Legacies - Fate's a Bitch, Isn't It?

 

Discussing Ep. 3.16 - So I had read that this episode really left off on a cliffhanger and that it was all super suspenseful and what not, but I really found that this season ended on a 'meh' kind of vibe. Though there were developments that I was very happy with, this really felt like it should have been the penultimate episode rather than the season finale and that another episode should have been done where all the main characters were truly left with a cliffhanger of their own.

So I'll get to the major revelation of the episode, that being that, once again, Landon isn't really Landon but is actually Malivore, or Malandon as I'm calling him now. While I'm happy about this development because I definitely think that Aria can drum up that malevolent edge that can make his Malivore portrayal both creepy and villainous, this turn inevitably leads to a burning question: where is the real Landon? And in that sense, it's getting a bit old at this point. They did it once already, having Cleo create a Fake Landon, and that was a clever surprise. This just feels like they're going to the well once too often.

And it also creates a few issues that I had hoped they had gotten past already but apparently they didn't. If Landon is still out there, then it means that there is still a chance that he could be saved and that Hope and Landon could have their happy ending after all. I don't like that! I don't like it because they've already gone through the motions of having ended their relationship...MULTIPLE TIMES!!! They've falsely pulled the trigger so many times at this point that emotionally speaking, the audience is over it. It's like the way they treated death on TVD, having characters die and come back to life so many times that death meant nothing and all the tears and sorrow the characters felt after another character had died were for nothing since that character would eventually come back to life! So them having Landon and Hope 'break up' so many times but it not being the real Landon just creates so many false emotional herrings that I keep asking why I should care at this point.

And the fact that Clarke came back as human only adds fuel to that dumpster fire. Now there is even more hope that Landon can somehow do the same and become human and he and Hope can live happily ever after! Fuck that! The only crinkle to all of this is the fact that if Landon were indeed to come back as completely human AND as useless as he was before, then I don't see why Hope would ever shack up with him. He'd be the liability that he always was and she can't have that, especially if she ends up becoming a tribrid. Consider also that she's already gone through two versions of Landon that were somewhat superior to the old Landon so how could she settle for Original Landon? I don't think she could but I imagine they're going to change Landon somehow (make him a phoenix again or something) and that's how they get their happy ending.

And as far as Clarke goes, I was super disappointed in him. I'm not against the idea of him turning into a good guy, but he didn't earn it. Not by a long shot! From the first season until now, he's been nothing but the bad guy and they were totally building it up that he would return as the bad guy that him suddenly turning good because he's human just doesn't work. It kind of worked for NecroTed but, credit to the writers, they made his turn happen in a way that was entertaining and believable. It doesn't work for Clarke. You need at least a full season of him playing on Team Good Guy before you can elevate him to the rank of 'Frenemy.' This was far too quick and I wonder if he's going to be a part of the cast now. And if so, what would he do? He's human now. I suppose his experience at Triad might come in handy but I was looking forward to Clarke's return because he had potential as a great bad guy. I suppose they shifted that over to Malandon, so they don't need Clarke anymore. Still, a disappointment.

Beyond that, there was really nothing 'cliff-hanging' about the rest of the episode. Cleo being swallowed by Malivore was kind of neat but now she's stuck in the darkness and is going towards some light. Will she end up finding the real Landon? I will say that it's rather funny how they built up the relationship between her and Leonardo DaVinci, making it seem like they were really hot and heavy with each other and had a truly epic kind of love, only to have Cleo see Leonardo a few episodes ago, and the only thing she does is give a basic "Hey, Leo!" kind of greeting and then goes on her merry way to kill Hope. Again, they TALK about their love but they don't actually SHOW it. I'm thinking they will have Cleo meet Leonardo, or a version of him, while she's in Malivore and will go through scenes of their epic love. 

As far as the Wonder Twins go, nothing really noteworthy happened. I will say that I had completely forgotten what Josie had done to Ethan and how she had effectively ruined his life. So it made sense that she wanted him as far away from the supernatural as possible. And I have to admit that I laughed when she was looking for Finch after making them both invisible and she was worried that Finch was upset with her for whatever reason. I laughed because already that's become Finch's reputation, that she will get upset over the slightest thing and will hold it against Josie forever. It just speaks to the fact that Josie really has to grow a backbone and learn not to be worried about walking on eggshells when it comes to Finch. If Finch can't accept who Josie is, flaws and all, then they shouldn't be together, end of story!

I guess we shouldn't be surprised by Ethan and Lizzie starting something given the fact that Ethan made an appearance in her fanfic last week. And to be honest, I like this pairing. In so many ways, Ethan is actually perfect for Lizzie! He's physically attractive that you can see why Lizzie would go for him. But he's not an asshole! His personality is such that he's not a doormat like MG was and he's got confidence working for him, but he doesn't come across as the asshole who would just use Lizzie for a good time and then dump her. And to boot, he's a major geek at heart....just like Lizzie! If there's anyone who could bring out the geek part of her and make her feel comfortable about it, it's Ethan! So, I actually do like this pairing a lot. I had not even considered it and I like that Lizzie legitimately was trying to set him up with Hope and took herself out of the running. It's a testament to her growth and I truly believe she's earned some romantic happiness in her life at this point.

As for MG and Kaleb, I could not have cared less about their storyline. Though I liked MG's look, this was just waste of time. I don't fucking care how Kaleb feels about Cleo and what he's going to say to her. Nobody cares! And I have to say, MG and Kaleb working together just isn't the same as MG and Ethan. Kaleb just doesn't have that geek side to him that makes him connect with MG as well as Ethan did. It will be very interesting to see how MG reacts to his former sidekick shacking up with his crush. All I have to say to that though is, you snooze, you lose! Though I applauded MG for standing up for himself and growing a backbone and not allowing Lizzie to take him for granted, I think there were ways he could have pursued a relationship with her without sacrificing the progress he made in terms of of his self confidence. But he didn't and so now it's going to make things all the more awkward between all of them.

And I have to ask this final question because I don't know what the fuck the special effects department keeps thinking of when they do shit like this. What the fuck were those dots in the background when Kaleb and MG were driving? We saw those same dotted lights when Hope and Clarke were driving too. What the fuck are those dots supposed to be? Are they supposed to be stars? If so, why are they right beside the car and not moving? Are they driving in space?!? Are they at a disco?!? Were there a gaggle of people running alongside the car holding up Lite Brites trying to send a message?!? 

Much like the yellow and green lights that they overused in that one episode, I couldn't help but be majorly distracted by the light dots in the background and wondering what the hell they were. 

I don't know....I don't know what these people are thinking sometimes and how they think that's a good special effect to put in there. It looked stupid!

So beyond the Malandon reveal, there wasn't really anything cliff-hanging about the rest of the episode and that was disappointing. All we're really left with are a bunch of 'will they-won't they' scenarios regarding romantic couplings and, really, that doesn't make me eager to see what happens next season. 

That's why I think they could have done with at least one more episode where perhaps Malandon turns the tables on the main characters and perhaps somehow traps them in a prison world and there's a countdown involved. Have it be that perhaps Hope does indeed die and is threatening to become a tribrid but she's unstable and could kill the other main characters while in the prison world because she can't control her blood lust and her powers. And have Malandon take over Salvatore School and start slowly turning the students into his own personal army....OR.....threaten to devour them all as well, making Alaric and the rest's return all the more necessary. 

There needs to be some kind of high stakes involved with a cliffhanger, and there weren't any when it came to this episode. 

It was just....meh! Definitely not the strong ending I was looking for. 

  

Legacies - A New Hope

 

Discussing Ep. 3.15 - Ya know, I had heard prior to watching this that the episode was going to have ties to TVD, TO and was going to be set in space. So I didn't know what to expect. I will say that this episode was both fun, frustrating and I really felt like they were out to personally drive me insane!

In a lot of ways, this episode just seems to point to the idea that Lizzie and Landon should just become an item at some point during the series. That would be the biggest development on the show EVER but I say that because it's just absolutely hilarious how Lizzie has tried so hard to hide the geek part of her personality. The fact that she would write a fanfic that included elements of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and ninjas is just absolutely hilarious! The fact that she makes fun of Landon in particular means that there may be some kind of attraction on her part. Mind you, I have a feeling that they're going more in the direction of Lizzie and MG, which I wouldn't oppose since they have been building that relationship up during the series, so that's fair.

I had said last week that I had hoped they got past all the truth bombs and psychology reveals, but apparently that wasn't the case. Still, I'm not upset because they did this all in a very creative and funny way that it made it entertaining. Focusing more on Lizzie's insecurities more than the others, especially when it came to Hope, was nothing new. We knew this about her and about the Wonder Twin's relationship with Hope and I was surprised they had brought this up again. But I guess it was one of those things that, much like the last episode, was meant to solidify the trio together and I think they did a rather decent job with it. 

Then we got to Reveal #1. Well done, Legacy writers! Well done! I wasn't expecting this at all and I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the original Hope Mikaelson pop up in that room. It was both fantastic and funny at the same time, given how Summer Fontana is a bit older now and looks NOTHING like DRR! Like, putting them side by side, you can't imagine one growing up and looking like the other. But this was great and it was a nice little nod to TO and the Hope from that series. Brought back good memories of a time when vampires and werewolves and witches were quite bad ass in the TVD universe. But then we got to Reveal #2.

I mean, I said it last week that I had hoped that the entity who was in that room that Clarke was looking into would turn out to be The Hollow or that she would make an appearance on the Legacies show at some point. And lo and behold, who does Originals Hope think is walking around as Lord Marshall....but The Hollow! I literally got up from my chair and paced around my room when she said that! I was so shocked that they had even mentioned her, let alone created the possibility that she might make an appearance on the show! I was so excited that perhaps all my dreams and visions of The Hollow returning and replacing Malivore as the big bad in the series had FINALLY come to pass!

But no! 

It was still all about this glorified Play Doh fuck! 

And I get it. Even Legacies Hope said it, that The Hollow was defeated and is no longer a threat and I can accept that. But like I also said, it's Malivore fatigue at this point. He's been the big bad for the past 3 seasons and I'm just here like, when does it end? I had also wanted them to go back to a time when Hope was actually afraid of something worth being afraid of. Malivore has been far too comical and non-threatening to be seen as something that Hope should be afraid of. Her mere existence, her blood, is a threat to Malivore. He can't do fuck all to her, so why is she afraid? The Hollow, on the other hand, has done far more devastating acts against Hope to the point that she would create the kind of trauma that Hope would be afraid to face again and that's why I wanted her to return. And I will say that I liked how they kind of turned this around for the Hope character. It's not that she's afraid of Malivore, but more like she's afraid of what she has to become (i.e., a tribrid) in order to defeat her. But that's also where I have a major issue with both Malivore as a villain and Hope's supposed dilemma.

Like it's been asked before.....why does Hope have to become a tribrid to defeat Malivore? Her blood seems to do the job just as effectively. I've said this to others in the comment section that there has to be a cost, or a threat, to Hope becoming a tribrid other than she becomes immortal. I recall when Klaus was set to become the world's first hybrid and how Elijah really built that up, with Klaus having the powers of both a werewolf and a vampire and being able to create his own race of hybrids and nothing, not even sunlight or silver, could stop him. Given Klaus' personality at the time, that was a real threat that needed to be stopped. With Hope, no such threat exists. So she becomes a tribrid. Whoop-dee-dooo! She defeats Malivore....and then what? She remains the most OP supernatural creature in the world and spends all her time trying to live as a normal high school student? 

I could see it if they were trying to build it up that indeed, the so-called Super Squad, becomes a thing and they all start hunting monsters throughout the world, then Hope could use her powers to defeat powerful monsters. But if she defeats Malivore, then all the fairy tale monsters disappear, right? So then she's left with nothing but boring vampires, werewolves and witches. And she's the most powerful out of all of them. So what's the challenge? That's why I say, there has to be something else, some kind of cost or threat, for Hope for turning into a tribrid. Otherwise, she sort of becomes like One Punch Man, this overpowered being who becomes bored with life because no one can challenge him. Where is the challenge for Hope once she becomes a tribrid? Even an internal struggle to not let her powers overwhelm her would at least be something that could serve as a cost or threat to her becoming a tribrid.

Then we get to the second storyline and I honestly couldn't have cared less about this. Other than MG, it featured the bit players that don't matter. And while I feel bad about saying that, it's true. Jed is just comedy fodder at this point. He's a set prop because that's the only material he's got to work with. He acts like a dumb jock and I can't, for the life of me, understand what he brings to the show. He's not even that funny, so that element isn't even there. And as for Kaleb....what the fuck? This was just as aggravating to watch as any Josie-Finch scene out there. Kaleb mopes around, giving MG the cold shoulder and saying that everything is alright when it was clearly not. The sheer level of immaturity and self pity was tough to watch. And having them re-battle the wendigo, this time together, just to get to the point where Kaleb finally reveals that he was jealous of MG and Ethan? This was fucking stupid and a waste of my time.

As was this! Who the fuck does she think she is?!? Coming in there, berating Alaric for putting her useless boyfriend, Dorian, in danger? Alaric has the patience of Job at this point because I would not have stood for this. I bring this up again and it's worth bringing up again....Dorian and Emma abandoned Alaric! That's it, end of story. Alaric owes of either of them NOTHING!!!! It was Dorian who decided to come back to Mystic Falls. Alaric didn't ask him. Dorian did it all of his own volition. And I forgot that Emma's a witch. Does she really think she can escape the supernatural when she's a part of it? What is it with Plague that she has to put Alaric through constant torture and surround him with such useless people? Him having to see Emma and Dorian kiss is just....it's just such a fucking slap in the face that he doesn't need! He doesn't deserve that so why are they putting him through this bullshit? 

What I did like is that Alaric basically said that he always had Dorian's back, no matter what (which is truly magnanimous of him). I hope that was a subtle jab at both Dorian and Emma because, clearly, neither one of them have Alaric's back! Fuck them! Fuck both of them! Even if Emma and Alaric end up as an item, I don't wish to see that at all. Get some other woman on the show to be a PERMANENT love interest for Alaric. He doesn't need some fucking fair-weather, hypocritical friend who'll abandon him when he needs her the most! And Dorian can go and just fuck off. I don't know what he brings to the show or to Alaric. He's super judgmental and his personality is as charismatic as drywall. And he's willing to throw Alaric under the bus just to save his own worthless ass when it came to getting in trouble by Emma? Please! He's no replacement for Damon, that's for sure, as far as a drinking buddy for Alaric goes. He's barely a worthwhile replacement for a potted plant at this point.   

So Clarke made his long awaited return to the show. I am curious to see what role he will play in the final episode and how that will set up next season. And of course, we do have to find out what happened to Cleo and Landon and if they play a part, at all, in Clarke's plans. I have to assume that they do and that Clarke has been aware of what's been going on with everyone. I'm looking forward to his return because, again, it's at least a personality that Hope and the others can engage with and it's not some low-moaning-groaning claymation creature come to life.  

So, like I said, an entertaining episode and very creative one. They did a good job with their homage to Star Wars. Let's hope they can end it all on a good note next week!

Legacies - This Feels A Little Cult-y

 

Discussing Ep. 3.14 - So for an episode that served as a welcome back, I didn't mind this one too much, though it was disappointing in some respects. The fact that there was no relationship drama and Lizzie was back and funny as ever I think is what held my interest throughout the episode. This felt like a bridge to the final two episodes and the final arc of the season, so I am curious how they're going to try and wrap everything up with these last couple of episodes. 

We keep seeing Clarke throughout the season and I'm really hoping that it's for a reason and not just out of some simple contributing element to the overall plot. Either he's coming back or he isn't. When I saw him talking to that silhouette in the cell, I was REALLY hoping that the silhouette would turn out to be the Hollow from TO. I know it was a longshot but at this point, I'm getting such Malivore fatigue and the thought of taking a chance and introducing a new villain who is as personal and as powerful as the Hollow is such a a tantalizing idea! Instead, it turned out to be your run-of-the-mill witch who was acting as some kind of hippie cult leader. 

Now, I will admit that I was intrigued as to what her plan was and if she was indeed a mere witch or if there was something more to her. But at the end of the day, she was a mere witch who was recruiting other witches to perform a specific spell for Clarke to bring about some guy who literally looked like a cheap knock off of Darth Vader. And in that I was disappointed because I thought it would lead to something far loftier. With the crystals and that big crystal that Andi had everyone touch and the fact that she had basically everyone under her control, I expected her to do a lot more. 

And I was sort of expecting a little more from Lizzie, to be honest. While she kind of retraced previous steps of being insecure and drawing humour from that (I LOL'd at that line about the dicks), I was hoping we'd get something different. Still, she was rather funny and in essence, she was the hero of the episode for discovering Andi's secret and being able to break the hypnosis that Hope and Josie were under. What I'm really hoping for is that this episode truly serves as a transition for these characters to finally move on to something else. While I appreciated the truth bombs that they all served each other, I think they should be moving past all that at this point. 

One thing that I didn't understand at all was how Hope was able to defeat a gaggle of witches all on her own. Look, I get that Hope is super powerful but I didn't think she was THAT powerful. She essentially beat the equivalent of an entire coven all on her own! There must have been like 20 witches there, all under the control of Andi (who I assumed was a powerful witch in her own right) and Hope just jumped down and took them all out on her own! I don't think so. I've said this before to Dark Rose that I truly believe that if Hope is turned into a vampire, then she should malfunction, for lack of a better term, because she'd be so OP that it would be unfair for her to become almost god-like and not suffer any consequences for it. There has to be a cost to attaining all that power and it would be intriguing if indeed Hope essentially became the villain. I'd be down for seeing that. 

And then we get to the second storyline, which was Finch and Jed. It seemed to be the theme of this episode for characters to sort of regress back to what they were early on in the series. So despite Finch's seemingly smooth integration into the pack, she apparently had to go through a hazing of sorts and be the low girl on the totem pole, doing the menial jobs and serving the pack. Jed really seemed to regress to his old ways and I didn't get why. Jed looked like a chump in the end and I don't know what his purpose is on the show other than to look like a chump or a dummy or an asshole or a scumbag. It just seems like he can't do anything right and, like Kaleb, is a character that if he were to disappear in the next episode, I wouldn't miss him at all. I don't get why they need the werewolves at the school anyway when they don't seem to contribute anything at all to helping the school. It seems like it's always magic, magic, magic that saves the day. 

What surprised me about this storyline is where they DIDN'T go with it. I was fully expecting Finch to challenge Jed for the Alpha position by beating him in a wrestling match or boxing match.....in something physical where she couldn't possibly have won from a physical standpoint but did it because of her pluckiness and determination. Look, I'm all for female empowerment but not when it comes at the unnecessary cost of emasculating a male character (sometimes there's a need for it, but sometimes not). I didn't think it was necessary here and thankfully the writers thought the same. Finch didn't really annoy me as much as I thought she would and I can appreciate the fact that she was a pool shark who essentially took mercy on Jed and let him keep his Alpha position even though she easily could have taken it from him. So it's a nice display of a positive character trait on her part. But like I said, I don't know what all this does for the Jed character other than making him look like a complete and proper loser. 

And then we get to the last of the storylines that dealt with regressions of character (or at least, it was implied). I was shocked as all hell that the show remembered that MG used to be a Ripper! But that's what they were hinting at as Dorian seemed to be on the rampage and was bent on essentially killing MG because he believed he had returned to his Ripper ways. I have to say, Dorian is just fucking annoying! You'd think he was brand new to Mystic Falls or something the way he just assumed it was MG and was not willing to entertain any other explanation, despite the fact that he knew MG! I'm not a fan of the guy to begin with considering he's still with Emma and they both abandoned Alaric. But beyond that, in this episode he tried to come off as compassionate and almost as the champion for the victims but it felt so pretentious. So...yeah...he can go and fucking blow it!

I don't know, I thought this was a weird and unnecessary side story that they wrote that didn't really pay off in any big way at the end. I get that MG was somewhat distraught about breaking his friendship with Ethan and felt the need to be distant. And I suppose I could see it that he wanted to continue helping people using his vampire powers, but to have it that it looked like he had regressed to his Ripper ways (when they have barely mentioned that at all for like 2 seasons) without any real catalyst that made the audience believe that it might have actually happened did little to make me a fan of this storyline. It really was a lot of bells and whistles for nothing in the end. I guess it was also done for a laugh as it was finally a wendigo that they got to face, but still. Didn't really add much to the overall storyline.

So I guess the question is, who is Darth Imitator and what is his overall plan? Is it Clarke underneath there? Are we going to get an answer as to why there are seemingly two Malivore's wandering around (the one in the prison world and the four-armed one that Hope and Landon faced)? Where have Landon and Cleo gone to? 

And what was with the panda outfits? Was that a play on words for pandemic? 

That was my theory anyway.   

Legacies - One Day You Will Understand

 

Discussing Ep. 3.13 - So we're back to our usual mixed bag. There were some elements in this episode that I liked and some that I definitely didn't like. Like, good grief, it was all about the couples, wasn't it? Hope and Landon. Cleo and Kaleb. Josie and Finch. I knew the good run of episodes couldn't last. 

The new Landon. I don't know about this. It's hard for me to put into words what my issue is with Landon now (though I will try). He is what I expected him to be and perhaps that's the problem. In some ways, this storyline reminded me of Angel, when his son, Connor, is taken into some Hell dimension upon being born and raised there, fighting monsters on a daily basis. He comes back to Angel all messed up and with a severe chip on his shoulder and it took a while for Angel to finally get through to him. I was hoping for something similar to happen to Landon, that he'd come back with an edge. And he did....but he didn't. It was more like he had PTSD (which would be understandable) which isn't the same.

I think my issue is that I wasn't surprised by anything he did. With Fake Landon, he surprised me in regards to his attitude. Real Landon didn't. He behaved pretty much as I figured he would behave given what he had been through. He was skittish, anxious, uneasy. It's what you'd expect. But he wasn't so transformed that you were shocked by what he became. Him breaking up with Hope wasn't shocking. Him beating up that jock wasn't shocking. Him attacking Malivore was fucking hilarious because he got owned, but it wasn't shocking. I suppose that me being genuinely surprised by various developments in the previous two episodes kind of got me used to that and so I had hoped that they would go in a more innovative direction with Landon.

Actually, I'll take some of that last statement back. They did, and that's having Landon and Cleo team up! I like that development (and I'll get to Cleo in a minute). And to be fair, he did what he was supposed to do with Hope. He broke up with her. But did he really have a choice? She's literally toxic to him so it's not like they had much of a future together anyway. I give him credit for having the Spaldings to walk away. But I think the one thing that bothered me was that he said that he got angry when he saw Hope with Fake Landon but then he accepted it. Again, it was something that you'd expect from him and though I'm glad that he backed off rather than try and fight for her love, so to speak, I was just looking for a different reaction.

I guess at the end of the day, I was hoping for Landon to turn into the big bad. When I think about it, that's primarily where my disappointment is coming from. We got a glimpse of what Aria could do when he channeled a bit of evilness in Landon and I liked it. If Landon had come back all messed up from his time in that prison world, surviving all the various fairytale monsters, and maybe becoming almost the opposite of what he had been before, that would have been distinct and perhaps captivating. Before he was the proverbial damsel-in-distress, always needing to be rescued by Hope and never engaging in a fight on his own. If he came back as having tasted violence and death and coming to like it, perhaps as an unexpected side effect of being Malivore's son, to the point where he's unstable and sees Hope and the rest of the school as a threat....that would have been different. Still, I'll hold any further judgement to see where they take Cleo and Landon.

Speaking of Cleo, this was disappointing. Before I get to that, I'll give credit where credit is due. They explained quite nicely all the different 'why's' that I had brought up from the previous episode. Why didn't she kill Hope before? Because she was trying to find another way to NOT turn Hope into a tribrid. Why did she want to kill Hope? She felt it was her only way to free herself of being hunted down by Malivore. Why or how did she know DaVinci? She dated him (and I could hang with the concept that all his brilliant ideas were inspired by her presence....it's clever). Though I do wonder what happened to DaVinci. He just seemed to disappear and there was no explanation as to how or why.     

They pulled the pieces all together and made it all make sense, so I have to give credit for that. My issue is that, again, it was somewhat predictable. I guess because I'm just looking for someone other than Malivore to be the threat at some point because we're in the third season and it's still all about Malivore, Malivore, Malivore!!! And with Cleo able to make her own creatures just by moulding them out of clay and bringing them to life...they could have done something amazing with that! I was hoping she'd be a bad guy because that would have been different. But instead, they had this sob story of her sacrificing herself to save her family and being stuck with Malivore for who knows how long and doing everything she did because she felt forced to. Is there no one truly evil other than Malivore on this show?

And then we get to the third storyline with Finch meeting the wolf pack. I don't know if it's just the way they believe that werewolf packs have to operate in that all the werewolves HAVE TO act the same way, but this was annoying. Of course Jed and the other werewolves are just a bunch of jocks! It was sort of the same on TO, with all the Crescent werewolves being just a bunch of bayou folk so it's nothing new. But still, it was rather comical if not off-putting. And of course street tough Finch fits in like a glove. Was there a little bit of eye action going on between her and Jed? That'd be just hilarious if Jed were responsible for yet ANOTHER break up if he hooked up with Finch!

Though I'm hardly invested in their relationship, I will question what they are doing with Josie as a result of it. I ask that because it some ways, she's sort of becoming like Landon. Though she always had a visible lady-hard-on for Finch that was just embarrassing, if not inappropriate, she seems to be losing her self respect now too. She's so worried about upsetting Finch and losing her that she essentially agrees with everything Finch says. She doesn't argue anything, at least not with authority. She's so meek when it comes to Finch that I'm just shaking my head at her. The part that took the cake for me was how Finch, all high and righteous, points out how Josie isn't like the other students because she's the Headmaster's daughter, implying that she gets special treatment. Then at the end, Josie is all apologies, essentially saying "OMG! You're so right! I'm such a princess and so disgusted with myself. Forgive me!" Like...what?

This was never an issue before (and if it was, I don't recall it) but in this episode, it suddenly became one. It created drama for Cleo and I suppose it was a flaw in Alaric's character that needed to be pointed out, that being that he wasn't giving Cleo a chance and he was clearly playing favourites with the students. Well...d'uh! He's only human! And I'll argue that him wanting to lock up Cleo and not trusting her was justified. Josie making the comparison between her and Cleo wasn't fair. He KNOWS Josie and raised her and therefore was practically required to give her a chance. He doesn't know Cleo. All he knows of Cleo is that she's been lying ever since she got there and was the reason why Malivore was sending monsters and she tried to kill Hope. Now I do agree that Cleo deserved to have her side of the story told but I don't blame Alaric for not trusting her. And yes, Alaric has made questionable judgements (not on his own though) on past students and sending them to the prison world. He's not perfect. How that suddenly translated into Josie being the school princess that got special treatment and she had to apologize for it doesn't make a lot of sense. 

I'm going to trust the writers on this because the show has been rather self-aware when it came to Hope being obsessed with Landon and they made it part of the storyline, so perhaps they are going somewhere with this too. Perhaps Josie is subconsciously over-compensating for her misdeeds as Dark Josie and that's why she's being such a doormat. I hope so because I can't stand Josie pandering to Finch, trying to impress her and not make her upset. The darker side of me just doesn't want them as a couple because I can't stand those lovey-dovey scenes but that's beside the point. I don't see what Finch brings to the table if she's always so judgmental and sensitive about things and willing to walk away from Josie at the drop of a hat. Nobody needs someone like that in their lives, especially Josie.

So it wasn't much of a cliffhanger that we were left with for the next three weeks. Though I will say, if Landon and Cleo do end up being an item, that would be fucking crazy! I can't imagine Hope would EVER see Cleo as a friend again. And why should she? I would support Hope being antagonistic towards Cleo if Cleo did that, since she's done nothing but lie to Hope, create a Fake Landon for Hope and then tried to kill Hope, only to steal Hope's love as a final kicker! It'd be so chaotic, it'd be brilliant!

So some questions that I'm left with: where is Lizzie? I miss her. Where is MG? He just disappeared. Why didn't Landon recognize Malivore? How did Malivore get out? I thought he was stuck in a prison world, not in some cave. Why did that doo-hickey break so easily? I thought that it was indestructible.

I guess we won't find any of that out for another three weeks.  

The Witcher - Season 1 Review

 

Discussing Eps. 1 - 8 - So with having Netflix and a bit of time on my hands, I decided to check out some shows that seem to be all the rage these days. I like a bit of fantasy, LotR-style, and since I had missed out on Game of Thrones, I figured I'd check out The Witcher starring Henry Cavill. I'll be reviewing based on select character's storylines rather than the entire season as a whole. But for a start, if you're a fan of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones or even Dungeons & Dragons, I'd recommend this show. It's only 8 episodes (and a second season is coming) so it's not that much to binge. It is cliché in some respects (and I'll go over that) but there are some good CGI and fight scenes and it keeps you entertained, so what more could you ask for?

*SPOILERS AHEAD* 

Geralt of Rivia. If we're going to start with cliché characters, we might as well start with the lead. I mean, this guy is like the prototypical RPG fantasy lead character. Tall, muscular, brooding, deep and scruffy voice, scary eyes, a skilled warrior, a loner, knows some magic, doesn't age (like other folk), popular with the ladies, slays monsters (for coin), and wears black....he's essentially a cross between Aragorn, Blade and Batman! And his backstory is shrouded in mystery. All you know from the first season was that he was created after his mother (a mage or sorceress or druid...haven't figured it out yet) gave him away when he was a child and he was molded by magic to become a Witcher. He apparently can't feel emotion and he can't fall in love (or so they say). Like I said, he'd be a character that you'd find in a World of Warcraft or Skyrim kind of game. Oddly enough, the book series was developed into a video game so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. And given the fact the books were developed in Polish in the late 90's, perhaps other franchises took from this character rather than the other way around. 

Putting on his best TVD vampire look! LOL!

Being the cliché lone wolf, he looks out only for himself but he clearly has a sense of morality and mercy, rescuing strangers and helping others out even if he gets no reward for it or gets hurt along the way. For these reasons, I had a bit of an issue with the whole 'no emotion' aspect of his character. I always get a bit nitpicky when a character claims to feel no emotions and yet seem to exhibit them quite often. Geralt felt and exhibited anger, disappointment, amusement, boredom, compassion, sympathy, frustration and relief. Just because he talks in a gruff voice and doesn't smile a lot doesn't make Geralt an non-emotional character.

I felt like they were trying to give his character a stumbling block that would make his emotional attachments to other characters like Yennefer or Cirilla or even Jaskier all that more dramatic, but it doesn't work if that stumbling block is routed time and time again. I think for that reason and because of the limited episodes in the first season, there wasn't much room for character growth for Geralt and whatever growth did occur had to be rather sudden. He was basically all about "money and monsters" at the beginning and that seemed to change over the course of the series as he interacted with more people, so I could see some growth there. What I felt was a bit contrived and rushed was both his devotion to the Law of Surprise (and by extension, Cirilla) and to Yennefer especially.

I didn't get this relationship at all. Look, I know Yennefer is hot (well, pretty much all the women on this show are hot!), but what was it about her that suddenly made him care so much? Was she a good lay? Was it her eyes? That whole episode with the genie that seemed to bond these two still confuses me as I don't get why Geralt went out of his way to save her. Like I said, if he were this professional warrior-for-hire who could feel no emotions, then he shouldn't have cared at all what happened to Yennefer. But he did and she seemed to become a focal point that I felt wasn't justified. At least with Cirilla, he was focused on her because of a vow he made (regardless of how casually he made it). But with Yennefer, his bond with her felt really contrived.

The other aspect that I wish they'd focused a bit more on, and perhaps they'll delve more into in the next season, was his upbringing and what was actually involved in him becoming a Witcher. I liked that scene with his mom, where he asked her to at least admit that she didn't know the low survival rates of children who went on to become Witchers before she made the decision to give him up. As impactful as that was, I think it would have felt more so had we gotten more scenes of the trials he went through, of the other kids perhaps dying and him suffering and wishing to go back to his mom. This really felt like the audience was told about the suffering rather than shown and it would have been better had we been shown. I think scenes like that would have helped to show why Geralt is the way he is and create a degree of animosity towards his mother by the viewer, and perhaps if/when she reveals why she did what she did, will allow the audience (and Geralt) to make a more informed judgement on her.

Beyond that, he was an enjoyable character to watch, especially when it got down to the fighting. The fight scenes in this show are excellent and very well done. What kills me though is how you always get these groups of jamokes who are stupid enough to challenge Geralt time and time again. Like...why?!? Why do they challenge this hulking mass of muscle who is known to KILL MONSTERS ALL BY HIMSELF FOR A LIVING?!? And I mean...MONSTERS! Like, multi-tentacled, razor sharp teeth and claws kind of monsters. Why do these guys think they have any kind of a chance? And worst yet, when these guys see Geralt kill like 5 of them with incredible ease, the remaining don't run away or surrender....NO, THEY CONTINUE TO ATTACK HIM! The fuck is the matter with you? That's not bravery, that's stupid! Those jabronis deserve to die because they're stupid! Still, it was enjoyable to watch and definitely the fight scenes are a highlight of this show.

Yennefer of Vengerberg. She was definitely one of the characters that annoyed me the most and was also somewhat cliché. Honestly, I thought this character was at her best when she was hunchbacked. She felt more relatable because she wasn't this super attractive character and she faced such an uphill struggle to the point that she wanted to kill herself. I felt it when she lamented how she was only sold for four marks. I found myself rooting for her in the beginning and cheering on her accomplishments. I was happy when Tissaia stopped calling her "piglet" and finally called her Yennefer. I was thrilled when Istredd fell for her and basically accepted her for who she was, hunchback and all, when she had been rejected so many times based on her appearance alone. In a lot of ways, they made her too much of an underdog that you could just tell that she was going to rise above everyone else and become this powerful mage that would become lost in the power and prestige that would come. 

I suppose for that reason, I was disappointed when she underwent that transformation to remove her deformities. And I was super annoyed when she failed to acknowledge that everything that she couldn't have was because SHE WANTED IT THAT WAY!!! The way she kept saying how her inability to have a child was a choice that was taken from her was such bullshit. Giltine told her straight up what she would have to give up (i.e., having a baby) in order to be transformed into what she wanted. She agreed! That was a choice she made on her own. I mean, I got the message and I thought that it was a good one: be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Plus, sometimes what you want isn't always what is going to make you happy and isn't always what you need. 

Those lessons were wonderfully displayed in Yennefer but it seems she herself missed the point. She got everything she wanted: prestige, beauty, adoration, sex, power. But she wasn't happy. And she just never seemed to hit that point where she acknowledged that her misery was of her own making. Whenever it was pointed out to her, whether by Tissaia or anyone else, she would always deflect and say "Well, what about you?" And I was like "Fucking hell, girl! Look in the mirror and realize that you are where you are because you wanted it that way!" I applauded when Istredd said how he pursued her but she basically kept rejecting him, only to have her finally come back to him and him realizing that he had moved on from her. I think in those moments I had the most hope that she would finally realize her mistakes but she would always deflect and move onto something else, never really letting the impact of the lesson hit her.

I suppose we'll see what happens in the next season. I like how she finally found a purpose (whether she'll see if it's HER purpose or not) and found a strength in becoming the general and coordinating the defenses of Sodden Hill. It was very impressive how she was able to direct all the mages and counsel them in the use of their powers. She really seemed to come into her own and I found that more impressive than her going Scorched Earth on everyone (though I will admit...that was pretty cool!). I guess what I'm hoping for this character is a sense of self-awareness that she didn't seem to achieve yet. Hopefully, she will.

Queen Calanthe. Speaking of self-awareness and owning up to one's mistakes, we get Queen Calanthe. I loved this character! I think it's because she wasn't a typical character. And I'll say that the time jumps (as jarring as they were) served to show how duplicitous, conniving and prideful Queen Calanthe was. On the one hand, she's this bad ass queen who prefers to dish it out on the battlefield rather than sit on the throne and look pretty. But she looks out for her own, especially Cirilla. But early on in the series they were able to show hints of her pride that was wonderfully shown to be her downfall. 

I mean, it was practically hilarious how this woman's pride kept coming back to bite her in the ass! She says that her kingdom doesn't need a mage and refuses them outright, much to the chagrin of the Brotherhood (although she did have Mousesack, who was a druid who knew magic and was a counsellor to her so I don't get the real difference there). Turns out it was thanks to a mage that Nilfgaard was able to defeat her army so easily. She dismisses Nilfgaard's invasion as a threat because she believes she has sufficient military reserves and her husband's navy to defend her kingdom. Turns out those reserves weren't enough and the navy was wiped out...thanks to a mage! She turns her back on Geralt, refusing to honour the Law of Surprise (again) and locks him up for trying to protect Cirilla, only to seek his help and send Cirilla to him when the shit hits the fan!

And there was such an amazing conniving nature to her. The way she was able to dismiss her daughter, Pavetta's, feelings for Urcheon of Erlenwald, the guy who looked like Sonic the Hedgehog. It was clear that Pavetta loved him and he loved her. And so Calanthe goes along with it all and seemingly makes peace with their union, only to literally try and stab Urcheon when his guard is down! She didn't fucking care! She didn't care that that would have broken Pavetta's heart. She didn't care that Urcheon was under a curse. She just went for it! And then when Geralt comes for Cirilla in order to protect her and fulfill the Law of Surprise, Calanthe tries to pass off ANOTHER woman's child as Cirilla and when that fails, locks up Geralt who probably would have stayed in that prison for who knows how long had Nilfgaard not attacked at that moment. It was just incredible the devious lengths this woman would go to, all because of her pride.

But why I liked her character over Yennefer's, despite clearly being as arrogant and prideful as Yennefer was, was because I felt like Calanthe got her comeuppance and I do believe she came to realize the error of her ways. She was so confident to the point of arrogance that she didn't need to fear Nilfgaard or that she didn't need Geralt's help that when it all came to the point that she was wrong on both counts, her crestfallen demeanour seemed to speak volumes about her realization that she was wrong. The fact that she sent Cirilla to find Geralt seemed to confirm that. My only gripe with her ending was that she killed herself by jumping out a window. That was weak! She was a fighting queen and so she should have gone down fighting. Beyond that, I liked this character if only because she was not conventional. She surprised me at various points and that was refreshing.

Jaskier. Not much to say about this character beyond that he was what I would have expected from a sidekick of Geralt. Where Geralt was always brooding and didn't say much, Jaskier was wisecracking and more light hearted that brought a balance to the pair. Though I never really understood how it was that Jaskier could just up and travel with Geralt without knowing anything about him. I get that he was trying to get inspiration to write a good tune based on Geralt's exploits but given the fact that Geralt was a monster hunter and Jaskier clearly was not made for that life, I found it odd that he would seek Geralt out and accompany him when Geralt clearly didn't want his company. Still, he was good comic relief and I look forward to him and Geralt mending fences and teaming up again.

Tissaia de Vries. I swear, I kept waiting for Harry Potter or Hermione to pop into frame at some point. She just seemed like she'd fit in at Hogwart's more than anywhere else. It was weird because they tried to depict her as this stern, heartless authority figure who didn't care about her students or especially about Yennefer. Even giving her the title of Rectoress gave her a sort of authoritarian aura about her. But I could tell that once Yennefer got the hang of things, we'd find out that Tissaia was actually quite caring and wasn't the hard ass that she was portrayed as being. 

For those who may have watched ER back in the day, her and Yennefer's relationship sort of reminded me of Benton and Carter, with Benton being this hard ass doctor who demanded so much from Carter but wound up being one of Carter's closest friends. Though they were hinting at that kind of friendship between Tissaia and Yennefer, we'll see if the relationship holds up into the second season. Mind you, she was still a bit cold hearted beyond her relationship with Yennefer, seemingly having little problem when some of her students "ascended" and became golden eels that powered the school! That was kind of cold. But beyond that, I don't know....I think I find her sexy in that demure, prim and proper kind of way. So maybe that's why I like her! I'm curious to know her background as she seemed to be rather empathetic to Yennefer, always referring to the two of them as "people like us." So we'll see what the second season brings for her.

Cirilla. Not a whole lot to say about her either other than Fortune seemed to be heavily on her side. Or perhaps it was Destiny, am I right?!? She always seemed to find a helping hand, whether it was Dara, the Elf, who accompanied her on her journey, or the Dryads of Brokilon Forest who gave her shelter and didn't outright kill her like they did so many other people, or it was her own innate Black Canary powers that were able to hurt, if not kill, any threat around her. I will say that it was kind of neat to see just how close she was to Geralt at any given moment on her journey because they really did make it seem like they were continents apart when in fact, they were practically right next to each other. I am curious what her role will be and how she figures into Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach's plan (aka, Nilfgaard's leader. Fuck, that's a long ass name. He's a bad guy just for having that name alone!). What is his plan? What is the Source that he's looking for? And what does Cirilla have to do with it all?

Overall, I liked this series. I think Henry Cavill did a fantastic job with the lead role. I do hope his character is expanded upon as well as the other characters. I was sort of disappointed that some storylines were dropped off like Renfri and that whole child-born-under-an-eclipse storyline....that seemed really ominous and it really amounted to nothing. The time jumps were a bit confusing but you did catch up to what was going on rather quickly and I really liked how they used those time jumps to weave the entire story together and made it cohesive. That was very well done. The CGI monsters are pretty decent (especially when I compare it to what I see on Legacies) and I love the fight scenes. 

So, yeah....I like this series a lot.

And it certainly doesn't hurt that it has some hot babes and nudity in it too. I guess that's a staple nowadays with fantasy shows. 

I ain't complaining! 😎