lol-ing at tvd writers making caroline say she never knew what her future would look like(with stefan) and that unknown was exciting(8×13).First of all since when has caroline been excited about the unknown? That totally contradicts who she is. Then she saying she never knew which means she didn't know how her life would be like with stefan when he was still immortal. If she never knew, why was she even getting married? Not to mention there are actual kids involved who she chose to (offscreen) be a mom to. Way to go writers making caroline seem like an irresponsible parent. (1/3)
Caroline is determined to make stefan see just because their future doesn't seem appealing as before (because he is human) doesn't mean they shouldn't at least try. I completely get the point but i am like did she even consider how her children's lives would look like when she'd have to uproot her life from theirs because choosing to stay a vampire means keeping the not aging part a secret. She'd not be able to participate in important firsts in their lives, probably would have to attend their graduation in disguise. Maybe initially she avoided it because she didn't have a choice in the matter. She was scared of the touchy/ uncomfortable subject of an unknown future with the kids but what about after when she was marrying the supposed love of her life ? this further proves the ridiculousness of the pregnancy plot that the writers pretended was an obstacle but couldn't bother explaining. (2/3)
Lastly, when she says how misguided she was (about her excitement of the unknown with stefan) and uses that to stay aloof and distant. but marrying ric 'for the kids' was an intellectual decision??? It's like the writers just threw in random terms to justify plots without thinking and hoped that we wouldn't notice they didn't make sense. They did the same when they used 'abandoned' to justify caroline's 3 year long anger then pivoted to Caroline suddenly understanding stefan's noble-ish decision in a matter of a day. (3/3)
The writers altering or abandoning previous characterization to fit the plot was one of my central problems with the show. I first noticed it with Damon in season 4 when the writers abandoned Damon's previous characterization during the cure story line:
"I have a secret. I'm not human. And I miss it. I miss it more than anything in the world." - Damon, season 2
"I used to be human. Now I can't think of anything more miserable on earth." - Damon season 4
Damon's change of heart was never explained or explored. The writers altered Damon's character to fit the plot.
So, I'm not surprised that they pulled the same nonsense with Caroline. And it's one of the primary reasons why I don't like the cure and Calaric story lines.
TVD was great when the writers tailored the plot to fit the characters. TVD was terrible when the characters were re-tooled to fit the plot.
Some people: Vivziepop's characters and story sucks for xyz reasons
Me, just here for a good time: ehhhh, valid, but idc
Some people: Why are all these characters so flamboyant?? It's unrealistic!
Me, sarcastic: Oh no, the silly musical show about hell has flamboyant characters! Who would have known??? And oh no, the silly character doesn't behave like how you think they should while still being true to how she's portrayed them so far and/or expands on their character! The horror!
Me, scrolling away without truly engaging with whatever annoyed me: Anyway, I'm going to paint Stolas for the hundredth time and imagine Camilla Carmine wrecking me.
Braveheart (1995) and The Patriot (2000) are not only both violent epics very loosely based on historical events, but their protagonists are very similar up to a point. William Wallace declares that he has returned from years abroad "to raise crops and a family. And if I can live in peace, I will." Benjamin Martin also cites family commitments in his refusal to support South Carolina in seeking independence from British rule: "My wife is dead. I have seven children. Who will care for them if I go to war?" Numerous critics describe The Patriot as "American Braveheart" emphasizing the themes of vengeance and national identity that drive both films. Superficial similarities aside, these films are very different, and the main difference comes down to the protagonists themselves. Through consistent characterization, Braveheart is able to show that Wallace is who he says he is, something The Patriot fails to replicate in Martin.
We are introduced to Wallace as a little boy who is horrified by the excessive cruelty English king Edward III visits on the Scots, and he grows into a man who is is horrified by the excessive cruelty English king Edward III visits on the Scots. Apart from gaining an education and a whole lot of muscle mass, Wallace does not change much within the first half hour of the film. In fact, he has not changed much by the end of the film's nearly three hour run time. Some cite his lack of development as a writing flaw, but simple characters can still be effective. And one thing Wallace certainly is capable of is learning.
One scene that particularly highlights this is the wedding that occurs shortly after Wallace's return and after King Edward has reinstituted the right of nobles to the first night with any bride on their land. When the English lord comes to claim this right, some men in attendance get agitated and a violent conflict seems imminent until the bride offers herself up to save her husband. Wallace watches these events unfold and decides that he and Murron will marry in secret. He is, after all, trying to live in peace! But then the English target her with harassment and eventually kill her because, as the film has painstakingly established numerous times already, they are excessively cruel. This is the event that inspires Wallace to take a leadership role in the Scottish rebellion, and he never looks back.
The seeds of the man Wallace will grow into are sown in the first twenty minutes of so of the film, not only his horror at British treatment of Scots but his affection for Murron as well. And adult Wallace maintains an almost childlike inability to grasp the nuances of politics in his dealing with Scottish lords like Robert the Bruce. In short, Wallace feels like the same person over the course of thirty years, if we accept the character as being the same age as Gibson at the time of filming. The Martin who stays out of the war to protect his children and the Martin who abandons his children multiple times years later do not feel like the same person. The Martin whose shirt is splattered with the blood of wounded British soldiers he helps and the Martin whose face is soaked in the blood of a British soldier he hacks to mincemeat just a few minutes later do not feel like the same person. Given the time it takes Martin and Villeneuve to recruit and train the militia, it is well within possibility that one or more of the men whose wounds he treated were later killed while trying to surrender by men under his command. What the fuck, Benjamin?
These drastic, Jekyll into Hyde transformations Martin undergoes may well be meant to come across as complexity but succeed in giving us a hero who gets to have his cake and eat it too. A war criminal in the streets who is also, we are told, a loving father plagued by nightmares in the sheets. The problem is, we actually see the first part. The harrowing story Martin tells us about his actions at Fort Wilderness reinforces the unhinged violent personality we see in his treatment of the last British soldier in his one-man massacre and the surrendering British troops. And while he said before the war that he would prioritize his children's safety, we never see him actually do that. He asserts to General Cornwallis that British officers are continuing to target civilians but is then as shocked as anyone when a British officer actually does that. The work of anchoring his characterization is shouldered almost exclusively by characters close to him, who insist that he "has changed," that he is "a good man."
Okay.
I've often wondered since rewatching Braveheart how different the wedding scene and Wallace's reaction to it might have gone in the hands of The Patriot's filmmakers. I imagine something like this: Wallace watches, shocked, as the English carry off his friend's bride. He turns to Murron. "Murron, this is terrible . . . for them. Nothing like this will happen at our wedding, though. We're built different. The English would not dare!" And then at their wedding, the English ride up to collect Murron, and Wallace watches shocked, shocked that this would happen . . . again. Braveheart may be heavy-handed on some points, but give me heavy-handed consistency over wild characterization inconsistencies duck-taped together by other characters' comments any day.
Before I rewatched Braveheart, I had not seen a Mel Gibson movie--besides the one I write about all the time--in at least a decade. I avoided him because I had the idea that most of his roles are variations on a character I generally find uninteresting: unhinged man bent on revenge. And it could be said that Martin is not only the "middle" role by film release date but also the bridge in the gap that separates Wallace, a man without children, and Graham Hess of Signs (2022), a man without a vengeance arc. I would argue, instead, that Martin is the weak link in Gibson's filmography, a man who lacks both Wallace's purity of purpose and, as we'll see in my next post, Hess's humility.
Okay, so I want to make a post about something bugging me three episodes into season two of Prodigal Son: consistency.
In writing, consistency means essentially keeping all the details consistent throughout the story. You have to write with a consistent vision. You have to erase anything that potentially can distract a viewer/reader. You have to remember the dumbest of details.
I’m sure we’ve all read a book where a name was misspelled by accident. That happens, it’s an annoyance, but we move on. Have you read stories where characters completely changed names or appearances halfway through the story? Lot more annoying because it’s no longer consistent with the first half of the book.
Prodigal Son right now is engaging in what I call “writers remorse.” They’re changing Malcolm’s characterization to fit their sudden idea of who his character needs to be this season and completely ignoring the areas where they established these parts of him in the first season. Example:
His tremor. In the current episode, Malcolm tells Dani:
Ignoring the piss-poor caption job here... 😂
We have a flashback from season 1 where we clearly see young Malcolm with that tremor:
That’s not years, it is weeks. Maybe months. Can we say he maybe didn’t recognize his tremors until he was older? Yes. However, the narrative implies differently. They’re saying years. It’s inconsistent characterization.
And no, Malcolm being an unreliable narrator doesn’t justify it.
Second point of inconsistency. All season 1, Malcolm is haunted by his fear of the girl in the box and what he might have done to her. He’s upset by his recalling he stabbed John Watkins in an act of self-defense. His stabbing of his father (contrived by Martin as a way to manipulate and control Malcolm as to help catch the Carousel Killer) torments him to the point he and Dani have a falling out over it.
But we get this (sorry, no video of this scene on YouTube for me to grab so I am linking to a blog with gifs):
Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. It's where your interests connect you with your
So, Malcolm essentially plans out an entire act of revenge on a kid who bullied him at boarding school that almost kills the kid and is totally fine with it?
I don’t think so.
Inconsistent characterization.
If he was okay with essentially pushing a kid into an asthma attack and giving them their “empty” inhaler (okay, he “saved” him in the end but still), he’d have had no problem in shooting Endicott. He was justified in shooting Endicott. The man had a hand in his “girlfriend’s” (less girlfriend, more user, sorry) murder, in his father nearly being killed/sent to Rikers, his being framed for murder, murdering his lawyer, having Gil stabbed, and essentially assaulting his sister (to the point she snapped and killed him).
Yeah, Malcolm okay with almost murdering a bullying classmate is not tracking well here, and no, unreliable narrator doesn’t cover it. This is writer remorse. They had places they wanted to take Malcolm in season 1, reversed on them at some point, and are now trying to shoehorn those things in now as character development. It’s inconsistent. Can they still pull this together in the remaining ten episodes? Sure... but I’m not optimistic given the choices they have made so far.
Especially since the laziest writing of all was perpetrated in episode one by them having Malcolm chop up and dispose of Endicott. That is called jumping the shark. All suspensions of belief were basically ignored as they went with the safest and most predictable angle they could to explain the end of season 1 without having to revisit the missing elements from season 1 (thanks to the Whu Whu bug). Does it add drama? Sure. Is it good drama? Not really. I can think of a number of ways they could have gone with this that were as dramatic and built a story they could have worked into season 2.5 or 3 (depending on what happens in the next few months).
Let’s be blunt here: show runners had a mess on their hands because of the Whu Whu bug, restrictions on filming, and a reduced number of episodes to tell a story in. They just have made some fundamental errors that toss me, as a viewer, out of the story. Do I still love the show? Absolutely. The ironic thing is that one can love a fandom and still critique it. Critiquing the show also doesn’t make me less of a fan (as some will claim). Being a fan means loving something for what it is and accepting it as it is. I accept that PSon is a bit messy at this moment. I’m still here for the ride. I’m still invested in the characters and their stories. I just have issues with the choices made.
I honestly feel like the writer’s don’t know how to write relationships. Like, Barry and Iris were great together when they weren't dating, as they built their relationship and showed how much they care. But, when they did get together, it felt like any tension or compelling part of it had been ripped out. A lot of it did seem forced.
That’s one of the reasons I think Caitlin feels like she has more chemistry to people, because they’re not trying to write a relationship with them, but they still get to built on their caring for one another in what feels organic.
But, with the writer’s dismissing Iris’s character (I love her, but not how she’s written now) and making no sense on characters changing randomly, it would still be hard for them to continue a lot of relationships without it seeming contrived or out of the blue.
Today’s a Saturday, so it’s very quiet at Seigetsu Gakuen. What’s Tsukiko doing on campus though?
Tsukiko’s a busy girl. She had kyudou practice in the morning, and from the afternoon she came in to the nurse’s office for her medical check up. Hoshizuki’s pretty hands-off about it, leaving most of it to Tsukiko to do herself, while he sleepily sits by and asks if she’s done weighing herself yet.
Tsukiko’s at that stage some girls go through where this is a point of contention for her. She asks him to wait a moment and he keenly points out that no matter how many times she rechecks the numbers aren’t gonna change. She tells him to shush and let a girl be.
Hoshizuki: Just write whatever you want then.
Tsukiko: I am not going to lie.
She comes out and they move to measure her height. Hoshizuki apologizes (probably for not the first time) that they don’t have the means to get a female doctor to do this. Tsukiko admits it’s a little embarrassing, to which Hoshizuki shrugs and says she’s still a child so there’s nothing to worry about, really. Tsukiko takes offence at being called a child. She hates it when he does that!
Hoshizuki yawns and doesn’t take the bait. It’s the weekend he wants to sleep.
Tsukiko: You always want to sleep.
That said, he does seem more tired that usual lately…
Really? Hoshizuki asks. It must be her imagination, it’s nothing she should worry about.
That’s the wrong thing to say, really. Tsukiko thinks back on how long she’s known Hoshizuki. She only became the health rep for her class this past spring, but when she was a first-year student she often came to the nurse’s office with Kanata. That said, Hoshizuki’s always been pretty elusive, and she wishes she could get to know him better…
Hoshizuki notices her looking at him and asks what she’s making that face for. Is there something she wants to tell him or something?
Well, since he asked…
“What do you usually do in your free time, Hoshizuki-sensei?”
“Do you have someone you like, Hoshizuki-sensei?”
“Do you know Mizushima-sensei personally, Hoshizuki-sensei?”
If you ask me, the only natural question out of these three is the first one. The last one is out of left field, the middle one is… odd coming from Tsukiko, since it’s not really in her character to ask that out of the blue. She’s a shoujo protagonist but not a romantic, per say. This is also waaayyyyy before her love epiphany. Like, wayyyyy before. Or even his. So the only question that makes sense given the flow of the scene and both characters’ personalities is the first one, but alas, that’s the choice for Naoshi’s route.
So Hoshizuki, you lazy bum, do you have a crush on anyone because we all know you don’t have a girlfriend?
“No...I don’t. I have no need for nor the right to have someone.”
...oookayyy…
Rightfully surprised by this answer, Tsukiko asks why. He tells her ‘just because’ in that tone of voice that says not to push it. He won’t tell her? He smiles and softens his tone a little, assuring her it’s no big deal. This only serves to prove to Tsukiko that it is a big deal but he’s chosen to hide it from her.
Tsukiko: How come you won’t be more honest with me?
Hoshizuki: Why do you ask? Are you interested in me or something?
Tsukiko: Yes.
Hoshizuki: You’re more bold than I give you credit for!
Tsukiko: Wait, not like that. I mean--
Hoshizuki: I know what you really meant. Even if you did have a crush on me, I’m way too old for you and kids your age usually confuse curiosity for interest.
Tsukiko pouts. Even if he does have a point, that doesn’t detract from the fact that she wants to get to know him better. But there’s something in his expression that tells her she should let it go and she stays quiet.
The finish up Tsukiko’s medical check and Hoshizuki tells her she can go. But Tsukiko, while she may have dropped the earlier question, still hasn’t given up on getting to know him. She protests that she doesn’t want to leave yet be...because there’s still cleaning to do!
Hoshizuki gives her a sidelong glance and asks why she’s acting funny.
That stings a little. How come he’s allowed to read her but she can’t read him?
The door opens and Nashimoto pops in. Is Tsukiko’s medical check finished? Miyaji’s been looking for her, you know. She wouldn’t happen to have the key to the dojo, would she?
Oops, she does! She forgot to hand it to him before she left early to come for her medical check. She thanks Nashimoto and turns to Hoshizuki, who tells her go ahead. He can tidy up the office himself. Tsukiko offers to come back after she returns the key but he frowns at her sternly. He’s fine. She can go. He reminds her that she shouldn’t put her health rep duties ahead of the rest of her life. Her kyudou teammates, her classmates and her friends… she should cherish them while she can.
Tsukiko pauses and looks back at him. That’s a rather...heavy way of wording it.
Hoshizuki is looking off to the side, distracted by whatever prompted him to give her this advice. Eventually he turns around in his chair, putting his back to her, leaving Tsukiko with no option but to leave. The abrupt distance between them stings.
Out in the hall, Tsukiko’s just about to rush and seek out Miyaji when a lady’s voice calls out and stops her.
I turned around and found a beautiful lady standing behind me. Wait, since when did such a gorgeous teacher work at this school?
Our gorgeous mystery woman asks if Tsukiko knows where Kotarou...er, she means, Hoshizuki-sensei is. Tsukiko’s flustered a moment, while she’s used to hearing Haruki call Hoshizuki by his given name, this is the first time she’s heard someone else do it, let along without adding -sensei at the end. Who could this woman be?
While Tsukiko struggles to mentally come to terms with this sudden encounter, the women begins to fret, remembering it’s Saturday so what if Hoshizuki-sensei isn’t at the school? But he must be, right? Oh, dear, she should have called first…
Tsukiko tentatively informs her that Hoshizuki is in the nurse’s office.
Oh good.
So uh… where’s the nurse’s office again? This school is so big, she always forgets where things are.
She kind of has a point. Tsukiko points out the door to the nurse’s office, since she just came from there and it’s not far.
The woman thanks Tsukiko for her kindness and excuses herself. Tsukiko watches her boldly walk down the hall and enter the nurse’s office without so much as a knock, growing all the more curious. How does she know Hoshizuki-sensei? They must be rather close if she came all the way to the school to see him.
…
For some reason that thought makes Tsukiko feel somewhat uncomfortable.
In the book, Bard did, in fact, want some of the treasure---all of it, if it was just sitting there. Thranduil, too, wanted Smaug’s hoard, but only if it was abandoned; Thranduil was not willing to fight over it. Thranduil seems to have made a commitment to help the human refugees (and my headcanon is that Bard wanted Thranduil and his army to stick around, because the Erebor situation was likely to get dicey, and because he needs Thorin to take him seriously, which means he needs a show of strength/might/ability-to-follow-through).
That’s the book (and my headcanon based on the book).
The movie, however, changed everybody’s personality, then acted like those persons would make the same decisions and take the same actions, despite having completely different motives.
Not wanting to address that discrepancy, they, of course, had to hand-wave the entire scene.
