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Season 1 Discussion


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(edited)

Could be better, a lot better.

They could have edited the fight scenes so that they were more exciting, by removing frames to make them more fluid and faster. The best fight scene was the the little girl fighting the little boys. I thought the lady jumping out of the window to follow the other woman was also well done, since it was unexpected. The show seems not to mind killing women and children. They shouldn't telegraph the deaths so much to make them more unexpected and shocking. The dialog was predictable and the storyline didn't seem to have many twist and turns, except how badly she fought against the guy with the tattoo, good thing she got him drunk first or she would have really been through. After a couple of years of recovery time she will be ready to take on the rest of the tattooed murderers.

Edited by AnimeMania
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I guess I've been spoiled by other shows but the fight scenes were mostly really badly choreographed. I could really tell that actress was not well trained in screen/stage fighting. She reminded me of the actress that plays Clary from Shadowhunters in her first couple seasons. Just in your face bad. I don't think I would have minded as much if she a likeable character. There wasn't much in the pilot that made me like her. Maybe that will change a things progress because I like most of Dean Devlin's projects, we'll see.

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To be honest, I’m not sure what she could have done knowing the discount orcs were 50 feet away.   I thought that the bigger problem was that, having taken down who knows how many soldiers in armor she couldn’t handle the one guy in red velvet.

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12 hours ago, Linderhill said:

She reminded me of the actress that plays Clary from Shadowhunters in her first couple seasons. Just in your face bad.

That bad huh? I remarked in the"Shadowhunters" forum how bad the actress who plays Clary's physicality was in season 1. She gave off the vibe that she would strain something or hurt herself. Frankly, she sucked. Ivana Baquero, who played Eretria in "The Shannara Chronicles" or even Lizzie from "Shadowhunters" have much better martial arts form. Clary did get better in subsequent seasons. Damn, I'll miss that show after the final season next year.

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I didn't even know this was on until I saw an ad while watching The Originals and found out I had missed the first episode which I had to watch on demand.

It wasn't too bad, but it did make me miss The Shannara Chronicles.

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On 7/12/2018 at 3:09 PM, AnimeMania said:

You probably didn't like the female character because she just walked right over and kept on going, when her friend, the guy that was in love with her, died.

nope, it wasn't because of that trope at all, she was just unlikeable to me.  Not enough background on the blackbloods, not enough background on anything.  I know its suffering from pilotitiss with trying to cram a bunch of info into one hour.  I'm willing to give it a bit of time to see if she grows on me.

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I was hoping for better and was disappointed. The lead has a sort of wooden delivery and almost telegraphs her thoughts or the writing is just that predictable. I'm a sucker for pretty women and sword fighting so, I guess I'm the target audience. Sort of a modern day "Xena: Warrior Princess" without the camp. Prefer the camp. Or Legends of the Seeker with the excellent choreography.

On 7/12/2018 at 11:56 AM, Linderhill said:

I could really tell that actress was not well trained in screen/stage fighting.

That's funny, I read that the actress was chosen because of athletic ability and marital arts skills, her kicks are fine and so are her movements. She's also a surfer and an equestrian.  The show just needs better choreography or perhaps her skills are not well suited for screen/stage fighting.  I hate punches that obviously don't land.

On 7/13/2018 at 4:57 PM, Linderhill said:

Not enough background on the blackbloods, not enough background on anything. 

Agree 100%  Not a very good pilot for laying the groundwork on who Talon's people were and why the prejudice against the ears.  Nice self-surgery, clean cut, minimal swelling yet still scabbed over from 13 years ago.

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Episode 2 is much better episode, the fight scenes were better edited to make them more exciting. In the recap, even the boring fight scenes from episode one were edited to look exciting. The CGI scenes are very good as well.

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Yes, it was a better episode than episode 1 but that's not a very high bar.  Some plot developments are still a puzzle. How can Talon pay for her room & board; she seems like a good person, but why are the black bloods liaison's to demons.  The demon seemed to be subservient to Talon or at least eager to obey her commands, yet she doesn't even know what it is. The brewer and the guy that gave her the script with incantation know a lot yet share very little with not only Talon but the audience.  The show is short on exposition. Hell, even words on the screen would help at this point, a la Star Wars, with the scrolling account of history.  Why would anybody snort blue crumbs? Is it's just going to make you alert for a short time, than tired AF after then become a snakehead?  When does the fun start?  Not a very appealing drug for a recreational high and why is talon snorting blue crumbs.  Is she immune to the side effects? Dude that is jonesing for Talon's death, Marshal Withers, doesn't not seem that he wants to live very long; asking Gwynn's father if he's going to listen to a little girl.  Dude, watch your mouth before someone sticks a dagger in it.  What's up with Janzo, he seems like a horny simpleton ye he has has skills. Skills enough to fix Talon's wound.

Not a fan of the actress who plays Talon, she always seems to have a smirk on her face.  Why?  For an Almost Dead girl, she sure walks around like she's unbeatable.  What's up with the constant smirk?  it's not a very endearing look to the audience, it makes it seem like she has an internal joke going on in her head.  People are trying to kill you, act like you give a shit.

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yeah, ep. 2 was marginally better than 1 but not by much. I can't help but think Talon is an idiot because of that whole demon summoning thing. Seriously, the guy told you not to say the words aloud and what do you do? say them aloud and suddenly there's this monster staring at you and you let it jump out the window to gawd knows where. The exposition fairy needs to visit this show now.

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This show is like Game of Thrones meets The 100 Renaissance Fair cosplay meets 1997.

Speaking of which, are they throwing in ambiguously romantic vibes from Sir Bland A Lot's girlfriend to Talon in order to woo The 100's scorned lesbian fanbase back? They look so much like Clarke/Lexa respectively it can't be a coincidence. It'll just be queerbaiting subtext in the end since she's obviously being set up with the boyfriend, who is Galavant minus the self-aware parody. This show is nowhere near complex enough to pull off a bisexual love triangle anyway, let alone one where the romantic rivals are dating each other at the same time. Would be cool though.

Isn't Janzo into Talon too? I thought that would be the main romance of the show eventually so this forced ship with the knight is throwing me. Are they going to keep it an unrequited crush or shoehorn Janzo into the love triangle/square? Talon's hot but I don't...get the appeal.

I did laugh when she was holding her side in pain and then abruptly slid down the slide without issue.

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On 7/15/2018 at 10:54 PM, Jacks-Son said:

That's funny, I read that the actress was chosen because of athletic ability and marital arts skills, her kicks are fine and so are her movements. She's also a surfer and an equestrian.  The show just needs better choreography or perhaps her skills are not well suited for screen/stage fighting.  I hate punches that obviously don't land.

Yeah, I was about to say the same thing. The fight scenes were good - imo, the best thing about the show because the plot was tropirific and not in a Legend-of-the-Seeker cool way. Lol. But speaking of Legend of the Seeker, I've been searching for something to feel the aching gap that cancellation left in my soul (?? a pox on your houses ABC execs!!! ??) so I will accept any scrapes. ?

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4 hours ago, SnarkEnthusiast said:

Speaking of which, are they throwing in ambiguously romantic vibes from Sir Bland A Lot's girlfriend to Talon in order to woo The 100's scorned lesbian fanbase back? They look so much like Clarke/Lexa respectively it can't be a coincidence. It'll just be queerbaiting subtext in the end since she's obviously being set up with the boyfriend, who is Galavant minus the self-aware parody. This show is nowhere near complex enough to pull off a bisexual love triangle anyway, let alone one where the romantic rivals are dating each other at the same time. Would be cool though.

I don't see any flirting or attractions between Talon and Gywnn.  Gwynn looks like she could use a friend and Talon could use some lessons on how to be gracious and less combative.  Janzo seems harmless enough, although I don't know whether he is actually interested romantically in Talon or if that's just her defense mecahnisms kicking in where no intentions are present.  She just might be one of those overly attractive women who think that all men who show them kindness are after one thing only.  This show needs to settle down and the writers need to decide what kind of show this is.  So far, they are all over the place.

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19 minutes ago, Jacks-Son said:

I don't see any flirting or attractions between Talon and Gywnn.  Gwynn looks like she could use a friend and Talon could use some lessons on how to be gracious and less combative.  Janzo seems harmless enough, although I don't know whether he is actually interested romantically in Talon or if that's just her defense mecahnisms kicking in where no intentions are present.  She just might be one of those overly attractive women who think that all men who show them kindness are after one thing only.  This show needs to settle down and the writers need to decide what kind of show this is.  So far, they are all over the place.

Right, I don't think there's an actual romantic subplot between Gywnn and Talon, just that the writers might be pandering to the lesbian demographic with Gywnn's intense declarations of friendship lol. Janzo I think is meant to be sheltered and have more of an innocent schoolboy crush on Talon, which might win her over in the end. After all the weird green cocaine snorting this ep, it was an odd directing choice to have Janzo pour powder on Talon's wound. Between that and last week's roofie-style concoction, the poor guy can't catch a break with unfortunate drug parallels.

31 minutes ago, Jacks-Son said:

This show needs to settle down and the writers need to decide what kind of show this is.  So far, they are all over the place.

How do you mean?

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(edited)
56 minutes ago, SnarkEnthusiast said:
1 hour ago, Jacks-Son said:

This show needs to settle down and the writers need to decide what kind of show this is.  So far, they are all over the place.

How do you mean?

Well, are they going for a Legends of the Seeker; expert swordsman who is fulfilling his prophecy, or is this a bastardization of The Shannara Chronicles with demons, swords, black gook and throw in a quest or two. It seems like the writers are sprinkling a little bit of this from one show and a little bit of that from another show.  Talon is deadset on killing the men who slaughtered her family and townfolk without trying to solve the mystery, beyond a cursory question or two, largely about identitities, as to not only WHO ordered the slaughter but also why.  Was the slaughter because the Blackbloods would someday rule Humanity, demons will walk the Earth? When the last leaf of the Ellcrys falls will the demons take over?  Lately a lot of shows give you a preview of what will happen this season, with this show, you barely get the "Previously on....." and almost no "Next week on.....".  Previously is easy, but have they got the "Next wee onk...." down yet?

When I first saw the trailer for the show, I immediately thought of 'Into the Badlands", a much better show with superior wire-fu, F/X, & and martial arts scenes.  This doesn't even begin to compare with that show.

Edited by Jacks-Son
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I wonder how well that blacksmith does with the ladies with pickup lines like "You no longer smell like excrement. It suits you."

As far as the potential Talon/Gwynn relationship goes, Gwynn managed to get Talon naked in her bathtub this week. That's better than Garret managed to do so far.

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(edited)
16 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Not a lot happened it this episode, but at least she no longer smells like manure.

He should talk.  I'm sure, being a Blacksmith, he knows his way around manure.  Considering the probable bathing habits of the Outpost's residents, I'm pretty sure she wasn't the only one that smelled.  Marshal Withers looks like he has an unsavory odor.  Am I judging a book by its cover? Probably. No, definitely, yes!  He looks like he stinks.

As far as what happened during the episode, I think we learned a lot more in this single episode than we have learned all series long.  We learned that the Lu-Qiri demon Talon innocently released from the Plane of Ashes, its name is Baphnoro and that Talon has complete and utter command over it. Talon's power comes from her Blackblood genealogy as she, and her people are descendants of the Lord Emperor Gezzekhan and Talon is the last of her kind. And so, with great power, comes great....Yada, yada, yada!

We learned that Gwynn gave Talon a wardrobe, the next day after Talon wore "The Yellow One", (must be the only Yellow One and thus no more yellow ones!) she wore a flowery dress that still showed most of her two-lbs loaves (the "girls" that Gwynn so admired when she saw an undressed Talon.  Still no flirtation, but I guess that doesn't matter as TPTB want to show us boobs to drive the ratings up since this show has been panned by Rotten Tomatoes.

We know that Talon and Garret have begun the Happy Dance as a prelude to the release of Garret's UST. The Happy Dance involves swords, as usual with these types of shows.

We also know that Talon is still F-ing rude! The cleaning lady bowed to her, in her Yellow dress, perfectly natural, and Talon promptly made the woman feel like her life wasn't worth shit moments before she was killed by Baphnoro.  Dead AND felt like Shit before she died. Yes, Talon is a hero to build a show around.

Edited by Jacks-Son
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She's beautiful AND very athletic. Not to suggest that the two are mutually exclusive.  It appears that the actress does have some martial arts skills, I don't think every athletic work she has done on this show is done by a stunt double.  She has natural talent.  She moves very well, well, better than Clary on 'Shawdowhunters".  Now, if only she could act.  She appears to have only two facial expressions, Grit your teeth and constantly smile for no apparent reason. For such a seasoned self-taught fighter, her stance against Baphnoro was an open invitation to get gutted once again.  Why do the writers keep doing this?  It's silly.  She's the show's lead and therefore won't die permanently, so why the needless gutting?

I like Janzo and Gwynn, both are fun characters; especially, Gwynn who looks like a young Megan Follows.  Janzo pretends to be an idiot, but is smarter than his countenance suggests. 

While not an answer to a long-time summer distraction, I'm enjoying the show so far, and it fills a much empty niche in my Sword & Fantasy programming.

Don't like The Mistress, but I guess she fills a role of greedy tavern owner with no scruples, morals, or an adequate bra.

Edited by Jacks-Son
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19 minutes ago, ursula said:

I thought Janzo was supposed to be autistic.

(His hyper-focus yet seeming inability to hold gazes, his stilted way of talking, etc).

Perhaps NOT straight out autistic, but maybe Asperger's syndrome or what is now called, "autism spectrum disorder". HE does have the eye contact avoidance but that just could be a self-defense trait developed from frequent knocks on the head from bigger more thuggish people, however his propensity to put everything in his mouth is disturbing. He doesn't appear to display stilted talking but speaks in grunts of affirmation. He's actually well spoken and seems intelligent.

I was right about Gwynn and her affection for Talon, she's not sexually attracted to her as others have surmised, she just appears bored with her circumstances and craves fun, female companionship and seems to admire and trust Talon. She just needs a co-conspirator in having fun.  Anything to get out from under Daddy's and Garret's over-protection.

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8 minutes ago, Jacks-Son said:

Perhaps NOT straight out autistic, but maybe Asperger's syndrome or what is now called, "autism spectrum disorder".

There's no "straight-out" autistic. ? It's called a "autistic spectrum disorder" for a reason. (Asperger's is no longer classed as a separate disease, but as a higher-end of the spectrum).

8 minutes ago, Jacks-Son said:

He's actually well spoken and seems intelligent.

Autism is not related to or a measure of IQ: an autistic person can be as intelligent or as not as "non-autistic" people. 

Also "High-functioning" autistic people can be well-spoken. Of course, Janzo is probably more "Hollywood Autistic" than reality.

Edited by ursula
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5 hours ago, Jacks-Son said:

So, you would consider the actor as portraying a somewhat accurate autistic character, to your knowledge?

I could bet a little money that Janzo is supposed to be autistic, yes. 

Of course I could be completely wrong. 

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49 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

I am not 100% positive, but didn't Talon get stabbed in the stomach again in Episode 5?

Didn't you say something abouti it up thread. Something about not having any internal organs because she seems to get gutted every episode?

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I hate to say this, but with the sparse airings and weak writing and poorly filmed action, I don't see much hope for this summer fare.  This episode was the weakest of a weak string. The CGI for the demon, Baphnoro, is horrible.  It moves spastically for a killing machine.  Talon's Blackblood language is weird.  Can't say that it rolls of the tongue, more like spits out of lips. I don't know if her realization that the demon in front of her is the one that saved her from the Blacksmith when she was a child cause the portal to open up prior to the demon's exit. Or did she open the portal as she realized it was the same demon.  Is it possible that the demon is Talon's personal demon?  Did she summon the demon as a child to save her from the Blacksmith's arrow, or was the choice the demons? 

The General's(?) battle scene with a nearly wasted old man beating and killing young seasoned soldiers was laughable, I had to avert my eyes or I wouldn't be able to stop laughing.  Everyone seemed to be mailing it in this episode. Even Talon's takedown of the roadside musician/thief was halfhearted.

This show is losing whatever fun fascination it had.  I don't know if it's the writers or its the lead?  everyone's acting is fine, but I still have trouble with Talon's character. Is it the fault of the actor or the writer's?

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The weird flirting they had Talon and what's his nuts doing really threw me as I was binge watching these first 7 episodes. I actually got confused and thought he was a second character there in episode 3 or so. And then he saved notGwynn's life and was back to making out with her. In really curious to see if the writers have a otp in mind for these characters and where they're going with it if so. I liked the chemistry with Talon better so even though it's written haphazardly, I could go for more sword fights and innuendo with those two. 

Edited by millahnna
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I kinda liked Episode 8 "Beyond the Wall", the characters are starting to grow on me.

I couldn't understand why the Output guards surrendered rather than fight to the death after Calkussar was killed. They had the numbers, crossbows and most of the enemy forces were still outside of the gate. Consentrated fire on the leader, his quick death and dropping the iron gate might have stopped the rest of the troops from attacking. I am guessing this happened to quickly advance the plot, anyway the Outpost guards were killed even after they surrendered and now they will kill everyone in the Outpost.

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3 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I couldn't understand why the Output guards surrendered rather than fight to the death after Calkussar was killed. They had the numbers, crossbows and most of the enemy forces were still outside of the gate. Consentrated fire on the leader, his quick death and dropping the iron gate might have stopped the rest of the troops from attacking. I am guessing this happened to quickly advance the plot, anyway the Outpost guards were killed even after they surrendered and now they will kill everyone in the Outpost.

It had to be to advance the plot quickly. Otherwise they are cowards. They definitely could have taken the contingent inside the gates, because they  did have the numbers. I didn't like Gwynn standing at an open window crying, gasping and shrieking. Yet, no one noticed. She's supposed to be hiding!

I loved the interaction between Talon, Garrett and Janzo. Everyone's jealous. Amazing that they are not making Gwynn and Talon enemies that fight over Garrett.. Gwynn sees the emotions between the two. While jealous, she puts Garrett's well being and Talon's friendship first.

That mercenary plot has been dull so far. Not sure what the point in showing her was tonight. She is to find the Book of Names. But other than being in the desert, nothing she did tied into tonight's plot. 

Now, another unnecessary break. Why not delay the premiere by two weeks CW? That way we would only have had one break for a ten episode season. Not three!

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The canyon scene was straight out of the Twilight series. It's been a while, but as I remember there's a scene where Bella, Edward, and Jacob are all in a tent or something and Bella is like going into shock from hypothermia or something equally nonsensical and over dramatic so Jacob has to warm her with his bare chest while Edward watches jealously.  Talon goes, "Here Garrett, you're probably dying so I'll get awkwardly close to kissing you in full view of Janzo and then ignore your obvious sexual overture to go spoon Janzo 12 feet away while he talks about how I'm giving him a boner."

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3 hours ago, SnarkEnthusiast said:

Talon goes, "Here Garrett, you're probably dying so I'll get awkwardly close to kissing you in full view of Janzo and then ignore your obvious sexual overture to go spoon Janzo 12 feet away while he talks about how I'm giving him a boner."

LOL, how silly.  Who knew the hardened people of The Outpost were just a bunch of 12 year olds. Or, the writers are.  UST, very much spoken, in the open and in-your-face.

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I did not like Talon's sacrificing of Baphnoro to save them, but Garrett was correct in pointing out that the demon has killed multiple people already and that she should not mourn its death.  I liked that she felt bad for forcing the demon to sacrifice its life for them. Why didn't they at least fight WITH the demon against the Greyskins? The more I see it, the more I enjoy the friendship between Talon and Janzo. He's such a lovable nerd.  When he declared that he was still a virgin, both Garrett and Talon found that astonishing. 

A nice arrow bolt to the chest of the Ambassador or an errant swing of an axe across his neck works nicely for me.  He's just another government thief taking your money for National Security coffers.  I do wonder what's up with his young companion (sister)?  She seems to have the "sight" and she often makes faces like she disapproves of his choices, especially his desire to kill all females at the Outpost in an effort to find the Blackblood female.

Again, things happen during the episode where little to no explanation is offered even when the characters themselves are posing questions.  Like, why were the Greyskins offering Garrett collipsum alone and not the others.  Was it because they sensed that he was indeed infected, or was there another reason?  Why were they simply captured and not killed or at least fought and then captured.  They simply gave up because of being outnumbered.

CORRECTION: Both Janzo and Garrett were rendered unconscious, so it was up to Talon alone to fight the Greyskins.

Another odd occurrence was when the Prime Order soldiers entered Withers' hiding room that hid the exit,  Withers told the soldiers that they might be infected, the soldiers then ran away instead of just killing them. 

Edited by Jacks-Son
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When I saw that next week was the finale I got a little sad. This show is so cheesy it should be labeled 'Keep refrigerated" but I still want to see how the story is supposed to end. I just know next week will end on a cliffhanger of some sort and I'll be really surprised if there's a Season 2, so I'll never see Talon destroy the Prime Order or Gwynn take the throne or Janzo find his twin sister (you know he would eventually). Oh well, I'm never going to see how Dark Matter was supposed to end either so I'm just going to have to deal.

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7 hours ago, Jacks-Son said:

Again, things happen during the episode where little to no explanation is offered even when the characters themselves are posing questions.  Like, why were the Greyskins offering Garrett collipsum alone and not the others.  Was it because they sensed that he was indeed infected, or was there another reason?  Why were they simply captured and not killed or at least fought and then captured.  They simply gave up because of being outnumbered.

I think that they were right that the Greyskins could smell that he was infected. My theory since day one is that a bite and colipsum is what actually causes a infected person to turn. So anyone that does colipsum and then is injected with venom from a plagueling turns. Garret's soldier friend was show doing colipsum before being bitten and turned. I don't think that Garret does colipsum. He's safe. That's why the Greyskins have been all but giving the colipsum away to their human contact. I'm sure if there is a second season the reason they are doing it will be delved into. 

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