Screenshot of Jung Hoseok (J-Hope) in the “Boy Meets Evil” music video. Copyright goes to BTS and the Hybe Corporation.
Hey! Hallie here!
I can’t believe it’s been five years since this masterpiece came out. This intro, and it’s music video, is one of the major things that solidified J-Hope as my bias. “Boy Meets Evil” is one of J-Hope’s best solo tracks and one of the best intros to any album I have ever seen. It perfectly captures some of the darker tones that were prevalent in the ‘Wings’ album. In honor of this anniversary, let’s talk about all of the amazing themes and work that went into “Boy Meets Evil”.
The Song:
This was J-Hope’s first album intro. The rap line was usually given the intros to each BTS album, but these intros were either done by Namjoon or Yoongi before the ‘Wings’ album. Hoseok worked extremely hard on the song to prove himself worthy of opening the album. He was also aware that anything he opened the album with would have to connect to the theming of the rest of the album. This song is J-Hope introducing us to ‘Wings’. Which means it had to stay in line with the “temptation and growth” messages throughout ‘Wings’. This song absolutely succeeds. It covers the feeling of someone falling in love even though they know the situation is bad. J-Hope himself described it as a boy meeting the devil that is love. The lyrics describe a childish love, as well as the greed and ambition it brought, tearing him apart. Though it’s difficult to endure, he expresses that it’s more difficult to give it up. He even uses imagery of his own position in the public eye to convey the feeling of being trapped by his own temptation. This song utilizes a faster rapping style than a lot of his other solo songs do. However, as usual, his style adapts with the melody of the song. It makes this whole piece extremely fast paced, energetic, and addicting to listen to. However, towards the end of the song we get some amazing vocals from Hoseok to slow it down and tie it all together. A lot of people are torn about whether or not Jungkook is actually providing the vocals for the singing parts of this song, but Jungkook isn’t listed on the song. And considering the fact that Hoseok has sung multiple times for other songs, and that the voice in this song does sound like Hoseok, I don’t know why this debate started. Regardless, all of it works together incredibly well. It’s no wonder so many ARMY keep going back to this intro.
The Music Video:
This music video is about the choreography. Hoseok practiced intensely to get the choreography right. He upped his usual one hour practices to two-to-three hour practices. And you don’t really have to wonder why. There’s a different move for each beat of the song. Some of the choreography was even filmed slower so it could be sped up for the video. It’s incredibly intense. Meanwhile, the setting sets the mood for the song. Hoseok starts out in a crumbling building, similar to a subway station, where light shines through the ceiling in only a handful of places. He begins by staring up at the light above him, but the darkness surrounding him makes it clear that he can’t quite reach it. As his dance goes on, we get some incredible effects. The ground cracks beneath his feet. The room flips into one completely devoid of light, save for some glow-in-the-dark paint splattered on the walls and on his clothes. His shadow sprouts wings, apparently revealing him to be a fallen angel. As for his outfit, let’s be honest, the ripped jeans and flowing white shirt look incredible on him. Hoseok was extremely nervous to release this video. As an intro, it came out as a teaser for the entire album before the album was released. In many ways it seemed like the way this video was received would indicate how well ‘Wings’ did. But Hoseok had nothing to worry about. I’ve watched this video so many times I lost count. The dancing is some of the best I’ve ever seen, as is the song. It’s perfection.
I love J-Hope and I don’t think I will ever get over “Boy Meets Evil”. It’s not simply that he looks great in it, which he definitely does. But it showcases his many talents. He’s the perfect dance leader for BTS. His dancing speaks to his experience and devotion, and I don’t think anyone could have pulled off the choreography the way that he did. He also has an amazing rapping and singing range. The song is completely different from his other solo songs but it proves just how diverse his work can be. It’s partially responsible for making me a J-Hope bias. And for that, I’m incredibly grateful.
Promotional image of Shin Sekyung and Cha Eunwoo. Copyright goes to Chorokbaem Media, MBC, and Netflix.
Hi! It’s Annie!
I’m back with another K-Drama review and, I apologize, it’s not the one I promised next. I know I keep saying that I’ll watch ‘It’s Ok to Not Be Ok’ but I have not been in the state of mind to watch it. I’ve more been into watching lighthearted dramas recently. Hopefully I’ll get around to it eventually, but I’m not sure it will be super soon here. Instead I decided to try my hand at watching one of the historical K-Dramas on Netflix. And of all the ones that came up, this is the one that automatically caught my eye. This drama explores themes of feminism, serious morality, as well as much more along with the romance that it already advertises. With so much going on this was probably amazing, right? Well, kind of. I had quite a few issues with this drama. This is your SPOILER WARNING for up ahead because I will be going into major plot points. And I’m also going to be adding a TRIGGER WARNING that only applies for a couple episodes if you watch this. But they aren’t super big plot points so I won’t be going into them here.
Summary:
‘Rookie Historian’ is about an outspoken woman, Goo Hae Ryung, who becomes one of four female historians in the royal palace. As she deals with the struggles of being a woman in a role traditionally meant for men, she also falls in love with the youngest Prince, Dowon.
The Good:
Goo Hae Ryung- She was an amusing and fun character to follow throughout the series. More than that, she’s an easy character to follow intention wise. I feel like I’ve talked a lot about characters where their intentions or feelings are hidden from the audience. Many shows don’t know how to balance the action of the show with focus on their character and this show does it very well. She’s also one of the smartest characters in the show and is never shown to be meek or unable in any capacity. In fact the show spends much of the time proving how capable she is. I loved every time she was on screen, which was a lot considering she’s the main character.
Yi Rim- Otherwise known as Prince Dowon. He was my favorite part of the entire series. He’s played by Cha Eunwoo who is most known for being part of the K-Pop group Astro. I honestly haven’t listened to much of that group so I didn’t recognize him at first. I had looked up reviews for this show beforehand though, and many of the complaints that I saw were about his acting. I’m not going to say that he’s the best actor that I’ve ever seen, but I definitely don’t think he was nearly as bad as everyone made him out to be. And his character was incredibly sweet! Most K-Dramas aim for this stoic and more guarded main male love interest. And many of those are great! But it was really nice to see an unguarded and overtly kind male lead. One of my favorite parts of him is that this kindness was also a major part of the romance. There’s a moment where his servant, Sambo, tells him to play hard to get and that romance is about playing games. In the next scene we see him instead directly ask Goo if she likes him. Considering the newer (rightfully) negative mentality about playing games in relationships (see Harry Styles’s recent “Trash, trash, trash” comment at his concert that went viral) I really liked seeing this more genuine approach. This character seriously brought me so much joy.
The Romance- I saw a lot of people saying that they wished Goo had ended up with Officer Min instead. Officer Min is one of the head historians and is the typical guarded love interest you would expect. Don’t get me wrong, he is a great character. But I don’t think the show was ever aiming at a romance between the two of them and, even if it was, I don’t think they would be all that compatible. They agree on many points, but what they disagree on are moral questions. Such as, should you stay loyal to your job or the people around you. Which is something they both have different answers for, for understandable reasons. I personally liked the lighthearted nature of Goo and Dowon when they were together. I thought they had good chemistry and it added a refreshing nature to the show when it delved into darker territory.
The Female Historians- One of the best parts of this series is watching the female historians bond with each other. Many of them face the same difficulties on the job. There is more than once when one of them sobs unrestrained because of how they are treated as women and I was glad that the show did not shy away from this. But what’s also nice is that they are always there for each other when this occurs. This show does absolutely none of the common pitting women against each other for no reason. The historians are friends and they work to help build each other up. It was a bond that I loved seeing.
Female Empowerment- I mentioned this above, but I want to speak about this point specifically. This show is very up front about the struggles of being a woman. It holds nothing back. And in the same way, it holds nothing back when empowering the women in the story. Despite their position, the women in this story are outspoken and make themselves heard. One of my favorite scenes in the show occurs when the ladies of the royal court restrain the female historians and try to forcibly induct them into the inner court as ladies. This is complete with threatening them not to speak and with Goo almost getting her mouth seared shut. The male historians come to their rescue once they realize that the female historians have been taken and later scold the women for following the royal court ladies, saying that they should have known about the danger. Instead of taking this, the women bite back saying that if they had been taught by the male historians instead of ignored, then they would have known the dangers of the palace. In this scene we see a very common occurrence that many shows don’t portray. Women experience sexism and then are blamed for having experienced it in the first place. This show can be rather brilliant when it comes to feminism and I loved watching it for that.
The Bad:
The Main Plot- I’ve talked about how I liked the romance and the feminism in this story, so why don’t I like the main plot? Because somehow the main plot has nothing to do with either of these storylines. And when I say nothing to do, I really mean nothing to do. The main plot is a regular historical drama political plot about a former dethroned Emperor and people fighting about who should be Emperor now. We learn very late in the series that Dowon is the son of the former Emperor, but we also know that he never wants to be King so that role will go to his brother anyways. Not only that, but he’s often not involved at all in this plot. At all. There were almost entire episodes where Dowon was in maybe one scene. It felt as though this “main plot” was barely connected with the main characters. It had nothing to do with the female historians and it also had nothing to do with the romance. I’m not sure how this became a plot point at all, never mind what the entire series built up to. And the plot took up most of the last few episodes, which barely made sense with the rest of the show. It also moved very slowly. I would be lying if I said I didn’t skip through some scenes in the last few episodes. This is another show that needed to focus up. Much like ‘Imitation’, it felt like the writers had all the tools there to make a great show when you read the synopsis. But they weren’t sure how to continuously make that interesting so they shoved in a generic plot that ensured drama. It really made me disappointed by the end of it.
The Humor- There’s some witty humor in this. I’ll give them that. But most of the “comedic” moments come from Dowon’s servant Sambo who, in my opinion, is extremely not funny. The humor here is what I can only describe as five year old humor. I can’t imagine most adults genuinely laughing at some of the stuff he does. And for a series that has such adult situations that they tackled, I had to ask myself who these comedic scenes were for.
Abandoned Plot- There were episodes where it legitimately felt like nothing happened. And this series is only twenty episodes, so you would think that they could jam pack every inch of this with story. Unfortunately, that’s not true with this series. There were a few episodes where the show focused specifically on the backstory of one character and then never returned to any of that information. As if it had nothing to do with any of the plots going on. There was also an episode that’s sole purpose was to show the audience that Dowon could be a great King. But he never became King so it didn’t feel like it really mattered. It just felt like constant sub-plots that were abandoned because the writers didn’t know where it fit in either. Also, Dowon was a huge novelist at the beginning of this series and there was a huge dramatic moment where he was forbidden from writing ever again. And that wasn’t really resolved. I guess he just stopped writing? This is sounding more and more like ‘Imitation’ with all the abandoned plots.
I love that this was written by a woman and I loved some of the portrayals of real things women still go through. This tackled many difficult elements very well. I guess that’s what sets it apart from ‘Imitation’. But really, I think this is yet another series just like ‘Imitation’ where the story wasn’t clear enough. The writers for both didn’t seem to know how to turn their pitch into an entertaining and concise story, so they tried a bunch of other things to get it to work somehow. And just like ‘Imitation’ there are several scenes from this drama I really think you should watch! But I’m not sure I would recommend the entire drama itself. It wasn’t horrible, but it definitely wasn’t good either. I think the situations in this drama deserved a better over-all plot to encapsulate them. This drama could have easily just been about the struggles of the female historians. I believe it failed because someone behind the scenes didn’t think that was interesting enough.
Promotional image of Bowser, Yoshi, Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi, and Toad. Copyright goes to Nintendo.
Hey! Hallie here!
The Nintendo Direct Event happened today, which means a bunch of new Nintendo announcements! Amongst the exciting trailer for ‘Bayonetta 3’, ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’ coming to the Switch, and Brewster FINALLY coming to ‘New Horizons’, we also got the announcement for an animated film. This animated film is set to be spearheaded by Nintendo as well as Illumination, the big animation company owned by Universal Pictures and responsible for movies like ‘Despicable Me’. It’s also set to be a ‘Super Mario Bros.’ film. This could be really exciting news. Designer Shigeru Miyamoto took to giving this announcement himself and even gave us a December 2022 release date for the film. Illumination has had some duds in the past, but they’re a pretty solid company for Nintendo to partner with for this project. Especially considering the presence of Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios parks. But this cast. This cast ruined many fans’ excitement for this movie all at once. Let’s talk about the cast, the creatives, and why this whole thing is looking pretty bad so far.
Cast and Creatives:
Chris Pratt will be playing Mario. This is already completely ridiculous. I don’t think anyone has ever heard Chris Pratt and thought “He’d make a good Mario”. Pratt at least has some minimal voice acting experience. He voiced Emmet in all of ‘The Lego Movie’ films, Barley in ‘Onward’, and a few small roles earlier in his career. But all of those voices aren’t all that different from his normal voice. I don’t know what’s worse, imagining Chris Pratt as Mario with an Italian accent or without one. Next we have Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach. Anya Taylor-Joy doesn’t have much voice acting experience at all, but she was Brea in ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’. I loved her performance in that, but we’ll have to see how that transfers over to Peach. Next up is Jack Black as Bowser. Ummmm. I’ve seen quite a bit of mixed feelings over this one. Jack Black definitely has voice acting experience. But, as with Chris Pratt, characters like Po from ‘Kung Fu Panda’ have mostly been done in his regular voice. Does that fit the deep, dragon-like growls we’ve heard from Bowser? Not exactly. It might be funny, I suppose. Although, making Bowser a purely comedic character could just as easily end up badly. Seth Rogan is Donkey Kong. They’ve lost me again. Seth Rogan has voice acting credits. He was Pumbaa in the recent ‘Lion King’ remake and he was Mantis alongside Jack Black’s Po in ‘Kung Fu Panda’. But, here we go again, he only ever uses his regular voice. That? For Donkey Kong? Really? Keegan-Michael Key will voice Toad. Key has done various voice acting projects, many in his own voice, but the ‘Hotel Transylvania’ series in particular shows his range. He voiced Murray after CeeLo Green was fired from the job, and he did a good job of matching the performance given in the first movie as well as operating outside of his usual vocal range. It isn’t perfect, but it’s something.
Last amongst the main celebrities listed for this movie is Charlie Day as Luigi. Once again, he’s definitely not the type I can picture convincingly using an Italian accent. He also hasn’t demonstrated much vocal range between his work in ‘Monsters University’ as Art and ‘The Lego Movie’ as Benny. Sebastian Maniscalco is Spike and I can’t say much about him because he hasn’t done enough to really discuss here. It seems the only saving graces in this cast are Fred Armisen, who is known for his diverse voice over work, as Cranky Kong and Kevin Michael Richardson, who is a famous voice actor known for characters like Gantu in ‘Lilo and Stitch’ and The Joker in ‘The Batman’, as Kamek. As for the creatives, Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are our directors. These two had a hand in both directing and producing ‘Teen Titans Go!’ and ‘Teen Titans GO! To the Movies’. We’re doomed. Screenplay is all being done by men here. What a surprise. One of the writers will be Shigeru Miyamoto, which is a good sign. The other, Matthew Fogel, has written for mostly animated films such as ‘The Lego Movie’, and has now been working primarily for Illumination on both this film and ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’. So pretty much what you would expect for a movie like this. None of it really instills me with confidence.
Casting Celebrities as Voice Actors:
This is the biggest issue with this cast. We only have two actors who are extremely familiar with the voice acting industry among these celebrities. Otherwise, we have a mix of actors who have done one or two larger animated films in their own voices and actors who have done barely anything at all in voice acting. This clearly shows us that all of these people were chosen because they’re big names in the industry and not because they fit the characters. In fact, I’m hard pressed to find one of these actors who I think is suited for the role they’re playing. It’s a star studded cast, certainly. But I don’t think I ever wanted to see any of these actors stepping into these roles. Meanwhile, voice actors frequently struggle with finding jobs and getting good pay because Hollywood keeps shutting them out of projects like this. We all know that trained voice actors would sound much better in these roles. Almost anyone would make a better Mario than Chris Pratt, but there are a long list of voice actors who would be incredible as Mario. But Hollywood has made animated films inaccessible to most voice actors. So we get this. A cast full of big names, all of whom are completely miscast.
I can’t say I’m excited for this movie. I usually try to withhold judgement after announcements like this but… This one was remarkably horrible. I don’t even really want to think about this anymore. I’m just going to pretend that this announcement didn’t happen so I can go back to being excited about Brewster. Anyone want to join?
Screenshot image of Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel in ‘The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’. Copyright goes to Warner Bros. Pictures and Weta Digital.
Hi! It’s Annie!
I haven’t made one of these “unpopular opinions” posts in a while, so I figured it was a good time to get back around to it! As we get more into Fall, I see far more posts about ‘Lord of the Rings’. Which completely makes sense! We’re getting to the time of the year where all I want is to dress in clothes that look elven and curl up in my very own hobbit hole. The ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ were all things that I grew up with. I started both reading the books and watching the movies, for ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy at least, from a young age. And revisiting these movies occasionally has definitely given me a new perspective on several things. I’m honestly surprised I haven’t mentioned any of these before! So, I want to talk about my current opinions for the movies or books that might not be so popular. Let’s just get into it!
Tauriel:
I know that when the announcements for this movie came out, most people were not thrilled with the addition of Tauriel. And it feels as though most people still don’t like her. There’s definitely an argument to be made when it comes to movies adding unnecessary things not from their book adaptations. For example, Legolas being in ‘The Hobbit’ films was not necessary at all. But I do believe that there is something that was necessary to add to ‘The Hobbit’ story that wasn’t in the original book. A female character. If you’ve read the original book you are probably well aware that female presences in it were scarce. And having any movie without any female characters would have been absolutely absurd. Not only that, but it added to the amazingly badass list of female characters that LOTR has brought us. While I do understand that maybe Kili and Tauriel didn’t need a side-plot romance, sometimes it feels like people forget that this wasn’t all of Tauriel’s character. Tauriel was also an incredible adventurer, warrior, and healer. All of those skills were shown several times throughout the movies, and over-all I think she was one of the best and most explored female characters in LOTR.
Arwen Instead:
In the original books Glorfindel is the elf that saves Frodo from the Nazgul. In the movies, this was changed to Arwen. I was one of the ones who was originally disappointed with this choice. I really liked the character of Glorfindel and wished that I could have seen him in the movies, but now I’m glad that this role went to Arwen instead. Many forget that in the books, Arwen did practically nothing. We knew that she and Aragorn were a thing, but the most prevalent thing she does in the books is gift Aragorn with a flag. In the movies this scene was given to Arwen so that the only female character in the first film could have more screen time, action, and agency. This was another choice that I felt needed to be made for the benefit of female representation. It doesn’t matter how much I like Glorfindel; the focus on a female character was much more important.
Eowyn and Faramir:
I liked the few scenes they were given in the movie, and this isn’t to say that I don’t like the pairing at all. I know there are a lot of people who preferred the idea of Eowyn and Aragorn as a couple, but that was never appealing to me. I thought Eowyn needed more independence in the story than she would have gotten had she turned into the love interest for a main character. And I also think it is sometimes important in literature to portray the rejection of someone’s advances. But the issue is, I don’t like how the relationship between Eowyn and Faramir turned out in the books either. Many people forget that as soon as Eowyn married Faramir in the books she settled down and gave up her status as warrior. The book even claims that Faramir has “tamed” her. Obviously, this is absolutely awful and I’m very glad that the movie doesn’t even hint at this. But all things considered, I can’t count Eowyn and Faramir a favorite couple of mine in any capacity. Because they are either not explored enough or their ending is a little sexist. Which is disappointing to me because I like both characters and I like the idea of them together.
Pippin Hate:
There are a lot of people who irrationally hate the character of Pippin. And while Pippin isn’t my favorite Hobbit (because Sam exists), I actually really love the character of Pippin! Is he a fool of a Took like Gandalf describes? Absolutely! But he’s also a needed lightheartedness in the story and an incredibly kind and selfless individual. Though he’s very clumsy at the beginning, that’s to be expected from the youngest of the Hobbits who’s never been out of the Shire! And later not only does he save the life of Faramir, he also becomes a formidable knight of Gondor. His skills are battle proven and driven by his compassion for others. Of course, Pippin is a little annoying at the beginning. But he’s supposed to be! One of the major nice things about Pippin is that he grows throughout the story. He has one of the most complete feeling character arcs in my opinion, and I feel like that often goes overlooked. Besides, how can you hate a character played by Billy Boyd?
Balin is the Best Dwarf:
I know many people love Fili and Kili in ‘The Hobbit’ films. Especially Kili. But I feel like Balin often goes unnoticed. Balin is the most welcoming of all the dwarfs to Bilbo and by far the most compassionate. I know he’s one of the older ones and he’s also not as attractive as some of the others, but Balin is so nice. It’s his heart that really sold me on him and he’s definitely one of my favorite characters in both the book and movies.
Legolas:
This is an opinion that seems to become more popular as the years go by. Legolas for a long time was one of the most popular characters in LOTR. In fact, many would argue that he still is. And what’s not to like? He’s gorgeous, the elves are really interesting, and…. he makes funny faces. Legolas isn’t given much story wise. In either the books or movies. In fact, the biggest Legolas character moment I can think of is in the movies when he goes against the opinion of Aragorn in ‘The Two Towers’ and then apologizes afterwards. It’s an interesting moment…that doesn’t actually happen in the books. It seems like Legolas is given even less in the books than in the movies. Which sounds fake, but the books focus way more on the hobbits and description of the world. It does focus on the other characters as well, but it doesn’t really delve into their thoughts as much. The movie actually does much of the character plot development that we all know. That’s not to say that the movies are better. The description of the world is worth reading in itself even without the characters. But it’s worth pointing out that Legolas is one of the least explored of the characters in any version of the story. In fact, Legolas’s lack of lines is what made a bored Orlando Bloom pull so many of those hilarious faces in the movies. Legolas could have been more interesting but without a story arc of his own he feels a little half-baked. I love his stuff with Gimli though!
There you have it! Some of these are more unpopular than others and some of these feel a little bit more like fun facts, but I wanted to share these. Especially since we’ll have more LOTR stuff coming out in the coming years. I haven’t watched these in a while because it’s not great that there’s no POC represented here. I really hope that all of this new content will correct that oversight. But the Fall is definitely making me want to return to the Shire and Rivendell specifically. The cinematography in the LOTR movies is still unmatched.
Promotional photo of Jeon Jungkook, Kim Seokjin (Jin), Min Yoongi (Suga), Kim Namjoon (RM), Park Jimin, Jung Hoseok (J-Hope), and Kim Taehyung (V). Copyright goes to BTS and the Hybe Corporation.
Hey! Hallie here!
Today has been really eventful for BTS fans. The UN Assembly ended, which we already made a post about, but that wasn’t the end of the BTS news. We got some exciting information and social media posts that showcased BTS’s time in New York so far. We also have some more unfortunate and frustrating news to go over. Nothing extremely surprising, but still unfortunate to go over. And all of it in one day. Here’s to hoping we get all positive news from the rest of BTS’s New York trip in the near future.
James Corden:
James Corden is a bit of a controversial figure. A few people have reported rude altercations he’s had with other celebrities or staff. Some people think he’s so fake that he’s difficult to watch interacting with guests on his show. And some have the very valid criticism that he’s made his movie career by taking roles from LGBTQ+ actors by playing LGBTQ+ characters as a straight man. However “Papa Mochi”, as ARMY has called him in the past, was always praised for the respect he gave BTS. He never talked down to them. He didn’t ask any uncomfortable questions. In fact, he seemed to make BTS comfortable during interviews and BTS enjoyed themselves during their appearances on his show. But James Corden’s respect for BTS and ARMY seems to have run out. While covering BTS’s appearance at the UN Assembly, he called them “unusual guests”. This isn’t at all the worst thing that has been said about BTS, but this wording wrongly perpetuates the idea that BTS doesn’t belong in the UN Assembly. Despite the fact that BTS have been named Presidential Envoys and have spoken for the UN on two occasions before this one. After this, James Corden made a joke that equated ARMY to a large amount of fifteen-year-old girls. ARMY has fought against this stereotype for very good reason. The stereotype goes back to sexism, where entertainment that appeals to teen girls is instantly seen as less valid simply because the fan base is made up of young women. As for ARMY, they aren’t made up of only young girls. There are so many ARMY of so many genders, ages, and nationalities. And even if that weren’t true, BTS has proved their talent and skill so many times that it’s ridiculous to undermine their accomplishments or the amount of people they greatly impact. The way James Corden covered this was tasteless.
Megan Thee Stallion:
BTS met Megan Thee Stallion! They took pictures together to commemorate the occasion with the caption “Butter crew”. The “Butter” remix BTS did with Megan Thee Stallion is one of their best collaborations ever. It’s really nice to see them having fun together! Megan Thee Stallion even posted a picture of herself holding a plush Koya in honor of their meetup. Maybe she’s a Namjoon bias?
Chuseok:
Today BTS celebrated Chuseok from New York! For those who don’t know what Chuseok is, Chuseok can be loosely compared to Thanksgiving. More properly, it’s a Korean celebration of bountiful harvest and a family’s ancestors that’s spent with family members. Jimin gifted us with a photo today to acknowledge the holiday. He looked incredibly good in it. So good that Jimin trended on Twitter because of his similar appearance to Prince Eric from ‘The Little Mermaid’. Later in the day, all seven members went live on VLive to continue the celebration. And for those who live in the US, the live finally occurred at a reasonable time for us! That was until it crashed. And crashed. And crashed. There were times where the live could only manage for a minute before crashing again. After this, the live was deleted from VLive. It was a bit of a mess, but the thought absolutely counts!
James Corden deleted his piece on BTS from social media, which might mean he’s rethinking his words. Or it could mean that he saw the backlash and did so solely for his image. It could even be somewhere in between. I hope for the best, but to be honest, I’m not expecting much. Regardless, I hope that BTS has an excellent rest of their trip in New York. They seem to be having plenty of fun despite the stalking that occurred when they arrived. I only hope that the trip gets even more enjoyable as it goes on. Who knows? They might even meet up with more artists for all of us to get excited over! But overall, I hope they get to relax as well. I love all of this content, but I want them to be able to enjoy themselves too!
BTS’s appearance at the UNHQ in New York. (From left) Kim Taehyung, Min Yoongi, Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon, Jeon Jungkook, Park Jimin, and Jung Hoseok. Copyright goes to HYBE Entertainment, BTS, and CBS News.
Hi! It’s Annie!
This morning BTS delivered a speech at the UN Assembly and I think we’re all so proud of them. Not only was the speech amazing, which I’ll get into later, but their time slot and what they had to say was treated with so much importance. I think we can all see the beginnings of their future diplomacy works here, because this feels much more like a beginning than a one time thing. I’m going to go through their speech and the other amazing things that they have done today. Their influence and the way that they try and get all of our voices out there is amazing to me! Seriously everyone should see the speech that they made today. It was nothing short of historic.
The Speech:
To everyone’s surprise, BTS all gave the speech together. They portioned off the speech between the seven of them and it was delivered beautifully. I also want to point out that they were all allowed to give the speech in Korean. Unlike their past UN in-person experience where Namjoon gave his speech entirely in English. Not only that, but the UN featured BTS by also having them be some of the first speakers for the event. BTS talked mostly about the youth of today. Specifically, people in their teens and twenties and how they have continued to survive despite the pandemic. They talked about how this generation has sometimes been referred to as the lost generation because of the supposed lost years. But BTS argued that we should be referred to as the welcome generation. A generation who welcomed change and made do with that we had. They mentioned the new challenges that face this generation, such as climate change and how this generation seeks to combat the newest challenges with knowledge that we might acquire. Over-all their speech was a message of hope that also simultaneously advocated for youth. BTS has always been a huge advocate for youth and talked several times about how much youth is often underestimated. It was amazing that they could share this message that they have long championed with the rest of the world on such a historic scale. And to see all of them deliver the speech together in their native language made the point even more poignant. It’s a message of hope for the youth and for all other generations. Everyone should hear it. Also, the boys are vaccinated!!! Yay!!!
The Interview:
BTS was interviewed along with President Moon of South Korea. Beyond even that, they were interviewed by UN’s Under-Secretary General for Global Communications. In the interview she asked very specific questions to Namjoon, Jimin, and Hobi specifically. (The edited prompt called Jimin Jin but at least the interviewer got it right.) I’m not sure if there was a specific reason why those three were chosen or if they just didn’t have time for anyone else. Either way, the three of them spoke eloquently. Namjoon was asked about what made the issues discussed at the UN important to him, and he talked about how future generations must pay attention to what’s happening. Especially because we are a big part of the future that is to come. Jimin was asked about how he viewed this attendance to the UN and Jimin talked about the importance of the occasion as well as how nervous he was. Hobi talked about how he wanted this generation to know that we are not lost and said he hoped we can walk together for a better tomorrow. President Moon was then asked about why he appointed BTS as his envoy to which he replied that BTS are the biggest and best artists of our time. Absolutely agreed. He then talked about how they have a powerful voice for the youth. To see BTS being honored in this way was indescribable. I would want no one else representing my generation in this way.
The Performance:
BTS showed a pre-recorded version of ‘Permission to Dance’ that was taken very early the day before in the UNHQ and in the park outside. It’s not only an amazing performance but there was happiness and hope radiating off of this already hopeful song on this occasion. They seemed so happy to be there with so many other people joining in. And watching Taehyung dance with the crowd was adorable. This has to be one of my favorite performances of this song. And I’m sure that it’s quite possibly the most important. More than anything else, seeing all the boys having so much fun just hit me with serotonin.
The MET Museum:
While we haven’t seen much video footage from their attendance to this, we do know some about their time there. We know that Namjoon made a speech in front of a group of people. Which makes sense for Namjoon. They were pictured alongside many pieces from the museum and over-all it seemed like a small but glamorous affair. They looked just as official and happy here, but possibly a little less stressed. Understandably.
BTS Themselves:
In talking about this, we have to talk about the boys themselves. Because there are definitely behind the scenes stuff that are important to talk about that was not necessarily captured in any official footage. And not just the pictures they posted to Twitter. (Handsome!) Firstly, let’s talk about their privacy. Because I know they were all stressed going into this address at the UN and I also know that toxic fans did not help those matters at all. BTS was ambushed at the airport and repeatedly followed to their hotel from the moment they landed to their return to their hotel today. If you are one of those people who stalked them in New York or even considered that to be a reasonable thing, please reconsider and reflect on your actions. All the members have talked about how uncomfortable it makes them and those actions show an incredible selfishness. It says that you care more about your wants than their safety. If that really is the case with you, then you aren’t a fan. That aside, I want to talk about how well they did despite nerves and toxic fans making the situation worse. We all saw pictures of Jimin afterwards clutching his heart and he said several times that he was nervous. I hope they all know that they were amazing. I think we all felt as though they were making our voices heard up there. Them being nervous is a reminder to all of us that they are regular human beings who have taken on this incredible responsibility. And as a fan, I couldn’t be more proud of them for taking this on and being so open, hopeful, and welcoming about it all. They are the living examples of the idea that this generation is the welcome generation rather than a lost one.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t tear up just a little bit while watching their UN speech. I’m so happy for them! And I can’t wait to see what else they do in the future. Because, even before this, I think we all knew that they would do something amazing. And this will not be the last amazing thing that they do. They give me so much hope, and they give so many of us so much hope, and I am so glad to have this group in my life. They are simultaneously regular and historic and amazing. Which is a combination that is needed right now in the world.
Screenshot of zombie Tony Stark from episode five of ‘What If?’ on Disney+. Copyright goes to Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Productions.
Hey! Hallie here!
Alright! We have three more episodes and that means another review of ‘What If?’! This review is going to be a bit more negative than the others. To be honest, some of the concepts explored in these episodes weren’t my thing. And some of these episodes have parts that I genuinely feel are worth criticizing. It’s not all bad though! There are definitely positive things worth pointing out in each episode. And some things that I feel are definitely going to come into play as this series continues. I can’t say much up here without getting into SPOILERS, so this is your warning. Let’s get right into these reviews!
Episode 4- ‘What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?’:
Why? Why did they do this concept? This episode is problematic right from the beginning. It decides to explore a parallel universe in which Christine was fridged for the sake of Stephen Strange’s development. As if we didn’t see countless women expressing how horrible fridging Black Widow, and other characters, in regular canon was. There are plenty of events they could have come up with to corrupt Stephen Strange. Stephen isn’t even all that great a guy, especially at the beginning of his movie. He still has a lot of development to go before he can be the hero we all know he can be. So I refuse to believe that they couldn’t have come up with literally any other reason for him to misuse his magical abilities. Pushing that aside, there isn’t much episode left to go off of. Stephen turns away from the teachings of the Ancient One and instead goes to a temple to study darker magical abilities on his own. From there we get a montage of Stephen battling multiple dark creatures and consuming them for power. At one point he even consumes the giant tentacle monster that attacked Peggy in the first episode of this series. And then he notices The Watcher. This was the most interesting part of the entire episode, in my opinion. The Watcher seems to be slowly revealing himself more and more. He even talks to Stephen about his decision to essentially destroy the world in his efforts to get Christine back, revealing that he can’t interfere in any timeline. Predictably, this episode ends badly. Stephen kills an alternate version of himself that actually got over Christine, Christine becomes terrified of what Stephen has become, and the universe is destroyed. Really, The Watcher is the main part of this episode I liked. That and the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, and Tilda Swinton.
Episode 5- ‘What If… Zombies?!’
This one was extremely dark, but a ton of people enjoyed it. As someone who isn’t generally a fan of horror concepts, it made me uncomfortable. But it was by no means poorly done! Mostly. This episode follows a group of Avengers as they try to navigate the zombie apocalypse after other Avengers have become zombies. Yeah, I can’t imagine the world surviving super-powered zombies. The group of non-zombie Avengers consist of Bruce Banner, Hope van Dyne, Sharon Carter, Bucky Barnes, Happy Hogan, Kurt (From ‘Ant Man’), Peter Parker, and Okoye as leader. As she should be. In any case, Peter Parker is way too excited about the zombie apocalypse. He even makes an upbeat video on how to survive it. The star of this video is Happy, who’s wearing a ‘I’m Not Single, I’m Saving Myself For Thor’ shirt. They also catch Bucky without clothes in the shower to give all those Bucky fans some fan service. Of the group of survivors, Sharon is one of the first to die at the hands of the Steve Rogers zombie and they make a really weird joke about her remains getting all over Hope. It wasn’t very funny, especially since Sharon never gets good writing in anything. Eventually the group finds a safe haven with Vision. Until they discover that Vision’s love for Wanda has caused him to take captive various people and feed them to the Wanda zombie. T’Challa is one of those snacks and he only has one leg to prove it. Also, Scott Lang is just a head. I actually liked this tragic exploration of Wanda and Vision’s relationship regardless of how messed up it is. Vision refused to leave her up until his death and the Wanda zombie mourned Vision after Vision tore out the mind stone to help reverse the effects of the zombie apocalypse. In the end, only Peter Parker, T’Challa, and Scott Lang’s head survive with the hope that everyone who has become a zombie will change back. All the women in this group of Avengers die, but I suppose I have less to complain about here after episode four.
Episode 6- ‘What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?’:
This episode is just full of disappointment and untapped potential. When Marvel fans saw this concept was going to be covered, the fan base seemed really excited. Having Tony join up with Killmonger not only implied that we’d see a corrupted Tony storyline, but also that we’d see Killmonger and Tony as extremely terrifying and powerful villains. That’s not what we got. This episode is about Killmonger alone. And Killmonger kills Tony only halfway through the episode to prove it. Killmonger saves Tony’s life to worm his way into Stark industries. With Tony having not learned his lesson after nearly being killed by his own weapons, he agrees to help Killmonger retrieve some Vibranium and create a metallic army of mass destruction. Also, Killmonger kills Rhodey and T’Challa because murder. His murder of Rhodey is caught by JARVIS and Tony decides to trap himself in an enclosed space with a capable killer and no means of protection. Instead, he gets one of his metallic weapons to attack Killmonger. Makes sense. Of course, Killmonger takes that and Tony down in no time at all. I liked the moment where Tony tells Killmonger that he thought their orphaned state and devotion to their fathers made them the same. Tony clearly can’t see past his privilege, and Killmonger calls him out on that before killing him, solidifying that Tony’s ignorance was his doom. Killmonger uses his influence given by Tony, as well as a giant ploy using the army he built with Tony, to get in Wakanda’s good graces and claim the Black Panther title. At which point, at the very end of the episode, the most interesting thing in the whole thing happens. Shuri goes to Pepper, who’s been suspicious of Killmonger the whole time, and proposes they team up against him. I would have rather seen that episode. Also, we got to see the full appearance of The Watcher in this one! I wonder if his clearer appearance indicates he might actually attempt to interfere soon.
That’s it for this group of episodes! I wasn’t really impressed this time around. I liked certain story beats, and it’s always a pleasure to hear the original actors voicing the majority of the characters, but there were a lot of mistakes made in these three. The women present didn’t get any of the respect or storylines they deserved. Some of the concepts didn’t deliver the intrigue they promised. And I had to see Scott Lang as a head in a jar. But I’m a sucker for anything that covers Wanda and Vision’s relationship, so at least that made up for some of it.
Photo of the sign outside ‘Indiana Jones Adventure’ taken by Joshua Sudock for Disneyland Resort. Copyright goes to Disney, Mr. Sudock, and Disney Parks.
Hi! It’s Annie!
I am once again missing my favorite theme parks. I really really want to go back soon. But Disneyland is definitely my favorite and also my favorite for the fall season, so I wanted to do a post specifically for Disneyland. Or at least, Disneyland Resort in California. This post will include rides that are in both Disneyland and the California Adventure park as well. I feel like, especially recently, people have been paying more attention to the newer immersive experiences that Disney created to combat projects like ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ at Universal Studios, and I’ll mention those too. But there are other older immersive experiences in the parks that sometimes go overlooked, or at least their level of immersivity gets overlooked. So here are some of my favorite immersive experiences in the parks! I hope I can return to all of them soon!
‘Rise of the Resistance’:
I’ll start with the more known ones, such as this completely immersive experience. If you haven’t heard about this one by now you’ve probably been living under a rock. This ride comes complete with a pre-show where you are members of the Resistance working with Captain Poe Dameron. (Working with Poe Dameron closely is the dream, really.) In the process of being transported you get captured by the First Order and are escorted by First Order officers to holding cells. Only then are you are saved by Resistance fighters and put into transports for your rescue. The fact that all of that takes place in the pre-show (including a visit by Kylo Ren) is insane in itself. The giant animatronics of Kylo Ren and General Hux, the giant movie scenes that your transport moves through, and the amazing effects throughout the ride make this specific experience stand out. Unfortunately, I have very little personal stories to say about this ride. I haven’t actually been on it yet! But I’m anxious to try it!
‘Smuggler’s Run’:
This is the ride where you are given the opportunity to actually pilot the famed Millennium Falcon. Though the queue for this ride starts out pretty standard, the ride does include a pre-show with an animatronic of Hondo Ohnaka. This is one of the most elaborate animatronics Disney has ever made and stands out for that alone. But definitely the best part of the queue is waiting for your turn in the replica of the common area of the Millennium Falcon. Then you actually get to go inside the cockpit where you can either be one of the two pilots, a gunner, or an engineer. I was a pilot when I went on and I actually did sit in the Han Solo seat. It was absolutely amazing to fly the ship and so much fun. Though I bumped into so many things it wasn’t funny. What’s great about damaging the ship, however, is that when you get out of the cockpit at the end of the experience the ship around you will spark as if damaged. I love that detail. If you’ve ever wanted to feel like a character in ‘Star Wars’, this ride is for you.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout’:
If you’ve ever wanted to see the Collector’s collection and rescue the Guardians with Rocket, this ride is for you. This is probably my favorite of the new immersive rides that Disney has. Part of that is because I grew up with the ride mechanic for ‘Tower of Terror’ but most of it is entirely because of how fun it is. It’s difficult to dance and scream at the same time, but I somehow manage it every time with this ride because the soundtrack is so addictive. The music will change every time you go on this ride, but “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)” by Parliament is probably my favorite song to experience this ride to. And the Vyloo in the cage before you get on the ride are so cute, I could cry. I could literally stand there and watch those adorable animatronics for hours. But one of the best parts of the ride is the pre-show with the Rocket animatronic. Keep your eye out for Rocket’s paw coming down to steal back Peter Quill’s walkman directly after the doors open at the closure of the pre-show.
‘Indiana Jones Adventure’:
This may be my favorite ride and ride experience at Disneyland. And it is not talked about enough. This is one of the most immersive ride experiences you’ll see and it was created before the craze for immersivity started. Which is amazing! It makes the attraction feel pretty timeless! (If only it wouldn’t break down so much). Though the ride is based off of Indiana Jones’s adventures, it follows a completely different and original story. At the start of the queue you swerve through ropes outside of a large temple, which you later learn is the temple of Mara (or the Temple of the Forbidden Eye). 1920’s style music plays over the speakers with the sound quality as if it’s actually coming through an old gramophone and there’s a large rope bridge you have to cross in order to enter the temple. When you enter you immediately see a large old portrait depicting Mara and it actually looks like the ruin of an old temple. The roof is caved in in places and you walk through a booby-trapped room that has thankfully been made safe by Indiana Jones who has walked in this temple before you. You eventually walk into a room where you see an old-fashioned instructional video made by Sallah, a friend of Indiana Jones (some might recognize him as Gimli from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ as well) and finally board an old fashioned car. The car then takes you through the temple where you find Indiana Jones several times (he’s been missing for a while) and also anger the goddess inside. It’s an amazing ride and very thrilling even without it being a Roller Coaster.
‘Soarin’:
‘Soarin’ is a ride that exists in multiple park locations around the world. However, in Tokyo the queue for the ride is more like a collection or museum while the one in Florida never had any sort of immersivity to it. The ‘Soarin’ queue in California is made to be like an old airplane hangar inside. It feels as if you are actually at some sort of base waiting to board a plane. In the first inside room you can see the sides of the room adorned with old photographs of famous pilots. Of all genders and races. The area around the ride is also covered in trees and old fashioned airplane props. It feels like both an addition to the vintage feel of the ride as well as an addition to the California feel of the area. After all, the ‘Grand Californian’ Hotel is just around the corner. Definitely another place to go in the California parks that gives you a more vintage feel. I just wish this was still ‘Soarin’ Over California’ instead.
Of course there are various rides in the parks that are immersive in some way or another. I didn’t mention rides like the ‘Haunted Mansion’ or ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ because they are such classics I wasn’t sure I could do them justice by explaining them. But then again, this can go for all of these. Disney definitely began my love for immersive experiences and some of these rides definitely deserved more of a mention than they usually get. And what better way to get myself over missing this park then talking about it! But seriously, can you tell I love ‘The Temple of the Forbidden Eye’? I’ve talked about it twice in the last two posts! Sorry!
Screenshot of Kris from ‘DELTARUNE’. Copyright goes to Toby Fox.
Hey! Hallie here!
This post is coming really late, but that’s because I spent all day trapped in the world of ‘DELTARUNE’. It’s been a while since the first chapter of this game came out, which meant I had to refresh on what happened, but the wait was definitely worth it. I’m a huge fan of ‘UNDERTALE’, which is what brought me to this game, and every chapter of ‘DELTARTUNE’ makes me fall in love with Toby Fox’s work even more. I love his character writing, his crazy plot twists, and his light sense of humor and story beats that cover up some really dark, meaningful messages. This new chapter had plenty of all of those to keep me engaged. Plus, Ralsei has completely stolen my heart at this point. I’m going to recap a bit of the first chapter before I get into what we saw in chapter two, so you can expect major SPOILERS for this entire game so far. Let’s go!
Chapter 1:
In chapter one we were introduced to Kris, our gender-nonconforming main character who is, as many ‘UNDERTALE’ fans are familiar with, a human living in a world of monsters. This world isn’t so much like the realm we see in ‘UNDERTALE’, however. It instead resembles our world, just filled with monster inhabitants. Kris is the child of Toriel and Asgore, although the two seem to be separated, or at least on shaky terms, during this story. Kris is also the sibling of Asriel, who has been at college during the events of ‘DELTARUNE” so far, although the game promises that we’ll see him at some point. In any case, Toriel is still a school teacher in this reality and Kris attends the school she works at. They’re in Alphys class and they’re known for being shy and reserved. They’re also known for being late, prompting Kris to get stuck with Susie, a known delinquent, on a class group project. Kris and Susie are sent to retrieve chalk for Alyphys when she claims she can’t start the class without it. When the two enter the school closet, though, they fall into the world of ‘DELTARUNE’. Fairly quickly they stumble on Ralsei, an extremely kind prince who has been waiting for two people of Kris and Susie’s description to arrive. There’s a prophesy that a human, a monster, and a prince will shut down the dark fountains that appear in this world. Doing so will restore the balance between light and darkness and save the world from being destroyed. Susie initially isn’t fond of either Kris or Ralsei, prompting her to join Lancer, a charmingly unintelligent kid who has been told to stop them. The two groups fight each other for a while, but eventually Kris and Ralsei manage to win Susie back, who’s friendship with Lancer also turns him to their side. Together they face off against Lancer’s father, the person who created the first of the dark fountains they must destroy, and Lancer takes over his father’s throne. With this mission accomplished, Kris and Susie return to their world as friends. However, something very strange is going on with Kris. At night, they tear out their own heart, lock it in a cage, and take out a knife. That’s where we left off.
Chapter 2:
Chapter two gets very quickly into its story. The opening is short and doesn’t do much. We do know that, for whatever reason, Kris ate the entire pie their mother made while they were in their heartless state. Another important piece of information is given when Kris goes to school and Alyphs comments that the internet hasn’t been working for a while. After this, Kris and Susie find the first excuse to go back into the school closet and return to what they are now calling the “Dark World”. But not before Noelle comes up to Susie and acts flustered, pretty quickly confirming that she has a crush on her. Adorable. When the two arrive, Ralsei has decided to permanently stay in his hatless form! Yay! We also get to see that all of the characters spared during chapter one, (No, I’m not one of those people who’s killing characters just to see what happens,) have created a city around Ralsei’s castle. This is where the recruitment mechanic comes into play. Essentially, if you spare a character who’s attacking you, they move into this city and start working for you. I like this mechanic a lot and putting all of the characters in one place makes everything much easier. And they do put EVERY character from the Dark World into this city. Including Lancer, who seems to have given up his throne in favor of just letting Ralsei rule as prince. He even moved his father into Ralsei’s prisons. Makes sense. Ralsei also reveals that he’s been renovating his castle to accommodate his new friends. Both Kris and Susie have their own rooms, filled with their belongings and space for more things they might pick up as the story continues. Lancer’s room from his old castle has also been moved into this one. After all of this is established, Ralsei makes Kris and Susie leave so they can work on their group project. Both Lancer and Rouxls attempt to sneak their way into Kris’ pockets before they can.
When Kris and Susie return to their world they find it worryingly empty. They make their way to the “Librarby” at Noelle’s invitation. She absolutely invited them so she could spend more time with Susie. But when Kris and Susie approach the computer room (Where the Toby dog was last spotted working on the game,) they find that it feels the same as the closet at their school. Sure enough, the two fall back into the Dark World, although in a very unfamiliar and mechanical city. Here they meet Queen, a computer program who has decided she wants to take over the world by creating multiple dark fountains. To help her do this she’s captured Noelle, who she hopes will lend her more power. Luckily, Ralsei’s able to travel from his kingdom to the city at the first sign of distress. The three try to rescue Noelle but it doesn’t seem to go in their favor much. Nor does it really seem to be going in Queen’s favor. Noelle isn’t willing to help Queen out with anything and she’s mostly confused about what’s going on. Meanwhile, Queen is odd, unpredictable, and disappears a lot. The three also discover that Berdly, an extremely uptight and annoying kid from their school, has also been sucked into the Dark World because, as Noelle’s study partner, he was with her when the computer room transformed. He also decided that Queen’s idea to take over the world sounded like a good idea, so he’s a bad guy now. While exploring the city, Susie decides she wants to get to know Ralsei better and Kris is left to explore on their own. They run into Noelle while she’s attempting to escape Queen and the two end up making a really fun team. Noelle is scared by every fight, and who wouldn’t be, but she’s an extremely helpful and intelligent character who I loved having around. After a few strange run ins with Queen, all four of the main characters reunite. But only for a short while before Queen finally manages to recapture Noelle. And everyone else, for that matter.
While Kris is captured, Lancer makes himself known in Kris’s pocket and manages to release Kris. But then he begins to feel cold. So Kris, Susie, and Berdly, who was captured too despite the fact that he thought he was on better terms with Queen, quickly try to find Ralsei, who has the best healing abilities of the group. While they do this, Berdly gets embarrassed that he can’t solve any of the puzzles in their way and admits that he isn’t as smart as he claims to be. He says he wants to change his ways but…it’s Berdly. They get to Ralsei, who was made a butler because Queen didn’t make enough cages to imprison Ralsei, and Ralsei reveals that most monsters in the Dark World can only stay within a certain area. If they leave that area, they turn to stone. Luckily, if they get moved back into that area, even after they’re turned to stone, they’re revived. So they let Lancer turn to stone and move on in the hopes of reviving him later. Berdly and Susie go to rescue Noelle, who is still Queen’s main focus, while Ralsei and Kris decide to be a distraction. The thing that caught me off guard with Kris and Ralsei’s storyline, was that the player could decide that Kris and Ralsei might have romantic feelings for one another. Ralsei confesses that he’s grateful to have Kris in his life and Kris can instantly start flirting with him. Later in the game, Kris can even tell Susie that they would want to take Ralsei to the festival their town is preparing for. I don’t know if that will actually grow into a full relationship the player can choose to pursue, but it’s cute nonetheless. Meanwhile, Susie saves Noelle and Noelle decides that everything she’s experiencing is a dream. That doesn’t stop her from getting flustered and making Susie flustered in return, though. They succeed in their rescue mission and go to find Queen, but Queen gets Noelle back and takes control of Berdly, forcing him to fight the others. The others defeat her and Berdly gives them the resources for one final standoff against Queen. It involves a familiar duck.
After she’s defeated, a good chunk of our main characters start to question whether or not Queen’s idea of creating a different world with a dark fountain is possible. They even start to like the idea, themselves. At which point Ralsei actually explains what the presence of the dark fountains does. If they spread, they cast everything in darkness and completely destroy all of the people living in the Dark World, leaving only those from the light realm to fend for themselves. Everyone, including Queen, decides that sounds really bad and they all return to their realms. We see a few interesting things when we’re given full reign to explore again. Queen and Lancer have formed a friendship and it seems that Queen might be getting her own room in Ralsei’s castle. Undyne and Alphys have finally met and are already starting to have feelings for one another. Napstablook is an officer who works with Undyne. Metaton might come out of his house eventually. Sans STILL won’t let us see Papyrus (I’m really sad about it). Noelle’s father seems to be struggling more with his illness. And Susie gets to sleep over! Most of this is really happy news, which makes up for some of the really shocking ending scenes. Kris rips out their heart twice towards the end. First they do so while washing their hands in the bathroom, prompting them to jump out the window and slash their mother’s tires. Toriel sees this and calls Undyne to report the event, though Toriel doesn’t see that it’s Kris who did this. Then, in the middle of the night, Kris rips out their heart again and uses the knife to create a dark fountain in the light realm. That can’t be good.
I loved this chapter. I think my only big disappointment is the fact that Papyrus was clearly set up for an appearance in chapter two, but has now been pushed off until whenever Asriel appears. Still, I understand that his appearance wasn’t intended to be the main focus here. And the story is really good. Queen is a very likable character. She’s very intelligent, but also crazy in an amusing way. I’m glad it seems she’s more likely to join the ranks of the good guys than getting shoved in the prisons with some of the bad guys. I also loved her final battle. The mix between the regular bullet-style fighting and the fighting mini-game was addicting. The involvement of Noelle was another standout of this chapter. It still seems unclear why Queen was obsessed with Noelle in particular, but Noelle seems to possess a power we haven’t fully explored yet. That and her relationship with Susie makes me excited for her character going forward. And, as always, Ralsei stole the show for me. I understand all of the high-pitched screeching Ralsei got when he was dressed as a butler. Chapter three won’t come around for a while but I’m still excited for it! From this point on fans will have to pay for the chapters that are released, but who could possibly claim it isn’t worth the money? ‘DELTARUNE’ isn’t even finished and it’s already one of my favorite games.
Screenshot of Karen Allen as Marion in ‘Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark’. Copyright goes to Lucasfilm.
Hi! It’s Annie!
Some of my favorite types of movies have always been adventure films. Especially the ones with a vintage feel to them. There’s a comfortably nostalgic feeling about them to me. And some of my favorite parts of these movies is that many of them were the start of the focus on female characters we are now seeing. Because while action films in general turned their backs on female characters, some of the adventure films were actually pretty good with their portrayals. They by far portrayed their female characters as the most intelligent of most other movie genres. I know not all of these are Disney specifically, but I’m mainly going to discuss movies that Disney have had rights to. Seeing adventuring women in movies was always incredibly inspiring to me, so I want to go over some of my favorites. (Especially because I’ve seen more and more people reference ‘The Mummy’ which I didn’t grow up watching as much.) And some that I found the most relatable.
Marion in ‘Indiana Jones’:
So Marion is definitely not a character created by Disney, but by Lucasfilm. Which is now owned by Disney. ‘Indiana Jones’ as a franchise has always confused me because I go back and forth on whether or not I like it. I didn’t watch the movies until later in my life, but the immersive ride in Disneyland was always one of my favorites with the fully built temple and the 1920’s music playing outside. But Indiana Jones as a character didn’t turn out to be likable to me and the way he treats women is even more atrocious. In all of the movies, there is only one female character worth mentioning. The other two are incredibly stereotypical, pretty offensive, and mostly not intelligent. Marion is from the first movie and she is by far the best. Marion is incredible. I would have loved to see her in all of the movies, but unfortunately George Lucas insisted that Indy have a different love interest in each film and refused to let her come back though that was the original plan. George Lucas gives me a headache. Marion can fend for herself, keep up with Indy, and even outsmart him at times. She’s continuously shown to be intelligent and resourceful. And she is needed to balance out Indy in the first film. She’s the daughter of a Professor who more or less runs a bar. Definitely a badass.
The Women in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’:
Here I am specifically referencing Elizabeth, Angelica, Anamaria, and Syrena. I didn’t much care for the fifth movie and it would be difficult to cover Tia Dalma without covering Calypso. Which is a connection I still don’t completely understand. Elizabeth Swann is the Pirate King and I feel like that speaks for itself. I’ve written entire articles about Elizabeth because she was so influential to me growing up. Anamaria was only in the first film, but her few scenes were important. She is definitely a scene-stealer and one of the most resourceful characters in the film series. Angelica could go toe to toe with Jack while also being one of the most compassionate characters we’ve seen in the films. Her representation was important to so many people and I wish she would be remembered more as a character. But from that movie it was Syrena who drew most of my attention. It’s difficult not be drawn in by her. She’s a mermaid. But her plot line with the priest character was one of my favorites. Specifically because you don’t often have an entire plot focusing on the compassion of two characters in this franchise. Definitely the sweetest couple we’ve seen here. But Syrena’s turn on the damsel in distress trope by acting much more stubborn and less bothered by her capture is one of my favorite aspects of her character.
Jane in ‘Tarzan’:
Another daughter of a Professor who travels with her father. Jane is adorably awkward but never incapable. You can most often find her with her nose stuck in a book or drawing some sort of animal. But my favorite part of her character is how I related to her awkwardness when I was growing up. My awkwardness suddenly didn’t seem odd. Jane has become one of my favorite Disney animated characters over the years because of her amazing writing. She’s an introvert but she’s never set back because of her struggle with social situations. Jane is shown to be strong and intelligent. Definitely a role model I’m glad to have had.
Alice in ‘Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland’:
‘Alice in Wonderland’ is a story that is very close to my heart. So I’m often met with surprise when I say that I actually liked this version of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. For someone who grew up reading the book multiple times, watching the Disney film multiple times, and in love with the idea of Wonderland it may seem odd that I like such a different version of the tale. And while I really don’t like the sequel, the styling of this movie stole my heart from the very beginning. And what I like about this version is that it gives Alice more agency as well as portraying her as an adventurer. She even becomes an adventurer in her real life after the story. Though my attention was often caught by characters like the Mad Hatter or the White Queen, Alice’s actions were some of my favorites in the film. She even gets a sword fight. The vintage but colorful vibe of this film specifically is one of my favorites in any film and I love to see a woman at the head of it.
Lily in ‘Jungle Cruise’:
The most obvious and newest addition to this list. Lily may just be one of my new favorite Disney characters simply because of the role she plays in this film. Earlier as the movie starts there are two giant action sequences where Lily swings from several platforms, runs across a roof top, and resourcefully fights her way out of dangerous situations. These sequences reminded me immediately of Captain Jack Sparrow and for a second I couldn’t believe that we were finally seeing films with sequences like this being given to women. Lily is smarter than most people and an incredibly complex character. Her discoveries and ideas are often shot down because she’s a woman, resulting in her brother having to give pitches of her ideas to associations for her. But in the end she doesn’t need them or anyone to get where she needs to go. All she needs is her determination and incredible intelligence. So I guess all of those professors can “Shove it up their association” as McGregor would put it.
I don’t know what it is about Fall, but it always puts me back in the vintage adventuring mood. That might explain why I’ve been watching ‘Jungle Cruise’ so often lately. So I’ll get back to my scratchy gramophone playlists on Youtube and Rachel Maksy videos, but I couldn’t do that before I talked about some of my biggest style and character inspirations. And some of my favorites for the Fall season too!
