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mrslackles · 3 years

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what do you think are gg's biggest flaws?

Ooh, Anon! It’s like you’re in my head.

I’m busy making a video (that will probably never see the light of day) about this -- my distance from the show has really helped with some super objective clarity -- so I’ll use my notes from that to help me answer.

I’ll preface this by saying what I was most shocked by after putting down all the points was that Rio isn’t even mentioned until really far down??

Anyway, let's get into it.

These are Good Girls' greatest flaws in my opinion (and relative to season 1 -- while I think it had its flaws too, the list is far smaller and I think that's a separate post)

1. It didn't stick to its guns

What set this show apart from others in the 'Everyday person does crime (poorly)' genre was its comedic lightness, strong friendship element, relatability and emphasis on girl power.

a) By season 2, the lightness was already slowly disappearing to make way for season 3's darkness. (Quite literally; this show said sunlight scenes for WHO.) It also stopped being as fun. Remember how it genuinely used to be fun? I mean let's not forget The Best Scene Ever where Ruby shoots Big Mike by accident and we all laughed our asses off. (Compare and contrast to a similar-in-tone-and-context scene -- or even the whole episode -- like Boomer popping up behind them as Rio's package in season 3.) I think season 3 had some great lines and laughs, but in general, the fun element was completely missing for me.

b) As was the friendship. We already know Annie and Ruby basically became Beth's backup dancers in season 2, but at least then they still seemed to have some type of agency. In season 3, they rarely question Beth's (truly questionable) decisions, don't talk to her about shit like why she's still with her horrible husband and have very few true friendship moments as they did in season 1.

c) Which made it less relatable, but what also contributed was the major plot holes (it's less easy to relate when you're constantly having to remind yourself to suspend your disbelief). And, to be honest, their stupid actions. Just the most common-sense things weren't followed, like not taking your children to a crack den or not putting a hit out on a gang leader. It's frustrating watching a TV show -- where characters are supposed to learn things, have arcs and improve over time -- and feeling like you have more logical sense than all the main characters in every scene. (WHO would think a hitman was going to use a sniper rifle on people in broad daylight on the side of the road???)

d) You don't have to look any further than the title or the stans who shout "THE SHOW IS ABOUT THE GIRLS" -- or, hell, the first 10 seconds of the show where Sara is literally talking about the glass ceiling -- to know that the main characters being women is very important to the show. If not formally feminist, it was at least supposed to be empowering or feel like "girl power" (a term I hate, but we won't get into that now).

And I think it did it pretty well in season 1 -- it actually played on my favourite theme of the show, which is the world's perception of these women being what ultimately allows them to get away with so much. (Rife with opportunities for commentary about white privilege, but also a genius way to upend patriarchal beliefs.) But more and more it seemed like the show was asking you to accept empowerment as simply "these things are being done by women, yay".

And, well.

2. Its marketing

I'll keep this one short because I think we all know how messed up this situation is. Basically they're selling a show (every week!) that they're not making while ignoring all feedback on every social media platform. Which brings us to...

3. The marriage of Death

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times -- Beth's character development starts with getting rid of Dean. Her growth is stunted by him on multiple fronts and it's frustrating to viewers since she's constantly put forth as the main character. Not to mention how the audience, separately from Beth, was originally conditioned to see Dean as the scum of the earth (think of scenes like him crashing his car because he was perving on a woman jogging) so keeping them together is really... a choice. To actively root for this marriage (which seems like what the show wants, at least for the protracted moment) means either thinking Dean is a great person (which, as I said, we've only seen the opposite of) or believing he's all Beth deserves. Which leads me to...

4. Beth's (socio)path(y)

Is sociopath a 'good' word? Probably not. Have I seen dozens upon dozens of posts talking about whether Beth is one? Yes. And I see it from a huge variety of people -- from viewers who just binged the show last weekend to those who've been watching for years, the question keeps coming up. And I entirely blame the writing of the show that, by the way, I don't believe is deliberately creating Beth to get this reaction. I think she's written (and, to an extent, acted) in a way that is much too aloof and I'm not convinced it's meant to come off as cold and unfeeling as it does. Everything else leads me to believe that the audience is supposed to root for Beth, but it's just so difficult.

Beth does a lot of messed up shit that requires dialogue to sympathise with her and the inner workings of her mind, but in the later seasons Beth rarely gets to express herself verbally. And every time she does get to speak about her emotions, the dialogue is a pick-your-own-adventure between "She's in so much denial", "This person feels no emotions" and "I'll go find an analysis/fic later to explain this" (scenes like "Nothing" or "I was just bored"). Compare and contrast with some of the great scenes in season 1 where she emotes, like her paralysing shock after they first rob the store or admitting she enjoys crime, or (one of my favourites!) the one in the park where she's mimicking the other mothers beside her.

5. Brio

I said in the beginning that I was shocked Rio doesn't get mentioned until this point and that's because I've always felt like he was an integral part of the show. When people say the show is about the girls, they're truncating -- the show is about the girls getting into crime. That crime is represented by Rio over and over again -- they never bring in another criminal at his level (which is another one of its flaws, but that's also a different post); Rio is it.

And though I stand by Rio's importance, the truth is that Brio isn't as essential to the show, by which I mean that if all of the above were done well, it wouldn't be as sorely missed. In lieu of riveting plot, a fun friendship, character development and empowerment, most viewers have glommed onto Brio like a lifeboat (or ship, heh).

Unfortunately it's also what the show has most stubbornly refused to develop significantly.

It's honestly a toss-up for why I feel Brio is a flaw: is the flaw that they got together? That they never got together well enough? That the writing keeps bringing in these 'chemistry-filled' scenes that are ultimately filled with air?

I don't know. Maybe all of them; maybe just one, depending on the day.

6. Its criticism falls flat without intersectionality

This is a big one because Good Girls is *trying* to do something very clever. As mentioned previously, my favourite theme of the show is how the women's apparent innocence/vulnerability in the eyes of society is their biggest strength. The show plays with this and other interesting themes with varying levels of success, but ultimately they all fall a little flat when they don't feel intersectional.

When Ruby gets sidelined. When Turner, who sees and all but calls out by name Beth's privilege, is portrayed as the villain. When Rio is told he's gonna "pop a cap" in his young child's "ass". When the racist grandma becomes a sympathetic character whom we must later grieve. (And she really didn't have to be racist, now that I think about it? It was just that one line for laughs and that was it.) When, despite the real-world implications, Dean can loudly announce in a store that he's buying a gun to kill someone with and the show just glides past it. When Ruby has to grovel for forgiveness from Beth for trying to protect her husband and family from the system, with no acknowledgement from Beth about how their realities are different. When Rhea gets booted off the show as soon as she's done serving Beth's plot. When Rio gets treated like a prostitute for absolutely no reason. (Oh, and is accused of raping Beth and is literally spoken of as an animal and starts only existing in zero dim lighting as a one-dimensional stereotype... the list goes on.)

7. PR/The actors

I'll risk my life here to sprinkle this in because I do think it's a massive problem. The Manny/Christina of it all is just the tip of the iceberg (although wtf Good Girls? There's nothing you could do to get these two into an interview together??). The main actors do the bare minimum to promote the show and it's weird. I also think it's the height of unprofessionalism to keep characters on the show against the wishes of the majority of the audience just because you enjoy their actors (Boomer confirmed; Dean highly suspected). While, on the flip side of the coin, limiting a character's screentime because you aren't best buddies with them. Having less and less Rio when he's such a fan favourite is dumb; as is not including him in any series marketing material. It feels personal and that isn't how a TV show should be run.

8. The entire hair and wardrobe department needs a stern talking-to

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whatistylerwatching · 4 years

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Hello all my fellow people out there in cyberspace. My name is Tyler and you’re watching what I’m watching. Today we review my most recently finished season or series. Which in this instance is Amazon Prime’s Upload. Since this is my first review let me lay the groundwork for my reviews. We have 4 criteria on a show to get a grade and see if it gets a recommendation.

1.) Story

2.) Characters

3.) Visual Design

4.) Overall Enjoyment

Each criteria is worth 25 possible points

25 - Perfect

20 - Great

15 - Good

10 - Okay

5 - Not Good

0 - Bad

So let’s dive deep into Lakeview

1.) The Story

“In 2033, humans are able to "upload" themselves into a virtual afterlife of their choosing. When computer programmer Nathan dies prematurely, he is uploaded to the very expensive Lake View, but soon finds himself under the thumb of his possessive, still-living girlfriend Ingrid. As Nathan adjusts to the pros and cons of digital heaven, he bonds with Nora, his living customer service rep, or "Angel". Nora struggles with the pressures of her job, her dying father who does not want to be uploaded, and her growing feelings for Nathan while slowly coming to believe that Nathan was murdered.” Quoting Wikipedia. So I think this premise is actually very interesting. Think about how much media focuses on how technology improves the life of the living and doesn’t focus on really a digital afterlife. However if I can be nit-picky, there are some story details that are dropped and picked up as the series progresses. I’m not gonna spoil anything until we get to overall enjoyment, but just know the story is, overall okay at worst. Score: 20

2.) The Characters

Our main protagonist is played by Robbie Amell who is better known as Fred Jones from the made for tv live action Scooby Doo movies, The DUFF and as the mail carrier in True Jackson VP, wait excuse me

*Hold on*

Well I’ll be damned it is him. Back on track I do think he did a decent job as Nathan, I just wish he got to do more in all honesty so that Nathan actually had more of a character

Our other protagonist is Nora Antony, played by Andy Allo, who you may know from Pitch Perfect 3 and Chicago Fire. Andy played this character amazingly and I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Nora and think she was the best character overall by far. Good on you Allo, I hope to see you in more shows and movies.

We also have Ingrid Kannerman, Nathan’s girlfriend played by Allegra Edwards, who did great I think playing Ingrid. She plays a prissy bitch who is deeper than she lets on and I know we’ll see more of her in the future but here she does great

Zainab Johnson as Aleesha is tied for my favorite character in the whole show. She’s that one person you always want in your corner and is such a bubbly personality and I love her.

Finally for the main cast we have Kevin Bigley as Luke. All I can really say is, meh. He’s the comic relief character who I think could have been handled so much better. No shade onto the actor, we’ll get to why in a moment.

However shout out to Elizabeth Bowen for being my other favorite character, Fran Booth, the detective cousin, shame she wasn’t around more.

Score: 15

#3.) Visual Design

Honestly I cannot praise the teams enough for the visual design. Everything from the scenery to the backdrops, lighting and it was handled very well. In the virtual world there is so much brightness and in the real world shots there’s a sense of grit and despair that contrast well to the show’s story. Score: 25

#4.) Overall Enjoyment

*SPOILER ALERT*

*THIS IS THE SECTION WHERE I CAN DISCUSS ANYTHING, SPOILER WARNING IF YOU WANT TO WATCH THE SHOW THROUGH AND THEN COME BACK*

*LAST WARNING, OKAY HERE WE GO*

So did I enjoy Upload? Well, maybe. You see my problem with the series is one thing. Number one is the script. You see when you look up this show online, it calls it a Sci-Fi Comedy, problem is that it’s not a comedy. While comedy is a necessary ingredient to keep a story this heavy from dragging the audience down, it wasn’t handled the best. Luke was a generic character with some quirks but nothing that made me laugh. That’s the thing is that I was more entranced with the romance between Nathan’s Murder and Nathan and Nora’s relationship than anything else. However I feel like neither one gets fulfilled to any real extent in the end. For the first half the whole murder story is played as a joke until halfway through, same with the romance. Also what is with all the damn sex scenes. I know this show is rated TV-MA, but Jesus. And that’s all in the first half, so there’s this tonal whiplash between episode 4 and 5 that is weird to me. I don’t blame any of the actors for any of this, I feel with a more consistent script it could have been better. I mean the concept is stupendous, how do you make that the most different part. Although as a sci-fi romance show, it actually has some appealing traits. It shows the pros and cons of a world corrupted by greed, App Store physics and micro transactions brought to a real life setting. It really is a good cautionary tale on technology and greed and that I can get behind whole heartedly. I just don’t understand the failed attempts at humor, maybe it’s just a me thing I don’t know. Also that finale was unsatisfactory in more ways than I can describe through text. Score: 15

Overall Score: 75/100 - Good

Recommendation: Watch It If You Want

TV System Rank: TV-MA (17+)

Services: Amazon Prime Exclusive

Release Day: May 1 2020

So I do recommend Upload to those who want to watch it. While I don’t think it was a pinnacle of a series that most hold it to be, I can say that I don’t regret watching Upload. Lucky me this show’s getting a Season 2, and thank god because if it got cancelled after one season (a la AJ and the Queen style), then Oh boy there’d be a different tone to this whole thing. That ending was not satisfying, just putting that out there now.

If you have watched Upload, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. Feel free to leave me some recommendations what to watch next and I’ll take them into account. Until next time, thank you for reading

#upload #review #tv review #amazon prime

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