Some Blogs I Follow For Fan Content But Others I Am 100% Just There For The Person So When Theyre Like

some blogs i follow for fan content but others i am 100% just there for the person so when theyre like oh sorry for turning into a so-and-so blog im like. i would watch you liveblog the phonebook.

I am generally of the opinion that Kai should've been the one to confront the Ice Emperor instead of Lloyd, BUT if they were really committed to the idea of giving that solo arc to Lloyd then they could have made it work in a way that is narratively satisfying and wouldn't drastically change the season's overarching plot.

Allow me to demonstrate with a proposal for an ns11 rewrite:

At one point in the Fire Chapter, Zane confesses the details of his vision, apologizing for not telling them about it as he'd been hoping it was just a bad dream. But because of his wishful thinking, his friends were ill-prepared to face Aspheera. Bonus points if we have Jay apologizing for being so dismissive of Zane's vision and convincing him not to do anything about it.

While explaining the contents of his vision, Zane also tells them about the recurring detail where Aspheera blasts and presumably kills him. In a rare moment of vulnerability, Zane confesses that this part of the vision scares him - he's died once before, and while he doesn't regret his decision, it was still a profoundly unpleasant experience and the thought of dying again frightens him. Lloyd promises to make sure the rest of Zane's vision never comes true, he personally vows to keep Zane safe. Yes, we're drawing parallels between Kai's promise to Lloyd in season 5, and yes it ends up exactly as angsty as it sounds.

Optional: change Zane's fear reflection to him being dead again instead of him as just a machine. Better yet, have his reflection show him as he was in his fight with the Overlord, broken faceplate and all. I do personally like his canon reflection the way it is, since it sets up some good foreshadowing for both the Ice Chapter and Crystalized - but if you really want to hammer the point home that this is an outcome Zane's afraid of, then changing his fear reflection is a great way to do that. Plus, this could even be the moment where Lloyd personally assures Zane that the vision will never come true.

This particular change would achieve three things:

It makes Zane's banishment more angsty AND more narratively satisfying, by making it part of a character arc. Making Zane more outwardly afraid of dying by Aspheera's hand provides us with the opportunity to explore Zane's trauma from his s3 sacrifice a bit more, as well as his relationship with his sixth sense. Plus, it would make his banishment a much more compelling character moment - not only is he sacrificing himself to save Wu, but he's intentionally subjecting himself to an experience that frightens him and has traumatized him in the past. He was scared of the vision coming true, but he himself is the one making it happen. Something something, self-fulfilling prophecies.

It adds emotional consequence. In canon, Zane got blasted, was assumed dead for a few days, and then they realized he was alive and set out to save him without any lasting emotional consequences for the characters. But if they had all promised to keep Zane safe and to make sure his vision never comes true, well. Even when they find out he's alive, that doesn't erase the fact that that they couldn't keep their promise. And now the ninja are all filled with a deep, painful sense that they let him down. When they set out to save Zane, they aren't just rescuing a friend - they're trying to rectify what they believe to be a failure.

It gives Lloyd a much more personal motivation to go out and face the Ice Emperor on his own. Yes, he already has a motivation in canon - he's the leader, he's Zane's friend, of course he wants to save him - but giving Lloyd a deeper, more nuanced investment in Zane's rescue keeps things interesting. His feelings of failure are compounded by the fact that he had personally vowed to keep Zane alive. Maybe we could even dedicate a few scenes throughout the Fire Chapter to establishing the nature of Zane and Lloyd's friendship, just to make things more interesting narratively.

This also adds a layer of complexity to Lloyd's confrontation with the Ice Emperor - now he is burdened with even more guilt, blaming himself for what Zane has become. He considers himself responsible for this; if he'd just kept his promise, thinking if he'd just been strong enough to keep Zane safe, then the Ice Emperor never would have existed. He even blames himself for his inability to help Zane snap out of the corruption.

But then, as a resolution to his guilt complex, while fighting the Ice Emperor he realizes it wasn't actually his fault. It was Zane's decision to fulfill the vision. Zane made that choice, and it's not fair to either of them to take away his agency in that by Lloyd blaming himself. Lloyd isn't responsible for Zane's choices.

Zane's belief that he alone was responsible for protecting his friends pushed him to increasingly self-destructive ends. And Lloyd realizes that he too has been pushing himself to extremes out of a warped sense of responsibility. It wasn't his fault that Aspheera banished Zane, and it's not his fault that the Scroll has corrupted Zane and that Vex has controlled him. He can't force Zane to let go of the Staff, or to remember who he really is, because that's ultimately not his call to make. All he can do is try to help Zane make that decision for himself.

And in the end, that's how Zane snaps out of it. For the first time in 50 years, someone has encouraged him to make his own choices instead of trying to control or manipulate or coerce him. And he remembers a time, long ago, when he was free.

Anyway, like, I still think Kai totally should've gotten the solo arc rather than Lloyd, but if they absolutely had to give that subplot to Lloyd then this is certainly one way it could've gone.

Prim's Old Soul Wisdom TM is actually annoying to me. I don't really like her, cause she's so stilted.

"You could live a hundred lifetimes, and never deserve that boy." Gets me every time.

Every time I see gale, I feel like puking. How was anyone ever Team Gale??

Effie is incredible. The fact that she seems totally aloof and stupid, but is actually so in tune with everything but covers it all up and pretends not to notice. Like what happened to her to make her this way ??

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.

This also implies that Lou is Lloyd's great grandfather, and Wu and Garmadon's grandfather.

Now I'm picturing Lou calling and Cole just turns the phone over to Lloyd or Wu.

Wait a minute. Hang on. We all make jokes about Cole being Wu's dad and using dad privileges against Wu long after the baby arc, right? BUT. There is SO much untapped potential in Cole extending this even further by concluding that if he's Wu's dad, then naturally this means he's Lloyd's grandpa.

And why is Kat always seeing little bits of what's going on through cracks in the doorway?? Why do people leave the doors open a little bit??

I loved the books but man oh man I will nitpick these movies.

Watching HG Catching Fire: maybe it's just me, but it feels so rushed and forced.

And why is the convo between Peeta, Katniss, and Haymitch (after the victory stop in district 11) so so rushed? Like there is so much content in the book, and if I hadn't read it I would have no idea what was going on.