Personally i really like Skybound because of the heavy circumstances every character was put through. For a season, it felt like something above a childrenās show and got me to ciew the characters different and more deeply. Not saying that the battle in s2 wasnāt tragic, or that Zaneās sacrifice didnāt touch my heart, but something about a whole season of the main characters being their own worst enemies brightened my eyes. Could be why i love season 7 too, i see how my two favorite examples (jay and nya) grow from shells to the people they want to be. Plus the whole all-powerful stuff raises the stakes, ive always had a thing for piracy and pirates, and i used to really like clancee (i know, doesnt sound like me), plus you dont need to squeeze anythijg to get angst. Its ligerally there. They do it to themselves. Its. Handed. To. Me. On. A. Silver. Platter.
Haha, yes! There is so much angst potential in Skybound, even in comparison to the other seasons. It kind of feels like the writers forgot this was a kids show and then had to seriously reign it back in before they made things too dark. And what we're left with just raises a ton of questions: Did Jay get a black eye... or lose his eye altogether? What if the Djinn Blade took the soul and left the body behind? What happened to Nya after she was captured at the lighthouse? etc.
I don't blame any of the characters for anything that happened to them, but team is very clearly struggling at the start of the season, and as the episodes continue, you can see how that really tears them apart. Kai's obsession with his fame, Zane's assurance of the facts and feeling like it's on him to privately save the team, Lloyd trying to keep the peace but not taking a strong enough stand, Cole abandoning his friends in an attempt to escape, Jay lying and keeping secrets, and Nya struggling with all of the strong feelings and pressure she's facing... This is a team that truly is better together, and Nadakhan arrived at the exact moment they were falling apart.
Nadakhan himself makes a really great villain. He's horrifying and very creepy and none of what he does is okay. But in a narrative sense, his dramatic personality and flare are very interesting, and he fills the role of disturbing villain to perfection. There are times (in the first few episodes) that I almost feel sorry for him... only for him to completely blow that sympathy out of the water by the end of the season. But even then, his nervousness around Delara adds yet another layer to his character. There's just so much about him to unpack, not to mention the rest of his crew...
As someone who has written a bit about Skybound, there is also something really helpful about 2/3 of the main cast getting sucked up into the sword for a chunk of the season. This is a pretty big ensemble, and trying to write about all of them all the time can be a lot to handle. So Nadakhan very helpfully steals their souls and then I can just really dig into Nya and Jay's POVs XD
And of course there's a ton of Nya content, so no wonder I love it. the scene where she chooses to sacrifice herself for Jay by throwing him into the portal... and then proceeds to take out as many pirates as she can?? Too bad we didn't get a few more minutes of her kicking butt, because she absolutely deserved it with that episode ending (quite possibly the most horrifying moment in the whole show...)
Anyway. I ranted for too long there XD
