Oreos & Peanut Butter

Sci-Fi: The Evolution of Chapel and Spock

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is maxresdefault.jpg — Screenshot of Jess Bush and Ethan Peck from ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’. Copyright goes to Paramount+, CBS, and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

My sister, who is very obviously into ‘Star Trek’, has recently pulled me kicking and screaming into a fandom that I already kind of was in, but wasn’t really. I’ve absolutely loved the J.J. Abrams movies for years, but I hadn’t really gotten further than that and maybe watching a couple of episodes of ‘Next Generation’. I’ve watched a lot more now, though my ‘Star Trek’ education still needs a lot of work. But most of my knowledge when it comes to ‘Star Trek’ actually does have to do with the main characters from the original series. I’m not going to talk about the original movies which I may or may not have been binging with my sister. That’s going to be a post she tackles entirely by herself. I’m also not going to talk about what episodes I’ve seen. But I have found, like many people, that my favorite original character is probably Spock. And honestly, it kind of has been since I saw Zachary Quinto play Spock in the Abrams movies. Obviously I love Leonard Nimoy, but Zachary Quinto is the first person I saw play the character. And now I absolutely love Ethan Peck. But Spock is actually my second favorite character in my new favorite ‘Star Trek’ media (because I don’t think anything will beat ‘Strange New Worlds’ for me now). Christine Chapel has absolutely stolen my heart in the new series. And, of course, I was delighted when they started hinting at my two favorite characters romantically. But this is not the first time they’ve done that for Spock, though it is undoubtedly the best. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Christine Chapel:

I don’t think there’s been a good version of Nurse Chapel until she was played by Jess Bush. And I say this with every respect to Majel Barrett. I think we can all be honest with ourselves now; the original series of ‘Star Trek’ wasn’t the best for female characters. Most of the amazingness that Nichelle Nichols added with Uhura were not things that were scripted. It was her own improvisation and attitude that at all made Uhura a great character. I personally believe that she deserves most of that credit. But Nurse Chapel in the original series had no such chance to recommend her to the audience at all. She barely had any screen time, she was demure, and she had no personality traits other than being a nurse and having a giant crush on Spock. Can you blame her? No. But that shouldn’t have been her entire personality regardless. Especially since, in the original series, it did not seem like Spock wanted to have anything to do with her whatsoever. There was barely an established friendship between Chapel and anyone else on the crew, let alone Spock. You would probably be hard pressed to find someone before ‘Strange New Worlds’ who had Nurse Chapel as their favorite character. And she probably would have been great with some better and more well directed writing in her favor. But unfortunately, this was kind of the way of writing women at that time in media in general. Christine really had nowhere to go but up.

Spock:

I think talking about how Spock was in his previous media is almost too obvious. Spock is the most popular character from the original ‘Star Trek’ series and is still one of the most popular characters in the franchise. Spock was always a completely honest and interesting voice of reason. And the fact that Spock was half Vulcan and half human made his character so much more emotionally interesting. The fight between logic and emotion has always been a dichotomy that’s fascinated scientists and audiences alike for good reason. They are usually considered to be such opposing forces. So to create a character that was made to be in the middle of that dichotomy added an element to Spock that hadn’t really been explored in depth in many characters before. This is one of the most interesting elements of any iteration of Spock and makes the character unique and even more lovable. So, it most likely doesn’t surprise anyone that Spock has been attempted to be paired off before ‘Strange New Worlds’. The most notable pairing, other than T’Pring of course, is in J.J. Abrams’s movies. That pairs Spock and Uhura and I don’t think it was necessarily the best in doing so. Uhura, though she got more time in those movies, still didn’t receive nearly enough development. She often came across as Spock’s girlfriend rather than having much in the way of her own character, except for maybe in the first film and a little bit in the second. Not only that, it just didn’t seem to quite work. We saw them already in a relationship in the movies, when the question of how Spock would navigate a potential relationship with a non-Vulcan has always been a hot topic. Because we didn’t see it originate, the relationship felt weirdly shoe-horned in and almost unnatural to the story. And, in my opinion, the two characters also didn’t have much chemistry.

Relationship:

In comparison to some of the original episodes of ‘Star Trek’; ‘Strange New Worlds’ goes so much deeper into the friendships between many of the crew. It also goes much deeper into the personalities of characters that might have been snubbed before. Obviously, my main example here is Christine Chapel. Instead of a demure character, we automatically see the fun-loving, slightly sarcastic, incredibly charming, and extremely empathetic version of this character. She even gets her own fight scenes! Chapel does not easily take slights to heart and she is always up for running after a patient if she needs to. Usually the adrenaline is something she even enjoys. But what really strikes you about this version of Chapel is how self assured she is in so many areas. She doesn’t apologize for being who she is or feeling how she feels and she is absolutely certain of anything involving her work. Her openness to her emotions makes her the perfect friend for Spock and this series really shows you the growing relationship between the two of them. When Spock is unsure of himself because he doesn’t know how to react when feeling an emotion strongly, it’s Chapel that comforts him. And when Chapel is being dressed down for her emotions, it’s Spock that defends her because they are insulting the very thing about her that he values so much. Their relationship with each other is innocent and adorable; they are both nothing but completely honest with each other. That is, until Chapel actually catches feelings. And then she lies to his face about having feelings for him. Really, what else was she going to do? She already had a slight crush on him and then he kissed her for a ruse. You can’t help but feel a little sorry for her. But the interesting thing about that scenario is that the show is really making you wonder if maybe her crush isn’t one sided this time. Because when T’Pring tells Spock that she knew there was no way he could have feelings for Chapel, there seemed to be a little hesitation on Spock’s behalf. But we’ll have to see what future episodes hold.

Future:

This is largely because, ‘Strange New Worlds’ takes place before the original series. And if they are going to go the route of the original series, we know for a fact that Chapel’s crush will most likely remain unrequited. Just because Abrams changed the timeline doesn’t mean the new shows are also going to do so. But, it’s not like they haven’t already made slight changes by using and re-doing the characters from the original series, so you really never do know. I, personally, am obviously hoping for more when it comes to this specific relationship. I’m so invested in it at this point! And I have loved all of the interviews Jess Bush who plays Chapel has done about why Chapel feels so drawn to Spock. Because we know that Spock feels drawn to Chapel because of the vibrancy and openness she expresses her human emotions with. But she said that Chapel feels safe around him because he’s so open and honest. I think I got called out a little bit there. Regardless, I’ll love to see Chapel’s future friendship developments with characters like M’Benga and Ortegas. But this Spock one has really caught my attention more than any relationship in any fandom has for quite a while.

I’m just really excited to see what’s going to come next for them. As you can tell, I’m so invested in this storyline now that it almost hurts. I’m so excited to see what they’ll announce at the ‘Star Trek’ panel at San Diego Comic Con for this show. I know I just saw the first season, but binging shows has completely spoiled me now. I want to see the second season as soon as I possibly can! And now I’m even considering cosplaying Chapel, so I guess I know where my money will be going in the near future.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi: Looking Back at J.J. Abrams’ ‘Star Trek’ Movies

Screenshot of Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard McCoy in ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’. Copyright goes to Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, and Bad Robot.

Hey! Hallie here!

It’s pretty well known among Star Trek fans that the J.J. Abrams movies are quite a bit different from other Star Trek projects. Personally, I got into these movies before I started getting into regular Star Trek. That isn’t to say that these movies were my introduction to Trek. I’d seen various episodes of ‘The Next Generation’ before I watched these. But at the time I sat down to watch these movies, they were much more aligned with my interests. The movies not only boasted exciting action sequences, but also well-developed characters, and an amazing cast. But some of my opinions of them have changed since I started loving the entire Star Trek franchise. So in honor of the announcement that the fourth movie in this series will FINALLY likely be coming out next year, let’s talk about the main things I noticed in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek trilogy!

Tone:

This is the big thing most Trek fans have a problem with. Star Trek isn’t boring by any means. Those who think the series is boring clearly haven’t seen any of Qs episodes in ‘The Next Generation’ or the entire Dominion war storyline in ‘Deep Space Nine’. That said, Star Trek couldn’t be considered action-packed either. Each series balances episodes where characters are getting into space battles or encountering a dangerous foe on a planet they’ve never explored, with episodes focused on negotiating and showing understanding to those who may be different from you. On many occasions Star Trek makes a point of noting that fighting your way out of a problem may not be the best option. That really isn’t present in any of J.J. Abrams’ movies. While Kirk could be a good negotiator, we never get the chance to see him use those skills in any movie. All the antagonists Kirk and his crew face off against kill a mass amount of people and threaten the lives of the crew way too early in the story for negotiation to ever be an option. In some ways it’s a loss. Star Trek’s largest episodes covering subjects such as racism, sexism, or prejudice tend to be episodes where characters get to sit down and discuss their differences. These movies don’t cover any deeper topics at all, instead opting to focus on action and adventure. But I wouldn’t say these movies suffer for it, necessarily. Not all Star Trek needs to be about holding a mirror up to society, and the format here does admittedly make the franchise more accessible to people who are intimidated by an occasionally slower and more complex show. In fact, these movies brought Star Trek back into the public eye after it started fading into the background by the end of the nineties. That’s worth praising.

Characters:

I have a bit of an unpopular opinion when it comes to the characters in these movies. I think they’re better developed than their counterparts in ‘The Original Series’. There are reasons for this, though. The most notable reason is that ‘The Original Series’ aired at a time when deep-diving into characters wasn’t really a popular thing to do in television. Characters were built on a base level so they could transfer easily from episode to episode given the lack of popularity overarching storylines had at the time. So while we did get episodes that explored a bit more of the lives of Kirk, Bones, and Spock (And really no one else), there still wasn’t a ton of development done on any of these characters until the movies that came after ‘The Original Series’ stopped airing. Trends in storytelling have changed since then. Now people expect long, well-developed plots and deep, relatable characters. The movies reflect this. They give us way more time to get to know Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov. They flesh out Kirk and Spock’s childhood right at the beginning of the first movie. They take time in each film to strengthen the bond between crew members through meaningful character interactions. In fact, the first two movies are mostly just about Kirk and Spock’s relationship going from rivals to close friends. And the third movie gives us a classic “separate the group” scenario, where different crew members get paired off to both strengthen friendships between characters we hadn’t gotten to see interact too often, and to confess the beliefs and desires they hadn’t gotten to confess to before. I firmly believe that the character writing and the unbelievably on-point casting choices are the main things that make this movie trilogy so good.

Female Rep:

Here we get to a mutual negative between both these movies and ‘The Original Series’. ‘The Original Series’ is notoriously bad at female representation. It’s not surprising that it’s bad at this. Women weren’t written well in nearly every television show at the time. Still, Christine Chapel could be replaced with a cardboard box and most people wouldn’t notice. And while Nichelle Nichols is a badass, Uhura is very rarely given a scene to herself and her job on the ship is never treated with the importance that other jobs on the ship receive. In the J.J. Abrams movies they try to remedy the problem. Uhura is immediately introduced with a sharp wit capable of disarming Kirk and a skill that’s unrivaled by any of the other cadets at the academy. But then she doesn’t do much in any of the movies but be Spock’s girlfriend. She comforts him when he’s sad, kisses him so Kirk can be jealous, argues with him when Spock risks his life needlessly, and misses him after they break up. These things are always her main storyline. They’re never in the background. Occasionally Uhura will do something cool like try to negotiate with the Klingons or make a sacrifice play to save Kirk, but her story always comes back around to Spock. At that point, I’d rather just watch Nichelle Nichols make a pompous dude-bro lock himself in a closet. The movies also tried to introduce Carol Marcus, another character without much, well, character introduced in ‘Wrath of Kahn’. But they proceeded to give her a scene where the audience could stare at her undergarments and then took her out of the final act due to injury. The only improvements the movies made occurred in the third movie, when Jaylah was introduced. Though she does spend a lot of the final act helping out Scotty or Kirk instead of kicking ass on her own, they establish early in the movie that she can kick ass and they never diminish her abilities as the movie goes on. So I’d still say the movies one-up ‘The Original Series’ when it comes to female representation, but both needed serious work.

I really like J.J. Abrams approach to Star Trek. It isn’t perfect. Just like ‘The Original Series’, it has its problems. It also isn’t my favorite Star Trek media I’ve ever consumed. I do feel like there are full Star Trek series that manage to juggle good character development, satisfying action, and philosophical debate much better than these movies do. But I do think they’re really enjoyable. Each time I come back to them I find something new to catch my interest. Watching these movies even led to the realization that McCoy is one of my favorite Trek characters, whether he’s being played by Karl Urban or DeForest Kelley. I think they should receive major credit for reigniting public interest in Star Trek. But I also think that, if you like these films, maybe try out a series of Star Trek and discover for yourself why the deep messages about hope and humanity make Star Trek fans come back to it so frequently.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Book Adaptations: Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion’ on Netflix

Screenshot of Dakota Johnson in ‘Persuasion’. Copyright goes to Netflix.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I am always more than willing to watch any new Jane Austen film to come out. I’m a huge regency fan and even more of a fan of anything written by Jane Austen. So when the two come together, I am always extremely excited! But I was definitely more hesitant than I usually am about this one. For one, the reviews that have come out regarding this adaptation of ‘Persuasion’ have largely been negative. But that really isn’t anything new for ‘Persuasion’, because I don’t think there has been a version of that book that’s been well received. Jane Austen fans are very protective over ‘Persuasion’ for good reason. It is probably one of the most auto-biographical pieces that Jane Austen wrote, which I’ll explain in more detail later. Personally, I haven’t read it yet because of the more somber tone of the novel. It’s known for being one of her slower novels and much of that because of how much the beginning of it tackles the main character’s battle with depression. And as someone who has been reluctant to tackle darker themes lately in the media I consume mostly for fun; I haven’t been overly motivated to pick up the book or even watch this film. But it being Jane Austen and regency made this an immediate must watch for me anyways. So was this watch worth it? MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The Good:

Anne: I know a lot of people really disliked this version of Anne, but I can’t count myself as one of them. I know that Anne is more reserved and a lot less of a fun-loving character in the book, but I liked this side of the character. Not only did I find her to be extremely intelligent, but also incredibly charming. Dakota Johnson was so charming in this role! And the way this character acted reminded me so much of what I love about how Jane Austen wrote her female characters so ahead of her time. Her idea of women was that they were so much more intelligent than society ever gave them room to be and that the only happy marriage could be one where their husbands saw them as an equal. Anne is not afraid to give her opinion, but is never one to talk over anyone else either. She values everyone’s opinions as much as her own, including those of the children she often takes care of instead of her sister. I loved how much her playful nature here reminded me of Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Bennet and I absolutely enjoyed that energy in this film. I also like some of the points Anne made about depression over the course of the film. Including getting too much into different kinds of literature and poetry that only seem to remind you of your own struggles, which I think is something that can reign true with mental health. Also, that octopus scene was hilarious and entirely unexpected.

Captain Frederick: I thought this movie did an amazing job at getting us to dislike Frederick in the beginning and then getting us to love him by the end. I’m always a fan of the awkward but adorable types that Jane Austen writes into her works. Mr. Darcy is definitely revealed to be one of these and so is Captain Frederick. Though he’s awkward, his intelligence never fails him. It’s more of his social skills that sometimes fail. Relatable! But how he interacts with everyone he cares about shows his true character. He’s never one to be very dramatic about his professions of love, but they are always very sweet.

The Romance: I much prefer a romance that’s more subdued and meaningful than one that’s shallow and dramatic. And I love that this one was more of the former than the latter. My favorite part of their reunion scene after Anne reads the letter was not the kiss, though it was very sweet. It was entirely how they hugged each other afterwards. The way Anne laughed because of how long she had been waiting and how Frederick just seemed to breathe her in, in complete relief. That’s what struck me about the scene. The relief they each felt about being with the other.

Crazy Characters: Jane Austen has always been brilliant about writing absolutely insane and foolish characters in a way that makes them more amusing than annoying. I think this movie captured these characters perfectly in that regard. Henry Golding was an amazing Mr. Elliot in the way that he made you both dislike him and enraptured with his infectious energy. He breathed life into every scene he was a part of even though he was thoroughly awful. And the same could be said about Anne’s sister Mary. The insanity at both characters being so obviously awful is nothing short than disarmingly hilarious.

Cute: The entire movie was just cute. And I know that this is not what the original novel intended to be, but I don’t believe that Austen would consider this movie as much of an affront as many people claim that she would. Jane Austen believed in a world where people could find happiness in the small things instead of looking to a society that failed them. And I think that this movie captures this perfectly. Does it completely honor the original concept of the novel? Probably not. But I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable anyways. It did not skim over Anne’s depression, but it also didn’t prevent the movie from finding a lighthearted tone. And both of those things are ideas that I absolutely adore right now. I could seriously watch this movie over and over again for how much hope it leaves with you afterwards. Because that’s the real message of this story. Hope. And I think this movie succeeds in giving the audience hope and encouraging them not to give up.

The Bad:

Original Tone: As much as I liked this movie, I can’t say that it honors the original book. For those of you who don’t know, this novel was very close to Austen. Jane Austen in her youth was also persuaded not to marry someone she had been in love with, a decision that she regretted and led her to fall into a depression for a while. She never married and was once proposed to, but that situation she more or less dramatized in Mr. Collins proposal to Elizabeth in ‘Pride and Prejudice’. In other words, it didn’t go well. She always believed that there should be no marriage without affection. In this novel she writes about the protagonist’s love coming back and the two relearning to love each other. In essence, it very much feels like a happy ending she wrote for herself. And because of this, I do think that it was pretty important to keep the original tone in tact. Which this movie does not do at all. In this movie’s defense, none of the other movies that have attempted to tackle this tone have had good reviews either. But that doesn’t mean that keeping some of the original theming from the novel should not be attempted in hopefully a future film that might be good at adapting this novel. That is, if they keep trying to adapt it after the lack of success every version seems to have gotten.

Modern Language: There were a few times in this movie where they used really modern language and it never worked. They did it maybe three or four times and it always succeeded in taking me out of the movie. It was just as cringy as people said it would be and included Anne calling a man a “ten”. It wasn’t used often enough to make sense and probably shouldn’t have been used at all.

Frederick’s Beginning: I understood that Frederick wasn’t supposed to like her when he came back, but gossiping about Anne to her friend and not helping Anne when she was injured really pushed it over the edge. He could have at least sent her friend to walk with her so that she wasn’t walking alone. He more than made up for this by the end, but it did make the change slightly more jarring.

A lot of critics said that the narration in the movie was annoying, but I didn’t find it to be. The movie probably would have been fine without it, but I enjoyed it. I just find that when it comes to regency themed media, my opinions usually differ from critics. I wasn’t as big of a fan of ‘Bridgerton’ as many, though I found it ok. And I also far prefer Keira Knightley’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ to the one starring Colin Firth. I find the movie to bring the story to life far more effectively than the series. I guess this still is a trend for me since I actually really liked this movie. I could have watched it immediately again after I finished it the first time! Hopefully I’ll find time to watch it again soon, but I’m already starting to binge watch other things. Still, this was cute and I actually highly recommend it if you’re looking for a cute regency romance that says some really meaningful things about relationships. But if you’re expecting this to capture the feel of the original novel, then I might recommend that you pass this by instead. I think in order to enjoy this, it might require you to enjoy this as a completely separate thing from the novel. Some might argue that this would make it unsuccessful, but I think there’s a place for this movie in Austen canon too! When it comes down to it, I really enjoyed this movie!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop: ‘Jack In The Box’ Review

Promotional photo of J-Hope (Jung Hoseok) for his new album ‘Jack In The Box’. Copyright goes to Bight Music and J-Hope.

Hey! Hallie here!

J-Hope’s full ‘Jack In The Box’ album just dropped! We all knew this album was going to be amazing. Hoseok always puts his all into every solo project, and this one promised to demonstrate a completely different side to him that he hasn’t discussed before. This album gave me so much more than I expected. Not only does it go into his struggles with fame and keeping up his hopeful persona, but it also discusses societal issues and the ways we treat one another. Among these amazing messages and introspective lyrics are both hip-hop roots and rock elements that completely blew me away. ‘Jack In The Box’ might just be my favorite album of all time and it certainly showcases J-Hope at his best. Let’s go through each track in this album and look at the elements of each song that make it so deserving of its critical praise!

“Intro”:

Obviously this isn’t a song, but I do really want to talk about this Pandora’s Box theming. From the beginning of BTS, Hoseok’s talked about how influential this story is to him. One of the main reasons he chose the stage name J-Hope was because of the idea that, despite all of the bad things that came out of Pandora’s box, hope was left at the bottom of the box and made all of those other things bearable. The meaning of this story represented to him an opportunity to be the light to make the darkness others are experiencing bearable. But he’s a human being, and this album, while embracing his identity as the hope in the box, is a reminder that he can still be effected by all of the negative things that were also in the box. J-Hope has wanted to address Pandora’s Box in his work for a long time now, and I think waiting until he had the opportunity to make a more complicated work around the story really paid off.

“Pandora’s Box”:

This song’s purpose reflects some of the things I already discussed. The song begins with mentioning the importance the story has to the persona of J-Hope within BTS. Pandora’s box inspired him to be the hope for other people. It also encouraged him to keep up this constantly cheerful, hopeful persona and led him to create ‘Hope World’ as a kind of thesis for his entire existence. But then the lyrics begin to discuss his doubt. He describes wondering if there are other things he could say in his work and whether or not that would be a betrayal of his image. He also reminds the audience that, as a human, he’s effected by the negative things in the world just as much as the rest of us. He ends with the conviction that he feels his name and his purpose as J-Hope is necessary, but warns against a narrow view of what that means. This really powerful look at his own experiences is delivered at a pretty fast pace with a backing track that gets louder and more urgent as the song goes on. There’s a tension you can feel throughout the entire song that perfectly matches the struggles Hoseok has gone through with his persona.

“MORE”:

I have an entire post about this song alone, so I won’t get too deep into discussing this one. This song remains my favorite on the album for the punk rock sound of the chorus and the really addicting flow of each of the verses. I also really love how this song directly tackles the toxic relationship he has with his work and the way he constantly pushes himself to keep going regardless of exhaustion. It’s a message many people need to hear, not just to treat those with fame like regular people but also to avoid a work lifestyle that prioritizes perfectionism. After the recent break BTS announced, I think multiple members of the group have wanted to get something similar off their chest. In fact, “Disease”, a song Hoseok wrote for BTS in one of their most recent albums, already expressed some of these themes. This song goes into even more depth than “Disease” did though, and it really shines because of it.

“STOP”:

This song’s message is shocking in an extremely pleasant way. In the first verse J-Hope questions why the differences between people cause humans to fight so much, despite the fact that none of us are fundamentally different. The next verse goes even deeper, beginning with the judgements he makes about criminals before he rewinds, and starts to question the differences in situation, education, and environment that make some people more inclined to become criminals. Yeah. J-Hope made a song that addresses the way society fails underprivileged people and pushes them into criminal behavior. The last verse finishes it all off with the outlook that no one is fundamentally bad and that we can overcome the polluting parts of our society in order to find common ground with one another. This song has a fun beat but is delivered at a pretty casual pace, leaving room for the sounds of policemen shouting and handcuffs being clamped in the background. It makes the whole thing feel like a critique of the way law enforcement operate in multiple parts of the world. The way that J-Hope dove into this heavy conversation with such nuance and clarity completely floors me.

= (Equal Sign):

We get to hear him sing in this one! Piggy-backing off of the last track, this one is all about loving and understanding one another. The first verse talks about how no one is better than anyone else and asks the listener to remember that in todays world where change seems imminent. The second verse questions why some people are so narrow minded when the world is so large and so many people have already fought to prove their equality. He questions why anyone should be judged for who they are, where they come from, their age, or their gender. (J-Hope says LGBTQ+ rights!) He also points out that everyone suffers in a world where discrimination is normal. And then we get an English chorus sung beautifully by Hoseok that reminds us “It costs ya nothin’ to be kind”. This song is pretty short, but it packs a really whimsical sounding backing track with some important lyrics. Of all the songs on this album, this one feels the most like ‘Hope World’.

“Music Box: Reflection”:

This is an interlude track, but it’s such a GOOD interlude track. I’m a sucker for music boxes and the ominous piece this one plays fits so well with “What If…”, the following track. The intense beat in the background adds a whole other level to this interlude, as does the heavy breathing. It’s such a satisfying amount of pretty and foreboding.

“What If…”

This song is one of my favorites on the album and very easily gets stuck in my head. The lyrics for this one are the most direct at deconstructing Hoseok’s J-Hope persona. The first verse is literally him asking himself if he’s really capable of always being hopeful and optimistic like his persona always seems to be. He then asks himself if, under different circumstances, he would even be able to maintain the cheery persona. Verse two gets even more introspective, addressing how his fame and fortune puts him in a unique position of privilege where this persona is easier to put on. But then he goes so far as to ask himself whether or not he could do it if it put his fame and fortune at risk. The last chorus extends beyond what the first chorus does, going farther than asking himself if he could still do what he does without hope or vision, and also asking if he could be hopeful if he didn’t have a car, a house, or anything to rely on. The beat of this song manages to move from calming to stressful within very little time and the haunting piece that plays before every chorus feels purposefully unsettling. This song is the most openly I’ve seen an artist explore their doubts on a track and it’s impactful.

“Safety Zone”:

This one has a more R&B sound than the other tracks, which is a nice break after something as hard-hitting as “What If…”. This song is another one that tackles Hoseok’s career. In it he describes how he’s always been running to achieve the success he’s dreamed of. Especially with how the world, and the music industry, constantly changes, he feels as though he always needs to keep up with it. He also goes into how constantly working has felt like an obligation for him and while he’s appreciative of those around him, he doesn’t find rest in them because of the pressure he puts on himself to make them happy. In the chorus of the song he wonders where he can finally let all of that go and rest. Despite the restlessness expressed in the song, which is reflected by the fast flow of the rap, the chorus slows slightly and the backing track is calming, as if reflecting the safe zone itself. It’s a surprisingly comforting song despite how its focus is, relatably, about the stress of not finding time or a place to rest.

“Future”:

This song goes back to a message he covered briefly in “Pandora’s Box”. The lyrics, which are partially in English, are essentially Hoseok admitting that he also needs the hope and positivity he tries to provide for other people. He talks about how he came from humble beginnings and is grateful for the life he has now, but also notes that none of that means he doesn’t fight with himself or struggle with internal issues. At the end of the song he gets more into the title, confessing that the future scares him but telling himself, and us, that going with the flow, and having courage and hope, is the best way to move into the future. This song also has a more calming beat, and the singing in the chorus feels more upbeat than some of the other songs. I especially loved the childrens chorus that comes in at the end, really emphasizing a more hopeful outlook for the future.

“Arson”:

This song. You don’t really have to wonder why this is the other title track of the album. First off, let’s talk about the MV. This MV is pretty simple. Various set pieces are on fire here, including multiple cars and road signs. Hoseok walks through them in a white jumpsuit, but as the song gets more intense, the jumpsuit changes. The brown and black burns that cover the second jumpsuit he wears strike a clear message, which only gets clearer when Hoseok’s face becomes burned at the very end of the video before he falls down amongst the flames. And what’s the message all of this is trying to get across? The lyrics for this song dig even more into his fame and his career than the other songs on this album do. Verse one Hoseok talks about how he burned all of his hopes and ambitions up in order to get his success. Then verse two gets into how he, himself is burning along with all the other people (clearly BTS) he went to the top with. Verse three is probably the most interesting in terms of what this song is saying about his career. In verse three everything’s already burned. J-Hope notes that there isn’t much left and states that he wants to leave early, while there’s still applause, but the fire he lit is too large and too difficult to put out. In verse four he confesses that he feels a dark path is ahead regardless of what he chooses. Which all leads into the chorus, where he asks whether or not he should continue to burn brighter or put himself, and his career, out. This song sounds unhinged in the best way, mixing a siren-sounding beat to a jagged rap that inflicts the same amount of raw emotion as the burns on Hoseok’s face in the music video. This is the thesis of the album. The question of whether or not his persona, his fame, and his perfectionism have ruined him forever. And though I know J-Hope has no plans of quitting the music industry any time soon, it feels as though his relationship with it all has reached a bit of an impasse. Regardless of what conclusion he comes to, I hope that his time creating ‘Jack In The Box’ helped him explore himself and his reasons for creating in a way that was enlightening to him. And I wish for him, after all this promo is over, to find some sort of safe zone to peacefully rest in for a little while.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Live Entertainment: ‘Moulin Rouge!’ in Defense of Derek Klena

Photograph of Derek Klena taking bows in ‘Moulin Rouge!’. Copyright goes to Broadway, ‘Broadway World’, and ‘Moulin Rouge!’.

Hi! It’s Annie!

One of the musicals that has recently gotten a complete life of its own due to the internet, is ‘Moulin Rouge!’. While this musical began as a movie; the musical is really what’s been impressive since it came back over the pandemic. Partly because of its clever mix of original music and recent popular music. The musical has been known to change songs in different musical mash-ups during the show in order to reflect what is currently popular in the music industry. But what really caused the musical to blow up over the past several months is one particular former lead actor; the amazing Aaron Tveit. Aaron Tveit is well known for being one of the best Broadway actors out there and has played leads in everything from ‘Wicked’, to ‘Rent’, to ‘Next to Normal’. He’s so well known that he was even tagged by the comedy musical series ‘Schmigadoon’ to play a role. Recently he decided to leave his role as Christian in ‘Moulin Rouge!’ after three years of playing the character, and in his stead they cast Derek Klena (who has massive shoes to fill). Many people are now claiming that Klena shouldn’t have been cast at all. This is a usual response to a beloved actor leaving, but I want to examine some of the reasons as to why this was said and why Aaron Tveit has been so influential in playing this role. Possible SPOILERS for ‘Moulin Rouge!’ ahead!

Aaron Tveit:

As I kind of mentioned before, part of the reason why ‘Moulin Rouge!’ was trending in the first place was because of Aaron Tveit. The most popular song from the movie has always been ‘El Tango de Roxanne’ sung by Ewan McGregor; a cover of the original song by ‘The Police’ mixed with original lyrics and music by the musical composer. And while Aaron Tveit was always amazing singing as the character of Christian, it was what he came back with after the pandemic that blew up the internet. During his first performance back from break, Aaron Tveit optioned up at the end of ‘El Tango de Roxanne’. If you don’t know what optioning up is, it’s pretty simple. It means that instead of singing the song with a lower note of finality, he decided to expand the note and go higher. This note is now and forever an Aaron Tveit note for the character and was so good that it gained mass interest during a time where Broadway isn’t really getting as much popularity. On top of this, he also sings that particular song with so much passion that many people were calling it one of the best acting Broadway moments of all time. He even won a Tony for this performance. And the fact that he only started gaining recognition for this after quarantine and now he’s leaving means that some of this fame is still fairly fresh. So how do you replace an amazing performer like Aaron Tveit? Especially when he is the originator of the role as a musical on Broadway?

Derek Klena:

The real answer to the above question is pretty simple. You don’t. You can’t look for another Aaron Tveit, because you aren’t going to find one. And I think that might be a part of why Derek Klena is struggling so much. If you haven’t heard of Derek Klena; he’s probably just as popular as Aaron Tveit. While Derek Klena is definitely newer to the Broadway community than Aaron; Derek took Broadway by storm. There are not many people on Broadway, or in general, who have the natural charisma and charm that Derek Klena naturally has. He particularly blew up for his portrayal of Dmitry in the Broadway musical ‘Anastasia’; a role that redefined what it meant to play a male love interest in a princess-based musical. Derek Klena has been lovingly nicknamed the Flynn Rider of Broadway. And I’m sure if there was actually a ‘Tangled’ musical made, there would be an uproar in the Broadway community if Klena wasn’t cast in that role. So why is it that now many in the Broadway community are angry at him being cast as Christian in ‘Moulin Rouge!’? Because his start as Christian hasn’t necessarily been the smoothest in the last couple months. Now that Aaron Tveit made the move of optioning up the last note in ‘El Tango de Roxanne’ popular all over the internet, the Broadway musical seems to be unwilling to give the note up. Even though Derek Klena is not able to hit this note. Klena also does not have the same vocal range as Tveit. This has caused the Broadway musical to lower the pitch of a few songs to try and better fit Klena’s voice. Does this make Klena miscast?

Miscasting?:

I am completely up in the air as to whether or not I think Klena is miscast in this role. Keep in mind that I’m a little biased as Derek Klena has been one of my favorite Broadway actors for years now. But so has Aaron Tveit and I think it’s pretty clear that no one can do this role as well as Tveit can. Finding another Aaron Tveit would be impossible. But that doesn’t mean that Derek Klena was the best for the role. While this isn’t as bad as casting an actual celebrity that doesn’t fit the role, this does feel a bit like celebrity casting on a smaller scale to me. Celebrity casting has been controversial in the past for a variety of reasons, such as giving the role to a well known name instead of one of the hardworking people who have trained their entire lives for a Broadway role. Fortunately, it seems this kind of casting is meeting less tolerance than it ever has. In the catastrophic incident that involved ‘Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812’, Mandy Patinkin was set to play a role that was then being played by ‘Hamilton’ alum Okieriete Onaodowan who was the first black man to play Pierre. This mix of celebrity casting and racism caused so much backlash that Mandy Patinkin himself withdrew from the show, correctly thinking that his own casting was wrong. Oak, having already been told to leave, was angry and left anyways. The show closed not that long after. Except for in ‘Mean Girls’, the rest of Broadway has been wary to celebrity cast since. So Derek Klena’s casting could be an attempt at it without getting a non-Broadway celebrity. Derek Klena is one of the most popular faces of Broadway right now. And how better to replace a beloved Broadway actor than adding in another Broadway actor, right?

Well, maybe not. As I’ve said before, Klena’s range doesn’t exactly fit the character of Christian. People have been mass sharing Klena’s performances over the past several months, and it is clear that he struggles throughout ‘El Tango de Roxanne’. That isn’t to say that he’s bad. He’s a Broadway actor! But his voice does crack at parts even though you can hear that he really is trying. Many have claimed that taking the pitch lower to fit his voice might have been a misstep as it doesn’t actually seem to fit his voice. His voice is too high for the very low notes now and too low for the very high ones. Currently on the tour of ‘Moulin Rouge’ (which I am hoping to possibly see sometime soon), the role of Christian is being played by one Conor Ryan. A man with a similar range to Aaron. While Conor doesn’t usually option up at the end of ‘El Tango de Roxanne’, the performance doesn’t seem to suffer for it. He doesn’t seem to struggle with the vocals at all and is able to deliver just as passionate of a performance. A lot of people would say that this is proof that the role is not in Derek’s vocal range and that he is miscast. But I have a small issue with this too. Though Aaron Tveit originated the role on Broadway, the role was actually kind of originated by Ewan McGregor. And though he has a pretty good singing voice, his vocal range is also lower than Aaron Tveit’s and his singing voice is nowhere as versatile as Derek Klena.

Solution?:

Following Aaron Tveit, Klena may have been miscast for this role. But all things considered, I’m not entirely sure he is a complete miscast. People were blown away with how much quality and passion Aaron Tveit could bring to the role and I’m sure our view of Christian will never be the same again. But this role was created to be flexible in who it fit. I think they could make a version of this show that fit Derek if they just worked with him. And that doesn’t mean lowering the pitch, but it does mean making sure everyone knows it’s ok if he doesn’t hit the same notes as Aaron. I think this show could work for Klena if they tried. Does this still make him the best choice to be in this role following Aaron Tveit especially when there are other actors on Broadway with a more fitting vocal range to the new expectations? Probably not. This is why I am fully convinced that Klena is both miscast and not miscast for this role. Can he do it if he has more time and more help from creative minds for the musical? Yes. Does that make him the best choice? No. While I love Derek Klena, so far this isn’t looking like his role. But he’s only been working at it for a few months and I am fully ready to give him another chance as long as the musical will work with him to make sure that he even has a chance to do this better. You have a fully trained Broadway actor up there. Usually when a fully trained Broadway actor is experiencing voice cracks every night; the problem is somewhere behind the scenes. Either with casting or with trying to blend the actor in. Klena has not suddenly forgotten how to sing.

Sorry for all of the ranting, but I love both Aaron and Derek so much and it hurts to see them pit against each other like this. Especially since I have been a fan of both of them for so long. I hate seeing anyone hate on Derek Klena and it’s weird to see people accuse Broadway of celebrity casting another Broadway actor. But oddly, that seems to exactly be what’s been done here. Derek Klena is no less talented than he always was and I don’t blame him for wanting this role. Especially with how much Covid has taken out of Broadway, it is currently difficult for even the most popular Broadway actors to find work. And Christian is a great role that’s pretty desirable right now! I hope that in the coming months he’ll prove that he’s perfect for this role. But I can’t disagree when some people say that it isn’t necessarily looking great so far. And blaming Klena for this is misguided and does nothing. I want to repeat again, I don’t hate Derek Klena in this role. I don’t hate him in any role. He’s one of my favorite Broadway actors. My only opinion here is that if the Broadway musical wanted someone to carry on the TikTok popularity of Tveit, Klena was not the way to go. But If they are willing to give that up for the sake of better blending an actor into the show, which they seem unwilling to do, then maybe they shouldn’t be trying to force Klena into their mold. He’s good without it!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Marvel: Sam Wilson is Captain America

Screenshot of Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. Copyright goes to Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios.

Hey! Hallie here!

Somewhat recently we made a post on this blog about how we miss Steve Rogers. And while that isn’t untrue, given recent conversations on this subject I want to make something really clear. We don’t miss Chris Evans because he’s the only good Captain America. We miss Steve Rogers because he was an endearing Captain America and because Chris Evans remains to this day, a national treasure. But Sam Wilson is just as amazing of a Captain America. Not only that, but Steve Rogers isn’t Captain America anymore. Sam Wilson is. Period. It’s really frustrating that we have to have this conversation, but I can say it’s not necessarily surprising. Marvel and Disney have failed Sam Wilson at every turn. So let’s talk about all the undeserved hate Captain America is getting and the reasons Sam Wilson deserves respect.

Marvel/Disney’s Lack of Support:

Ever wonder why Peggy Carter receives so much internet hate? There are a few reasons I don’t want to get into here, but one is definitely the way Marvel pushed Captain Carter. While ‘What If’ was being advertised at the beginning of it streaming, the official Captain America twitter account changed to a complete Captain Carter overlay. The issue was, Sam Wilson hadn’t been the profile picture for the Captain America page for very long before the change was made. Already fans of Sam Wilson were having to fight with racist individuals who refused to accept Sam as Captain America. But then, Marvel chose to change the account to Peggy while these conversations were still being had, and Peggy isn’t even technically Captain America. While that was going on, Disney was also creating problems over at Avengers Campus in Disneyland. When opening the new area, Anthony Mackie introduced Sam Wilson and made a speech about how important it was that Captain America finally represented a wider group of people. But after having Sam Wilson in his Captain America suit around for a few months, he disappeared. But Steve Rogers? Steve Rogers was still meetable at Avengers Campus as Captain America. Sam Wilson only recently returned to Avengers Campus. So despite the fact that Disney brought Anthony Mackie to the park to pat themselves on the back for making Sam Wilson a face character, it seems they’re still only willing to back Steve Rogers while Sam disappears regularly. Disney and Marvel have proven countless times that they’re unwilling to push Sam Wilson in the way they’re willing to push all other Captain America equivalents. We can only hope it stops by the time the next Captain America movie comes around.

The Twitter Bashing:

We’ve seen racism aimed at Sam Wilson since he took up the mantle of Captain America. But even though the Twitter hate started to feel like background noise with the other Marvel projects that have been releasing, it all seems to get louder every time we get more Captain America movie news. A few days ago we got the perfect example of this. With the announcement of the director for Sam Wilson’s first Captain America movie came speculation that Chris Evans would be reprising his role as Steve Rogers in the movie. How anyone could believe those rumors, I don’t know. Steve is currently a very, very old man in the current MCU timeline and Chris Evans has said multiple times that he doesn’t really want to go back. Still, many people decided to take the opportunity to compare Steve to Sam and list various reasons why Sam doesn’t live up to the Captain America title. The situation got so bad that Chris Evans himself went on twitter to simply tweet “Sam Wilson is Captain America”. And a huge chunk of the comments Evans received under said tweet weren’t support, but were instead arguments against this simple statement. The arguments ranged from declarations that Chris Evans was the only “real” Captain America, to anger about Bucky not having been given the shield, to claims that Marvel is too “woke”. It’s disturbing how many people are willing to disregard one of our only Black superheroes in the MCU simply because he’s POC. This fandom needs to do better quickly before we become like the Star Wars fandom.

Sam Wilson is Amazing:

Although everything looks pretty bad right now, I refuse to make this entire post negative. Sam Wilson deserves to have his praises sung and I will never hesitate to do that. Personally, I can’t wait to see Sam Wilson star in his own Captain America movie. Sam is a more empathetic Captain America than even Steve Rogers was. Steve Rogers earned his empathy from once being the type of guy who would regularly get beat up by his peers. In other words, he knew what it was like to be the little guy. But by the time he came back from his seventy year coma, he was a muscly, conventionally attractive, white man. He by no means saw the worst of the modern day US. In fact, most people thought twice before expressing displeasure at his actions. Sam Wilson, on the other hand, experienced constant racism in his every day life even after he became a superhero. And despite the fact that Sam was never given super-soldier serum, he still took up the huge Captain America title and decided to stand for everyone in the US, particularly those who were forced to go through the discrimination he had. He went through rigorous training to ensure he could do everything his super-powered colleagues could, despite not having powers, simply because he knew there were people who needed him as both a hero and a symbol. I love Steve, but that’s more than Steve has ever done. Sam has only ever shown wisdom and understanding as Captain America. He went so far as to defend a teenage girl who attempted to kill him from politicians who labeled her as a terrorist, all because he understood her struggles. All of that plus Sam’s biting sarcasm? How can you not love Captain America?

I’m going to end this post here. I may not love all of the recent Marvel projects that we’ve seen, but Marvel’s been doing better than ever at giving us superheroes who represent so much more of the population than we’ve seen before. And while Marvel and Disney can be very hit or miss when it comes to supporting this new group of characters, we as a fandom need to make sure they feel our support. Everyone deserves to see themselves on screen. Everyone deserves to experience the power fantasy that is superheroes from a perspective they can directly relate to. And with characters like Sam Wilson already getting such amazing writing, it makes no sense to look down on this new line of characters. Sam Wilson is Captain America. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

ATEEZ: Possible ATEEZ Comeback Storylines

Promotional image (from left) Kang Yeosang, Jeong Yunho, Choi San, Choi Jongho, Kim Hongjoong, Park Seonghwa, Jung Wooyoung, and Song Mingi as Halateez. Copyright goes to Ateez and KQ Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Just like every Atiny, I’ve been absolutely floored by the pictures released in the last few days. How are they expecting us all to survive the daily attacks??? But one of the major elements in all of these photos and all the posters we have seen so far makes one thing abundantly clear; this is most likely the most we’ll see of Halateez as part of a storyline since the ‘HALA HALA’ era. And with the many storylines we’ve gotten so far from Ateez involving Halateez, including the bit involving them on ‘Kingdom’ that seemingly killed them off, I’ve been really curious as to what’s going to happen with them in the Ateezverse moving forward. Just like every Atiny, my brain has been spinning out of control with possible theories and every little bit we get only makes me theorize even more. So this post will be entirely made up of all of my weird and wild theories over how and where the Halateez storyline might be going. This is your MAJOR SPOILER warning for all of the MV storylines and ‘Kingdom’ storylines Ateez has crafted so far. If you haven’t been following their MV storylines, I HIGHLY recommend that you go and do that right now. No other group creates stories and immersive performances like Ateez! They could seriously make movies if they wanted to. In fact, I really wish they would. I would drop everything to watch that!

‘Rhythm Ta’ and ‘Kingdom’:

I’ve talked a little bit about how this comeback album seems to be following the concept that Ateez presented on ‘Kingdom’ for their performance of ‘Rhythm Ta’. I don’t think I will ever be able to fully explain how excited this makes me. I was all over the concept and the full ‘Rhythm Ta’ performance when it first came out and hearing that their entire comeback would be based around this concept sent me into a small frenzy. To explain this concept, it takes place in a kind of alternate reality where men dressed in white and masks are controlling general society by outlawing art, human expression, and human emotion. Ateez (or perhaps Halateez) is the resistance that is rising up to fight them. The current prevailing theory of the storyline in ‘Kingdom’ was that the Ateez in ‘Rhythm Ta’ were actually Halateez to begin with. In their performance of ‘Answer’, it featured both Halateez from the alternate reality and Ateez the pirate crew fighting the men who wore the white masks. And based off of the small video we’ve gotten of the white masked man that we’ve seen at the end of Ateez MVs and in ‘Kingdom’ repeating that “There is a disease in the heart of man. The disease is human emotion.” from ‘Rhythm Ta’; they are the main villains in this comeback as well. So this means that the Ateez we see in this comeback could very well be Halateez and that this is the alternate reality in ‘Rhythm Ta’. And this might even be a greater storyline that ties into ‘Kingdom’ that could end with the two alternate Ateez’s fighting the white masked men and taking them out at the cost of the lives of Halateez. I hope you’re all still with me after all of that! So the first theory that I have is that this comeback will expand on the far too brief storyline we saw during ‘Kingdom’ with a bit of a prequel. But there are other possibilities to consider here.

“Eyes On the Sky”:

Though we know that Halateez features prominently here, we also know that the secret message being promoted for the comeback is “Eyes On the Sky”. Ateez’s prevailing persona is that of a pirate crew, specifically on a flying pirate ship. So I think “Eyes On the Sky” is probably in reference to the Ateez pirate ship. I think this could have two possible meanings. The first is that we might actually see the events of ‘Answer’ from ‘Kingdom’. We could see two alternate versions of Ateez, both Halateez and the pirate crew, battling against the men in the white masks. Both versions of Ateez would then be present in the form of the main resistance and the pirate crew swooping in to help. This could even involve an explanation of the men in the white masks hopping realities to affect every reality. Which could mean the end of Halateez and the men in the white masks for any future Ateez storylines. This would be a major change for Ateez, though I wouldn’t say something like this would majorly upset their storylines. As I said before, Ateez’s main persona is as the pirate crew. They are known as the pirates of K-Pop. So, though Halateez has been a major focal point for concerts, performances, and MVs, it is absolutely safe to say that the pirate crew Ateez would remain unaffected. We would just get more stories about the pirate crew specifically. Which would be so much fun! Or, the comeback could feature the pirate crew more obviously than any of us are theorizing for the most part.

The Pirate Crew:

The other possible storyline we could see here is no alternate reality Ateez at all. We might even see a full integration between Ateez and Halateez. The Ateez pirate crew could sweep into this reality after having picked up their Captain and pirate ship in the ‘Don’t Stop’ MV. After Ateez sees the state of the world in ‘Fireworks’, they possibly split up for a while and then reunite in ‘Don’t Stop’. They finally find the pirate ship and the whereabouts of Captain Hongjoong, who now wears an eyepatch. Now back together, they would swoop down to fight the masked men banning art and create a resistance, taking on new personas in order to protect their identities or even to promote specific images for propaganda. This theory could see something we’ve never seen before, which is a reality where Ateez and Halateez aren’t separate. Even in concert footage we’ve seen Ateez interact with Halateez completely separately. It would be interesting if it was more of a figurative separation and the storyline took a route which actually made them all one in the same. While I feel this is the least likely of the theories, I still feel as though it would be a very interesting take and a completely understandable way to take the story.

So will this comeback feature purely Halateez, a combination of pirate crew Ateez and Halateez, or reveal that they’ve all been one in the same the entire time? Who can tell? And it could be that all of the theories I’ve written above are completely incorrect and there’s something entirely different that they’re planning. I know for certain that even if one of the theories I’ve written above is even semi correct, there’s probably something that I’m completely missing. Ateez never fails to pull something exciting out of nowhere to surprise Atinys and all of their other audience. None of us expected all of the intricate storylines in ‘Kingdom’. And when Ateez announced that they would be releasing ‘Don’t Stop’ as a single, I don’t think any of us expected an MV to go along with it that’s so integral to their main storyline. Ateez is THE group to surprise everyone with a plot twist, so I’m fully expecting the unexpected. And I am ecstatic to see it! But it’ll be fun to come back after the comeback and see how correct or incorrect I was with my theories. Seriously, this comeback couldn’t come soon enough! I’m currently on break from work, but Ateez is making me want the month to be over so that I can be fully in the middle of the Ateez comeback!

Update: The trailer for the comeback came out today and only Ateez would make an entire cinematic trailer like this. I’m so freaking excited! And the trailer also directly referenced ‘Rhythm Ta’ several times, including both the title and the blimp featured in the performance. Though there’s no hints on whether any of my theories will be anywhere close to the actual story, I’m already beyond excited!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Episode 9-10 Review

Paul Wesley as James T. Kirk in episode ten of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’. Copyright goes to Paramount Pictures and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

The first season of ‘Strange New Worlds’ is now finished airing. I’m going to miss getting an episode of this show every week, but if I’m being honest, neither of these episodes was the show at its best. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed both of them. But I had major issues with some of the writing in both. This series has been some of the most fun I’ve ever had with ‘Star Trek’ and it definitely has the potential to be placed among Star Trek’s best series, like ‘Deep Space Nine’ and ‘The Next Generation’. That said, I was still a bit disappointed to close off the season with these two. Needless to say, I’m going to be bringing back the “What I Disliked” section for this review. But it definitely won’t all be negative! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

‘All Those Who Wander’:

What I Liked:

Uhura and Hemmer: Every time the series decided to pair off these two characters, I knew I’d be watching some of my favorite scenes of the season. Watching Uhura’s positivity and general kindness motivate Hemmer to open up made his character so rewarding for me to watch. And in turn, Hemmer became the mentor that Uhura needed to feel motivated in her career and to learn how to embrace the people around her. In this episode Uhura even admits that he reminded her of her father, confirming the father/daughter feel many of their scenes had. Their relationship was the main reason why I cried when Hemmer died in this episode. Uhura fighting to get to him while Chapel held her back completely broke me. In retrospect, the entire episode lead up to that moment. Hemmer spent the episode helping Uhura realize that her past trauma, due to losing her family, made her too afraid to form attachments. He helped her embrace the idea that forming bonds could be more rewarding than painful, even if they would cause her pain eventually. All of those scenes were really cute, but especially after Hemmer jumped in front of Uhura to protect her from essentially Gorn slime, I knew none of it was going to end well. Still, I loved their dynamic and I loved how the motivation he supplied her paralleled a real-life connection between Nichelle Nichols and Martin Luther King Jr. Season 2 won’t be the same without these two together.

Spock: I was surprised to see such an amazing arc for Spock in this episode. I really enjoyed it. Spock has been exploring his human side more and more as each episode goes on, and though his storyline isn’t one of the major ones here, it’s still nice to see that storyline continue. Here we see Spock battle with his rage. As members of the crew keep getting picked off throughout the episode, he gets criticized for his coldness because he doesn’t have a major emotional response. But it clearly effects him and when it comes time to face off against the Gorn, he finds himself in a position where he has to antagonize the Gorn by letting his rage go. It’s so satisfying to see Spock finally let himself lose it. It’s also satisfying to see him lose it in front of Sam Kirk, who was the douchebag who was criticizing Spock in the first place. And it was very fitting to close this arc with a hug with Christine, who’s been encouraging his exploration of his human side all season. I can’t wait to see their relationship develop further.

The Gorn: From lizard suits to this. The Gorn have come so far in Star Trek. The type of horror utilized in this episode is different than what we saw in their first appearance this season. They still stick to the shadows, but the Gorn in this episode are a lot more aggressive. Members of the crew get dragged screaming off screen and the Gorn openly attack anyone who aggravates them, even their own. The episode succeeds at making them absolutely terrifying. Especially with the aspect of Gorn hatchlings ripping themselves through flesh at any moment. I personally don’t love the ‘Alien’ vibes they give off, I don’t like horror, but they really do pull off the horror in this episode well.

What I Disliked:

Hemmer’s Death: Here we get to my biggest issue with this episode. I get they planned Hemmer’s death since the first episode. I get that Hemmer was supposed to be Uhura’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. But the truth of the matter is, Bruce Horak, or Hemmer, was the first Star Trek lead that was openly part of the disabled community. It was so groundbreaking to see a blind actor playing a blind character who took a leading position in the show. Getting rid of him after just a season takes that representation away. Not only that, but it doesn’t make sense for Uhura to be able to just brush off Hemmer’s death after what happened to her parents. It’s true that Hemmer spent the few scenes he was in convincing Uhura that even if an event like that should happen again, she shouldn’t close herself off from possible friendships in the future. But you don’t immediately get over your trauma just because someone tells you to. Having him die immediately after bringing all of this to her attention seems more like a hinderance than a help. And he’s her second father figure to prematurely die. That has to be traumatizing. I also hated that they chose to kill off Hemmer in an episode where he only served as a part of a side plot. It made his sacrifice at the end feel less impactful because we were made to focus on La’an for the entire rest of the episode instead of Uhura or Hemmer.

The Crew Deaths: Every single character who died in this episode was overfilled with red flags long before their death scene. Random crew we’ve never seen before acting buddy-buddy with our series regulars who’ve never so much as mentioned their names? Of course they’re going to die. Hemmer giving advice based on Uhura’s past experiences with grief and commenting multiple times about how the planet reminds him of Andoria? Such big red flags. There was no subtlety to be found here whatsoever.

La’an: This episode sets out to be La’an’s chance to finally get over her Gorn-related trauma. But aside from one scene where she yells at a Gorn to get its attention, this episode doesn’t do a whole lot to dive deeply into her character. It certainly doesn’t do more than ‘Memento Mori’, and she still doesn’t fully come to grips with her trauma by the end of that episode. And then by the end we’re expected to believe that she’s completely past her trauma and ready to help other people who were in her position as well? They didn’t earn that ending to this episode. They really needed to focus more on character work here.

Erica Ortegas’ Eulogy: Uhhh…Hey Ortegas? What was that? Why did she even give a eulogy if she only had an awkward exchange with Hemmer to talk about?

‘A Quality of Mercy’:

What I Liked:

Pike: We really did need an episode to fully lay out why Pike would have to make the choice to sacrifice himself in the future accident he endures, despite the fact that he now knows about the event and could potentially stop it. I mean, we all want to believe what Una told Pike in the first few episodes. That his destiny isn’t written and can be changed. But this is a prequel series and that means they can’t do something that’ll directly contradict with TOS. I really liked that Pike was about to send a message to one of the kids he sacrifices himself for in the future. And I liked how that would have ruined everything. It gives importance to Kirk, whose brashness as opposed to Pike’s caution does have its perks in the scenario “Balance of Terror” presents. Despite the fact that Pike’s insistence to stick to negotiation solidified why I love the character so much. And the fact that Pike ultimately decides not to change the future because Spock ends up in a life-altering accident if Pike doesn’t end up in one, makes Pike even more noble and solidifies his friendship with Spock. Also, Anson Mount is a master of comedy and that really shows in the first few scenes where Pike is getting acclimated to his potential future. He has no idea what’s going on and Anson Mount’s facial expressions really sell the awkward hilarity of it.

The Lighting: They do so much of the ‘The Original Series’ face lighting in this episode. You know, the spotlight that seems to hit the captain’s eyes whenever he sits in his chair. Or hits anyone’s eyes whenever anything dramatic happens on the bridge. It’s a great nod to TOS.

What I Disliked:

Kirk: I don’t dislike Kirk. I don’t dislike Paul Wesley as Kirk. In fact, I openly don’t much like William Shatner which makes Paul Wesley a step up. But Kirk doesn’t really get to act like…Kirk in this episode. “Balance of Terror” is pretty serious stuff, and introducing Kirk in only a serious mind-frame doesn’t make it feel much like Kirk. This is more a small gripe but I still was hoping to see more from Kirk.

“Balance of Terror”: I’m fine with episodes that mirror classics. Sometimes they can be really great. But for a finale? Not so much. It was frustrating to get an episode partly made up of scenes and dialogue we’ve already seen before as a finale. And some of it just didn’t work. Ortegas, for example, was completely out of character because she was given lines originally given to a completely different character in “Balance of Terror”. I was hoping for something more from the finale.

And that’s it! I had a lot of thoughts about both of these episodes, but writing them down really simplified the episodes for me. Both are fun, entertaining excursions. But neither have the mastery of writing I came to expect from other episodes. “All Those Who Wander” is messy in its execution, and “A Quality of Mercy” is simple, but doesn’t do enough for a season finale. They didn’t completely miss with either of these episodes, but I can’t say they stuck the landing with the end of this season. Still, I’m extremely excited for season two. It just wrapped and I can’t wait until its release! Until then, I suppose I’m going back to my constant rewatch of ‘Deep Space Nine’.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Comfort Entertainment: ‘Friends’ Definitive Character Ranking

Screenshot of Lisa Kudrow in ‘Friends’. Copyright goes to NBC.

Hi! It’s Annie!

You can’t talk about television media without somebody mentioning the classic sitcom ‘Friends’. This has to be one of the most loved shows of all time internationally. I think we’ve all heard the story of how Namjoon used ‘Friends’ to help him learn English many times at this point. I’m sure Namjoon himself is probably tired of hearing that story. But ‘Friends’ is well loved for a reason and I would argue that all of it comes from the characters. And though many people vary in who their favorite character is in this show, I think I have a fairly solid ranking. Which really doesn’t happen with many shows for me! And though every character is iconic in their own way, there are definitely a few dislikable characters in this lineup. So this will be my definitive ranking of the characters from ‘Friends’ and how good of a friend I think each of them would really be. LIGHT SPOILERS ahead if you have somehow not watched ‘Friends’.

6. Ross

I honestly don’t think that anyone’s favorite character is Ross. Sorry, David Schwimmer. If you ask most people who their least favorite ‘Friends’ character is, most people will say Ross. And that is because, despite all of his iconic lines and moments, he is by far the most annoying character in the show. Ross is whiny, constantly yelling, has a giant ego, and is very easily offended. On top of all of this, he is one of the biggest mansplainers to ever exist on television. He is constantly over explaining his apparent intelligence to everyone and demeaning all those who don’t share his opinions. He goes up against Phoebe the most in that regard, who he doesn’t respect at all for her more unique views. Instead of letting her alone, he constantly feels the need to correct her or prove her wrong. Definitely one of those guys to sit you down and talk about how either ‘Citizen Kane’, ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘Fight Club’, or ‘The Dark Knight’ is the best film of all time. I have no idea why those movies seem to be the favorites of so many film bros, but Ross would be one of them. He seems to be every red flag that women bring up and I can’t imagine being friends with him. I’d strangle him if I knew him, there’s no way I would ever want to spend any time around him. Being interrupted and mansplained to doesn’t sound fun.

5. Rachel

I know a lot of people like Rachel, but I often find her to be just as bad as Ross. Though she seems nice some of the time, she can be incredibly manipulative in order to get her way and even throws tantrums. Such as the many times she almost refused to move out of Monica’s house when Chandler was moving in. She barely deals with any situation maturely. And though I do blame Ross for most of what happened between the two of them (he was extremely bad at communicating anything), I still don’t by any means think that Rachel is exempt. She overreacts in every situation and I don’t think she would be a good partner and definitely not a good friend. She relies on her friends to take care of her and doesn’t do much in return. And most of her intentions throughout the show are purely selfish. While I don’t dislike her as much as Ross, I really don’t like Rachel.

4. Joey

Finally we’re to the friends that I actually like! Joey is really sweet and very supportive. Definitely one of the most loyal in the friend group and always there to be a shoulder to cry on. Joey might not be the most reliable friend when it comes to most anything else, but he’s an amazing friend when it counts. Acting for others when they need him and being one of the best at advice, oddly. My only issues with Joey are how egotistical he can act when the fame starts going to his head and, mostly, how he treats women. Joey doesn’t really show much respect for any women that aren’t his many sisters, and often doesn’t care about the lengths he will go to that sometimes result in making the women in his life uncomfortable. Like continuously attempting to seduce a woman who becomes his roommate or continuously encouraging his female friends to make out with each other. He doesn’t even show respect to his female friends. I know that some of this is the age of the show, but it still never fails to get under my skin. And I’m glad that this isn’t seen in such a positive or comedic light anymore. I have a soft spot for Joey, but he’s not my favorite of the friend group. I think he would be a good friend to a guy, but be wary if you’re a woman.

3. Monica

Monica is a character that gives me some mixed feelings. I love watching her and there are definitely tendencies that she has that I find to be relatable. While her organizing is a bit out there in how dramatic it is, her worrying and sometimes need to feel in control of something are traits that I especially find to be relatable now. After Covid I think everyone wanted to feel in control of something as it started to feel that we were all losing control of everything. Monica is also completely reliable, especially when it comes to taking care of her friends, and often a needed voice of reason. If someone is going to truly think through somebody else’s emotions and how their actions might make someone else feel, it’s Monica. But I face my small dilemma when I think about whether or not she would be a friend I’d want to have. I think in the end my answer would be yes, but I feel that she would be too much to stay around for long periods of time. Especially if you were at her house and she was playing hostess, as Phoebe and Rachel found out when their apartment caught fire. Maybe a good friend to meet for a nice lunch out though!

2. Phoebe

Now we’re getting to the two characters I would love to have as friends in real life. Phoebe is certainly an odd duck and might take some getting used to at first. She has some strange world views and can sometimes be rather flaky. But she’s very caring and would be so much fun to be around! I think seeing her play in Central Perk would be really endearing and I also admire how she deals with her friends’ issues. When one of the group has a secret, Phoebe is the first to know about it. Not just because she’s fairly good at keeping a secret, but she’s also understanding of most anything and is never prone to overreacting. While Rachel is the last person you would tell a secret to, Phoebe would be the first. She has jumped in between her friends fighting and personally gotten involved in situations to make sure that the friend group stayed together. In many ways, I think Phoebe is actually the glue of this friend group. And how fun would it be to have a conversation or day out with her? Her unpredictability would be concerning at first, but I feel like it would pay off.

1. Chandler

When you ask most people who their favorite character in ‘Friends’ is, this is usually the answer you get. Even Namjoon said he would rather consider himself a Chandler over a Ross or a Joey. Though seriously, I say again, interviewers NEED to stop bringing up ‘Friends’ to Namjoon. Anyways, Chandler is the most popular character for a reason. He’s by far the funniest character on the show. Often times when you say the word “sarcasm”, Chandler will immediately pop into your head. If I full belly laugh at a joke in this show, it’s almost always one that he said. No one beats Chandler’s joke delivery. But even more than that, he’s just a genuinely good guy. When he apologizes to anyone, he is incredibly sincere. Though he makes jokes all the time, when a situation calls for him to be serious he often can be the most serious person in the room. I personally think it would be amazing to meet someone and be friends with someone as genuine as Chandler always seems to be. He has your back always, you just have to be prepared for some occasional roasting. Chandler is also the most adorable unexpected romantic of the friend group. He would be an amazing friend and he will always be one of the most iconic characters in this show.

I don’t usually have this clear of a definite ranking for all of the main characters in a show, but this is one of my exceptions. Though I really do like most of the characters, there are more complaints I have about some. But overall, I really do think that this show stands the test of time. Though I didn’t remember the show to be so sexually driven most of the time, it still has some really heartfelt moments. And though it is difficult to get past Ross and Rachel sometimes; Chandler always has a joke that pulls me right back in. When people say that we’ll never get a show like ‘Friends’ again, I wholeheartedly have to agree. You can’t recreate the lightning in a bottle effect this show had and I’m glad we have reruns so that we can watch the fun over and over again!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

BTS: “More” and J-Hope’s Solo Album ‘Jack In The Box’

Promotional image of Jung Hoseok (J-Hope) for his new album ‘Jack In The Box’. Copyright goes to J-Hope and the Hybe Corporation.

Hey! Hallie here!

J-Hope is my favorite K-Pop artist of all time and he’s very much setting out to prove why he deserves that recognition right now. “More”, his most recent release, is just one song from J-Hope’s upcoming album ‘Jack In The Box’. The idea of this album has excited many people, including me, for a long while now. But it was only recently that we discovered that Hobi’s intention for this album involves exploring his darker side and molding what had once been a mixtape into a full album complete with a cohesive storyline. “More” is the first taste of a lot more greatness to come. Its hip hop/punk rock sound and strange visuals are just as dark as promised, the beat is addictive, and the lyrics are incredibly important examples of Hobi’s self exploration. I really can’t wait to dive into this music video and the things I’m looking forward to for the rest of the album, so let’s get right into it!

“More”:

The percussion is the first thing that hits you in this song, and it carries consistently throughout as a gripping beat that adapts from verse to chorus without having to change at all. Clear perfection. I was completely caught off guard by the electric guitar that comes in during the chorus. As a fan of hard/punk rock, it was a really pleasant surprise, and as I said above, really suits the edgier vibes Hobi is going for with this album. As for the rap in this song, Hobi’s well known for morphing his flow depending on the rhythm or beat of a song. This one is no different. During verses we get a slower, lazy feel that gradually gets faster and more frantic. Hobi makes the transition so effortless during each verse, you don’t notice how complex the wordplay actually is. It’s beyond impressive. Leaning more into the punk feel again, the rest of the song is delivered at a stylistic yell that pairs perfectly with the backing track. And the message of the song? Just as powerful as the rest of it. This song is entirely about his toxic relationship with his career. Although he’s passionate about music and admits that making music comes naturally to him, he never feels like anything he does is good enough. He expresses that he’s so addicted to attempting to make something unattainably perfect, he never lets himself rest. Instead, he always demands “More” from himself. This song is a raw, real look into the way he’s been struggling with BTS’ shoot to fame and all of the many pressures that came along with it. I feel very grateful that he decided to share something so personal with us.

The MV:

This MV is mostly about the vibes. And I loved it. We have some pretty simple sets in this video, like a regular flat or a workplace, but the video still manages to be visually stunning. It has a grunge look, where every color is darker but more vibrant than usual, and Hobi stands out among it all in his entirely black (save one white) outfit and dark eye makeup. Dark eye makeup looks SO GOOD on him. During the video we see him receive a mysterious box in what appears to be his apartment, trash his workplace and press what might be his boss’ face into a copy machine, rock out with a band of humans with strange faces, and walk down a hallway of black doors. After all that is the most confusing scene, where Hobi walks in on himself in a hospital bed where parts of his jester hat seem to be attached to him and moving around on their own. Then skeleton Hobi performs for a while and it’s kind of badass. The big reveal at the end? All of the sets we explored were in one box. Fitting. I can’t really say I know what this music video is meant to convey, though I do get why so many people are drawing comparisons to the movie ‘Fight Club’. The hallway in this MV seems like it was pulled right out of the movie, and the depressive state of the main character could easily reflect the Hobi we saw in this video. I could also see the scene where Hobi walks in on himself paralleling the fact that in the movie, the second main character is an invention of the main character’s imagination and a reflection of part of his personality. Even if none of it is in reference to the movie, I still feel like the similarities are worth discussing.

‘Jack In The Box’:

After this release I’m interested to see what the storyline Hobi promised is going to be like. We can all count on it continuing to explore his psyche in the very least. What excites me most about this song and the full album release, which will be mid-July, is the lack of the J-Hope persona. Like it or not, J-Hope is not completely who Hoseok is. No one can be hopeful all the time. No one can be a ray of sunshine for every minute of their life. While Hobi has brought light and happiness to many fans, he’s been open about his struggles to keep up that persona. Just like everyone, he experiences bad days and difficult battles with his mental health. This album is the first time he can express all of that. This is the first time we’re seeing Hoseok without the hope persona. And as difficult as it may be to hear how much he’s been struggling, it’s so empowering to hear him express his emotions, especially the negative ones. He’s encouraged so many ARMY to embrace their emotions and love all sides of who they are. This feels like his attempt to do the same for himself and I’m so happy to be able to witness that.

Those are my thoughts on “More”! I’m anxiously anticipating the full album release. This song is already one of my favorites he’s ever made and I don’t doubt that the rest of the album will have just as large of an impact on me. But I’m not just in love with the sound of this song. I’m in love with the message of self-discovery and embracing the bad. I’m in love with the fact that Hobi seems to have written his album free from the expectations that come along with his stage persona. I hope he becomes even more comfortable with who he is now that he has time to step away from BTS and focus on his solo work.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie