ATEEZ: ‘Kingdom:Legendary War’ Storyline

Promotional image of Jeong Yunho, Choi San, Kang Yeosang, Kim Hongjoong, Jung Wooyoung, Choi Jongho, and Park Seonghwa. Copyright goes to ATEEZ and KQ Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

‘Kingdom: Legendary War’ is now over and with that ATEEZ has finished up the storyline spanning all of their performances. Unlike most other contestants of this show, ATEEZ used every single performance for their group to tell one full story. Over everything else ATEEZ came to ‘Kingdom’ to demonstrate who they are, and nothing is more true to ATEEZ than an epic story. A lot of this is still theory, but it does demonstrate how everything connects. So let’s look at what ATEEZ gave us!

Performance 1: (“Symphony No.9”) “From the Wonderland”

This performance was more of an introduction to ATEEZ for the show. However, it already sets up the rich storyline with the first shot. In it we see an unknown person dressed in black handing Hongjoong an hourglass. The hourglass is ATEEZ’s symbol and it’s also an object that has the ability to travel between parallel universes. The man handing over the hourglass is wearing an interesting outfit. Fans will notice that the black fedora and suit is reminiscent of the outfits ATEEZ wore in the music videos for “HALA HALA” and “Say My Name”, the latter of which explores the idea of parallel universes. This means this man is likely a member of Halateez, the fan name for the parallel versions of ATEEZ introduced in “Say My Name”. We don’t see much of Halateez after this, but we do see ATEEZ on their pirate ship fighting off a sea monster and being general badasses. With hints from their final performance we know that Halateez gave ATEEZ supplies to help them fight off the sea monster. After Seonghwa kills the sea monster with a gun given to him by Halateez, it appears that Halateez needs them to help take down the government from their parallel universe. Which leads to the next performance.

Performance 2: (“The Awakening of Summer”) “Rhythm Ta”

This performance starts with the world building we needed for Halateez’s parallel universe, showing that multiple instruments have been taped over with red tape reading “PROHIBITED”. We hear over the radio that human emotion has been declared a disease. In other words, this universe’s government has decided that free expression leads to crime. Then ATEEZ breaks in, staging a heist for an unknown object. But the ATEEZ we see here isn’t the real ATEEZ; It’s Halateez. This performance appears to be a flashback, showing why Halateez needs the help of the real ATEEZ in the first place. In it we see through newspapers that the government has been searching for Halateez because they have been deliberately acting against their anti-art laws. We get to see them in action too as they inspire revolution, convincing others to join them in their rebellion against the government and its new stance against art. While they generally encourage anarchy, they also use music and speeches to get the masked dancers not only to aid the revolution, but also to help with the heist. At the end of this performance we see Halateez Hongjoong steal the hourglass we saw from the first performance. This confirms that Halateez Hongjoong was the masked figure in the first performance who handed over the hourglass to the real Hongjoong and recruited the real ATEEZ. All that’s left now is the final battle.

Performance 3: (“Ode to Joy”) “Answer”

This performance finishes off the storyline. To be honest, it’s probably the most confusing performance for those who haven’t been following the story so far, which may be why so many viewers were confused by the storytelling here. It starts with Yeosang in the translucent box seen in the music video for “Say My Name”. He appears in the box with Halateez Seonghwa, who activates the hourglass during a full moon, which is when they apparently need to use it, to take the real ATEEZ to Halateez’s parallel universe. Once they arrive, masked and chained figures who serve as the government’s forces attack Yunho. In the next shot we see both versions of ATEEZ together. The real ATEEZ are dressed in white and are portrayed by, of course, the real ATEEZ. Halateez are portrayed by backup dancers dressed in black outfits and masked, but they mimic the movements of the real ATEEZ to make it clear that they are parallel versions of them. They clink glasses while they prepare to fight. Once Hongjoong’s verse starts we see the backup dancers behind him act out Halateez’s involvement in the other performances, giving ATEEZ weapons in performance one and recruiting the masked dancers in performance two. After this the fight ensues and we see some amazing fight choreography between the government forces and ATEEZ. Meanwhile, Jongho rejects the crown handed to him. This seems to be more symbolism for the competition than it is part of the story. It shows that ATEEZ didn’t need to win to be proud of what they accomplished here. As the fight finishes, we see that Halateez lies with the government forces among the fallen. The real ATEEZ is the only group that stands triumphant in the end.

With all this talk of parallel universes, it’s no wonder so many people were confused by the story. But it’s such a creative story that you can’t help but admire ATEEZ for using it for the entirety of ‘Kingdom’. Maybe its climax was the type of thing that mainly fans would understand, but that’s who ATEEZ dedicated their performances to, anyway. They wanted to make a story that was just as important to them as it was for Atiny. And even though they didn’t nab the first place position, they succeeded. Third place is also really amazing! They did so well!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Disney: Why ‘Big Hero 6’ Should be in the Parks

Promotional image for Disney Animation Studios’ ‘Big Hero 6’. Copyright goes to The Walt Disney Company.

Hi! It’s Annie!

‘Big Hero 6’ is one of my favorite movies of all time and quite possibly my favorite superhero movie to exist. I know that sounds absolutely insane. After all, Marvel and DC are giant companies who specialize in coming out with superhero movies. But for me, nothing beats ‘Big Hero 6’. The movie is packed with character bonding, heartfelt moments, and amazing world building as well as action. No superhero team will ever feel as close as the characters in this movie do. Not to mention how relatable the characters are, unlike in most other superhero movies. And though I could go on and on about how much I love this movie; I’m here to talk about why it should be in the Disney Parks. Because there is absolutely no movie that Disney has created that would look and feel as amazing as stepping into San Fransokyo.

Recent Expansions:

There are various Disney Parks that are getting massive expansions coming up pretty soon here. Between a couple parks we’ll see brand new ‘Frozen’, ‘Tangled’, and Neverland areas (in Disneyland Paris and Tokyo respectively), which will result in a lot of new immersive experiences. Obviously, the most recent one is Avengers Campus in Disneyland which is opening this week. But, even though I’m a massive ‘Peter Pan’ fan, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if one of these new themed areas was ‘Big Hero 6’ themed instead. We have plenty of ‘Frozen’ in the parks already. And really, Marvel movies take place in real life. Doesn’t really make much of an immersive experience there.

California and Tokyo:

The fact that we have parks in both California and Tokyo makes it feel almost wrong that we don’t have San Fransokyo in both parks. The blending of both styles of infrastructure would call back to each park while making an eye-catching immersive experience. Not to mention the fact that the second park at Disneyland is in fact called, California Adventure. This was because this park used to feature things like California’s train system, the redwoods, the Golden Gate Bridge, old Hollywood, and much more that called back specifically to California. In fact, Pixar Pier was originally just supposed to be a tribute to the piers on the California coast. Since then, Disney has decided to put their own spin on these things. There is no old Hollywood in sight with the removal of ‘Tower of Terror’, the trains and call backs to the redwoods have been mostly removed, ‘Soarin’ is now an experience that takes place around the world and no longer features orange groves, and literally everything else has been re-themed. It’s not really a California adventure anymore. Adding ‘Big Hero 6’ to that park would add back things like the Golden Gate Bridge while also offering a unique immersive opportunity. Could you imagine walking down a San Fransokyo street with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background and Aunt Cass’s cafe open and selling food? We need this!

Characters:

We all know Disney likes its characters, but we also know that they have a serious problem with diversity. I don’t even want to get started with Disneyland Paris which has been casting white women as Tiana. But I think it’s common knowledge that most of the face characters at Disneyland are white characters portrayed by white people. One of the best parts of ‘Big Hero 6’ is the diversity of the cast. Seriously, the only white member of ‘Big Hero 6’ is Fred. Having Hiro, GoGo, Honey Lemon, Fred, Wasabi, and Baymax walking around would be amazing, not just for character experiences but also for character diversity in the parks.

Previous ‘Big Hero 6’:

At a few separate parks there were ‘Big Hero 6’ stops when the movie came out. Most of them featured Hiro’s garage with a meet and greet with Hiro and Baymax. The garage was highly detailed and the experience was completely immersive. Possibly one of the most universally immersive experiences at several of the parks. It made me just want to see more of what there is in the movie! Being able to walk the halls of the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, possibly as an immersive queue would be even more detailed than the garage. I would absolutely love to see recreations of the science experiments done by each character! Or even a walk through recreation of Fred’s mansion complete with his superhero room. How about the dark island with Fred’s theme song playing faintly in the background? There’s so much they could do with the type of immersive details they’ve already presented for ‘Big Hero 6’.

Scenery:

Along with the major city scape ‘Big Hero 6’ also boasts some amazing other features. Such as the giant blimps that float above many of the buildings or the overlarge statue of Hans. Disney has done forced perspective extremely well before in the parks and this would be a great opportunity to use it again. As I mentioned before, it would also be nice to explore places like the streets, the cafe, the university, the island, Fred’s mansion, Bot fights, and Hiro’s garage.

I’m glad that Disney is starting to jump onto the immersive train, but I do think there are other movies that would be much more interesting to see done in that way. Especially because Disney has other animation avenues to explore that aren’t just princess movies, as much as I love those. But mainly I would just love to finally see ‘Big Hero 6’ represented in the parks. It’s as though Disney had no idea if they should classify this film as Disney Animation or Marvel and so just decided to sweep it under the rug. This is one of the best films Disney has created for story, diversity, and its realistic portrayal of depression. We need to see more of it in a way that isn’t just an under-advertised Disney Channel show. ‘Frozen’, ‘Tangled’, and ‘Peter Pan’ are great. But they’re also white led movies. We need to see more diversity in the parks.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Comfort Movies: ‘Despicable Me’ and the Minion Takeover

Screenshot of Agnes from ‘Despicable Me’. Copyright goes to Universal Pictures.

Hey! Hallie here!

Every time I watch this movie I’m reminded of how much I love it. Which is surprising because I wasn’t interested in it at all when the first trailers were released. All the trailers of Gru doing petty things, like making a child a balloon animal and then popping it, were nothing more than mildly amusing. There wasn’t anything special about what the trailers showed and the animation wasn’t enough to sell it, either. Especially during a time where a lot of animated movies were coming out at once, including some pretty unimpressive duds, this movie didn’t seem like it was going to set itself apart. I’m so happy I caved and decided to watch this in theaters. This movie remains one of the best animated movies I’ve ever seen. It has a heart I never expected, some incredibly written characters, and of course, the Minions. So I’m going to take this post to gush about what made ‘Despicable Me’ so good and the way we’re still seeing it effect pop culture.

‘Despicable Me’:

Characters: Gru was the only character I was entirely aware of when this movie was released. The trailers kept most of the other characters pretty close to the chest, minus the Minions whose adorableness drew many to the movies. And with about no expectations going in, Gru blew me away. The beginning sequence of his nefarious deeds, which I initially thought was kind of cheesy, turned out to be a great introduction to the character. Because he isn’t supposed to be good at being evil. He’s actually very bad at it. He has some cool gadgets and his disillusionment with life in general is pretty hilarious, but as far as evil schemes go he can’t accomplish much aside from petty crimes. He can’t even get a loan from the bank that supports evil schemes. And that’s what makes Gru such an endearing character. He isn’t a great guy in the beginning, but he is a relatable one. And then the girls come in. Margo, Edith, and Agnes might be my favorite characters in this movie. Margo has basically taken over the motherly position in the group because of their lack of parents, causing her to be skeptical of Gru when they are first adopted as well as overly protective of her sisters. Edith is even tougher to get through to. Despite her easy-going personality, she’s also extremely attentive of the rudeness of others and sees no reason to put up with it. Agnes, on the other hand, gets along with everyone. As long as she has a unicorn in her hand she’s happy, and she wants everyone else to be the same. At first Gru doesn’t like the girls and the feeling is mutual (Aside from Agnes, of course). He only needs them to get back at Vector, his perfectly geeky nemesis, but as he begins to bond with them he starts to change. This movie is entirely dependent on the relationship between Gru and the girls and how it gives both a sense of belonging. Gru was never supported by his mother and is abandoned by his community for being too old or not skilled enough. Meanwhile, the girls have been horribly mistreated while in the adoption system. It’s so heartwarming to see all of them gain a new appreciation for life through each other.

The Voice Acting: This movie has a star-studded cast. There can be a few problems with set ups like this. One is the lack of actual voice actors, which is a problem with the movie industry in general. Voice actors are often underpaid, and that’s partly because the things they can do are now limited because Hollywood no longer values their talents for feature films. Instead, they cast celebrities who will more securely bring in an audience. But this isn’t an issue that only this film suffers from, so we’ll move on. The other issue is that some celebrities feel they can phone it in for these types of movies because they are directed at children. That doesn’t happen here. At all. In fact, all of the celebrities in this movie give so much to their roles that you wouldn’t even recognize them if you didn’t know they were in the movie. Steve Carell puts on a charming accent for Gru that fits the character and isn’t super reminiscent of his regular speaking voice. Jason Segal uses a more nasally sound to bring to life the geekiness and pretentiousness of Vector. Russell Brand is completely unrecognizable as Dr. Nefario, so much so that most people didn’t realize that an elderly man didn’t voice this character when the movie was released. Kristen Wiig voices Miss Hattie, and she sounds so different in this role that they brought her back to voice another prominent character, Lucy, because most audiences wouldn’t be able to tell it was the same actress. And perhaps most unrecognizable of all is Julie Andrews. She voices Gru’s mom, the evil woman who amusingly finds joy in making fun of Gru. It’s such an opposite from roles she usually plays, and the rough accent she uses disguises her completely. Who knew Julie Andrews had such a good nefarious laugh? On top of all that there were actual children voicing the younger girls and they sometimes were given the option to ad-lib, making the girls seem like realistic children. I can’t stress enough how good the acting is in this movie.

Minion Takeover:

The Minions get their own section because they were so well done that they transcended the movie itself. Yes, they were adorable, but the Minions also ran the risk of being annoying. Many cute side-kicks can accidentally fall into the annoying category, and with so many Minions who all share a sense of humor that is slapstick comedy, it first seemed like the Minions would stumble into this too. But they didn’t. They weren’t overused to the point that audiences felt they overstayed their welcome. And when the movie did focus on them, they were never obnoxious. They were helpful and even caring towards the main characters. And their brand of comedy was easy to enjoy without stooping to humor that was too childish. It’s easy to see why so many people latched onto them. Their impact was so large that Illumination started an entirely new movie series starring the Minions and made them their mascot. Meanwhile, Universal Studios parks embraced their popularity. ‘Minion Mayhem’ is one of the most advertised attractions in every park and in Tokyo they even have a parade of Minions that lines the park at certain intervals. And of course, how could I write about this without mentioning my bias in ATEEZ, Hongjoong. Hongjoong is such a large fan of the Minions that the other members of the band refer to him as a Minion. Fans have given him so much Minion merchandise at fan meets that you can’t go looking for fan meet photos without finding at least one of Hongjoong with a Minion. Early in their career he even dressed up as a Minion for the group’s trip to Universal Studios in Hollywood. The Minion’s impact its worldwide, and with the amount of people that love them, including celebrities with large fanbases, it’s clear their popularity isn’t slowing down.

‘Despicable Me’ has become an animated classic. It’s quotable, heartfelt, and fun. It’s one of the few movies I could watch every day without getting tired of it. I’m glad it’s received the recognition it deserves. Maybe the second and third movies didn’t quite live up to the excellence of this movie, but in truth it would have been miraculous if they had. This movie feels like lightning in a bottle. It doesn’t happen twice, but the world is grateful it happened at least once.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: The Cultural Reset of ‘Daechwita’

Promotional still of Min Yoongi (Agust D) on the set of the ‘Daechwita’ music video. Copyright goes to HYBE entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I have always been a sucker for anything BTS does, but their solo projects are always amazing. From their solo work we’ve gotten Jungkook’s ‘Still With You’ which is one of the most calming songs I’ve ever listened to, Jimin’s ‘Promise’ which is one of my favorite songs to exist, and plenty more. We’ve especially gotten a lot from the rap line as they have each released complete mixtapes. But I don’t think any project caught people as off guard as ‘Daechwita’ from Yoongi’s most recent mixtape as Agust D, ‘D-2’. Not only did it feel like we had very little warning for the release of this one, but it came with the release of a music video. And this was unlike anything I had ever seen before. So let’s talk about why this was a complete cultural reset.

The Storyline:

K-Pop music videos generally focus more on a feeling than a specific storyline for the most part. There have definitely been music videos with storylines; BTS specifically has had some towards their ‘Run’ era. But I’m not sure I’ve seen any music video as cinematically epic as this one. Yoongi uses Korean culture to blend two different eras of both the culture itself and his role as Agust D. In this music video his persona from the first mixtape is an insane emperor who is shown beheading several people. In walks the new Agust D, who seems to be starting a revolt with the help of some of the citizens of the village just outside the palace. With this new Agust D we see a direct contrast, as he is often surrounded by more modern things, such as him arriving in a car. The new Agust D is captured and led to be executed by the end of the music video when it is revealed that the executioner is on the side of the new Agust D. The new Agust D does kill the old by the end of the music video, but Yoongi did say in a behind the scenes video that we don’t know for sure whether or not the king is truly dead. It seems like we may get more of this storyline should Yoongi decide to release another mixtape under the Agust D name. This entire storyline seemed to be a creation from Yoongi himself who put sincere thought into what he wanted the music video to portray story-wise. This just shows how amazing Yoongi is at storytelling as well as his talent for beats and songwriting.

The Rap:

There is a scene in the ‘Daechwita’ music video of Yoongi tied up surrounded by torches, seemingly right before his execution. This piece of the music video features his fastest rap in the song and this is what went viral. I distinctly remember hearing this piece for the first time and being absolutely blown away. We all have always known that Yoongi is a talented rapper, but this went beyond even that. Nobody could deny how amazing his rap here was. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a Korean rap artist as universally acclaimed for a singular rap piece before the release of ‘Deachwita’. I’ll seriously never be able to get that verse out of my head.

Behind the Scenes:

The behind the scenes for this music video also went viral and I have no questions as to why. For the music video Yoongi learned sword choreography and the videos of him learning were another example of all his hard work. As well as the fact that he looked really good while doing it. I don’t think anyone will ever get over his floppy black hair from the music video or the behind the scenes footage. We also saw a lot of the bond between the boys. Though a few eagle eyed viewers caught the presence of Jin and Jungkook in the music video early on, it was only widely realized when the behind the scenes footage was released. Jin was wearing a beard and he and Jungkook got into a fake brawl. During the day that Jin and Jungkook came on set to shoot that part of the music video, Hobi also showed up with a coffee and churro truck. The truck was completely pink and all of the coffee cups featured supportive sayings, in true J-Hope fashion. I think all of us absolutely love Sope’s relationship and it was no surprise that he showed up. Seeing the close bond between all the members of BTS makes me so soft.

This post is mainly because of the controversy on Twitter today. If you haven’t heard, some person posted a picture of Yoongi beside a picture of G-Dragon and asked fans to choose the better songwriter. This caused a massive fight between fans of both rappers. Somehow even Namjoon and his writing credits were brought into the odd feud. I think it’s pretty ridiculous to compare the two. They are both different and have contributed to the rap scene in different ways. I’m not sure how comparing writing credits prove that one person is better than the other and I’m also not sure why people against Yoongi decided to also attack Namjoon. I am once again going to ask that we all respect each other and each other’s opinions. There is no reason to constantly pit artists and groups against each other. Suga/Agust D, RM, and G-Dragon are all talented rappers who have written a lot of great songs, let’s leave it at that. It is obvious that Min Yoongi has talent. There is no reason to demean his talent because G-Dragon has been in the industry longer. So, I’m here to appreciate things that Agust D has done on a day where people seem to be determined to not appreciate them. Because there is seriously no reason for any of this to be happening. I am very grateful for Yoongi’s continuous work for BTS and for himself and I will never get over how good he is!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Disney: ‘Cruella’ Review

Screenshot of Emma Stone as Cruella de Vil in the ‘Cruella’ trailer. Copyright goes to The Walt Disney Company.

Hey! Hallie here!

I watched ‘Cruella’ tonight and like a lot of people who have been watching it recently, I have some thoughts. First off, I want to say that a lot of people are pre-judging this film for one particular part of the plot that occurs early in the movie. In case you want to go into this movie completely blind, I’ll put my SPOILER warning right here because I’m also going to talk about that part of the plot now. Now that that’s out of the way, yes, Cruella’s mother is kind of killed by Dalmatians. And yes, this is completely unnecessary. But it also isn’t as bad as you think it is. It doesn’t cause Dalmatian-related trauma that is supposed to explain Cruella’s dislike of Dalmatians and the Dalmatians aren’t even blamed for the death. If this part of the plot sounds so ridiculous to you that you have decided not to watch the movie, I’d suggest you reconsider. This movie actually isn’t all too bad. All things considered, it’s pretty good. It’s definitely not a perfect film. I do have some problems with it. But I enjoyed the experience overall. Let’s get into what exactly the movie did well and where it started to stumble.

The Kindnesses:

Cruella: Emma Stone was brilliant as Cruella and Cruella herself was simply a fun character. The background introduced for her was easy to get behind. Of course she was a bold child who longed to be a fashion designer. Her mother’s death may have been a bit unnecessary, but her introduction to Jasper and Horace, and thusly a life of crime, explained how Cruella so easily slides into the criminal world on her days off in the original movie. I also loved the reveal that Cruella can’t actually drive. This reveal was probably my favorite tie-in to ‘101 Dalmatians’. But my favorite thing about this character was the switch between Estella and Cruella. From her childhood we can see her mother scolding her for letting “Cruella” out. So much so that she had Estella refer to Cruella as a different person from herself. And throughout most of her life Estella suppresses that part of her, even while committing crimes, and remains an understated and kind person. But as she is pulled into the fashion world she begins to see the value in expressing herself more. Not to mention she discovers that Baroness called the Dalmatians to kill Estella’s mother, making Baroness her murderer. As she’s swept up in creating her own designs to bring Baroness down and claim her revenge, she embraces Cruella as her true personality. And then she discovers that Baroness is actually her mother and the woman who raised her, though well intentioned, forced Cruella to suppress that side of herself because it was too much like Baroness. After this we see Cruella fully embrace herself, admitting that she still loves the mother who raised her despite the poor decisions she made. In the end, Cruella even buries Estella as if she was a completely different person. The commentary in this about embracing yourself as you are was incredibly well done.

Horace and Jasper: Horace serves a mostly comedic purpose, but it isn’t unwelcome. He’s the least observant of the group, but he’s quite a bit more criminal than Jasper. He’s always looking for an angle to benefit the group, even when there isn’t one to be seen. But his poor observational skills are still quite endearing and his love of dogs is adorable. Jasper in particular is given a likable, fully-fleshed out personality. Where Horace can be a bit one-track-minded, Jasper is extremely observant and caring. He’s the one who arranges for Cruella to get her first job in the fashion industry and he always knows exactly what to do when she’s upset. He’s also the first to notice that she’s changing when she starts to embrace her true personality. I really enjoyed these two. Neither felt like unnecessary characters and it was easy to believe how close they were to Cruella.

Anita: Anita isn’t in much of the movie, but she’s extremely likable in what we do see. She’s skeptical of Cruella, but she does help her out and her writing is seen to be a powerful force in the fashion world. She also isn’t a pushover. She doesn’t bend to Baroness simply because of an insulting comment and she’s never intimidated by Cruella. She’s just a badass.

The Cruelties:

Cruella: Here she is again. While I did like most of her character, I would like to point out that this character is extremely inconsistent. When Cruella first spirals down the path into vengeance, she’s confronted by Jasper multiple times for treating him and Horace poorly. At one point the two refuse to work with her any further, prompting her to apologize to them for going overboard and accept them as family. But then she goes back to doing what she did before, this time without complaint from either party. And she continues to act vain and treat them poorly in ‘101 Dalmatians’. So why write in remorse for the way she’s acting if it doesn’t make sense for the way she acts in the future? Similarly, anytime the movie leans towards a darker route for Cruella, one that would align with her decision to skin and wear puppies, the movie pulls back. At one point newspapers report that she might have used real Dalmatians for a dress, but she reveals this isn’t the case. She even likes dogs. Throughout the entire movie she bonds with her childhood dog and the dog Jasper and Horace own, and she later comes into possession of the Dalmatians Baroness owned without finding fault in them. Because yes, her mother died by Dalmatian and that’s dumb, but when Cruella learns that Baroness is behind the death, she doesn’t blame the Dalmatians. She even sends Roger and Anita Pongo and Perdita as puppies at the end of the movie. Why would she do that if she was just going to skin them later? This Cruella isn’t consistent with the Cruella in the original movie, and she isn’t consistent throughout this movie, either. The writers never decided how cruel they actually wanted to make her.

Roger: Roger is weird here. He’s portrayed as mopey and incompetent for the entire movie, and his dislike of Cruella is all chalked up to her being inadvertently responsible for Baroness firing him. So instead of Roger rightfully disliking Cruella because she’s an awful person, now Roger is just petty. Roger deserves better.

Artie: Disney always fumbles with LGBTQ+ characters. And here’s yet another one who does nothing and doesn’t even actually admit he’s gay. He looks great, but that doesn’t disguise the fact that Disney just keeps messing up their attempts at representation.

(The) Baroness: I found it ironic that this movie, while attempting to give an evil character an understandable backstory, gave her a villain that is evil just for the sake of being evil. Going into this movie fans were skeptical that Cruella could be humanized because of her decision to skin and wear puppies. This movie managed to simultaneously stumble over this issue and give us a villain who also is willing to unnecessarily resort to murder to get what she wants. Baroness feels like a walking representation of why this movie wasn’t actually necessary. Because what’s the point of making a movie like this if you aren’t going to address the idea that all villains have a reason for what they do?

Ok, so I put more in the Cruelties section than the Kindnesses one. But I did really like this movie! Overall I felt like it was a really good time. The plot was good, the characters were enjoyable, and even the issues I had with it were swept under the spectacle of it all. Add in some amazing performances and I’d absolutely watch this again. Just maybe don’t watch ‘101 Dalmatians’ with this. It’s easier to ignore the inconsistencies that way.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: Imitation Episode 4

Screenshot of Jung Jiso as Maha from episode four of ‘Imitation’. Copyright goes to Kakao Entertainment and KBS Drama Productions.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I honestly can’t decide whether or not I liked this episode; but I feel like that’s been around my thoughts on the series so far. There were definitely moments that I liked and some that I really didn’t, but I feel like this show keeps evening out. That and sometimes it moves so slow that my feelings on it are completely neutral. Either way, this episode was the one that I have been more or less waiting for. This was the song debut episode of both the main group, Tea Party, that the audience is following and, for me more importantly, the debut of Sparkling’s song. We finally got to see every group perform in one episode! So, was it everything I was hoping and waiting for or did this episode fall a little flat? As always, SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The Good:

Yunho as Yujin- I’ve been trying to hold off my opinions on Yunho’s acting as a whole until we got to see more of Yujin. It felt like he was very briefly in the first couple episodes and we only started to get more of the character in the last episode. This most recent episode gave Yujin a lot of time and I really have to say that I loved it. Yujin’s parts of the episode were my favorite and it isn’t just because I love ATEEZ and I’m a Yunho bias. The character of Yujin is one of the most immediately endearing. I have a feeling that this is why they cast Yunho in this role. Yunho has an unmistakably warm and comforting presence and that lends itself beautifully to Yujin. Yujin is a character that you’re supposed to love immediately and feel bad for because you know that his crush on Maha won’t be reciprocated. His innocence and devotion to her makes this fact all the more devastating. In this episode he became rightfully angry when Shax randomly turned up to a show that wouldn’t benefit Shax at all and would instead take away time from rookie groups who actually needed the air time. It was cathartic to see him stand up for the rookie groups, even if he was a little misguided for blaming Shax themselves. We also saw him be the most supportive when it came to supporting Tea Party’s debut. (Though it was a little rude for him to only include Maha’s name on the card. Come on, Yujin.) Yunho makes this character beyond believable. He feels like a real person. I have to commend Yunho for doing so well with his first acting gig.

The Acting- As always, I also have to commend all the other actors on this show. There is not one person who I feel like does a bad job with their role.

Hyunji and Riah- They keep coming up in this section when I review episodes and I have a feeling that they’re going stay there. They are some of my favorite parts of the show and such great supporting friend characters. I feel like with many supporting friend characters in dramas they can fall under some really specific and generic personality types as well as feeling like brick walls for the main character to vent to. Neither Hyunji or Riah feel this way at all. They are both developed differently and have their own personalities. Riah is one of the most fun characters I’ve seen in a drama like this and I will never get over her voice. Hyunji actually got some development this time as she is shown to be the member of Tea Party with the most anxiety, which is a very real reaction to how demanding what they’re doing is. We also got to see more of her crush on Yujin which I think is really cute so far and I hope it doesn’t go too badly. Also, me too Hyunji, me too.

Shax- I actually really liked Shax in this episode. Firstly, I thought their performance was really well done. But I also like that we constantly see the way Shax works as a group. I really like seeing the difference between them on stage, them at press conferences, and them behind the scenes. And the show somehow manages to balance focusing on all these things. It makes them look more professional and experienced, which is absolutely what the show is going for here. They also stand up for each other and look comfortable around each other. The group dynamic here is strong.

Real Problems- It was really interesting the way this show tackled the issue of major groups infringing on the time of rookie groups because of what their companies make them do. I have seen this so many times in the industry and it’s always frustrating to watch. Especially for the fans of the newer groups who just want to see their favorite group succeed. Many times the bigger groups don’t need the publicity from the show and take away from the groups who might actually need this show to introduce them to potential new fans. It was nice to see them tackle this issue so relevantly and without overdramatizing it.

The Bad:

Sparkling- It physically hurts me to have to put them here, but I can’t justify the way they were utilized in this episode. Firstly, their song was a bit disappointing. I ended up watching it a couple times because I wanted to like it, but I absolutely couldn’t aside from a couple of vocal parts from Minsoo (San). Part of that is because most of the other members of Sparkling received lines that sounded more like talking than singing. And it’s not just me, this song was so disliked that the main video of it on Youtube is full of comments debating why it’s so bad and wishing Hongjoong from ATEEZ had stepped in to help create the song. Many fans are theorizing that the song was meant to be bad because in the webtoon Sparkling’s first break out song ends up as a flop. However, I have a nasty feeling that the song wasn’t meant to be bad. Especially with how much the show was marketing it before this episode even came out. Personally, I was expecting a lot from the song and anyone who read my past reviews could tell you that I was excited to see Sparkling perform it. That was mostly because of how much the show was marketing this specific song and performance to ATEEZ fans. I’m not sure they would have done that if they meant the song to be bad. At least the dancing looked cool. I am also continuously disappointed with how little the show spends time on Sparkling. San and Seonghwa have barely anything to do as Minsoo and Seyoung and the rivalry between Yujin and Hyunoh never gets enough time. I hope this changes soon. And maybe Sparkling will come out with a much better song over the course of the show! I won’t hold my breath though.

Tea Party- Their performance wasn’t bad, but I really felt it when their manager accused them of having no chemistry in the rehearsal for their performance. Their actual performance, which was supposed to be better, didn’t convince me either. Hyunji and Riah always seem to play off of each other really well, and they’re supposed to because they’ve known each other the longest. But I still don’t feel like Maha fits the group dynamic completely quite yet. We haven’t spent enough time on her bond with her teammates, the show just expects us to infer that it’s there because of the passing of time. But it doesn’t work like that. We actually need some bonding scenes between the members.

The Main Characters- The show is still lacking in character development. Especially with the main characters. It always feels like something’s missing. This episode we actually got to see the plot point where they’re acting opposite of each other and Ryok goes off script to get a genuine reaction out of Maha. Thankfully it was, again, nothing like what happened in the webtoon. But we didn’t get nearly enough of their genuine reactions to that. We saw that Ryok felt bad based off what he was thinking, but he never showed it. There are so many points in this show where it feels like things are happening to the main characters and we don’t stop to actually check in with those characters. It’s part of what makes the show feel so slow, because this makes everything that happens lack urgency. I thought the ending to the episode was cute and picked up a little bit; especially because it forced both characters out of their comfort zones finally! Hopefully the start of their romance in this way will make the show pick up a little, but we’ll have to see.

The Imitation- Maha does not look like La Lima even a little bit. She just doesn’t. The show operates off of the narrative that she does, and I understand that it’s one of the major plot points of the show. But they look so dissimilar that sometimes it feels almost like parody when the show attempts to suggest that they look the same. Both women are gorgeous, but they do not look the slightest bit alike.

So far I’m a little disappointed with this series, but it’s not even close to over yet! And even though it is disappointing, I am finding some cute parts of it that I actually like. I think the most frustrating part of this show is that you can see the potential in it, it just can’t quite get to being good. The show is either entertaining or completely boring and there’s no in between. My biggest issue with this show has to be the pacing, so hopefully if that gets better then the entire show will get much better. But I at least enjoy getting to see members of ATEEZ act every week.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Star Wars: ‘The Bad Batch’ Episode 4 and 5 Review

Screenshot of Fennec Shand voiced by Ming-Na Wen from episode 4 of ‘The Bad Batch’. Copyright goes to The Walt Disney Company.

Hey! Hallie here!

Last week I skipped doing a review of ‘The Bad Batch’ in order to group two episodes together this week. I’m not sure if this will be my new posting style, but if we keep seeing so many disappointing episodes in this series it might be. Because honestly, these last two episodes gave us nothing. ‘The Bad Batch’ is falling into a formula that makes each episode feel the same. The characters learn the same lessons and no major plot points play a hand in the episode’s story. I hope it picks up soon, but as of now, here are my thoughts on the last two episodes.

The Good:

Fennec Shand: Ming-Na Wen is great in everything and this role is no exception. Fennec is a badass. She obviously isn’t completely bad, as we see in ‘The Mandalorian’, but she still doesn’t have the best morals. After all, money always comes first for a Bounty Hunter. And apparently she’s being paid a lot of it to go after Omega. She’s willing to raise hell to get her, too. It was fun to see how cunning Fennec is in situations like this. She completely took advantage of Omega’s desire to see the good in people in order to kidnap her without Omega even realizing what was happening. It would have worked if Hunter hadn’t found them. But she also was really attentive toward Omega, even when she didn’t have to be. She even stole some fruit for her. It was questionable behavior, but it was still thoughtful! My favorite scenes with Fennec involved fighting the Bad Batch themselves. Hunter barely shook her off in an insane speeder chase scene and she took down Wrecker like he was nothing. She’s definitely dangerous and I’m excited to see her future appearances in the show.

Echo: Echo’s been the major stand out for me amongst the members of the Bad Batch, and that really surprises me. For whatever reason, Echo keeps getting more personality driven lines and moments than any of the other members. In episode 4 he was sold as a droid for credits. His complete exasperation over the plan was really fun and I enjoyed his whole dynamic with the droids he kidnapped to help Tech fix the ship. His interactions with the C3 unit, who was very peeved that she was no longer in control of the other droids, were standouts of the entire episode. Echo also got some really snarky lines in when the Bad Batch got themselves kidnapped by slavers. I especially loved his attempts to yell at Wrecker for pissing off the slavers and getting himself electrocuted, only to end up getting electrocuted himself. Echo was always a stickler for the rules, and now that he’s with a group who breaks every rule it’s possible to break, Echo is endearingly grumpy. I appreciate his character moments and I want to see more.

Tech: I have to put Tech here not because the show is giving him anything, but because he’s its main source of sarcasm and I love it so much. From making fun of Wrecker while he was fighting the Rancor to subtle comments about the disrepair of the ship, Tech can always be counted on to say something hilarious.

The Bad (Batch):

Hunter and Omega: This relationship is already getting tired, and it’s because it isn’t going anywhere. I love the father/daughter dynamic between the both of them and Hunter’s protectiveness of Omega is often endearing. I especially liked Hunter’s reaction when Tech told him Omega was hanging off of a tower during the Fennec Shand chase. But Hunter never learns his lesson. Omega tends to get herself into trouble and then, resourcefully, finds a way out of it herself. But Hunter still ends up telling her to stay behind or acts shocked when she proves herself capable. It feels like every episode now we get a scene where Hunter crosses the line with his protectiveness and Omega has to prove that she can take care of herself. Again. What annoys me the most, though, is in a few of these episodes we’ve already seen Hunter acknowledge this behavior and apologize for it. But then the next episode hits and he has to learn it all again. I want this relationship to develop. Not repeat the same notes over and over.

The Bad Batch: Let’s be honest, Tech, Wrecker, and Hunter have zero development so far. Tech is a sassy nerd with no depth. Wrecker is a funny strongman with no depth. Hunter is a brooding leader with no depth. Echo has the most depth, and part of that is because he was in ‘Clone Wars’ before this and we do see his character shifting and developing compared to what he was like in ‘Clone Wars’. But even Echo isn’t being given enough. Tech is relegated to the “info dump” position in every episode. The series also doesn’t seem to know if it wants Tech to be the “guy in the van” who feeds everyone information, or an actual asset out in the field. Because sometimes even when Tech is out in the field, he just stands around staring at his devices instead of helping. Wrecker has some storylines about having a soft spot for kids, but all of it feeds back into the idea that he’s a bit of a big kid himself and it doesn’t actually develop his character. And Hunter is a blank slate. No personality. Not even a sense of humor. Nothing but brood. I think Hunter is suffering the most right now, especially because the show is trying to focus on him which just makes his lack of personality even more obvious. He had one in Clone Wars. I don’t know where it went.

Crosshair: The show loves to put in references to Crosshair so all the members of the Bad Batch can briefly become sad about his absence, but it also incorporates the Crosshair storyline so sparingly that it’s more frustrating than sad to hear his name. There’s so much intrigue to that plot. Especially now that Wrecker is complaining of headaches. If they would focus on that storyline more the series would feel more urgent and emotional. But right now everything feels detached.

Series like this always have filler episodes. But with so few episodes in this series compared to other ones, these feel completely unnecessary. I don’t know if they’re planning multiple seasons, but even if they are I can’t help but criticize ‘The Bad Batch’ for introducing a majorly influential overarching story for their series and constantly proving itself unable to keep those themes consistent. It isn’t even using “filler” episodes to develop characters, like ‘Clone Wars’ excelled at. But then again, this is just a major problem with these last two episodes. While I definitely felt the series slowing down before episode 4, the first three episodes were pretty entertaining and they felt like they were going somewhere. I hope we can get back on track in the next episode.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: The Devastation of Bias Wreckers

‘Butter’ promotional and teaser image of Min Yoongi (Suga). All rights go to HYBE Entertainment and BTS’s social media.

Hi! It’s Annie!

We’ve talked about how difficult it is to choose a bias on this blog, but no one expects the difficulty of bias wreckers. At least not initially. Bias wreckers can be difficult to both choose and keep for a multitude of reasons and no one knows this more than I do. Bias wreckers continuously ruin my life, so of course I need to talk about them. I know that a lot of people experience the difficulty of bias wreckers, which is why it’s become a common joke in most fandoms. More recently the “come get your man” videos have been trending. So let’s talk about all the ways you can expect bias wreckers to absolutely ruin your life! Please, do not take any of this very seriously, I guarantee that this is all for fun!

Bias-Wreck:

Obviously, they’re called bias wrecker because they make you question whether or not your bias is really your bias. They are your bias-wrecker because, if they were in another group where your bias wasn’t present they would most certainly be your bias. And once again, it doesn’t mean you massively prefer them to other members of a group. Part of liking a group is loving all the members. It’s just who you often feel drawn to when watching interviews or videos. But a bias-wrecker will often be a point of contention for people because they want to stick with a certain bias and someone is coming up and making them question everything. Most of the time they won’t quite pass your bias, but maybe a new comeback features your bias wrecker more and you start being drawn to them a bit more. That’s typical bias wrecker behavior. It’s so bad that a lot of people have recently taken to just saying they bias two people rather than having a bias and then a bias wrecker. But it’s really common to have a bias wrecker and they are there to turn your eye when you least expect it.

Bias-Wrecker Becoming Your Bias:

This hasn’t happened to me, but it did happen to my sister. In BTS my bias was Jimin, for a while I thought he wasn’t, and then I realized it was Jimin again. With ATEEZ Yunho wasn’t even my bias wrecker before he skyrocketed to the bias position. With my sister J-Hope started out as her BTS bias wrecker and then suddenly became her bias. All three forms of this happen extremely often. But the bias wrecker becoming your bias is such a common thing. Especially when you’re within a year of becoming a fan of a group and still getting to know them. But even if you aren’t, it still can be common. The thing with biases and bias wreckers is that generally you like all of the members of a group so much that you don’t even realize when another member of the group has snuck up on you. Sometimes it takes a while to realize it too. Even though this hasn’t really happened to me too much, I totally understand why it happens a lot to other people. Especially because it’s so difficult to choose a bias in the first place.

Wrecking Your Bias-Wrecker:

This is the kind that happens to me the most often. With me I usually stick to a bias for quite a while or just keep my first bias entirely. But my bias-wrecker can change quite a bit especially because of how much I love all the members of a group. Recently this one has been beating me the most, because recently my bias wreckers for almost all of my favorite groups changed! For BTS my bias has consistently been Jimin and Namjoon is my bias wrecker. For Ateez my bias is Yunho and my bias wrecker recently changed to Wooyoung. And for Everglow my bias is Mia and my bias wrecker recently changed to Onda. This all can be affected by new comebacks or performances. Namjoon’s part in ‘Butter’ was one of my favorite parts (though Yoongi also killed me), Wooyoung’s work with Felix from Stray Kids on ‘Wolf’ on Kingdom absolutely slayed me, and Onda’s new parts in the new album made me so happy. I feel like new releases are especially when bias wreckers start rearing their heads. Though I’ve fallen for all these members a long time ago, these comebacks started to make me question absolutely everything. But I’m also only about a year into being a fan of all of these groups, so you never know what might change or if my current bias wreckers will just stay that way! But this category is definitely where I have the most trouble with bias wreckers personally.

You don’t need to have a bias wrecker if you don’t want to. It’s really something just for fun and even having a bias isn’t a requirement for being a fan of any group. But if you do end up having a bias and a bias wrecker, just beware of the bias wreckers. They will often cause you the most headaches in the best possible way. I figured I would talk about something a bit more lighthearted today after the disappointment BTS fans have been facing the past few days between the McDonalds meal and the ‘Friends’ reunion. I personally am not particularly swayed either way on these topics. McDonalds has always skimped out on merch collaborations in the US and most of the celebrity cameos on ‘Friends’ were the same as BTS’s, though I still think that both of these companies hyped up BTS more than they should have for what we got. So I’m pretty middle of the road here. But I do think western media needs to start seriously respecting BTS even when they aren’t speaking English. And literally any other artist from a country that doesn’t natively speak English for that matter. Western media has such a long way to go when it comes to giving respect to different countries and cultures. But while it is important to let western companies know that we want more from BTS and we aren’t satisfied with the way they’re treating BTS or any other K-Pop group; we all need to take breaks from all that sometimes. Remember to take it easy on yourself too and enjoy the content your favorite groups are coming out with!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Theatre: ‘Good Omens’ The Musical

Screenshot of Crowley and Aziraphale in ‘Good Omens The Musical’ from the sizzle reel. All credit goes to Squabbalogic.

Hey! Hallie here!

Yes, you read that title correctly. Since 2019, Squabbalogic, a theatre group located in Australia, has been workshopping a fan production of ‘Good Omens’. ‘Good Omens’, if you don’t know, is the book Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wrote about Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon, who decide to put a stop to the apocalypse after their love of Earth makes them realize that Heaven and Hell aren’t really where they want to be. Of course, there are a few different fan musicals circulating. Especially after the popularity of the Amazon Prime series starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen. But this musical isn’t a parody or a short-term way for the creatives behind it to obsess over ‘Good Omens’. This show has been consistently developing over its short run (Shorter because of quarantine). Their small budget has gotten slightly bigger so they can continually update costumes and set pieces, and the songs change and shift to better reflect the story. In other words, this musical is working to be the best ‘Good Omens’ musical fans could hope for. There’s even been a report that they recorded the musical to send to Neil Gaiman. So let’s look into what this musical offers based on what Australian fans have seen and the footage Squabbalogic has released.

Songs:

I’ll list off the most recent list of musical numbers posted by a member of the audience, however, this list might not be entirely nice and accurate. As I said, this musical is still being workshopped. Act 1 starts off with “Agnes Nutter’s Surprise”. I did find a clip of this song, though they haven’t released the entire song. This one actually has some very nice, foreboding ensemble pieces. The sound is quite operatic and it definitely adds to the mob-like atmosphere. Coupled with some narration, it somehow humorously demonstrates the moment Agnes Nutter is burned at the stake. In this musical Agnes Nutter’s last words are “Do not upgrade to Windows 8.” Genius. We also get to see witch hunter Newt’s ancestor, who is, as always, played by the same guy who plays Newt. And his singing voice is really good. I didn’t get to hear much of his singing voice outside of this song, but what he has here is promising. After this is “Living the Dream” sung by Aziraphale, Crowley, and the ensemble. Then “The Book” sung by Anathema, Anathema’s mother, and Agnes Nutter. This song appears in part in their sizzle reel. While I can’t say that I know exactly what this song is about, the harmonies between the three women are insanely good here. “The Little Dispatch” sung by Hastur is said to be a very funny song. Then there’s “Crowley’s Cup”, sung by Crowley, and “The Big Exchange” featuring Crowley and the ensemble. I think most people know what this exchange is. Then there’s “All Living Things” sung by Aziraphale and Crowley. I did see parts of this song, which features Aziraphale as the gardener and Crowley as the nanny. In this Crowley sports an amazing maid’s costume to teach Adam about all of the disgusting things demons get up to. “The Them” is sung by Adam, Pepper, Bryan, Wensleydale, and adorably, Dog. “There’s a Witch in Your Mind” is sung by Newt, Madame Tracy, and Sergeant Shadwell. I did see a bit of this song, which was mostly a funny and flirtatious back and forth between Sergeant Shadwell and Madame Tracy.

They do have “This Perfect Place” up on their website in full, which is a song Anathema sings about arriving in Tadfield. This song is a parody of “Belle” from ‘Beauty and the Beast’. It doesn’t share the melody, but it does include the various friendly villagers in Tadfield trying to win over Anathema with baked goods and flowers only for her to remind them that they’re all going to die. Gaston even shows up and gets told to “fuck off”. After that is “A Curious Boy” sung by Anathema and Adam, “The World In a Magazine” where these two are joined by the rest of The Them and Newt, “The Big Bust/Bust Up” where Hastur returns, “There’s a Witch in Your Mind (Reprise)” with the same crew as in the original song, and “Forty Miles Tomorrow” closes out Act 1 with the entire company. Act two starts with “Four Shall Ride”, a song sung by Scarlet, Raven, Chalky, and Death. Or War, Famine, Pollution, and Death, if you would prefer. “I Don’t Want to Go to Heaven” is sung by Aziraphale after he discovers that Heaven actually wants to start the apocalypse. This song is apparently a tear jerker. “Away Wi’ Ye Spawn O’ Hell” follows, sung by Aziraphale and Shadwell as Shadwell manages to discorporate Aziraphale. And then we get the second tear-jerker, “I Don’t Want You to Go to Heaven” sung by Crowley. I can just imagine why these two songs would break your heart in the theatre. After this we get “Love’s Anathema” sung by Agnes Nutter, Anathema, and Newt, “Dividing the World” sung by Agnes Nutter, the Four Horsemen, and The Them, “That Was Really Wonderful” sung by Anathema and Newt, “Hastur on the Hunt” which marks the return of Hastur, “Them Against the Horsemen” sung by The Them and the Four Horsemen, “Newt’s Victory” sung by Newt, Adam’s Law sung by Adam, and finally “In The End” sung by the entire company. I should also note this song takes place at a wedding, but I don’t know whose. Do with that information what you will.

The Design/Casting:

Crowley as of the recording they released wears a Guns and Roses t-shirt and a lot of leather. His actor is slightly older in appearance than the actor who plays Aziraphale, and the look lends itself to the washed-up rockstar description we get in the book. Aziraphale, on the other hand, is very well put together. As always, he has a lovely bowtie and an even lovelier coat. I would also like to point out that when Aziraphale is possessing Madame Tracy, the actor actually stands behind her in the same outfit she’s wearing, which consists of a blue and pink patterned dress. And he looks amazing in it too. Both Aziraphale and Crowley apparently get some nice costumes for their time in Eden, but as I did not see them, I can only tell you some scales and a gaudy coat are involved. The Metatron looks like a bit of a mess in a wig and robe, complete with sunglasses. It’s definitely the most “parody”-like design in the entire musical, but the hilarious way he’s characterized makes all of it fit perfectly. He has a New York accent and he won’t stop interrupting Aziraphale. It’s gold. Aside from these designs I would also like to point out that there’s both an adorable, small puppet for Dog and a giant, skeletal puppet for Dog. Both are amazing puppets. Finally, there was only one shot of the Four Horsemen in the sizzle reel, but I did notice Death was being played by a woman. Also, as the musical has developed sources have reported more personality for the character. Mainly a more sneaky and evil depiction of Death. I really like the idea of a female Death getting more to do within ‘Good Omens’.

This musical isn’t completely finished. And it’s definitely reported to be different from other versions of ‘Good Omens’. Some plot points are changed. A small example is that Aziraphale, while spending time with “Crawly” in Eden, gives him the name Crowley. The musical also uses different pop-culture references to better relate to the audience. For example, at one point they demonstrate the passing of time by listing off the various ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies. But these changes don’t undermine the overall story. If anything, they add to it. This musical sounds like a lot of fun. I know that eventually their goal is to get to something like the West End, and though I think copyright probably won’t allow them to see this goal realized, I still wish them all the success in the world.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: Everglow’s ‘Last Melody’ is Out!

Screenshot of the ‘First’ MV featuring (from left) Yiren, Onda, and EU. Copyright goes to YeHua Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

There was a lot happening with Everglow today. Of course, the biggest thing was definitely their release of their new album and music video for ‘First’. A few days ago they released a trailer for all three of the songs they would be featuring on the new album, so the sounds weren’t completely foreign. But I can honestly say that I enjoyed absolutely everything that Everglow released today. Along with all of that, the group also recently came out with some pretty surprising news. So, without further explanation, let’s just get into everything that Everglow gave us!

‘First’ MV:

Ok, so obviously we need to talk about this amazing music video. Not only did all of the girls look amazing, but it was actual proof that the fans criticisms were listened to. Of course, I have serious issues with people attacking Mia for seemingly being favored by her company. It’s not like she had anything to do with it and part of it is because she’s one of the strongest vocalists and dancers in the group. But I do appreciate that with this song they decided to center Sihyeon more than Mia and at least show us that they can focus on other people as well. Seriously, Sihyeon was such a stand out here that my sister is now a Sihyeon bias. Yiren also got a lot which was really nice! But I think what really stood out to me about the changes they made was mostly with Onda. After the release of ‘Dun Dun’ many fans were reasonably upset that Mia got a dance break when Onda is probably the best dancer in the group and received very few lines in the song. While Onda did get a little more in the way of lines for this release, she still didn’t get much. However, they centered Onda for almost every dance break and even gave her a dancing moment of her own. The statement with Onda for this music video was clear. They were giving fans what they wanted and cementing Onda as their featured dancer. And of course she killed it! I also have to give them huge props for their choreography. I saw several people commenting on the difficulty and complexity of their choreography, which is something that we often see with guy groups but not as much with girl groups. I appreciate Everglow for all the gender boundaries that they’re continuously shattering. Their choreographer for this video is the same guy who does the majority of ATEEZ’s choreography and ATEEZ is known for their insanely difficult and fast-paced dancing. Everglow killed it and looked great while shattering that glass ceiling.

First:

The song was absolutely great. I fell in love with it from the moment I heard the small portion of it in the trailer. The trap sound of it really fits them vocally and fit what their sound is coming to be. I feel like this album solidified, at least for me, what their sound is. They do a really nice mix of fast paced songs with catchy beats and slower fun songs. In that way they actually remind me just the slightest bit of ATEEZ. Which is definitely a good thing! That aside, I don’t think they sound like ATEEZ or anything else for that matter. I saw a lot of people immediately making posts and videos about how ‘First’ sounds like it ripped off this K-pop song or that K-pop song and I don’t buy any of that. They have a very unique sound to them and this song is, if anything, more proof of that. I can honestly say I have never heard anything like it before and it made their more unique comeback outfits made sense. Between the trap beats, Mia and Yiren’s powerful vocals, and the softer chorus vocals of Sihyeon, it was a perfect blend of things that people might not have expected to go together. I will say that the song could have used a little more rap for EU and Aisha. Aisha got a few lines and it felt like EU got even less. I ended up looking up line distribution and I was surprised to find that EU technically got more lines than Aisha, especially because Aisha was featured a bit more in the MV. But it was mostly background interjections that pushed EU over Aisha. I will say I found it strange that they gave Mia some rap-like pieces that could have gone to the other girls. Mia killed it as always though!

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell:

This is a very lighthearted, softer, and more retro sounding song that I loved as well! What surprised me most about this song was line distribution. While Onda, Aisha, and Yiren didn’t get as much as Mia or Sihyeon, they got quite a bit more here than we usually see. And they sounded great! All of their softer tones blended together perfectly for this more vocal heavy song. And Mia and Sihyeon got pretty much the same when it came to line distribution. But EU barely got anything in this song. I know that this isn’t supposed to be that rap heavy, but it did make me sad to see that she was only in five percent of it. Anyways, this has a cute and dance-y feel to it that makes me sure I’ll keep going back to give it a listen.

Please, Please:

This song is one of the slower and softer ones that they’ve recorded. It’s probably my favorite of that category. The best word I can use to describe this song would be ‘beautiful’. Also can we talk about the fact that Onda got so many vocal pieces in this song and she sounded perfect? She got even more than Yiren and Aisha, which doesn’t usually happen. As this song was also vocal based, Mia and Sihyeon got the most as usual and Mia featured a bit more prominently here. I can see why, her softer vocals stood out gorgeously here. EU once again got the short end of the stick. It really felt like EU took Onda’s usual spot in this album where she was by far the least utilized member. I do know that EU isn’t completely comfortable singing, but it would have been nice to even hear some of her rap a bit more. Either way, this song was beautiful but I wish we would have gotten a little bit more of EU.

Announcement:

Obviously, this isn’t a song from the album. Along with the release of their music, Everglow made the fairly shocking announcement that EU would be stepping down as leader. She is not leaving the group, so please don’t freak out! Instead they said that they would be making a new and refreshing change by appointing Sihyeon as the leader. I’m not quite sure what to make of all of this. I hope EU is doing well and she didn’t step down because she wasn’t feeling her best. But I completely support whatever decision they make and I know they probably made the decision for a very good reason. It’s entirely possible that Sihyeon just made sense within the group as a leader. Up until quite recently, it’s been common practice in K-pop groups to make the eldest the leader automatically. But as leaders like Namjoon from BTS and Hongjoong from ATEEZ have shown us, that isn’t always the best choice. I mean, could you imagine Jin leading BTS? That would be absolute chaos, though hilarious, but still chaos. And it isn’t a role I could imagine Jin liking much either. More and more new groups have begun to choose the natural leaders rather than the default-by-age leaders. And that’s a great thing! It could be that Everglow made this change because they too wanted to stray from the default and choose something they felt would be more natural. Whatever made them decide to do this, I completely support them!

This comeback was full of amazing moments and incredible news. Really this group never stops surprising me. They are one of the most unique groups in general in the industry and I hope this comeback brings them even more fans than before!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie