Brn2bwild

I just finished watching this series. I became interested due to Shogun and because I love animation. The animation here takes my breath away. The 3D/2D style is so high-quality compared to other attempts I've seen, and puts Disney's current "rubber frog-face" animation style to shame. (Seriously, Disney, that style was cutting edge 15 years ago.) I have been enjoying Mizu's arc and am intrigued about what she will do next. But I would have killed Fowler. He's such a ridiculous final boss/Disney villain that if she lets him live, he'll probably concoct a far worse scheme than the one he almost succeeded in implementing. I liked Akemi's arc for the most part, too, but nothing about her screams "ambitious ruler of Japan." She is strong-willed and can be cunning and brave, but we haven't seen much else yet. I'm guessing her husband will eventually become the shogun? With Taigen being left behind, I wonder what's next for him? It's interesting to observe the similarities/differences to Shogun, which is set roughly 30-50 years earlier. It seems like a lot of Akemi's actions, if done in Shogun, would have required her father to take her head or for her to commit seppuku. And that scene where Fowler approached the shogun, the one lord disembowled himself, I was expecting someone to be his second and cut his head off. Great series and I'm thrilled it got a second season.

We'll agree to disagree. I thought the ending was trash and poorly built up to. Omniscient, emotionless "Bran" (because it's implied the real Bran was absorbed into a Borg-like consciousness) would make a far scarier ruler than any Targaryen.

I think this video provides a great analysis of Dany's "descent" and why it isn't logical that she would burn all of King's Landing alive.

I couldn't quite tell how Toranaga's son died. Was it from the force of swinging that sword, which knocked him back against the rock, or did the uncle make an unexpected move that sent him off balance?

I had the same reaction. She also reminded me of Azula from Avatar: the Last Airbender.

While we're on the subject of comparing to other shows: claiming that people who hated the ending don't want to be "challenged" reminds me of when the Buffy showrunners complained about people who hated Season 6. They said it was because Season 6 was too dark and fans wanted the lighter tone of the earlier seasons. But that wasn't why people hated it -- it was that Season 6 was a poorly written slog. And in the case of GoT, fans might have accepted Evil Danny and Bran the Broken if it weren't completely rushed and half-assed the whole way.

On a different note, when I was little I loved Thumper, but as an adult, I find him obnoxious, disrupting the tone of every scene he is in.

Doesn't surprise me. People don't want to watch Jon Snow mope; they want a satisfying resolution to the clusterfuck of Season 8. Hopefully some day we will.

I was expecting to hate it and ended up pleasantly surprised. Yes the songs were terrible, but I liked the basic themes and Asha's relationship with her family and friends. The one thing that bothers me is that it was aiming for 3D models rendered in 2D, but to me, it looks like the same (frankly, tired) 3D art style we've seen since at least Tangled. I think that was his wish, but that was when he and the rest of the kingdom though Magnifico was a force for good.

They had so much momentum with WandaVision, and if they had kept returning to those characters and relationships, we could have had some really good movies. Instead we probably won't find out until 2026 whether Wanda is even alive.

Also, it was strange that Darlene became suspicious after learning the men left the Lobo. Like... people can't go to more than one place while hanging out?

Am I the only person disappointed that Mark's friends weren't co-ed? Mark seems like the kind of boy who would have a lot of female friends. The situation felt very 1980s. Also I call B.S. on that animal area being quiet. Those animals would be clamoring for attention the moment humans entered the space.

One hilarious thing: like in Black Mirror, they refer to Netflix as "Streamberry."

I was expecting the famous singer to rescue them and help sell out Radio City Music Hall, so I was pleasantly surprised (and also a bit repulsed) by his ending. And honestly

I was expecting this episode would end with them getting arrested because they violated some decency "law" the senator helped pass.

Maybe it has to do with the actresses' other commitments? They all seem to have multiple projects and may not have wanted a 10+ episode season to film.

I didn't realize how much I missed this show until I started watching this season. Those women have such great chemistry. I hope it gets renewed for another season.

Maybe that will pave the way for a special or mini-series with Jodie and the other characters as 40-somethings. I never liked that they tried to shoehorn Jodie into another generation.

Also in what universe would $500 be enough to buy the services of a lawyer?

I think I missed how the Duke had such a swift change of heart about his son. One episode he is screaming that his line will end with Peter and he wants him gone, the next he's saying Peter never did anything wrong and embracing him. That scene on the heath where Peter had a seizure felt over the top. No onlookers would be screaming that it was a "disgrace" to bring him out when the child was literally writhing in pain. The last two episodes were the strongest. One way I could tell this show was written by a woman is that the conversations and sisterhood between Clara and her (former) lady's maid felt real, and there were some lovely scenes between Clara and Emily. By contrast, in Downton Abbey, written by Fellowes, I never felt any real connection between Mary and Edith.

I'd like to think that was Darlene fantasizing about her worst fears.

The kid who plays Aang is so perfect. Agree with the opinions about Bumi, and I like this series' take on Iroh. Iroh of the animated series seemed a bit too checked out even in the first season, like he was already beyond any belief in the Fire Nation's goals. Here, it seems like Iroh is still somewhat enmeshed in the Fire Nation goals and is coming to view them skeptically, which seems more natural for someone who was surrounded by that culture/philosophy his entire life.

One would think Neville, who invested a considerable amount of money in the Lunchbox (remember when it was supposed to be rebranded as a sports bar?) would be pissed to see how little Jackie cared about maintain and growing the business. And what would he think about his investment being transferred to Harris for zero consideration?

I thought I recalled that Dad Trenchard from the first series was a "Sir." That could have led to his receiving an upgrade to Baron or Viscount as his wealth grew due to Belgravia's success. The second episode was a missed opportunity. It moved too slowly and without any interesting stakes. I still have no idea who Clara is, which I'm guessing is intentional and a huge secret will come out, but in the meantime, she's dull to watch. Is anyone else bothered by Frederick's hair? I'm sure it's time-period accurate, but to me it feels more 1970s than 1870s.

I wonder if we'll see the Earl of Brockenhurst (once Charles Pope) and his family in this series. It's sad that after the generally positive note Oliver's storyline ended on in the original series, they turned him into an abuser in this one. There was no reason to make him outright abusive when his own parents were kind people. He could have just struggled to show feelings of love toward Frederick. And the storyline with the mysterious male servant and the woman who knows his past: does anyone else think he was actually born aristocratic and became a servant to hide from his abusers?