The Last Of Us Part II Review (minor Spoilers)

The Last of Us Part II Review (minor spoilers)

I just finished the last of us part 2 and I want to start off by saying I think everyone should give this game a shot. A lot of the spoilers are taken really out of context and I think you should play the game through and decide for yourself how you feel about the finished product.

Now to the review (there will be minor spoilers, but no big story beats will be revealed)

This game managed to take all my expectations and flip them on their head. It's a deeply moving tale about guilt, grief, revenge, and redemption and none of those came in the form that I came in expecting. I saw a lot of people upset after the leaks surfaced and deciding they didn't want to play the game, but I strongly encourage you to play this and see how it plays out in its entirety. The story hit me in a way I wasn't expecting and it is my favorite first play through experience. 

I came into this game expecting a rather straightforward revenge story, but of course that wasn’t all I got. The biggest strength is that you get to play as both Ellie and Abby. You see both of their perspectives and everything that led them to this point. I can honestly say that I wanted both of them to break free of the cycle of violence and find peace. The expansion of our viewpoint is what elevates the story from very good to great. It was a bit jarring to have the viewpoint change because unlike in the Last of Us I wasn’t expecting to play a level as someone other than our main protagonist, let alone the character I initially thought of as the villain. I have never been so happy to be wrong. This shift in perspective really made me rethink everything I had done in the game as Ellie. It made it so that when Ellie and Abby fought or were close to confrontation I was worried for both of them. I didn't want either to lose or win over the other. And, without getting into anything, it made it so that the ending was so much more impactful. I don’t know if I’ve been that invested in the final section of gameplay in any game I’ve played before except for maybe the first game. The Last of Us Part II is a game I won’t forget.

Observations and Thoughts on She-ra 5x03 Corridors

Reflections are an important motif in this episode. It’s like Catra is looking at herself and trying to really see herself and what she wants. In the opening scene her reflection is visible but it is obscured by the explosions on the planet surface happening past it. Catra is confused. What she really wants isn’t clear to her. Right before she decides to save Glimmer she looks once again at her reflection and it is clear with no obstructions and she hits a breakthrough. She knows what she really wants.

There’s also the obvious parallel with promise that these flashbacks end up bringing with Catra deciding to forgo self preservation and accept her feelings for adora and decide to save Adora when she makes eye contact with young Adora saying “I will always be your friend.” This is mirrored against Catra deciding to abandon Adora and commit to being her opponent after seeing the promise they made as children and making eye contact with her younger self.

Who she makes eye contact with portrays her shift in perspective. In promise she makes eye contact with her younger self and at that point she isn’t able to see Adora’s perspective, that Adora still cares for her and that her decision to leave the horde wasn’t a decision to leave her. Catra at this time is still the hurt little kid in that she was in the memory. She has been so traumatized that seeing outside that perspective is difficult. When she makes eye contact with young Adora it is her finally seeing Adora’s perspective. She can acknowledge that Adora still cared about her even when she left. That she always cared about Catra and that she didn’t want to leave Catra.

I absolutely love the scores that play when Catra is seeing the flashback of her and Adora in the Corridor and also when Catra is trying to save Glimmer and Glimmer says “what are you doing? Are you saving me?” and Catra responds “not you, Adora.” I have rewatched this scene multiple times and I would love it if this score would be released. (If it has, can someone tell me which track it’s on?) These tracks were so intense and just listening to them alone evokes really strong emotions.

I also would like to point out that the flashbacks within this episode sum up Catra and Adora’s entire relationship arc. Catra feels that Adora has chosen something/someone over her and she pushes Adora away. Hurting Adora in the process. Adora keeps coming back and reaffirms that she will always be Catra’s friend until Catra can no longer deny that she feels the same way about Adora and decides to come back to her. It also displays her growth because within the flashback Catra claims she will never apologize to anyone ever but present Catra, in what she believes will be her final act, apologizes for everything to Adora. 

This episode probably had the most difficult job of all the episodes this season, believably kick starting Catra’s redemption. I really liked how they handled Catra doing "that one good thing with [her] life" because if her redemption was kick started by her just realizing that the horde was wrong after 4 season of her rising through the ranks I would not have bought into it, but instead it was motivated by her realizing that she can't let horde prime get Adora. This is her realizing the truth that was obscured by her “lie”. Her lie was that she hate Adora and Adora doesn’t truly care for her. Realizing her lie made it so that she could move past her denial and start actually working towards what she needs instead of fake wants.

My Thoughts on Young Blood, Old Souls

I am honestly a bit mixed on this finale. There were parts I really love, but there were parts I feel conflicted about and things I felt were missed opportunities. I just want to air my thoughts because I’m not sure how I feel about this episode. 

There was so much build up to this finale and I felt they wrapped everything up a little too neatly. There were things I expected to happen and things I felt were rushed. Eda was saved, Lilith defected from the coven system, Lilith and Eda seem to have reconciled or at least started that reconciliation, Luz got away from the emperor despite destroying the portal and not holding up her end of the bargain, Eda was returned to her normal form, Willow and Gus managed to turn the people against the emperor’s will, and more. This is going to be a mix of like, dislikes, and preferences because I feel like for every negative there’s a positive within that plot point or character moment. This is just my opinion. If you loved this episode and everything about it that’s great! I just felt there were things I would have preferred be done differently or been done later in the show. 

For starters the Eda and Luz relationship in this episode was fantastic with some genuinely heart wrenching scenes. This dynamic has been strong all season and seeing what was built up in Agony of a witch being paid off was really nice. Eda’s relationships with everyone close to her really shine this episode actually. When Luz and then later King echo Eda’s sentiment in the first episode about sticking together and being all they have I couldn’t help but get emotional. They have all had such major impacts on each other. I’m not sure what to say about any of this that hasn’t been said on tumblr already. These were great moments and deserve the praise they are getting.

Lilith is the one connection I am a bit iffy on and only really because I feel we should have gotten more time with her and Eda in the season and had more flashbacks of the two of them when they were younger before this episode. I think if we’d had flashbacks of the two of them getting along and being best friends as children it would heighten the tragedy of them being on separate sides of the law, the reveal that Lilith cursed Eda, and make her decision to go against the coven system and emperor Belos seem less awkward pacing wise. Lilith seems to be driven both by her desire to cure Eda and, what was more clearly evident in the episodes leading up to this one, her fear of emperor Belos. Her turn makes sense with Belos going back on his promise to her but there wasn’t really a moment where she seemed to decide to put aside her fear of Belos and do what’s right. They really want to show that Lilith is now on the real path to redemption instead of trying to make things how she wants them to be, Eda with her in the emperor’s coven and free of the curse she inflicted on Eda, without thought to what Eda truly wants. My one thing is that I felt this realization was rushed for example Zuko and Catra are given 13 episodes where they are forced to realize that upon getting what they thought they wanted they still feel hollow, that the people they’ve hurt and tried to enforce their will upon are really the people they want/need to help, that they need to change their ways, and then standing up to the figure they fear to do what they believe they need to. I guess it’s no use comparing the two with Lilith because these are two different shows. I just wanted to express that I wish there was more breathing room for this realization and change of heart to take effect. I do wish the “sharing the pain” spell was set up earlier in the season, but I think it was fairly well done within this episode. I am really excited about how this will play out going forward because now Lilith is going to be living at the owl house with Eda, Luz, and King. This is going to explore some interesting dynamics and provides a set up for Eda and Lilith working through their problems and reconciling next season. I think this is only the beginning of Lilith’s redemption and the siblings’ reconciliation. 

I think the emotional core of the episode was strong. It knew it wanted to be about the connections that the cast has with Eda and it ran with that. The problem was that it tried so hard to set up so many things that I think distracted from this point. It decided to set up emperor Belos, his plan, a possible uprising among the people, luz having to find an alternative way home, Belos not being invincible, etc. These are all great ideas, but I don’t think the episode had the time to fully and believably set all of this up.

I wasn’t surprised Eda was saved, but it seemed a bit too easy. I liked seeing Luz’s progression from where she started by facing those same guards she did in the first episode. In that episode she was mostly powerless and now she is able to take on the entire prison. That’s where my first issue is. Eda seemed to be having difficulty with the guards in the first episode and as we’ve discovered Eda is an incredibly powerful witch. The argument can be made that Eda wasn’t trying in that first episode but you’d think she’d try hard enough to where there wouldn’t be any danger of herself and her companions being caught or hurt. That didn’t really seem to be the case though because she needed the help of Luz to escape in the pilot as well. This is probably just a case of the writers not wanting to reveal how overwhelmingly powerful Eda was until Agony of a Witch, but it makes the power scaling feel a bit wonky to me on rewatch. Especially with how much Belos has been talked up and feared by all the people around him it felt odd that Luz could crack his mask and that he let her get away when he could have easily stopped her, Lilith, Eda, and King. He just didn’t seem as powerful as I think he should have. This is probably set up for next season I’m guessing. This was built up to be the moment that we see the overwhelming odds the heroes are against for the series, but it didn’t feel like that. It made belos seem less imposing and made me question why he was so feared. If Luz could crack his mask what was stopping Eda or anyone close to her power from rising up against Belos other than propaganda? The Eda we saw in Agony of a Witch, which was a severely weakened Eda I might add, should be able to fight Belos on even footing based on what we saw. I just feel like Belos had his imposing and all powerful facade broken too quickly after his introduction. 

That being said I liked his portrayal. The air of uncaring and single-mindedness that he brought was so interesting. You really got the feeling that he wasn’t threatened by Luz or anyone on the boiling isles (now the fight sort of shattered that but still). There were also hints at things not being as they seemed with Belos like the fact that Luz’s magic repellent cape couldn’t repel his attacks which could lean into the theory that Belos is human and what he uses is technology not really magic or a combination of both. I really loved the way his body would distort when he would move and seemingly teleport which gave him an unnatural and creepy feel. His voice acting also went a long way with emphasizing every trait I just discussed. Matthew Rhys does a fantastic job. I’m very excited to learn more about him and his plan for the day of unity. There’s still so much mystery surrounding everything about him that I think was well maintained in this episode.

There’s also the citizen uprising which was teased. This was another plot point I felt the show was going to build on later rather than have it in this episode. Everything about Belos and his coven system seems deeply ingrained in the boiling isles and there were only a few people who seemed to question it up until this point. The delinquents, Luz, Eda, and some unnamed witches that Belos petrified between this episode and last. Everyone else seems to buy into the coven system even Willow, Gus, and especially Amity don’t really question it. They seem all too happy to accept their place in the coven system. And with Amity it is her life goal to be a part of the emperor’s coven which makes her farther from questioning Belos and the system than the other two. The closest we got was in Willow’s introduction with her being unhappy in the abomination track, but the problem is fixed when she’s moved to the plant track. She was also the one giving Luz the history of Belos and the boiling isles and she didn’t question anything she talked about. Now her and Gus speaking out against the emperor in this scene makes sense. They care about Luz and Luz cares deeply about Eda so they want to help in any way they can. Being able to start an uprising amongst the people against what emperor Belos is saying when we haven’t seen anyone outside a select few meaningfully challenge his ideas about how magic should be used doesn’t make that much sense at this point in the story. If we had seen someone other than Principle Bump change his mind on the flexibility of the coven system and questioned emperor Belos’ claims it would have made this scene more believable to me. Yes a few of the people in the crowd were freed from a prison by Eda, but these people were considered outcasts and looked down upon so I don’t really think their opinion would sway the crowd as much as it did. Most of these people don’t know Eda. They only know what they’ve been told and they’ve been told that she’s a dangerous witch who has failed to adhere to a coven system that they believe is the only way to live. Now I know I just spent quite a while talking about my problems with this scene and while I wasn’t the biggest fan of it I do think it was a good character moment because it shows Gus and Willow’s growth. Willow in her introduction wouldn’t be able to do any of this. She wouldn’t be able to stand in front of a crowd and say that what Belos is doing is wrong. Willow has grown a lot this season and this scene did a lot to show that. I loved that.

I know I sounded really critical in this and I don’t want anyone thinking I hated this episode or this show. I really like this show. I just had a lot of complicated thoughts on this episode in particular. If this wasn’t the finale of the season I think my thoughts would change quite a bit, but as it stands this is how I feel. If anyone has anything they would like to add or give their opinion on feel free to leave comments. You don’t have to agree with me on any of my points. This is just my opinion you can have your own.

Destiny - Conflict of Feelings through Juxtaposition

Adora breaking the sword is a perfect example of showing conflicting feelings through juxtaposition in scenes. This moment of victory and triumph is followed quickly by sadness.

 It starts out with loud, intense music that sounds similar to the music that plays during the revelation that Adora doesn’t get to refuse firing the heart of Etheria in Destiny part 1, which usually conveys a sense of inevitability or lack of control. The main difference between the two is the end in the original one the music fades to a quiet, somber note, but in the one used during this scene the music cuts off completely when Adora breaks the sword. Adora has stopped the heart. She has broken free of her destiny symbolized through the music breaking off. The scene is also brightly colored matching the triumphant tone, but is quickly followed by a sad, quiet, empty scene where Adora is left alone with the broken shards of the sword.

The stark juxtaposition this scene has from the loud, epic, colorful scene just prior puts the conflicting feelings Adora must be feeling on full display. Yes she just broke free from her destiny, yes she just stopped a universe destroying weapon, but she also lost everything that she felt gave her worth in this war. She just lost she-ra and her power and it happens just when Horde Prime has discovered them and set etheria in his sights. The lack of music in this scene is for a very different reason than in the previous one. This is a deeply personal moment for Adora. Adora has effectively “killed” she-ra (as far as she knows). This is her moment to grieve before she has to face the hardships to come.

Ford v Ferrari Review

I went into Ford v Ferrari with very little knowledge about the real world events it was meant to depict within the film. It managed to get me invested in the story and characters during its 2 and a half hour runtime. When I left the theater I wanted to go right back in to rewatch the film. I was blown away by everything from the production to the performances. There didn’t seem to be any weak links.

Matt Damon and Christian Bale do a phenomenal job. These are some of my favorite performances that the two have given in recent memory. The scene near the end where Shelby goes by the Miles’ house and talks to Ken’s son Pete while trying his best not to break down was acted incredibly by Damon. These two had great on screen chemistry and I believed their friendship despite the arguments and fights they got into. The Miles family were all well cast. I was especially impressed with Noah Jupe. He is a talented young actor that I’m happy to see gaining recognition. This whole film is full of A+ casting.

The cinematography and directing were both incredible. It did a good job of making you feel the speed, adrenaline, and tension of each race. The perspective of the driver that both Shelby and Ken talk about in the film was shown by having the sound around the driver mute and the camera angle would open up and slow down. This gives the viewer the same, or a similar, feeling the driver must have felt. 

The real strength of this film is that it manages to capture your attention not just in the loud moments of competition, but in the quiet moments for the characters as well. My favorite shot of the film is actually the wide shot of Ken and his wife Mollie dancing in the empty hangar after Ken has been left behind and told he can’t drive. So much emotion is conveyed in that short yet tender shot. Ken is clearly torn up about being unable to race and his wife knows that. They don’t talk about it, but you know they both understand each other and support/comfort one another. This is the case with just about every scene concerning the Miles family. The movie makes sure you know how much they care about each other and it makes it hit all the harder when Ken doesn’t make it out of the car at the end during the test run.

I highly recommend this film be seen in theaters. I believe it is worth the price of admission and then some. I had a blast with this movie and I hope anyone reading this did as well.

Kipo Season 2 Review

I know this is late, but better late than never right?

Every cartoon I’ve watched on Netflix that dreamworks made has blown me away. Kipo has managed to continue their streak of fantastic cartoons. I got to Kipo season 1 late and only saw it a few weeks before season 2 dropped. I’m really glad I did because the wait would have been unbearable. Kipo has an inventive world with a lot of potential, fun characters that I enjoy every time they are on screen, a great soundtrack, and beautiful animation. There were some things in Kipo season 1 that I wish were expanded upon and I think a lot of them were addressed with the 2nd season. Kipo still has a lot of room to grow, but it has all the building blocks to be a great show and seems to be heading there. Dreamworks is probably my favorite animation company. I have been very happy with everything they have released recently.

Characters

I think I have to start with Scarlemage.  He was built up perfectly in the first season and I really liked the payoff. Dreamworks always has a knack for writing villains be it for their movies or their tv shows and they’ve once again created a very interesting and fun villain. Scarlemagne managed to be fun and sympathetic yet disturbing throughout the season. And while I’m typically all for redemption arcs I liked that he didn’t get one in this season. I think him not changing in the way kipo wanted was a learning moment for both her and her father. For her father it showed him his greatest flaw, giving up on people/things too soon, and how damaging that can be. For Kipo it showed her that as much as she may want to believe in the best in everything that’s not how it will always work out. I think these are major lessons that will effect the characters moving forward. My favorite villains are the ones who challenge the hero’s worldview and that’s what Scarlemagne does. Scarlemagne himself was very compelling this season and I do believe that while he wasn’t redeemed this season there is the possibility for change in the future. 

I got chills every time his musical motif played. I loved the logic behind his obsession with classical music and clothes. How it initially stemmed from his innocent wonder. I think it’s fascinating how in one episode everything we knew about Scarlemagne was flipped on its head. There was a sort of tragic inevitability to his “villain’s journey”. It was all born from one choice on the side of Kipo’s father that was completely understandable from his perspective, but heartbreaking from Scarlemagne’s perspective. (I’m also a big fan of tragic villains where there’s one choice or factor that makes it so that them and the hero can’t see eye to eye)

Kipo: 

I like Kipo as a main character. She isn’t my favorite main character and I chalk a lot of that up to the fact that until the second half of this season her worldview wasn’t really challenged all that much. She was constantly proven right again and again which I think was framed really well for a large part of the first season. It’s because she doesn’t have any preconceived biases against mutes that she is able to find common ground and see the best in everyone, but this view that everyone is good and that everyone can change isn’t challenged in any meaningful way until Scarlemagne and even then we won’t get to see the fallout of that until season 3. More experienced humans like Benson and Wolf are show to have distrust of mutes and we see in Wolf’s backstory exactly why and yet despite having much more experience with mutes and living on the surface the second Kipo comes along everything they previously thought and experienced is proven wrong. I wasn’t the biggest fan of that. Again I think with this season we are starting to see a shift away from that. Kipo has just seen that her philosophy isn’t always correct with mutes and I would assume with how the season ended next season will deal with her coming to that realization about humans as well.

I think Kipo has a lot of room to grow as a character. And they seem to be taking steps to address the problems I had with her. I want to once again emphasize that I do like her. There are just things that I would like for them to address in the future. (also it’s nice to hear Glimmer’s VA again)

Wolf:

Wolf is the character I am intrigued by the most. Her past, while only briefly explored in flashbacks, was hard hitting. The fade from her attacking the mother wolf to the wolf skin she had on her head was chilling. Everything we learn about her childhood is fascinating because I like hearing about how she survived on the surface alone. It’s an interesting concept because unlike Kipo she had to adapt from a young age to survive, but she was left with little to no people skills and attachment issues because of it. She was the main character who had the most room to grow in my opinion and, while her arc may be predictable, I like how it has been handled so far. I do want more information about her past and maybe a run in with some of the wolves that betrayed her (I have a hard time believing that she killed all of them). I just think there is a lot of untapped story potential with her character and I was a little sad that outside of episode 4 and the finale she took a lot more of a backseat compared to the first season. Though it was understandable considering how much they had to cover in a 10 episode timespan.

Benson:

Benson was given more to do this season, but still took a bit of a backseat. His relationship with Kipo isn’t given nearly as much attention as Kipo’s relationship with Wolf. I would like a Benson backstory because there is still so much left up to the viewers imagination about everything he went through pre-series. He’s a really fun character that I wish were utilized to his full potential. He has a fun dynamic with just about every character he interacts with and I look forward to seeing more of him in the future. I also like his blooming romance with Troy. It was really sweet and funny.

World

Kipo’s world is actually what drew me to this show in the first place. It was a unique take on the post apocalyptic mutant world and I was excited to see where they would take it. I really liked the worldbuilding and how unique each mutant society was and how they managed to very even the burrow cities. This world is just rich with so much wonder and potential. There are still a lot of questions like “What caused the apocalypse?”, “Did the mutes cause the apocalypse or did the apocalypse create the mutes?”, “How did society evolve the way it did?”, “How can it evolve from here?”. I am so intrigued by everything about it. The worldbuilding is probably the strongest point in the show. 

Music

That being said, the music is a very close second. The score and soundtrack of Kipo is one that you can just pop on and listen to whenever you want. I don’t think there’s anything I can really say about the music other than it’s great and reminds me of spider verse with how the music is used in the story and how each type of music associated with a character tells you a lot about who they are. It does just about everything that I feel music should do in the audio-visual medium. It’s really amazing.

Overall

I’m a really big fan of this show. I have a lot of fun anytime I put it on. While it isn’t my favorite of the dreamworks cartoons I still find it to be amazing. It manages to have moments and episodes that hit me hard even on a rewatch. There’s just so much creativity and heart put into this show. I really want to see more of it because with how the show is going and growing I believe that a lot of my questions and problems will be addressed. I hope others can find the enjoyment out of Kipo that I do.