#another [mentally pacing while writing out the saga] moment

[unproduciblesmackdown]

take 4: the tension (gulf spanned with incomplete, continuously crumbling bridges) between the perspective of oneself as the Deservingly Epic Winner Protagonist Person who dares to be Out Of Line versus the need to actually completely stay in line within this b/c it hinges on being in harmony with the preexisting hierarchies which will supposedly reward the "merit" of this Actor. while everyone whose existence is Inferior, according to the hierarchies, is defined by being Out Of Line, which these same people resent & respond to, also Staying In Line with the hierarchy, by trying to reinforce the dynamics of these inferior / superior groupings. "everything pathologized about the inferior groups / rejected as what's Wrong with their existence so as to "cause" these dynamics is "take 4" b/c this is from me trying to write about winston quant kid 2 billions like holy shit a series operating on this logic huh, giving this unvarnished expression of this perspective b/c it's assuming (& requiring...) we all have it. winston is constantly responded to as Guy Who's Out Of Line. the "superior" parties who hate him & get to have him as their punching bag / hit with the butt of the joke / at least ignored & excluded, but taken advantage of, but who all have to Stay In Line, how's that going for them even when it comes to the writing, where characters can't do anything if it's too disruptive of the In Universe hierarchy, unless it's a finale zone for a permissable shakeup, where ppl insulating/supporting each other being a bit Out Of Line is not a problem b/c they individually recognize each other's transcendently True worthiness in thee objective hierarchy we all assume exists, but definitely can never disrupt the out of universe hierarchy, e.g. the show decides wendy is the true hero, b/c she deserves to be. taylor has to hire back dollar bill & stand back while wags & wendy take the lead & the spotlight & hate the autistic guy they hired & show up so the Winner, who was written into the show with nothing to do but tell taylor they're not quite as good as wendy & then provide a vagina amidst otherwise being an Everyemployee who fails to even differentiate from an Axe Cap style everyemployee, can announce their winningness detached from anything that actually happened ever.

counterpart to winston's departure needing an audience of people to stand there & stay in line, which on that side of the same coin meant punishing his Out Of Lineness that doesn't even act like anyone bothered to think of [this is one particular preexisting guy. you thought he liked scifi once before you lost interest in even suggesting he has interests, though, will roland likes scifi, will roland wore his own open buttonup as quant kid 2 that'd define the Look, will roland happened to have the facial hair just kept for production b/c who would care, will roland brought the entire je ne sais quoi acting interpretation that made quant kid 2 go from "out of line guy we kill once" to "out of line guy we keep around to kill all thee time until finale 'haha but seriously though' material means pushing him out of the way in s6 & then s7 alike" like hmm] like everyone just spitballed "annoying things! cringe loser things! things that would never happen to me, a deserving winner!!" & put it in as easter eggs as though that would even make sense, much less [you have no other priority?] but like. rian's sendoff didn't do any better for acting like she's a specific character who's said & done things we're meant to remember & have thought about then & now. taylor didn't get to have resolution with philip. they Had to have resolution with wendy that, again, has nothing to do with any/everything prior, except perhaps to contradict it. this is what anyone got for Staying In Line like superior winners. the autistic [annoying arrogant inferior undeserving etc] Out Of Lineness that would be so supposedly admired instead seen as pure Other shit that's projected upon ppl so as to Reject it thusly. couldn't be me!! i'm a winner who will always have Superior ranking in the hierarchy & treated accordingly!!! i Must be!!!! like i must Kill people who seem to be disrupting this, even by acting like a person who assumes they're equal to me despite being Different. there all along like wow winston existing Out Of Line is so powerful. he can harmonize with & support taylor so well b/c they're introduced as being so Out Of Line, up to the inevitable point of breaking out & starting their own thing entirely!!! but while it's like, okay yeah, you Have to reel them back in by thwarting them b/c otherwise they break so far from central men's orbit they exit the series or you have to put Them at the center (imagine...) (plus! the role winston plays in them getting as close to this as they ever can be!) but then in the end taylor's just shortchanged b/c when it comes time to take down a central man as thee main thing all season, series finale style, they should be knocking it out in a few episodes with sacker & philip. instead we focus on wendy given the helm & fucking around all season. after disposing of winston b/c who even needs him for anything, this is Stay In Line times, and to do that we can do nothing w/autistic people but hate them & punish them for being undeserving. but don't worry b/c he doesn't get to be so Out Of Line as to easily cause problems for them & thwart them, b/c he just doesn't. taylor waits around on wendy & tells her she's the best b/c they just do. we are all in line on all of this ourselves so whew, there's no Disruption to notice if that key Alignment is maintained. rian was never holding herself Above winston if we just really tentatively suggest she doesn't think that she was, while letting every double standard at play be acted out. rian being "out of line" was that she wasn't being aggressive enough about any of her Superiority, b/c if you didn't leave bruising then nothing was That Bad; cue the assaults and boundary violations Reserved for the inferior losers as fun times & nothing anyone is beholden to with Consequences, we don't even make the viewer stick with the consequences of how it affects the target a second too long, lest you start to think it's Drama & not Jokes.

anyways it's all about the [categorization as inferior Other based on an assumed Hierarchy = inherently defined as Out Of Line] all "why get a formal diagnosis from a professional who doesn't know what to look for when at age 5 my peers went 'something's wrong with this one' & acted 'accordingly'" like even when people "know" what's Wrong with someone to make them the odd one out / "incompatible" w/what makes others exist Right, it's time to interpret everything else about them as "backing that up" no matter what, certainly no matter if it involves theoretically Valued concepts, b/c it's all first & foremost Staying In Line with the hierarchy, where the correct way to do things is: if you Can push someone else into greater vulnerability while you're established as Insulated, you Do. tl;dr winston inherently continuously Out Of Line; being "superior" requires an ultimate (&/or also quite Immediate. especially when it comes to "simple" matters already "correctly" arranged in the supposed Objective Hierarchy, like: winston's "objectively" inferiority (autistic swag)) Staying In Line. and what comes of it. all the most engaging & complex shit when people get to not actually stay in line. the power of it if taylor & tmc & allies didn't have to ultimately be shoved into Staying In Line even when it means wendy is the best & oh who cares about taylor & philip when wags is around etc etc. if winston being someone Out Of Line was seen as relevant & not an easy nonstop joke. while a quant who is so In Line as to correctly personally abuse him even more than others are doing is so ""out of line"" as to decide she's already gotten everything she wants & may as well live the dream now, b/c she's not an aggressive man, one has to suppose, same diff as wendy getting to believe she's Better than everyone & is nobly in charge of orchestrating their fates when she Means & Knows so well, & is somehow pitted against prince being this same figure but without having to confront that fact. he's mean! or whatever. he's talking about killing people & wendy isn't so that sorts it out forever. "abuse your local autists; it's funny & their fault & consequenceless b/c they're not real people" is also harmonious with all our ideas. edgy rulebreaking bold independent Out of Line heroes completely in accord w/the established hierarchies. & those whose existence threatening peership disrupts it who are written off losers who could never upend those heroes' goings on. everyone Actually being peers is unimagineable, not as a figure of speech. we do not imagine it, what are you even talking about. now for the Merited Hierarchy to be acted out as arranged, which is fun, god i wish that were me. Independent Agents ascending it only!! & people who Cheat to get in like loser nerds w/their math, b/c they can't Deserve it. now to keep insisting that everyone else could just be On My Level if they tried, while also responding violently if it seems like weirdos / ppl who aren't Supposed to be here are infringing on my level (the only violence is physical strikes that made contact, & perhaps killed you)

anyways just another installment of [fake fans haunted by billions, & other things which are in real life, such as the fictional series billions] musings i have to excise at all b/c [this was take 4]. winston Out Of Line. superior correct winners who have to Stay In Line at related great costs despite the supposed associated wins of that. his autistic swag. knowing ppl Are different autism style b/c they're "out of line." encountering irl autistic people without realizing it & repeatedly writing "this nerd guy is just So annoying ugh!! he's just like weird & doing everything wrong for no reason & won't just Be Normal or Shut Up & Go Away!! but at least his intractible arrogant cluelessness also means we have fun punishing & taking advantage of him" Type butt of jokes into things. those cringe loser Insistently Annoying Weirdo nerds who we all find insufferable & punish, we all know them, inherent Inferior Other Out Of Line that they are. now it's a Guy we all hate & enjoy seeing suffer & Understand as a less deserving less [person] just dropped into the periphery of this fiction. he will easily be thwarted from an alliance with the [person designed to be Out of Line in a way that Is considered Legitimate] that would let them shatter the limits of the series in 5 sec which we're also holding them back by the scruff of the neck to prevent anyways while pushing forward ppl supposed to be even More correct b/c uh um they're a little more Normal, & perhaps even Women, who are innately more caring & gentle. there they go hurting those around them as much as they can, with nothing stopping them at all, but they're using their inside voices & not issuing physical threats so that's what i'm talking about. that is heroic, vs the villainous efforts to navigate life as though everyone will respect them as a fellow person which Autists egregiously pull, to which you can do anything you want to Reject this. maybe even decide you wanna personally use them. isn't that nice of you. no, we don't know what to do with the "this guy won't stop acting like he gets to think he's a person" but eventually send him away after the dozen trampled boundaries to punish him for fun b/c what else was the point of him? anyways don't worry i saw the autistic swag. the nonbinary swag it didn't even know was there. the nonbinary swag it knew was there but held back by the scruff of the neck b/c all billions' most engaging, potential filled characters are the ones Held Back b/c they're threatening too much [out of line] / their out of Lineness must be contained; vs everyone perfectly in line who keeps being pushed in front of them no matter what b/c uhhh.

let's go Out of Line gang. continual inevitable Disruption of the norm(tm). like even just standing there vs "oh immediately i fucking Hate this guy." billions where anyone considers winston for 5 sec would also shatter apart. taylor would be too powerful even more than they already are if they didn't have to stay wendy's sidekick no matter what. rian who didn't have to come back from the hiatus even more "right" than they presumably intended her to always be (bound to thee hierachy / actually always Staying In Line. if she's out of it, psych, actually that was just a correction of the "objective" hierarchal order waiting to reconfigure itself around the situation). standing around waiting like okay but the payoff that Could happen....okay still time though lol....well here we are

the fundamentalness of the Out Of Lineness. quantessential....send post

#another [mentally pacing while writing out the saga] moment #winston billions #it's all about the Out Of Line.... #b/c it's all about the hierarchy; & the fact that it's People beneath you = forever being in conflict w/Reality being ''out of line'' #this person talking & taking up space & breathing & Appearing & Behaving & Acting & [Autonomous]ing....no. no!!!!!!! #tmc just so happened to be Weird except also mafee is there but he's too not ''aggressive'' enough for axe cap. or is he!! not that much #all while even in peak tmc times....thee hierarchy! we Hate winston & Will all act accordingly to keep him inferior(tm) #we'll also use him. but not include him as a peer when we can help it. or even acknowledge a ''value'' for having found him Useful(tm) #just like wow really didn't think at all about winston besides [he IS out of line!!!]. ppl can do all That to him & not have it questioned #like hey so long as maybe you do it without....well they did also physically assault him in the end so really no limits obviously #the make or break context? his autistacity means well he deserves it from anyone #whereas if some of those ppl do some of those things to Winners w/the same goal to punish & hurt & coerce? hmm bit messed up #it's not double standards when you objectively buy into it right. if winston was a Good Enough Real Enough person we'd all Love him #however we just all immediately recognize a weird little autistic loser & that's all that is relevant forever somehow! hmm! #most ''out of line'' billions characters unleashed....we deserved this #what a coincidence that at the high points of this; like say; Kompenso; winston is treated the best!! 4x12!! Hmm!!! #irrelevant i said. nothing to see here like there's nothing inside him but Cringe Wrongness. scene over! series over! autists are Others #they power down in nooks & crannies & stop imitating Real People words & deeds when we're not looking so just do whatever #that Whatever means finding it rewarding to go after them & assert power=superior status over them? epic Normal shit. what else is there #rhetorical!! stop answering about like ''nobody's life & existence treated as Less'' #but at what cost? oh so a really epic man can't like pwn people now?? perhaps an epic Woman? all cishet agenda style btw? hell

[commander-coppercogg]

Commander’s Log: Cantha, part 4

Alright time for some story stuff! I was kind of doing one of these per story step but I think I got out of sync. Now I’m just ending these where it makes sense to my brain.

We grabbed a raptor taxi to the instance entrance and can I just say that I love the taxis so much! There’s such a fun way to move quickly but unlike waypoints I still get time to enjoy the scenery. And it give me time to like slow down and mentally process and take my time thinking about stuff. Anyway

Ah Gorrick’s special interest! Yes I will happily wait for you to make sure we don’t cause another extinction even- goddamn it Jory get back here!

God they really write him so well him snapping at Jory and then like consciously taking a moment to tone shift. I feel that.

Aw I didn’t have time to find the thing before Jory pointed it out.

Oh Gorrick’s a holosmith! I wouldn’t have guessed since he doesn’t use the sword and beyond that I’m not too familiar with it (despite being an engie main lol) but cool yes king tell me more about hard light

HmMmmmmm this is a trap

Ok I really like Ivan also at first I thought he was talking on comms with someone but it seems he was just talking to himself.

Ok big actually boss fight time!

Oh she is drunk as a skunk

Holy shit she’s a revenant!!! Oh my goooood this is so cool!

SXARLETT FUCKING BRIAR????????!!!!!

Ok ok ok so I honestly don’t have any strong feelings about season 1 or scarlet but oh my gosh that was the coolest boss fight I’ve done in forever! The music the pacing holy shit. And like it felt the way that first instance did. Fun and satisfying and it took a minute to get but then I got it and I didn’t feel frustrated I could just enjoy myself. The challenge level of this expansion has been so stable it’s really nice

Oh so we don’t kill Mai. Im honestly not surprised it’d be a little weird to bring her back just to get rid of her again. But I am bit surprised that this seems to be a recurring theme. For multiple of the events we ran last night, we fought people until they surrendered not died. I dunno that’s just a really interest shift I think

Also I really like that Kas is being the diplomat not just between Dragons Watch and the world but also within Dragons Watch

Lol Ivan thanks for breaking the tension

Hell yeah! Kaineng time!

Or not lol.

Oh my god they are LITerally sending me to the goddamn DMV!!!!! Anet you tops tier comedians how dare you lol

Also I’ve noticed that the Commander (or at least the male asura voice) has sounded unsure/caught off guard a fair bit. Like when Kas called us, Bertie went “oh Um uh sure yeah ok” and it’s very different from the usual tone of “I’ve got this”. I think it just goes to show that the Commander really only kind of knows how to be the Commander and if you take them out of that situation and put them in a different one they kinda don’t know what to do? Yeah

I’ve never had so much fun at the DMV in my LIFE. That was so funny. Listen Bertie absolutely brings a romance novel with him while he waits. I can’t believe they made me do paper work. I’m notoriously bad at paperwork and bureaucracy so This was really funny.

Bertie: wow and I thought Rata Sum had a lot of regulations.

Syrryl: oh you don’t know the half of it

Doing an event to fill up the bar and the woman were escorting has massive butch lesbian vibes truly excellent

Shit I just realized time is passing? Like the holo news is updating stories. Kas had the time to go and do an interview oh this is kind of jarring I’m so used to us being the one to move things along

That combined with the fact that like there’s not the tension and immediate goals of season 4 and icebrood saga really makes it feel like the Commander isn’t in charge it’s very different I’m interested to see where this goes. Cause like yknow end of dragons. What becomes of the Commander when their biggest live goal is over? I’m getting ahead of myself….

Boat time! For some reason I cannot get the skiff to drop anchor correctly but that’s ok whenever we have a multi person vehicle my bf always drives. He’s the can drive gay of this household

Don’t have the boat five minutes and I’m already on the Uber grind lol

Oh my god everyone else is already there what the hell?

I like Navan. She’s very calming.

To new Kaineng!!

#connor's stuff #my writing #commander’s log #end of dragons #end of dragons spoilers

[mediaeval-muse]

Book Review

Descendant of the Crane. By Joan He. New York: Albert Whitman & Company, 2019.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: YA fantasy

Part of a Series? Not yet?

Summary: Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death... because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago. Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?

***Full review under the cut.***

SPOILERS in the last paragraph of the “Plot” section.

Content/Trigger Warnings: violence, blood, references to torture, slavery

Overview: I really wanted to like this book. I really did. The premise seemed promising, and I loved the idea of a Chinese-inspired fantasy world with a touch of courtroom drama. Unfortunately, there seemed to be too much going on, so much that I couldn’t connect with this book’s characters and the narrative didn’t flow in a way that drew me into the intrigue and mystery. I would have given this book 3 stars on premise alone, but because I didn’t feel like the scenes built on one another, this book only gets 2 stars from me.

Writing: He’s prose is fine for a YA novel in that it is fairly straightforward with a few poetic images sprinkled in here and there to evoke emotion. It’s very similar to a lot of other YA prose I’ve read, and I don’t personally think anything sets it apart. I did notice, however, that would sometimes use imagery or metaphors that I found more confusing than illuminating. For example, He describes a character as taking to the shadows “like a knife in a sheath,” which would have been ok, but the character was supposed to be more dangerous in the shadows - and a sheathed knife isn’t a threat.

I also found that He would reference bits of lore, backstory, or worldbuilding at odd moments, and sometimes, this info wouldn’t be especially relevant. It felt like she was trying to make references to her worldbuilding without infodumping, which is all well and good, but these references would sometimes distract from the main action.

I also thought He’s pacing and focus was off; the trial/mystery plot would sometimes fade to the background, while the tensions with neighboring kingdoms wasn’t really felt until a certain point in the novel, then it disappeared again. Some events received more attention than I think was warranted, while others received less. For example, we get a lot of scenes of Hesina doing paperwork, but then the ending felt rushed and a lot of information was dumped on us after several plot twists. There were times when things would be summarized rather than played out “on screen,” which is ok sometimes, but it often felt like He used summary so she shock the reader rather than lead them on a journey.

And lastly, I noticed that He has the tendency to use constructions where things other than the characters have agency. For example, “fear creeped into her” or “hope fluttered through her” and the like; it wasn’t bad, per se, but it was noticeable, as if He didn’t want her characters to have as much agency.

Plot: Describing this plot is fairly difficult, since, in my opinion, none of the scenes seem to flow or build upon each other to create a structured narrative. It seemed like He wanted to write a courtroom drama, a high fantasy novel, and a political saga, all of which came together to meditate on things like truth, history, and oppression. It was a lot to cram together, so much so that instead of an action-packed saga, I got a narrative that I couldn’t focus on because there wasn’t the time to explore themes or events in detail. In other words, because a lot happened, all events were rushed and felt shallow. The murder trial plot, for example, didn’t feel very developed; all of the courtroom drama felt pretty standard (this suspect couldn’t have done X because she’s left handed and the cut had to have been made by a right handed person) and most of the people who are trying to fabricate evidence are pretty bad at it. The political conflict, too, seems to be an afterthought, as the people’s desperation for salt isn’t really felt (just told to us) and no one seems too bothered about the raids along the border. I think the novel would have worked better if it focused primarily on the trial and following characters as they uncovered evidence that would be important for that trial. Not only would the narrative structure have felt tighter, but I think the courtroom drama could have been a good vehicle to explore the themes that He seemed interested in (things like oppression and truth can definitely come up with the right focus).

I also found myself to be frustrated by the plot twists because many of them felt random. There wasn’t a lot of groundwork that was laid to make them seem plausible, and I personally don’t like twists that I can’t see coming on some level. Don’t get me wrong - I think a little shock is good here and there, but I think plot twists work best when there is some hint that something is awry. The twist with Hesina’s father, for example, felt earned, whereas the ones involving her brother Caiyan and Lilian, felt random. I especially did not like that the whole epilogue was devoted to explaining how one of the plot twists was made possible; the behind-the-scenes action was dumped on us all at once, and I don’t really like it when I read a whole book and am then told “actually, this was happening the whole time” without some hints during the narrative that there is a bigger picture.

Also, just a quick note: while the plot twist with the Tenets is interesting, I feel like it has the possibility to be a scapegoat in the vein of “prejudice is due to a magical curse rather than something real and ingrained that we have to do hard, continuous work to remove.”

Characters: Hesina, our protagonist, is a Princess who becomes Queen for the purposes of having control over her father’s murder investigation. Personally, I found Hesina to be somewhat bland. She’s not really a ruthless ruler or cunning strategist; most of her decisions are driven by emotion, which can be a good character flaw, but it wasn’t really balanced out by a trait that I found particularly defining. The most she has going for her is that she’s pretty brave and is sympathetic to people who are oppressed, but I don’t think Hesina developed enough for me to really see her character as having an arc. I did sympathize with her dilemmas, especially when she had to make difficult political decisions, but I wanted a little more from her.

Akira, the convict-turned-lawyer who is tasked with solving the case, is a ho-hum love interest who Hesina chooses to represent the crown in her father’s murder case because a Sooth vaguely tells her to “find the convict with the rod.” Akira is written as somewhat mysterious, with skills that seem to come out of nowhere: he is good at fighting, knows some languages, and seems to be good at understanding chemical compounds. All these seemed to be laid as breadcrumbs toward figuring out his tumultuous past; however, I didn’t feel like I was dying to know more because Akira is so aloof and fades in and out of the background. We also don’t really see him putting together clues or explaining how he figured things out; most of the time, we get a summary of what he said (”Akira explained this chemical reaction”), so he doesn’t feel like a major player in the plot. Even his background is dumped on us all at once in summary, which made it less emotional to read. The romance between Akira and Hesina also felt a little forced. While it doesn’t take up a lot of space in the story, it did feel a little random. I didn’t really understand why Hesina decided she wanted to kiss Akira, and the emotional moments they exchanged didn’t really feel genuine.

Supporting characters also felt a little one-dimensional, such as Hesina’s mother, who doesn’t get along with her daughter (because of mental illness? other reasons?) but does get along with her son. Civil servants also weave in and out of the story at convenient moments, and commoners are fairly faceless. I did, however, enjoy the family dynamics between Hessina, her brother Sanjing, and their half-siblings, as it created some complicated personal and official court tensions, while also showing some family affection that transcended “legitimate” bloodlines. The dynamics between Hessina, Caiyan, and Lilian were especially well-done, as they seemed to balance each other out. I would have liked to see more instances where Caiyan’s and Lilian’s experience living on the street affected how the plot went; He tells us this detail, but I think it only comes in handy once.

Other: I don’t think every fantasy novel needs a lot of world-building, but more support in this book would have been helpful. I might have missed some details because a lot was going on, but I constantly found myself asking questions like “What are the limits of Hesina’s powers as queen? Why can’t she command this person to do this thing? Why bargain with her main enemy, Xia Zhong, instead of expose him right away?” I also think some of He’s terminology needed to be reworked, as she used phrases like “sticks of black powder,” “Investigation Bureau,” and “pillow log” - terms that got the main idea across, but felt a little clunky.

I did, however, like the idea of the Eleven and the Tenets, especially their role as historical people/documents that are idolized and not challenged. There’s a real opportunity in there for some exploration of how history is sanitized or how bad things are overlooked in the attempt to present the current state of a nation in the best possible light - it reminds me of the ways in which America idolizes the Founding Fathers yet glosses over aspects like slave ownership.

TL;DR: Descendant of the Crane suffers from a shallow exploration of too many plot threads, plot twists which feel in service to shock value, and a forgettable main character and love interest. While it does have some interesting themes, such as the idolization of historical figures, there was ultimately too much going on that I found it hard to focus on any one thing for long.

#book reviews

[zdbztumble]

Final Thoughts: KH III (Spoilers)

OK, the nice stuff’s over with.

And, in the spirit of Kingdom Hearts, here’s a menu to unceremoniously dump all the necessary information on you to follow this post:

Rave Zero

A Minor Rant

More Ranting

Botching Backwards and Forwards

But What About Kairi

Build a Better Prequel

Penultima Raving

The Positives

Now then...

Writing critiques like this is usually fun for me. I like thinking about and analyzing narratives, as mental exercise and relaxation, and because I find it helpful as a writer struggling to make fiction my profession. Finding the good and bad in a piece, understanding why something works or doesn’t, and putting myself in the shoes of a writer - particularly one in the middle of an ongoing series - improves my own craft and gives me more empathy and sympathy for creatives who come under fire.

In this case, though, I can’t say that I have much in the way of sympathy or empathy. I cannot understand how any head of story could come up with something like this and decide that it was ready for prime time. I can’t understand how writers brought in to do the actual scripting wouldn’t speak up about its issues. I can’t understand how editors, producers, and executives would sign off on this. And by “this,” I mean the finale of KH III. I haven’t loved the story turns this series has taken since the end of II, and I’ve struggled to make sense of all the convoluted turns the plot has taken, but this - or, to be specific, one moment in particular - is completely beyond my ability to understand, relate to, or tolerate.

Before getting to that one moment, though, there are other issues with this finale. One of those is the problem of paying off too large a cast: it’s almost impossible to do while giving every character a satisfying conclusion. By the time the game comes to its conclusion, most of the characters have either hit dead ends in their arcs, petered out, or been demonstrated to be entirely superfluous to this game’s plot. To wit:

- Maleficent and Pete could have been cut entirely and nothing would have been lost. Cutting them would even improve the pacing of the Olympus world slightly. Their whole goal amounts to nothing but a tease for an item that might become important in a potential future game. Luxord’s quest for a “chest,” presumably the same Black Box, has the same problem, but at least Luxord is a part of the Organization and so has some reason for being in the story.

- Ansem the Wise is ultimately on-hand just to tease more potential future events and characters, in the form of allusions to a mysterious girl who I thought might be Kairi, then thought was Xion, but is apparently some other character never before mentioned (thank you @themattress.) I bought KH III to play and know the story of KH III; if I wanted an extended trailer for a future game that may not even get made, I’d pay for one.

- Those members of the Organization who don’t defect, and who commanded quite a bit of screen time in this game (more than the damn tritagonist did) are virtually unchanged from their previous appearances, still serve as glorified henchmen, and meet largely identical ends. The attempts at pathos with them, particularly with Larxene, ring hollow, and the idea that the recompletion gimmick might let them appear again some day in a new form is...unpleasant.

- Did you really need Ienzo and Vexen both? Take either one of them out, and the other could have cooked up the necessary replicas. 

- Axel’s never-seen training with a Keyblade amounts to almost as little as Kairi’s, as he ultimately doesn’t do much but serve as an impetus for the return of Roxas and the defection of Xion. And once those two are back on the scene, they don’t have all that much to do but point their keys at whatever the group needs them to. Their presence takes us over the required number of seven, so they are quite literally unnecessary.

- Vanitas and his quest to assimilate Ven ultimately amounts to nothing, for how important it was in BbS and his continued seeking it here. He becomes just another boss battle, destined to fade away.

- Aside from filling out the full seven, Aqua and Ven don’t get all that much to do in the battle. Terra and Sora do the heavy lifting in getting Terra liberated, and by the end, Eraqus tells Terra to be the one to look out for the group. Not Aqua, the master who spent most of BbS trying to set things to right - Terra, the impulsive quasi-Anakin Skywalker who ended up possessed by the villain.

- Riku and Mickey are the exception to this, as I think carrying them through as Sora’s battle partners in the showdown with the three young Xehanorts, and giving them the bulk of the dialogue in the final cutscenes, gives them a meaningful role to play in the finale.

But since Eraqus has been mentioned...that leads us to the next problem. Because I still don’t understand how Eraqus managed to hide his heart inside of Terra’s (and yes, I have seen the BbS cutscene.) But setting aside the mechanics; the idea that Eraqus has been alive this whole time, that he can stop Xehanort with a gentle talking-to, and extending the metaphor of their chess game in their youth this far, makes everything that happens feel so much smaller. And giving Xehanort - a villain who was made, in looks and personality, more evil from BbS on - is a baffling choice. He isn’t the first villain to have a less-than-convincing redemption in this series, of course. And, were it done better, I might be more tolerant of it. But it isn’t.

And having that about-face brought about by Eraqus lessens Sora’s part in the finale. His brave venture after Xehanort, Donald and Goofy by his side, makes for a nice boss battle. It’s less impressive than the one in KH I IMO, but I do like that Donald and Goofy are with him for nearly the entire thing. The Trinity revival at the end of it is a great touch, though I would’ve preferred some sort of beam struggle to cap it off. But one of Sora’s qualities - one that this game, and DDD, loved to spell out as blatantly as possible - is his ability to reach and connect with people. Outsourcing that to another character, leaving Sora as the brute force in the conflict with Xehanort, leaves him and one of his most defining and positive character traits sidelined at the crucial moment. I grant you that Sora probably isn’t all that well disposed to the man who killed Kairi, but you would think he’d have some function beyond swinging his blade and holding a key.

But in the end, the apocalypse is averted, and Sora leaves his friends behind to try and save Kairi. Cue the closing cutscene, with happy endings aplenty. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Yen Sid, Chip, and Dale get a warm welcome home in Disney Castle. Terra, Aqua, and Ven get their home back, and Ven gets his little cat thing that he apparently had once. Axel, Roxas, and Xion get their sea salt ice cream again, reunite with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, and it turns out that even Saix is on-hand (because, y’know, that bond he had with Axel was so organic and essential to pay off.) Namine is brought back (according to a recent interview, this is possible because her heart was released from Kairi’s when Kairi was killed), and Riku turns up to take her to a big party on Destiny Islands. With literally everyone on-hand, Donald is the first to notice Sora and Kairi sitting on the paopu tree together, holding hands. Kairi looks up at Sora, smiles, and starts to cry. Sora then fades away, leaving Kairi alone.

Now we’re at that moment.

I was so confused the first time I saw this scene, and watching it in the theater menu a few times didn’t help. Talking with @echidnapower about it helped me puzzle together that Sora must have paid the price for abusing the Power of Waking. It was hard to track those warnings amidst all the other pretentious monologuing and schoolyard taunting that the Organization did, and amidst all the other plot threads in this game - but, fair enough. That was some clear foreshadowing. And, just like with Kairi’s death, I can’t object to the idea out of hand. KH I ended on a shocking bittersweet note, after all. Ending the Xehanort saga, and possibly the series, with the main character failing to heed all warnings and losing his own life while managing to save the person he cares most about, is a bold idea. Pulled off properly, I’d be in tears while writing my review, but I’d be applauding the guts and skill of the creative team.

But is Sora’s quest to find Kairi made into a final stage, or even a cutscene? No. Is his final misuse of the Power of Waking shown? No. Is it even clear whether Kairi reappeared at the same time as Sora, or if she’d been there on the beach with everyone else before he turned up? No. And is any of this, in any way, made a central element of the final scene? No. The possibly permanent death of our protagonist, caused by his final solo quest to save Kairi, is such an afterthought at the end that not a single aspect of the journey to that moment merits any screen time.

And don’t tell me that this might be something covered in the DLC, or that it could be setting up for another game. If they wanted to leave Sora and Kairi’s fate more open-ended, and a potential hook into a future game, they should have been left out of the final scene altogether. The Power of Waking, Sora’s shaky control of it, and its dangers were meant to be relevant to this story. Sora and Kairi’s bond being stretched to the point that one or both of them could permanently die was meant to be a major factor in this story. I’m all for leaving certain things off-screen, open-ended, or open to interpretation, but if anything should merit some degree of resolution within this game itself, to say nothing of a goddamn cutscene, it’s the potentially final fate of our fucking hero.

It feels like such an afterthought that I’m forced to wonder why Sora was ever retained as the protagonist past KH II.  One solution to the current crop of issues with Kingdom Hearts, as I’ve already gone into, would have been to simplify; fewer titles between console releases and a much less convoluted story that stayed focused on the actual leads. But it’s almost impossible not to come away from the post-II games feeling that most of the staff’s passion has drifted to other characters and elements. Axel, Roxas, and Xion; Terra, Aqua, and Ven; all the convoluted plotting and betraying and cryptic messages of Organization XIII; and now all this X business; it seems clear that that’s where the focus is now. Square Enix is no stranger to cyclic and anthology series; there was more than enough precedent to retire Sora and friends and continue Kingdom Hearts with new protagonists. Those who enjoy all these elements could have them unadulterated, and those of us who prefer Sora’s story could be content with three great games. Hell, Kingdom Hearts as a whole could’ve been retired at II, with the characters and elements most favored forming the foundation for an original series; the staff still seems jazzed to cross over with Disney, but they’ve become increasingly unable to meaningfully connect those worlds to the larger story, excepting a handful of characters from Disney Castle. An original series wouldn’t have to worry about that.

Instead, an ultimately untenable path was trod, trying to keep all of these things to play, the ultimate price being a final game to the saga that leaves every single storyline feeling less than it could be. Kairi may get the worst of it blow by blow, but I would say that Sora - the protagonist - is the second-worst hit, and that I cannot comprehend as a writer.

When I first got the feeling that something bad might happen to either Sora or Kairi, or both, I was prepared to be sad at the end of this game, but I expected to be sad the same way I was at the end of KH I - in an ultimately positive way, having been sincerely and surprisingly moved by a story I came to love. At the end of KH III, I’m sad in another way entirely; I’m sad because I feel nearly all my enthusiasm for this series evaporated along with Sora. I was planning to buy copies of I, CoM, and II to replace the ones I had to sell years ago; if I end up doing that when I have the money, it’ll be as an effort to get back to what first charmed me about the series.

Hopefully, I can still find that charm there, but I don’t know what would make me excited for future releases. What reason do I have to hope that the flaws of the recent games, culminating in III, will be corrected or even recognized as flaws? The Epilogue and Secret Movie certainly don’t give any hope. For all the talk about III being the finale to the Dark Seeker saga, the convoluted Keyblade War lore it spawned and at least one of its more annoying characters seem set to continue on. The Nameless Star and that girl alluded to by Ansem (who I hope for simplicity's sake are the same person) represent yet another new character shoved into the mix. And the Secret Movie may give some people hope for Sora, but it just left me numb.

I’ll go ahead and predict what the next game of the series, if there is one, will be, based on those two scenes: either the game is ostensibly about what Sora went through to save Kairi, with a retcon pulled to suck Riku into the mix; or, it’s set after the final scene of KH III, with Riku - not Kairi, but Riku - going in search of Sora. Either way, in practice the game’s plot will be taken up by a mess of a plot concerning the Black Box and/or the Book of Prophecies and all that crap from Kingdom Hearts X: Back Cover (a movie I could not bring myself to finish, I was so bored), all the while taking any chance it can get to salvage as much of the aborted Final Fantasy Versus XIII as possible. Kairi will be lucky to get a cameo, the Disney worlds will barely have any relevance, Maleficent will get elbowed off to the sides, and if Sora comes back to life and remains the hero, he’ll still be relegated to a spectator and an afterthought to make room for all the things that the team really cares about.

Cynical, you say? Bitter, perhaps? You’re not wrong. And I’d love for another Kingdom Hearts game to come out and make me eat crow. But for whatever joy Kingdom Hearts III brought me as a game, it’s been a truly painful experience as a story. With no pleasure, I can honestly say that in terms of a failed narrative; in terms of completely missing the mark on where the focus should lie; and in terms of feeling like an almost deliberate insult or dismissal of what made these characters and this series wonderful to begin with; no narrative with the Disney name on it, or perhaps at all, has left me so upset since Maleficent. And for me to be saying that, is saying something.

#critique #commentary #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts 3 #disney #sora #kairi #z's crits

[erika-de-claire]

☾ cute character questions ☽

THE BASICS.

NAME : Erika Florence De Claire Pace (usually going by one of the surnames)


AGE : 16, mentally and physically. 


ZODIAC SIGN : Gemini.


ONE GOOD TRAIT : Gentle.


ONE BAD TRAIT : Anxious.

HABITS.

ONE BAD HABIT : Erika has a bad habit of shying away from most social situations. Only occasionally growing the courage to go to parties and such in which, even then, she still needs Giggles or a close friend by her side so she isn't left with a bunch of people she doesn't know. She struggles to make conversation.


ONE GOOD HABIT : Erika has a good habit of simply remaining polite. She's noticed that many people- especially towards somebody who isn't like them- jump too quickly to singling a person out and being rude. She often causes herself to go overboard with it, however. 


ONE HABIT THEY CAN’T BREAK : Erika can't seem to break her habit of being overly concerned for people. Even in the slightest issue, she will be the one panicking more than the person who is hurt. While she can easily help people when medical care is needed. She worries greatly and this can lead her to becoming a little bit overprotective and doing everything she can to ensure a person's safety.


ONE THEY’VE BROKEN : One habit that Erika has managed to break was a scratching habit. Being a ghost one wouldn't expect her to get hurt. But when her anxiety or PTSD would act up, scratching was a nervous habit and often did cause some ectoplasm. She was lucky enough to break this while dealing with her anxieties, having Giggles become a proper support animal also helped.


WHAT THEY’RE AFRAID OF : The one thing that frightens Erika the most is that the person she once loved, who took advantage of it and hurt her. Will return someday, she fears that he may find her friends and hurt them or try to come back into her life. She knows he is still out there and the things he can do.

FAMILY.

THEIR PARENTS NAMES : Randall Pace and Emily De Claire.


THEIR SIBLINGS NAMES : None


FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY : Erika has many wonderful childhood memories but one of the best was when she went to her first party in the mansion. She was around four or so and at that time, very confident. She still remembers watching the ghosts in the ballroom dance and watching in awe as the organist played his music. She could've sat and watched the entire time, and she almost did! It's possible this was one of the things that got her so into music.


FAVORITE CHILDHOOD TOY : Erika was very spoilt by the other ghosts, though her favourite toy had to be a plush rabbit that was made for her at birth. As a young ghost she would be carrying it in her arms everywhere, when she grew out of her first ballet shoes, she would put the old ones on the rabbit. She still has it kept in a safe place in the mansion. The rabbit was called 'Snowbell'. Possibly because of its white colour.


EMBARRASSING STORY : To Erika, slipping up ever so slightly in front of people can be considered humiliating. Though, she will never get over the time that she slipped up very badly at one of the parties in the mansion. The entire night just wasn't for her, first she showed up and had forgotten to do her hair- it was stuck in the scruffiest ponytail- then she kept getting mixed up in conversations, to a point that she gave just a bit too much away. Other ghosts even wondered if she was drunk! Thankfully, she wasn't, she just was just feeling under the weather.

FAVOURITE FAMILY MEMBER : Erika loves every member of her ghost family unconditionally but nobody can even try to compare to both of her parents.


A STORY ABOUT THAT FAMILY MEMBER : The amount of wonderful stories Erika has with her parents throughout her unlife could make a whole saga of their own. Though, she really does appreciate hearing the story of how her mother and father reunited in the afterlife and got to love eachother freely.

WHAT THEY PREFER.

COFFEE OR TEA ? Tea, her favourite type is Camomile or English Breakfast, the sweeter the better.


SHOWERING IN THE DAY OR NIGHT ? Day, specifically in the morning. Especially in Auradon, it is just a good way to get started and freshened up without seeming completely dead all day.


TAKING BATHS OR TAKING SHOWERS ? Baths, she finds them incredibly relaxing and loves settling down in a nice warm bath with a good book and warm drink. Especially in winter.


TV OR MOVIES ? WRITING OR READING ? Movies, she loves being able to have movie nights with her friends and especially going to the cinema to see new releases, which she had been doing since she started in Auradon. She loves both writing and reading, being an extreme bookworm as well as having a love for all kinds of literature, Erika won't deny having read many classic forms of the art and even written a few poems and songs.


PLATONIC OR ROMANTIC LOVE ? Both, Erika has a deep love for her friends that can never be broken and will always remain loyal to them, and while her experience romantically turned out awful for her, she still has hope in a better romantic future.


ICED TEA OR LEMONADE ? Lemonade, she has tried Iced Tea and it doesn't sit with her right- she prefers hot tea- lemonade also just works for those summer days.


ICE CREAM OR SMOOTHIES ? Ice Cream, Erika is very fond of Ice Cream on a warm day, her favourite flavor often changing.


CUPCAKES OR CAKE ? Cupcakes, Erika can't eat much regular cake as she only eats small portions- always being told 'you eat like a sparrow!' - so cupcakes are much easier to finish.


BEACH OR MOUNTAINS ? Beach, Erika has never been to the mountains but aside from the salt water- she did enjoy a trip to the beach one summer with her friends.

FAVOURITES.

SONG : Erika doesn't have just ONE favourite song, but she does find enjoyment in many modern songs- especially those with a more alternative style or even musical soundtracks. Her favourite song changes often but at the moment it's 'This is Me' by Keala Settle. She even learned the dance.


BAND : Erika hasn't listened to many bands lately and is still figuring out her favourite.


OUTFIT : This is a tie, Erika wears many flowy and frilly dresses that all make her feel beautiful- especially to dance in. One of which being a pale indigo dress that she actually altered herself. Very simple but it works for most occasions. Another is a simple white shirt and long blue skirt- she wears stuff like these on days where her mental state is at its lowest and she can't bring herself out of her room. It's something comfy and light, though it may look frumpy, she doesn't care.


PLACE : Erika has a fondness of many spots in the mansion, though the attic is the one she holds the most dear.


MEMORY : Erika has too many memories that make her smile and fill with glee. Asking her would even send her into an indecisive frenzy.


PERSON : She just doesn't have one! There is so many people that mean a lot to her.


MOVIE : For Erika her favourite is actually a tie between 'The Greatest Showman', 'Murder on the Orient Express' and the 'Sherlock Holmes' movies. The first being a musical that she fell in love with- especially considering she was considered an 'oddity' amongst Auradon students. While 'Murder on the Orient Express' and the 'Sherlock Holmes' movies are adaptations of some of her favourite books by Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- though these could just be biased due to her love of the books.


SHOW : Erika usually watches whatever is on at the time and doesn't have one favourite- she's more of a movie person.

TV!

TAGGED BY : @theheadlessgroom


TAGGING : anyone else who would like to do it!

[nana-talks]

bourne franchise, a review

basics the bourne identity (2002) - ★★★ the bourne supremacy (2004) - ★���★★⯩ the bourne ultimatum (2007) - ★★⯩ the bourne legacy (2012) - ★★★ jason bourne (2016) - ★★★

review: i was going to write individual reviews for each of the movies on the franchise, but not only was i too lazy, i also watched 4 out of 5 literally at 1am. so here i am, the day after to compile my thoughts.

overall, i think i give the franchise a 3.5 stars. it is a classic spy action franchise and i think a lot of the directing/writing was fundamental for the new age action movies. but it’s not great, per se.

i will be reviewing some aspects of the franchise with spoilers, so read with caution.

directing this was the weakest point for me. the first one is great, apart from how old it looks, which is comprehensive (it was released 18 years ago) and the sound design which is disgustingly bad. Paul Greengrass, however, comes to change things up and just forgets to turn down the shaky cam to a point where i was feeling legitimately sick while watching the movie. it gave me a migraine i’m still trying to wear off.

a lot of the stylistic choices of the zooms, transitions and action sequences were not only hurtful to the eyes, but plain out ugly - they look outdated even for the 2016 instalment of the series. and from the reviews i’ve read, people agree on this one.

writing i am overly critical on writing because it is what i enjoy most in a film. i don’t know much about directing or acting, but stories - that’s something i know. so i was engaged with the premise of the first movie, but was a bit thrown off with some of the choices in the later movies.

with the first one, i enjoyed how they set up Jason’s backstory with flashbacks and how they wrote his main romantic storyline with Marie. it felt like an integral part of the movie, it had the correct amount of stakes and overall, it was a good call. i’ll talk more on that in the next sections.

however, on the second one we have a deeper premise. with Marie’s death, Jason’s stakes are over the top and his reactions are aligned with his principles. most of the complaints i had with the first movie’s writing got better on the second one - the sound design was better, the general accents were better, he finally has some actual fights with people. overall it was a great addition.

it’s with the third movie that most of my problems started to show up. first of all, the plots of the second and third instalments only aligned in the second half of the third movie. it felt cheap, like they couldn’t come up with something for the third movie so they decided to go back to Russia and ignore the ending of the second movie for a little while, just until they managed to write more than an hour worth of content, then they can go back to scheduled programming. 

the third movie starts with the paralells that completely disregard Jason and his storyline. we have had Nicky in the first two movies of the series and she doesn’t do much - she’s just there, half the time, which is bad enough as it is. she’s a spy, for God’s sake. and now they’re trying to paint a romantic picture of her with Jason using the same scenes from Jason’s romantic storyline with Marie. literally recycling scenes - they are even shot similarly. it feels cheap, to me. they invoke Jason’s amnesia and PTSD with the “i loved you but you forgot about me” trope in the worst way possible. he even repeats the “please run, you can’t be close to me or you’ll be hurt” speech he gave Marie but the writers forget that Marie was just a normal person caught up in the wrong situation because she wanted a green card; Nicky is a trained agent of the CIA, she’s supposed to be able to look out for herself.

Nicky is also completely disregarded after she’s no longer with Jason. this happens several times during the franchise to the point where i feel like they never even wrote a storyline for her, they just went with it.

this is also the movie that started to get on my nerves with the inconsistency with character design. people that are supposed to be smart enough to have clearance on top state secrets make dumb mistakes to advance the plot. it feels like a cheap device used to advance a storyline and it’s just not believable. 

on the second movie, finally Jason’s abilities are put to the test, he gets to have real fights with high stakes with people on his caliber - and whenever he did make a mistake, you could see it was because he was struggling with his mental health issues. here we have people with high rankings in the CIA using their own passports in foreign countries and forgetting that their bank accounts would probably be surveilled? having fully empty floors in the buildings next to the CIA’s with access to their windows? the completely unsecured building in itself - just put papers in a safe and that’s enough, y’all! it’s cheap writing.

another thing that bothered me (but this isn’t a concept present only in Jason Bourne, it’s probably in every action movie possible) is the way they use foreign pain to advance their plots. riots and protests in third world countries are seen as a way to disguise Jason’s whereabouts with absolutely blatant disregard for the countries suffering. i wasn’t surprised but it still annoyed me.

i’ll completely skip the fourth movie, as i feel it should be treated separately from the Bourne trilogy. the fifth felt like an unnecessary ad-on, but some points were nice - mainly Jason’s principles’ consistency, which is one of my next points so i won’t dwell too much on it now. but overall, it felt like a money grab ad-on with no real substance, we had no stakes for the premise to be that enthralling. but the fight scenes were good, because once again, Jason was fighting someone on his caliber.

the bourne legacy (2012) this totally feels like a separate entity from the Bourne saga. not only because of the lack of Bourne in itself, but because the pace is different, the writing is different and the directing is also different. the shots were cool, specially in the snow, but not that cool to make me remember much else.

the writing, however, was interesting to say the least. the premise was incredible, probably my favorite one out of all. i think everything took a sharp turn for me with Oscar Isaac dying in the shed - it took me completely off guard and with that i kept interested in the rest of the plot. it was a bonus that the chase sequences (even though once more, in a foreign third world country) were better than i expected as well.

but how can a PhD graduate be so dumb? perhaps in 2012 we weren’t there yet with the whole “writing strong women” thing. (but then i think back to Marie and wonder who had the courage to write her in 2002 then). it just felt cheap to make this dumb ass character be the one to save the day when she took a gun in her hands and fired randomly to try and get away. how can a PhD graduate work for the CIA and not expect anything?

it was a great relief that Aaron’s character development was so well done, even if his motivation was quite lacklustre. so much so that i don’t hate this movie and i think it would be a pleasure to continue with this storyline, specially in a spin-off sort of way (perhaps to try and stop capitalizing on Bourne’s character to profit a movie that’s not about him)

favorite points here comes the part where i gush on and on about Jason Bourne & his relationship with Marie. but because they were objectively the best parts of the franchise, by miles on end.

firstly, their meeting made total sense to me and felt natural, something other spy movies and action movies forget to do with the romantic partner of the lead character. perhaps this is not understood the way it felt to me for american audiences, but the stakes she went to get a green card felt very reasonable to me. their relationship didn’t feel forced or rushed - much on the contrary, there were several moments in the first movie that i felt they could have happened sooner, but they didn’t. and that was a great choice.

because when they did, it felt real. to the point where their connection is still something i recall clearly even after 5 movies. to the point where Jason’s revenge felt reasonable (if not warranted).

apart from their relationship, with its nuance and care, i also truly enjoyed to see Jason’s development. he was by far the most thought out and fleshed out character in the whole franchise, of course, and it didn’t disappoint. his motivations were clear, his principles were sound and i didn’t question his actions not once because of it.

my favorite part was learning how much family meant to Jason. you can see a glimpse of this on the first movie, when he’s scared to go to sleep because Marie’s nephew and niece could be in possible danger. you can also see this when he fails his last mission when the man he’s about to murder wakes up with his daughter in his lap.

this is a motif that shows up once again with the way he reaches out to the loved ones of the people he’s killed, how he reaches out to Marie’s brother to let him know of what happened, how you can see he joined the Treadstone project on behalf of his father.

it all feels so convincing the part that hurts me the most is that he never got the chance to start a family with Marie. and perhaps if he had, maybe his stakes would have been higher. maybe it would have given more of an edge to the rest of the movies.

final points i started watching this series because my dad really likes them. i ended up really enjoying my time and will continue on my saga to watch famous series that shaped pop culture & give you my thoughts on them.

#jason bourne #words #movie review