I have a lot to say about this episode even after more than a year since I first watched it, so let's dive in.
Lilith Visits Magnus
The first scene of this episode is Lilith going to Magnus for help. I love this because it's another reminder of how powerful Magnus is. This incredibly powerful demon needs help and she goes to Magnus instead of someone else.
At the same time, I'm surprised that Magnus isn't capable of identifying Lilith. She does live in Edom along with Asmodeus, and we know that Magnus spent time with Asmodeus. If he's never come into contact with Lilith before—not even once—I would be surprised. The body she's using isn't her natural form, but later episodes especially imply that it's the human form she always (or at least typically) uses when she wants to appear human. I feel like Magnus should have recognized that it was her, but I suppose that's a question that I'm not too distracted by while watching the show.
Jace's Mental Health
I have mixed feelings about the way they handled Jace's suspicion that he has a mental illness. For one, they keep talking about how his mother suffered from mental illness, but they only use the vague term 'mental illness.' There's not one mention of what mental illness she actually had, which I think is doing a disservice when talking about mental health. It's an easy way out because it means they can talk about what she suffered without bothering to be accurate to any particular illness.
(It's worth nothing that they have the canon excuse of Shadowhunters not taking mental illness seriously and no one bothering to take her to a doctor. But there's a lot I could say about that, and I'd probably end up ranting for several paragraphs at least.)
All in all, that was a small thing to me. What really got me angry about how mental health was handled in the episode was Clary's reaction to Jace raising the possibility of being sick (especially after having a nice scene of Alec and Jace both wanting Jace to get help).
Clary doesn't want Jace to assume that he has a mental illness, and though there are angels and demons involved here, I know plenty of stories about people who struggle with mental illness and are told that there's actually nothing wrong with them. It can get harmful because the people around them won't help them get treatment when they need it. I don't like that Clary is doing the same thing here.
She also explicitly says that she's worried about him being declared unfit for duty, which is a terrible thing to be worried about when someone wants to get help in my opinion. She's encouraging him to bury what's bothering him so that he can keep fighting even if it isn't healthy for him. If he's declared unfit, then that's a good thing because it gives him time to get better.
Clary feeling guilty that she might have caused Jace harm makes sense. There were ways they could have done that without her trying to guilt him into not getting help. And even though we know demons are involved here, seeking help could have only helped him in the long run. I fail to see how it would have been harmful. (If nothing else, the Silent Brothers might have realized that he was being influenced by Lilith instead of Jace continuing to deal with it on his own.)
Alec and Magnus' 'Moving In Together' Conversation
Watching Alec ask to move in with Magnus was one of those moments where you feel secondhand embarrassment as you watch it. I wanted to pause the episode for a second to escape from the awkwardness.
Having seen later episodes, this conversation makes some things that happen later feel out of place. Since eliminating this conversation wouldn't change anything else in this episode, I wish it hadn't been there. That would have made future events make a lot more sense.
Jace Helps Simon
There's something endearing about Jace deciding to help Simon because Clary cares about him. Of course, I'd love to see Jace and Simon become genuine friends who help each other because they care for each other, but it's also nice to see them getting along and helping each other for Clary's sake. It's a nice acknowledgment that they need to at least try to get along.
Alec's Snooping and the Immortality Problem
Magnus being a very private person, him leaving that box out feels like a huge sign of trust, which makes it more painful that Alec snooped through it. That being said, I appreciate that Alec went to Magnus and apologized without Magnus calling him out on it first. That made me feel a lot better about the whole thing and was a nice show of honesty in their relationship.
The conflict over Magnus being immortal and Alec mortal had to come eventually. Not only is this in the books, but it's something they'd have to discuss eventually. In romance stories, growing old together is seen as the happy ending, but Magnus and Alec can't grow old together. If they just pretended like that wasn't the case, it would seem a bit unrealistic.
Luke's Farm
We see Luke's farm for the first time in this episode. This is another detail from the books except in the books Clary grew up coming to the farm. In the show, I'm curious about the farm's sudden appearance in the story. How often does Luke visit? Because it looks pretty well maintained. Even before Cleophas lived there, it seems like someone had to be maintaining the house. If Luke was leaving the city that often to look after it though, what was he telling Clary about where he was going?
Underhill
This episode also marks the introduction of Underhill, who because quite a hit with the fandom. I have to be honest and admit I don't understand the appeal of him. I love the fact that someone thanked Alec for coming out and showed him that he had a positive effect on other Shadowhunters. But when it comes to Underhill as a character, I say him as a stale character from the beginning. He doesn't have a personality when we meet him, and this really never changes in later episodes.
Izzy and the Doctor
Even after more than a year since I first watched this episode, I don't know how I feel about the storyline with Izzy and the doctor. The thing is, it's cute. It just doesn't go anywhere or provide anything to the larger story. There's no larger plot, and it doesn't give Izzy any significant character development. It feels pointless.
Alec Brushing Off His Own Problems
Alec telling Jace, "Just stuff with Magnus. Nothing I'd want to bore you with," kills me. Alec, Jace is your parabatai. The fact that Alec thinks his feelings would bore Jace really upsets me. The fact that Jace doesn't push back on this and ask again what's bothering Alec upsets me even more. There was such a great opportunity for parabatai bonding in that scene, and instead, I feel like the scene made their parabatai bond look weaker than it should be.
Obviously, Alec knows that Jace is going through a lot, and that likely was a big reason for it. It could also explain why Jace doesn't bother pushing for more I guess, but it feels strange when they're supposed to have such a strong bond. One of the show's weak points in my mind is not giving us more heart-to-heart moments with Jace and Alec.
Lilith's Love Potion
The episode ends with Lilith giving Jace the potion to fall out of love with Clary. Do you know what? I don't remember how this ends. I know that the effects of the potion must be reversed at some point, but I can't for the life of me remember how it happens. I'm not sure what that says about this particular part of the story. I guess we'll see how I feel as I watch it play out again while rewatching the episodes.
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Monday, July 1, 2019
Race to the Edge Talk: 5x05 "A Matter of Perspective"
Once again, I forgot that Adelaide Kane was in this show until her character began speaking. I don't know how I keep forgetting that considering she's one of my favorite actresses.
At the start of the episode, Astrid asks Hiccup why he's hiding something, but she's also confident that he'll tell her what's up when the time is right. I love how much trust they have in each other. It's rare to see something like that play out, with one character not very worried about another keeping a secret. It was a small moment, but it was one I really appreciated between them. That one moment alone does a lot for reminding me why I love their dynamics as a couple.
The main events of the story center around the Eruptodon getting old and preparing to die. That means they have to send him off to his final resting place.
The moment in this episode where Hiccup says they have to stay away from dragon culture like that was an amusing one when you consider that this is a show about vikings. Sure, the vikings in this franchise never leave their archipelago, but it's still a little ironic.
It was an interesting choice for Hiccup to use the word 'culture' too, since we never think of real world animals as having cultures. That's an acknowledgement that the dragons are sentient, at least to a certain extent. That's pretty obvious after the movies and TV shows of course, but that word use still caught my attention.
Later in the episode, Fishlegs gets excited on Vanaheim because he discovers evidence that dragons can understand abstract thought. That seems like something that it would have been easy to assume earlier, especially with Hiccup acknowledging that they have a culture just a day earlier. I suppose there's a philosophical debate to be had about whether beings can have a culture without understanding abstract thought, but my own thought process would be that such a thing would be near impossible.
This episode also introduces the sentinel dragons who guard Vanaheim. It's quite interesting to think that an entire species of dragon evolved in order to protect the final resting place of other species of dragons. What happens to the sentinels when they die is never answered here either, and they don't seem to have a final resting place on the island when the characters are talking about what dragon tombs they've found (unless I missed something). That's an interesting detail to me.
I like how this episode explored the idea of dragon culture and just how complex dragons are. It isn't like the idea was thoroughly explored, but it still raised some interesting things to think about, which isn't too shabby for a less than 25 minute episode of a show that's typically quite episodic. I enjoyed it.
At the start of the episode, Astrid asks Hiccup why he's hiding something, but she's also confident that he'll tell her what's up when the time is right. I love how much trust they have in each other. It's rare to see something like that play out, with one character not very worried about another keeping a secret. It was a small moment, but it was one I really appreciated between them. That one moment alone does a lot for reminding me why I love their dynamics as a couple.
The main events of the story center around the Eruptodon getting old and preparing to die. That means they have to send him off to his final resting place.
The moment in this episode where Hiccup says they have to stay away from dragon culture like that was an amusing one when you consider that this is a show about vikings. Sure, the vikings in this franchise never leave their archipelago, but it's still a little ironic.
It was an interesting choice for Hiccup to use the word 'culture' too, since we never think of real world animals as having cultures. That's an acknowledgement that the dragons are sentient, at least to a certain extent. That's pretty obvious after the movies and TV shows of course, but that word use still caught my attention.
Later in the episode, Fishlegs gets excited on Vanaheim because he discovers evidence that dragons can understand abstract thought. That seems like something that it would have been easy to assume earlier, especially with Hiccup acknowledging that they have a culture just a day earlier. I suppose there's a philosophical debate to be had about whether beings can have a culture without understanding abstract thought, but my own thought process would be that such a thing would be near impossible.
This episode also introduces the sentinel dragons who guard Vanaheim. It's quite interesting to think that an entire species of dragon evolved in order to protect the final resting place of other species of dragons. What happens to the sentinels when they die is never answered here either, and they don't seem to have a final resting place on the island when the characters are talking about what dragon tombs they've found (unless I missed something). That's an interesting detail to me.
I like how this episode explored the idea of dragon culture and just how complex dragons are. It isn't like the idea was thoroughly explored, but it still raised some interesting things to think about, which isn't too shabby for a less than 25 minute episode of a show that's typically quite episodic. I enjoyed it.
Race to the Edge Talk: 5x04 "Snotlout's Angels"
(A note before the review: I had filmed a review for 5x03, but I deleted it because I was annoyed with the video, which is kind of a long story. I didn't have much to say about the episode, so I'm not bothering to do it again.)
This is the episode I've been most dreading talking about because it plays into harmful indigenous stereotypes of native islanders trying to eat people who wind up stranded on their island.
First of all, it doesn't even make sense of these women to be branded 'natives'. Throughout the course of Race to the Edge, the characters have encountered people from different islands all over the archipelago. There's no indication that these women are living outside the archipelago, and there's nothing to mark them as 'other' from the vikings when Snotlout and Tuffnut both use the phrase 'native women'. It's clear that the writers only used that phrase because they were playing into a trope that they shouldn't have been using in the first play.
In fact, the women make it clear that they follow the same religion as the others by talking about Freya. Sure, they probably place more emphasis on Freya than people on other islands, but that doesn't make their religion drastically different (and that's quite common in many old polytheistic religions). They also have no trouble communicating with each other, showing that they have few, if any, differences in language. It's very obvious that they're operating within the same culture as the other characters. There's nothing more 'native' about them than any other particular character we've been introduced to.
Snotlout also uses the phrase 'native woman costume', which makes no sense. Both because the use of 'native' makes little sense here but also because what they're wearing isn't drastically different from what we've seen on anyone else. Yes, they have a specific style, but it's not something that Snotlout should have viewed as inherently foreign.
Plus, the fact that there are no men on the island leads me to believe that these women are recruited from other islands to come take care of the dragons. They clearly view their role in a religious light as they say they were given the responsibility to care for the dragons by Freya. I'd assume that their role is a lot like that of a priestess in ancient Rome or a nun in a convent in Christianity. It seems logical that these women were all born in different places and only later moved to the island as they felt a religious calling to the role, meaning that none of them are native to the island.
So, even ignoring the harmful nature of the stereotypes this episode uses, the language itself is just straight up absurd to use.
The event that sets the rest of the episode into motion is Snotlout stealing Astrid's ax and then saying something particularly hurtful to her when she gets angry about it. We never learn what he said to her as the characters only whisper it to each other, but I wish that we did. As it is, I have no clue what he could say to her that was so bad it couldn't be said on the show itself as he's said plenty to her at other points on the show. That felt like a bit of a cop out. It was funny at first to see the characters whispering, but I wanted to find out what was said by the end of the episode.
Seeing the women retaliate against how terribly Snotlout was treating them was nice, but I desperately wish it had been done differently. This felt a lot like an attempt at a feminist episode by a man who assumed women would handle a situation one way when it's not at all accurate. (The episode was, in fact, written by two men.) Messing with Snotlout would have been amusing, but tricking him into thinking he'll be eaten and then hanging him up in a cave by his ankle without telling him the truth? Not the most effective way of teaching him a lesson if that's what they wanted to do. I found the way this episode tried to teach Snotlout a lesson on sexism just strange.
Between the harmful stereotypes about indigenous people and the messy way this episode kind of tried to address sexism? (Because I guess that's what they were trying to do?) This episode really just felt like a mess to me, and it's probably my least favorite episode of Race to the Edge ever.
It baffles me that this episode made it through with no one questioning the stereotype it was using. I assume this was largely because the episode flips the trope and reveals that the women were never going to eat him. That doesn't make playing into it at first okay. This episode too shallowly handles it for that to ever work, and the basis of it (that these women are supposed to be natives) doesn't even make sense.
The episode's shaky dealing with sexism on top of that just made it worse. This episode feels like a great reminder of two things: If you want to write an episode that flips a harmful trope about indigenous people, probably don't unless their are indigenous people writing the story (and hopefully working on it in other positions as well). And if you want to write about sexism, even in a funny way for kids like in this episode, you're going to need more women working on the story than this episode clearly had if you want it to be done well.
This is the episode I've been most dreading talking about because it plays into harmful indigenous stereotypes of native islanders trying to eat people who wind up stranded on their island.
First of all, it doesn't even make sense of these women to be branded 'natives'. Throughout the course of Race to the Edge, the characters have encountered people from different islands all over the archipelago. There's no indication that these women are living outside the archipelago, and there's nothing to mark them as 'other' from the vikings when Snotlout and Tuffnut both use the phrase 'native women'. It's clear that the writers only used that phrase because they were playing into a trope that they shouldn't have been using in the first play.
In fact, the women make it clear that they follow the same religion as the others by talking about Freya. Sure, they probably place more emphasis on Freya than people on other islands, but that doesn't make their religion drastically different (and that's quite common in many old polytheistic religions). They also have no trouble communicating with each other, showing that they have few, if any, differences in language. It's very obvious that they're operating within the same culture as the other characters. There's nothing more 'native' about them than any other particular character we've been introduced to.
Snotlout also uses the phrase 'native woman costume', which makes no sense. Both because the use of 'native' makes little sense here but also because what they're wearing isn't drastically different from what we've seen on anyone else. Yes, they have a specific style, but it's not something that Snotlout should have viewed as inherently foreign.
Plus, the fact that there are no men on the island leads me to believe that these women are recruited from other islands to come take care of the dragons. They clearly view their role in a religious light as they say they were given the responsibility to care for the dragons by Freya. I'd assume that their role is a lot like that of a priestess in ancient Rome or a nun in a convent in Christianity. It seems logical that these women were all born in different places and only later moved to the island as they felt a religious calling to the role, meaning that none of them are native to the island.
So, even ignoring the harmful nature of the stereotypes this episode uses, the language itself is just straight up absurd to use.
The event that sets the rest of the episode into motion is Snotlout stealing Astrid's ax and then saying something particularly hurtful to her when she gets angry about it. We never learn what he said to her as the characters only whisper it to each other, but I wish that we did. As it is, I have no clue what he could say to her that was so bad it couldn't be said on the show itself as he's said plenty to her at other points on the show. That felt like a bit of a cop out. It was funny at first to see the characters whispering, but I wanted to find out what was said by the end of the episode.
Seeing the women retaliate against how terribly Snotlout was treating them was nice, but I desperately wish it had been done differently. This felt a lot like an attempt at a feminist episode by a man who assumed women would handle a situation one way when it's not at all accurate. (The episode was, in fact, written by two men.) Messing with Snotlout would have been amusing, but tricking him into thinking he'll be eaten and then hanging him up in a cave by his ankle without telling him the truth? Not the most effective way of teaching him a lesson if that's what they wanted to do. I found the way this episode tried to teach Snotlout a lesson on sexism just strange.
Between the harmful stereotypes about indigenous people and the messy way this episode kind of tried to address sexism? (Because I guess that's what they were trying to do?) This episode really just felt like a mess to me, and it's probably my least favorite episode of Race to the Edge ever.
It baffles me that this episode made it through with no one questioning the stereotype it was using. I assume this was largely because the episode flips the trope and reveals that the women were never going to eat him. That doesn't make playing into it at first okay. This episode too shallowly handles it for that to ever work, and the basis of it (that these women are supposed to be natives) doesn't even make sense.
The episode's shaky dealing with sexism on top of that just made it worse. This episode feels like a great reminder of two things: If you want to write an episode that flips a harmful trope about indigenous people, probably don't unless their are indigenous people writing the story (and hopefully working on it in other positions as well). And if you want to write about sexism, even in a funny way for kids like in this episode, you're going to need more women working on the story than this episode clearly had if you want it to be done well.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Shadowhunters Talk: 3x04 "Thy Soul Instructed"
This may be something I'm alone in, but I found it hard to believe that everyone was so convinced something was wrong with Jace beyond sleep deprivation.
Back in college, I remember my psychology professor telling us that the quickest way to have a mental breakdown was by not sleeping, and that moment pretty much solidified my intense need to always get enough sleep. So, when Alec tells Jace that there has to be more wrong besides Jace staying up practically all night every night, I had to disagree.
Obviously, we know that there is more going on because Lilith's controlling him, but without knowing that, it's completely believable that the sleep deprivation could be messing with his head that much. This was one of the moments where I wanted to reach through the screen and talk to the characters even though they were actually right (which kind of makes me more annoyed about it to be honest).
The mention that Morgan's cells have turned demonic after being attacked was interesting to me. I'm not sure about the logic behind that, even within the magic system set up by the show. Is it because of how powerful Lilith is or something else?
Maia telling Luke off for abandoning Simon feels ironic considering what happens later in the show, but I loved how that scene played out regardless. Not that that's surprising since I tend to like any scene Maia's in.
Since it's revealed at the end of the episode that Kyle has an ulterior motive, I'm glad I can comment on this without it being a spoiler for future episodes: Was he just watching Simon all along waiting for the perfect time to nearly run him over with his bike? Because, if so, I have to laugh at that image. It was also an incredibly risky move considering that Simon has the Mark of Cain.
I also want to know how Kyle put together that perfect apartment so quickly. Something tells me that big arcade game should have been at least a little difficult to find.
Jace goes to Luke to ask him about Celine's mental illness. One thing I like about this scene is that it shows how much Jace has come to trust Luke. I know there are a number of reasons why he didn't want to talk about his fears with Alec, but the fact that he's willing to discuss it with Luke says a lot.
Magnus trying to make Alec eat and comforting him was such a sweet scene. I appreciated getting to see that. Even though it's in the context of a larger plot, the scene itself was just a quiet scene between them, which I enjoyed.
Heidi chaining up Raphael and leaving him out in the sun felt like a scene from a horror movie. These sorts of scenes are not my favorite part of the show. They make me feel anxious and not in a good way. I don't like watching people get tortured like that.
We get a cliffhanger in this episode with Lilith going to Magnus. I do remember that I was pretty worked up about it the first time I watched the episode, but now, of course, I know what happens next, so I'll stay quiet about it here until I talk about the next episode.
Back in college, I remember my psychology professor telling us that the quickest way to have a mental breakdown was by not sleeping, and that moment pretty much solidified my intense need to always get enough sleep. So, when Alec tells Jace that there has to be more wrong besides Jace staying up practically all night every night, I had to disagree.
Obviously, we know that there is more going on because Lilith's controlling him, but without knowing that, it's completely believable that the sleep deprivation could be messing with his head that much. This was one of the moments where I wanted to reach through the screen and talk to the characters even though they were actually right (which kind of makes me more annoyed about it to be honest).
The mention that Morgan's cells have turned demonic after being attacked was interesting to me. I'm not sure about the logic behind that, even within the magic system set up by the show. Is it because of how powerful Lilith is or something else?
Maia telling Luke off for abandoning Simon feels ironic considering what happens later in the show, but I loved how that scene played out regardless. Not that that's surprising since I tend to like any scene Maia's in.
Since it's revealed at the end of the episode that Kyle has an ulterior motive, I'm glad I can comment on this without it being a spoiler for future episodes: Was he just watching Simon all along waiting for the perfect time to nearly run him over with his bike? Because, if so, I have to laugh at that image. It was also an incredibly risky move considering that Simon has the Mark of Cain.
I also want to know how Kyle put together that perfect apartment so quickly. Something tells me that big arcade game should have been at least a little difficult to find.
Jace goes to Luke to ask him about Celine's mental illness. One thing I like about this scene is that it shows how much Jace has come to trust Luke. I know there are a number of reasons why he didn't want to talk about his fears with Alec, but the fact that he's willing to discuss it with Luke says a lot.
Magnus trying to make Alec eat and comforting him was such a sweet scene. I appreciated getting to see that. Even though it's in the context of a larger plot, the scene itself was just a quiet scene between them, which I enjoyed.
Heidi chaining up Raphael and leaving him out in the sun felt like a scene from a horror movie. These sorts of scenes are not my favorite part of the show. They make me feel anxious and not in a good way. I don't like watching people get tortured like that.
We get a cliffhanger in this episode with Lilith going to Magnus. I do remember that I was pretty worked up about it the first time I watched the episode, but now, of course, I know what happens next, so I'll stay quiet about it here until I talk about the next episode.
Monday, June 10, 2019
Life Post: Getting My Sleeping Schedule Back on Track
In the month since my trip to Korea, things have been a little exhausting to be honest.
I mentioned the TV show Druck a few posts back, and season three of the show ended in early May. By then, though, it had really messed up my sleeping schedule. The show is structured to send out the clips on the internet in real time, so you see everything as it is supposedly actually happening. Because the show is set in Germany, this meant a lot of clips aired while I was sleeping. My brain picked up on that, and I would wake up at odd times of the night. When I was asleep, I also don't think I was going into a deep sleep.
Once the show was over, you'd think the problem would go away, and it did, but it took a couple of weeks before I slept through an entire night. By then I was exhausted.
This past week, I had to travel twice for work. While that didn't impact my sleeping schedule, it did leave me a little exhausted because it was a big deviation from my usual routine, which I never do that well with.
Then, this week, Druck decides it's going to have a special episode and starts releasing clips again. Just when my schedule was finally getting back on track.
I'm thrilled, don't get me wrong, but I'm also preparing myself to be exhausted once again. Sure, it's only one week this time around, but I don't know how long it will take to adjust back to normal afterward. Fingers crossed for the best.
At least the clip we got today was adorable...
I mentioned the TV show Druck a few posts back, and season three of the show ended in early May. By then, though, it had really messed up my sleeping schedule. The show is structured to send out the clips on the internet in real time, so you see everything as it is supposedly actually happening. Because the show is set in Germany, this meant a lot of clips aired while I was sleeping. My brain picked up on that, and I would wake up at odd times of the night. When I was asleep, I also don't think I was going into a deep sleep.
Once the show was over, you'd think the problem would go away, and it did, but it took a couple of weeks before I slept through an entire night. By then I was exhausted.
This past week, I had to travel twice for work. While that didn't impact my sleeping schedule, it did leave me a little exhausted because it was a big deviation from my usual routine, which I never do that well with.
Then, this week, Druck decides it's going to have a special episode and starts releasing clips again. Just when my schedule was finally getting back on track.
I'm thrilled, don't get me wrong, but I'm also preparing myself to be exhausted once again. Sure, it's only one week this time around, but I don't know how long it will take to adjust back to normal afterward. Fingers crossed for the best.
At least the clip we got today was adorable...
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