These Cyborgs Are Queerer than You Remember (+ Disability Themes) COMPLETE
Had several different starting points analyzing cyborgs as queer and/or disability allegory for all of these characters, but now I finally managed to bring them together.
Eight characters in five different fandoms. This escalated so much. That’s also why there aren’t subtitles yet; I will add them as soon as possible, but wouldn’t have managed before the end of Pride Month.
I'm starting to think I understand a bit of how people who read Percy Jackson before watching the movies feel. Uglies was... a movie. I have thoughts that I wanna share with a condensed version of my rant with the notes I took at the very bottom. I know in the end it's just a movie but at the moment it's important to me. Obviously SPOILERS for Uglies, the book (mainly the first one) and the movie.
I want to start with the things I liked since that's a much shorter list.
i LOOVEE the casting for Dr. Cable as Laverne Cox, Keith Powers as David, Brianne Tju as Shay. I also like the casting for David's parents, Croy, Sussy, Dex and An.
Not all the design elements hit for me but the look and sound of the hover cars and boards i really liked. As well as how the interface rings looked and worked, kinda showing how easy it was for things to be "hacked". The look of the operation tank wasn't something I thought too hard about but I like how they brought it to life. And "THE SMOKE LIVES" was beautifully done. While reading the books I imagined something more childish given the sparklers but the movie did them wonderfully.
And something small and rather insignificant, Tally telling Shay that Peris was the one who gave her the necklace makes a little more sense than some random person giving it to her and her caring enough to wear it all the way to the Smoke.
Now... on to the nitty gritty of the things I didn't like as much. Some are kinda nitpicky so take my word with a grain of salt as these are all just my personal opinions. I took notes as I watched so they will kind of be in chronological order.
First is the casting of Tally and Peris. I knew when I saw the trailers I wouldn't like Joey King as Tally Youngblood, I don't think she's that bad of an actress, she just doesn't fit my vision of Tally. I like alternatives of someone like HAVANA ROSE LIU !!!, Sophia Lillis, Emma Myers, Paris Berelc, Chandler Kinney, Inde Navarrette, Talia Ryder, Quintessa Swindell. Basically, anyone other than Joey King. Someone I could see being book 1 Tally but also becoming who she was in later books. And for Peris maybe someone like Archie Renaux, Archie Madekwe, Nico Hiraga, Brodie Townsend, Connor Sherry, maybe a Finn Little or even a Charlie Plummer. Clearly, I don't have a set look for these characters just vibes.
I don't like that Dr. Cable is a public figurehead. Most of the things she does and are capable of are because she's more secretive. She's a manipulator who works behind the scenes. I could've appreciated it if they had done more with it and made it a purposeful change but like many other things I don't see the point in it.
Tally's relationships with anyone are honestly one of the most disappointing things done and my #1 gripe with this movie. It just does not make me care at all. We're missing so many vital scenes that I'm sure they couldn't fit all of them in but because of what they cut out I couldn't buy into them as people. Everything just felt so temporary and non concrete. I know it was probably to save money from actors ( f you btw netflix) but I'm sad the only other scene with Tally's parents, them convincing her to give up Shay and the Smoke, was missing. Her and Peris' relationship falls very one note and her and Shay's just falls flat. No real friendship between the two, bonding over feeling lonely and (at least to Tally) beginning their next step to prettiness together. Shay's constant reassurance that she doesn't think Tally is ugly and how she feels about keeping her original face because she doesn't think of herself as ugly either. Shay's anger is completely missing for me when in the book it was a very big thing considering how much Tally's betrayal cost her. The same anger thing with Maddy happened too but more on that later. Even with Dr. Cable manipulating her I think it was so poorly done. She just straight up lied to her about what was going on in the Smoke instead of using everything Tally had wanted for the last 16 years against her.
Next is what I think to be one another major failing on the movie that I have to force myself to understand that they simply didn't have time for but.. Cutting basically all of Tally's journey to the Smoke really hurt me because I feel like throughout all the books Tally's relationship and outlook on the wild is some of the most important because it shows a lot about who she is as a person when she really has to be alone with herself in such dangerous conditions and situations. The wild is always the start of her radicalization and her free thinking. It helps her be more open about the Smoke and it honestly informs a lot of her decisions later down the line. Her puzzling through Shay's note and learning to survive (with the help of some city things) were very detrimental and sad almost none of it made it into the script. And they didn't even get the note right!!
Short and to the point- replacing the rangers who helped Tally (and gave lowkey clues about what she learns later) with the Smokies.. Again, I understand time and money restraints but still Ugh!
Them making Croy immediately overly aggressive and skeptical of Tally also just takes away from his character. Even in the books we have little to go on, but I think taking away making him slowly put pieces together about Tally's stories and the math of the SpagBols simply not mathing is a small but disappointing takeaway.
The entire time in the Smoke went by wayy too fast, they never let you or Tally just sit and exist with the people living there already so again i just don't care that it was raided! We missed out on Tally discovering the people who lived there along with more of her relationship with Shay being discarded. Taking out the library, Tally discovering all of the people and faces from before through books and magazines and the man who looked over all of that. Which flattens her character more seeing as that was one of the first deaths she experiences that she feels is her fault. Tally meeting David's parents felt rushed and their conversation about the lesions just felt like it was her entire reason for suddenly not wanting to listen to Dr. Cable instead of her forming her own opinions and that being her final straw.
Something the movie loved to do was take away so many crucial parts of the story, a major thing being the raid of The Smoke. In the movie it happens so quickly even though I'm sure they could've included a majority of it. Tally's desperation in fighting for something she had inadvertently helped destroy, her and the Boss fighting to protect the last of the books and her watching him get killed because of it. Because of her. Her getting captured and gaining trust and respect from people (Croy!) who previously doubted her, but at the same time her relationship with Shay hitting the fan because she instantly knew Tally was at fault. Her being smart enough to outwit and out maneuver a Special Circumstance soldier and escape. Her hiding in the cave with David. Her coming back to see Croy had convinced people to leave their shoes because she didn't have any while hoverboarding away. All which fuels her guilt and need to protect and rebuild The Smoke seeing as she felt it her fault. In the movie she hid out in the open.. ran out screaming when Az was killed... outed what she had done in front of everyone. Then she blew up a building and Dr. Cable literally just let her go for no apparent reason. David finding out what she had done and what she caused should've warranted more anger but of course we get none of that. Next we just jump into helping the captured Smokies escape and Tally's crazy ass plan that actually helped show the depth of how smart she is was glazed over. We lose the reveal of Dr. Cable testing on Az causing him to pass away which, on top of being a doctor, fuels Maddy's need to have someone give informed consent before testing the cure for the lesions. The movie also took Maddy rightful anger toward Tally away from her. It might seem small in the grand scheme of things but agreeing to be the test subject for an untested brain alter for a woman who dislikes you for having a part in her husband dying is a step in her trying to earn forgiveness.
Shay's reveal to be turned pretty was completely under done and felt because of the lack of depth they gave to her character along with her relationship with Tally. Shay never wanted to be turned pretty and Tally is a big part of the reason her choice was taken away from her. Her becoming pretty was another thing that made Tally completely regret all that she had done and showed more of the ripple effect of the consequences of her actions. Plus that fuck ass wig and ugly silver dress they had her running around in !!
Overall so many of the choices made by netflix just lets me know they never intended on continuing the series in future movies regardless of the outcome of this one. Like them making Peris special and then killing him off ??!! The Specials having special suits and not special bodies. Changing out the rangers to not expand on the lore. ((Edit: The flowers being made by the cities actually does so much to harm the story which also explains why they removed the rangers because it was cities fighting against yet ANOTHER rusty invention that was destroying the world. The cities (who knows how many) were fighting to preserve nature which lends to them dulling people to slow down their overconsumption and later Tally's mission to make sure the wild was protected when people eventually got their free will back.)) Making the ending open ended because there was no way they could fully close it out because of the nature of the books but every other choice felt so definitive as to an ending and nothing more, like showing Tally pretty at the end when the closing of the book was just her surrendering. The movie itself didn't expand on even just the first books’ lore and it just felt like an extremely lukewarm version of the story that happens over a 30 minute period even though the movie is an hour and a half long. Everything felt rushed and not true to Uglies the book at all and it upsets me to see these books introduced to people in this way.
Ok, rant over. Peace out.
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TLDR, my sparknote ver.
Things I liked:
Lavern Cox as Dr. Cable
Keith Powers as David
Brianne Tju as Shay
Design of the hover cars and boards
Design of the operation tanks
Design of the "THE SMOKE LIVES" message
Thing I did Not like:
how this movie is a TERRIBLE introduction into this world
their failed attempts at humor
joey king as tally youngblood
dr. cable being a public figure head
the montage that skips basically all the world building
tally and shays watered down relationship
tally and davids watered down relationship
tally's parents not coming to see her before peris and really showing she was pushed into working with dr. cable
making the crash bracelets work like a bungee jacket and not using the mechanics from the book
dr cable lying abt what david and the smoke were doing to that extent
montage of the tallys journey in the wild
replacing the rangers with smokies
croy being over aggressive abt not trusting tally when he was sly and smart abt figuring out her story doesn't make sense
david just going "these are my parents" and no one clarifying their names
tally not slowly coming to realize that the smoke isn't that bad and her doubts before learning abt the lesions
the talk abt the lesions
peris being special
the attack on the smoke
not meeting the boss who keeps track of the books/magazines
tally and david hiding out in the open during the attack on the smoke
peris killing az bc az dying from medical testing was important !!! + az's "wah are yu doin"
tally outing herself in front of everyone 😒 + her dumbass escape scene bc she literally just got let go
not explaining or using tally's very smart plan to get into special headquarters
no pretty speak
shays ATROCIOUS ASS WIG that thing looks like a lego piece on her head and them contacts and that dumb ass dress
that glass breaking as soon as the fire touches it
the pt 2 of the solution being so easy to find and maddy not stealing dr. cables interface ring
the body suit for the specials bc their body is what made them special not the suits
joey king breaking up peris and david's fights was giving the fighting from the kissing booth
peris dying ??!!(!(!(
maddy not RIGHTFULLY being mad at tally for destroying her home and getting her husband killed
Dr. Cable from Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld (book)
Yeah, she's bi!
I could see it
No, but she is queer
Nah, she is straight
Gimmie the results
Voting ended onJul 21, 2025
Propaganda:
No mention of sexuality or private life at all; but almost exclusively interacts with women. Gendered in a way that barely acknowledges her gender; described as a conventionally attractive woman while also as being angular and brutal looking, moving too fast and too sudden, elegant voice but with a hidden edge.
Narrative wise her gender doesn't matter, being a cyborg super soldier and mad scientist giving up her humanity for "the greater good" isn't a typical female role. In the movie adaptation also being feminine dressed but as a sign of power, and general vibes.
