#nslayton

[bookoftheironfist]

I'm so angry about season 2. I loved the first half of the season, it was strong, it fixed almost every problem of the first season. Perfect? No, but the action, character work, pacing and actual plot were good. Finn was great and felt like comics!Danny. Then the backhalf sidelined Danny, then made Colleen the protagonist, the sidelining of Danny made Davos' plot feel secondhand (like Hela in Ragnorak). What happened? It was like DD season 2 being "The Punisher, featuring Daredevil."

    Yes, agreed! And I do want to emphasize that I really liked the rest of the season, which is partly why that… narrative hiccup is so painful, because it directly undermines almost every plotline and threatens to blot out all the great stuff around it. But I loved the rest of Danny’s arc, the fights were awesome, Misty and Colleen’s team-up was great, Joy was an absolute badass, Davos was phenomenal, Ward was fun, and holy moley, what a way to adapt Typhoid Mary! And there’s so much I’m excited about for next season: Danny powering up and hunting down Orson with his hapless sidekick Ward, Mary discovering her third alter while Joy tries to escape her control, Misty getting an upgraded sweet robot arm, Davos breaking free, fueled by even more (very relatable) rage… plus any other new surprises they might throw at us! It’s just a shame that… we will also have that. But I’d rather not dwell on it, and just celebrate all of the positive aspects of the season.   

[vietnamwarera]

nslayton replied to your post “Unfortunately, I never really learned about the Vietnam War during...”

Also, Dispatches by (I believe) Michael Herr is essential.

I think that’s important to understand the popular representation of the war, and how it affected the American psyche as well as how reporters experienced the war. However, I would argue that it’s less essential to gaining an understanding of the historical events. Particularly in responses to that ask, Dispatches isn’t what I would recommend. (Not that I don’t recommend it at all, just not in this context.)

[wilwheaton]

Hey Wil! In your Memoirs of Wesley Crusher series (which is awesome and I would eagerly read more of), does Wesley have a beard like you do? Weird, I know, but curious.

I haven’t thought about it. Probably not, but who knows.

[pharawee]

Yes! Yes to Sam Worthington. The guy is a great dramatic actor who has been stuck with bad action films since coming to the U.S. Have you seen The Debt or his version of Macbeth? They're him at his best.

Finally, someone! I made the mistake of browsing reddit for updates on what Sam is up to these days and I was pretty miffed that apparently they hate him over there (something something untalented and bland ugh). I’ve actually seen his Macbeth (years ago when he first made it big) and I thought he was brilliant in it! I’ve always liked how he’s so calm and almost... quietly nuanced (he does angst so, so well... ). It’s probably not something that works well with the action/leading roles they got him... not because he lacks range but because the characters itself were pretty similar to begin with. He was definitely typecast, too - almost to the point of exploiting him until the next best leading man came along (which I guess would be Chris Pratt, only that he handles stardom much, much better).

Anyway, Sam Worthington in Terminator Salvation? Yes, please. 

[bonestructureandcontempt]

nslayton replied to your photo ““Me and El-P got time to kill Got folks to kill on overkill He...”

You just know Danny refers to himself as "the mensch, the myth, he does pushups nude on the edge of cliffs."

Seeing as how that’s probably THE most Danny Rand-evoking rap lyric ever, I don’t doubt it

[bookoftheironfist]

I forgot about Lucky Pierre/Ernst Erskine. When they say "Professor Erskine" I was thinking what was Stanley Tucci's WW2 scientist doing interested in the Iron Fist? I can't be the only one who thought that.

    Yes! I imagine a lot of people probably did, since he’s a reasonably obscure character. For anyone unfamiliar, Ernst Erskine (AKA “Lucky Pierre” for unclear Orson-y reasons) was Orson Randall’s biographer/long-suffering sidekick in the comics. 

Sparrow: “There was a man my father called Lucky Pierre. His name was really Ernst Erskine. […] He was my father’s biographer. He knows the whole of Orson’s life story. Who he was, where he came from… and whom he fought. Everyone  you’ll face in the tournament– every secret Yu-Ti has kept from you– this man knows.”

Immortal Iron Fist #9 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth

Ernst: “Best and the worst years of my life, following you around like a damn puppy. And for what? A horrible collection of notebooks. My life’s work!”

Orson: “Yeah, yeah.”

Immortal Iron Fist Annual #1 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Dan Brereton, Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic, et al.

    There’s nothing so far that indicates this wasn’t also true in the MCU. Clearly, he traveled extensively in Asia, and the fact that he ended up with some extremely rare K’un-Lun-related artifacts is intriguing. I hope he’s connected to Orson in this universe, because their relationship is fun. But even if that ends up not being the case, I love that he was at least referenced. 

[pharawee]

@nslayton replied to your post:

Yes! Yes to Sam Worthington. The guy is a great...

Yeah, he became the latest “generic white leading man” like Jai Courtney or the non-Chris Hemsworth. He’s not an action star, he’s a good dramatic actor. Stupid Hollywood. I mean, at least Chris Pine gets to show off his comedy chops in film.

Yeah, and the weird thing is... I don’t even think he fits the whole ‘generic white leading man’ thing, which is maybe why he did 2 years of blockbusters until he went back to starring in films that are way more low-profile. Wrath of the Titans was seriously cringeworthy.

Funny thing about Jai Courtney. For the longest time I thought that was Garrett Hedlund in Suicide Squad... and what the hell happened to Garrett Hedlund? Where’s my Tron Legacy sequel?

[wilwheaton]

Hi Wil, I hope I'm not prying, but I saw a tweet of yours that had me a bit worried. Are you okay? I know you're open about mental health, and I'm not trying to intrude, but things will be okay in the world. Please don't give up. You've helped me and others keep going. You're a good person who brightens the world. We're here for you. Stay strong. Stay awesome.

Yeah, I’m doing fine. I was just quoting The Violent Femmes song Add It Up.