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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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Ever read or heard of Al Ewing's El Sombra trilogy?

So now that I actually finished Pax Omega I can give my thoughts on the trilogy. In short: I like it! It's got a lot of incredible strengths and interesting takes on the material it pulls from, it's got a very rich setting and interesting characters to explore, in terms of what else I've read from Al Ewing's general work it's second only to Immortal Hulk for me. This trilogy may have actually convinced me that steampunk has at least some value as something other than obnoxious set dressing, and that is no small feat.

I got a separate post planned for El Sombra as a character because I want to write about his character arc and the trilogy's relation to his respective influences, but below are my particular thoughts on the books. Spoilers below the cut

El Sombra is easily the simplest of the three, and the most straightforward "pulp" novel of the three. For the most part it's 200+ pages dedicated to establishing the misery of Pasito, the vileness of the Nazis, and the character of El Sombra as he hacks his way through whatever bastards he can get his hands on. It has to do a lot of work in making sure we fully understand El Sombra's character before the next novels can get to work putting him on bigger settings in a supporting role, and in that it succeeds very well. It's a Zorro character stuck in a 2000 AD world of dystopian mechanized nightmares and fighting savagely to kill it, gradually learning that he needs more than just a sword and superhuman skills to do it.

One thing that sticks out to me about El Sombra is how grueling of a read it can be, especially in the first two chapters when the story's establishing the situation of Pasito nine years after the wedding massacre, through the POV of the story's villain. While there are many pulp stories that include Nazis as villains, I've never seen one that goes as in-depth into the sheer atrocities of Nazi regimes as much as this one. Ewing really spares no time conveying just how utterly wretched they are in many ways other than just ethnic massacres (and the massacres of the book are harrowing to read as well, no grisly detail spared), the many insidious ways totalitarianism corrodes the soul of all subjected to it, long before the Nazis actually start dying. It's incredibly disturbing and not at all out of line with the real atrocities perpetuated in history.

And it's made all the more effective because the book goes to great length to describe the many, many life stories of all those that get killed by El Sombra, whether irredeemably evil or merely misguided soldiers, which lends a lot of weight to them. He's not just tearing his way through cartoonish embodiments of evil, he's murdering people brutally, to our enjoyment, because painting Nazis as people is not the same as humanizing them, it only makes them much, much more horrifying than any doomsday weapon could ever be.

The scene in particular where El Sombra has to dash alone into a burning building to rescue children, children who are seconds away from dying, children he had to kill an entire squad of Nazis just to be able to rescue, children that he cannot leave on the streets because otherwise they will be trampled or killed by a mob, had me gasping and not wanting to turn the page out of fear, actual fear that he wasn't gonna make it.

"Zorro vs Nazis" is an incredible simple premise, and I don't think it could be done better than it was here. Very, very solid start, although I do recommend that you go in aware of just how brutal and disturbing it can get.

Gods of Manhattan was the first one I read, and contrary to El Sombra's more western and pulp roots, this very much reads like a superhero comic book centered around pulp icons. Out of the three it's the one I like the least, but it's a very good book, one that could easily work on it's own even without it being a sequel. It's considerably less harrowing of a read than El Sombra and instead much more based around meat and potatoes storytelling, showing how the building blocks at work here are being arranged, and a larger exploration of liberty and egalitarianism and political aspects of the works Ewing's pulling from. Gods of Manhattan is the trilogy's moral compass, contrasting to the simple revenge thriller in El Sombra and the science fiction anthology of Pax Omega, setting up the major players of this world before Ewing can knock them around for the final installment.

One of the things I like most about the El Sombra trilogy is the mix-and-match of properties. Doc Thunder, for example, bears many surface similarities to Doc Savage, but he functions mainly as a Superman figure. He wears a logo akin to Shazam's, he has a reputation akin to that of Captain America's, we later learn his real name is Hugo and he's the in-universe equivalent to Hugo Danner. As the most straightforward superhero of the setting, Thunder condenses the history of it's biggest icons into a single being. The primary Shadow analogue here is the villain, but the villain also shares more common traits with The Spider and Spider-Man, and traits of The Shadow manifest in two other characters (the titular El Sombra, and a character known in-universe as The Blue Ghost who functions as more of a Spirit analogue). There's a shapeshifting dead-faced supervillain by the name of Anton Venger, referencing the pulp hero The Avenger. The Lex Luthor analogue turns into Doomsday by the story's end. It's the crafting of an interesting new mythology from bits and pieces from a larger whole and there's enough rich content here to last for a whole franchise.

If I had one major problem with this book, it would be the character of Marlene Lang. Marlene functions here mainly as the Margo to Blood-Spider's Shadow, and naturally, she gets twisted to the extreme. While the story's demonization of The Shadow's archetype is grounded in a larger point about the dangers of dark vigilantism, it's treatment of not-Margo/Nita here is purely for the sake of reinforcing the Spider's own awfulness. The story demonizes her by painting her as decadent and sadistic and promiscuous, and the latter in particular is really hammered into you as something that paints her as evil and unlikable, which is really shitty. I expected better from Ewing and I don't think this is a decision he would have gone with had he written the story today.

Still, Gods of Manhattan is terrific and gets a very solid recommendation from me. But much to my surprise, my favorite of the books actually wound up being Pax Omega.

Pax Omega is an incredibly ambitious book, spanning the entirety of time from beginning to end, every chapter presenting a radical shift in setting as we jump through time periods of this world's history. It has a truly staggering amount of worldbuilding to get through and a lot of it is pure exposition. It's a one man sci-fi anthology, and while that's turned off some of it's readers, I liked it considerably better than the other books. It weaves together it's narrative threads incredibly well as it gradually gives you a sense of where the story is heading (and was always heading right from the first book) as wilder and wilder concepts get brought into play corresponding to the massive changes brought by time.

Despite how separate a lot of these stories are, they all come together, and there is not a single wasted chapter or page here. It's got fun thrills, it's got action, it's got harrowing descriptions and passsages (particularly regarding El Sombra's discovery of Berlin), it's got enough worldbuilding in here for entire shared universes and not a single dull moment. Pax Omega cements this trilogy as one of my favorite superhero universes as well as easily the best superhero novels I've ever read, although it's playing with a lot of images and icons much older than superheroes, and even weaves in a bit of meta-storytelling.

It's definitely the book I'll most likely revisit in the future, and while I don't think this is a trilogy that could work as well outside of it's literary format, I think there's a lot of interesting aspects here to be learned from by anyone who wants to tackle pulp characters, or superheroes. Very impressed with this one.

#replies tag #al ewing #el sombra #gods of manhattan #pax omega #pulp heroes

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suspiriu-m · 4 years

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About Me

Hello! My name is Sal and welcome to my blog, Suspirium! Suspirium is a word that originates from one of my favorite movies, Luca Guadagnino’s 2019 remake of Dario Argento’s classic italian horror movie Suspiria. According to World of Dictionary, Suspirium is a Latin word meaning “Deep breath, sigh”. It’s also the title of one of my favorite songs from the soundtrack to the movie produced by Thom Yorke of Radiohead. I’m a huge horror movie buff so expect to see a lot of that sort of content on my blog if I can incorporate it into any of my work. I chose this as the title of my blog because of how well the word fits into the movie, and I just love the way it sounds. Anybody who’s watched the movie will understand, but I won’t go into detail as to not spoil it for anybody who hasn’t yet seen it.

Throughout my highschool years I technically went to two schools. My main and home school was Middletown High School, and my secondary school was Orange Ulster Boces in Florida New York. In high school I was always in media production and art classes. For example, photography, video editing, drawing & painting classes and my favorite was an Elements of Horror class I took my senior year. Horror being my favorite genre, I absolutely had to take a class that’s dove into the origins of classic horror novels, films and short stories. Leading to me finding my favorite classic horror story Dracula by Bram Stoker, and a multitude of stories by H.P. Lovecraft. Continuing on now to college i’m now majoring in Media Production while also still taking some classes in Marketing and Design! I really enjoy both a lot so it’s hard to kind of pick exactly which I want to do, but it’s nice knowing that no matter what path I finally choose I'll still have some experience in the other!

Aside from my education, I love to watch horror movies and read stories in my own free time. Movies in general are a huge hobby of mine and I watch at least 3-4 a week given I have the time. Some of my favaroties of all time concerning classics have got to be the Halloween series, The Evil Dead series and all four of the Scream movies. Other hobbies of mine that take up a huge part of my life and time are video games and music. I have a pretty big record collection that’s continuously growing with at least 80-90 albums and counting. I just recently purchased a few more to add being Sade’s Diamond Life, Whitney Houston’s Whitney and Whitney Houston albums, Lazaretto by Jack White, Texas Sun by Khruangbin & Leon Bridges and Petals for Armor by Hayley Williams. Hopefully my next additions will be What’s Your Pleasure? by Jessie Ware and The Baby by Samia. I’ve been collecting them for years, but especially now since even CD’s are starting to go out of style. I’m the kind of person who still likes to have physical copies of all my music and movies and games so having such big collection is super special to me.

In terms of video games, I try and play as wide of a variety that I can because I believe I can find something I like in any genre. Strategy, shooters, brawlers, online competitive games etc, but I think my favorite style of game is single-player, narrative driven experiences. Most recently I played The Last of Us Part II and was absolutely enthralled with it. I loved the first game so much so getting a sequel was something I was extremely grateful for. I don’t think video games get enough credit for what they do for storytelling. TLOU 1 and 2 are some of my favorite stories that I have experienced in any form of media. The heartbreak, pain, love, fear and excitement those games have succeeded in giving me while just sitting in front of my TV is something no other form of entertainment has brought me. Some of the most touching moments, but also the most excruciating. They also had a queer women front and center throughout the games which is something that isn’t very common in video games so seeing that was really nice to me. Other than The Last of Us, some other solid narrative driven games I’ve played are God of War, Uncharted 1-4, Marvel’s Spider-Man, The Tomb Raider Reboots, Ghost of Tsushima, the Batman Arkham series and Control.

Although story based games are my favorites that doesn’t mean I don’t have a place in my heart for some good old fashioned fun as well! I also really enjoy a lot of the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda games as well. My biggest pet peeve that I have with the gaming industry right now though is Fortnite. I think it’s literally the most annoying game ever created. People spend hundreds and thousands of dollars just to buy skins and weapon packs and I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. The fact that I work at a major video game retailer and constantly have kids running through my store screaming about the damn game at least once a day could also contribute to my hatred. Either way, I want no part and absolutely nothing to do with it.

Going back to queer representation though. I recently watched Pose over the summer. Not only was the show heavily based during the AIDS epidemic in New York City, almost the entirety of the main cast was comprised of Transgender Black women. On prime time television! This is the first show to ever achieve such a feat. Not only was the cast extremely talented, I thought the writing and production of the show as a whole was brilliant. It definitely has its flaws and I could point out a few of them, but I believe all of the good of the show far outweighs the bad. It’s not afraid to tackle extremely real and difficult subjects the Transgender and Black communities have faced in this country and all over the world. It’s so important to see content like this on television as well because EVERYBODY deserves representation. Not only was the cast Trans, but one of the lead writers of the series Janet Mock is also a Black Trans woman! Pose was filled with heartfelt moments that truly had me sobbing in my bed as I watched. I think I actually cried at pretty much every single episode for both seasons. The cast is brilliant, the realism and talent and star power they bring to the show is like nothing that I’ve ever seen before and I’m so glad to be able to see them up on my television. I so badly one day hope that I can be behind the scenes of producing a show of this caliber some day.

While I have yet to help in the production of a show like this, I have had my fair share of of making short films, music videos and even assisting on a friend of mine’s first full length movie that he submitted to festivals. Last year, I had the opportunity to shoot a short horror film with my classmates for our final project. The film was based around a young woman getting trapped at her school in the middle of a blizzard, and slowly beginning to realize that she may not be alone. In a fight for her life, she has to survive till morning while going up against a mysterious killer who lurks the halls of her small town college. Sadly, we didn’t have enough time to produce a full and finalized cut of the film but coming together and working with a few other classmates was still a really fun experience. Not only was I able to play the role of the killer, I aided in audio, music selection, location scouting, props department, shot planning and writing the movie and it was a great time. I also had the pleasure of helping out my friend Matt Vincini in shooting his short film The Cattle Farmer. A horror/thriller film about a boy who is adopted into a family, only to realize that his life might have been planned from the start. It featured a mysterious woodland family who may or may not have had cannibalistic tendencies that included their adopted children. It was a super cool experience to be on a set with a bunch of actors and seeing my friend in action in the role of director. Collaborating on projects like this with friends is always a fun time, even it does get stressful at some points. At one point in the film, one of the characters realizes that the dinner he is currently eating could quite possible be his last meal ever. Which kinda let me to thinking what my last meal would be. After some thinking, I think i’d definitely have to choose my families homemade pasta and meatballs. I know, pretty stereotypical for an Italian family but it’s just so good. We make our own sauce every september and it’s a huge family event. Everybody comes together and one of our houses and it’s literally a whole days worth of work. The best part? At the end of the night, we all have a huge feast and make pasta and meatballs with all of the sauce we just made. It’s one of my favorite things to do with my family and always one of my favorite meals. Not only is it delicious, but also sentimental.

This is all for now! Thanks for stopping by my blog and reading a little bit about me. I could probably keep rambling on for hours but I don’t think that’s the smartest idea. I can’t wait to fill this blog with more content this year and hope to hear from you guys as well! Until then, i’ll be watching more movies and DEFINITELY playing some more games. At this point i’ve been playing the new Marvel’s Avengers video game so, let me get back to kicking some AIM ass!

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bethgreeneishopeunseen · 7 years

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Genekie: The Next Great Gimple Ship™?

(photo credit to @bethgreenewarriorprincess)

We all know the Gimple Ships ™: Richonne, Bethyl, Carzekiel. The slow-burn ships of people with the same hearts wearing complementary armor. When I first watched 7x11, Eugene’s interactions with Frankie caught my attention. Their relationship was tinged with warmth and chemistry. I dubbed them “Genekie” as a play off of “Jinkies”, Velma Dinkley’s catchphrase, as it seemed like something Eugene might say. After further studying Genekie, I believe that Frank will probably play a role in Eugene working against Negan.

Before I go into farther into the sweet abyss that is Genekie, I would like to focus on Eugene. At the end of 7x11 he had declared that he was Negan, and he has stuck to that for the most part, to the end of the season. Gimple foreshadowed this part of Eugene’s arc back in 3x12, as Morgan’s walls read, “Eugene turned.” Many fans denounced Eugene’s decision, while others believe he will become a double agent like Dwight. Personally, I think the latter. Eugene did not choose to join the Saviors; he was abducted and forced to join their ranks at the threat of death by Lucille. He will likely not remain a Savior long-term and during the war, he will start working against Negan, who already suspects that he had something to do with Sasha’s death. In 6x14 Eugene described his transition into a survivor as being similar to that of role play:

“It's simple, really. As with any RPG, tabletop, electronic, or otherwise, the key to survival is allowing oneself to be shaped by the assigned environment. In doing so, a broad range of capabilities are acquired, allowing one to flip the script and use said capabilities to shape said environment for maximum longevity. I'm saying I'm in the process of said stage two. I've changed, adapted. I'm a survivor.”

That is what Eugene is doing at the Sanctuary. Being Negan’s engineer keeps him alive and awards him certain privileges that he can later use against the Saviors. For example, being an engineer allowed him to take valuable medical supplies without question. Furthermore, Eugene is trapped in an abusive situation. Abusive relationships and systems of oppression flourish from the same roots of thought (superiority, entitlement, selfishness, etc.), and Negan is both. Eugene has to work for the Saviors. the fact that he gave the pills to Sasha speaks volumes to how strong he already is. He could have fully submitted Negan and not help Sasha at all, but he did at risk of his person. I live in an abusive family, fighting against manipulation, minimization, and psychological abuse as well as the occasional threat of bodily harm. I have to suppress a large of my personality in order to cope while also playing the good daughter, the good sister. Much like Eugene, I have no allies. At the end of the episode, Eugene said that he and Dwight were Negan, and by that point, Dwight had already turned, lying about Sherry and Dr. Carson. For me, that foreshadowed that Eugene will also turn. Right now though, he’s immersed in his role as a Savior. The only person who is possibly more manipulative and better at lying than an abuser is the abused. You have to learn the game being played against you. Frankie will probably/hopefully be a catalyst for Eugene, because Eugene’s allegiance to the Saviors began and will end with Abraham.

In 7x15, Sasha and Eugene discussed his situation. She tried to appease to his sense of honor, his character. Eugene cited Abraham’s murder as his reason for cooperating:

“You know, I believed I could be brave, that I could be a survivor like Abraham was, and ridin' that RV into the sunset was some of the greatest 37 minutes of my existence. But I know now that I was full-tilt delusional. I have never in my life been as scared as I was that night in the woods, kit to the grit, fully believing my number's about to be called, then seeing it happen to someone brave, to a survivor. And then the pants-pissing terror of the rinse and repeat of that very same event -- I just I couldn't. Being here means I'll never have to again.”

The writers even stressed this connection by having Eugene callback to Abraham’s speech in 5x02, when he convinced Team Family to go to Washington. TWD often uses a circular narrative style, such as the season six finale and season seven premiere being an inverse of the season five premiere. Eugene is not a bad person, nor is he a true coward. He was willing to sacrifice himself so Maggie could get to the Hilltop, and then he confessed to making the bullet. He may still be afraid, but ultimately he doesn’t let that fear stop him. Eugene’s family empowers him to be a good man, to be brave. Right now, he is without his family, trapped with a murderous tyrant. He needs someone at the Sanctuary, someone he cares about, to help push him. He already defied Sasha by giving him her the pills. He’s almost there.

The key to decoding the connections between Abraham and Eugene’s arc lies primarily in 6x14. @diamondcitydarlin first noticed the connections, writing that:

“[T]he fact that we revisit some central moments in his and Abraham’s friendship (’pump your breaks, red’ as repeated to Frankie, the suggestion of pouring molten metal over the walkers as per that walker that attacked him that Abraham ultimately had to save him from) seems to me all very intentional subtext to the fact that Eugene is not truly Negan.” (X).

The situations are mirrors of each other. Eugene told Abraham to “pump your breaks” as he wanted to kill the molten walker himself, and he told Frankie the same thing when she urged him to help Amber. One conversation involved killing a dead thing, while the other involved killing a person. Furthermore, the first molten walker tried to kill Eugene, pitting him against Abraham. Yet Eugene’s solution for the fence walkers saves him, as it makes him useful to Negan. Both situations also build on the theme of “usefulness”. In 6x14, Eugene angrily said that Abe was now useless to him, as he could survive, while in 7x11 Negan cites Rick not taking full advantage of Eugene’s abilities. Abraham mentions that “ghosting hostiles” was his skill set, and in 7x11 Eugene described attacks as “hostiles and calamities.” Much like Abraham, Negan is crude, womanizing, and physical intimidating. He does not see Eugene as a survivor, only as a smart tool.

The episodes did not have the same writer nor director, meaning that these parallels were less accidental than most thematic connections in storytelling. The writers wanted to intentionally connect Frankie to Eugene through his relationship to Abraham.

We were first introduced to Frankie in 7x07, when Negan showed Carl his harem. She sat in the background as Sherry comforted Amber. Then in 7x11, Frankie had a name, and she became a real character. Of the three wives who met Eugene, she showed the most interest in him. She offered him a massage, she hugged him after he exploded the balloons and also tried to get him to smile. She wanted him to enjoy himself. Neither the massage or smile were necessary to convince Eugene to help them, and she offered him the massage before she even knew how smart he was. Then, when she and Tanya went to him to “help Amber”, she appealed to his character, calling him a good man. Her interest and relationship in Eugene stems from his as a person. She values his intelligence, but she doesn’t see it primarily as a tool. This is her face when he explains how he would make a bomb from kitchen-based supplies:

Shock, with a bit of wonder mixed in.

In addition, cinematographic elements connect her Eugene more so than Tanya. When her first and last scenes with Eugene end, the camera focuses on her looking at him (X) (X). While she was furious at him for refusing to give her and Tanya the pills, she does not call him a coward and she waits for a moment before leaving after Tanya. Furthermore, TPTB set up her first scene with Eugene to maximize her closeness to him, implying that she was interested in him. By the time Eugene settles into his room, he had moved the armchair and television set, and Tanya chose to sit next to him, using a chair that was originally near the door. I looked around his room again and noticed a spare chair by the microwave. Frankie chose to sit on the arm of Eugene’s chair not of necessity but want.

In film, every prop serves a purpose. The extra chair speaks to Frankie’s personality and her burgeoning relationship with Eugene. The furniture had already been moved, so why not move the armchair just a little more so she could a chair in? Because TPTB wanted to portray Frankie being the most interested wife. The chair placement also reminds me of the iconic Bethyl meals in Alone. Daryl had moved his chair from across the table as a physical expression of him being emotionally closer to Beth. Bethyl is the central romance of the series and will resume once Beth returns (X), and Gimple’s other original ships (Richonne, Carzekiel) share many similarities with them. So does Genekie.

Genekie as a pairing actually makes a great deal of sense. Much like Bethyl, Eugene and Frankie have complementary personalities and types of intelligence. Eugene thinks strategically, planning an outcome like assembling a puzzle, and I believe that Frankie would follow her heart, i.e. her appealing to Eugene through his morals and feelings (you’re a good man). Following Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences (X), Eugene has logical-mathematical intelligence and Frankie has bodily-kinesthetic and interpersonal intelligence, which means she knows how to use her body, like athletes, and how to communicate with others. Furthermore, they would have a natural understanding of the other. They're both being used: Frankie as a wife and Eugene as an engineer. Frankie signed up, but she's had to make herself a tool to survive, like Eugene lying about D.C.

Eugene and Frankie are both underestimated as Bethyl is. Daryl was the redneck asshole, and Beth just another dead girl. Eugene’s first encounter with a molten walker was actually an inverse of the scene in 4x12 where Beth killed the butler walker. In 4x12 Beth struggled with killing the walker, and Daryl just watched, as he believed she could take care of herself. In 6x14, Abraham killed the walker even after Eugene had called dibs as he didn’t believe Eugene could do it. Now, Eugene is the “Daryl” of the Saviors, in a sense. He has value in the apocalypse because of his specific skill sets, while Frankie is “replacable” to Negan. Like Beth, Frankie also is a nurturer. After Sherry left, Frankie took care of Amber the most, paying attention to her and comforting her. This part of Frankie’s character is very important to Genekie’s success. Eugene probably/likely has Asberger’s (X), so he sees the world differently from most and would struggle socially, as we’ve seen. I see parallels between Daryl and Eugene’s poor social skills. Daryl is a survivor of childhood abuse and likely has complex P.T.S.D., which would alter his brain. (Complex P.T.S.D., or C-P.T.S.D., is essentially long-term P.T.S.D., as it develops from multiple traumas over a long period of time, shaping the person’s identity, and usually arises from a situation with little hope for escape. Child abuse is probably the most common cause. While it’s not in the DSM yet, the concept has been in the medical field for twenty-five years, and it will be added to W.H.O. book next year.) Both of their brains are different from the majority of people. Everyone also has an inner child, and for those going through abuse with a tyrant God-figure like Negan, that inner child comes to the front. Daryl definitely has an inner child, and while he grew up with Beth, that child will always be there ready to take over during times of crisis. I thought about Eugene taking Grembly Gunk, and that’s when the child connection clicked. As a survivor of child abuse, I still keep a stuffed animal with me when I sleep. It makes me feel less alone, and having something to hold helps as I was probably neglected to an extent. Touch is so important for abuse survivors as it allows us to repair and forge connections. As Daryl needs a nurturer like Beth, Eugene needs a kind, patient, and understanding individual as a partner.

And it makes sense that Frankie would be interested in Eugene. He is everything that Negan is not.

Gimple has plans for Frankie. In the comics the only named wives are Sherry and Amber. I believe that he is adapting Eugene and Rosita’s relationship from the comics as Genekie. Rosita is very different from her comic counterpart, and a romantic relationship with Eugene would not work. While she cares about Eugene, she is more aggressive and emotionally unstable than her comic version. Comic!Rosita was known for her kindness and emotional stability. In the comics, Rosita used her body in order to be protected while traveling on the road, before she met Abraham. So comic!Rosita and Frankie are similar in those regards. TPTB acknowledge this different in character in 7x15:

“A lot of guys wanted to protect me, like there was no way I could know how to take care of myself. And I didn't. And I hated the way that felt. So I rolled with it. They didn't even notice I was picking up everything they knew how to do and doing it better. Then I'd outgrow them and bounce. The sex was just for fun.”

The writers didn’t need to mention why Rosita had sex with the men who proceeded Abraham as there had never been any earlier reference to them. Unless the writers were acknowledging comic canon. As I mentioned in another post, TPTB treat the different TWD universes as interconnected in a sense (X). They want those familiar with the comics and the show to make comparisons. If Rosita will not end up with Eugene, then who will? Frankie makes hte most sense as of now. The other night I read diamondcitydarlin’s Genekie fic, and a large part of the story centers on Eugene helping Frankie escape the Sanctuary when she discovers that she’s pregnant with Negan’s child. Eugene later joins her after the war, raising her baby as his own. In the comics, after she married him, Rosita became pregnant with another man’s baby, and then was murdered by the Whisperers. Reading diamond’s story helped Genekie’s potential click for me. It makes so much sense that Gimple would adapt Rosita’s comic story and expand upon it. (He wouldn’t create an original character, pair her up with an iconic comic character, and then kill her.) Sherry took a pregnancy test in 7x03, so it’s possible that Negan would be trying with his other wives. Even if the pregnancy storyline does not play out in the show, Frankie is vulnerable to an extent. Abraham was the most important relationship in Eugene’s life, and Red protected him. Now Eugene would protect Red. From protected to protector, like a Cowardly Lion who steps up at the darkest hour, Eugene will find his courage again for the woman he loves.

#genekie #eugene x frankie #eugene porter #twd frankie #bethyl #bethyl meta #parallels #genekie meta

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briangroth27 · 7 years

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Rogue One Review

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story wasn’t a tale that needed to be told—we already knew the original Death Star plans were stolen by Rebel spies—but it was definitely told very well! My favorite characters were Jyn (Felicity Jones), who provided a strong grounding force and emotional through-line, K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), who was excellent comic relief without being a buffoon, and Chirrut (Donnie Yen), whose belief in the Force despite not being Force-sensitive was an interesting addition to the mythology. And Darth Vader (James Earl Jones)…Vader unleashed was terrifying! Forget Boba Fett, I’d like a Vader solo movie. Rogue One had a wealth of well-choreographed and varied action, the scope was as epic and wide-reaching as it needed to be while keeping the story focused, and the additions to the Star Wars canon didn’t needlessly complicate or overwrite anything (though some lines and moments are certainly re-contextualized).

If nothing else, these standalone films should explore different sides of the Star Wars universe; show us new points of view rather than rehash all the same circumstances and belief systems we’re already getting from the main trilogies, and Rogue One did just that. Jyn felt totally different from fellow “plucked from obscurity” leads Luke, Anakin, and Rey. I enjoyed seeing a more morally gray side of the Rebellion through Cassian (Diego Luna). War can make things murky, even when you’re fighting on the right side, and Rogue One definitely showed that. Riz Ahmed’s Bodhi gave us a different flavor of defector than we saw from Finn in Force Awakens, so it’s good to see they aren’t resting on familiar characterizations when introducing people of similar backgrounds. Chirrut’s belief in the Force despite not being a Jedi displayed a new way of thinking about how the “common man” relates to it, which was cool. Since the Force flows through all living things, it makes sense that different people can tap into it—or at least be affected by it—in different ways (much like the Night Sisters on Clone Wars). I definitely want to see more Force “denominations” that challenge the Jedi and Sith “all or nothing” approaches. I’m hoping to see similar variation in Force-use in Rey from Luke’s training, since he wasn’t raised or trained with a strict Jedi upbringing.

I love that this series is giving us more female leads! While the women of Star Wars have generally been great characters, there are too few of them. I’m glad Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) got to speak more than in the original trilogy, but I would’ve liked to see more than four women in the movie (and then, only Jyn had a major role). It wouldn’t have been hard to make one or two other members of Rogue One women. Still, good on them for such a diverse cast otherwise! I’ve gone back and forth on this, but ultimately I felt we got enough personality from all the characters to understand and care about them. The possible exception is Baze (Jiang Wen), who I didn’t get a great feel for outside of his relationship with Chirrut (which I read as romantic, but that wasn’t confirmed). Saw Gerrera (Forrest Whitaker) didn’t get much screentime either, but he’s been/will be fleshed out more on Clone Wars and Rebels. His inclusion here was a neat bridge from the animated shows to the films; if only Marvel Studios would do the same with their television and movie sides.

I liked that there was no opening crawl; it helped set this apart from the main story films, though I do wonder if people new to the saga were thrown off as to where this takes place in the timeline. I didn’t think I’d like a story about complete strangers whose fates were all but revealed in the opening of A New Hope, but Rogue One really won me over! I’ve seen it discussed elsewhere that doing these prequel stories could lead the Star Wars braintrust to always play it safe and tell tales about familiar mythology rather than truly expanding the universe; Han Solo could easily be about winning the Millennium Falcon from Lando and doing the Kessel Run rather than some totally new adventure from Solo’s past, and I hope they don’t fall into that trap. I don’t need every bit of world-building trivia in the original trilogy to be its own movie; that’d make these characters’ lives very small. Instead, they should think outside the Episode 4-6 box and invent new legends and adventures. Just because looking back worked for Rogue One doesn’t mean they should box themselves in completely.

If you haven’t seen it yet, Rogue One is definitely worth seeing before it leaves theaters!

4/5

Major Spoilers…

I really thought Jyn was going to be revealed as Rey’s mother, but obviously that’s not the case. I’m OK with things going this way; I enjoyed her arc through the film and the way she ended up inspiring the Rebellion into real action and getting them their first win. Galen (Madds Mikkelson) giving Jyn a Kyber Crystal necklace was a nice touch given their use as a Death Star power source, even if it seemed set up as something important that wasn’t quite paid off later on. I was surprised she didn’t get to kill Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn); that definitely felt like where her arc was going, but having Cassian do it instead didn’t rob Jyn of her agency or the dramatic weight of avenging her father. Jyn still got to complete her father’s mission, after all. Vader’s castle being located on Mustafar was a nice touch, since Palpatine will want him constantly angry and unfocused. I wonder if the reason for his bacta tank dip in his first scene will be revealed at some point; routine maintenance or the result of something like his battle at the end of Rebels season 2?

I didn’t expect them to fire the Death Star at all, so seeing minor attacks from it were surprising, effective and impressive. The whole Battle of Scarif was really well-paced and intense, while the dogfight above the shield was especially well-choreographed. Almost everyone had a mini-mission too, which was cool. Even though everyone went out fighting, the movie didn’t feel grim or depressing. I don’t know if it’s because we know they’ve helped strike the death blow against the Death Star, that they all went out fighting in honorable/meaningful deaths, or some combination of the two, but I didn’t walk out of the theater thinking things were pointless or hopeless. It’s entirely possible Carrie Fisher’s cameo specifically calling out the hope they’d won played into that, too.

Thinking back on the film, I really like how it re-contextualized and justified parts of A New Hope. If Leia’s lie about being on a diplomatic mission (to peaceful, weaponless Alderaan, no less) were supposed to be taken as a believable facade, why would they be firing on a Star Destroyer and fighting the Stormtroopers through the entire ship? They wouldn’t, but if they’re in the middle of a running chase and Vader has her dead to rights (he already knows there’s no ambassador on board), it makes more sense and makes her lie that much more brazen and gutsy. That Leia was intentionally going to Tatooine to pick up Obi-Wan for Bail also makes more sense than her randomly coming across the planet he was hiding on (and how, with the whole planet at their disposal, the droids “happened” to land right near where Ben was living). The Death Star’s massive design flaw being an intentional addition also works better than Imperial incompetence IMO. Technically, the transmissions were beamed to the “mother ship” and then given to the crew of the Tantive IV before it disconnected, but I don’t mind that bit of narrative flexibility in Vader’s Episode 4 line.

I don’t have a problem with fan service and character cameos—it can be a lot of fun if done right—but I do think Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba being on Jedha was too much. They added nothing to the movie. Beyond that, I was happy with all the shout-outs to the canon (Here’s a handy guide to all the other cameos and Easter eggs!). For example, learning just why the Rogue Five position was open for Luke was a nice touch. It also makes sense for characters like the team in Rebels to have been present for the Scarif fight, given the Rebellion was very small at this point. I wonder if we’ll see the Battle of Scarif from the Ghost crew’s point of view at some point. Especially after Carrie Fisher’s tragic death, I’d love for Leia to become a recurring character on Rebels to detail her other early adventures with the Rebellion; it didn’t seem like this was the first time Bail sent her on a mission.

Here’s an interesting look at the large wealth of footage from the trailers that didn’t make it into the final film. I’d definitely be interested in seeing how that version went down! I also find the method of editing this film—cutting together scenes from other movies to gauge how long they typically are—a little bizarre. Those scenes should be however long you want them to be in your movie; there’s no need to look to other’s films. Visualizing the movie this way could lead to a lack of originality in basic film composition, and that’s something we definitely need to avoid.

#star wars #rogue one #jyn erso #felicity jones #chirrut imwe #donnie yen #alan tudyk #k2so #darth vader

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