, Cat Noir attempts to Cataclysm him someone, even when he had Nightormentor pinned down. Nightormentor breaks free and hits Cat Noir with his magic dust, causing him to hallucinate... Cat Blanc?

Yeah, the script calls this form “Anticat”, but given how it looks like a reused Cat Blanc model coupled with the petrified people of Paris, this is clearly meant to bring Cat Blanc to mind. The problem is that NEITHER CAT NOIR OR NIGHTORMENTOR KNOW ABOUT THAT. Why would you remind audiences about an Akuma that technically never existed?

Better yet, is this what Cat Noir trying to his Cataclysm on people this past season (Destruction, Jubilation, Derision) has been building up to? The fear that he'll lose control? You could have fooled me, as he never really showed that much remorse for almost hurting people other than Monarch. Yeah, you could argue that because Nightormentor based his hallucinations off his victims' worst fears, but again, this fear had little to no buildup this season because Cat Noir never felt any guilt for Cataclysming Monarch after “Destruction”, and whenever tried to use his Cataclysm on other people, Cat Noir never really realized the weight of his actions. If you want to make a character arc about Cat Noir worrying about hurting people with his powers, go more into the guilt he feels for hurting Monarch and using that guilt to affect his actions. Don't just use some “Cat Blanc” nostalgia bait to convince the audience that there's been a character arc.

Nightormentor takes advantage of Cat Noir's emotional state to get his Miraculous, only for the Resistance to save Cat Noir by... throwing stuff at him. And this is how they defeat him. While Nino, Alya, Ivan, and Zoe distract Nightormentor, Kim and Max help Cat Noir focus, Cat Noir Cataclysms Nightormentor's baton.

Zoe traps the Akuma in a jar, Cat Noir doesn't take it, he heads off to detransform and confess to Marinette, only for the hallucination to still affect him since Ladybug didn't use Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage, and even though he knows it's just a hallucination, he still uses it as a reason to not reveal his identity to Marinette, even after Ladybug de-evilizes the Akuma herself.

The episode ends with Gabriel and Tomoe locking Adrien and Kagami in these white rooms while under heavy surveillance to ensure they won't escape, vowing to start “Operation: Perfect Alliance”. Because these two like using the word “perfect” more than they like subjecting their children to what one of my anons referred to as “white torture”.

Because that's a good way to keep your children under control: psychological torment.

Other than the stuff with Felix and Kagami, this episode was pretty dull.

There's just not much I can really say here. The plot was barebones, all Marinette did was listen to Felix and Kagami's story so the writers didn't have to involve any of them in the main conflict, and even Cat Noir confronting his akumatized father doesn't have a lot of weight to it because towards the end, it focuses more on Adrien's nightmare instead of his relationship with his father.

This episode is nothing more than a prologue for the final battle. It's only here to establish Adrien and Kagami's presence in London, Marinette learning Gabriel is Monarch, and even more setup for Gabriel and Tomoe's final plan. And trust me, the buildup will be far from worth it.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... FELIX

It's amazing. The only time this season Felix goes out of his way to actually help Ladybug, and he still screws it up. He abducted Kagami from her hotel in London without thinking of Tomoe hunting him down again when that was the entire plot of “Pretension”, only decided to tell Marinette he knows who Monarch is because he's getting in the way of his relationship with his girlfriend, did so in an unnecessarily convoluted way, and even though he made a big deal about not wanting to use Sentimonsters in his last appearance, he still used one to tell Marinette his life story instead of just saying “My uncle is Monarch”.

And if you think Felix will get a chance to truly redeem himself in the finale, think again, bucko. Other than a brief cameo, this is the last thing he'll do this season. Aren't you glad the writers made this character prominent for seven episodes over three seasons and did nothing else with him?

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #adrien agreste #cat noir #felix graham de vanily #argos #gabriel agreste #hawkmoth #hawk moth #monarch #nightormentor #kagami tsurugi #nathalie sancoeur #tomoe tsurugi #emilie agreste #amelie graham de vanily #colt fathom #Youtube

[darkwitch1999]

Miraculous Ladybug: When a De-Akumatized Villain Decides to Cuss Out Ladybug...

So this is a scene that is part of a chapter in my upcoming original Akuma fanfic "Icelator". When I wrote this part of the scene I had a specific scene from the Harley Quinn show in mind.....yeah. You'll know what I'm talking about if you have seen the show.

Warning: Contains strong language that I do not condone using. Reader discretion is advised.

So basically, this original Akuma, "Infernus", who got akumatized over a woman he used to date but then started stalking and threatening her because he is obsessed with her (If you guys thought "Stalkernette" was bad, this guy is a lot worse). He even willingly took Shadow Moth's akuma and fused it inside one of his silver earrings to get himself akumatized into "Infernus", which was pretty stupid to do if you ask me since his akumatization got caught on camera and now he is being charged with willingly aiding a terrorist along with the criminal harassment and communicating threats of harm charges. Anyway, after being de-akumatized and apprehended by the police, the former villain had a few choice words for the heroes...one in particular that shook all of Paris to it's core.

Ladybug and Chat Noir, both of whom were currently smiling and waving to the crowd of Parisians and media reporters who were either taking their pictures or recording them on video. Since the akumatized villain had already been defeated and was currently being taken into custody by the police, the superhero duo had a relaxed disposition and didn’t seem to mind having a few pictures or video recordings taken before they had to leave to de-transform.

“YOU THINK YOU HAVE WON, LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR?!?! DO YOU THINK THAT THIS IS OVER?!?! HAHAHAHA!!!!”

The sound of unstable laughter and ranting that was heard offscreen suddenly caused everyone’s attention, including the young heroes’, to shift towards the source. The camera swiftly panned to Nicolas Émile, who was restrained in handcuffs and struggling against the police as they tried to haul him away with much difficulty. Nicholas then faced the person who was recording the footage.

“Hey, you there with the glasses! You’re that bitch who runs that (*bleep*)ing Ladyblog, aren’t you?!” There was no response. “Yeah, I recognize that face of yours from that shitty blog! You like recording akumas, right?!?! You just LOVE to talk about Paris’s favorite heroes, don’t you?!?! Well, keep on recording, four-eyes! I’ll give ya something to spew about on that blog of yours!” Nicholas quickly turns his attention toward the two young superheroes, who were both slightly unnerved by the man’s deranged ranting. “Don’t think for a second that you two have won! You hear me?! This is NOT over! Léa Bellrose is MINE! Nothing will keep me from making her mine and mine alone FOREVER! And I will have my vengeance for anyone who stands in my way! Mark my words Lady Bitch, I will get you and your little mangy pet kitty, too! DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU MISERABLE LITTLE (*bleep*)!”

And it was that outburst of profanity that made the universe stand still. Loud gasps of shock followed up by collective murmurs from the crowd were heard from the video. There wasn’t a single soul in the crowd who wasn’t genuinely shocked at Nicholas’s use of THAT word, even Ladybug and Chat Noir, who have heard profanities being used against them before during previous akuma fights, couldn’t hide the looks of horror on their faces after hearing what Nicholas had just called Ladybug.

Meanwhile back in Marinette’s room, the kwamis, who had been gathered around their guardian’s computer to watch the broadcast while Marinette was packing her backpack for school, now wore the same looks of shock and horror as they had just heard the former akuma cuss out their guardian. Well, most of them except for one black and white kwami who appeared to be more confused than shocked.

“I’m not the only one who heard that, right?”

“No, Xuppu. We all heard it as well.”

“The audacity of that human! How dare he be so vulgar with our guardian?!”

“Such disrespect!”

“What a big meanie!”

“I oughta Clout that fire hazard!”

“No Roaar, you know that would be too dangeroussss! Though, I do undersssstand how you feel.”

“Um, why is everyone maaad? I don’t understand.”

Immediately, everyone turned their attention to the little goat kwami of Passion. The little black and white kwami had a confused look on her face, seemingly oblivious to the reason behind the outrage of her fellow kwami brothers and sisters. 

“What don’t you understand, Ziggy?” Asked Stompp, “Didn’t you hear what that rude human called Marrinette?”

Ziggy nodded her head. “Yes, you mean (*bleep*)?”

Everyone in the room gasped in shock when they heard their little kwami sister use the profane word. Even their guardian, who had been preoccupied with preparing for the school day, stopped what she was doing as soon as she heard the tiny goat kwami unintentionally cuss.

“WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!” Marrinette exclaimed.

Sass hastily flies over to Ziggy’s side. “Ziggy, you mussstn’t ssssay that word!”

Now Ziggy looked even more confused. “But I don’t understand what’s wrong with that word,” she said innocently, “I don’t know why everyone is upset that the bad maaan used that word because I don’t even know what it means.” 

“Oh, well then in that case, I shall explain!” Xuppu chimed in, “You see, the word is referring to a wo-…MMPH!”

Xuppu’s explanation was suddenly interrupted when Barkk quickly covered his mouth to silence the monkey kwami. “Don’t tell her what it literally means, doofus!” She scolded, “She doesn’t need to know about that stuff!”

“About what stuff?” The goat kwami asked, becoming more and more confused, “Oh, now I really don’t understand what all the fuss is about!”

#miraculous fanfic #miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #akumatized villains #ladybug fanfiction #ao3 stuff #ao3 writer #original akuma #ziggy kwami #miraculous kwamis #ml kwamis #harley quinn #harley quinn show #harley quinn animated series #reference #Infernus #original character #mlb oc #oc stuff #c word #dr psycho #dr. psycho reference #xuppu #stompp #marrinette dupain cheng #cat noir #adrien agreste #ml ladybug #goat miraculous #ziggy is too pure

[lomappreciationblog]

Legend of Mana Anime: Episode 7! (the biggest Mood Whiplash of all Time)

Okay, for every post here on out about each episode, I will link the episode I watched on Muse Asia's channel! So let me put that here.

For the rest of this post -

Spoiler Warning for Episode Seven: Diamond of the Legend of Mana anime, as well as the Lucky Clover quest and general plot lines in the Jumi Arc of the game!

I'm gonna be careful about the spoilers from here on out as we're in the middle of the story, so I'll put the rest of my thoughts under!

Mmm.

Boy oh boy.

I am mildly emotionally devastated. Just slightly.

And by that I mean I am having a hard time writing this post as it is.

I knew what the Lucky Clover quest leads up to but it still hurts TT_TT.

Esmeralda...

Okay, putting my tears back into my eyes and sweeping away the shattered fragments of my heart, let's start at the beginning!

I'm really happy the writers reference other one-off quests in the episode, and this time we have Summer Lovin' playing a part in the story, as well as the feud between the Diggers and the Pirate Penguins. Shiloh and Co. stop at Madora Beach since Esmeralda senses her sister's core nearby, and apart from finding a lot of crabs (they didn't squish them) they also find a penguin mom!

Valerie is the cutest and she deserves the whole world. And how neat, she actually is watching over the egg as a penguin does, keeping the egg between her feet.

They soften the separations scene between her and David in the anime, here it feels more like Valerie is more supportive of David's dreams of being a pirate, and she waits for him. And as a nice touch, Shiloh invites her to his home while she cares for her baby, which is possible in the game!

It's one of the most obscure achievements though, you have to crush all of the crabs on the beach to do it and it's very easy to miss them. I'm so proud of finally being able to do that in the HD version - and a tip, if you want to do this, it's much, much easier in the HD version too, since you can save and reload in the room previous to where the crabs are. Now go get Valerie and her baby!

Anyway, back to the anime, Valerie also helps out out heroes since she mentions Roger has a necklace with an emerald core on it. Roger is pretty nice too, he just wants Putty back and hands over the core with no fuss.

And heh, the Putty reveal is pretty funny. Especially when Putty stands up and Esmeralda and Serafina are just flabbergasted.

Oh, and props to David being a champ in this scene too, being nice to our heroes and helping out. It's a small role, but still feels good.

After this is a really nice travel sequence where we see the group moving through Luon Highway, the Jungle, and finally the Junkyard, where they find another one of Esmeralda's sisters. Aside from the absolute nostalgia rush of seeing all these place, the fact they're playing Song of Mana in the background is such a joy!

(and then the ending punted me back into the cold, cruel abyss, really cool)

Well, anyway, the reason why this episode is Diamonds? Pearl starts feeling weak and they make their way back to Geo to resupply and have Pearl rest.

There's a lot of ship tease between Shiloh and Serafina in this episode, and Serafina seems to want to say something to Shiloh but doesn't. Her behavior is a bit odd until the end of the episode, but I'll talk about it some more later.

Anyway, Esmeralda reports to Nunuzac offscreen and he advised her to go to Kristie's and inquire there about gems like her sister's cores, so she, Shiloh, and Elazul go. Pearl is still resting, while Serafina is absent, again for some reason.

Kristie is pretty cool too, and like in the game she offers to give Esmeralda the core if she needs it, since she knows Jumi cores bring bad luck. It might not be the most nice reason, but it's still great of her to just give it.

Esmeralda finds the core in the basement, and they finally find Diana, who's petrified there and is existing as a statue. Esmeralda talks with Diana and like in the game, Diana tells Esmeralda it's a hopeless case without Florina's healing tears. Esmeralda still strives to live as a Jumi, however, and clings onto the hope she can revive her sisters by her own efforts.

Elazul also steps in and asks Diana why couldn't the Jumi cry anymore, to which Diana responds by saying he should bring Lady Blackpearl, and then she'll tell him all the answers. There's a lot going on in this scene but it's really well done!

The fact that Shiloh is confused but recognizes Diana's name because Rubens mentioned it, Elazul quickly becoming uncomfortable and taciturn when Lady Blackpearl is brought up - it's really good, and as someone who knows the plot inside and out and knows why Elazul is is hiding something, it's just - gah! So good!

Also, Diana confirms Elazul is in fact a younger generation of Jumi, born after the Bejeweled City was already gone. Which isn't mentioned outright in the game if I remember correctly, but it's good to establish that fact in the anime.

Anyway, Elazul lies when he says he doesn't know where Blackpearl is, but neither Shiloh or Esmeralda pick up on it since they don't know much either. Only Elazul and Sandra knows the truth of Pearl's original identity, after all.

Anyway, they get out and discuss finding Blackpearl next, even though Elazul is still acting reluctant. Esmeralda insists on repaying the favor they did for her...

...while Serafina seems to be having trouble over something. They finally show her spear in this episode, but she doesn't pick it up and says "I'm sorry" before leaving her room. Which I'm very intrigued about - the anime has been hinting a long time Serafina has something going on she hasn't told anyone yet, and it's very fishy to me that so far, they haven't shown her fighting yet. I wonder why? I still feel like she might actually known Shiloh before.

But anyway, the episode ends with the most heartbreaking scene yet - on their way, Shiloh, Elazul and Esmeralda see Serafina ahead of them and Esmeralda runs to greet her. Gosh, I was screaming "NOOOOO" in my head the whole time.

Well, Serafina is actually Sandra, of course, and takes Esmeralda's core before anyone can do something about it. Unfortunately, I don't think Elazul is aware of Sandra's disguises, but Shiloh is.

Uggghghhhh the heartbreak in Esmeralda's face though before she disappears and nooooooo I wanted there to be more of her in the show...

This is going to be quite the sticky situation in the next episode though - Elazul thinks Serafina murdered Esmeralda, Shiloh probably knows otherwise, we don't know where the actual Serafina is, and Pearl is in danger, too. It's time for Cosmo in the next episode, I would think!

Now excuse me as I lie in a puddle of my tears. Gosh this episode's ending HURTS.

#legend of mana anime #Youtube

[thetalee]

Rewatching the first few episode of season 3 of 9-1-1, and I am reminded of all the Strong Opinions I have regarding it

First off: Buck was in the right re: the lawsuit, you can’t change my mind. The lawsuit was stupid, because he should have gone to the union instead, but he was in the right.

Secondly: Episode four, the one where he’s a fire marshal and meets Chase. On rewatching, there’s the implication that literally none of the 118 are talking to him, even before the lawsuit. Like, Chimney has drama w Maddie related to Doug, and he talks to Eddie about it. Eddie has problems with Chris’ nightmares, and he talks to Lena about it. There’s literally nothing to show that Buck even knew Chris was having problems before Eddie started yelling at him about it at the grocery store. Hell, Buck didn’t even know who Lena was when he saw her at the station, which you’d think Eddie would have mentioned her if they were talking.

(And can we all agree that dropping off the fire drill report in person was literally just an excuse to visit his friends?)

Literally the only person we know for a fact was talking to Buck outside of his role as a fire marshal was Athena, considering she was the one to invite him to dinner. So it’s no wonder he didn’t have problems with it when Chase advised him to not talk to any of them, not when if things were already radio silent.

(I mean, we can ASSUME he’s seen Christopher more than the once between the tsunami and the lawsuit, but...)

Thirdly: Following from the above, I imagine the offscreen moment where Buck was telling Chase everything he mentioned in the arbitration was less him giving evidence to use and more finally having someone willing to listen as he vented. Like, we know he can have the tendency to get on a tangent, that’s not just a fanfic trait.

Fourth: Buck’s leg was broken bad enough to require bone grafts and a rod, so it would have taken months for his leg to heal, for him to go through rehab, and then pass his recertification. That means the tsunami had to have happened in late September, like, very late September. Bosko’s ribs were broken during the tsunami, but she was back to active duty the next episode, and broken ribs take weeks to heal enough to allow that. Like, 3 to 6 weeks. And Buck is back to work on Halloween.

So that means, the lawsuit could not have lasted longer than a week, and that’s being generous.

Eddie threw a tantrum in the grocery store, punched a guy, and joined a fight club, because he wasn’t allowed to talk to Buck for a week. At most.

Fifth: The fact that Buck was the one who had to apologize to everyone, and no one apologized to him, is completely shitty.

#9-1-1 #9-1-1 fox #9-1-1 on fox

[turtle-paced]

A:tLA Re-Watch: Fine-Toothed Comb Edition

Well, not quite on the long weekend, but here’s the recap anyway.

Book 1, Chapter 6 - Imprisoned

(0:55) Previously, on Avatar, the Water Tribes know what it’s like to be stuck at the ass end of the world slowly dying, but Katara’s hope is actually inspiring and she and Sokka found the Avatar for a reason. It’s going to be a Katara-centric episode. The group is still heading to the North Pole, while Zuko continues chasing them.

(1:45) We’re out of the snow! It’s still winter (seeing as the next episode is titled ‘The Winter Solstice’), but yeah. No snow. At the very least, this area’s warm enough that snow isn’t an all-winter condition.

(2:02) This is what I mean by the show bringing up supplies when they’re an issue. Note that Sokka doesn’t actually know what any of these nuts are. He hasn’t spent enough time in the Earth Kingdom to know what’s edible.

(2:48) The character contrast in two nutshells. Aang and Katara run towards the loud booming noises in the forest, Sokka advises hanging back (but goes with the majority). Then, when they find Haru, Aang and Katara want to make friends, but Sokka says he looks dangerous so they should be cautious. It’s a joke, mostly at Sokka’s expense, but it’s also consistent characterisation that helps give Sokka an important role in the team even when he’s outshone by ridiculous amounts in the direct combat department. He thinks very differently in some ways to his sister and his friends. This is sometimes unhelpful and sometimes downright necessary for the characters collectively to succeed. Today is an unhelpful day.

(2:56) Upon seeing Katara, the practicing earthbender drops everything and runs, going so far as to block pursuit. No questions, no chances, just immediate flight. Weird reaction, hey?

(3:06) Aang says that Haru must be running somewhere. Like a village. Which should have a market. Like I said back in episode one, every main character is smart. Showing it in these tiny, low-stakes, incidental conversations makes it believeable when they do big, dramatic smart things.

(3:21) Pan over this Earth Kingdom village. It’s pretty different to Kyoshi Island, and honestly looks a fair bit more prosperous. Earthbending means this village has got a very neat-looking mine and that building a wall around town isn’t a big deal. Interestingly, most building here are made of wood, or at least significantly involve wood in their construction (lintels, structural beams, doors, floors, I think even the rooftops).

(3:40) We get Haru’s name here as Katara spots him and follows him into his mother’s store.

(3:55) As soon as Aang says ‘earthbending’, Haru’s mother slams the doors and windows closed. Until now, the gAang has only travelled in free territory. Scared, paranoid territory, but free territory. This episode is a quick and brutal look at life in an occupied Earth Kingdom village. There’s a lot of fear here.

(4:09) Right on cue, Fire Nation soldiers drop by. The taxes they’re collecting are extortionate and their schedule for payment is arbitrary. The occupying force is taking financially and using this as a terror tactic. This becomes more explicit as the soldier says “we wouldn’t want an accident, would we?” and creates a fireball in his hands.

(4:58) Love the worldbuilding on this show. Why’s the Fire Nation here? Sokka asks, and Haru’s mother has an answer. Turns out all those coal-fired ships the Fire Nation uses? They need coal. The village is being exploited for its natural resources, too.

(5:09) Katara asks why Haru doesn’t help fight back, as he so clearly wants to. Especially since it means not bending, which she says is part of who she is. Haru’s mother explains that Haru would be arrested and taken from the village for earthbending (hold on to the information that the walls and mine are clearly products of earthbending), just like Haru’s father was. So let’s add some deeply personal and cultural oppression to the list of things going on here.

It’s also a tough lesson that resisting the Fire Nation in places like this isn’t as simple as saying “fight back.” There are serious risks involved.

(5:43) More panning over Earth Kingdom scenery. Vegetable patches and a silo can be seen. Little visual touches to remind the viewer that these background characters were in this place before the story arrived there, and will continue on offscreen once the story leaves. It helps make the world feel real.

(6:08) Katara and Haru go off and bond. Katara apologises for accidentally bringing up any hurt related to Haru’s father, ‘cause she’s a good, considerate person.

(6:18) Haru tells Katara how brave his father was to resist the Fire Nation invasion, against what odds. After which Haru’s father was taken away, and his family haven’t seen him since. The only way Haru can feel close to his father is by practicing earthbending, which also puts him in danger.

The entire backstory here gets into the big issues - invasion, mass internment, cultural oppression - by linking it with the much smaller slice of life. Just Haru, missing his father.

(6:48) Katara gives the exposition on her necklace, the last memento she has of her mother. The conversation leaves off pretty brutally as well. “It’s not enough, is it?” “No.” And that’s it. There’s only acknowledgement of their mutual pains, not closure. There’s not enough. There’s a hole there that cannot be filled.

(7:05) As Katara and Haru head back, they pass the mine collapsing. What happens when an earthbender-produced mine has to operate without earthbenders? It seems very likely to me that earthbending is a major part of mining safety and maintenance in Avatar world, and the removal of earthbenders from town would logically result in more mine collapses and accidents.

(7:32) Haru bravely earthbends to rescue the old man from the mine collapse.

(7:59) One of the really nice things about Aang? He’s impressed by Katara’s accomplishments, even one as small as inspiring Haru to his own little rebellion.

(8:12) Sokka brings up that point from back in 1.04 that if they hang around a village (especially an occupied village) they’re going to be in trouble. They have to keep moving. Continuity! Learning the lessons of previous episodes!

(8:41) Fire Nation soldiers show up in the dead of night to arrest Haru for earthbending, on the information of the old Earth Kingdom man Haru saved. Informants and midnight arrests - it’s a freaking scary depiction of life under occupation. Not to mention the moral texture it brings to the series. The Fire Nation is inarguably wrong and oppressive. But that doesn’t make the people of the Earth Kingdom saints. Individuals have a range of responses to the Fire Nation, and here we see it’s up to and including willing collaboration with their oppressors. We’re never going to see this old man again. He never gets any on-screen comeuppance. He never gets told he was wrong. This is just a lesson for the main characters.

The show’s worked up to this idea, with the hostility of the Kyoshi Islanders and Bumi placing the gAang under arrest. Now it’s serious. The characters can’t assume that Earth Kingdom people will be on their side.

And this ultimately leads up to the point that this conflict isn’t about one nation being inherently bad and the others being inherently good. 

(8:56) Love to see some mundane uses of bending - in this case, Katara doesn’t bother actually pumping water, she just yanks it out of the pump.

(9:23) And a nice thing about Sokka - when he sees Katara is upset, he moves to comfort her physically. However, also notice what Sokka actually says. Part of his idea of comforting Katara is working on solutions to the external problem, working out what happened and what they might be able to do about it. It’s very pragmatic and not very touchy-feely. While it comes with the best of intentions, and Katara doesn’t even have to ask for Sokka’s support and assistance, you can see where Katara might want a friend who’s a little more emotionally supportive. Different people fill different roles.

(9:31) But on to the main event! Katara’s got a plan to break Haru out of Fire Nation prison. Thus far Katara’s been strong and capable, and particularly impressive in how she’s dealt with a grief-stricken Aang. This marks her first opportunity to take up the foremost heroic role in an episode. She’s making the plans, she’s driving the action, she’s saving the day. It starts with her getting arrested for earthbending.

(9:49) A team plan! Katara had the basic idea of using airbending to simulate earthbending, but it looks to me like Sokka did the actual engineering of finding the vents that connect, while Aang’s going to be doing the actual bending. This is also a classic example of how Sokka’s character development is going to go over the course of the series and the reason he’s such an important part of the team. He puts the details into the big ideas.

(9:55) And here’s Aang’s fun-loving, lighthearted nature shown as a flaw rather than a virtue (in a fairly comedic, low-ish stakes kind of way) before the serious long-term implications become most apparent in season three. He’s goofing off and not taking responsibility for his part in this plan. Later, when Aang doesn’t want to find a firebending teacher and doesn’t want to think about how he’s planning to deal with Ozai, that’s perfectly believeable. We’ve seen him skip out on small details, so we can believe Aang would skip out on the big ones.

Furthermore, in character and plot terms, the character trait that’s a minor hiccup in the plan this episode causes serious problems later, and yet remains an important strength in other episodes (and across those episodes in how Aang actually keeps moving forward). There’s nuance there in Aang’s character, and nuance in the plots that recognise that things aren’t usually as simple as ‘this character trait good, that character trait bad’.

(10:18) This entire scene gives me the giggles so bad, starting with this Fire Nation soldier’s bemused reaction. Earthbending style.

(11:17) The group exchanges a bunch of anxious looks. Despite the comic nature of the faked fight, they did just arrange for Katara to get arrested by the Fire Nation and hauled off to a prison for dissidents. This is serious stuff.

(11:30) Cut to a port, and Katara on a boat. Nobody seems surprised that the prison is offshore.

(12:15) Cameo from George Takei here, hamming it up.

(12:41) The faux affability of the welcoming is shown by the Warden’s willingness to use fire on a prisoner when the prisoner simply coughs. Followed by condemning the man to a week of solitary imprisonment. Also worth noting that the Warden is completely unfazed by the presence of a young teenager amongst the prisoners.

(13:05) The Warden helpfully points out that the rig is made entirely of metal, which earthbenders cannot affect with their powers. (At this point in the series.) It brings a pretty significant limitation of earthbending to the table in a series set just as their world’s industrial revolution is going global.

It’s also a good indication of how hard imprisoning a bender is. This rig must be absolutely brutal to live on, for the guards as well as the prisoners. It couldn’t have been cheap to build, either. I’ll come back to the topic of criminal justice and bending ability later in the series, but for now just keep in mind that prison for benders a) requires cruel conditions and b) is logistically burdensome to say the least.

(13:16) The Warden also describes earthbending as ‘brutish savagery’, so here’s some fire supremacy for you all! Again, the big thing - the Fire Nation taking over the world and thinking that’s okay - is reflected in the little thing, a Fire Nation character casually dismisssing any worth in earthbending (when we just a few minutes ago heard Haru speak about how important it was to his family bonds).

(13:47) Katara looks over the prisoners and sees a lot of people in absolute despair. Keep an eye out for female prisoners. I keep raising this background detail thing because it tells you how the writers and animators are thinking about the “normal” state of the world.

(13:52) A nice touch from a design standpoint is that Haru is about the only person wearing a deep, living green, rather than the prisoner brown/grey/very dried-out green combination.

(14:11) Haru did at least succeed in finding his father, Tyro.

(14:29) This exchange does nicely to set up Tyro as a kind individual whose sense of humour has not been totally eradicated by the situation he’s in.

(14:52) Tyro tells Katara that there’s no escape plan, only a survival plan.

(14:58) There are some female prisoners in this shot! Which is evidence of female earthbenders, even though we still don’t see very many in the rest of the series.

(15:14) Much like in town, Katara is reminded that things aren’t necessarily so simple as “fight back”. She’s talking to people who have been dealing with the Fire Nation, unsuccessfully, for years. What does fighting back look like to these people, after all this time? What do they stand to lose?

(15:21) I do love this exchange. Tyro says, “I’m sorry, but we’re powerless,” and Katara replies, “We’ll see about that.” What she wants and what she aims to achieve is to give the prisoners here their power back. She’s trying to help them to help themselves. Even though this speech doesn’t work. Very eloquent for an impromptu speech, too.

(16:44) Aang and Sokka arrive to provide backup.

(17:01) Katara refuses to leave the prison until she’s accomplished her objective. She emphasises that it’s the people she’s not giving up on. For all her character development over the series, this trait stays exactly the same, arguably the very core of her character.

(17:30) We get the split in group opinion again. Katara and Aang want to stay and help, Sokka wants to leave. Outvoted, and aware that he’s not going to overcome Katara’s stubbornness on this point, Sokka says they’d better hide.

(17:48) Two guards report an Appa sighting to the Warden. This is actually a really good drawback to the convenience of having a flying bison, narratively - he’s just not all that inconspicuous.

(18:06) The Warden throws a man overboard for questioning whether the difference between a flying bison or a flying buffalo is all that pertinent. Love this show. I’m also getting serious “do the tides command this ship?” vibe. Only less competent. Though the Warden does have the competence to get the core point that there’s something amiss, and orders a full search of the rig.

(18:42) Aang wishes he knew how to make a hurricane, because then the Warden would run away and the party could just take his keys. Now this is what people mean when they call Aang naive. Note that this wishful thinking from Aang doesn’t involve direct confrontation with the Warden. He wants the problem to go away. It’s not an issue with Aang’s intellect, it’s an issue with Aang’s psychology.

(18:53) Sokka wants to give the earthbenders some literal power. Some literal substance they can bend so that they can free themselves.

(19:08) It’s Aang who points out that earthbenders are able to bend coal, and the Fire Nation keeps coal on the rig. Naive, not stupid!

(19:22) Like I said, Sokka doesn’t often lead the way or deal with the party’s biggest ideas, but he is absolutely unmatched when it comes to making their goals into workable plans. As Katara asks Sokka “are you sure this is going to work?” we can be sure that the details here were Sokka’s doing. Moreover, he’s applied knowledge of vents he picked up earlier in the episode.

It’s also worth noting that Sokka was against staying to rescue the earthbenders and still put his all into coming up with a plan once he was outvoted. He works with Katara and Aang in good faith so that the disagreement doesn’t wreck their teamwork.

(20:02) Once again, Aang provides the muscle as he airbends some staggering quantities of coal onto the deck.

(20:22) Again, quite realistically, the earthbenders are hesitant to take the opportunity Katara’s just provided. The Warden underlines the point that it’s Katara’s inspirational words versus years of oppression and despair. Sure, that is the problem here. Katara tries, and she’s mocked by the villain for trying.

(20:59) But as the lump of coal crashes into the back of the Warden’s head, the show says that Katara was right and the Warden was wrong. Katara’s faith was not misplaced and her words and actions did make a difference here. Even if it sounded silly to start with.

(21:09) Love that the coal actually ignites when hit by fireblasts.

(21:25) Yes, we did see a female earthbender prisoner fighting back there! And I’m still pretty sure that this is one of the vanishingly few occasions we’ll see female earthbenders active in the background of the series.

(21:57) The earthbenders prioritise getting off the rig.

(22:05) Here’s Katara again. This is the first we see her actively participating in this skirmish. She hasn’t actually done much fighting - the point here was always what she could do to empower others to fight. She’s still got her necklace at this point. Notice also Aang’s creative use of airbending to propel small pieces of coal at the Fire Nation soldiers.

(22:33) The earthbenders steal a Fire Nation ship and head back to the mainland. Katara’s lost her necklace in this shot. Haru and Tyro spell out the effect of Katara’s actions.

(23:04) Tyro declares his intention to take back all their villages, which tells us that the prisoners were not from just one place. They must have been brought in from several towns and villages in the general area. Looks like the gAang’s leaving some insurgents behind them, right in Ozai’s coal supply.

(23:26) Haru thanks Katara for her help with that small thing of returning his dad for him, and wishes he could do the same for her. She also realises that she’s lost her mother’s necklace at this point.

(23:35) And who should pick it up but Zuko, who we haven’t seen for almost two whole episodes. Presumably he’s followed a report of Avatar-based shenanigans, and he’s got real sharp eyes to pick out the one Water Tribe thing in all this.

#a:tla #fine toothed comb edition

[mst3kproject]

The River of the Giant Alligator

A bunch of Italians pretending they’re not Italian in a movie about a guy who chose the wrong place to build a hotel… it’s like Avalanche by way of Devil Fish, with an alligator.  And racism.  You can’t have a 70’s Italian jungle movie without the racism, and this one layers it on real thick.  I think The River of the Giant Alligator has its MST3K bases covered.

Rich Asshole Joshua has opened Paradise House, a resort in the middle of the ‘virgin jungle’.  He proudly tells visitors that not only has he left the surrounding ecosystem undamaged, but he’s helping the local people by giving them jobs and improving their standard of living.  Naturally it’s not as simple as that.  Trouble begins when Sheena, the model they brought for their advertising photographs (just for a dash of Killer Fish), vanishes overnight.  Photographer Daniel and hotel manager Ally go to the locals looking for her, and are told that the River God has awakened and intends to drive the white people away by assuming the form of a giant crocodile and eating them all.  Considering how mind-bogglingly stupid the tourists in this movie are, that should take all of twenty minutes.

The locals, who call themselves the Kuma, have a name for their River God but it’s pronounced five different ways and I won’t guess how to spell it.  Because of the deep breathing sounds that presage its first appearance, I shall call the creature Darth Gator.

Let’s get the basics out of the way first.  The whole movie is dubbed and the voice actors are bad. The Darth Gator prop is completely immobile but they mostly keep it in the dark or in really tight shots so we don’t notice… it’s only the occasional ill-advised wide shot where it’s obviously fake enough to be funny.  There’s a spiky fence that exists mostly so that people can get impaled on it and a cloying little kid for no reason whatsoever.  The ‘wildlife’ is a stock footage smorgasbord that includes orangutans and hippos on the same river.  The worst effect in the film is a terrible miniature shot of the hotel on fire, which would have looked just fine if the people involved hadn’t forgotten that flames don’t scale.

So all that sucks, but is fairly harmless.  Now let’s talk about the racism.

We’ll start with the movie’s treatment of its two ‘love stories’, and I use the floating commas because neither of them quite qualifies. Daniel and Ally are the main ‘couple’ of the movie.  The camera lingers on each of them to show that he thinks she’s beautiful and she thinks he’s rugged, and they spend the whole movie hanging out on balconies and boats together and discussing whether the resort is good or bad for the local people… but they never get so much as a kiss.  This is kind of nice, actually, because there’s very little time to stop and make out when you’re being chased by a large carnivorous reptile.  It does, however, make for a hell of a contrast between them and the other ‘couple’ we see.

This is the model, Sheena, and her Kuma boyfriend. I am unclear on where this movie is set (the closest we get to a clue is Ally referring to the area as ‘the Orient’, which could honestly mean anything) but it’s perfectly clear that the reason they hired a black woman for their publicity photos is to make the place look ‘exotic’.  There’s a weird moment when Joshua attempts to flirt with Sheena by telling her, “it occurs to me that Eve herself may have been black”, which… yes, that is how human evolution worked, what about it?  All that aside, at the end of the day, Sheena runs off for a romantic evening with one of the tribesmen.  We never see her talk to this guy or have any clue what made her pick him over any of the others.  They just go fuck on a beach and then get eaten by an alligator.

So… we have blonde, blue-eyed white people having a perfectly chaste, wait-for-marriage love affair in which they actually get to know each other… and black people who run off with a stranger and screw out in the open like animals.  Holy shit.  I want to say I hope this wasn’t something the film-makers actively thought about, but it might be worse if they didn’t.  Naturally, this is also a version of the ‘people who have premarital sex must die’ trope from slasher movies, and the movie makes doubly sure we know this is Bad Behaviour by having Ally remark that the Kuma are forbidden from visiting ‘the Island of Love’ on the full moon.

The deaths of Sheena and Nameless Kuma Guy also begin a pattern that lasts almost the entire movie.  Even though we’re told, repeatedly, that Darth Gator wants to drive the white people out of his jungle, for the vast majority of the running time it’s the brown people who are getting chomped.  We’re told that twelve white missionaries came here years ago and Darth Gator ate all but one of them, who then became a crazy jungle man (not gonna lie, Father Jonathan was my favourite character and I wish we’d seen more of him).  We see Sheena, her boyfriend, and the boyfriend’s brother get eaten alive.  Furthermore, most of the white deaths in the movie are at the hands of the Kuma, who run in and kill the tourists with spears and fire arrows in the belief that they’re doing their god’s bidding, and much of this happens offscreen. Those hit by the arrows quickly fall into the water and vanish from sight.  The only time the camera lingers on a white person dying is Joshua, who I guess they think deserved it.  The impression one gets is that white death is a horror better implied than shown, while brown death is a spectacle.  Again… holy shit.

The River of the Giant Alligator can’t seem to decide what we’re supposed to think about the Kuma people.  Early in the film they’re portrayed as victims.  These foreigners have invaded their land and built this giant hotel, and claimed to be helping them by giving them ‘work’. Ally notes that they’ll be able to live longer, healthier lives, but Daniel wonders if it’s worth it when they’ve basically become Joshua’s slaves.  The movie leaves this question hanging there without exploring it any further. When Daniel and Ally come looking for information about the alligator attacks, the Kuma direct them to Father Jonathan, knowing they’re more likely to believe a white man, even one who’s obviously not quite all there.  The movie really wants to be about the exploitation of indigenous peoples, treated as decorations and curiosities by white tourists.

The problem is, it wants to eat that cake, too.  By the end of the story, the Kuma have devolved into stock savages.  They attack the hotel and kill everybody, and kidnap Ally so they can tie her to a horizontal King Kong contraption as a sacrifice. The ending just makes it all the more confusing, as they turn up to discover that their god has been blown to bloody chunks after biting into a van full of explosives, and they cheer and they just leave.  Is it really that easy to kill a god?  Won’t a dead god demand vengeance anyway?  Does this mean they actually like the white people after all, and were only angry because Darth Gator was eating them?

The ending also muddles the movie’s other point, about the nature of eco-tourism.  One of the selling points of Paradise House is that it’s in the middle of virgin jungle.  Joshua brags about how he’s left the surrounding ecosystem untouched – but then we cut straight to trees being cleared using dynamite, and later we see live piglets being thrown into the river to keep the crocodiles hanging around so people can gawk at them.  You can’t build a hotel in the middle of a place and then call it ‘virgin jungle’.  You’re the one who violated it!

The script is a little unclear on whether Darth Gator is a natural or supernatural threat.  Ally and Daniel insist that it’s no mere alligator (I don’t think this movie knows the difference between crocodiles and alligators any better than I do) and Father Jonathan seems to believe it’s the Devil Himself, but it certainly dies like a flesh-and-blood creature.  Whatever its nature, it’s clear enough that Darth Gator represents the jungle striking back at these intruders to drive them out.  The Kuma literally say as much.  So what are we to take from the fact that it dies at the end?  Have we won the right to destroy the forest by killing its guardian?  I don’t believe the people who make these movies think this stuff through.

I can tell that we’re supposed to hate the tourists, and we do, although not always for the reasons the movie wants us to. Minnow, the red-haired little girl who ‘only likes to play with boys’, tries so hard to be Adorable that you want to punt her across the room.  Her mother leaves her to wander around the hotel alone, because Mummy’s got a smarmy mustached boyfriend to bang (even this relationship gets more attention than Sheena and Unnamed Kuma Guy, by the way… we are told that Mummy and Mustache have met before, and are here mostly to see each other rather than the jungle).  Other notable annoyances include a lady who seems perfectly sane until she starts talking about the aliens, and a guy who loves to complain about Youth These Days and will seize any opportunity to do so.

I kinda wanna gripe about these obnoxious characters, but I don’t feel like I can.  You may recall that I spent a month stuck on a cruise ship earlier this year.  I can tell you definitively that these people do exist, and I hate them even more in real life.

Man, this could have been a fun monster movie.  I’ve seen movies about man-eating crocodiles (or alligators… does it honestly matter that much?) that I really enjoyed.  Primeval wasn’t even that bad – it was about how humans are more monstrous than anything nature can produce.  Lake Placid had that immortal bit where Betty White says if I had a dick, this is where I’d tell you to suck it.  The River of the Great Alligator is just boring bullshit and things that seem kinda racist on the surface but then you think about them a little longer and realize they’re incredibly racist.  I went into this one hoping to like it, but it absolutely pissed on the last shreds of my optimism... like a lot of other things in 2020.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #the river of the great alligator #the great alligator #fuck this movie #fuck it so much #70s

[backintheblackparade]

NCIS SPOILER ALERT/TRIGGER WARNING:

I know NCIS has been going downhill for a long time, but this is just... beyond horrible. So far in the last few episodes, we’ve had character departure, been blindsided by the offscreen COVID death of a young mother which widowed one of the title sequence characters, and an OD death of a character who has been on the show since she was a small child. These are awful writing and examples of the horrid trend of the endless slog of gritty grimdark television that plagues our screens in the current era. However, when I walked in on my parents watching the newest episode, innocuously called “Watchdog”, I honestly don’t think I’ve been more horrified by a sequence of prime time television in my life.

TW: It began with characters finding a dog in the woods who had been shot. It was brought to the vet, where it was discovered that the same gun had been used to shoot two other dogs on the same day, both of whom did not survive surgery. Bad enough, but the vet threw out an offhand comment that the recently-deceased dogs were discovered by boyscouts hiking in the woods. So the writers just... decided to traumatize some children for kicks??? It wasn’t even really relevant to the case to have them be the ones that made the discovery! Then, one of the most heinous things I’ve ever seen, like, straight out of a horror movie.

☠️Gibbs goes to investigate a scene, and after speaking to a red-herring elderly (dog owning) neighbor, he finds a suspicious rope sticking out of a shallow pond. He pulls and pulls it up out of the pond as the elderly woman watches. Then, the line “is that a dog kennel?”

It was. And it was full of a bloated dog corpse that had been clearly drowned alive in its cage. It was graphic and horrific. The elderly bystander started crying in horror. (I almost threw up)☠️

Body gross outs and nightmare-inducing causes of death at not quite new to NCIS, but they usually use them sparingly, and give the victims and other characters time to accept the gravity of events in solemnity. These, however, are one-after-the-other senseless and triggering deaths/events in all directions for seemingly nothing. To write off Gibbs? Make him snap? To find an offender who’s so much of a sick bastard Gibbs doesn’t regret beating him up? You don’t need to do this. This is graphic and awful and bad and over the line. I don’t think I’ll be able to watch the show again without thinking of this.

TLDR: NCIS has been in the shitter for a while, but at this point it’s so far over the line you are advised not to watch to spare your own mental health.

#NCIS #Watchdog #trigger warning #trigger warning: animal death #trigger warning: COVID-19 #trigger warning: overdose #god why #just #WHY

[emetophobiahelp]

The Sopranos

Masterlist of warnings below the cut

Season 1 S1E1: In a chase scene with Tony and Christopher, you see Tony chasing a guy down with Christopher and Christopher bending over, presumably sick, though only the posture is visible (and nothing heard) S1E5: Mentions throughout of Meadow feeling n* from drinks but nothing seen or heard. After mentioning AJ would be sleeping over with a friend, Father Phil goes to the restroom and v*. Audio only. S1E7: The kids break in and drink wine. During basketball, one of the kids holds their stomach and runs off camera g* to v*. Audio only. S1E8: When digging up the body Georgie says he’s going to p* then runs off to do it. Audio only, you do see him in the background hunched over with nothing visual aside from posture. S1E12 After someone blocking an assassination attempt goes into a donut shop and walks back out, it abruptly cuts to a visual and audio scene of Junior v* from the backseat of a car. Season 2 S2E3: Walking into the kitchen at the beginning to collect Meadow there’s a girl on the floor v* into a trashcan. Audio only, heard before you see her. Mute when he walks into the house if sound is triggering. Audio continues until scene changes to Tony in the car. When Janice gets the mail and walks inside the home later, it pans to v* on the walls and floor from the party. Safe to look when you hear the door shut as she leaves. Later on you see Meadow cleaning the mess (only soap on the floor) and g*/coughing as she does so. S2E13: All scenes are audio only. Tony clutches his stomach after a bad dream and rushes to the bathroom to v*. You do see him moving to bend over the toilet. Second time is waking up after the threat of being made to eat something. You see him rushing from the bed and hear v* offscreen. Third time is when Artie goes upstairs to talk with Tony. You see him rush from the bed to the bathroom and v*. He does crawl off the bed at one point to be sick again with them helping walk him. Though he coughs and sputters it ends before anythingi s heard. At Pussy’s place Tony grabs his stomach and rushes to the bathroom but there’s no audio. When Tony goes back up to the top of the boat where Sylvio is, he sees Sylvio clutching his stomach by the back of the boat. Mentions n* but nothing happens. If d* is a trigger be advised that every time he v* he also has gas and it’s a frequent sound effect during all the dreams. Season 3 S3E5: Possible Trigger. Bobby Sr. has lung cancer and does deep, hacking coughs, occasionally with blood. Off and on throughout his scenes. S3E7: After Paulie tells Tony nothing will happen once Adriana and Chris are married, he holds his hands up in defeat and he and Tony walk offscreen. It immediately cuts to Junior being pulled back from over the toilet with a gasp. At the end of the scene Junior says batter up and is carried back offscreen to v* again. You hear audio as it shows Tony but nothing is seen. Season 4 S4E2: After telling Adrianna she could be in trouble for bringing someone to family dinner with Tony, mute or look away for the next 15 seconds. She will say “oh my god” and immediately v* (very graphic audio and visual). V* remains on surfaces until the scene ends. Safe when the scene changes to the doorbell ringing and only missed dialogue is calling for a wastebasket. S4E6: There’s a scene transition from Artie to a far away shot of Chris and someone else (Eddie). As soon as it closes in and the music has started, Eddie leans forward from the front of the toilet and begins v* for the next seven seconds. Audio and visual. Safe visual when it shows Christopher looking in the mirror with some background coughing. S4E9: Tony gets into a fight in the kitchen. When it’s over, he g*, covers his face with his arm, g* again and v* brielfy (audio and visual) before going half offscreen to v* in a kitchen sink (you see his back half only). Safe when you hear the water running. S4E12: You get a few seconds of warning. Tony apologizes for the mess in the limousine (implied only) and Furio mentions how Brian v*. He’s helped to the helicopter and as he walks towards the camera he bends forward and v*. Full visual, very light audio. Safe when Tony calls him “old faithful.” Unsafe again when Tony yells something while urinating with Furio. Furio looks at the spinning rotor and then back to see Brian once again v* repeatedly by the copter. Again slight audio, full visual, about three seconds. Season 5 S5E1: Slight choking during lunch at a golf club as someone suffers a stroke. Person is hit with a brick and collapses, seizing for a long time until they are ultimately killed. There are choking noises during the seizure that might be distressing. S5E4: After a friend says “where’s the patient” it cuts to someone passed out with v* visible on the toilet. S5E5: A running theme of this episode is Adriana developing and being diagnosed with IBS. Nothing explicit seen or heard but frequent mentions/scenes of her being distressed and people discussing her having d*. S5E9: A joke during work on the construction site doesn’t go over well, prompting Finn to look visibly n*. Cuts away before anything is shown, but cuts back to Felicia over him as he’s bent over, again visibly looking n*. There’s a final shot close up on them but again, nothing explicitly shown. S5E11: A scene at the therapists leads to a joke about the Honeymooners (One of these days Alice). Tony spits out a mouthful of water in amusement. Tony tries to shoot a coach in the dream and makes some potentially triggering sounds as the bullets melt. Season 6 S6E1: Opening scene: In the car Agent Harris starts coughing and they pull over. Car door opens and he leans out to v*, audio and visual. When Barbara calls Tony about needing to leave Junior, after Tony tells her “go, go” it cuts back to Barbara and Junior v* in the background. Audio until it cuts back to Tony, Junior has a handkerchief so no real visual. S6E2: Scene change from helicopter lights bearing down to someone on a hospital bed pulling their breathing tube out in confusion, making several g* noises as they do so. Can be triggering. S6E4: Talking to Paulie, Tony v*. Audio and visual. There’s little warning so when Paulie says he’s “just repeating what Phil told him,” mute and/or look away. You miss Tony saying that they better understand their obligation (he v* on himself almost immediately after saying obligation). S6E5: Episode ending with very slight spoilers. Tony fights with Perry and leaves him on the floor. You only miss him smiling so I’d strongly advise ending the episode after you see Perry on the floor. If you want details: When it cuts from Perry to Tony in the bathroom, he rushes to the front of the screen and v* graphically and with audio into the toilet. Wiki says it’s blood and while I partially agree, there’s more than blood so be warned. There’s an overhead audio as he continues, he moves back to the sink to wash up and smile at himself before moving back to the same front view as he runs back and v* all over again, the episode ending to the sounds of him continuing to v*. S6E8: Tony picks up AJ (you’ll know the scene) and AJ v* almost immediately after Tony says, “you gotta grow up, you’re not a kid anymore. You gotta grow up.” Audio and visual for the next twenty seconds. Look away after he says you’re not a kid anymore because it’s a very quick cut from his last line to v*. S6E9: Chris discusses business in the car with Corky. Audio cues work better for this one. The conversation lulls and music takes over: “Sometimes I think about Saturday’s child And all about the times when we were running wild I’ve been out searching for the dolphins in the sea” When the “I’ve been searching” line starts it will pan to the back of Chris’ car and then around to the driver’s side where he has his head hanging out, v* a moment later before the line finishes being sung. Visual and audio despite the music. Safe ten seconds later. S6E12: Julianna crawls away from the couch where she’d been cuddling with her lover and towards the camera to grab a small trash can and v* into it. Dark lighting so slight visual, light audio. Audio is over once the scene changes. S6E18: A wreck happens and when the passenger moves around to break the window and help the driver, the driver v*/coughs blood (only) a few times. The driver chokes and makes distressing noises with all the blood. There’s very little warning on the next instance. Tony takes peyote with a friend and continues on with the person. I give it 20 seconds before you need to mute and/or look away. As soon as light flashes indicating a scene change Tony is going into a bathroom and v* graphically and with audio. From the moment he takes the peyote and the bottle hits the table with a clunk you can safely skip the next minute and miss it. It’s safe again when he’s sitting back and looking up at the light. S6E21: A woman cries out in surprise and abandons her car (with two babies inside). The car starts to move on its own and runs over someone - almost immediately after, it cuts from a crowd to someone shouting, “oh shit!” and then back to the crowd where a person leans over and v* with audio and visual.

#the sopranos #masterpost #submission

[spacebabe51]

Thoughts on 1991 Dark Shadows

You guys asked for it, but I warn you, I'm stupid long winded. I’ll spare you the long intro I was originally gonna tack onto this post because it’s already way too long. Basically this is just my thoughts on Barnabas, Victoria, Willie and Julia and why and where I think they fail to capture the audience’s attention.

So let’s start in the obvious place; Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins. Now. I have a lot of sympathy for pretty much anyone who tries to take on this role: Jonathan Frid just has this unhatable quality to him, which makes the ill-advised nonsensical hypocritical B.S. that spurts from the character of Barnabas Collins like a fountainhead somehow forgivable. It would be really hard to give this role to anyone and maintain that odd mix of unlikeable and endearing. Ok, now that I’ve said that I can say this: I don’t like him. I don’t like this Barnabas.

      It’s not because he’s young; I understand why that choice keeps getting made, although I disagree that it’s essential. The original show does go in narrative circles pretending that Frid/Barnabas is much younger than he looks or just avoiding the subject altogether. A young actor can play Barnabas; a hot actor can even play Barnabas; and I’ll grin and bear it as long as he’s entertaining. Cross is not entertaining. I don’t know if it’s fear of doing something wrong or if he watched the original Dark Shadows and saw Frid hamming it clutching a rubber bat to his throat and said “couldn’t be me”, but he will not emote and it absolutely kills the character for me. Barnabas is a lot of things in his first few episodes on the show. He’s suave, he’s scared, he’s unhinged, he’s mournful, he’s triumphant, he’s cruel...but one thing he never is is boring. Even when he’s standing around looking off into nothing and reciting long verses of meaningless prose, we’re engaged. Frid, after all, was a trained Shakespearean actor. Staring into nothing and reciting prose is what he’s best at.

Another thing Frid is is visually nervous; he was out of his depth on a vampire soap opera as well as constantly at a loss to remember his lines, and it shows; in ways that somehow endearingly make the character seem lost and out of his depth in a new time and in a fate he doesn't enjoy. All Cross ever really shows us is suaveness; stillness, and a vaguely constipated expression. He isn’t nervous. He seems calculated. It makes scenes like the one near the end of the pilot way more terrifying. He goes from telling Vicky the story of Josette and Barnabas’ love and her death to savagely beating Willie with nearly the same facial expression and inflection; he comes across as a cold blooded sociopath more than an unhinged impulsive killer. There isn’t much humanity to him, and that makes him hard to root for, either as a villain or a sympathetic monster. 

Joanna Going’s Victoria Winters:

 Hey, what a surprise! I actually don’t hate her. At least, I didn’t at first. Now, Vicky is a fairly easy character to cast- because let’s face it, she’s a pretty textbook example of a gothic romance protagonist. You know, the kind that are always running away from houses on book covers?

         But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to find someone the audience will connect with and like. The protagonist needs to be a little something more than a blank slate, which is something the original character suffered with, (not in the first season, but in every subsequent one) Going’s Victoria seemed at least a smidgen more self-aware and spunky(?), which is refreshing. Or, at least, I thought. And then episode three came along and suddenly she was 100% on board with Barnabas’ gross stiff romance. So never mind, scratch all that. The actress is fine for the character, but the character is still being sold a bill of goods by the writers. 

Jim Fyfe’s Willie Loomis  

 Let’s get to the real meat of it, shall we?  I have to first say that I am probably not qualified to talk about this, being fairly neurotypical and knowing little about the state of representation in the media for intellectually disabled individuals. Secondly, I have to say that I have at least some respect for Fyfe for being one of the few people to go against the grain and actually act on this show, and he is slightly less boring to watch than a lot of the others, if...not in a pleasant way. In any case I don’t think we can blame what I’m about to talk about on his acting per say.

       That said...uh...there were some, ahem, bad choices made in terms of Willie’s character. And yes, of course I'm talking about coding him as intellectually challenged and then treating it like a joke, or a character flaw (?). In fact the more I think about it, the worse it gets. Now this is just conjecture, but the choice to cast Willie as conventionally unattractive and intellectually challenged, in order to, I guess, justify or explain the dislike everyone has for him, is incredibly bad for any goodwill the show already isn’t trying to establish among the rest of it’s main cast. Karlen’s Willie, by comparison, is set up as a scumbag from long before Barnabas arrives. He harrasses women, steals, lies, starts fights; etc. Even in the “House” movie, we get a few seconds of him being gross towards Maggie to imply this is normal behavior from him. The most we see Fyfe’s Willie do is be kind of surly and annoying at a bar where he’s already been denied service. He seems more like a guy who isn’t good at social cues, and who is just genuinely sick of being pushed around for no good reason. If Dark Shadows had for some reason decided it wanted to do a story about inequality and social stigma in the midst of it's vampire fever dream, then fine, but that's not what this is; It’s almost like the show wanted to rely on his looks and supposed “mental insufficiency” to make the audience dislike him. He seems more like Collinsport’s long time scapegoat than a drifter who came into town to start trouble, and combining that with the coding paints a very dark picture and makes the already emotionless Collins’ family seem pretty terrible. (and I won’t even go into the whole “Barnabas beats Willie and then two episodes later they’re best friends” thing here because there aren’t enough expletives in the world for it) ALSO also, and this is nit-picky, I have a problem with the fact that Fyfe can’t pick an accent. Sometimes he seems to be trying to imitate Karlen’s Booklynese, sometimes he sounds vaguely Southern, sometimes he sounds like he’s trying to impersonate Goofy...it’s very distracting. Not more distracting than all the other terrible things, but distracting. 

Barnabas Steele’s Julia Hoffman: As anyone who follows me knows, I sort of worship Grayson Hall, so I almost feel bad saying I don’t like someone in this role, because, duh. For me, there will only ever be one Julia Hoffman. Is that gonna stop me from saying it? Hell no.

 Steele’s Julia suffers from nearly the exact flaw Cross’ Barnabas does; an inability or unwillingness to emote in any fashion. Add on, however, a nauseating lack of chemistry with any of the other actors, and you have a recipe for eyes glazing over by act two. I think, honestly, the biggest flaw of trying to recast this show is this; Dark Shadows is, essentially, a play. It was a troupe of mainly theater actors, working in close proximity, live, on a shabby theater-like set. When you strip away those elements and add in true soap opera people and plots and camera angles, you lose that magical experimental, campy, electric element the original had. I know I’m talking more vaguely about the show now and less about Steele’s Julia, but honestly there's not much to say about her? She doesn’t come across as particularly clever, or bold, or any of the things that made us root for Julia when we were pretty sure she was on the fast track to getting killed her first few weeks. She just sort of meanders through plot points and talks like she’s controlling a ventriloquist dummy somewhere offscreen. She’s not interesting, and when it comes to Julia Hoffman, psychiatrist, blood specialist, hypnotist, fake historian, etc, that’s the worst thing she can be. 

If you've read this far, thank you! I would love to hear you guys' thoughts, whether you agree or disagree or think I missed the mark entirely. I'm only on episode 6: I'm going to continue watching, purely out of obligation since they're taking the show off Amazon Prime at the end of the month, and I may make some memes/follow up posts when we get to Angelique, 1795, etc.

#dark shadows #ds #dark shadows 1991 #91 dark shadows #barnabas collins #ben cross #jonathan frid #Victoria winters #Vicky winters #Joanna going #alexandra moltke #willie loomis #jim fyfe #john karlen #Julia hoffman #dr Julia hoffman #Barbara steele #grayson hall #dan curtis

[dgcatanisiri]

I wanna be a billionaire so I can throw money at BiowareEA and tell them to rewrite and remake Inquisition so it's not awful

Ditto and same.

Like, there are some really GOOD ideas in Inquisition. But between not exploring them enough and being... VERY white privilege imperialistic about some really delicate details, trying to do so much at once... Yeah, there’s just way too much HAPPENING here to give the thoughts and ideas going on here their due.

Like... The Breach and Corypheus, the Mage-Templar War, the Orlesian Civil War, and Solas are the major plot points that everything comes down to (Yes, I’m cutting out the Wardens - the demon army counts for the Corypheus plot and the Wardens could literally be any random doomsday cult). So instead of doing EVERYTHING, pick two, my vote being the two separate wars waging at the same time.

The Mage-Templar War has been building and building since Origins. This was an inevitability we were always going to have to deal with. You cannot lock people away in prisons for their entire lives and not expect that to blow up. This was where DA2 hinged its major endgame plot points on, it needed follow up. Instead, it’s almost entirely offscreen, barring the skirmish between extremists that supposedly both sides had washed their hands off when we first go to the Hinterlands, and gets superseded by ‘hey Tevinter/hey Envy demon, and oh look, the side you didn’t go to is now working for the big bad.’ 

Like... What was even the POINT of all this, if the end result is such a non-event? The Mage-Templar War began because of systematic problems that need to be addressed. The biggest challenge here is how this is something that could literally change the landscape of Thedas, and the practical reality element of resolving it and still continuing this universe kicks in.

Which is easily solved by NOT having us play the Inquisitor - instead of being the Admiral, make our PC the Captain. Instead of Starfleet Command, we’re Captain Kirk. Hell, make that our background variations - depending on class, maybe, we take on the role of a different adviser, maybe, where we’re in a position where we get a voice, but the leaders are still making the final decision, and there are other advisers giving other opinions. We can push things in different directions, but we don’t get the final say. Make “the Inquisitor” a character who is not there to fight directly. 

It’s imperfect but... Like, this is the problem with writing an ongoing universe, the toys have to go back on the shelf in a certain order or we’ll never get a continuation. And yeah, people complained how Hawke was pulled along by fate, not changing anything, but REALISTICALLY, a player can only change so much about the setting. Try to do too much and your hands get tied as that setting continues. We saw that in Mass Effect, there’s a reason that Shepard didn’t get to decide how to reshape the entire galaxy until the end of the trilogy, when the story was being wrapped up.

It’s why the characters NEED to be the most important part of the storytelling, Which, again, is what makes Inquisition fail so much. The characters are almost all static, there to voice views and opinions without budging. Nothing you say or do causes Cassandra to question the Chantry’s attitudes more than she does - she never addresses how they wrong the non-faithful. Sera is a prankster set against the nobility er, the Dalish, for some reason. Vivienne is hitching her star to the rising Inquisition to ensure that she can retain her position and power, Dorian makes no advances towards redeeming Tevinter... These characters are all just THERE, you’re only seeing different sides of them, not seeing them grow and evolve over time. Even the characters who go through major events, we don’t see the result - Bull has the choice between the Chargers and the Qun, we don’t get any follow up outside of the immediate reaction. Cole becomes more spirit like or more human like, and while we get a follow up conversation where he effectively blurts out that’s he’s different, we don’t actually get to see how this plays out within the game’s structure.

Which is just bizarre, considering that characters are usually the HEART of BioWare writing. I swear, I know I joke that Inquisition is a first draft accidentally released as the final, but it’s things like this that really do make it seem like this is no joke, this is really how it happened.

And it’s why I say that Trespasser is Inquisition’s missing third act. It was no epilogue, it was vital to the story. THIS is where the various Chekov’s guns that have been placed start firing. This is where there’s pay off for the characterizations and arcs. Hell, it was important for the Inquisitor, to this idea of deconstructing the Chosen One narrative - I’ve criticized that Inquisition plays straight elements that were deconstructed in prior games, and it’s because all of the deconstruction happens in Trespasser, not the base game. Solas reveals how much of an accident the Inquisitor really was, that he was the real threat the whole time, that he was using the Inquisitor, manipulating them the whole way through - sure, the players get that after the base game’s credits roll, but the character gets none of that, because it has no effect, it’s not something that the character knows.

THIS NEEDED TO BE IN THE GAME PROPER. Like, whatever else there is to say about the DLC model, your game and your story should ALWAYS be complete without needing the player to pay for more. DLC should be where you explore elements you couldn’t fit into the base game or were too much of a pull away from the main story. If it recontextualizes everything that’s come in the whole game, that is something that NEEDS to be in your base game. 

Just... You know, go back to the drawing board, put everything back where it was before Inquisition, and let’s try this over again, take it from the top, because for everything that went right for Inquisition, three more went wrong.

And yet it was ANDROMEDA that was considered bad storytelling and got DLC dropped? At least Andromeda resolved its main plot in the base game from the beginning... #StillBitter

#lycantraitor #dg replies #bioware critical #inquisition critical

[trulycertain]

It’s time for Tru’s Unpopular Opinions. (Sorry! I don’t usually do this! I enjoy being a slightly sappy positivity blog, it’s my preferred zone.) 

It’s weird - within about a week, three different people in completely different contexts have asked me my opinions on Dorian/Bull. Well, here you go:

“Do you think Adoribull is abusive/bad/the pairing equivalent of bacon ice cream?”

No. Not ultimately. But I don't think it's entirely healthy or true love, either, I'll be honest. 

I love both Bull and Dorian, and in both cases I think "but they could do better/they'd be bad for each other." (Which I don't like thinking about some of my favourite characters! But the relationship seems to bring out a lot of their worst aspects.) 

I don't think it challenges them. It starts off as a just sex thing, or they're both pretending it is, which is the default mode for both of them and is part of the pattern they needed to break out of. Sure, they get past it later, but because it's a brief NPC crackship, we don't get to see that development the way we do with their respective romances. So when Trespasser and fanart/fic tend to treat it as this loving, open, very mutually communicative relationship, it feels like cheating, because "wait, where did that come from? I didn't see that in canon! That would've been really interesting to see in canon!"

Also, the banters do bother me, yes. Not entirely for their content, though that made me blink in how blunt it was compared to how bloody sappy some of the other implied romances are in banters, but because they tend to read like the writers were focusing on the comedy/piss-taking aspects rather than what was actually in-character. They were going for the funny and making the relationship bluntly obvious because they had limited screentime to do it, rather than trying for actual nuanced writing. 

We know from... well, most of his arc that Dorian's actually pretty damn private about his relationships and his sex life, because there were serious penalties if he wasn't, and he’s sick of being an object of gossip. We also know that Bull, much as he may make the odd joke about sex with fairly anonymous partners around Skyhold (a thing for redheads, indeed) actually isn't into his arrangement with his bedpartners being shoved out into the light (look at how he reacts if Cole stumbles upon Bull/Inquisitor, for instance - he tries to shut it down because he sees the Inq is uncomfortable). It really doesn't seem like he'd be into barging on ahead with intimate details. I mean, yes, the Bull/Inq scene where all the advisers stumble in exists, but that was an honest-to-god accident and was him brazening it out, pretty much. 

So that gives two options, in the end: a) they're out of character or b) they're into it due to an exhibitionist streak - which comes across as them being insanely inconsiderate to companions who are probably friends by this point, and again, doesn't seem very in-character, considering the way they bond and are pretty gentle with most companions' feelings otherwise. The only other read I can have is Bull being OK with it because "he knows what's best for his partner" and he thinks Dorian needs it dragged out into the open/to become more comfortable with it, but again, that doesn't ring very true to me.

Lastly, culture clash/opposites attract should be absolute catnip for me (most of my stuff is mage/templar or Dalish/human, after all), but the interest for me is seeing people break out of their programming/brainwashing and realise that people... are basically just people. Again, we don't get to see that because it doesn't get developed on-screen. So both of them are.. actually in pretty unhealthy places for a relationship at various points in canon. Which is realistic, yeah, but still makes me sad if it means they're hurting each other and there are too many sharp edges in their relationship. I mean, I know they've already done most of that development offscreen - Bull seems pretty unbothered about hiring non-Qunari and trusts them with his life, Dorian likewise seems very relaxed about romancing an Adaar - so maybe it's that. But then what can happen in Trespasser, though it makes perfect sense with Bull's conditioning... That depresses the hell out of me. And it makes the progress/relationship feel very false, because in that AU it was, at least partly. 

Oh, and really lastly: In Dorian/Inq banters, he seems so happy that the sun is practically shining out of his nostrils. It's embarrassingly obvious to the point where even Cassandra comments on it. (Similar with Bull, who walks on sunshine and throws kadan out like it’s sweets at Halloween.) I actually don't doubt Dorian gets to that stage with Bull, but again, we don't get to see it. So we hop straight from DAI's bitching/hatesex/embarrassment with maybe a few implications that it'll work out well in the end to a very happy, comfortable domestic relationship (with some really bloody sweet dialogue, actually). 

I would loved to have seen some of that comfort and commitment near the end of DAI, but jumping straight into it in Trespasser without any precedent, it doesn't feel earned. And when Dorian says he's going to stay for Bull at the end of DAI rather than going back to Tevinter, it comes across as him clinging to any affection he can get and the hope that things will change and be better, rather than a secure relationship, or being led on. And I prefer to read Bull as a better man than that.

I mean, I love “oh it’s totally just sex oh god no feelings” and opposites-attract, culture clash stuff, and it can be fascinating watching a relationship that isn’t just “easy happy true love forever”. I just feel that it was a cool concept where the execution could have been a lot better, and it doesn’t do much for me personally as a pairing. 

However, the fans seem a lovely, talented bunch, and I’ve seen some amazing fanart and fic (I’ve been known to reblog it occasionally, because there are some exceptions to my general “nope, not my cup of tea” reaction and I’ve seen some beautiful stuff). Rock on, folks. I’ve got no desire to rain on anyone’s parade. That’s just... my two pence, because it’s a question people tend to ask me a lot and I thought I ought to give an answer.

#meta #ie me rambling #ado/ri//bull critical #there we go #posting this in the graveyard slot while everyone's out partying and so on #so that if people ask i've got an answer i can refer them to

[robertarryn]

SVU 16.12 Padre Sandungeuro

Requested by @jhmdd​.  Anyone can request any SVU episodes for me to review at any point during this process.

This review is written in retrospect after having seen all of SVU seasons 13-17. There are potential spoilers for all these seasons, so proceed with that caution.  

So, skipping ahead to season sixteen, we have Padre Sandungeuro, a highly emotional episode about Amaro’s family life.  I would recommend watching this episode at a far later point than season thirteen, because it really reads best as at the end of Amaro’s character arc.  The Amaro seen in this episode is a very different person than the one at the beginning of season thirteen, and not just because of character development.

So, onto the episode.  

Summary

Amaro’s father visits him for the first time in many years to invite him to his wedding.  The situation quickly deteriorates, however, when a fight breaks out at a party and his fiance’s skull is fractured.  

Title

I don’t know spanish very well but according to the Spanish-English Dictionary Padre Sandungeuro means something like Charming Father or Witty Father.  A reference to both Nicolas’s charming personality and a pretty sharp contrast to the depressing nature of this episode.

Season Theme

The theme of season 16 is family, which plays heavily into this episode which centers around Amaro’s family, mostly on the power dynamics within his family.  We are given a clear sense of their family dynamics early in the episode: Amaro’s mother and sister try to defend his father, Amaro looks down on his sister, his father clearly has the most power between all of them, and both Amaro and his father, to a certain extent, defines their identities with their role as a father, although Nicolas Sr. only seems to want control and he has it, in spades.

Episode Notes

Liv tries to save Amaro from having to go to lunch with his father.  Carisi doesn't know how to read situations and offers to help out so Amaro can.

Amaro’s father’s fiance, Gabriella, is 28.  There’s clearly a pretty large power imbalance in their relationship the moment it is introduced.

“Whatever happened between me and your mom in your imagination, you know, it’s over.”  Nicolas Amaro, and to a lesser extent, the rest of his family constantly affirms and reaffirms in this episode that all of the problems that Nick remembers from his childhood are from his imagination.  He’s remembering things as worse than they were--things were never as bad as he thought they were, he should get over it.

Nicolas brings up Amaro’s son and the fact that he didn’t know he had a son for several years and that’s what finally makes Nick leave--the implication that he’s the bad father.

Amaro’s judgement of his sister probably causes a lot of her lack of support for him later.  They clearly love each other, but they don’t have much in common, and they have a clear divide on how they see their father.

Amaro attempts to reassure Gabriella in Spanish.  We later learn that this was a mistake.

After a few red herrings, Nicolas Amaro is finally arrested and, when Amaro visits him, he makes an impassioned statement that he and Amaro are the same, a literal kind of “you’re not so different you and I” speach.  Amaro doesn’t want to hear it--he knows he’s different from his father.

Liv tells Barba about Amaro’s past and Amaro is disgusted.  Amaro accuses Barba of enjoying his pain which is both unnecessary and clearly untrue, but it helps set up a later scene where Barba is able to talk him through the situation.

The trial goes poorly.  Barba’s off his game and Nicolas Amaro is ridiculously charming to the court and the jury.

Barba tries to tell Amaro that he doesn’t have to testify if he doesn’t want to--that Barba can offer a misdemeanor, and Amaro asks if he’s playing him.  He doesn’t fully trust Barba but they’ve clearly come to a more steady dynamic at the end of the episode.

The scene with Barba and Amaro at the bar is really good.

Nicolas Sr. doesn’t call Amaro a liar on the stand.  Nicolas Sr. says that his son has issues, that he should have been there.  Taught Amaro to conduct himself as a man.

After the trial, Nicolas Sr. hugs his entire family, except for Amaro.  They’re all still following him.

Amaro doesn’t allow Carisi or Fin to comfort him, and he doesn’t let Liv give him time off, or to keep Nicolas Sr. away.

Nicolas Sr. visits Amaro.  He wants forgiveness, he wants Amaro to let go of his anger at him, of his hatred.  It doesn’t feel any different than anything that happened before.  Like Amaro said, he’s still lying, and this is only a part of the cycle.

Character Continuity and Characteristics

Liv advises Amaro to let go of his anger, that letting go is the best option, but he brings up her father and William Louis. Liv is hurt by him bringing her past up in anger but it’s clear she hasn’t forgiven them either.

Amaro states in an earlier episode that he’s half-Italian, but it doesn’t appear that either of his parents are Italian this episode.

Carisi goes bowling with his law school friends.  He’s clearly trying to set Amaro up with some of them.

“Detective Amaro.  If I’m talking to you it must be time to pay my water bill.”  It’s nice that the writers remember the ridiculous amount of trouble Amaro has been through over the years.

Barba mostly exists in this episode as a foil to Amaro.  Someone who had an abusive father and was never able to resolve his issues with him because his father is dead and there’s nothing he can do about it at this point.

Barba’s father was abusive, and is currently dead.

The entire episode is insights into Amaro’s personal life.

Trial Time

The lawyer for the defense is DiAngelo, who shows up in a handful of episodes later on, though this is his first.  As someone else pointed out one time, DiAngelo mostly defends civil servants, which either means Nicolas Sr. is one, or that the writers hadn’t worked out what type of defense attorney DiAngelo would be.

The judge in this case of Judge Barth, who tends to go easy on defendants and is relatively likable, though she barely factors in the trial.

Offscreen, Barba somehow manages to get $100,000 dollar bail on an assault charge.

The prosecution doesn’t call the EMT that originally heard the outcry of the witness, which seems like a mistake because it makes the only witness to the statement of abuse Amaro, who is painted by the defense as being overly emotional and biased, how they are able to portray all of the prosecution witnesses.

The case is a loss at the beginning.  Barba is more emotional than he usually is and, while he is typically able to channel his emotions toward convincing the jury to see things his way, like in Spousal Privilege early in the season, this case he’s too wrapped up in his own feelings on the case to be able to convince the jury the way he normally would.

Amaro on  the stand is painful to watch.  Nicolas Sr. on the stand is painful to watch.  It’s clear where the trial is headed long before the Not Guilty verdict comes.  Barba’s not on his A-game, Amaro’s the only one against his father, and Nicolas Sr. controls the room.

Both Barba and Amaro blame themselves heavily for the loss.

Let’s Talk Sexuality

“I don’t take crumbs.  Especially from this...this gentleman who wears suspenders.”  Nicolas Sr. clearly stops himself from saying something really nasty and outright insulting Barba due to his sexuality and settles for subtly implying that’s why he’s disrespecting him.  Barba most certainly notices given the way he looks at the defense attorney afterward.

Let’s Talk Sex

N/A.  Not really relevant to the content of the episode.

Worst Line

“She didn’t just back up the bus.  She parked it.”  Who wrote this guy’s dialog?

Best Line

“You know, Cubans come to this country and within one generation, we’re doctors, lawyers, CEOs of major corportations, but the only headline you ever read in the paper is crazy Cubans in wedding brawl.  I hate this.”  It’s Barba’s first line in this episode and just a great introduction.

The entire end conversation between Amaro and his father is very good as well.

Should You Watch This Episode?

This episode is hard to watch.  It is a depressing, depressing episode, and pretty necessary for the character of Amaro.  It’s very good.  Recommended to Required For The Series.

#svu #padre sandungeuro #nick amaro #rafael barba #jhmdd #sophia reviews svu

[deniscollins]

Roseanne Barr Incites Fury With Racist Tweet, and Her Show Is Canceled by ABC

Comedian Roseanne Bar’s TV show is the highest rated new TV show on ABC and brought in $45 million in advertising revenue. If you were an ABC executive, what would you do if Roseanne tweeted a cruel and racist comment about a political adverser, apologized for the joke being in bad taste which she had posted at 2 a.m., and noted she would no longer do Tweets: (1) Forgive her, (2) Discipline her, or (3) cancel her show, cancel reruns, and remove the show from your website? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

Two months ago, Roseanne Barr was a star again.

Her sitcom “Roseanne” returned in March after a two-decade absence to enormous ratings on ABC. Network executives were celebrating their strategy of appealing to wider swaths of the country after Donald J. Trump’s surprising election win and the president himself called Ms. Barr to congratulate her on the show’s large audience.

But on Tuesday, that all came crashing down. ABC abruptly canceled “Roseanne” hours after Ms. Barr, the show’s star and co-creator, posted a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett, an African-American woman who was a senior adviser to Barack Obama throughout his presidency and considered one of his most influential aides. Ms. Barr wrote if the “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.”

Ms. Barr later apologized, but it was too late. In announcing the show’s cancellation, ABC’s entertainment president, Channing Dungey, said in a statement that “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.”

The show had ended its successful comeback season last week and was expected to return in September for a 13-episode run. Robert A. Iger, the chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, ABC’s corporate parent, shared Ms. Dungey’s statement on his own Twitter account, adding: “There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.”

The sudden cancellation of a hit show — it had the highest ratings of a new TV series in years — because of offscreen controversy was almost without precedent.

The show brought in an estimated $45 million of advertising revenue for ABC this year, and the network likely would have collected more than $60 million next season, according to Kantar Media.

The move was decided by top Disney and ABC executives, including Ms. Dungey who was appointed to her  role in February 2016, becoming the first black entertainment president of a major broadcast television network. She had the backing of Ben Sherwood, the head of ABC’s television group, and Mr. Iger, who was involved in the process starting very early on Tuesday, according to two Disney insiders who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe company matters.

On a phone call with ABC and her representatives shortly before the show was canceled, Ms. Barr expressed remorse for the tweet but did not seem to be fully aware of the potential implications for her sitcom, according to a person familiar with the phone call who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was private.

For Disney, there was more at stake than a hit show. The company has been widely praised in recent years as a leader in efforts to combat racial stereotypes through its movies and TV series, whether on “Doc McStuffins,” a Disney Channel cartoon about an African-American girl who wants to be a doctor; “How to Get Away With Murder,” a vehicle for Viola Davis that led her to become the first black woman to win a lead-actress Emmy; and “Black Panther,” which proved that movies rooted in black culture and with predominantly black casts could become global blockbusters.

If Disney did not act forcefully with regard to “Roseanne,” much of that work might have been rendered moot.

Ms. Jarrett, who appeared at an MSNBC town hall about racism in America on Tuesday, said of Ms. Barr’s tweet, “We have to turn it into a teaching moment.”

“Bob Iger, who’s the C.E.O. of Disney, called me before the announcement,” she added. “He apologized. He said that he had zero tolerance for that sort of racist, bigoted comment, and he wanted me to know before he made it public that he was canceling the show.”

It did not take long for ABC to move on. A repeat episode scheduled for Tuesday night was promptly replaced with a rerun of “The Middle.” The network also began the process of taking each episode of “Roseanne” off its website, and Hulu, which is partly owned by Disney, is also removing episodes from its service.

The timing of Ms. Barr’s outburst was terrible for ABC. She wrote the message just two weeks after the network made its pitch to advertisers about its coming fall lineup, with the hope of attracting up to $9 billion in advertising commitments by summer’s end.

“Roseanne,” and its enormous audience and broad appeal, was the centerpiece of ABC’s presentation. Ms. Barr was introduced to the stage at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall before any other ABC executive or star. Once there, she joked that her tweets were actually written by Mr. Sherwood.

Then came Ms. Barr’s tweet about Ms. Jarrett. She made it in response to a tweet suggesting that Ms. Jarrett may have had a role in helping Mr. Obama in a scheme Mr. Trump has branded “Spygate,” a debunked conspiracy theory involving an informant being planted in his campaign that the president has promoted in recent weeks.

Ms. Barr initially dismissed accusations that the comment was racist, defending it as "a joke.”

Earlier, Ms. Barr had an exchange with Chelsea Clinton after Ms. Barr erroneously referred to Ms. Clinton as “Chelsea Soros Clinton,” a reference to George Soros, the billionaire liberal donor who is often the focus of conservative critics. Donald Trump Jr. shared one of Ms. Barr’s posts in the exchange.

She later deleted the post about Ms. Jarrett. About a half-hour later, she offered an apology.

“I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans,” she wrote. “I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me - my joke was in bad taste.”

Ms. Barr also said she was “leaving Twitter” — but hours later, she was back, retweeting statements of support and links to conservative websites.

“It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting,” Ms. Barr later wrote, referring to a sleep aid that can cause changes in mood and behavior, “It was memorial day too-i went 2 far & do not want it defended-it was egregious Indefensible. I made a mistake I wish I hadn’t but...don’t defend it please.”

Ms. Barr was already being disavowed by longtime colleagues and formerly supportive voices.

Shortly before the cancellation, Wanda Sykes, a consulting producer for the show, quit. Sara Gilbert, a co-star who played Roseanne’s daughter and was a driving force behind the series revival, said she was “disappointed in her actions to say the least.”

The agency ICM dropped Ms. Barr as a client, saying it was “distressed by the disgraceful and unacceptable tweet.”

Even Bill O’Reilly, the former Fox anchor who has been supportive of the show, called her tweet “vicious” and said the series “could not continue with the show without insulting millions of Americans.”

Asked on Air Force One if Mr. Trump had any reaction to the show’s cancellation, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, demurred. “I think we have a lot bigger things going on in the country right now,” she said.

Canceling the series that quickly was a highly unusual step for a network. When series like “Two and a Half Men,” “House of Cards” or “Transparent” were at the center of storms surrounding their biggest stars, the casts were reworked but remained on the air. But none of the stars involved in those shows were as central to their identity as Ms. Barr was to “Roseanne.”

Months before her show’s return, Ms. Barr said that her children had taken her social media accounts away from her.

But as viewers flocked to “Roseanne,” Ms. Barr returned to Twitter. One of Ms. Barr’s messages accused a survivor of the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., of giving a Nazi salute; another involved a conspiracy theory about Mr. Trump quietly breaking up a child sex trafficking ring including prominent Democrats.

“You can’t control Roseanne Barr,” Mr. Sherwood said in an interview with The New York Times in March, when asked about her Twitter account. “Many who have tried have failed.”

But there were other sources of controversy.

The revival’s third episode featured a joke about two ABC comedies with diverse casts, “black-ish” and “Fresh Off the Boat.” Ms. Barr’s character and her husband, Dan, played by John Goodman, wake up on the their living room couch, having fallen asleep in front of the television. “We missed all the shows about black and Asian families,” Dan Conner said. To laughter from the show’s studio audience, Roseanne Conner responded, “They’re just like us. There, now you’re all caught up.”

The joke prompted an outcry but ABC defended the show. “It certainly wasn’t meant to offend,” Ms. Dungey said this month. “I do stand by the ‘Roseanne’ writers.”

Even as “Roseanne” experienced success, ABC’s relationship with the “black-ish” showrunner, Kenya Barris, deteriorated, in part because of a decision to pull an episode of the show not long before it was set to air. Mr. Barris is in negotiations to leave his ABC contract and begin working with Netflix.

“Roseanne” will probably finish the 2017-18 television season as the No. 3 rated show, behind two NBC programs: “Sunday Night Football” and “This is Us.” More than 18 million people on average have watched “Roseanne” this season, according to Nielsen’s delayed viewing data.

Tuesday was the first day that “Roseanne” producers and writers convened on the show’s lot in Studio City, Calif., to begin work on the next season. According to Bruce Rasmussen, an executive producer, they were aware of Ms. Barr’s tweet when they arrived and “were horrified.” But they thought it could take a few days for the repercussions to be decided. Instead, within just a few minutes of getting to work, the group of a little more than a dozen people found out the show had been canceled as the news circulated online.

“We were gut-punched,” Mr. Rasmussen said. “It was really depressing that that one stupid sentence that she sent out destroyed a whole bunch of peoples’ jobs.”

#Racism #Rosanne Barr