Tv Shows

Code Lyoko: Evolution (2013) TV Review

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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Summary: A sequel to the original 2003 series when the famous bandit of secret heroes we know are back and fighting the evil computer virus XANA in the live action sequel.
If you want to read the review for the original Code Lyoko animated show, then click this link here.
I think I’d watched Code Lyoko for like the third time when I did my thing on my google and I found out they were reviving the show. I got so excited but then I found out it wasn’t technically the same thing. Instead it was going to be a live action/animated hybrid of a show. I wasn’t upset with that really because I wanted to see how they were going to do it. Then they started to reveal the casting and I didn’t have a problem with anyone, at least not that really bothered me. I did think that the actor for Odd looked to young but he technically was the right age so I got over it, I thought the actors for Ulrich and Yumi were spot on and then of course I was curious about Aelita and her hair lol but this show was going to be in French as the animated show is originally a French cartoon. I didn’t mind as it would probably be the only way to really enjoy it. I don’t really like dubbed voices over live action because the lips don’t match up and it bothers me. But anyway, I finally watched this entire thing, I don’t think I ever did when it came out but after watching the animated show, I went right into watching this one, most of it is also on YouTube but there is some weird audio issues, so I had to have two videos up, the French version and video in another language with subtitles and I would play them at the same time but mute the other language so I could have the subtitles.
Now, ONWARDS!
Pros:
Cast and Characters. I’m just going to talk about the Lyoko Warriors as they’re the ones that really matter here. Also, I’m not going to go into detail about the characters since I did that in the first one, I’m just going to talk about the actors and their role in this show.
  • Quentin Merabet as Ulrich Stern. I think he is the best casted live action actor because not only does he look like his animated counter part but he just felt more like Ulrich then the others felt like their characters. He’s still kind of awkward, in love with Yumi, still not knowing how to tell her, still brave and the introverted one. He does say some insults to Odd but he doesn’t talk a whole lot which fits in with his character. I liked Quentin Merabet, he is first male to play Ulrich since he was always voiced by women. He was stoic, quiet, awkward just like he had to be and I enjoyed how he felt a little more “free” voicing his character on Lyoko. He just sounded more happy.
    • Now, on Lyoko, I kept wondering why he looked different. I finally noticed it like four episodes in… they got rid of the triangle eyebrows, made his eyes yellow instead of black and they widened his eyes too, they darkened his hair, made him look older, reshaped his head and they widened his mouth, not to mention the slight color and design upgrades to his suit. I like it. It’s been a year and while no one comments about it, Ulrich has become taller than even Yumi (who was the tallest, not counting William) and obviously older so they made his Lyoko form older.
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  • Leonie Bertonnaud as Aelita Stones (Schaeffer). She is the one I think seems the most different while also being the same in ways. Aelita seems just a bit more somber here, I don’t know if it’s because of the actress and she doesn’t give this naivety that Aelita is supposed to have but she seems like she’s lived in this world. She still can be very stubborn and still deliver some harsh burns (mostly to Laura as Sissi is not a factor here). Her chemistry with Jeremie though is still really good. She wants to know more about her mother, after they find her on the screen in the lab where the other supercomputer is. She can be a bit too stubborn about certain things, like dang girl, you want to stay in there forever?? Sometimes I’m like, girl calm yourself.
    • On Lyoko, I noticed that she also looked different from her animated show counterpart. She keeps her pink hair, elf like appearance from before, but her eyes have been widened, her eyebrows are longer and of course there are color and minor design upgrades to her suit. It’s more a mixture of pink and purple and her little skirt isn’t sheer anymore. They also got rid of her face paint. She looks more human on Lyoko.
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  • Marin Lafitte as Jeremie Belpois. Jeremie is ultimately the same here, he looks like the animated version but there were some things that was very different about him. I’ll talk about it more below, but he’s still the smart one “Einstein” and he runs things in the lab while the warriors are on Lyoko. Sometimes he does snap at people, or get irritated when everyone isn’t following orders, like when William tries to get himself devirtualized to save Yumi, Jeremie was so irritated, I thought Marin Lafitte did a good job handling and balancing out everyone. The times when Laura showed him up or she did something to betray him, I thought his emotion was handled well because Jeremie seemed a bit less emotional in the show but here, maybe it’s because of all that’s happened but he also felt more human.
    • As Jeremie does not go to Lyoko, again no warrior form, but whoever dressed him did very well because he always looked nice. This picture below with this shirt, amazing.
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  • Gulliver Bevernaege as Odd Della Robbia. My first thought about him is that he looks too young but I think he was the right age for the character technically. He was still kind of loud, funny and always running his mouth. He still managed to feel like Odd, though he focuses most of his romantic intentions on Sam in this version. He was energetic and still quite loyal to his friends and to the things he wanted to do. It was always funny though whenever Ulrich was hurt and had to lean on him because Quentin was so much taller than him that it looked like he almost doubled over just to lean on a short Gulliver. The only purple he really wears though is his hoodie and his hair isn’t that blonde or upright like it is in the show. I didn’t mind his more realistic looking hair but I do think he should have been a bit more blond or his purple streak should have been way more pronounced.
    • On Lyoko Odd’s face looks a bit younger than he does in the animated show. They got rid of his cat ears that he gained in the last two seasons, not to mention his face paint over his eyes. They also widened his eyes and colored his eyes as well. There is also some minor design and color upgrades to his suit. They also changed how his laser arrows appear, instead of just coming from somewhere on his paws, he has little gauntlets that appear when he’s loaded and disappear when he runs out of ammo.
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  • Melanie Tran as Yumi Ishiyama. I think she is a bit interesting, I think she also looks the most like her animated counter part and I think she had the potential to be really good but it seemed like she was holding back a lot in the beginning. When she was with Ulrich, she felt like Yumi because they had really good chemistry. But there are other times when she’s more…indifferent. I think she’s much better when she does the voice on Lyoko. I think she got better by the end of the show, like maybe she wasn’t holding back so much or maybe they told her to relax a bit, I don’t know, but I definitely noticed a change in her acting towards the end of the show. I did like how she was always the first to react whenever something happened to Ulrich, or the first really react anytime.
    • On Lyoko her style is also the same with a few design upgrades. They changed the shape of her eyes and eyebrows. Her hair has a bit more length and movement and it doesn’t have the “tucked behind the ear” look anymore. I think they took away her “geisha bow” and sometimes she got a bo staff alongside her fans.
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  • Diego Mestanza as William Dunbar. I have to say that I liked William here way more than I did on the animated show. I never really liked him all that much but I actually liked him here, he had his moments that I’m like “yep there’s the annoying William that I know” but other times he was really cool. I think a lot of it has to do with Diego Mestanza (he looks nothing like William though), but just oozed coolness. The faces he would make though were the best, he would always make this lopsided smirk, it was great.
    • On Lyoko his outfit annoys me the most. I can’t help but wonder, did Jeremie program him a new look like he did the others? I mean, obviously it’s very different from his original (white) uniform but when he was possessed by XANA his uniform turned black, so I thought it was strange that he maintained the black uniform, not to mention, he just looked really pale sometimes and it looked like he’s wearing black eyeliner, sometimes. It just really annoyed me because it’s just so different without explanation. At least the others at least still look like their previous uniforms with upgrades. William’s is so different (I like it though). Also, I didn’t get why he maintained his “super smoke” either. Why would he? It wasn’t something Jeremie programed for him, or something he just gained on Lyoko, it was from XANA so why can he still do it? Annoying.
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The 3D animation. As always the 3D animation was beautiful, it looked even a bit better than the original show, but it was easy to tell that they put the money waaaay into the warriors being on Lyoko. But I liked the new looks of the characters, and their costumes, I liked how bright and clear Lyoko looked. I liked the designs of the new towers. I kind of liked how the monsters got destroyed, how they exploded and then like sucked back into each other like a contained blast. The money definitely went here.
The story. I think the story is good, it’s a direct continuation of the animated show. It’s set one year later, but XANA reappears even stronger and dangerous than before, which prompts our warriors to turn the supercomputer back on. Basically, they try to find out why and how XANA was brought back, of course to stop him. They also begin to discover more about Aelita’s past and her mother, and there is a new villain as well which was interesting. The story had a lot of potential at least for what they building up.
The Chemistry. I think it’s always a good thing when a group of friends actually feel like a group of friends and I think these actors did. Quentin and Gulliver actually seemed like they were friends, I don’t know about best friends like they are in the animated show but they were friends. Same could be said for Melanie and Leonie whenever they had their “Girl time” it was cute. I think the only one who felt like an outsider was Diego but that’s probably because William doesn’t really “fit in” with the others, they all might still be a bit wary of him because of what XANA did but they’re a lot better about it now then they were. But they all feel like friends.
Jeremie and Aelita were always super cute, but here Marin and Leonie had really great chemistry. They had little moments together where they would share looks, and I just thought it was so cute. We never saw them kiss or anything like that but if they did it would be so adorable.
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Whenever Laura would get in there and be around Jeremie, Aelita’s face would be like “girl if you don’t back away”, it was hilarious actually. I think Laura had a crush on Jeremie, or at least she just wanted to be around him because he was smart. Aelita would refuse to stay away or leave if he was alone with her. I think in this scene with this picture, Jeremie reassured her of something and it was just a cute tender moment and there wasn’t enough of them.
Now, in terms of Yumi and Ulrich, I know there’s a lot of negatives going on in their relationship but I think they could work especially as they get older. They both seemed a bit more mature, not as jealous, at least not as often as they were in the animated show. There is a moment in the first episode where Ulrich is trying to tell Yumi how he feels about her and she’s looking up at him like “is he finally gonna say it?” since neither of them ever truly said it aloud. I was like wow. In the same episode, Ulrich gets hurt and Yumi is leading him to the sewer, and there’s this really cute moment and I was like O.O wow, are you two dating in real life? Sure seemed like it.
Then were just some other little moments like the one where she puts her head on his back. Or in the second picture, she gets scared about something but she immediately grabs his hand. I don’t care what anyone says, I like Ulrich and Yumi lol.
Cons:
Characters. Outside of Jim, I wonder why they changed how the supporting characters looked. I would have no idea who any of them were supposed to be if they never said their names. Sissi has dark hair, when they showed her, I was like “who is this blonde girl?” I mean, I get it if it was in reference to Odd telling Sissi she would be great as a blonde but I can’t imagine her actually doing it. Or Mrs. Hertz looked so different, I thought she was their math teacher instead of their science teacher. Principal Delmas was way younger then he was in the animated show, and Aelita’s mother looks like Aelita, she should also have pink hair. What’s the point of having Aelita keep her pink hair if they weren’t going actually give her a reason to be so different? They could have made a comment about it being because she lived in Lyoko for so long but her mom was a blonde… so weird. Oh and they changed Sam from being a black girl to a blonde white girl, I don’t understand that. Odd liked Sam and she liked him, she was a cool black girl (albeit she did try to steal from the school in her first episode) but still, why change that? Lame.
The look of the real world. Like I said before, obviously all of the money into the design of Lyoko because the real world was lacking. Obviously they don’t have to go anywhere but Kadic, we don’t even need to go to Yumi’s house, though it would have been nice, but obviously they only shot on location in a few areas, or it was a sound stage. The factory’s supercomputer design changed, instead of being massive the way it was, it was changed to some little thing where they needed to input a key or something, I don’t get why they had to change it. Just build a huge styrofoam computer and spray that thing (I like I did in 5th grade).
The animated version is on the left and the Evolution version on the right. I mean, the pillar is the same but it was so weird to see only have the supercomputer come out of the ground then they had this little control panel kiosk thing… it was just weird. Also, their gym, it was so tiny, how could they do anything in there? We never saw the cafeteria, they didn’t really explore the school like they could have. Bleh. Also, the look of the sewer entrance, that opening looked dangerous. It worked for when they would meet there and sit and talk but I feel like it would be super hard to get in there, it looked like if they slipped, the opening would kill them.
Laura Gauthier. Oh my gosh.. this girl is so annoying. The actress is fine but I disliked her so much. She is very smart, tech savvy and curious, she follows the warriors to the factory (it was terrible that they never even made sure no one was following them) but she was a busy body and she did stuff behind their backs, I mean Jeremie how did you not notice that she altered the back to the past program…I mean come on. I was so irritated every time she was on screen. Not to mention, her little smug look, that’s why I liked when Aelita served up so hard burns to her. Pauline Serieys was good, I didn’t think she was bad at all, but I hated her character and outside of becoming a future villain (I think that’s how she would have become in the next season) she added nothing. NOTHING.
No Stakes/Tension. This show was lacking serious stakes and tension. Anytime XANA attacked, it would just send specters to try and steal the codes it implanted in the Warriors in order to become stronger once it was resurrected. It never possessed anything, it didn’t make any lasting damage or damage that could be. It never almost killed anyone. It just would send specters and they weren’t dangerous, sure if they touched one of the warriors and started to steal codes, it would make them sick or give them some sort of side effect but nothing really happened. In the animated show, the specters would run super fast, were really strong, they would growl, they could shoot lightening out of their hands, I mean they were dangerous… in this show, I’m like, you guys can just run. I only saw the specters run in one episode but outside of that… it was so lame. I never felt that there was any danger, I always knew the characters were going to be okay because the show never created any reason for me to be worried.
Nerfed Characters. Another big problem I had with this show is that the characters were super nerfed in their abilities. Jeremie is a genius, I did not like how often they had him messing up, or how he needed Laura to look over his coding/programs, or how he needed her to do it instead of him. It was so stupid. I get people freeze up every now and then, like the moment in the classroom when he forgot how to do a problem, but the many times he needed help, Secondly, on Lyoko the warriors got defeated way to easily. It seemed like one or two hits from certain monsters would defeat them when that should not be the case. There was an episode where Ulrich gets hit by one monster and he is devirtualized. I was so upset because he’s usually the last one to go but they often had it where they could barely hold their own. It got a little better towards the end of the show but it was a bit late. Also, barely saw Aelita use “creation”, or Ulrich use any of his abilities, he only used Triplicate once and I think I saw him use super sprint once… ugh it was so annoying. But they let William keep his super sprint and as we never really got to see him fight before he was possessed he just seemed so overpowered compared to everyone else. I don’t buy that he had the most potential out of the group because there’s no reason for it, so it was just weird to me.
Overall, I liked this show, I mean don’t get me wrong it had a lot of issues and stuff wrong that didn’t feel like Code Lyoko but it was an interesting idea, it just wasn’t executed well. The mature feeling that the animated show had was gone here, yeah the characters were older and obviously not all of the actors were probably the ages of their characters but it felt juvenile. The actors were okay, they got better as the show went on, the animation on Lyoko was fantastic and beautiful as it always is. The story was interesting, it did continue from the animated show and it did feel like there could have been more to explore but unfortunately it did go past this one season. Now, the supporting characters looked like new people minus Jim. Laura was a terrible character, probably set up to be a villain but she was terrible. XANA hardly felt like the villain it once was even if it was stronger. It could have been handled way better. But I still enjoyed myself. I did laugh and I did enjoy certain episodes. It’s okay.
Rating: 2.95 out of 5 stars. 
Have you heard of Code Lyoko: Evolution? Did you watch it?
It’s also on YouTube but be aware there are audio issues. You might have to watch two versions, have the French version (with no subtitles) and another version that’s in another language that has the subtitles. I think it happens about episode 18, not sure but really weird. It may not be worth it but I was able to do it without problem.
Hope you enjoyed this review!
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Code Lyoko (2003-2007) TV Review

~ Alyxwrites ~ 7 Comments

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Summary: When a group of four boarding school students discover a supercomputer housed inside an abandoned factory, they find a virtual world called Lyoko and awaken a sentient multi-agent system virus that tries to take over the real world.
As this is a TV show, I haven’t really reviewed one (I’ve done thoughts and stuff) before but since I just watched this show in its entirety for like the fourth time, I decided I had to talk about it. So, this review will be similar to how I do my movie reviews but a little different. As this is a finished show, I won’t really do “thoughts” as it’s not ongoing but a complete review. I will also do a review of “Code Lyoko: Evolution” which came after this version. I will go into more detail about that in that particular review.
I came across this show randomly maybe in high school, I’m not sure exactly. I’m always online and maybe I saw a picture and I thought the characters looked cool. I don’t know, but I did my thing, I found it online and watched it. Obsessed lol. I’ve watched it quite a bit. I learned it came on Cartoon Network but I only caught it on there one time. But I love this show and it’s uniqueness. This is also strictly for the English version of the show. Oh and there are gonna be a few spoilers ahead, mostly in Aelita’s part.
Pros:
Characters.
  • Aelita Schaeffer (voiced by Sharon Mann).
    • History: Known as Aelita Stones. She is the second smartest of the group, right behind Jeremie. The others nickname her “Miss Einstein” and “Princess”. She first meets Jeremie when he turns on the supercomputer in the factory. He wakes her up as she is living on Lyoko. Of course, they all think she is just a computer program that they want to eventually virtualize in the real world. But as the show goes on, more and more is learned of her story, she is actually human. She is the daughter of Franz and Anthea Hopper, Franz being the creator of Lyoko and X.A.N.A. Aelita’s mother disappeared and she and her father escaped to Lyoko after a group of suited men came to their home. X.A.N.A also stole a part of her memory that kept her from being fully human. Once they rescued that missing part, she became fully human and no longer linked to X.A.N.A and the supercomputer. But it is revealed that Aelita has premonitions and nightmares of the future and her past.
    • Personality: Aelita is very smart beyond her years, also very wise. I guess in reality she is technically 20 something. She shows a lot of generosity and compassion for people, especially her friends .She is very quick-witted (Aelita throws some heavy burns at Sissi, it’s great!), and can outsmart monsters on Lyoko (she mostly had to do that when she didn’t have an active abilities to fight back. She is the most naive out of the group (the second youngest physically) and in the beginning of her time on earth, her feelings were hurt easily and she was easily pressured. However she does mature, to the point where she can be a little mean lol. Aelita loves music and has become a great D.J.
    • Appearance/Abilities: She has pink hair and green eyes. On earth she wears a lot of pink in general. On Lyoko she looks like an elf, probably inspired by her toy elf Mr. Puck. In season 1 and 2 she can attack, but she deactivates the towers. In season 2 she gains the ability to use “energy fields” which are pink spheres made from energy/plasma. She can use “creativity” to create platforms (handy for when characters are falling towards the digital sea), and holes in the ground. In season 4, Jeremie created a new outfit (which I really liked, pictured with the wings) and the ability to fly.
  • Jeremie Belpois (voiced by Sharon Mann).
    • History: He is the smartest of the group and nicknamed Einstein. His name is also spelled “Jeremy” sometimes. He is the best student in the school and he finds and starts the factory’s supercomputer while searching for parts to build a robot. As he is not a physical Lyoko warrior, his job is to lead the group through technology, figure out ways to defeat XANA and monitors the group while on Lyoko. He is not athletic and has only been to Lyoko a few times and never actually shows up virtualized as a warrior and he never wants to do it again. Jeremy has a great family, especially his father, who is very supportive. He also has a crush on Aelita, that everyone knows about, he has harbored it since he first turned on the computer. He also seems to be the one that XANA tries to get rid of the most being that he’s the smartest.
    • Personality:  The stereotypical nerd, with his book smarts but often lacks common sense and knowledge. Sometimes he can come off a bit elitist in that he forgets that others aren’t as smart as him, like when he tries to teach Ulrich,  Yumi and Odd how to use the supercomputer in case both he and Aelita are out of commission. Often times he needs Aelita to simply translate to the others because he doesn’t say the easiest thing. He also has a bit of a time being hot-headed and a workaholic, he has snapped at the others and jumped to conclusions quite quickly. However, while he is the youngest, he appears to be the most mature most of the time.
    • Appearance/Abilities: As Jeremie never goes to Lyoko, he doesn’t have a warrior outfit. His ability is his super brain. He’s blond, has glasses and wears a blue turtleneck and tan pants in the first few seasons, then he wears a brown turtleneck and tan pants.
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  • Odd Della Robbia (voiced by Matthew Geczy).
    • History: Odd shares a dorm room with Ulrich, also his best friend, and has a dog named Kiwi which he has to hide as pets aren’t allowed at Kadic. He comes from a large family, he is the only boy. His parents are cool and sometimes he feels awkward about it because they’re so cool and he’s never had to fight with them, though he often gets into it with his sisters. Odd has great potential in school, Ulrich even says how Odd understands physics but as he is a slacker and doesn’t study, he doesn’t get good grades. He is very interested in the arts, being that both of his parents are artists, he loves to make films and music. Very much a ladies man but has some bad habits that causes it to not work out. He is also the least computer literate of the group.
    • Personality: The comic relief of the group but he is also very nonchalant and casual which is shown in his dress appearance. He is the loudest of the group, the most outgoing and probably the most crazy. Odd is always in good humor and usually keeps a rather cheery disposition. While he is the smallest and most light-hearted of the group, he can also be very mean and cold. There really is no middle ground for Odd. Though it does unnerve his friends when he’s sensitive.
    • Appearance/Abilities: On earth, at the beginning Odd wore his blond hair down, he has a purple spot in the middle but after going to Lyoko for the first time, he styled his hair upright like his Lyoko look. He wears purple. On Lyoko, he looks like a giant purple cat. He can shoot “laser arrows” to attack his enemies. Sometimes he uses “shield” to block attacks. Due to him being a cat, he has great agility and can climb on walls. He rides the Overboard on Lyoko.
  • Ulrich Stern (voiced by Barbara Weber-Scaff). He’s my favorite. 
    • History: A laid back student whose parents expect a lot from him. He’s German. One of his main hobbies is that he practices Pencak silat, often times with Yumi. Often he’s the one who stays behind on earth to handle whatever problem is happening while the others go to Lyoko to deactivate the tower. He often has to deal with Sissi Delmas (the principal’s daughter) who harbors a massive crush on him, but he can handle it in different ways. Whenever she’s involved, he really does try to help and save her. He got involved in Lyoko when he went with Jeremy to the factory and he’s the second one to get virtualized on Lyoko.
    • Personality: Ulrich is laid back, the son of wealthy German parents but he rejects their ideals of wealth and the pressure they put on him. He is also the introvert of the group, he’s very secretive about his personal life and has a hard time opening up to people about his feelings and whatever’s going on with him (I can relate) which sometimes allows him to channel his feelings when he’s fighting. He can be very self-deprecating, whenever something happens to someone and he feels it’s his fault, he can blame himself harshly. He sometimes seems to be emotionally strong but that’s a facade. He also can get jealous very easily and quickly when it comes to Yumi, and sometimes he tries to be the median between his friends when arguments happen, or he’s willing to take the fall for Odd due to their friendship. He’s quite loyal.
    • Appearance/Abilities: On earth, Ulrich is the tallest boy but shorter than Yumi (though he does get taller in the last season), he has scruffy brown hair and dark eyes. I definitely prefer his clothes in the last season, with the dark green army jacket, he just looked much more mature. He also can physically hold his own on earth whenever XANA attacks. On Lyoko. he wears a yellow and black samurai suit with a single katana. Later, his suit becomes a yellow and brown body suit with twin blades (I love both of his clothes for different reasons). He seems to have the most use for his abilities such as “Triplicate” to create two clones of himself, and a related technique “Triangulate” which he uses to confuse enemies. He has “super sprint” which allows him to dash at high-speed. He is the best fighter, the most skilled, usually lasts longer than the others before being devirtulized and has had some great fights, like with Xana’s Ulrich clone, a possessed Aelita and when he took down the Kolossus. He uses the Overbike on Lyoko.
  • Yumi Ishiyama (voiced by Mirabelle Kirkland)
    • History: Yumi’s family is from Japan, she isn’t a border but she attends Kadic. She is the oldest of the group and has a younger brother, Hiroki. Due to her parents and culture, she must maintain good grades and observe family values. While at home, she has to deal with her parents’ marital issues. She practices pencak silat with Ulrich and due to the on and off tension she concludes that she and Ulrich “must be friends and that’s it.” Yumi is the most knowledgable using the supercomputer besides Jeremie and Aelita. She often has to take over whenever something happens to Jeremy and Aelita has to go to Lyoko to deactivate a tower.
    • Personality: Fairly reserved, she is very mature being the oldest of the group. She is a good observer and generally understands what’s going on around her, even the people, sometimes not trusting others quickly like the others sometimes can. She is athletic, smart and seems to expect a lot from people, sometimes to an access… but she is a teenage girl. She can come off cold and distance at first but she gets a bit better when she becomes friends with someone. She has a sarcastic humor and can be very ironic.
    • Appearance/Abilities: On earth, Yumi wears all black, in the later seasons, she still wears black but her outfit changes a bit. Her hair is black and her eyes are dark. On Lyoko, she wears a geisha-inspired outfit with a large bow. Her main weapon is a pair of fans. In later seasons, her clothes are changed to a purple body suit. She also has the ability of telekinesis which comes in handy a lot. She rides the Overwing on Lyoko.
  • William Dunbar (voiced by David Gasman).
    • History: He’s a transfer student, known to be troubled at his previous schools. He appears tone a loner at first, but quickly develops a friendship and feelings for Yumi. He showed himself to be adept at helping the Lyoko warriors in times of need on earth, but he often forgets it due to the “Return to the past” program. He also shows that he’s stubborn and a bit overbearing, which is evident when he tries to protect everyone from the zombies and he wouldn’t let Aelita and Jeremy escape. Later, the group wants to invite him into the group due to how much he’s helped, especially when he was willing to sacrifice himself to defuse a bomb XANA planted. Everyone but Yumi voted for him but later it becomes necessary to have him. On his first mission, due to him not listening to Aelita and being overzealous, he is captured and possessed by XANA. He becomes XANA’s general against the warriors. The team works to free him so Jeremy makes a clone to pose as him in the real world, but the clone is either really stupid or really unpredictable and dangerous… though I liked him way more than the real William and he was very helpful. The clone started to develop human like traits which helps the warriors at times. Eventually, they were able to free William before shutting down the supercomputer.
    • Personality: Overconfident, often going toe to toe with Ulrich for Yumi’s attention. He appears to be a loner at first. He has a very strong personality, often ready for a fight, though he does have some moments of wisdom, like in the episode where he speaks to Ulrich about telling Yumi about his feelings because she won’t wait forever and William won’t wait forever either. He can be a bit childish and overbearing which is why Yumi didn’t trust him to join their group, she noticed that he often did things for attention… but they ended up trusting him because he’s ultimately brave. He is also preserving which kept him wanting to come back to help the others even when they rejected him after they freed him.
    • Appearance/Abilities: William has black hair and dark eyes, he’s tall, and on earth he wears a red long sleeved shirt under a black t-shit and blue jeans. On Lyoko he carries a giant sword that can release shock waves and a white outfit. When he’s possessed by XANA his outfit becomes black. He also gains the ability “super smoke” which allows him to travel at high speed in the form of black smoke.
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XANA: The villain of the show, he is without physical form. A sentient and dangerous computer program that is wanting to take over the world after destroying Lyoko. The only visible knowledge of his presence is when there is pulsing energy in the wires of Lyoko, not to mention his awesome theme. He was one an obedient computer program created by Franz Hopper but it became chaotic and malevolent. The attacks are pretty random at first, but as the warriors grow better and smarter, so does XANA and his attacks increase in strength, intelligence and personality. It becomes more accurate in calculations, goes after large goals and gets a better understanding of human behavior (but it’s not human so he makes major mistakes)
Its attacks are random and not very well thought out in the first season, but it gradually evolves in strength, intelligence, and personality in season two with the constant time reversions. It will grow to be more accurate in its calculations, pursue larger goals, and gain a better understanding of human behavior, allowing it to predict their actions, use their feelings to its advantage, and manipulate others. XANA also never retries the same plan if it failed the first time. It can’t show any emotions inside the computer but it has been known to get upset and frustrated. The only time he’s ever really been in physical form was during Ghost Channel when he took on the appearance of Jeremie and once Jeremie thwarted him, he spazzed out. He definitely sees all of the warriors as obstacles but he goes after Jeremie and Aelita the most. Jeremie because of his intelligence and his control over the computer, I think XANA also respects Jeremie’s intelligence. For Aelita, she’s mostly a valuable tool, though she can thwart him by deactivating the towers, which he uses to his advantage later by using her to erase the sectors. He goes after Yumi a lot on earth, I guess XANA recognizes that she is the most mature and that she’s important to the group but I think it’s overkill sometimes lol. Odd of course is annoying to him and but it’s interesting to see the level of respect XANA has for the warriors because in Marabounta he allows his monsters to take orders from Odd. I definitely think that XANA knows Ulrich is the best fighter, it comes at him pretty hard sometimes, and usually tries to outnumber him to defeat him. As for William, I guess XANA thought he had potential to be the strongest out of the group but I don’t see it, I just saw it as William being the easiest to manipulate and the most overconfident which made it easy for XANA to get him. XANA was a worthy opponent.
Theme song/Music.
The theme song is catchy that it didn’t take me long to learn the words just from watching the show. Not to mention, watching it again recently, I surprised myself at how I remembered it. The music is great in this show. They have this fake band called “The Subdigitals” and they are the source for a lot of music in episodes and every time the music is so great that they should release “the music of Code Lyoko”, outside of nostalgia reasons and it being a show, the music is legit good. Characters have themes that come on when they’re on Lyoko: Xana has a great theme, I believe William has a theme in season four when he’s possessed by Xana. It’s all very fun and entertaining to hear.
Action scenes. The action scenes are awesome. One of the things I thought this show handled well was dealing with these kids being literal warriors on this virtual world. They each have their own style of fighting, weapons, abilities etc. but the way the show allows them to use them I thought was really cool. Even watching it again as an adult, I quite enjoyed watching them fight the Xana army.
Favorite Fight Scenes
  • So there is a scene in Revelation (season 2) where XANA makes a polymorphic clone of Odd, and he goes up against Ulrich to fight. Ulrich taunts XANA saying that “Odd has never beaten me yet”, so XANA shifts into a clone of Ulrich “Oh well yeah, that changes things” and they square off and have this awesome fight. That is still probably the best fight of the entire show. It’s so well paced, the choreography is intricate and amazing and even the juxtaposition of Ulrich’s yellow gi compared to XANA’s black gi, oh man. Also, when XANA gets the upper hand, Ulrich does a little homage to Bruce Lee. It was so great.
Link for your viewing pleasure:
  • There is another fight in episode Lyoko: Minus One Xana possess Aelita, and she and Ulrich have an awesome fight too. It was like payback from Xana’s first fight with Ulrich. There are videos of this fight but it’s not the English version, or it’s all to music people added and that’s annoying.
Note: Ulrich has a lot of good fight scenes. 
Mature/Dark/Tense. Watching this show again, I realized some of the mature themes and storylines in this show. Not to mention dark moments. I love when animated shows don’t try to cater to little kids or to their parents and just lets the story unfold. I mean sure, be aware of the age group (but parents should also not get upset at a show if their kid is watching it, just don’t let them watch it). But the relationship stuff between Ulrich and Yumi was pretty mature, while also childish in how it was handled at times. Some of the choices and the reasons behind those choices were very mature. It also had some dark moments, there were many times where characters almost died, especially our heroes. In episode End of Take Yumi and Ulrich are almost choked to death, in The Trap Ulrich breaks his arm, he gets stuck in an elevator with Sissi and they almost drown, Ghost Channel (one of my favorite episodes) XANA traps Odd, Yumi and Ulrich in a virtual world that they think is the real world, Jeremie virtualizes himself into that virtual world to save his friends and this is the first and kind of only time they come into a human version of XANA (he took the guise of Jeremie in the virtual world) and he tries to kill them… it was so intense. I enjoy how dark the show could get because these kids were really doing things that could potentially kill them and others. It was risk they often took and the show pulled no punches. Even when XANA would send specters after them in their world, the specters were strong, fast and powerful, it was a challenge trying to fight them even Ulrich and Yumi’s real world experience in Pencak Silat.
The Relationships. One of the best things about this show is the friendships between the main characters, and even their relationships with side characters. The relationship between Ulrich and Yumi being one of the most prominent ones in the show, they have a “will they won’t they” kind of thing going on. I have a love/hate thing with their relationship. I want them to get together, I think they’re cute and that they are meant to be together even if it’s later down the line.  Jeremie and Aelita are probably the show’s second relationship thing, Jeremie immediately falls for her when he sees her after turning on the supercomputer, they have their arguments but in the end, they often work together and have their flirtatious moments as well. Yumi and William is a relationship that I don’t really buy or like, it is a friendship but also a one-sided romance. William is just a bit too much for Yumi and she says it at some point to him but he still has his thing for her. I think on Yumi’s side it’s definitely interesting. Odd and Ulrich have a great friendship too, being that they are roommates and best friends, we see them together a lot. Ulrich has done a lot for Odd, like taking the fall for a bad picture of Yumi being given to the school paper. The entire friendship of the group is great.
The animation. I quite like the animation in the show. Each of the main characters, or the ones we see the most, have distinct looks to them, easily identified. The 3D animation on Lyoko is beautiful in which each character gets their own style of costume and how their fights scenes are animated, how they use their abilities, it’s very cool and it feels like a different world.
The Story. The story grows as the seasons continue. It starts out pretty basic, this group of kids go to this virtual world to stop an evil entity who wants to take over the world, while also trying to find a way to bring Aelita, the mysterious computer program who lives on Lyoko into the real world. It becomes much more sophisticated as the seasons continues. Aelita begins to learn more about her past and that she’s actually human, not to mention watching the other characters grow and mature throughout the show.
The mystery. One of the greatest things about this show is that you never really know what Xana wants. Sure, it wants to control the global network and be free of Lyoko but outside of that, we never really know why it wants those things,  It’s quite amazing just how intimidating Xana is and no one truly knows what it’s after. Not to mention, the mystery behind Aelita’s family, we learn more about her father but we hardly know anything about her mother. Not to mention, some of the stories of the other characters and their families.
Cons:
The animation. Also here because it is a bit jarring at first considering how the characters all have extremely large heads, well the kids do anyway. It is weird, I thought so when I first saw it, but it grew on me. However, I can see how people can be turned off when watching the show due to how they look. Plus, one thing I can say is I also really disliked Ulrich’s eyebrows for the longest, I don’t know if they did the little triangles because he’s German (lol) or because he’s the stoic, quiet one… but I never liked it. I mean, I didn’t mind as much this time around but I did go when I started to watch it again “there are those friggin triangle eyebrows again” lol.
Dumb Moments. This show also has a lot of dumb moments, sure they’re kids but sometimes it’s moments that JUST happened a certain way and they still question how to do something. It’s dumb. Or they forget they have something that can help. There are many times when characters are falling and Aelita can use “Creation” to save them, she does it sometimes but there are other times where she just watches and THEN maybe uses it. Yumi has telekinesis, sometime she uses it but there are also a lot of times where she doesn’t, especially for herself. Later, when Aelita gets wings, sometimes she’s falling, or hanging off a cliff or something and someone has to pull her up, I’m like “girl you got wings!” Also, they’re friends and pretty loyal to each other but there are times where they’ll just turn on each other, or snap at each other and it’s so stupid. Yes, they’re preteens but still it’s so dramatic. When Ulrich initiated a return to the past to help Yumi’s family stay in France, they all freak out at him, yeah I know that it makes XANA stronger but no one freaked out at Jeremie when he did constantly for some project he was doing. Or when I think it was Aelita and Ulrich who were around when the Kolossus first showed up, it stepped on them. I’m trying to figure out why Aelita didn’t fly away or why Ulrich didn’t super sprint… OR when Ulrich defeated the Kolossus, I think it’s corpse fell on him… again, why didn’t he super sprint?? There are also times when Sissi’s character gets involved when there is no reason for her to be, there is an episode when Ulrich is trying to escape or something and Sissi’s like “don’t leave me…” but the specter wasn’t after her and she just put herself and Ulrich in danger because now he’s worried about protecting her. JUST GAH!
The relationship drama. I also totally get why the relationship drama is annoying between Ulrich and Yumi. It’s the “will they won’t they thing” and most times when they do, people get bored and sometimes the “won’t they” part is annoying because you KNOW they like each other. They even almost kissed once and they never really said aloud how they felt about each other but the audience knows and so does everyone else. But Ulrich can get really jealous and he can jump to conclusions about stuff, same goes for Yumi. She gets snappy and Ulrich is mean. It’s definitely annoying but because I like them I noticed the bad stuff but I like when it’s good between them.
Overall, I looove this show. I think it’s fantastic, the animation, the action, the characters, the relationships between them, the villain, the tension, how mature it is. It’s such a great show and so underrated. I think the way it was handled was not childish and the nature of the show proved that. My favorite character is Ulrich and I wish the show did do a bit more episodes that focused on him but I liked his characterization along with the others in Yumi, Odd, Aelita and Jeremie. Even the side characters are pretty good, annoying but good. The mystery in the story is also handled very well. While there are many positives, the animation can definitely still be looked at as a negative, for some reason the children all have huge heads lol, the romance between Ulrich and Yumi can definitely be annoying to watch and see play out and there are a lot of dumb moments and choices the characters make. But of course, that’s part of the charm lol.
Rating: 4 out of stars.
Have you ever seen Cody Lyoko? If not, check it out! It’s all on YouTube. Literally. The first episode is called “Teddyzilla”
What is your favorite animated show from your childhood? OR even currently? Let me know in the comments below!
Also, stay tuned, I will be doing a review on Code Lyoko: Evolution.

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Thoughts on Riverdale (2017)

~ Alyxwrites ~ 4 Comments

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So when this show started being cast, or advertised or whatever, I wasn’t interested because 1) I had no idea what the show was about, 2) it was just another one of those CW shows that will probably come and go and 3) I was like meh, I already watch a lot of shows and I didn’t want to bother in adding another one.
Riverdale wasn’t on my radar at all. I started seeing a bit more promos for it but I never really looked into it seriously, and then I think it was Buzzfeed that shared official cast photos of the characters and I of course looked through them. Scrolling, I remember going “Oh this is from Archie Comics, that’s interesting”. I saw that Josie was being played by a black actress and I was like “Josie?” I noticed the ears and went “Oh snap! Josie and the Pussycats? I didn’t realize that Josie and Pussycats were part of the Archie universe (I found out recently that Sabrina Spellman (Sabrina and the Teenage Witch) is also part of the universe). I never knew a lot about Archie comics, I’ve read little blurbs in the newspapers as a kid before, I work in a public library and we have a couple of comics that I flipped through but never actually read (I probably will now).
Then I saw this picture.
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I think this is the one I saw in the article and I thought he looked interesting. Jughead Jones, I don’t think I saw who played him, or at least I didn’t look and I thought “he looks interesting, he’s cute and he looks familiar… who is that??”
But I forgot about it for a moment, I saw a few other pictures of Jughead and it suddenly clicked.
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IT’S COLE SPROUSE! I can definitely tell him and Dylan apart but I was like OH MY GOSH! I grew up watching The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, I didn’t watch it religiously but I think I saw just about every episode through reruns and I kind of watched On Deck, of course there was Big Daddy and F.R.I.E.N.D.S.  I knew he and his brother went to NYU for college and had stopped acting so I was pleasantly surprised to see him on a new show.
I went off on a tangent lol sorry, not really, but ya know I had to get all that out because that was literally what happened when it clicked in my brain who he was, now I was even more interested in watching the show but I never really got around to it.
Riverdale actually started to get on my nerves before it even came on though because they would show promos after Supernatural and they would show a promo INSTEAD of showing the preview for next week and it irritated me so bad especially since those Riverdale promos were so stylized and just UGH! I WANTED MY SUPERNATURAL PREVIEW! STOP SHOWING ME THESE RIVERDALE KIDS BROODILY LOOKING INTO THE DISTANCE!! ARE THEY IN WATER NOW? WHAT? STOP!
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I would get mad every time it happened but I would leave it on, I never changed the channel but I didn’t really watch the show either. I think it was 1×07 when I actually watched an episode. It focused heavily on Jughead which is why I wanted to watch the show anyway. I sort of watched it off and on but not enough to truly follow what was going on but I did find out who killed Jason Blossom but I didn’t see the finale or anything.
So, I decided, last week that since it was on Netflix, I might as well watch from the beginning. So… here is my review of Riverdale… so far.
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*I love this promo though lol. Dare to Defy hahaha.
Oh there are SPOILERS ahead. You have been warned.
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Summary: A subversive take on Archie and his friends, exploring small town life, the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome facade.
Cast and Characters.
Obviously with this being a show, we meet a lot of people, some stick around, some come and go, and some get recast lol.
Main Characters
  • K.J Apa as Archibald “Archie” Andrews. He is a high school sophomore, he is kind of like that typical boy next door kind of guy, he’s cute, he plays music, he plays football and apparently had a physical transformation over the summer from working with his father in construction (hello abs). He is apparently a ladies man and he comes off a bit oblivious to everything really. I think Archie is kind of interesting in that his character at least for right now, is the least interesting person on the show. He’s just Archie. He wants to be a musician but he also wants to play football… that’s really what he worries about. But what I will say, is that Archie does try to come through for his friends, I think the last few episodes he really stepped it up more. The way he saved Cheryl was amazing.
    • I think KJ Apa is fine in the role, it’s obvious to tell that he is not a natural redhead but it doesn’t really bother me much other than the fact that sometimes it doesn’t match his skin coloring that well. Sometimes he looks grey. BUT anyway, I like him, I think he has a certain charm to him that keeps him likable but at the same time, make you want to punch him for being so oblivious. I think season 2 will allow for a more mature and “dark” Archie Andrews.
  • Cole Sprouse as Forsythe “Jughead” Jones III. Jughead is the narrator of the series, he is a social outcast, mostly by choice but also because of where he’s from and how he is. Usually, he and Archie are best friends but there’s obvious rift between them and I think Jughead is the most affected by it. He is a literary person, he can come off a bit pretentious due to the way he talks “Sardonic humor is my way of relating to the world” but it doesn’t bother me much because that’s his character and he’s not that quirky John Green type of pretentious teen which is probably why it doesn’t bother me. He wants to be a writer and him narrating the series is basically him writing in his book about the summer and Jason Blossom’s death. I think Jughead is the most interesting character so far, there is so much about him and his family that we don’t know yet and I think the show allowed for a bit more details mostly with him and his father to be explored (I really would watch a Jughead Jones show). He’s an angry kid, he’s angry at Archie for abandoning him over the summer, he’s angry with his father for many reasons, he’s angry with Fred Andrews for firing his dad, he’s angry that he’s seen a certain way even though he doesn’t want to conform to make that go away. We watch him spend time with Betty and when he’s with her, he’s the same and doesn’t try to be someone he’s not around her even though they’re super different. I also find him very loyal to his friends. Even though he and Archie were on the outs, he still tried to keep his fling with a teacher a secret for him, he worked with Betty on everything, even if it could get him in trouble… that’s deep right there. I love Jughead.
    • I think Cole Sprouse is one of the best actors of the young people on the show. It’s definitely great seeing him play a role like this, something that’s dark compared to his well-known role as Cody Martin. The black hair looks great on him, I love the little crown beanie, I like the attention he gives to Jughead’s expressions, his body language (he’s always kind of slouching). The emotional moments, especially in 1×07, the scene with his dad, or even the scene at the end when he’s on the phone with his mom and he just breaks down, or the scene in the police station when he’s talking to his dad… I think he handles those so well, it’s kind of mesmerizing actually. I want to see more of Jughead and I think with how the season ended, with him putting on that Serpents’ Jacket, we could be seeing him differently… I’m ready.
  • Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge. She is like the Blair Waldorf of Riverdale BUT Blair who is trying to be a good person lol. She is beautiful, sophisticated, confident and fiery. Also a sophomore and a former socialite. She is the “new girl” in town and wants a fresh start. Veronica really wants to use this move to Riverdale from New York as a chance to redeem herself from the spoiled rich girl she used to be. Veronica is humbled due to her father Hiram Lodge being in jail for embezzlement. She and her mother lost most of their status and wealth. Veronica gravitated to Betty and Archie that first night in town, in the diner. Archie sees her and they really have a moment but she really tries her hardest to be a best friend to Betty. Betty may have her moments but I think a lot of people can tell that there is something good in her and I think Veronica was drawn to that. She latches on her to quickly.
    • I like Camila Mendes, I think she’s very likable just as she has the opportunity for Veronica to be really unlikable but she manages to not only teeter than line but to not cross it a lot of the times. Veronica has good intentions when she does and says things but she also has a lot of good heart in there. There are times though, when I think her makeup, hair and clothing seem a bit too old-fashioned or too old for her, she’s supposed to be 15 and sometimes I feel her and her mom should switch attire lol BUT then I remember Gossip Girl and I look past it.
  • Lili Reinhart as Elizabeth “Betty” Cooper. Sweet, smart, the perfect “girl next door”, and eager to please others. She has had a longtime crush on her best friend Archie, which is where we find her in the beginning of the show. While she is perfect, she is tired of being that. She hates being called perfect, she hates that her mother is so on her back about being the best and brightest and it’s easy to tell that it’s affecting her. Betty is very quick on her feet, sharp and it’s amazing watching her deduce information that a lot of these adults can’t seem to put together. But ya know, teen shows and what not. But I really like Betty, she can be a bit over the top sometimes but I believe that she as well, tries to do the best for others, especially those she cares about. She manages to put her feelings for Archie aside to take care of business even though it hurts her in the beginning. Pretty mature for a 15-year-old, even if it doesn’t always last long. It’s also easy to see that Betty has a dark nature, I think we’re going to see more of it in season 2 but she has a problem where she gets so angry that she clenches her fists so tight that her nails bite into her palms. Plus, how angry she can get sometimes. It’s always interesting to watch. She’s interesting and I can’t wait to see more of her.
    • I really like Lili Reinhart, she reminds me a lot of Brittany Murphy, it’s kind of creepy sometimes. She has some of the best facial expressions, they can come off crazy and creepy and I’m like “Yass girl” lol. She has fantastic chemistry with Cole Sprouse and Camila Mendes and I don’t think it’s there that much between her and KJ Apa, at least not in the way it should for when they might do the whole love triangle thing where she actually dates Archie for at time. *rolls eyes* I think she handles the inner struggles of Betty quite well.
  • Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom. In a way, you could say that Cheryl is the Blair Waldorf of Riverdale but I don’t see her as Blair, maybe Serena lol. But she is from a wealthy family and she is manipulative and entitled. The show starts off with her claiming her brother drowned in an accident but when his body is found with a bullet hole in his forehead, it changes what she knew about her brother. He was supposed to be okay. I think Cheryl is interesting, also annoying but I enjoy her so much. Some of her lines are hilarious and the way she delivers them, I swear I’m watching Gossip Girl again, I am so entertained. Throughout the show she is like a thorn in everyone’s side even though she has some good qualities, she comes through for the others sometimes even when you think she won’t.
    • I like Madelaine Petsch, she’s likable I think. I can imagine many people hating Cheryl and it’s not like she’s a favorite of mine or anything, she is downright annoying and I can definitely see why people would be “ugh” anytime she’s on-screen, plus she’s a bit extra in her delivery but it works for the character. xoxo Gossip Girl.
  • Ashleigh Murray as Josephine “Josie” McCoy. She is striving, competitive, fierce, snooty and ambitious. She is the lead singer of her popular band, Josie and the Pussycats. We don’t see a ton of her yet outside of her preparing to sing, or singing. I like Josie, she’s a bit uptight and definitely comes off rude, but I get where she’s coming from. Plus, she always has pressure on her, her mom’s the mayor, her father is a Jazz Musician and a bit of a music snob, so it’s understandable to some degree.
    • Ashleigh Murray’s voice is beautiful. I like her covers of the songs they sing. I think we’ll see more of her in season two, which I hope considering I feel like we don’t get much of the Pussycats in general. What I really need is for Ashleigh Murray, Asha Bromfield and Hayley Law to give me hair tutorials because all the Pussycats natural hair is beautiful.
  • Luke Perry as Fred Andrews. Archie’s father, who owns a construction firm that he hopes his son will take over one day. Fred is protective over his son, in the beginning he and Archie butted heads because Archie was keeping secrets and he didn’t know what do about it, how to handle it, but as the show progressed, he had his own issues that he had to worry about that but he was still supportive of Archie. Honestly, he’s the best parent on the show, he’s the only non-crazy one. I mean, he has his issues, he’s not perfect but he tries. He wants whats best for his son, not to mention Jughead when he takes him in. Fred was shot in the finale, all I know is they better not kill him.
    • Luke Perry is great in this role. He’s reserved, fatherly, a good friend, protective… everything he needs to be in this role, he is. So likable and handsome.
  • Mädchen Amick as Alice Cooper. Polly and Betty’s mother, who is the editor of the local paper. She is a controlling and demanding perfectionist who places exceedingly high expectations on her daughters. She is a TRIP! I love it. She is so extra and nosy that I can’t wait for her scenes because she is out of her mind. I think crazy runs in their family. There’s a lot about her past we don’t know, outside of that fact that she is from the Southside, might have been a Southside Serpent and may have had a thing with Jughead’s father… dunno, but it seems likely. I’m definitely interested to learn more about her, not to mention, this mysterious son. Anytime she has a confrontation with someone, I live for it. Her drama is so great even though she’s absolutely ridiculous!
    • Mädchen Amick looks so familiar to me but I guess I’ve never seen her in anything. But she is great in this role, the times when I like her, she does it so well, the times where I hate her, she does it so well and everything in between she does so well!
  • Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge. She is Veronica’s mother, she has returned to Riverdale with her daughter to continue a deal that her husband Hiram started. She also has a short affair with Fred Andrews. Hermione is interesting, she’s one of the parents on the show that I actively liked in the beginning, a bit mysterious due to we didn’t know what her secrets were exactly, but I liked how she interacted with Veronica. They seemed to have a close relationship. However, towards the end of the season, with the chance of Hiram getting out of jail (and after Fred broke things off with her) she kind of changed, she’s definitely falling into that “shady parent” category and I’m worried actually.
    • I’ve seen Marisol Nichols in other things, she’s likable as Hermione but I do kind of want hair/makeup to do something different with her appearance. Sometimes, she looks like a high school student instead of a mother and it throws me off sometimes. She’s already so tiny, her big hair makes her head look weird. It should either be straight, or maybe a little curl. I love her clothes though.
Reoccurring Characters.
I’m not going to talk about all of them, just the ones that I noticed or ones that I thought had an impact on storylines in the show etc.
  • Casey Cott as Kevin Keller: He is an openly gay student, his best friend is Betty Cooper, but I do think he got really close to Veronica in the season. He is the sheriff’s son. I like Kevin, sometimes he comes off as the “gay best friend”, which the show tried to take a shot at in the beginning, but they still ended up doing it. I hope we see more of him in the second season. Sometimes he annoyed me, sometimes it felt like he was just there to be there but I hope in the second season he really resonates as a character.
  • Skeet Ulrich as Forsythe “F.P”. Jones II: He is the leader of the Southside Serpents and Jughead’s father. We don’t see much of him in the first few episodes, and when we do see him, he’s just a shady dude until we see him speaking with Jughead about the drive in theater. Since I didn’t watch the episodes in order at first, I already knew who he was and what their issues were before I decided to watch from the beginning. But I like F.P., I mean, I really wanted him to get himself together because Jughead really wanted that, to be a family again. He’s protective of his son but he also has issues that he has to fight against, he’s a drunk. However, he’s very observant, he knows what’s going on and he did have a hand in the Jason Blossom mystery, just not the murder part of it. He ended up becoming a suspect at the end because Clifford Blossom threatened Jughead if F.P didn’t take the fall, that’s a loyal dad right there. Yeah, the whole situation is jacked but still. I think Skeet Ulrich managed to keep F.P. from being that typical drunk dad, I mean he is, but he was endearing, I cared about him, I wanted him to get it together for Jughead and himself. I really like him. We’ll see what season 2 holds with him being in jail.
  • Robin Givens as Sierra McCoy: She’s the mayor and Josie’s mother. She has some shady dealings and maybe we’ll see more of her as the show goes on.
  • Nathalie Boltt as Penelope Blossom: Cheryl and Jason’s mother, she’s pretty much lost everything in the finale, her home, her husband, her son, and she seems to not like Cheryl that much so I’m sure she’s losing her mind. I don’t really like her, which means that Nathalie Boltt does her job well.
  • Tiera Skovbye as Polly Cooper: The casting is so well in this show, because everyone looks like they could part of the family they’re in. But Polly has gone through a lot in the short amount of time the show takes place in, she’s about to have Jason’s twins, he’s dead, she just found out that she and Jason are at least third cousins (lol) but we’ll see what happens. Her best scene was when Betty and Jughead went to see her, and Alice shows up to take Betty home and Polly seems them and is upset because no one told her Jason was dead. Great scene and great acting.
  • Barclay Hope as Clifford Blossom: Cheryl and Jason’s father. This dude pretty much played the proper role of being a grieved father but he’s the one who killed Jason because Jason found out that he was using his Maple Syrup business to move heroin out of Riverdale. Creepy man.
The Story
So ultimately this show is centered around a mystery, which I think is a good way to start off a teen show. I think instead of just throwing us in there with all the drama, I would have been less inclined to watch it, but since the stuff with the mystery was interesting and I wanted to know who killed Jason Blossom, I was intrigued. Basically, the show starts out learning that Jason Blossom drowned and his twin sister Cheryl was a witness, as she was found huddled on the bank of the Sweetwater river lol. At the same time, we get to learn a bit about each character who is introduced. At first, his death is ruled as a drowning BUT then his body shows up washed up on the banks found by Kevin and Moose, with a bullet hole in his head so now it’s a murder. DUN DUN dun. So now everyone wants to know who killed Jason Blossom and why, everyone is a suspect and Betty and Jughead make it their business to try to find out why. Honestly, those two manage to do way more than the actual Sheriff’s department does. With that overlying mystery, we also learn about each person, Archie Andrews had a summer fling with his music teacher (creepy, I hate teacher/student relationships) and he wants to be a musician. Betty Cooper at first grapples with wanting to be with Archie, while dealing with her overbearing mother, wondering what happened to her sister Polly, and also trying to deal with the whole “Perfect” and “Girl Next Door” labels. Jughead Jones and being a weird outsider, feeling betrayed by Archie over the summer, their friendship being a bit strained, Jughead’s relationship with Betty, with his father, with the others. Veronica Lodge and her issues with her father and mother, trying to find her place in the town. I enjoyed learning more about each person, especially their parents, sometimes the parents were more interesting than the kids were, especially Alice Cooper and F.P. Jones, I need to more about them and their back story. Oh and Molly Ringwald showed up for two episodes as Mary Andrews, Archie’s mom, it was great seeing her.
The story was held together well, it didn’t feel like they were trying to add mystery upon mystery and made the show feel bloated. It actually felt like the story was moving and that it was to be wrapped up by the end, with side stories having the chance of being explored later on.
The Dialogue
The dialogue in this show can be a bit pretentious at times. It’s actually self-aware in a lot of areas but it sometimes comes off where Jughead (especially since he’s the narrator and the one with some of the best vocabulary) says something really smart but then he’ll make a comment that doesn’t sound like how a teenager would sound. But ya know, a lot of shows are like that IE: Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars where they’re supposed to be teenagers but they sound like adults and it’s just ugh. Shut up. Not to mention, they’ll make references to stuff and I’m sure the teenagers who watch the show have no idea what they’re talking about.
However, sometimes it’s very smart and clever. Cheryl definitely has some memorable lines, like when she gets mad at her minions for not voting for her against Veronica being head cheerleader, she gives them a tongue lashing and says “Shoo bitches” *Cracks up* It was so funny.
Veronica has some good ones.
Jughead has a lot of memorable lines, and since his character is the narrator, he speaks a lot and a lot of his comments are kind of novel like and it’s probably because he’s a writer.
The Relationships
Each character has relationships with other characters. Sometimes its just a friendship, a romance or a rivalry. I think the way the show handles it’s relationships between characters is standard in a lot of areas, it’s a teen drama so of course there is over dramatic moments and what not.
Archie & Jughead– So I think it’s important to note that while they’re best friends, it’s clear that they haven’t really healed from the betrayal Jughead felt of Archie leaving him high and dry over the summer. Sure, it was just a road trip but they were like 15 so I makes sense that Jughead would be upset. However, they are best friends, they are brothers and I think Cole Sprouse and KJ Apa have great chemistry together that it allows for their relationship to feel like they actually knew each other for years. Jughead will do anything for Archie, he keeps his secret about his relationship with Ms. Grundy, he even tries to stop others from finding out about it. Archie finds out about Jughead being homeless and really tries to get him to live with him and his dad. He also tries to help Jughead have a legal guardian when his father is arrested. Their friendship definitely needs to be more explored in the next season especially since Jughead is being transferred to the Southside of Riverdale.
Archie & Veronica– So when Veronica walked into Pop’s, Archie was immediately taken with her which is understandable, he’s a girl crazy dude and Veronica is beautiful and new so he was always taken with her. But once he knew of Betty’s feelings and after she and Veronica became friends, it was like he kept his distance from her (even dated Valerie) but there was always something there. They have their moments together but it’s not really until the last three or four episodes that they really start to get closer to each other. They’re dating now and in the interviews, Camila Mendes said that Veronica has to step up to be a girlfriend since Fred was shot… it will be interesting to see what happens with her and Archie in the second season. I like them together, I think the actors have good chemistry, they’re cute together and since they obviously had eyes for each other in the beginning, it’d be nice to see it last, even without the idea of the iconic love triangle from the comics.
Archie & Betty– I understand that in the comics that there is a Betty/Archie/Veronica thing and it’s long-lasting thing and I’m over it. I’m not nostalgic for the comics while I understand those who are. They’re childhood best friends, Betty’s always had feelings for him and starts off the show with a one-sided crush, she finally confronts him about it and he tells her that he will always love her but not in the way she wants him too. It takes her a moment to get over it. I feel like they’re going to have them be together at some point in the show, and I’m like ugh, no. Yeah, I can see it at some point I guess but he doesn’t deserve her, she’s too good for him (Sorry Veronica, you’re too good too but y’all are cute). I like their friendship, I like that she loves him but has moved on.
Jughead & Betty– I LOVE THEM TOGETHER! Look, in the beginning, it shows that Archie, Betty and Jughead grew up together, they were comfortable around each other but they were both closer to Archie than to each other. It wasn’t until they started working together on the Blue and Gold that I could tell they were getting closer. Jughead would smile in her direction or was very attuned to her, they finished each other’s sentences, they worked well together, he helped her figure out so many answers, it was just a great growing friendship. I think she saw him in a new light when he showed up at her house in a suit for Jason Blossom’s memorial. Not to mention, he climbed up to her window quoting something from literature, she invited him for dinner… it was a great buildup. When Jughead finally kissed her, he let out this breath, like he’d been holding it for so long and she definitely had a clear mind to remember something BUT it didn’t ruin the moment exactly, it actually added to their unique relationship. I think they’re very cute, plus Cole and Lili have great chemistry with each other. Every time something happened with him, she was right there, and yes they had that big argument on his birthday but I believe it helped strengthen their relationship. She was honest with him and the things she struggles with (she showed him the self harm she does when she clenches her fists so hard), she believed in him enough that she trusted his judgement of his father. I could go on but it’ll be long. It’s cute and I want them to last. I’m sure Jughead accepting his place in the Southside Serpents will cause problems, it was obvious when they ruined Betty and Jughead’s sexy time and he put on that leather jacket and her reaction to it… I feel like they’re going to ruin them and I don’t want them to.
Betty & Veronica– I like the fact that Betty and Veronica don’t have this cattiness to them.   It was hard in the beginning due to Betty’s interest in Archie and his obvious interest in Veronica NOT to mention the seven minutes in heaven thing but their friendship is great. I like the fact that they stick with each other, even though they’re not always together (Betty was off a lot with Jughead solving mysteries) they still stick together. I hope to see more of their friendship in the second season.
Jughead & FP Jones– So I don’t want to include all of the kids and their parents but I think this one is the most important one. It was definitely intriguing to learn that the mysterious man Hermione Lodge kept meeting up with was Jughead’s dad, not to mention he’s the leader of the Southside Serpents. Their relationship is so interesting that I really really want more, it’s gonna be odd as FP is in jail now but their strained relationship needs to be fixed. Jughead was homeless (yes by choice to an extent) because his father was a drunk and couldn’t keep himself together and Jughead didn’t want to be involved with that. After Sheriff Keller tried to work Jughead into Jason Blossom’s murder, FP attempted to start a drunken trouble but Jughead stopped him and they had a great and emotional moment where FP swore to get better… Jughead knew that he wasn’t going to be true to that and it came and went. It got a little better towards the end but not really between them. I don’t know, it was just so interesting. I need more of this family.
The Kids and their Parents– So obviously there are a lot of characters and a lot of relationships and while I think the relationships with their parents are important, I really wanted to just touch on them. It should be interesting to see what happens when Hiram Lodge gets into town with Hermione (who also seems to be gearing up for an intense character shift) and Veronica (who doesn’t trust daddy anymore). What will happen between Cheryl Blossom and her mother now that Cheryl burned down Thornhill.  I wonder if the Coopers will find their long-lost son and if Polly and Betty will be able to adjust to the new babies etc. and lastly, I hope Fred pulls through because I doubt Archie will be able to remain the “good” kid he is if something happens not to mention, they better not kill Fred.
Favorite Episodes
I really only have maybe two or three favorite episodes.
Chapter 7: In a Lonely Place focused heavily on Jughead which I liked as I thought there was a bit of shortage of storylines focused solely on him. We also learned about F.P. and more of his past and issues. It was sad and interesting. Jughead was taken in for questioning by the sheriff, especially after he and the Principal saw he and Betty’s murder wall in the school. It was actually kind of crazy when he was being questioned how the sheriff pulled up his past issues in the attempt to make it seem like he had something to do with Jason Blossom’s death. Jughead’s face was so upset, and hurt, and frustrated and it got worse when F.P didn’t even show up until after Fred got him out and even covered for him. The scene between Jughead and F.P. was a beautiful scene. The face Jughead made when his father declared that he would get better, it was one of “yeah, I believe it but at the same time I really don’t believe it”.
Chapter 10: The Lost Weekend was one of those episodes I saw before I actually watched the show. But anyway, this episode focused on the kids, it’s Jughead’s birthday, he hates his birthday but Betty (after learning about it from Archie) is determined to give him a happy birthday. So she throws him a surprise party, a small one, she sings this haunting birthday song (Jughead even says it’s haunting) but then Cheryl and Chuck Clayton (so fine) drop in with the entire school. They play this game where people have divulge a secret and it was so great, it was such a tense scene, Veronica laid down the law with her comments to Cheryl, it was so great. Then Jughead tried to defend Betty’s honor (a bit) when Chuck brought up what she did earlier on. The whole episode was a trip and I loved it.
Chapter Twelve: Anatomy of a Murder is when he find out who killed Jason. It was an episode full of answers and tension and that’s what I loved. I like when shows that have a mystery actually gives me answers and not try to make more and more questions to the point where the answers don’t matter anymore. F.P. has been arrested for allegedly killing Jason Blossom after the police found the gun in his trailer. Jughead learning all of this tries to go live with his mother but she turns him down and he’s upset, but Archie, Veronica and Betty find him to tell him that F.P. had to be innocent due to the fact that Veronica and Archie searched the trailer and there was no gun. So now they’re trying to prove that he didn’t do it but F.P. apparently confessed due to Clifford Blossom threatening Jughead’s life. Not to mention, they learn that Clifford Blossom killed Jason and F.P. didn’t kill him, but he did try to kidnap him for ransom and that he found the body after he was shot and he and Joaquin cleaned the mess and later dumped the body after the police dragged the river. It was a lot of information and I loved it.
The finale was a good episode too, mostly because there was still a lot of drama. The best scene was when Archie saved Cheryl from the frozen river, that was a great scene to watch Archie actually do something without just standing there watching it happen. Plus,  I love how they included “Believer” by Imagine Dragons at the end, and how opposite the intimate scenes were. Archie and Veronica had this cutesy and romantic like interaction in her fancy bedroom while Jughead and Betty were in Jughead’s trailer (he cleaned it up after it was ransacked) and they were really enthused lol and passionate but it was interrupted when the Serpents showed up with a jacket for him and the song paused for a moment, and then Jughead put that jacket on
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and that song popped back on “PAIN!…” I was like
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Cole Sprouse made that leather jacket look good and the song coming back on right when he put that jacket on.. killed me AND he didn’t have his beanie on, that made it even better.
But then it quickly turned to me being like
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Because who knows what’s going to happen in the second season. Will he and Betty last because of this? I want them too. He’s going to different school…and Betty’s face when he put it on to and the way he looked at her when he realized she was standing there… so dramatic.
Overall
Listen, I get why people don’t like the show and I can say there are parts of it I don’t like, but I’m not hate watching it, at least not yet. I started off loving The Vampire Dairies, Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl and they all turned into hate watches by the end (though GG was less of a hate watch, just me being upset at the lazy writing). But I quite enjoy this show and all it’s ridiculous and drama fashion. It’s so over the top and such a CW show but I enjoy it. The other drama shows I watched have ended so I needed something to fill the void. I like the characters for the most part, I mean I enjoy some more than others, I enjoy the music in the show, I like the story and the mystery, I was really into finding out who killed him and why. I mean, I figured it was his father but I wanted to know why. It’s fun. I don’t normally rate shows or anything but as a whole…
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Have you seen Riverdale? Are you ready for season 2? Who is your favorite character from the show?
What is your favorite “teen drama” show?
Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to like and follow this blog!

The Future of Once Upon a Time

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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Welcome back! This is the second part of my Once Upon a Time conversation.
You can read part I here.
The Future.
So I talked about how the end of the finale showed a little girl going to a door, she knocks and claims that she is the man’s daughter, and the man is Henry Mills. So, first, it’s super cute that it’s a little girl and that she is going to be biracial, OUAT definitely needs more diversity in it’s leading group of characters. However, the set up seems to be exactly the same of as the very first episode where Henry finds Emma who is his long lost mother. Lucy, the little girl was apparently in Fairy Tale Land, as Tiger Lily showed up to her, and she is the keeper of the storybook. So it’ll be interesting.
I can’t speculate on what’s going to happen in the future, but I have some ideas that I think would be great additions, that wouldn’t be rehashing what we’ve already seen. If the show wasn’t going to end on that really perfect series finale ending, then it should get a complete reboot.
Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan), Gennifer Goodwin (Snow White), Josh Dallas (Prince Charming), Jared Gilmore (Henry Mills), Rebecca Mader (Zelena) and Emilie De Ravin (Belle) are leaving the show for good. While I love Regina and Rumple, part of me feels that Regina should no longer be on the show either, her story I think has ended many times over. Lana Parilla is fantastic but I’m curious to see what happens to her character since she’s staying.
There’s a bit more to be done with Rumple considering how his FTL version is involved in so many stories and Robert Carlyle is fantastic but I also wonder that since his WIFE is leaving, was he raising baby Gideon on his own?? Or since it’s in the future where Henry is an adult, is Gideon a teenager now?
What about Hook? What happened to Emma? I feel like since she’s leaving that her husband should be going with her, I am not a fan of Hook, I never really was, he was sassier in the beginning and I kind of liked him before he and Emma started dating. It went downhill for me AND I blame him for Merlin’s death so he hasn’t come back from that, same as him getting the loophole from Zeus to come back to life for being a hero and that was some BS. But anyway…
According to the writers, the beginning will parallel Emma’s story in terms of Henry losing his belief along the way, especially since he has the heart of the Truest Believer and his daughter has to help him along. There’s also going to be a reveal of his one true love, in the same vein as Snow and Charming’s love, which might mean that Lucy is a product of True Love but I’m interested to see who this woman of color is lol. Also, the fairy tale characters will be in the real world trying to find their happy endings… I also hope they move away from Storybrooke since Lucy finds Henry in Seattle. I’m okay with this to see where they go with it, if it ended I would have been fine but since it’s not, I’m curious.
My Ideas/Missed Opportunties
So I can’t help but wonder what type of fairy tales or stories they will bring into the story. We branched out into literature with having Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the story, they should keep doing that.
Aladdin– I really liked Deniz Akdeniz’s version of Aladdin, when we first meet him it’s in kind of flashback but in the future of the Aladdin story. Jafar has the magic carpet and finds him, he’s weak, in pain, he’s shaking and Jafar has a monologue about the consequences of being The Savior. We never got to see more of that, we never got to see Aladdin BE the Savior. In his actual introduction episode, we see him in Agrabah, he’s a thief, a pretty good one at that, Jasmine finds him and convinces him to go with her to the Cave of Wonders to find a Macguffin that has great power. It turns out that it was a test to see if Aladdin was the great power, he was, he saves her with light magic but he’s not for having this magic, not for being used and he meets Jafar who uses Iago an oracle, to show Aladdin his future which seemed like it was dire, he puts the idea of the Three Fate’s Shears being used to cut one away from their destiny. Aladdin does manage to save the day when Jafar threatens Jasmine and he goes off on his adventures, leaving Jasmine behind and Jafar magically sends the shears to Aladdin who keeps them and we learn later that he used them. Which I thought was such a missed opportunity. He does take up the mantle of being a genie to help our heroes in winning which was cool but that also was a missed opportunity.
  • What they should have done, Aladdin should have had residual Savior magic, especially since Emma did a locator spell to find him by using their connection to the Savior magic. She still finds him. Soooo, that means to me that he should have had some magic still. But apparently that story ends in the finale, but I still think there should be a spinoff OUAT in Agrabah because I want to see how witty, and smiling Aladdin got to that broken man. We never got to see him face off with one of the greatest villains in Jafar. I didn’t mind that Jasmine became a focus because she needed that but I don’t think it should have made Aladdin take a backseat. I want to see the moment he chose to cut away his magic and what happened afterwards. I want to see his moments with the Genie, I appreciate that line they gave in reverence to Robin Williams in the show but I think they glossed over so much with his character. There should either be a spin off for him and Jasmine since she had her own adventures OR bring them back into the show. I don’t think that story is over, he never got to truly face off with a villain. If they bring him back current time, then there should definitely be some flashbacks, MORE flashbacks.
Jasmine– Karen David’s accent didn’t bother me, it wasn’t that serious as NO ONE has an accent for the origins of their character. Accents hardly matter. ANYWAY, I appreciated that they gave her a bit more to do, she’s one of the Disney princesses who is not the lead and doesn’t have a lot to do. She is the one who ultimately faces off against Jafar but for political and fear reasons which is cool. She uses a potion and turns him into a staff and I was like what? I think she should be physical fighter with daggers or something, it would allow her to have the full package of being smart, brave AND adept physically. After all, in the sequels, Jasmine kicked butt. What was she doing in the Land of Untold Stories exactly? Who else did she meet? They pretty much wrapped up the arc they gave her in the beginning but there was more there.
Merlin– Such a BIGGGG missed opportunity. Also should be a regular, would definitely bring more people of color into the show. We get a glimpse of his past, he was running away from capture with someone else, what happened before he got his magic? How was he captured? EXPLAIN! He knew the prophecy about King Arthur who shirked his duties, he faces off against Nimue who became The Dark One after choosing revenge over the love for him, but he can’t fight her and she uses his tear to turn him into a tree. Emma and the others free him after going to Camelot and he goes with Emma on a quest to find a way to restore Excalibur. He was bound to Excalibur by Arthur who tries to get him to kill the heroes but he manages to break free. When Hook is turned into the Dark One, Merlin knows what’s to happen and he killed by Hook at the prodding of Nimue in order to cast a Dark Curse.
  • So my problem with this is that Merlin is the originator of light magic, at least he’s the first person to have it. He was given this power by the Gods, which in this world I’m assuming the Gods of Mount Olympus. So it doesn’t make sense for him to actually be dead but perhaps that body of his gone, not like what Voldemort did with the Horcruxes but as he’s pure light magic, he found a way, to put his essence into something good. Perhaps something that Gold has in his shop. Once it’s found and someone with light magic (Aladdin maybe) gets a hold of it, it brings Merlin back in human form. He shouldn’t have died. Rumple is the Dark One, there should be a Savior= Aladdin (doesn’t have to be the lead) and there should be someone who is on the same level of the Dark One but good=Merlin who doesn’t have to be there ALL the time… just saying. Bring Elliot Knight back.
Bearskin– So this is a tale I read from the Grimm fairytale. In the story, a soldier returns from War, his parents are dead and his brother can’t house him so he is a wandering traveler. So a man with a hoof appears and makes a deal with him, he cannot bathe, clean himself or anything for 7 years. If he wins then he would be rich and free. If he died during the period then the Devil would have him. So he agrees, the hoofed man puts a green coat on him, as well as a Bearskin and tells him that his pockets will always refill with money but he cannot take it off. About four years into it, he meets a poor man who is facing prison for debts, Bearskin offers to help him so the man offers one of his three daughters’ hands. The oldest and middle daughters are repulsed by him, but the youngest actually talks with him and agrees to her father’s promise. Bearskin gives her half a ring and tells her he will return in 3 years. After time passes, he finds the hoofed man again and tells him to fulfill his end of the bargain. The man makes him good as new and sends him off with his money. He returns to the man, dressed nicely, and says he would marry one of his daughters. The older two run off to be cute for him but he dropped the other half of the ring in the glass of the younger daughter. They get married. The oldest sister hangs herself and the middle drowns herself and the Devil gets two souls for the price of one.
  • Dark, I know, but I think it would be a great addition to the show. I think the soldier could be Tiana’s long lost brother, perhaps he was taken, disappeared or something and he doesn’t have to be a soldier since Tiana and Naveen are set in New Orleans and there aren’t really any real wars going on around that time.
  • Instead of the “devil” the mysterious man could be the Voodoo Man Dr. Facilier especially since he was trying to collect souls for the Voodoo spirits. As Bearskin is a wandering man alone, he would be an easy target but he loses him but manages to win still by getting the two sisters, but that doesn’t mean they actually are just gone, he could reanimate them for his bidding. At least until all of his debts are repaid.
    • Or maybe he didn’t win the bet and his soul is owned by the voodoo man. I feel like I want to write this so I don’t want to go into anymore detail lol.
Tiana and Naveen- So we have not seen them at all on the show, there’s been no indication of them at all. I think if Aladdin and Jasmine don’t come back, at least as regulars, that we would need another couple in the same vein of what Snow and Charming were. I’m not sure if Henry and his mysterious lover stayed together or what, but it would be nice to have a strong couple like Snowing. It would be after the events of their movie, we could see flashbacks of that too if necessary, but they’re not older versions, but they would have been sent to the future by Mama Odie. So there could be flashbacks of their movie story if needed OR there could be moments where we see their life after the film and in their time period and what is going on in the present.
  • Tiana– It would be cool actually if the soldier from Bearskin is her brother who went missing years before and older brother, maybe her parents thought he died. My head canon is that Tiana is 19 and Naveen is 21 in the movie, so their age could vary depending on how far in the future the show would have them.

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She is my choice for Tiana. Annie Illonzeh, she’s currently 33 but I think she has a youthful look about her. Or Nicole Beharie.
  • Naveen– We don’t really learn much about his past, so him being on the show would give us that chance. Plus, considering how irresponsible he started as off, it would be good to see that progression from him before the movie (in flashbacks) to how he was throughout the film. His casting is a bit harder due to the many things surrounding him. Bruno Campos his voice actor is Brazilian and exaggeration accent, his name is Indian and I’ve always considered his fictional country of Maldonia to be in South America, perhaps his mother is of Indian descent, but I came across Caua Reymond and I can’t find anyone better right now.
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He has that smile, and the hair, he’s tall. But I think it would be interesting to go a bit more into detail for him.
  • Mulan- So I don’t think we ever really got closure with her, Ruby and Dorothy got together and had their closure to an extent (which I thought was super random), but the last time we see her is when she and Ruby go to Oz and it definitely seemed like they were hinting at a Mulan and Merida thing at one point, which I’m okay with since they’re very similar. But they have to come back. I really want to know about Mulan’s past, what about her in the Chinese army? I want to know that whole story, we never go to see it and I would love to see it, what about her relationship with her parents? Was there a Li Shang? It might not have been a romantic thing but it would have been cool for her to have a friend… I think there’s a lot we haven’t explored with her. She just shows up and disappears.
  • Merida- I guess her story was over, as she ended up back home, but I thought she got a bit short changed, she was thrown in there and wasn’t really utilized much. She ended up being used by Dark Emma but meh… I think she could come back.
  • Kida and Milo– Remember Atlantis: The Lost Empire, why don’t we ever see her anywhere? Not only do I think Disney needs to a Live Action film but it would be cool to bring her into the show as well. She ends up being a Queen (I don’t even remember the sequel so ignoring that) and she doesn’t have to be in present time, they always have someone go to a different world somewhere where they need help, or they go to Atlantis for some reason and both her and Milo could be there.
  • Jim Hawkins- As an older man! In the film he’s like 16 and he gets his life together at the end, it would be so cool to involve him! If we insist on having Hook around, perhaps they could meet and be friends, since Hook doesn’t really have any guy friends. OR if Hook leaves, it would be cool to have Jim replace him.
  • Jefferson/Mad Hatter– This is wishful thinking as Sebastian Stan is in the MCU, but I would love for him to return for a few episodes. When he was reunited with Grace, he kind of just disappeared. I would love to know what really happened with him.
  • Quasimodo- I think this has been a fan favorite request as well. But again, his story is actually set in a real location of France, perhaps as in the first movie, he doesn’t get the girl, he could be one of those people in search of their happy ending as this new season is dealing with that type of thing. I knew there was a sequel but I don’t remember that or the blonde girl so it could be someone new. Plus, seeing flashbacks with Count Frollo would be everything.
  • Esmerelda- She is very memorable. What if Pheobus died and now she has to find a new happy ending. I think they had a kid in the sequel, sure that’s fine, but if Regina is still around, perhaps they could become friends (as both Snow AND Emma are gone, so her friends have left the building) and they could go off to find their true loves together. I think it would be interesting that if Pheobus dies, that Esmerelda’s new man be Jim Hawkins or maybe even the Bearskin soldier… or maybe have her “help” a villain get their life together.
  • Hercules/Meg- I’ve never been a huge fan of the animated film, but I watch it when it comes on TV most times, but I liked the actor they had for Hercules and towards the end, I liked Meg BUT they were so wasted. I understand that Herc served his purpose in Snow’s past (they were super cute though) but why didn’t we ever see him come into real contact with his uncle Hades? Even if it wasn’t that serious in the Underworld, why didn’t we see any flashbacks of them interacting? It was like they weren’t even related. I thought that was a very sad missed opportunity, plus I liked him and wanted more. His only finished business was to defeat Cerberus? I mean come on, that’s lame. He could totally be a series regular. Also could be friends with Jim lol.
Villains
There are many villains in Fairy Tales, I think there are many they could pull from that aren’t just Disney. I kind of want them to go a bit dark, not necessarily scary, but pull characters that are actually scary. As Rumple fulfilled his Savior prophecy and Regina hasn’t really done a “bad” thing in a while, who would be our new villain? I don’t see the point of having Rumple relapse again and is he still The Dark One all these years later? I would rather Rumple to no longer be the Dark One in the current time, but to maybe have a bit of magic since he was supposed to be a Savior but it not be very strong. It’s kind of hard to say since I love Dark One Rumple lol.
  • Jafar– Oded Fehr was great. His story is the only one that really connects to the OUAT in Wonderland, but he leaves Agrabah has his adventure in Wonderland, gets turned into a genie then faces off with Jasmine who uses a potion to turn into a staff. Um, he was a sorcerer and a genie, SO that staff shouldn’t be a long term transformation. Too much power would overload a janky transformation spell. He reverts back to his human form, still a genie unfortunately and plots revenge on both Aladdin and Jasmine. Jasmine for turning him into the staff and rebuffing him and Aladdin defeating him (breaking his snake staff) and for literally being the same person just whose destiny led him to a better life, he even says something to that effect to Aladdin when he saves Jasmine from him in “Street Rats”.
  • Headless Horseman– Maybe they could include this story as well, he’s a spirit, maybe a villain is controlling him.
  • Dr. Facilier aka “The Voodoo Man“- So what I’m thinking is that, yeah, he “died” in the film but he was more or less dragged away, it’s assumed he’s dead. I think the best way to handle this, without having too many loopholes from what we already know or seen, Bearskin’s soul could be owned by the Facilier, as he lost the bet. So, even though Facilier is gone, Bearskin is collecting souls for him. In the film, he barters with the spirits to give him what he needs and he promised them all of the souls in New Orleans, that’s the only reason why they agreed to help him, so sure he got dragged away but they wanted all of those souls, why? So, let’s find out why. Bearskin could be making deals (I’m sure Rumple might be aware of this even if it’s in the real world. Bearskin could have limited magic to allow him to travel in between realms, how? Meh, I don’t know, maybe they had a stash of magic beans, and he is able to converse with Facilier, or maybe his shadow is still around and in order for him to be free, they have to give a certain amount of souls in place of his. This is how Tiana and Naveen could find him. I think Facilier should definitely come back, maybe during the midseason finale, he does and then if there is a season 8 he should last into the next season. His magic is different from most of the magic we’ve seen, I think it would be interesting.
  • Horned King- The scary Skeleton dude from The Black Cauldron. That film is very underrated and that dude is scary, practical effects, no need for tons of CGI but this would allow for Taran and Eilonwy to be in the film (everyone else can stay in the animated film). He wanted to raise a dead army using the Cauldron, another dude who may or may not be dead depending on how it’s handled. I just think he’s a different villain than what we’ve seen before.
  • Count Frollo- Mostly Flashbacks, there’s really not a reason for him to be alive considering his terrible and well deserved death in the film, but if we bring Quasimodo into it, then I think there should be at least some reason to see him. If you remember the Aladdin/Hercules TV show crossover, Jafar managed to “come back alive” by making a deal with Hades, perhaps Frollo does the same? But he’s not fully alive? He and Facilier could have some type of understanding since they’re both in the real world.
The Story.
So the way I see it, I think that season 7 should push past the stories we’ve already seen and learned about. There is really no reason to keep Regina, Hook and Rumple around, if anyone should be around it would be Rumple considering his stake in almost every story but I don’t think it’s necessary going forward as the others have moved on. I love Lana Parilla and Robert Carlyle but just as there isn’t’ really a need for Zelena, there isn’t really a need for them. I think the idea of an adult Henry embarking on whatever he’s embarking on is cool as there is a familiar character, but I can’t help but wonder at how much that story will mirror Emma’s. He may not be a Savior as he’s the Truest Believer but still, his daughter has to make him believe like he made Emma believe? Eh, I’m not really into a rehash, even if the direction may change later.
I think by introducing completely new characters (Tiana, Naveen etc.) with a new story, perhaps the message is “freedom” and “connecting with your lost past” it would be a nice throwback to what OUAT has been about but by doing it in a new way with new people we’ve never seen before. It would also give the show the chance to go a bit darker like Disney itself has in the past, I don’t think anyone should be upset about it as a lot of the classic films are kind of scary. OUAT has an opportunity to revitalize their show, I think there is a lot of potential going forward and I would hate see the show get cancelled after this season without ever reaching it’s full potential.
Overall,
These are just some ideas I have for their directions. I would like to see new things, new characters, especially diverse ones. I think Tiana and Naveen would be a great regular addition to the show filling that Snow and Charming void. I think bringing back certain characters like Aladdin would put someone back into that “savior” role, someone we never really saw embrace that part of him, he cut it away before we really got the chance to see it. If Jafar never returns, I guess that’s fine as he was in Wonderland BUT we didn’t get to see Oded Fehr as much and I think it was a missed opportunity. Henry can remain to fill the “Emma Swan” role if they want someone who doesn’t believe in the beginning BUT I don’t think that’s necessary for this show anymore. Otherwise, bring a new person in who hasn’t experience magic but not be related to Emma or anyone like that. I mean, bring that kid (as an adult) from Rescuer’s Down Under and have him get thrust into the magical world lol.
I just feel like there are so many things to do and I feel like this season is going to be the last. I love how the show brought so many new ways to these well known (and lesser) stories and that’s awesome, but it’s gotten stale, sometimes they manage to reinvigorate the story but this is a chance to really put Once Upon a Time in a new line and bring it back and breathe into it fresh air. I think that’s so important. I really want them to make it feel new again.
I think these are ways that it can.
Let me know your thought below. What characters do you think they should add?
Do you think that Regina, Rumple, Hook and Henry should even still be around?
Please let me know your thoughts! I’d love to have conversations with OUAT fans about the future of the show!

ouat-s2-poster

Once Upon a Time Thoughts

~ Alyxwrites ~ 1 Comment

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So OUAT (Once Upon a Time) has been a favorite show of mine for years. It premiered in 2011. I remember seeing the previews for it and being super excited. I love fairy tales, I love Disney and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the first episode hit and I loved it. It was a little rocky in the beginning but it found it’s footing and it led us into season two and so on. Sunday May 14, 2017 was the season six finale and it was a two parter. I always feel like this show should be two hours considering how much goes on and how much I feel is glossed over or left out.
So this is going to be a two parter to prevent it from being uber long. This post will be my thoughts on the show and the following part will be where I think the show will go in the next season as it’s been renewed by ABC. There will be spoilers ahead, of the season 6 finale as well as the entire show SOOOO if you don’t want to be spoiled be aware. If you have not caught up with the show, don’t read this because I will be spoiling all throughout INCLUDING the finale.
This is also JUST for Once Upon a Time NOT Wonderland. I might mention it but this is not about it.
Warning: This will probably also be long. Sorry Not Sorry.
The story
A young woman with a troubled past is drawn to a small town in Maine where fairy tales are to be believed.
Season 1– The Evil Queen interrupts Snow White and Prince Charming’s wedding to gloat about the Dark Curse she’s planning to unleash on everyone, to ruin their happy endings. A majority of the characters are transported to the town of Storybrooke, Maine where they no longer remember their original lives. Emma Swan is brought to Storybrooke on her 28th birthday by her biological son Henry Mills. He hopes she would break the curse cast by The Evil Queen Regina his adoptive mother.
  • This was my favorite season. I think the first two or three episodes are kind of hard because they’re a bit slow but things start to pick up. It was fun meeting new characters in Storybrooke and working alongside Emma and Henry to figure out who they are and how their stories fit in with the others. It was the most fun and most fresh. It was also kind of a bit dark with the whole storyline of Mary Margareta and David having an affair even though he was engaged. Plus, I think it’s when Rumple/Gold is at his best and when the story was pretty straight forward and didn’t have so many holes that required even more ridiculous answers to fill the ridiculous holes.
Season 2- Emma has broken the curse but the characters did not return to the fairy tale world and now must deal with their dual identities. Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin brings magic into Storybrooke and new threats are introduced in Captain Hook and Cora, Regina’s mother (The Queen of Hearts).
It was after season 2 that they started doing the split the season into two separate arcs (which I don’t think always worked).
  • In this season everyone is dealing with the fact that they have woken up, they are finding each other, their family members and loved ones. It’s beautiful, and Emma gets to officially meet her parents. This is also when Cora, Regina’s mother comes with Hook and she is a fantastic villain. Hook was on his revenge kick, which was interesting for a while, it got a bit old but in this season it was fine as it was his introduction.
Season 3- In the first half, the main characters travel to Neverland to rescue Henry who was kidnapped by Peter Pan to obtain the “Heart of the Truest Believer”. This struggle continues in Storbrooke which sends the characters to their original worlds causing Emma and Henry to escape to New York City. In the second half, the characters are somehow brought back to a brand new Storybrooke with the last year of memories removed. Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West appears with a plan to change the past and Emma must save her family.
  • At first I was a little upset that they made Peter Pan a bad guy, but Robbie Kay was soo good that I enjoyed it. I didn’t mind this being a half a season because Neverland (while I think there was a lot to be done there), got a little old after a while. It was an emotional season as Emma and Snow, came to grips that she was alone as a kid. It also had Neal return (Henry’s father) and Emma dealing with her feelings for him, as well as the new interest Hook was giving her. I still liked Hook at this point. The only thing I didn’t really like was that Peter Pan ended up being Rumple’s father who gave up being a father by wishing to give it up and he was made a kid again leaving a child Rumple on his own. It worked out well but I still didn’t like that twist.
  • Zelena is introduced and I loved her, truly WICKED. Her storyline is also kind of sad  in her childhood, it was also interesting seeing Oz. I think it was a bad idea though to have the Scarecrow be a CGI character, they should have casted someone and made him a bigger role as he’s the Scarecrow, I mean COME ON! We do see the Tin Man in season 6 though.
Season 4- The first half included time travel events from the previous season in which Elsa (Frozen) is accidentally brought from the Enchanted Forest of the past to Present day Storybrooke. While she searches for her sister Anna with the help of the main characters, they meet The Snow Queen. Meanwhile, Regina searches for the Author of Henry’s storybook so she can have her happy ending. After being banished from the town, Mr. Gold enlists the help of Cruella De Vil, Maleficent and Ursula to change the rules of heroes and villains. Henry and Emma have to restore reality and the truth before the switch becomes permanent.
  • A lot of people don’t like the Frozen movie, nor did they like the addition of it in the show, but neither bothers me. I like the movie, it’s not my favorite but I like it and I liked it in the show, mostly because I liked the actresses they chose for Anna and Elsa and I loved the connection the Snow Queen story.
  • In terms of the second half, the Queens of Darkness was a rushed storyline and there are still lines that haven’t been completed. I didn’t think we really got to know any of them that well, they all had their flashbacks but they weren’t fleshed out enough and Maleficent’s story just ended and hasn’t been resolved yet. So that’s still hanging around.
Season 5- The characters embark on a quest to Camelot to find Merlin (who was the best ever!) to free Emma from the Dark One’s powers, while King Arthur is determined to alter the balance between light and darkness using Excalibur. Things happen and the characters must go to the Underworld where they meet souls with unfinished business and face Hades. They must attempt to restore order to the chaos that was created and a war between light and darkness begins with the separation of Regina and her Evil Queen persona. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde also join the story while bringing characters from the Land of Untold Stories.
  • So this was probably a season that had some interesting potential. We meet the people of Camelot, we met Lancelot before in an earlier season flashback. This is also where we meet one of the best “guest starring” characters: Merlin. Elliot Knight really was a gem. King Arthur is a villain, a desperate man and Emma struggles with the darkness inside as the newest Dark One. There was also some great interesting moments of Merlin’s history we didn’t learn, even with Nimue, who was also really interesting. They had great chemistry. Hook is swayed by the darkness and makes a stupid decision which solidified my already growing dislike for him.
  • The Underworld was also interesting, Hades was cool but I wasn’t into the whole “we all must go save Hook” thing. I also didn’t like how Mila (Rumple and Hook’s ex) died, it was just plain wrong. We got to see Cruella again and in the end, it was cool.
Season 6- The characters must defend Storybrooke from the combined threat of Mr. Hyde and the Evil Queen while Emma finds out about Aladdin (who was also great!) who was a Savior and must learn the fates of saviors. The battle of light and dark continue with an ultimate prophesied battle between Emma and a mysterious figure.
  • Had some interesting build up, but I honestly just wanted an entire season with Aladdin, Jasmine and Jafar as they were super interesting.
Regular Characters:
Emma Swan– In the beginning, she is a bondswoman, she does not believe in magic until she is brought to Storybrooke by Henry, her son. It takes a while to believe in his tales, but when she does, she learns that she’s powerful. She is The Savior as she is the product of true love. She has faced off against many villains. She is strong, blonde, wears an awesome red leather jacket, drives a yellow bug and is a great mom to Henry. She does have light magic, which allows for many things. She even experienced time as “The Dark One” for a bit. In each season, she has her struggles, sometimes they’re recycled (which I talk about later) but she always manages to pull through them, to find another way.
Snow White- Snow White is very different than how we know her. When we first meet her, it’s the usual storyline where she is sleep and is kissed by her Prince. When the first curse hits, she is ripped away from her happy ending with David and put into the real world as a school teacher “Mary Margaret Blanchard”. She has no memory of her past life even though she and David manage to find each other (due to intense drama) her personality is completely different from the awesome, feisty, archer that Snow White is. However, once the curse is broken, she is reunited with David, their love is beautiful, they reunite with Emma (Mary Margaret and Emma are friends and roommates) who is a bit weirded out by the idea that her parents are the same age as her. Snow White is so unyielding in her believe in hope, in her family, in that she and David will always find each other. She has so much love in her heart for everyone, even Regina who has ruined her life on many occasion. However, Snow is not perfect, she has made many mistakes, some really terrible ones but I think she is great.
Prince “David” Charming- David is Prince Charming, he is noble, brave, chivalrous and daring. He also loves his wife. When the first curse hits, he’s in a coma, “Mary Margaret” visits him as part of community service. When he wakes, he has a fiancee or wife (don’t remember) but he definitely knows she’s not the one. He and MM start an affair and it’s dramatic. When the curse breaks, he and Snow find each other. Throughout the series, his roles kind of go back and forth. Sometimes he’s just Snow’s husband, Prince Charming. Sometimes he takes the lead in storylines, sometimes he’s a bit judgmental but he’s definitely unflinching in his love for both Snow and Emma. His entire family in general, since that includes Henry Mills. I do kind of wish he had a friend though, he never really had a best guy friend, he and Hook did have rapport in later seasons which is nice, but I never got the sense that David really likes Hook even if he did marry his daughter. But the biggest thing about him is his willingness to sacrifice himself for his family.
Regina Mills- I LOVE Regina. Don’t get me wrong, she has done terrible things but she has had a great redemption arc. Regina is the Evil Queen, when she was a younger woman (I would say about 16-18) she fell in love with her stable boy, against her mother’s wishes who wanted her to become official royalty. She saves a 10 year old Snow White from getting hurt on a runaway horse, Snow catches Regina and Daniel together after Regina was supposed to be preparing to marry her father the King. Regina tells Snow to keep it a secret, but she finds out later that Snow told her mother because she thought she was helping which makes Regina upset. She marries the king, because Daniel is killed before her eyes but vowed revenge on Snow. Her flashbacks as the Evil Queen shows her hunting Snow White and before her revenge plot, she learns magic from Rumpelstiltskin. As Mayor Regina Mills, she runs Storybrooke, she started the first curse, she had her way in the town but when Emma comes in, she knocks it down and goes head to head with everyone for the longest time. She eventually starts become a hero, it takes a while but in the end, she is part of the hero squad. There’s a lot with her but she manages to find her true love in Robin Hood (which I will talk about later *mad face*), she gains a sister in Zelena (The Wicked Witch) and is happy at least.
Henry Mills- He is the one who started it all. He starts off as a 10 year old boy, he finds Emma, brings her to Storybrooke and works to get her to believe that she is The Savior in order to break the curse. Which she does. He puts a lot of things in motion. For a little while, he takes a back burner, but he becomes really important in the Neverland arc because he has the heart of the true believer even though he got on Regina a lot about using her magic to get her way. Regina and Emma will do anything for him (until… I will talk about later), he meets a girl in the Camelot arc and becomes the author later on. He believes in Emma unflinchingly and loves both his mothers, biological and adopted. We also see him grow up on the show.
Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold- He is my favorite character. He is involved in almost every storyline in pulling the strings. He was the “fairy godmother” to Cinderella, he was the Beast to Belle, he taught both Regina and her mother Cora, how to use magic,  he spends most of the first season trying to find his long lost son Baelfire. His father became Peter Pan, his mother is The Black Fairy. He is the Dark One, he is extremely powerful, he makes deals with people to give them what they want but he will come to collect at some point for what he wants. He’s very intelligent, he’s insane but he’s so great, especially with the many things he’s collected over the years that hold power. He falls in love with Belle (their first episode is one of my favorites), Emma tries to help him become a hero but he always reverts to wanting power over everything, which is why he always ends up alone. He does find his son who is living in the real world as Neal (who happened to meet Emma and fathered Henry). Rumple deals a lot with trying to figure out what he actually wants, he says he wants power but he also wants family and it goes back and forth and he makes the wrong choices, even though he has a woman who loves him. I love Rumple though. Still my favorite. Robert Carlyle is fantastic.
**Side Note: I know he cut his hair for the T2: Trainspotting  film but I don’t like it for the character lol.
Belle French- She starts off as a guest character, then a reoccurring to become a regular. Rumple shows up to help her kingdom but his price is that Belle goes with him as his maid. She chooses to do so for her kingdom as she wants to be a hero, from all of the books she’s read. Belle goes to his huge castle and in the beginning she’s afraid of him but eventually that becomes less and less afraid and wants to know him. They fall in love with each other, she happens to meet Regina who plants the idea of True Love’s Kiss in her head and she kisses Rumple and it starts to break the Dark One hold on him, but he chooses the power over her love. He lets her go and she goes. In the real world, Rumple thinks she’s dead but she’s been held in the mental hospital. When the curse is broken, they are reunited and it’s been a battle for the longest time. They do get officially married and Belle takes a backseat in a lot of storylines (to my chagrin). She works in the library which is fitting, the others come to her for research purposes, in flashbacks she has some adventures, but she spends a lot of time trying to believe in Rumple to be a good man until she eventually gives up on him because he’s stubborn. She tries to have her own life but ya know they never really let her do that. She and Rumple have a child, she names Gideon from a hero from one of her favorite books. Belle really tries to keep her baby from being corrupted by Rumple’s back and forth.
Captain “Hook” Killian Jones- He starts off as a villain, working with Cora, he’s a swashbuckling, witty, guy-liner wearing pirate. He just wants revenge against Rumple for killing his girlfriend (who was Rumple’s wife) but on the way, he ends up falling for Emma and vice versa, after he tells Neal (who decides he also wants to get Emma back) that he will fight for her. It takes everyone a long time to trust him, considering the things he’s done in the past, he even tricks Charming with a life or death situation. However, he does build a relationship and a life for himself in this new world. I don’t really find him that interesting, especially once he and Emma become a thing, (though I did like his episode where he and Emma go back in time in FTL and see how Snow and Charming met). He is harmed and dies, Emma tries to save him but in order to do so she ends up making him a Dark One, which he shows that he is easily corrupted by dark magic and gives in to Nimue (the first Dark One) and then does sacrifice himself to save everyone and he dies. In the Underworld arc, everyone spends all of their time trying to save him, he does manage to hold out against Hades, but he is given a loophole and comes back to life. In season 7, he proposes to Emma and they get married, but in there, it’s revealed that he killed David’s father in the past, he and Emma have a moment where they’re separated because he freaks out and runs when Emma tells him not to hide things and lie to her. But in the end, married.
Zelena “The Wicked Witch”-  She is introduced as Regina’s long lost older sister, she was given away by Cora because she was a baby out of wedlock whose father wasn’t royal. She wanted to be royal and she knew that having Zelena would not bring that. So Zelena grows up in a damaged household, but she shows magic experience early. It is revealed that she and Regina did meet as children but Cora uses magic to make them forget each other due to Zelena being a peasant. But Zelena knows that she was given up and that all of the good attention was given to Regina and she is extremely jealous which makes her turn green from the inside out. She becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, which has ties in with the other witches, with Dorothy (though water does not melt her). She has an infatuation with Rumple, especially when she learns that he’s teaching Regina magic, she wants him to choose her to cast his dark curse. Her main goal is just make Regina pay for being the one Cora chose. She is defeated, Rumple kills her but she manages to come back and replaces Maid Marian, kills her and tricks Robin Hood in having a baby with her. With that, she manages to come back and work with Regina and the Charming team. She struggles for a little while, especially when she meets Hades and he turns out to be her true love, she chooses Regina over her true love and destroys Hades. When Regina splits herself, she bonds with the Evil Queen, and in season 7 she gives a huge sacrifice and gives up her magic to save everyone. I love her too.
Villains:
There have been a lot of villains on the show, some have been more important than others or they’ve been on the show way more than others. I’m not going to talk about them really but I will mention them. At least the ones I remember and that stood out.
  • Regina Mills “Evil Queen”
    • Lana Parilla owns this role, I love Regina. She’s great.
  • Rumpelstiltskin/ Mr. Gold/ The Dark One
    • Robert Carlyle is iconic in this role, I love him. I definitely prefer him in his makeup because I think he’s able to have way more fun in that role. Plus, the voice, the walk, the ticks for the Rumpelstiltskin is great. I do like how he changes the cadence and tone of his voice for Mr. Gold. He’s the string in a lot of storylines, he is the catalyst for a lot of things and he always has a stake in a fight. It may not be in the forefront or obvious but it’s there. He always figures out a way and sometimes it’s so underhanded and backhanded that it’s amazing how he somehow always wins even when he loses.
  • Cora Mills/ Queen of Hearts
    • Barbara Hershey was AHMAZING in this role. Cora was so ruthless. She wanted Regina to be Queen and does whatever it takes for her to be Queen. She orchestrates the situation of Regina saving Snow on her horse, she kills Daniel (Regina’s first love) in front of Regina, even though Regina sends her to Wonderland, she still keeps her hands in the pot from away. She comes back and tries to get Regina on her side, she is very good with her words. She also had a thing for Rumple lol. She seemed like she was gonna turn it around but Snow pulls a bad decision and Cora dies. She shows back up in the Underworld and mends the bridges between herself and Regina and Zelena, it was a touching moment. Rose McGowan was also good as a young Cora.
  • Zelena/ The Wicked Witch.
    • Rebecca Mader was great, I love her delivery, I loved her expressions and monologues.
  • Malcolm/ Peter Pan
    • Robbie Kay was great as Peter Pan. I love that character and it was interesting seeing him as a villain and I loved it. I didn’t like the twist of him being Rumple’s father. A man child, who chooses to be young again instead of caring for his son. It runs in the family apparently.
  • Ingrid/The Snow Queen
    • Elizabeth Mitchell was great, she was the Snow Queen, which is what Frozen was based on, but actually having her be this broken woman who felt alone after losing both her sisters (one of them being Anna and Elsa’s mother) and she tries to find them again in Elsa and Emma who both have magic, she wants them both to embrace the extent of their powers (they’re also blondes lol). She can also be argued to more of the tragic villain who later becomes a hero as she willingly sacrifices herself to save Anna and Elsa.
  • Maleficent
    • I honestly liked her look in the beginning because it was different, they changed her appearence after the film came out, but that’s fine. She was also interesting, also a bit of a tragic villain but she’s disappeared along with her long lost daughter.
  • Ursula
    • She was a villain for a moment. Part of the Queens of Darkness arc, she is the first one to let it go, she was a mermaid who cursed herself to get back at her father but when they reconcile she goes away. It was unfortunate with her costume and that in the earlier episodes with Ariel that we never really got see Merrin Dungey play off of JoAnna Garcia-Swisher.
  • Cruella De Vil
    • She was great, definitely a favorite of mine. Not a redeemable villain, Victoria Smurfit played her to a T. She cannot kill due to The Author getting back at her for tricking him, she has the power to influence animals, and she does die and shows up in the Underworld. So great.
  • Nimue/ Original Dark One
    • Carolina Ford plays her as both Nimue pre Dark One and as The Dark One.  She loves Merlin (they’re sooo cute) but she tries to manipulate Emma into killing Merlin but is unsuccessful but is with Hook. She is able to manipulate others into doing what she wants, she is ultimate darkness and I wish we saw more of her.
  • Captain Hook/ Dark One
    • Didn’t like this, I already didn’t really care for him, this storyline made me dislike him even more.
  • Hades
    • He was great, Greg Germann was able to be menacing but also pull the humor they had in the animated film. I think it was a missed opportunity to not have any true scenes between Hades and Hercules.
  • Fiona/ The Black Fairy
    • She was a villain of season 6, I thought Jaime Murray was really good. She has this smile on her face while spewing the most ridiculous nonsense, it was so great. She also pulled a lot of strings behind the scenes, similar to her son Rumple. Fiona became the Black Fairy by choice, she had Rumple, freaked out because his Fairy Godmother Tiger Lily foresaw him being a Savior (yes Rumple was supposed to be a Savior) and she tried to learn spells and magic to protect him from that, ends up becoming the very person he was meant to defeat (which he does in the finale). She really gets her plan in motion in the finale but she stays in the shadows mostly before now.
  • Gideon
    • Mostly a pawn by the Black Fairy. He is Rumple and Belle’s son, he was kidnapped after BF attacked the Blue Fairy. His main job is to fight The Savior and kill her. He shows up in Belle’s dreams as Morpheus telling her to let go of Rumple due to him not choosing her etc. etc. same old stuff…but turns out he’s the one Emma’s been seeing in her visions. The Black Fairy has his heart, he’s good but she’s corrupting him and makes him go after Emma in the finale, he kills her, but due to her willingly dying, his life resets and he’s reverted back into a baby, since he was raise away from Bella and Rumple in a different dimension where time is faster.
  • The Author/ Isaac Heller
    • This dude is just a slime ball. I don’t even care lol, Henry took over for him. The only thing I remember him actually doing is getting his feelings hurt with Cruella and writing that she can’t kill anyone.
  • Jafar
    • There are technically two versions of him, the version in OUAT in Wonderland and the one in season 6. I don’t think they’re meant to be the same person, which is unfortunate. But he was wasted. I thought Oded Fehr was a great choice to pick up this character after Naveen Andrews who was also great. I will talk more about him later.
  • Emma Swan/The Dark One
    • Her outfit was amazing but I would argue that while she was The (A) Dark One, she wasn’t evil but it was cool to see her lurking around.
Reoccurring Characters
This means they showed up more than once. It could have been twice but it’s more than once but they’re also the ones who are most involved.
  • The Seven Dwarves– We spend most of the time with Grumpy/Leroy who is great “The CURSE! IT’S HERE!” but they’re cool.
  • Robin Hood- I loved him. I’m still upset at what happened to him and I will never forgive it. He and Regina were meant to be together, he had two kids, albeit he was tricked for the second one but still. They killed him, it wasn’t even a death, he was erased before Regina’s eyes. Then they bring him back but as a alternate version and they put Regina’s evil half “The Evil Queen” with that version of Robin. Fine but NO!
  • Widow Lucas/Granny- She owns a diner which is the center of the town basically. She has a crossbow, so when she’s involved, she’s cool.
  • Blue Fairy– She is still a mysterious figure to me.
  • Mulan- She is a warrior who starts off assisting Prince Phillip on his quest of finding Princess Aurora. Mulan has been in and out of storylines and I wish they would have done way more with her.
  • Tinker Bell- She started off as a fairy in training “Green Fairy”, she goes to help Regina find her true love, she guides her but Regina ultimately shies away from it and it causes Tinker Bell to lose her wings as she broke fairy rules. She goes to Neverland. She later comes back to help Regina even though she’s hurt and angry. She forgives Regina and manages to help more later.
  • Merida- Following her movie (which I liked her in the show way more than I did in the film), she witnesses her father’s death and becomes the Queen of her kingdom. She has to prove herself to the United Clans and does so. She ends up getting swept up in Hook’s Dark Curse and goes to Storybrooke where Emma keeps her prisoner and uses her to train Mr. Gold in being heroic to free excalibur. She also later meets Mulan and I think they had a mutual attraction but nothing ever happened.
  • Ruby/Red Riding Hood- She was a main character in season two, she is Snow’s best friend in the Enchanted Forest. Her cloak is magical, it helps keep her wolf side under control as before she would turn into a wolf at night, unknowingly, and attack so the cloak is magical. She is loyal, she is awesome and I love Ruby. She ended up disappearing after a while, but comes back in season 5 I think because she went to FTL to try and find more wolves, but ends up going with Mulan to Oz, where they meet Dorothy, who gets put under a sleeping curse and Ruby kisses her waking her with True Love’s First Kiss. I wouldn’t have minded that if it wasn’t so rushed, it was handled so sloppily.
  • Ariel- She’s a mermaid who first saves Snow White, they become friends, and go to a ball that Prince Eric is having, as Ariel is infatuated with him. She comes in and out a lot, she ends up being at the mercy of Regina, who steals her voice and it’s only granted to her with a magical bracelet that also gives her legs. Ariel finds Eric again later, she accidentally get put into a bottle with the Jolly Roger but is freed and is living with Eric on an island. I loved her involvement but I wish they handled her better, same with Eric, I didn’t like the actor they chose for Eric and I don’t like how they just kept throwing out information with them without really earning it.
  • Cinderella/ Ashley-  I guess she was more of a “guest star” than a reoccurring but whatever, I liked her. She was cute, before the curse, she’s a teenager who’s pregnant and creates a bond with Emma (who could relate). In FTL, Rumple was her Fairy Godmother lol and she’s been in and out a few times. The last time we saw her, was a dramatic turn with her stepmother and stepsisters, where one of them was nice.
  • Merlin- I will talk about him sooo much more later but I AM STILL UPSET AT WHAT THEY DID TO HIM! I loved Merlin, he was my favorite new character they brought into the show and he should have been made a regular. He should be part of this new season. He is the originator of LIGHT magic, we first meet him appearing to a young Emma, we then see some flashbacks of him fighting a Dark One and he’s turned into a tree because he wouldn’t attack. Then, Emma frees him from the tree using a mixture of light and dark magic. Then he’s sassy lol which I loved and Elliot Knight was fantastic.
  • King Arthur- He was a villain but I didn’t put him in the villains list because I thought he was more of a misguided, desperate man than a villain. He made bad choices because he felt that he was told something. He was pretty terrible but he redeemed himself in the Underworld arc.
  • Aladdin- *sighs* A lot of people had issues with the accents, it didn’t bother me as no one really has accents based on their characters. But I liked him and I wanted more of him. We first see him in a sort of flashback where he’s lived a bit of time as a Savior and now he was a shell of a man, he was hiding in a shack. Jafar comes and taunts him. Then in the past, we see him in Agrabah as a  thief, then he meets Jasmine and she talks him into going with her to the Cave of Wonders where it’s revealed that he is a Savior. Jafar shows up, taunts him and then we meet him again later. I think Aladdin had a lot of potential. It turns out that he got swept up in the Dark Curse and had been living in Storybrooke for a time, Emma manages to find him using their connection to Savior magic and it turned out that he cut away his Savior magic with shears from The Fates. He and Jasmine reunite, he then willingly becomes a Genie so he could help. The Evil Queen steals the lamp, she and David had a fight and David steals back the lamp. THEN Jasmine makes a wish and they both disappear to find Agrabah, then the happen to meet up with Hook later, they find Ariel who happened to have a bottle that holds Jafar who is a genie (which I’m assuming is after his time in Wonderland from OUAT in Wonderland), they finally kiss and they break the spell on Agrabah and Aladdin is free from the Genie life. We see him in the finale but hardly though it was great seeing him in that Prince Ali getup. So many missed opportunities.
  • Jasmine- So I did appreciate how they had her have to square off with Jafar in the end. In the flashbacks, she’s feisty and almost a little manipulative but she gets the job done. She manages to help Aladdin figure out he’s The Savior, she wants him to accept his destiny. When he leaves, she stays to be a proper leader after Aladdin makes a comment about her not knowing her own kingdom. She fails, runs off to the Land of Untold Stories and is brought to Storybrooke with the others, where she pretends to be someone else as Snow’s teacher’s assistant. When Aladdin comes back, they have their moments but never kiss, then she makes a wish when he’s a Genie to find Agrabah and they go off on their own adventure where she faces Jafar. She’s afraid of him but manages to pull through and win. I think it was great they had her face her fears but she was kind of useless for a long time, even in the Flashbacks, we don’t really see her and Jafar have many interactions for her to be so afraid of him, he also never really did anything to warrant fear personally.
  • Tiger Lily- So far it looks like we’ll be seeing more of her, but she started out as a Fairy. She was Rumple’s Fairy Godmother and we’re still learning more about her. But I’m interested and I love that her Fairy outfit has a lot of Native tribe hints to it and I love that. She also helped Hook on Neverland in the present as she’s no longer a Fairy I don’t think, similar to Tinker Bell. I don’t know why yet though.
  • Princess Aurora– Yeah, she was annoying, they probably could have used her better but meh.
  • Elsa– I know a lot of people don’t like Frozen and did not like the addition of the characters on the show but I like the movie and I didn’t mind their additions. I actually think I liked them in the show more than I liked them in the movie. Georgina Haig was really good casting for Elsa and I liked her friendship with Emma and I liked how they incorporated her character into the Snow Queen thing especially since Elsa was based off the Snow Queen story.
  • Anna– Elizabeth Lail was great as Anna, she was less annoying but she kept the fun and quirky personality of the character. The need to help her sister was great and I enjoyed it.
The Musical Episode.
They finally did a musical episode that held Emma and Hook’s wedding. Snow and Charming made a wish (in the past) to defeat The Evil Queen which the wish turned out to be making everyone sing (though it wasn’t constant singing like in Les Mis). It was pretty great to be honest, a lot of plot holes was introduced in this episode but they did the whole “you won’t remember this later” thing so those holes were filled. For example, Snow and David met Hook in the past, but when they met him in season two, they never met him before, NOT TO MENTION Snow meets him again later before she marries David when she tries to run away and buy passage on a ship. But I loved the episode, I thought it was sweet and cute. Zelena’s song was my favorite but it ends with The Black Fairy casting a Dark Curse.
Season 6 Finale.
So in the two hour finale, The Black Fairy Fiona cast her curse, everyone is more or less transported back to the Enchanted Forest, Emma is in a mental hospital due to her buying into Henry’s “delusions” about the Once Upon a Time storybook. The Final Battle that had been hyped up all season is over Emma’s belief, basically if she stopped believing in magic then Fiona would gain godlike powers and break all Laws of Magic. Meanwhile in the Enchanted Forest, the others have gathered at Regina’s castle, the other worlds are disappearing due to Emma’s belief fading and other people have escaped to Regina’s castle, including Aladdin and Jasmine. David and Hook deal with a giant dragon and a beanstalk to get a magic bean, the Evil Queen sacrifices herself to hold off the Darkness to delay everyone else being wiped away. Emma destroys the Storybook at Fiona’s prompting and when she returns to her home away from Storybrooke, she finds a hand drawn Storybook from Henry and it restores her belief just in time. Gold faces off with Fiona when he finds out she lied (She’s his mother by the way) and he kills her fulfilling the prophecy put on him as a child. The curse breaks and everyone returns to the town. However, Gideon is still under Fiona’s spell and fights Emma, but she pulls a Harry Potter move and is killed, however, this releases Emma’s light magic and the battle is won. Both Gold and Emma chose good so Gideon is changed back into a baby to give Belle and Rumple a chance to raise him this time and all of the realms are restored including anyone who might have “died”. So happy endings all around, they have a nice little dinner. Some years later, we see a little girl from the beginning of the finale, go to Seattle where she finds adult Henry who doesn’t know her and tells him she’s his daughter.
I liked the finale, I thought it was handled very well and they really tried to wrap a lot of storylines they pulled in this season. I think there’s a lot of potential still in the show, especially with most of the cast gone after this season. But if it would have ended right here, that would have been okay too, the idea of the main people we’ve journeyed with since 2011 is bittersweet and I cried. I CRIED!
I knew Emma was going to die, but I hoped it wouldn’t be a final death, especially after she’d just got married, but like I said, a Harry Potter in which she knows she would die and willingly allows it to happen, but that allows her light magic to take over. It was a beautiful scene to be honest.
I love this show so very much. I think they have dropped the ball a couple of times but I stuck with it because I couldn’t wait to see what they did next. There are so many fairy tales, so many pieces of literature they could dive into… which makes this a great transition into my next piece.
Part II: The Future of Once Upon A Time.

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The Night Of (2016) Review

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

So, I have this thing where I find an actor/actress I like, I may have liked them in a role and/or they were a standout, so I watch whatever else I can get my hands on they were in. I think Orlando Bloom was the first person I did that with, but I still do it. That’s how I usually get to a lot of movies, I have seen a lot. That last person I did that with, I think was Oscar Isaac after really liking Poe Dameron in Episode VII, so I went through his filmography and found I actually seen him in a few things, but he’s such a chameleon I didn’t know it lol. So, after seeing Rogue One, I really liked Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) and I realized he was in Nightcrawler as Rick and I was impressed!  So that’s how I came across this mini series, not to mention my older sister mentioned it to me when I told her the connection with him that I figured out.
This mini series… wow. I didn’t know much about it going in, so below are my thoughts.
Summary: After a night of partying with a female stranger, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.
Pros:
Cast and Characters. So because this is a mini series, there are the “regular” characters and those who came in and out of the show. But I’m only going to focus on a few. At least the ones we saw the most.
  • Riz Ahmed as Nasir “Naz” Khan. He is a 23 year old college student. When we meet him, he just seems like a regular kid from Brooklyn, there’s nothing really “interesting” about him. He’s just cute lol. He then meets this girl that night. When everything starts happening, he’s freaking out. He runs from her house in fright when he finds her dead in her bed. Of course he gets caught and he is so adamant that he did not kill her. He maintains strongly throughout the miniseries that he didn’t do it. The pain, the fear and confusion are all in his eyes. I think Riz Ahmed does such a great job with that, he has large eyes and I think that helps with this character. Whenever he is on screen and he’s not talking, he puts everything into his eyes, and maybe some slip quips with his lips. Ahmed plays Naz in the beginning with such fear that as he begins to spend more time in Rikers the changes are subtle at first and physical, but it slowly starts to change and it becomes who he is and then it reaches his eyes. By the end of the show, I still believed in his innocence and I still loved his character, but he started making me go “smh” so much. Riz Ahmed was amazing here. Again, his eyes, wow. The subtle differences as time went on, so well done. He deserves that Golden Globe nomination.
  • John Turturro as John Stone. So this guy was interesting, he was one of those lawyers who went around to precincts to pick up cases. Normally, he does cases that are simple where the defendant takes a plea bargain because they did it. He just so happened to be in the precinct when Nasir was arrested and he ends up making himself his lawyer. He also has a really bad case of Eczema on his feet. Stone is kind of brash, it’s obvious to see that he’s smart but he also seems to be a bit of a jerk, well very much a jerk, and he really wants to help Nasir. A couple of things happen where he has reevaluate how he handles the case, but in the beginning, it seems like he believes Naz did it, which Naz picked up on but John denies that. I think he believed he did it too. But we see him change a bit too as the show goes on, this case really ends up affecting him a lot. John Turturro is a likable actor, and I think he helps make John Stone likable even though he’s definitely a jerk.
  • Bill Camp as Detective Dennis Box. I did not trust this guy, he was just doing his job but he’s that dude who knows that someone is off, even though it seems like it’s all pointed to one person. Naz, is innocent and I think he knew it from the beginning but he wanted him to admit he did it but then it seemed like he definitely though he did it. It was weird. He’d been in the business a long time, was preparing to retire and this case would be his last. It was just interesting to see how he operated. By the end of the series, it seemed like he really started to look harder at the evidence. Such an interesting character. I don’t think I’ve seen Bill Camp in anything else, but he reminded me of someone else. But, I thought he was a great, he had this thing where he would give off this expression where he looks sympathetic but his expression would switch really quick. Camp did a good job of portraying this man who had seen a lot.
  • Michael Kenneth Williams as Freddy. This dude was really interesting, he was a pro Boxer, who ended up in jail. I think it was violence. But when Naz gets into Rikers, he immediately is watching him. He watches Naz get threatened by the other inmates, as they all think he raped and killed her. He offers his protection. The way I see it, he helps Naz survive in prison but he corrupts him. I mean, I get it, but and I appreciated him protecting him but I did not like how he protected him. I think Williams is so intimidating but he’s a great actor. This scary demeanor to him makes you want to stay away but he’s also very charismatic that I see why people immediately do what he says. I mean, he lives it up in there. There’s a very interesting conversation he has with Naz, I think on the last episode or episode 7. Very interesting.
  • Amara Karan as Chandra Kapoor. Chandra shows up due to her boss, a leading lawyer, offering Naz’s parents to help pro bono as long as Naz takes the plea bargain. Chandra ends up working with him as she’s from Mumbai and it helps make them comfortable. I really liked her, not only was she beautiful, but she was smart. She really wanted to help, I don’t think she thought he did it, it may have crossed her mind but the way she was played, it never seemed like she thought he killed that girl. She handled herself really well in court, and I thought she had great chemistry with both Riz Ahmed and John Turturro.
  • Naz’s parents. Poorna Jagannathan and Peyman Moaadi play Naz’s parents. When they find out what happened to their son, they try what they can to help him, it’s a bit harder because he’s not a minor, but his father especially is on his side the entire way. His father has his own issues to deal with with his business partners, because Naz took the cab, the other two drivers want to press chargers in order to get the car released to them but Salim is loyal to his son. They have to deal with their younger son being bullied due to the news reports about his older brother. His mother seems to have a harder time with everything. It’s not hard to tell that she is beginning to doubt her son. I think both actors play these parts so well, to see the confusion on their faces when the lawyers try to explain things to them, the way they talk to their son and how they try to help him. They help add more emotion to the situation.
The Directing. The way the direction was handled, oh my goodness. There were so many good shots in certain scenes. Every time there was a good one, I would remark about it. There’s a great shot of Naz in the holding cell, a shot where he’s talking to the Detective but their on opposite sides of the bars. Man, so many great shots.
The story. So this story is interesting. Naz is preparing to go to a party but his friend (who drives) pulls out last minute, he ends up trying to go by taking his dad’s taxi. He ends up accidentally picking up this girl, they hit it off and he ends up going back to her apartment with her. He at first seems a bit unsure about drinking and engaging in the drugs she offers, but he gives in and they end up hooking up. It really picks up with him the next day, he wakes up downstairs in the kitchen and when he goes back to her, he finds her dead in her bed. He freaks out and runs. That moment is where the mistakes just start snowballing and the story takes this turn, that makes it so hard to stop once it gets started. It’s so detailed and told carefully, that I think the emotional stress takes over. The story isn’t necessarily new but the way it’s told… it adds a whole new feeling.
Naz’s Arc.  I think it’s really interesting to see how he changes over the course of the show. In the beginning, his innocence is very much presence in his entire body. The way he holds himself, the look in his eyes. It’s pretty amazing really. But by the end of the show, his posture has changed due to his time in Riker’s. He starts off by slouching a lot when we see him in holding etc, but by time the show is over, he even walks differently.
Cons:
The ending. This is not really a hit at the miniseries itself because this probably happens quite a lot. But I was not satisfied with the ending, things are found out, and we never see what happens with them. I guess you can say that we can infer due to what we saw them doing last, but it wasn’t enough for me. It’s still a great ending but it left such a bad taste in my mouth due to me feeling dissatisfied.
Cliche. I do think in some instances, the outcome and story is a bit cliche. How things were handled turned out just how I thought it. I mean, I was stressed out while watching the show, it definitely keeps you on edge but I do think there are a lot of cliche moments.
Overall, I loved this mini series. I was so stressed out watching this that I couldn’t stop. I watched it in two days I think. The characters were so interesting, I was rooting for Naz the entire time, though because he’s a well written character, he started to change due to his circumstances. His situation made him a different person, some aspects for the better and some for them worst. I thought that was handled so well. The drama was intense, soooo stressed! The direction was fantastic, the music was great and emotional, I think all of the actors did their jobs well and made their characters interesting. I do think the story is a touch cliche and I did not appreciate the ending, but that’s more of a person thing. But I still loved it.
Rating: 4.70 out of 5 stars.
Have you seen The Night Of? Remember, it’s a mini series, 8 episodes. Check it out and let me know what you think, see if you get as stressed out as I was.
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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Thoughts

~ Alyxwrites ~ 4 Comments
 prangersbanner-625x350So in liu of the reboot film of the same name Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, I decided to do a marathon of all of the series. Maybe. We’ll see what happens. I’m planning on it. They’re on Netflix.
Obviously, I started with where it all began with the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Now, I did not grow up watching this show. I knew about it, I knew the characters and the rangers etc but I did not watch it religiously. I only watched it when visiting my godbrothers and they were fans. I distinctly remember them fighting each other all of the time while the show played on their tv, I sat and watched, they fought lol.
I watched some of the later shows as I got older. I think the ones I saw the most of was probably S.P.D (black dude was the red ranger, aye) and Mystic Force.
So, this piece is me giving my thoughts on this old classic 90s show. I loved it. Just so you know lol.
The Power Rangers
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So I was just going to include the original 5 but I really like Tommy so there.
Jason Lee Scott/Red Ranger: The leader of the group. I found him to be boring sometimes compared to everyone else. He was like the “boy next door/jock” type which isn’t a bad 509ad9124ce9f523af13cedd6009b819thing at all. I thought he was a great leader, he was kind to everyone, he had a nice body (lol wink), seemed like a cool dude and I thought he was a great fighter in and out of his suit. Austin St. John was the youngest but it wasn’t easy to tell because he held himself so well and wise.
Trini Kwan/Yellow Ranger: Hard to put a label on her, but she was a mixture of things. She was a bit of a tomboy, but also feminine, she was the second smartest in the group, as she was able to understand and translate Billy’s scientific/technical jargon. She assisted him in a lot of his experiments for the team. I liked her a lot too, she was really chill, loyal and kind of passive but very much knew how to kick butt when it was required. I also liked that giphyshe was an advocate for the environment. Also yellow! It’s one of my favorite colors. Also her hair! lol I also think she was way prettier than Kimberly. I remember all of the boys having such crushes on Kimberly, or now that I’m an adult, I see people talk about how they loved Kimberly and I’m like… yeah she’s cute and cool but TRINI IS AWESOME AND BEAUTIFUL! R.I.P Thuy Trang.
Zack Taylor/Black Ranger: I would consider him to be the “second in command” and “cool dude” of the group. I liked his whole vibe. At first I was like wait… because I wasn’t sure if they were trying to be like “yeah we have a black guy as a power ranger… albeit the black ranger but ya know” or if it was just genuine either by Walter Jones as the character or a collaboration. He was very “pro black”, but it was subtle. I don’t know if anyone noticed 8b73047263d4c449a206d435fde2cdcdthat back then, or if they rewatch and notice it now. He wore black to coincide with his ranger color but he had a lot of freedom with that. He often wore the colors of the Pan-African flag, he had that low top fade (second season he had twists), he listened to and loved hip hop (he even had a martial arts style “Hip Hop Kido”). I loved all of that about him. I loved that he was so affectionate with everyone, he was kind, and so cute. I liked how he had a hard time impressing the girl he wanted to impress but he was so genuine with his affections for her. I loved Zack.
Kimberly Ann Hart/Pink Ranger: The “girly girl” of the group. Kimberly is the only one who does gymnastics (I liked that about her). Kimberly was always sweet to everyone, even at times Bulk and Skull mighty-morphin-power-rangers-the-movie(though everyone pretty much treated them the same way). She was pretty enthusiastic about everything, except being a ranger in the beginning. Along with Jason, I found her boring but she grew on me as the show progressed. I liked her faith and strong loyalty in her friends, I liked that she was optimistic and her relationships with the others, especially Trini and Tommy were so cute.
Billy Cranston/Blue Ranger: I love Billy! He is the “nerd” of the group. I really like his arc. He starts off unsure of himself physically. He ran from the Putties when they attacked and that his fighting was kind of weak (both him and Kimberly were the weakest fighters) but he grew. He would wear baggy clothes, glasses and his hair was kind of shaggy, and while tumblr_nmxw82lql91rrl5k5o1_500he has physically changed, he’s still Billy. Over the three seasons (I’m in season 3), his fighting has improved, his posture is straighter, he is definitely more confident, he’s stopped wearing glasses (though no one has commented on that unless I missed it lol) and his clothing choices have improved. Also, Billy may have been the “nerd” of the group but he pulled the ladies, even more so when he started growing up a bit more. This dude is also like a friggin genius because some of the stuff he makes, or the things he does to help out in the show I’m like “dude… how do you know how to do that?? Why are you still a high school student??” I hope they didn’t think I wouldn’t notice that Billy had a nice body under those baggy clothes they had him wear lol.
Tommy Oliver/Green(White) Ranger: Tommy is so cool. I would say he gives off this “bad boy” vibe even though he’s not a bad boy. His introduction was great, it’s in this karate competition or something and he does that kick he used to always do. He’s then put under 5daf0ef85e0b90106843e4d9aa03c4aca spell and made into the Evil Green Ranger to destroy the Rangers and Zordon and all that. Him being evil, it was pretty great because he was so mean to everyone and it cracked me up. I’m sure if I was a kid watching it I would be a bit intimidated by him. He had a nice little redemption arc and started creating friendships with the others, most notable his relationship with Kimberly (so cute) but obviously he and Jason had a hard time in the beginning. I liked that Tommy was forgetful because it almost seemed like he was perfect so that helped. He also had some emotional storylines with his green ranger powers fading. He leaves the show like two times. I was upset. However, he comes back for a final time as the White Ranger and becomes the leader of the Rangers. There was a lot of focus on him, which I didn’t mind because he’s really interesting and cute (why is his hair so long and gorgeous *swoons*).
Replacement Characters
So like upfront, I was highly upset about this change. I’m going to go into more about this later but in terms of the characters, as soon as they were introduced in the show, I knew they were going to be replacing Jason, Zack and Trini. That first episode I was like ugh. UPSET!
Rocky DeSantos/Red Ranger: To be honest, I don’t dislike Rocky but so far there’s nothing really to identify him. I can’t really say he took over for Jason in terms of his attributes a6f1fe8f2ae83388aef85eb2af4b0aeebecause Tommy is the leader so he’s not the leader, I wouldn’t even consider him second in command even though he’s the Red Ranger which automatically makes him second in command and there are times where he’s treated like it but it’s by default. There’s nothing really memorable about him other than the way he shouted “Tyrannosaurus” in the Morphin because that makes me laugh. He’s sweet though and has a nice smile.
Aisha Campbell/Yellow Ranger: She really annoyed me in the beginning, first of all, I did not like the way her hair was being styled. Once she started wearing those braids/twists, it was like her personality also changed a bit lol, I also peeped her wearing a Pan-African hat in an episode. Even though she was replacing Zack as the black character I don’t think she a6054a9a029dc4852a1b08afc57ed5d5makes up for his absence. She does seem really resourceful and I do like her sassiness that happens sometimes. She loves animals (She volunteers at an animal shelter) and her friends, especially evident in the way she got her parents to let Kimberly stay with them the rest of the school year. Aisha is closest with Adam and Rocky as they were all friends before, and became best friends with Kimberly. She grew on me.
Adam Park/Black Ranger: I like Adam. I think next to Tommy he’s the second best fighter. He seems to be kind of shy, especially with girls and has a problem with confidence. Unfortunately he’s kind 696459ab58ea8e6d7b174d99a3a629ecof a background character though he seems like he would have been really cool if he was able to get a bit more attention. At times it seems like he has a stronger friendship with Billy and Aisha but it’s hard to tell sometimes lol.
Katherine Hillard/Pink Ranger: I don’t like her. I’m not done with the season yet but she’s annoying. Maybe she’ll grow on me the way the others did but so far, nope. She’s not interesting, there’s nothing that really stands out about her. I think that’s thes3-mighty-morphin-katherine-new-pink-ranger-3_490x490 problem with the replacements, they’re not that interesting as characters. I guess as kids it’s not that important but I think the show has major replay value, so outside of nostalgia, I don’t see how anyone could really really like Kat. She started off evil, had cat powers and everything, she was under Rita’s spell, obviously has a thing for Tommy, but once she sees how things are affecting Kimberly, she starts to break out of the spell. Kimberly even forgives her. My thing is… she steals Kim’s picture of her and Tommy and she tore it in half and kept Tommy’s half. So… does she still have it? Did Kimberly not realize it was gone? Will this ever come full circle? Can Tommy know that she is a creeper and make sure he doesn’t fall for her… because just no. Tommy and Kimberly forever.
Side Characters
I mean there are many side characters, but the ones I’m going to talk about are really all that matter.
Zordon and Alpha 5: I mean I think there’s only so much I can say about Zordon lol. He’s power-rangers-alpha-5-zordon-elite-dailya big floating head. I do have to say I think it’s interesting and funny how at times, he doesn’t reveal things to the Rangers that he surely had to know beforehand. Or he says stuff can’t happen but they figure out a way… lol it’s funny. I love Alpha 5, he’s so cute and I loved how he pulled all the ladies in that Halloween episode. Also the episode where he’s reprogrammed to be evil, oh man I thoroughly enjoyed that episode.
Bulk and Skull: They are a package deal and yeah they’re fine. I mean, they’re annoying like those side characters are supposed to be but in season three they’re a bit more maxresdefaulttolerable since they’re junior police officers. I think it’s funny how many times they have found out who the power rangers are but something has happened to make them forget it. It also seems that Jason Narvy (Skull) was the better actor out of the two, especially with the accents he could pull off, surprised me each time. I like their friendship and silliness with each other.
Villains
Obviously there is an assortment of monsters but I’m just going to touch on the villains. At least the main ones.
Rita Repulsa: Oh man, I love her. She’s so funny. I think it’s funny how in the first season whenever she spoke, her words never really matched up with her mouth movements. In the third season though, they seem to which was a bit of a bummer because it was so funny but ya know, you get over it. Both actresses worked well for this character.
Lord Zedd: He looks like raw ground turkey but he started off intimidating but once he linked up with Rita, he wasn’t as intimidating because she’s so funny and them together is  really funny. But I feel like he would have been a really scary villain but ya know, the show is for kids and stuff. The episode when Tommy goes to save Kimberly after she was kidnapped, Lord Zedd and Tommy face off… that episode, that fight, could have been much more brutal. But I guess… kids tv and what not. I liked that he made his monsters out of actual stuff instead of creating monsters from… clay.
Goldar: He’s such a brown noser lol but he’s funny. I liked how when Lord Zedd came back he dropped Rita, or how he kept trying to find out why Zedd seemed to love her, and once he finds out what happens, he tries to make it go back to the way it was but Zedd comes to actually like her which he just accepts. Cracks me up. Also his antagonistic relationship with everyone… hilarious. He also has those wings but never actually uses them.
Friendships/Relationships
I think one of the strongest aspect of the show is the friendships/relationships between the characters. It’s what makes them work anyway so without the friendships, it’s not interesting outside of them being in their suits and fighting.
Trini & Kimberly: I really liked their friendship. As they were the only girls, they had each other to be “girls” with, in terms of wearing makeup, talking about boys they like and just trini-and-kimberly-mighty-morphin-power-rangers-37154648-258-195being around each other. I liked their loyalty to each other, how well they knew each other and the fact that they had each other’s backs.
Trini & Billy: Probably one of my favorite friendships. They worked so well together, I also loved the fact that Trini could understand Billy’s science/techno talk and she would translate to the others. I think this is also one of the reasons why I was upset with her leaving because there was no one left who was near the same level of Billy’s intelligence. Adam took over helping him but it wasn’t the same. tumblr_m7nhx4ucwn1r1nm57o7_500Plus, their chemistry was great, I think you could tell they were great friends. Plus, she was very protective of him.
Jason & Zack: Another favorite friendship. This one was evident that Walter and Austin were friends outside of the show because it showed. I loved how they had each other’s backs, which is why I considered Zack to be the “second in command” because he would always step up, or if Jason was power-rangers-18-punching-bagin trouble, Zack would be the first to volunteer to help him or get him. Jason taught Zack martial arts, they sparred together… it was just so natural. I love bro-ships.
Tommy/Kimberly: It was love at first sight for the two of them lol. We only saw them technically kiss twice but I think that was okay because any other time, Tommy definitely looked at her with hearts in his eyes. Or he would kiss her forehead or cheek, or he was always standing right next to her, or slightly touching her. He would always come to her aid, volunteer first to help her, he was so supportive of her and her dreams. That’s why it was so sad to me when she left because he wanted her to be anigif_original-grid-image-10555-1438966487-9happy but obviously he wanted her to be there. Kimberly always called him first (after Trini lol) if she needed support. She always looked for/to him when she was scared, she would always be near him, be slightly touching him… I can’t they’re just so cute. I was so emotional when Kimberly left because I loved them together. Like I said, it wasn’t like in your face, I don’t even think they ever went on a proper date. Plus, I like the fact that they pretty much stayed together the entire time Kimberly was on the show. I just started Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers (lol shows you that I’m writing this while watching) and there better not be a Tommy/Katherine thing. She can like him all she wants but he belongs to Kimberly!! It better not be reciprocated.
Jason & Tommy: Now, I don’t think they’re best friends or anything like the show kind of tried to push, at least to me. In the beginning, it was obvious that they were intimidated by each other and I think Tommy tried to outdo Jason at times. After doing a mission together, their friendship got stronger and I liked the fact that Jason tried whatever he could to save Tommy when he was losing his green ranger powers. I think they worked well together, being the best two fighters on the team (followed by Zack). They taught a martial arts class together and it was cute how they worked off each other to be successful.
I mean the other friendships are nice but these are the ones that stand out to me the most. Tommy and Billy would go on here next but I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that David Yost and Jason David Frank worked together for a long time and it translated.
The Costumes
Of course classic rangers suits which I love. I like their costumes outside of their suits their clothes are very much 90s teens attire. I mentioned Zack’s clothes and how he often wore Pan-African colors and that he had a bit more freedom due to his color being black. Everyone else wore colors that matched with their ranger color. Jason wore red clothes, at least red tops. Trini wore yellow outfits (sometimes yellow hair bands). Billy wore overalls a lot (baggy clothes, hiding his physique lol) and blue flannel. Kimberly wore pink colored things. Tommy wore green (sometimes green bandanas), when he turned to the White Ranger, he wore white shirts and sometimes white outfits. Same with the others that showed up, they didn’t really start wearing their colors until they became rangers. I don’t particularly care for the Power Ninja outfits they wear after they find Ninjor and get their Ninja powers, at least not with their entire faces covered.
The Music
LOL the theme song is already catchy and iconic “Go go power rangers” but it was a nice fit for the show. It used to trip me out how when Zack would fight, they would put a hip hop or electronic beat on when he was on screen but I ended up liking it. I still wonder if Walter Jones had a hand in that. Later, they started having actual singing songs during certain fights. When the rangers would fight the putties, there was a song… cracked me up. Same with the Tengas’ song. Tripped me out. All so very catchy.
The Controversy
Okay, so I find all of this so interesting. I like knowing what goes on behind the scenes just as much as I like watching what’s actually on the screen. So I knew about people leaving and all of that but I didn’t know why so once I started watching, I paid a bit more attention.
Black=black ranger, Asian=yellow ranger: These two were the most notable, I read that Austin St. James is part Native American being the red ranger was included in this particular debate. I remember thinking it was funny too, even as I got older, I wondered why that happened that way. However, I read an article with Walter Jones who stated that it wasn’t intentional, at least not on Trini’s part lol. She was originally portrayed in the pilot by Hispanic-American actress Audri Dubois who later quit after asking for more money so they began casting for another actress who just happened to be Asian. Jones also said that no one really said anything about him being a black guy playing the black ranger until Thuy Trang was cast. lol I find it funny now. I do think it’s an interesting coincidence but it doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t seem malicious. But ya know later… after the replacements came, we still managed to have an African-American actress and an Asian actor.
Zack Taylor (African-American) = Black ranger —–> Adam Park (Asian)=Black ranger
Trini  Kwan (Asian) = Yellow ranger –> Aisha  Campbell (African-American)= Yellow ranger
Jason, Trini, Zack’s departure: So, from what I read, Austin St. John, Walter Jones and Thuy Trang tried to negotiate their contracts for more pay once the show started to gain extreme popularity. You would have to be blind if you didn’t think this show was popular. But they worked long hours, they did not receive good pay and Austin St. John said Saban’s idea of “good working conditions” was having good food. They probably wouldn’t even get Christmas off and the payment could equate working the drive thru in fast food. So St. John, Jones and Trang tried to negotiate their contracts, because of the popularity, the merchandise alone, they should receive better conditions, including payment, which I understand and agree with. They wanted to be a union show once the popularity picked up but it didn’t happen, at least not while they were there so they negotiated out of the show.
  • So all of this happens and it’s so plain to see what happens when the three start getting phased out of the show. In the first half of season two, they’re there without problem but then we’re introduced to Aisha, Rocky and Adam (Who are of course competing in a Martial Arts competition and are from a neighboring city) and we hardly see Jason, Trini and Zack unless it’s in their Power Ranger suits and even then they hardly spoke.
  • Any time we saw them, it was recycled footage and it was so plain to see because in the beginning of the season Zack had twists and in the recycled footage, his hair was back in that low top fade. Or they were shot from behind in which you never saw their face.
  • There was an episode where Trini spoke but the camera was from behind and low, the stand in actually spoke and it definitely was not the real Trini, then quick cut and they show us Trini.
  • Tommy returns as the White Ranger and Zordon says he’s the new leader of the power rangers and Jason did not react to this news, which I thought was weird. Turns out, that footage was shot because when Tommy returned, he wasn’t going to be the new leader which is why Jason doesn’t react but Zordon’s dialogue was later redubbed for him to say “Tommy is the White Ranger and the new leader”.
  • Then we keep seeing Aisha, Adam and Rocky (I was annoyed because I could see it happening).
  • THEN they bring in this Peace Conference thing up and of course all of the students of Angel Grove have entered and OF COURSE Jason, Trini and Zack have all gotten chosen. OF COURSE. Then of course Kimberly, Billy and Tommy go to find them to tell them they were selected because ya know, their three other best friends are not in the Juice Bar with them like every other time and when they find them, it’s a far away shot with the sun setting so we can’t see their faces and obviously that guy was not Austin St. John because his arms and shoulders were nowhere near as big.
  • One last quest, we never see them out of their ranger costumes, maybe except once and it’s recycled footage. Then ya know, of course they have to transfer their powers to Aisha, Adam and Rocky and when this happens, they’re still in their suits, then they just teleport away. No goodbye nothing. We just see them getting out of a cab and going into the airport.
Overall
I didn’t mean to make this very long but as I’ve been binge watching and thoroughly enjoying myself, I couldn’t help it. Plus, a lot of the backstory is very interesting stuff to sift through and read. I really liked the original characters, I liked Tommy’s addition. The whole politics of the replacements was interesting, the way they phased Jason, Zack and Trini out pissed me off. I don’t find the new characters all that interesting but they grew on me, minus Kat, we’ll see if she does. The villains are all funny and fun to watch, even if their plans never work. I still wish that they took some risks, I know it was a kid’s show and they were all worried about it being too violent, but I wish they took it there with the battles and stakes.
Below are a few questions, please, if you have an answer, respond. I’d love to hear from you. Sticking to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as that’s the one I have seen all of the way through, I’m working on Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers.
1) Did you notice the phasing out of Jason, Zack and Trini? Did you see how the characters were barely in the show once Aisha, Adam and Rocky showed up?
2) Did you think about the whole African-American actor being the black ranger and an Asian actress being the yellow ranger? Did it bother you?
3) Who was your favorite ranger/character?
4) Did you ever wonder why the Yellow Ranger didn’t have a skirt but Pink did?
5) Do you prefer Tommy as the Green Ranger or White Ranger?
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