#episode summary

[shychick-52]

'Welcome to Charmswell' - my thoughts

Overall, I absolutely loved it!!

I think it's so cute that James is going to EverRealm Academy with Amber now, instead of that knight school he originally decided on! According to Craig Gerber, the twins just couldn't be separated! AWWWWW!!! This makes me want to sing Two By Two from 'Two Princesses and a Baby'!! They love each other so much, no matter how much they annoy each other!!

Where did Sofia learn to fly a coach?? Idk, but I'm loving it!! I hc she had lessons ever since the first time she did it in 'The Curse of Princess Ivy'!

"Ever since Miss Nettle opened the Charmswell School for Royal Magic, I knew I belonged there!" YES. MAGIC IS HER CALLING, HER DESTINY. She wasn't sure where she belonged after Royal Prep in the og s4 episode where she and all her friends were choosing their next schools, and only chose EverRealm Academy in the end because Amber was going there, but she realized she could always change her mind. So, I love that once this brand-new school of Miss Nettle's opened, she knew for certain where she belonged! Now, it didn't say when or why Miss Nettle opened Charmswell (but it's pretty obvious it's NEW), or how Sofia learned about it in the first place, so I'm really hoping we learn that eventually! (At the end of my story The Master Wand, Miss Nettle- who I already called was going to be the headmistress of Charmswell long before it was confirmed, heehee- came to the castle to personally invite her)

I ADORED the animation! ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! People who say it's AI have NO FRIGGING IDEA WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT. The movement, the colors, the lightning, the details!!! It was all fantastic!! And honestly, I really like the upgrades to the character models!

'Our Time To Shine' is a BANGER. SO GOOD. I honestly didn't mind that there was a reprise of it during the ballroom scene (it felt really appropriate for the moment, and it was the first time in StF that there's been a reprise) or during the credits!

The voice-acting is stellar, as always!! Brilliant delivery that really highlights the distinct personalities of each character!!

Zane, Camila, and Layla are such FUN characters, and each of them have so much personality! Together with Sofia, the four of them have fantastic chemistry, and their distinct personalities and talents/strengths just go together so well!! (I can honestly relate to Zane a lot, since I often lack confidence in myself- in fact, that's another thing he and Vivian have in common; not only are they both passionate about music, but they both struggle/struggled with self-confidence).

Ok, Sofia had her occasional moments of sass in the og show, and it was always flipping adorable, but MY GOODNESS SHE HAD SO MUCH OF IT IN THIS EPISODE. I LOVED IT. I feel like Cedric's really rubbed off on her, LOL. :D But seriously, I feel like it's a mark of how confident and sure of herself she's become after all this time, and it was voice-acted so well by Ariel Winter!!

Devin is such a delightful little shit! I absolutely love arrogant characters. I love the rivalry Devin already instigated between Castle Flora and Castle Merryweather! I can't wait to see more of it!! I also thought it was neat that Zane and Devin already know each other.

It's so cool that Devin has apparently been doing magic his whole life!

I LOVE the teamwork and chemistry between the four friends!!!

Seeing Sofia unlock new powers based on whatever her heart's need/wish is at the moment- the way the magic of the amulet automatically responds- is such a treat!! She's still learning to unlock and control new powers with Elena out of the amulet, just like Cedric said she would way back in s3's 'Hexley Hall' of the og series! Like Cedric told her back then, she is in full control now that Elena isn't there to grant her powers, and that she'll uncover more with time and practice! It's going to be so exciting to see all the new powers she unlocks and learns to master throughout the show!!

RAPUNZEL!!!

I'm SUPER intrigued by her whole conversation with Sofia!! So, because the magic of her amulet and how long she's worn it (probably longer than any other princess that had it before her), she is officially the most magical princess in the EverRealm!

And there's a Princess Council (I'm assuming of all the Disney Princesses)?? Interesting!! I have a feeling Sofia is going to be invited to join it eventually- calling it now!

Slight critique:

It did feel rather rushed, I have to say. But it was a very fun episode, and we'll learn more about the school and its teachers as the series unfolds!

Sofia: "You came all the way here from Corona?" Wait... so Corona is in the EverRealm?? How does that work /gen? Does that mean that all the kingdoms of the Disney princesses exist in the EverRealm after all, instead of different realms and timelines?? But how does that work for the princesses whose homes are actually 'real world' locations, like China and New Orleans? And that makes the whole Disney Princess location/timeline plothole even more confusing now, especially when you bring in the Princess Council thing.

[xofeno]

More pics! More character tidbits! Yay!!

source: paramountpressexpress.com

source: tvinsider.com

⬇️spoilers⬇️

“Mitchell is a former LAPD officer, so he has a little more edge and drive than your usual buttoned-up agent,” says showrunner Matt Olmstead. “He’s a no-holds-barred kind of guy and he brings an exciting new energy to the team.” Which includes some unconventional tactics. Soffer has called his character “a breath of fresh air and a lot of fun.”

Making things even more copasetic, Mitchell and second-in-command Vo (Vinessa Vidotto) have some positive history working together when she was trainee. “He put her through her paces, which gives them great grist for chemistry as partners,” Olmstead teases. “Mitchell is a born leader, so the rest of the team knows they’re in good hands.”

In their first case this season, Mitchell links up with the unit to continue his ongoing effort to hunt down the head of the operation, an American-Hungarian dual citizen who’s the head of an international heist crew that committed a series of strong-arm robberies in LA. They also shot Mitchell’s partner, which makes this very personal for the new boss! Mitchell and [the crime boss] immediately lock horns during the investigation,” previews Olmstead, “and that will play out over the season.”

source: tvinsider.com

[theloudlyhappy]

Summaries for the first three episodes of Arcane season 2

spoilers obviously

this is Not perfect and Not extensive. make your own post like this if you are unsatisfied with mine

S2E1

Councellors get killed by Jinx

Viktor is in hex bubble coffin

Mel and Jayce try to not use hextech in the coming war

Caitlyn gains the Kiramman key from father

Vi struggles emotionally to become enforcer

Memorial is attacked injuring Mel, Jayce, and Maddie/Nolan

Many are killed and the shimmer giants are only stopped by Ambessa's force

Caitlyn is angry and Vi tries only a little to stop the war before agreeing to join

The councellors are at a loss

Jayce makes hextech weapons

Caitlyn leads a team of enforcers to find Jinx, dismantle shimmer, and kill any agents loyal to Silco

Mysterious scientist (potentially who saved Jinx. Singed?) finds dangerous creature to study

S2E2

Jinx says a final goodbye to Silco('s body) under the water

The leaders of the Zaun's gangs under Silco fight for his place

Jinx is wandering in cloak and a young child on the run falls onto her

Enforcers are searching for Jinx using gas with multiple symptoms

Sevika and Jinx bond over their jobs under Silco

Viktor wakes from the hex coffin and, changed, refuses to stay with Jayce who has also changed

Viktor can see Sky and he chooses her over Jayce (as he did with Mel)

Ekko is taking in survivors but the tree is potentially dying

Heimerdinger sneaks them into the lab to get help researching the hex's affects on the tree

Viktor is following Sky into Zaun's shimmer camps and is followed

Jinx builds Sevika a new arm from the punch machine game

Enforcers almost trap Jinx, she cant shoot Vi, Caitlyn is haunted by Jinx, Smeech uses her vulnerability to attack

Sevika saves her by killing most the men and the child is still following Jinx around with neither adult paying them much attention

Viktor is threatened by Huck but calmly uses his newfound power to partially restore him and is potentially revered as a god for it

Mysterious scientist (Singed?) killed creature and is studying it potentially for use with shimmer

S2E3

The Gray is the name of the gas being used by the enforcers as found by the Kiramman family key

The enforcers find the numbers man tied in the tunnels forced to breath the gray until the 3 enforcers are told to take him above for arrest

Amara visits Ambessa and tries to kill her but fails that and is killed herself (though she says it does not matter)

Cait and Vi continue to search for Jinx alone (after debating it and Vi begging Cait not to change)

Ambessa is desperate now to avenge her son and protect her daughter so she calls a meeting of nobles via manipulating Salo and keeping Mel out of it

Salo was being tattooed using shimmer by Lest (Mel's informant) when Ambessa interupts to manipulate and plan

Mel meets with Lest and convinces them to tell her what was overheard

Cait and Vi find traces leading to Jinx

Jayce explains Wild Runes vs hextech runes to Ekko (language differences and where they occur)

Ekko hypothesizes Jayce pissed off the arcane by overusing it and Heimerdinger agrees its a possibility (not actually mankind but inherant to the arcane)

Jayce comes to a realization once he says Why Now and Why Deep Underground which Heimerdinger affirms

Mel and Elora discuss her mother's mindset and plans being foolish due to desperation and Elora is sent for info on the shimmer brush and to check on Amara

Heimerdinger, Ekko, and Jayce head down to the deepest part of the Hexgates

Cait and Vi find Jinx's "hiding" place

Jayce opens the door to gemstone mesh and during their conversation unintentionally explains their failsafe would ruin life for Zaun citizens

Heimerdinger sees the hex/wild runes on the ground and then the world around them turns almost pure white

The sisters confirm they don't have a familial relationship anymore

Jinx avoids a shot and the fight begins with Savika attacking Cait (Isha watches from above)

After a moment Jayce reaches for the ball of hex/hexcore and everything begins to glitch and appears to cause hallucinations with anyone near the gemstone mesh or using the hextech (or similar)

Jayce mid-fight uses his hammer on the gemstone mesh/hexcore which briefly appears to be in Viktor's hands causing everything to glitch far worse than before.

Cait and Sevika fight with Cait winning due to the glitching, Vi and Jinx fight with Vi almost winning until Isha grabs Jinx' gun and blocks Vi by covering Jinx and aiming for her jaw

Cait tries to shoot Jinx even with Isha clinging to Jinx' upper body and head but Vi stops her because there's a child at risk

Sevika sets off the bomb exploding a wall and releasing gas and/or paint(?) bombs all across Piltover

Vi protects Cait, Sevika protects Jinx who protects Isha (unclear if she holds on willingly or because Isha hadnt let go)

Cait rejects Vi and hurts her before leaving, Vi stays in the tunnels sat in despair

Mel has the information on the brush from Elora and is about to use it when Amara's guild possess Elora and capture Mel

Salo summons the nobles with Ambessa and the enforcers present

Ambessa makes a speech about family and states they need martial law and a general

She then names Caitlyn the right person and everyone follows her lead in showing their support after some hesitance

Either Caitlyn realizes Ambessa was behind the attack at the memorial or the show's audience is now in the know about it

Maddie Nolan supports, Blue(?) is unsure, and Beard(?) leaves

Cait agrees to become general and takes on her new job with determination and anger

Mysterious Scientist (more sure its guy who saved Jinx. Singed?) is testing on himself and potentially added blood to the shimmer/gray concoction he was working on

[yutamayo]

[drakebellappreciation]

The Pretender - 2x02

[imjustwritingg]

if Hailey’s about to be in her kidnapped era I’m gonna need her husband to come back immediately 😵‍💫

[heckyeahponyscans]

Thoughts on MLP Make Your Mark Ch.4, Ep. 6 "A Little Horse"

Summary: When Pipp gets sick with a sore throat, her friends try to help her, with varying degrees of success. Meanwhile, Opaline decides it's time to put her plan into action.

The funny thing about this episode is it doesn't have much of a plot (most of it is just Pipp's friends trying to make her feel better), and yet I really enjoyed it. Like, Sunny's quest to find a soup recipe from Queen Haven didn't really move the plot forward, but Queen Haven is so melodramatic and funny that I'm never going to complain about her getting screentime, you know?

The humor really hit the mark in this one, too. Deadpan lines which are moved on from quickly. (My favorite gags were Pipp saying "I actually haven't been alone yet" and Hitch refraining from translating the tirade of the seagull playwrite.)

Also, we got a flashback to baby Pipp!

The sisterly vibe was strong between Pipp and Zipp in this episode, from Zipp revealing that she was only watching Pipp's livestream due to the collab with Electric Blue to her reminiscing about sticking a candy apple in Pipp's mane. But we also got to see the softer side of sisterhood with Zipp constantly checking in on Pipp.

. . . and bringing Pipp every single volume of the Adventures of Chevalia. Love that Zipp is a fantasy book nerd, she's just like me fr.

This is the cover of one of the Chevalia books, featuring a pony with similar colors to Celestia, except it appears to be a pegasus.

Along with Pipp's other visitors is Misty! Who the gang haven't seen since the Manesquerade Ball. So we can infer that Opaline has been keeping her close to the castle.

As early as "Traditional Unicorn Sleepover" Misty has liked hanging out with the Mane 5 because they're kind to her and expose her to wonders like chocolate-covered popcorn (excuse me, "ponycorn"). But this shows how much she's grown into these friendships, that it's not one-sided and Misty also cares about the other ponies' well-being.

Misty also brought a present wrapped in newspaper: a mane brush. Presumably her only mane brush. Misty, you are so sweet.

Also her expression when Pipp thanks her is very cute.

I loved Zipp's conspiracy board montage!

And Sunny and Twilight are SO cute in these drawings, awww!

Anyway, Zipp has correctly deduced that an alicorn is the evil pony Twilight Sparkle was talking about. The book from "Manesquerade" told her that alicorns can harness magic other than their own, namely dragon magic.

When Misty rushes back to report this, we see a room in "the lair" that we've never seen before, which looks significantly nicer than Misty's bedroom. Probably either a library or Opaline's room. Opaline declares it's finally time to put their plan into action.

Other random thoughts:

it must be hell texting with hooves

Pipp's webcam looks like a bunny, very cute

During the critter play Pipp mentions Breezies, the tiny ponies seen in G3 and G4.

This board game was already obviously a Monopoly reference (with the top hat) but now it also has the weird shoe!

Previously I noted that Opaline always talks about "our" plans to Misty, which is unusual for a villain. (It's most often the opposite, with the villain's sidekick being like "And then we'll rule the world!" and then the villain snarls at them and the sidekick hastily says, "I mean YOU will rule the world!")

In this episode Opaline says "We must act!" and Misty pushes back with "You mean I must act?" This made me view Opaline's words in a new light . . . That maybe the "we" isn't about feeling solidarity with Misty, but more about tricking Misty into buying into Opaline's plans by feeling like she has a stake in them.

But on a subconscious level, because Opaline is more of a bulldozer than a subtle puppetmaster.

The episode ends with Opaline's sinister laugh; she doesn't notice Misty isn't joining in.

[thebookluvrr1816]

bbc merlin | 5x11

The Drawing of the Dark