S01.E05: Scarlet Minnow

[AnimeMania]

EOD is being transferred to adult women across the world. New voices are emerging – those who champion The Power as a promise of a more equitable future... and others who see it as a threat to their very existence. These opposing forces can rip apart the deepest bonds... or bring unlikely allies together.

Premiere Date: April 13, 2023     Prime Video    

[Helena Dax]

The script needs to be a bit less on-the-nose, but I'm enjoying this. I would have liked to see examples of girls enjoying this new freedom instead of being told about it. I don't mean big things like the young women killing their rapists (although it was great), but little things like the ones Jos was telling her mum about. Until now, leaving dramatic situations aside, we've mostly seen teens giggling and touching each other's hands to see the sparks, which is hardly riveting.

I guess Tatiana is going to kill her disgusting husband and I can't wait, although there's a chance she'll be as bad as him afterwards.

The incel talking shit about this new power feels like a cliché, but God knows it's completely realistic. There are already Youtubers like him. 

[ursula]

The best part of the episode was when Jos’s Dad was giving his son the same kind of advice that girls get when they’re picked on by boys…

 

they’re only doing it because they like you…

they’re going through stuff, be more understanding,

try not to provoke them.

 

 

Which are all variations of the same message:

get over it.

 

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by ursula

[ursula]

15 hours ago, LtKelley said:

The "lets put estrogen blockers in the water" idea seems awful and likely on many levels and wasn't in the book but did feel right for the story. 

I'm not sure how much we can discuss the book here but you're right, that wasn't in the book. It's also not very logical because if all it takes is blockers in the water supply or a pill that women can 'choose' to take, this won't be a problem for very long. I can't think of any good reason to include this besides dragging out the plot for the sake of it. 

There are ways they could have adapted the novel to make it more engaging without unnecessary padding or side plots that lead no where. But the showrunners don't seem to have much imagination. 

[ursula]

12 hours ago, LtKelley said:

I suspect it was meant as a "meanwhile we're at least doing some research" idea  - I would expect major governments to be doing some research if girls started throwing off sparks. You just can't make the idea work. Putting estrogen blockers in the water supply means EVERYONE is drinking estrogen blockers. You really don't want that.

At least it sparks some thinking. A male friend of mine who is watching was all "I just don't get why the girls would be zapping the brother at school, what did he do?" and I seriously had to ask him why they needed a reason. I had to explain to him that girls in school currently have to put up with unreasonable touching, groping, grinding and even hitting with little to no intervention beyond hearing how this is what boys do when they like you, so why do the girls need a special reason for their physical harassment?

I'm torn because I understand that... but at the same time, the government/political side plots are so boring and exhausting. There are so many more interesting things I would have preferred to see, but the show only talks about. 

As much as I liked Joe's dad giving her brother the "girls will be girls" speech, it would have been more effective to see the context leading up to it. Jo told her mother that she walked home at night with her earphones on. Rather than the speech, we should have seen her do it. She's leaving a party late, she starts taking out her earplug on instinct, then she laughs and puts it back in and starts walking. As she strolls in the dark, we realize that the only people that are hanging out at night are girls and women. 

[chaifan]

I haven't read the book, but I'm liking the show.  One thing I like is that they don't feel compelled to divide the episodes neatly among all the main characters.  Last episode didn't have the Mayor at all, and I think this one didn't have Roxy.  Roxy is my least favorite story line.

On 4/16/2023 at 7:52 PM, LtKelley said:

I'll be honest, when I read the book, my takeaway wasn't that it was all that progressive - the vibe I got was that power corrupts.

I think the two go hand in hand.  Power does corrupt, but in most places women aren't in power.  So having women get power, especially so suddenly, is the "progressive" part.  And I assume we'll see that women aren't immune to the corruption part.

Speaking of corruption...  just speculation here, but I could see Tatiana conspiring with the General, so that if she kills her husband the General will back her as the new leader and they'll have a military backed political coup.  Not sure where she'll go from there.   But where ever it goes, I hope they bring the pony along!  Am I correct that her sister was one of the women being held in that house? 

On 4/16/2023 at 7:52 PM, LtKelley said:

The "lets put estrogen blockers in the water" idea seems awful

Yeah, on so many levels.  First, wouldn't that completely mess with fertility rates for girls/women?  I would assume it would also cause women to plunge into instant menopause.  I have no idea what that would do to men - probably amp up the testosterone, if nothing else.  I think they need someone to act as devil's advocate and start posing these questions, or at least show someone is thinking about it and they've figured that stuff out already.

I'm not crazy about the Mayor's husband being a dick alcoholic.  Up until this episode I thought they had a good relationship, and I liked that. 

 

 

[chaifan]

1 hour ago, LtKelley said:

She also looks and acts like she's in her early twenties and the character is supposed to be 14-15 which makes some of her wilder behavior more understandable if you're watching a young teen versus a 20+ woman.

I just assumed she was early 20's.  But part of that may be my American mindset - you can't go to bars/clubbing here if you're under 21.  So I put her at 21+.  Maybe she's supposed to be late teens (18-19ish) here?  If the book character was 14-15, then I'm hoping the show aged her up.  Personally, I think her wild behavior is a bit more understandable for the 18-22 crowd.

I'm actually ok with her accent.  That's not the issue for me.  The character, the mob boss dad, murdered mom, favored brothers, etc., just seem to be a distraction from the main story line. 

12 hours ago, ursula said:

the government/political side plots are so boring and exhausting.

This is where I differ...  I actually am very interested in the govt/political aspect of all this.  I actually wish there was more of that.  I'm a nerd, though.  😁

[Shermie]

I’m loving this show; it brings up a lot of angles to the issue of power imbalance. The conversation between the dad and son about how he’s getting picked on by the girls was genius. It sounded so bizarre as good parental advice, and yet, girls hear it all the damn time.

I didn’t like that the husband turned into such a dick all of a sudden, but I guess that’s what happens when the power imbalance shifts.

Can’t wait for Tatiana to blow her husband’s dick off. 

13 hours ago, chaifan said:

Am I correct that her sister was one of the women being held in that house? 

Yes, she was the leader. She was the one who thought of getting the power from the food girl and using it against their captors. I expect at some point she will get align with Tatiana.

[rollacoaster]

My favorite part of the episode was Jos' speech to her mother about the weight of fear being lifted off of her since she'd acquired the power, and the freedom her younger sister would grow up with. 

Ah! Shit, I wish I could know that freedom for myself. 

And I love how they portray the receipt of The Power as an orgasmic experience. You can just see them vibrate with this new experience of themselves and their possibilities.  

And, OF COURSE the manosphere/red pill sorts would take umbrage and coalesce around their fear and hatred of women. 

Edited April 19, 2023 by rollacoaster

[For Cereals]

I hate the direction the mayor’s husband has gone.  

[Pi237]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:12 PM, rollacoaster said:

My favorite part of the episode was Jos' speech to her mother about the weight of fear being lifted off of her since she'd acquired the power, and the freedom her younger sister would grow up with. 

Ah! Shit, I wish I could know that freedom for myself. 

 

Yes! Unfortunately, our daughters are ending up with even less freedoms than we had.