![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Finished Picard. Note? You can legitimately just watch Season 3 and skip the first two seasons without too much difficulty. Season 3 for the most part acts as a stand-a-alone. Or, if you want you can watch S1, skip over S2, and watch S3. Or watch all three.
Your appreciation of S3 Picard may well depend on how much you appreciated or enjoyed S2. I didn't like S2. I thought it was silly, badly plotted, and self-indulgent, also spent far too much time spent on time travel, Song, and Q. Those who loved S2 - I've noticed, did not like S3 and were annoyed. Why? S3 barely references it. Outside of the first five minutes, everything from S2 is summarily dropped. Seven and Raffi are really the only characters carried over. And Laris, disappears completely from the story after the first ten minutes of the first episode - and is never mentioned or seen again. In other words, if you don't like S2, don't worry about it. If you loved it? Wait a few years to see S3, by that time you've have forgotten S2 and it won't matter.
I made the mistake of hurrying to watch all of S1 and S2, so I could see S3, only to discover by the second episode that I needn't have bothered. Because it's as if those seasons didn't happen. Sure they give us back story on who Raffi is, and how Seven ended up in Starfleet. But you don't really need it - since Picard S3 fills that in anyhow. It's almost as if the writers were told to write it as a stand-a-lone, and to forget the previous two seasons entirely. The only characters from those seasons that appear are Picard, Laris (briefly - long enough to summarily write her off without killing her), Raffi and Seven.
This is a Reunion Season - with the original STNG cast being front and center. And if, like me, what you want is more of those characters, and to learn more about them, and see one last adventure with them, then you will love S3 Picard, and hand wave the plot and continuity weaknesses, among other things.
There are continuity and plotting weaknesses. And a potential Marty Stu in Jake Crusher, although having watched the entire season now? I'm on the fence. I live in fear of creating one - and remain unclear on the definition of it, which was coined (surprise surprise) by a fan critic of fanfiction.
The trope originated from Paula Smith, who coined it in “A Trekkie’s Tale”, a parody Star-Trek fan fiction. It was intended to mock authors whose characters were clearly based on wish fulfilment, self-inserts and idealized versions of themselves.
In fan fiction, the origins of the term Mary Sue are simple. They describe a character that has been added to an already existing fictional universe and:
* Gains power/ becomes overpowered without any struggle or journey of earning it.
* Gets attention from the original established characters (including those who it is uncharacteristic of eg. if they are anti-social, untrusting).
* Resolves the entire conflict almost single-handedly, removing any obstacles.
Despite beginning in fan fiction, Mary Sue characters are visible in films and TV series of many kinds.
Okay now that I have the definition? No, the character of Jake Crusher doesn't really fit it. He only fits point two. Points one and three, not so much.
I'm also on the fence as to whether Rey in Force Awakens really fits it. I don't think so. She only fits maybe point two.
I thought a Mary Sue or Marty Stu was a character who was unbeatable or overly skilled or had too many skills, say a surgeon and an auto-mechanic. But that just means diverse. Turns out - I don't have to worry. I don't tend to read a lot of fanfic, so I am admittedly oblivious to these definitions.
The continuity issues - really are related to previous seasons. And how closely you remember the films and series. If you don't, it probably won't bother you all that much. I don't remember the original series or films much at all (I had to look up stuff that they referenced - so they aren't completely off). (Also I don't care that much about continuity - if I did, I'd not watch long running serials like General Hospital, Doctor Who, Star Wars, or Star Trek for that matter. I also wouldn't read X-men comic books - which kind of throws continuity out the window and jumps up and down on it with glee. So too does General Hospital. In short it's not a game changer for me. I'm a critical methodical pick butt on a lot of things - but not on that. If you are - it will bug you and I suggest skipping S1 and S2 of Picard. Or watch them separately. Because there are major continuity issues.) How do I handwave it? Simple - I care more about exploration of character than plot. Always have. Always will.
It references DS9 and Voyager a lot, and even features two-three characters from both series. I don't really remember either that well. Of the two, I preferred Voyager - and Voyager has the most cameos. I didn't really watch DS9, mainly because I didn't like anyone in it but Kira. (Character oriented not plot oriented.) That and I despised the villains and religious wars storyline. My brother despised it - because he felt it was a racist take on the Wars in the Middle East. (I don't know about that - I think he's reaching, or whomever told him this - is reaching. But it did lay weight to my dislike of the series, that and the fact that I agree with the creator of Bab 5, they stole a lot from that series which was by far the superior one, and on opposite - so you had to choose which one to watch. (Guess which one I chose?) This was before DVR's.
Anyhow, the Voyager cameos are Tuvok and of course Seven of 9 who was in STNG and Voyager. (I'm guessing Kate Mulgrew was unavailable.) We also have Michelle Forbes - who was on Voyager, DS9 and STNG pop up.
But mainly, it's a reunion of the original cast of STNG - providing each cast member with a pivotal role in the plot, and a lot to do. Jake Crusher is as much the muckmuffin or mysterious object being sought as the problem to be resolved. He's the device that brings them together, and unites them.
So, no, not a Marty Stu. Also his powers - come with a hefty price. More curse than gift. A bit contrived though.
I rather liked Seven, Raffi, Worf, Ryker, Troi, Crusher and Data's arcs.
Picard...eh, his arc was more or less completed in S2. The good news, is there was less focus on Picard in this season than in the previous one.
And less hero worship.
It ends well, of course. And provides a potential spin-off with the adventures of the Enterprise G - staring all the new characters, and well Seven.
To sum up without spoilers? It stuck the ending, and will provide fans of the series a satisfying ride with old friends, and a nice wrap up of their characters arcs.
2. Wolf Pack
Made it through four episodes of this eight episode series. It's not bad.
Among the better series that Gellar has done post Buffy. It helps that she's not the lead, and more in the background. The focus is on the teens, and we're mainly in their point of view. Gellar has graduated to the Anthony Stewart Head and Jenny Carpenter roles.
It also gets better as you go. Episode 4 was spooky. And the cast got a bit more appealing as I went. So clunky to start, improves by Episode 4.
[It's on Paramount Plus.]
3. Shadow and Bone
With the exception of Captain Kirigan (who is kind of moustache twirling), this is a fun series. I love the Crows. Kaz, Jesper, Inel, Nina, and Wylan, are fun. The six, is undoubtedly Matthias. Alina & Mal are okay, the privateer and his crew make them more interesting. As Genya makes Kirigan a bit more interesting.
The leads are kind of boring, the supporting characters on the other hand are rather fun. So much so, I wish I could just watch the supporting characters and ditch the three leads (Mal, Alina, and Kirigan). I think that may well be the weakness of this series.
I'm on episode 3 - I think.
4. Question on The Mandalorian S3 - do I have to watch the Book of Boba Fett first - or can I skip it? I'm unclear on this. Boba Fett is 7 episodes - so it's no great hardship - except they are all filmed rather darkly, and I'd need to watch them at night with the lights turned off in order to see them (same was true of Picard and Shadow and Bone. So time consuming. I may do it anyhow - because I like Ming-Li Weng. But is it worth it? That one got bad reviews. (Not that this means anything. Star Wars is like Star Trek -in that the fandom is rather vocal about what they like and dislike about it. And they do not agree. At all. I mean all the Star Wars films and series have gotten bad and good reviews. Depends on who you talk to.)
5. Finished Mel Robbins - Take Control of Your Life: How to Face Your Fears and Take Back Control of Your Life or something like that. I'm horrible about remembering book titles. In attempting to download the companion workbook - I got the workbook and video training sessions instead. I don't think she has the separate workbook that just goes with the book any longer. I think it got updated to the videos and workbook.
My difficulty with pop psychology self-help books - and life coaching - is I get confused. Actually this is true of the therapeutic process in general. Therapists, life coaches, sociologists like to label people or put them in nice neat defined categories. Which, while understandable, isn't really practical.
Robbins does acknowledge and understand that many of us have trauma or experienced traumatic events in our lives without it being familial, sexual abuse, or physical abuse. There's also emotional abuse. Also it may not necessarily seem severe or horrific to an outside viewer. This puts Robbins slightly above the rest, who don't appear to get this. I give Robbins a lot of credit for picking up on that.
However, she does fall into the trap of generalizing, which leads to confusion. I mean, I found myself at the end of this contemplating whether I'm a chameleon like Robbins, or experiencing imposter syndrome, or just run and hide, or quieting my voice? It's hard to know. Possibly a little of all of the above, or none of them? We're not always the best judge of these things.
Robbins example of lying or a chameleon is - apparently she lied to her boyfriend that she was an expert fly fisherman, when in reality all she'd done was trolling - and got caught when she was introduced to his best friend - an expert fly fisherman on a fly fishing trip.
I can and I can't identify? Have I done this? Yes and no. Not quite to that extreme. (I'm smarter than that. I only bluff - if it's something that I can caught on, I won't lie about it. I can see the consequences of a variety of actions ahead of time. Over-analyzing is my super-power.) That said, I have lied about my music tastes - such as lying to my niece and brother's family about liking rap and hip hop (I don't - it's okay, but I'd rather listen to something else. My workplace knows that.). Also lied to people about liking sports teams and/or spectator sports. (I don't anymore. Waste of time. I don't really care about sports - and they figure that out eventually and get annoyed with me. I know enough about sports - to get away with it for a while.) And I've lied about my knowledge of folk music (I don't know that much and no, it's not my favorite of the genres - I prefer R&B, Blues, Jazz, Classical, Rock and Pop.) I've also lied about favorite television series. And hidden my love of comic books. And lied about politics - mainly because I hate conflict. A friend in college accused me of being wishy washy and having no opinion - mainly because I went along with whomever I was with at the time. (Probably comes as a bit of a shock to anyone reading this? Because I don't lie - here. I am brutally honest about my opinions here - for the most part. I remember CW telling me once that I was hard to get to know - mainly because I'd ask her what she liked and try to conform. It didn't occur to me this was lying?
I've also lied about what I can and can't do - often saying I can't do things that I'm very good at. My church doesn't know how good I am at facilitating group discussions or coordination of events, and event planning. Nor will they - I don't like doing it. So I tell them I can't.
And I'll say I'm good at something - I've not done before - to keep or get a job, and figure it out on the fly. Not sure that's lying so much as bluffing. But YMMV.
The problem is? I think we all have some of these tendencies? Self-isolate out of fear? (Considering we all just came out of a pandemic...) Imposter syndrome (it's a current psychological catch-phrase)? Not being Authentic or lying to avoid conflict and fit in? (I caught my niece doing it with me in 2021. And I did it with her. )
I'm not sure there's an easy fix here? I just want to meet more people, be more connected, and less lonely. Which takes me back to Picard S3 and why I enjoyed it - it's heavy on the theme of connection. Picard never felt he fit in anywhere - until he was on the Enterprise (same could be said of the portray-er). Then he felt he was home and had a family that accepted him and had his back. His workplace provided it. And the use of the Borg - emphasizes throughout the series the lack of connection, and the problem of being overly connected. That being connected to everyone's thoughts - knowing what they are all thinking and controlling them like a hive mentality isn't true connection or intimacy. It's forced. Just as assimilating a culture, isn't the same as sharing it. The Borg in a way is a metaphor for forced colonization. Taking the colonization of planets or countries to the extreme. So we want to feel less lonely, connected, and have a home - but not at the cost of others. Yet, at the same time, we can achieve this - if we reach out, and step out, and help in some way? As the lonely and self-isolated Seven of 9, Raffi, and Jack all end up doing in the end, along with Worf, and the others for that matter. Or Agnes does in joining with the Queen to save her and save the world. Or Data does in gifting his memories to his Twin Lore, resulting in Lore merging with him and being overtaken by Data. Surrendering himself to Lore, resulted in Lore (the dark side of Data) destruction.
Sometimes fiction provides more and better answers than non-fiction?
Your appreciation of S3 Picard may well depend on how much you appreciated or enjoyed S2. I didn't like S2. I thought it was silly, badly plotted, and self-indulgent, also spent far too much time spent on time travel, Song, and Q. Those who loved S2 - I've noticed, did not like S3 and were annoyed. Why? S3 barely references it. Outside of the first five minutes, everything from S2 is summarily dropped. Seven and Raffi are really the only characters carried over. And Laris, disappears completely from the story after the first ten minutes of the first episode - and is never mentioned or seen again. In other words, if you don't like S2, don't worry about it. If you loved it? Wait a few years to see S3, by that time you've have forgotten S2 and it won't matter.
I made the mistake of hurrying to watch all of S1 and S2, so I could see S3, only to discover by the second episode that I needn't have bothered. Because it's as if those seasons didn't happen. Sure they give us back story on who Raffi is, and how Seven ended up in Starfleet. But you don't really need it - since Picard S3 fills that in anyhow. It's almost as if the writers were told to write it as a stand-a-lone, and to forget the previous two seasons entirely. The only characters from those seasons that appear are Picard, Laris (briefly - long enough to summarily write her off without killing her), Raffi and Seven.
This is a Reunion Season - with the original STNG cast being front and center. And if, like me, what you want is more of those characters, and to learn more about them, and see one last adventure with them, then you will love S3 Picard, and hand wave the plot and continuity weaknesses, among other things.
There are continuity and plotting weaknesses. And a potential Marty Stu in Jake Crusher, although having watched the entire season now? I'm on the fence. I live in fear of creating one - and remain unclear on the definition of it, which was coined (surprise surprise) by a fan critic of fanfiction.
The trope originated from Paula Smith, who coined it in “A Trekkie’s Tale”, a parody Star-Trek fan fiction. It was intended to mock authors whose characters were clearly based on wish fulfilment, self-inserts and idealized versions of themselves.
In fan fiction, the origins of the term Mary Sue are simple. They describe a character that has been added to an already existing fictional universe and:
* Gains power/ becomes overpowered without any struggle or journey of earning it.
* Gets attention from the original established characters (including those who it is uncharacteristic of eg. if they are anti-social, untrusting).
* Resolves the entire conflict almost single-handedly, removing any obstacles.
Despite beginning in fan fiction, Mary Sue characters are visible in films and TV series of many kinds.
Okay now that I have the definition? No, the character of Jake Crusher doesn't really fit it. He only fits point two. Points one and three, not so much.
I'm also on the fence as to whether Rey in Force Awakens really fits it. I don't think so. She only fits maybe point two.
I thought a Mary Sue or Marty Stu was a character who was unbeatable or overly skilled or had too many skills, say a surgeon and an auto-mechanic. But that just means diverse. Turns out - I don't have to worry. I don't tend to read a lot of fanfic, so I am admittedly oblivious to these definitions.
The continuity issues - really are related to previous seasons. And how closely you remember the films and series. If you don't, it probably won't bother you all that much. I don't remember the original series or films much at all (I had to look up stuff that they referenced - so they aren't completely off). (Also I don't care that much about continuity - if I did, I'd not watch long running serials like General Hospital, Doctor Who, Star Wars, or Star Trek for that matter. I also wouldn't read X-men comic books - which kind of throws continuity out the window and jumps up and down on it with glee. So too does General Hospital. In short it's not a game changer for me. I'm a critical methodical pick butt on a lot of things - but not on that. If you are - it will bug you and I suggest skipping S1 and S2 of Picard. Or watch them separately. Because there are major continuity issues.) How do I handwave it? Simple - I care more about exploration of character than plot. Always have. Always will.
It references DS9 and Voyager a lot, and even features two-three characters from both series. I don't really remember either that well. Of the two, I preferred Voyager - and Voyager has the most cameos. I didn't really watch DS9, mainly because I didn't like anyone in it but Kira. (Character oriented not plot oriented.) That and I despised the villains and religious wars storyline. My brother despised it - because he felt it was a racist take on the Wars in the Middle East. (I don't know about that - I think he's reaching, or whomever told him this - is reaching. But it did lay weight to my dislike of the series, that and the fact that I agree with the creator of Bab 5, they stole a lot from that series which was by far the superior one, and on opposite - so you had to choose which one to watch. (Guess which one I chose?) This was before DVR's.
Anyhow, the Voyager cameos are Tuvok and of course Seven of 9 who was in STNG and Voyager. (I'm guessing Kate Mulgrew was unavailable.) We also have Michelle Forbes - who was on Voyager, DS9 and STNG pop up.
But mainly, it's a reunion of the original cast of STNG - providing each cast member with a pivotal role in the plot, and a lot to do. Jake Crusher is as much the muckmuffin or mysterious object being sought as the problem to be resolved. He's the device that brings them together, and unites them.
So, no, not a Marty Stu. Also his powers - come with a hefty price. More curse than gift. A bit contrived though.
I rather liked Seven, Raffi, Worf, Ryker, Troi, Crusher and Data's arcs.
Picard...eh, his arc was more or less completed in S2. The good news, is there was less focus on Picard in this season than in the previous one.
And less hero worship.
It ends well, of course. And provides a potential spin-off with the adventures of the Enterprise G - staring all the new characters, and well Seven.
To sum up without spoilers? It stuck the ending, and will provide fans of the series a satisfying ride with old friends, and a nice wrap up of their characters arcs.
2. Wolf Pack
Made it through four episodes of this eight episode series. It's not bad.
Among the better series that Gellar has done post Buffy. It helps that she's not the lead, and more in the background. The focus is on the teens, and we're mainly in their point of view. Gellar has graduated to the Anthony Stewart Head and Jenny Carpenter roles.
It also gets better as you go. Episode 4 was spooky. And the cast got a bit more appealing as I went. So clunky to start, improves by Episode 4.
[It's on Paramount Plus.]
3. Shadow and Bone
With the exception of Captain Kirigan (who is kind of moustache twirling), this is a fun series. I love the Crows. Kaz, Jesper, Inel, Nina, and Wylan, are fun. The six, is undoubtedly Matthias. Alina & Mal are okay, the privateer and his crew make them more interesting. As Genya makes Kirigan a bit more interesting.
The leads are kind of boring, the supporting characters on the other hand are rather fun. So much so, I wish I could just watch the supporting characters and ditch the three leads (Mal, Alina, and Kirigan). I think that may well be the weakness of this series.
I'm on episode 3 - I think.
4. Question on The Mandalorian S3 - do I have to watch the Book of Boba Fett first - or can I skip it? I'm unclear on this. Boba Fett is 7 episodes - so it's no great hardship - except they are all filmed rather darkly, and I'd need to watch them at night with the lights turned off in order to see them (same was true of Picard and Shadow and Bone. So time consuming. I may do it anyhow - because I like Ming-Li Weng. But is it worth it? That one got bad reviews. (Not that this means anything. Star Wars is like Star Trek -in that the fandom is rather vocal about what they like and dislike about it. And they do not agree. At all. I mean all the Star Wars films and series have gotten bad and good reviews. Depends on who you talk to.)
5. Finished Mel Robbins - Take Control of Your Life: How to Face Your Fears and Take Back Control of Your Life or something like that. I'm horrible about remembering book titles. In attempting to download the companion workbook - I got the workbook and video training sessions instead. I don't think she has the separate workbook that just goes with the book any longer. I think it got updated to the videos and workbook.
My difficulty with pop psychology self-help books - and life coaching - is I get confused. Actually this is true of the therapeutic process in general. Therapists, life coaches, sociologists like to label people or put them in nice neat defined categories. Which, while understandable, isn't really practical.
Robbins does acknowledge and understand that many of us have trauma or experienced traumatic events in our lives without it being familial, sexual abuse, or physical abuse. There's also emotional abuse. Also it may not necessarily seem severe or horrific to an outside viewer. This puts Robbins slightly above the rest, who don't appear to get this. I give Robbins a lot of credit for picking up on that.
However, she does fall into the trap of generalizing, which leads to confusion. I mean, I found myself at the end of this contemplating whether I'm a chameleon like Robbins, or experiencing imposter syndrome, or just run and hide, or quieting my voice? It's hard to know. Possibly a little of all of the above, or none of them? We're not always the best judge of these things.
Robbins example of lying or a chameleon is - apparently she lied to her boyfriend that she was an expert fly fisherman, when in reality all she'd done was trolling - and got caught when she was introduced to his best friend - an expert fly fisherman on a fly fishing trip.
I can and I can't identify? Have I done this? Yes and no. Not quite to that extreme. (I'm smarter than that. I only bluff - if it's something that I can caught on, I won't lie about it. I can see the consequences of a variety of actions ahead of time. Over-analyzing is my super-power.) That said, I have lied about my music tastes - such as lying to my niece and brother's family about liking rap and hip hop (I don't - it's okay, but I'd rather listen to something else. My workplace knows that.). Also lied to people about liking sports teams and/or spectator sports. (I don't anymore. Waste of time. I don't really care about sports - and they figure that out eventually and get annoyed with me. I know enough about sports - to get away with it for a while.) And I've lied about my knowledge of folk music (I don't know that much and no, it's not my favorite of the genres - I prefer R&B, Blues, Jazz, Classical, Rock and Pop.) I've also lied about favorite television series. And hidden my love of comic books. And lied about politics - mainly because I hate conflict. A friend in college accused me of being wishy washy and having no opinion - mainly because I went along with whomever I was with at the time. (Probably comes as a bit of a shock to anyone reading this? Because I don't lie - here. I am brutally honest about my opinions here - for the most part. I remember CW telling me once that I was hard to get to know - mainly because I'd ask her what she liked and try to conform. It didn't occur to me this was lying?
I've also lied about what I can and can't do - often saying I can't do things that I'm very good at. My church doesn't know how good I am at facilitating group discussions or coordination of events, and event planning. Nor will they - I don't like doing it. So I tell them I can't.
And I'll say I'm good at something - I've not done before - to keep or get a job, and figure it out on the fly. Not sure that's lying so much as bluffing. But YMMV.
The problem is? I think we all have some of these tendencies? Self-isolate out of fear? (Considering we all just came out of a pandemic...) Imposter syndrome (it's a current psychological catch-phrase)? Not being Authentic or lying to avoid conflict and fit in? (I caught my niece doing it with me in 2021. And I did it with her. )
I'm not sure there's an easy fix here? I just want to meet more people, be more connected, and less lonely. Which takes me back to Picard S3 and why I enjoyed it - it's heavy on the theme of connection. Picard never felt he fit in anywhere - until he was on the Enterprise (same could be said of the portray-er). Then he felt he was home and had a family that accepted him and had his back. His workplace provided it. And the use of the Borg - emphasizes throughout the series the lack of connection, and the problem of being overly connected. That being connected to everyone's thoughts - knowing what they are all thinking and controlling them like a hive mentality isn't true connection or intimacy. It's forced. Just as assimilating a culture, isn't the same as sharing it. The Borg in a way is a metaphor for forced colonization. Taking the colonization of planets or countries to the extreme. So we want to feel less lonely, connected, and have a home - but not at the cost of others. Yet, at the same time, we can achieve this - if we reach out, and step out, and help in some way? As the lonely and self-isolated Seven of 9, Raffi, and Jack all end up doing in the end, along with Worf, and the others for that matter. Or Agnes does in joining with the Queen to save her and save the world. Or Data does in gifting his memories to his Twin Lore, resulting in Lore merging with him and being overtaken by Data. Surrendering himself to Lore, resulted in Lore (the dark side of Data) destruction.
Sometimes fiction provides more and better answers than non-fiction?
no subject
Date: 2023-04-24 03:42 am (UTC)I feel like an oddity in that I generally liked all three seasons, although I did find some plots and characterizations questionable or tired (in all three). I loved Seven's arc especially.
do I have to watch the Book of Boba Fett first - or can I skip it?
I think it's worth watching, mostly because of its contribution to the overall Disney+ storyline for Star Wars that is building upon itself -- 'The Mandalorian', "The Book of Boba Fett', 'Ahsoka' (coming in August) and the newly announced movie (3 movies planned, one is supposed to be a wrap up of this whole arc headed by Dave Filoni) -- these shows all seem to be connected more than simply being set in the Star Wars Universe.
I believe 'The Book of Boba Fett' got bad reviews because critics were looking for a show about him being a bounty hunter - so they didn't get what they wanted/expected. In the series you learn about what happened to him from the time of 'Return of the Jedi' and the sarlacc pit to when he shows up in 'The Mandalorian'. Then you see him trying to establish himself as the head of a crime family on Tatooine. But there was a lot of time spent with other characters as well - particularly Grogu and Din Djarin in the back half of the season.
I enjoyed the series and appreciated the backstory, but can see where those who say the series was uneven have a point. The pacing is off in several episodes and the tone isn't consistent. Because of the content with Din Djarin & Grogu (and other cameos), I think it's worth reading a synopsis of those episodes as you go into 'The Mandalorian' season 3 if nothing else.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-24 12:27 pm (UTC)I believe 'The Book of Boba Fett' got bad reviews because critics were looking for a show about him being a bounty hunter - so they didn't get what they wanted/expected.
That makes sense. It's the same thing that kind of happened with Picard, I think. People had expected the first half of the series to be more of a reunion of the characters - and less of what it was. Then those who were happy it wasn't just a reunion or a reunion series, got annoyed with S3 dropping the characters they liked, and going back to the originals. I think this is true of the Star Wars verse as well, with fandom's expectations and what is produced not quite lining up. I know that is what happened with Return, the prequels, the sequels, and some of the spin-offs. The problem with fanfiction, novelizations, and comics medium - is it builds up expectations for what people love in the fanfiction, novelizations and comics - to be on screen as well - and that rarely happens for various reasons.
I feel like an oddity in that I generally liked all three seasons, although I did find some plots and characterizations questionable or tired (in all three). I loved Seven's arc especially.
I'd agree. There were pluses and minuses to all three seasons. My difficulty was mainly with Data, who got on my nerves in all three seasons. But they did in some respects handle Picard's unresolved guilt and issues with the Borg well.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-24 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-25 12:30 am (UTC)Also, developed better.
Alina and Mal are kind of the trope, and somewhat cliche. But the Crows are an interesting and complicated twist on Oliver Twist. And Kaz makes for an intriguing anti-hero. There's just more there - while Alina and Mal is your typical - powerful girl has to deal with her power to save the world, and her lover saves her or fixes it. (It's a popular YA fantasy romance trope, but has been overdone by now. So I think most of the audience is thinking - oh, we've seen this done before, yawn, and looks at the Crows - and thinks, oh shiny, more of this please.)
no subject
Date: 2023-04-25 12:07 am (UTC)In the show: I think the actress for Alina just... isn't quite as strong as some of the others. And with Kirigan being so very one-note, it makes it hard to build her character in interesting ways.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-25 12:25 am (UTC)