K-Pop and K-Dramas: Everglow as a Rookie Group

Promotional image of Everglow for ‘Bon Bon Chocolat’ featuring (from left) Kim Sihyeon (Sihyeon), Jo Serim (Onda), Park Jiwon (EU), Wang Yiren (Yiren), Han Eunji (Mia), and Heo Yoorim (Aisha). Copyright goes to YeHua Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I apologize for all of the K-pop posts, but I guess you have a better idea of how I’ve been spending my time. As those of you who follow this blog probably know, I currently consider myself a stan for four groups. Those groups being BTS, ATEEZ, Everglow, and Rolling Quartz. While my attention isn’t completely divided between these groups (I consume WAY more content for BTS than any other group), I still keep up to date on all the news concerning these groups. I’ve seen a lot of people praise ATEEZ for being one of the most powerful rookie groups, but they aren’t really a rookie group anymore. Everglow, however, is definitely still a rookie group. Because of this, they are often compared to other groups like ITZY or even sometimes TXT. While I’m not a huge fan of pitting groups against each other in this way, these conversations have made me think of all the things Everglow is doing amazingly and some of the things they still need to work on. So, I’m going to go through some of my opinions about this group in as un-biased of a way possible. I can’t be completely without bias, but I’ll try to look at this objectively. Let’s go!

Vocals:

Everglow often performs with a track and lip syncs. I’ve seen a lot of people trying to argue that they’re bad because of this. A lot of dance heavy groups do this when they want to focus on performance, so I’m not going to judge them for this. They also sing live almost just as much, so it’s not like they haven’t shown that they can actually sing live. For this section I’m mostly going to talk about Mia and Sihyeon as they are the main vocalists for the group. Mia is the actual main vocalist and has a really strong and dynamic voice. Sihyeon also has a very pleasant voice to listen to because she has a very sweet tone. I personally love both of their vocals, but I definitely think they have room to improve. That goes for most rookie groups. I’ve seen everything from them being the best rookie group when it comes to vocals to them being extremely weak vocalists. People especially seem to target Mia because of the amount of lines she gets, which I won’t cover here because I talked all about that in a previous post. There’s a video of Sihyeon playing guitar while she and Mia sing acapella and I think that video was enough to prove their singing talent to me. I definitely think they have some pretty stable vocals performing live, which isn’t necessarily true of all rookie groups. But again, they have a bit of a way to go. This is absolutely excellent for being rookies though! I do have to mention here though, that Onda and Yiren are meant to be vocalists and the company themselves has talked about wanting to work on their vocals. They both have potential though and they might be great with a little practice!

Rap:

I think one of the major agreements everyone can come to concerning Everglow is that EU is an excellent rapper for this being a rookie group. Aisha is also pretty good in her rapper position, but EU is already great. She already seems to have a style that fits her well and she can handle a wide variety of genres with her rap. She even writes some of her own. There is absolutely no denying that EU is good at what she does.

Dance:

This is one that confuses me and seems to confuse a lot of people in general. The choreography for Everglow is pretty good, but they don’t look exactly cohesive as a group yet. This is something that definitely needs improvement for the group being so dance heavy. But I also have to raise an eyebrow at the status of Yiren and Onda when it comes to dancing in the group. If you watch some of the solo work that Onda has done, it’s pretty clear that she’s one of the best hip-hop dancers in the group. Yiren on the other hand is one of the most trained dancers in the group, if not the most, but she was trained for traditional Chinese style dancing. Her position as the most promoted dancer in the group as the center doesn’t quite make sense because that doesn’t necessarily translate perfectly to hip-hop. Mia and EU were also the only ones who debuted with dance videos and they are both excellent dancers so it makes sense that they’re mains. I just don’t understand what exactly is happening with Yiren and why they push Onda to the back so often when it comes to dance. These are just small hiccups in the long run, but I can see why people are confused. But you have to admit that them being a girl group to follow the popular guy group style dancing is pretty badass.

Music:

Everglow is definitely one of the rookie groups that is the most consistent with their music. If you listen to their full mini-albums you’ll probably like all of their songs to some degree. Their songs don’t feel like they’re there just to fill space and they all get stuck in your head at some point or other. The quality of their songs also means that you can listen to them for a longer amount of time. I am unfortunate enough to be plagued with on and off headaches, and sometimes certain beats or repeated parts of a song can trigger one. I don’t have this problem with Everglow. But all in all, it can be difficult to find a rookie group with such good b-sides. Oh my god, ‘Moon’ is so good!

Visuals:

I know this can be a large part of K-pop groups. Generally a couple people in a group are declared the main visuals, in this case it’s Sihyeon and Yiren. I am personally not going to comment on this. I think all of the girls in this group are equally gorgeous and I think beauty standards are always changing and never something to take too seriously.

Theming:

Their theming is ‘girl crush’, which is a pretty standard girl power type of theme. I’ve seen a lot of people call them unoriginal because of this, but I still think they put their own unique spin on it. Whether it was the brighter colored and sweeter ‘Bon Bon Chocolat’ or the black and white cyberpunk ‘La Di Da’, they don’t stick to one aesthetic or do something that is too done before. I also like how specific the messages in their music is; like leaving someone for making you feel small like in ‘Adios’ or not listening to negativity like in ‘La Di Da’. They still need to find their footing in creating something that feels authentically Everglow, but I like that they’re trying a lot of different aesthetics.

Performance:

I’ve heard a lot of people say that they feel a bit stiff live. Again, this is something that will definitely be addressed and improved on over time. Mia has the strongest stage presence right now, but as they all improve and change that also may change. For example, every single member of BTS has a giant stage presence, but this is after years of being in the limelight. A lot of people specifically point to EU for not emoting much, but she doesn’t look nearly as bad performing as people make her out to be. She just look serious, and I’m sure this will all become more varied over time.

Leader:

A lot of rookie groups, and especially ITZY, have been slammed for having the ‘wrong leader’. I generally think this is a bit ridiculous because we don’t get to see what happens behind the scenes. Namjoon is a very obvious leader of BTS, but again that is after years of experience and everyone has different leading styles. EU hasn’t really been questioned as the leader for the most part. Though she goofs off she has also shown the ability to handle difficult press questions several times to an ability that is amazing as a rookie leader. But again, every leader has a different style.

Everglow is an amazing rookie group! Sure they have a bit to go, but I think they’re doing really well. The music that they’ve come out with is an amazing quality and their performances are fun to watch. I can’t even imagine how amazing they’ll be when they have more experience. But for now, I’ll appreciate all the amazingness that they’re already giving us.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Twins in Media: Finals

Screenshot of Lindsay Lohan in the 1998 version of ‘The Parent Trap’. Copyright goes to Walt Disney Pictures.

Hey! Hallie here!

We’re finally at the last pair up for Twins in Media. Our two finalists are Hallie and Annie from ‘The Parent Trap’ and Dipper and Mabel Pines from ‘Gravity Falls’. As my sister and I based this blog off of ‘The Parent Trap’, I will keep my biases in check while discussing these two. I’d also like to point out that, at this point, we’ve discussed every aspect of these twins that both regular audiences, and twins such as ourselves, will notice. In previous posts we’ve talked about how these characters are developed as individual characters, the tropes they suffer from, what their writers got right and wrong, how the plot serves them, and various other topics that have helped us analyze these characters. If you’re interested in hearing about these things, be sure to check some of our previous posts in this series! As for this finale, I’ll be comparing my favorite and least favorite aspects of each set of twins to declare a winner. Let’s get into this!

Favorite:

Hallie and Annie: For one, these two are the best same-sex twins I’ve seen in media thus far. It’s much more common to see twins of two separate genders get individual personalities and plots. It’s much rarer, and therefore much more commendable, when twin characters of the same sex receive this treatment. These two get very different personalities, and they spend half of the movie away from each other. This allows their characters to grow and develop without presenting them as a unit. However, these two are never portrayed as opposites. When same sex characters are portrayed differently, it’s very common to see the Opposites trope get used. This trope perpetuates the idea that twin characters must be abnormally different in order for others to recognize them as separate people. This is completely unrealistic considering most twins grow up in the same environment and, just like any humans, are bound to have some commonalities. This movie gives these characters similar interests, like fencing and playing poker, while still maintaining that their skill levels are different. They even eat their Oreos the same way. But they have large differences that force them to have to teach each other how to pretend to be one another so that they can switch places. These characters are well balanced, and are just as strong apart as they are together.

Dipper and Mabel: These characters are written primarily by an actual twin who took major influences from his relationship with his actual twin sister. And it shows. These characters have very separate personalities with separate interests. Dipper loves investigating and Mable loves stickers and animals. However, like Hallie and Annie above, they have many of the same passions. They both have almost a reckless love of adventure. What I love about these two in particular, however, is how well they know each other. They don’t have to spend any time getting to know one another because they grew up together. They have a long history of supporting one another. Dipper took his school photo with Mabel when she got gum in her hair and Mabel gave Dipper a massive valentine when he received none on Valentines Day. Dipper knows when Mabel is scared. Mabel is very aware of, and even teases Dipper for, his crush on Wendy. They have secret handshakes and awkward sibling hugs that show just how much they understand one another. They’re comfortable with each other, they understand each other’s sarcasm, and they remain best friends even after they argue. It’s an extremely realistic and healthy twin dynamic that you almost never see in media.

Least Favorite:

Hallie and Annie: The Separated at Birth trope is very often used when writers want twin characters to be different. If twin characters grow up in different environments, they’re bound to be different. However, this trope is kind of harmful. It fails to realize the major differences between twins who grow up together, regardless of the fact that they grew up in the same place at the same time. Twins are different as all siblings and humans are. You don’t need such a dramatic trope to demonstrate that. I understand this is necessary to make the rest of the movie work, but it’s worth mentioning that the entire movie is a giant trope. Namely, the Mischievous Twins trope. This trope often sees two twins switching places in order to trick people. Twins very often would rather you learn how to tell them apart than attempt to trick you. Just like anyone else, we want to be seen as individual people, and it’s hard to do that when you’re pretending to be your sister. In other words, twins aren’t likely to switch places, it’s simply the media that makes this seem common. Another major issue I have with these two is the fact that they’re played by the same actress. All twins look different. Especially to twins, it’s absolutely noticeable when you use the same actress to play two different characters. By using the same actress for two roles, it perpetuates the idea that both characters, and by extension, twins, are the same. Seriously. Stop that.

Dipper and Mabel: They’re opposite-sex twins, which does bother me to an extent. As I said above, same-sex twins are far less likely to be portrayed as separate characters. Opposite-sex twin characters are often devoid of tropes because they aren’t the same gender and it’s therefore easier for the audience to see the differences. Meanwhile, the same-sex twin characters are more often given tropes to differentiate them to an outrageous amount, or demonstrate the same personality. It does frustrate me that we haven’t seen a same-sex set of twins written like Dipper and Mabel. But that isn’t the writers fault. In fact, the lead writer knew not to use tropes because he’s a twin, himself. Because of that lack of tropes, I don’t have much to complain about. I can, however, complain about the fandom. Because the amount of people who decided to create content for an incestuous ship between Dipper and Mabel is disgusting. Somehow, many people think incest is more okay if twins are part of the disgusting relationship. It isn’t. Twins are regular siblings. Twincest is never okay to perpetuate and it disturbs me that I even have to address it. But, once again, this isn’t the shows fault. Within the show, Dipper and Mabel are almost flawless.

Winner: Dipper and Mabel win. I know, I know. That’s blasphemy considering the theming of the blog. It’s just further proof that the best writers for any group of people are the people from the group itself. Dipper and Mabel win because they act like actual twins more than any other twins I’ve ever seen in media. And It’s because of the influences of Alex and Ariel Hirsch, the real Dipper and Mabel. We have our winner! We’ll continue talking about the twins we see in media in the future, but it might be more sparse. We did just exhaust the majority of twins we’ve seen throughout out relationship with movies and television. For now, know that Dipper and Mabel aren’t likely to be topped by any other set of twins. With luck, we’ll get more twin characters written by twins to challenge their crown at some point.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

ATEEZ: FEVER Part. 2

Promotional image for FEVER Part. 2 of (from left) Choi San, Choi Jongho, Jeong Yunho, Jung Wooyoung, Kim Hongjoong, Kang Yeosang, and Park Seonghwa. Copyright goes to KQ Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Late last night in the United States, ATEEZ released their long awaited album, FEVER Part. 2. And yes, they absolutely slayed me. We’ve been waiting for this release for months and it did not disappoint. Between the seven tracks (five plus a different version of two songs) and the one music video we got, not only did we get so much good content but we got some of my favorite stuff they’ve ever done. I already had high hopes from the promotional photos and the teaser for their music video, but somehow all of it still came out better than I thought. I’m only going to talk about the five tracks and not the different versions, though those are amazing too! So let’s get into everything that ATEEZ so generously released to ATiny and the world last night!

Fireworks (I’m The One):

When I first started listening to the song, I really can’t say that I was sold. For all of the verses the vocalists switch off between being heavily autotuned and not really autotuned at all. For example, it was difficult to not notice that Seonghwa and Yunho were autotuned for their verse parts, where no one else was. I know they did it for effect, but the autotune was a lot for me and I wish I could have heard Seonghwa and Yunho’s unfiltered voices in their verses. But the minute San started singing I got into it. San has been getting more and more and he’s really good. Over-all, I was really happy with this release. Obviously, Jongho’s vocals are always impeccable. When the chorus dropped I was absolutely in love. This song has been stuck in my head since I first heard it and I haven’t been able to get it out. But I really don’t mind because it’s such a good song. ATEEZ is the best group that has ever been when it comes to songs that really hype you up. You listen to their songs and you want to get up and tackle the world. This song is easily added to their long list of songs of that nature. Also of note: it was nice to hear Mingi’s voice and Hongjoong obviously always slays his rap parts. Yunho and Wooyoung got so much of the chorus and they slayed that too! These boys are just talented.

Fireworks (I’m The One) MV:

So we can’t move on to talk about the other tracks until we talk about this music video. The concept was amazing. I loved the way the music video was shot, it felt real but almost like a fantasy world at the same time. I almost want them to create a video game within the world of the music video. But more than that, the boys looked absolutely great. Yunho’s black leather and lip ring made the usual puppy dog persona he has change completely into the most badass looking guy in the entire MV. Seriously, the more I think about this comeback the more I can’t help but realize how much Yunho was a stand out here between his look and his contributions to the chorus. He completely bias wrecked me here. Also, it was amazing to see him drive knowing that he just got his license. I have to talk about San’s crop top. Men wearing crop tops is a fairly new concept that I wish would have happened years ago. Crop tops are amazing on anyone and San absolutely killed it in his. This music video loved San between his vocals and his screen time. San is such a good dancer and you can’t take your eyes off of him performing. Obviously, everyone looked amazing though. Mingi recorded his piece for the song, but he wasn’t there to film the music video. I loved how they didn’t try to cover up his absence and had them all sitting around a radio listening to him rap. I miss him so much! But, who was that weird faceless guy at the end of the MV? Because if it was Mingi I may just lose my shit.

The Leaders:

Everyone seemed to be freaking out about this one when the album first dropped. It’s not my favorite song on the album, but all of these songs are great anyways. The whispered chorus really gets me though. There’s so much badass about it. The more I listen to this song, the more I completely fall for that whispered chorus. And I had absolutely no idea that the adorable Wooyoung was the one doing that whispered chorus. He would have been one of the last people I would have pinned for that and I absolutely love him more knowing that it’s him. Also, this song is mostly rapped, which means that all of them are rapping. Obviously, Mingi, Seonghwa, and Hongjoong already are amazing rappers and that just shows again here. But the other members are rapping here and they are also excellent. These boys are continuously showing us that they’re good at everything. I’m also going to single out Yunho again for some of the rapping, because he could seriously be a main rapper if he wanted to just based off this song. But really any of them could.

Time of Love:

This was such a cute and lighthearted song for this album. Musically it had an old video game sort of feel that I loved. I was not expecting Yunho to hit those high notes, but he did it perfectly each and every time. Yunho later hit a note so deep that I could not help but marvel at his range. I keep mentioning Yunho, but he stood out so much in this comeback. The message of this song was one of my favorites too. This one was completely about loving each other and understanding each other, which is a very much needed message right now. It specifically focused on remembering that no one is perfect. I also loved how well Mingi’s raps were placed here. Did I mention that I really miss Mingi?

Take Me Home:

This was probably my favorite b-side from this album. There’s just so much heart in the vocals here. San starts out the song beautifully, but I was not expecting Seonghwa to have the beginning of that chorus. His voice was beautiful there. Obviously, Jongho completes that chorus will his vocals that you can’t hear anywhere else. His voice is amazing and unique just to him. The standouts in this one would have to be San, Seonghwa, and Jongho. Their vocals are the ones that caught me here completely. But those high notes from Jongho and Seonghwa were not something I was expecting. The song has a longing to it that I think they really brought the emotion to vocally. I also have to talk about the saxophone at the end because it was completely unexpected and one of my favorite parts of the song.

Celebrate:

San’s vocals were so deep in this song and I loved it! He really went for it and it sounded so good in the end. I do have to say though, this song was still great but it probably was my least favorite on the album. This was still a really cute song with the lyrics talking about celebrating your own existence. Yeosang’s call and response here was something that was done so well too and it was so adorable.

I don’t think ATEEZ will ever come out with a bad song. All of their songs have such important messages and leave you feeling really good in some way or other. You either feel happy after listening to them or like you can take over the world and really there’s no in between. I absolutely love listening to them and this comeback is probably one of my favorites that I’ve seen. But I don’t think ATEEZ will ever have a bad comeback either. If you haven’t checked out this album, I strongly recommend it! It was so worth staying up until almost two in the morning to listen to it all the way through.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: Crazy K-Pop Week

Photo of Jung Hoseok (J-Hope), Min Yoongi (Suga), Kim Taehyung (V), Park Jimin, Kim Seokjin, Jeon Jungkook, and Kim Namjoon (RM) from a performance of “Dynamite”. Copyright goes to BigHit Entertainment and BTS.

Hey! Hallie here!

Last week, and even the start of this week, has been very…eventful for the K-Pop community. Unfortunately, none of what I’ll be talking about today will be positive. There’s also a lot of specific cases that I won’t be able to talk about simply because there are so many. Still there’s a lot to go into, and a lot of things to talk about regarding racism that absolutely can’t be ignored right now. So let’s get into this.

Bullying Allegations:

Last week a major search service in Korea, ‘NAVER’, announced that they would be getting rid of a regular function on their website. This function was the ‘most searched’ function, and it ranked search words and articles related to them like a ‘trending’ page. Many people used it to keep up with news. Without it, many Koreans feared that celebrities would be able to sweep problematic behavior under the rug. So, with that in mind, many self-proclaimed victims decided to share their stories of being bullied in school by certain idols before the feature could be removed. Bullying is a major issue in South Korea, so much so that the government has gotten involved on multiple occasions, and often describes the harsher examples of bullying international fans are used to. This ranges anywhere from physical violence to verbal abuse. There were many cases that were released in regards to both actors and idols, most denied, some proved untrue, and some still without response. In regards to K-Pop, Soojin from (G)I-DLE was targeted for reportedly harassing a student while walking to school, instigating violence, and stealing from students. Her company denied some, but not all, of the behavior she was accused of. Soojin herself denied all of the allegations and a reported classmate of hers also came out to defend Soojin. Mingyu from SEVENTEEN was accused of laughing at a victim being bullied and threatening them to get him enough money for a practice room for his auditions. This accusation was deleted soon after it was posted, and a classmate came out to defend him as well. His company did a full investigation and reported these accusations to be false.

Hyunjin from Stray Kids is the most popular of these accusations, however. He was accused of mostly verbal abuse, including verbal sexual harassment. A former classmate and his company, JYP Entertainment, defended him, but soon afterwards a second allegation was released, this time of physical abuse. Hyunjin apologized, seemingly confirming the accusations, and the company announced that he would be on indefinite hiatus. Many believe JYP Entertainment forced him to apologize and is purposely throwing him under the bus, especially after they had claimed to find the previous accusation completely false, but whether or not that’s true remains unclear. Among others who were accused are Kihyun from MONSTA X, Aisha from EVERGLOW, and artist HyunA. In all of these cases, much like the cases above, their companies have come out in support of these artists and threatened to take legal action. To clarify, we have no idea whether or not any of these accusations are true. But, in many but not all cases, we have no idea if these accusations are false, either. If anything, this is a reminder not to put your favorite idols up on a pedestal and recognize that they are human. You should not only recognize that they make mistakes, but you should also recognize that you don’t know who any of them truly are off-screen or off-stage. You may feel that your favorite idols are kind, and you might be right, but you could also be wrong. Be cautious and courteous to both fans defending them, and potential victims sharing their stories.

Spotify:

This morning we received the very unfortunate news that a good half of K-Pop artists have had some, if not all of their songs, taken off of Spotify. Korean company Kakao M, who is responsible for distributing the works of many K-Pop artists, is currently at odds with Spotify. Reportedly all songs released by Kakao M will disappear on March 1st due to the expiration of the global licensing agreement between Spotify and Kakao M. According to Spotify, this is because they haven’t been able to come to an agreement with Kakao M. It’s unclear who is at fault, although Spotify has been placing blame on Kakao M. Regardless, the fans and artists will be suffering. Among the artists leaving Spotify are The Boyz, Cherry Bullet, Dreamcatcher, MONSTA X, LUCY, and Epik High. Artists who will have some to most of their songs removed, but not all, are (G)I-DLE, Seventeen, and NU’EST among others. This is incredibly frustrating. For those who primarily listen to their favorite artists via Spotify, it’s awful. Hopefully this will be solved soon.

Racist Radio Comments Made About BTS:

I’m sure many of you know this story already. A German radio host named Matthias Matuschik decided to precede a criticism of BTS’s cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You” by saying he didn’t have anything against South Korea because he has a Korean car. Already a very bad start. Afterwards he said that BTS deserved a “vacation” in North Korea for their cover. He then said BTS was a disease like COVID-19. Obviously, in the time of people still calling COVID the Chinese virus, these comments were incredibly racist. If that wasn’t bad enough, the radio station came out in defense of the host by simply stating that his wording was an unpleasant accident. With Asian hate crimes on the rise because of horrible people who still believe ridiculous claims that Asian people are responsible for COVID, this radio host and station only reveal themselves to be part of the problem. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Several people, including BTS collaborators like Halsey, MAX, and Steve Aoki, came out in defense of BTS, condemning the statements of the radio host. All of them were quick to point out how racist the comments were and how hard BTS has worked to get where they are. While many people are quick to defend BTS right now, It’s important to be aware of the bigger picture. Asian hate crimes are on the rise and it’s infuriating how many people are willing to avoid the topic. They deserve to go outside without fear and to be treated with kindness, as everyone should be. Any ARMY and K-Pop fans, especially white ones like myself, should recognize their privileges and stand with the Asian community at this time. We shouldn’t only be coming to their defense when our favorite idols are threatened.

This has been a very long week for K-Pop fans. Hopefully we get some good news on one, two, or in the best case, all of these issues. We also have new K-Pop content to look forward to, like A-TEEZ’s new album coming out on the first of March. But we should also be aware of the people suffering far more than we are right now. The Asian community has had a much worse time recently, and even before the media started covering Asian hate crimes more frequently. We can hope for better for our favorite K-Pop idols, but we can actually work towards ending racism towards Asian people.

Edit: For those who want to help, here’s an article from Rolling Stone that lays out different ways to help the Asian Community at this time: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/asian-american-racism-violence-1127876/

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Books: ‘Harry Potter’ Characters That Deserved More From The Movies

Screenshot of Clemence Poesy and Domnhall Gleeson from ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1’. Copyright goes to Warner Brothers.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I recently watched the first couple Harry Potter movies, which was different for me. After the giant controversy that recently happened, I was kind of boycotting everything Harry Potter. Really, the only thing that got me to re-look at these movies that I still love was Daniel Radcliffe. He is an excellent human being. And it also made me think about all of the people who put so much hard work into the movies that I shouldn’t overlook. So while I may not be going back to the books anytime soon, the movies feel a little safe to me again. But this also made me think about the things that I wish were in the movies now that I’m not going back to the books. Especially character wise. There are characters who seriously got jipped of large character moments or barely have any personality whatsoever in the movies. So, don’t expect to see any of the main characters or main side characters on this list. I’m mainly going to go over characters that people didn’t pay as much attention to, which is probably why the movies left out a lot about them.

Bill Weasley:

I am not exaggerating in the least bit when I say that Bill is quite possibly my favorite Weasley in the books. When Harry first meets Bill he can’t describe him as anything other than ‘cool’. Bill is not the well put together, tweed jacket wearing, responsible man that we see in the movies. Yes, Bill was still top of the class in his Hogwarts days, but he seems to be significantly different from Percy despite his parents comparing Percy to him. Bill, in the books, has long hair that he puts up in a ponytail, fang earrings, and wears black leather. Harry describes him as looking as though he just returned from a rock concert. It is such a shame that we don’t see any of this from the barely used Bill in the films. They didn’t even keep the aesthetic of the character. Bill is also known to goof off with Fred and George but also shows responsibility in how willing he is to help. His kindness is proven in the fourth book when the families of the champions show up for moral support and Molly and Bill show up to support Harry because he doesn’t have much family of his own. Bill is amazingly badass and kind and I wish we would have gotten more of him.

Fleur Delacour:

In a similar vein, my favorite moments of Fleur’s were also cut off from the films. Bill and Fleur get together, much to the chagrin of the Weasley family, and soon afterwards Bill is scratched by a werewolf. Fleur immediately scolds Molly when Molly implies that Bill’s marred features will result in Fleur leaving him. Fleur is a complete badass throughout the tri-wizard tournament despite everything. A fact that is reasonably overlooked by the movies considering the biggest events she is given in the books are being removed from two of the three tasks before any of the male competitors. Yay girl power? Seriously, that one wasn’t the fault of the movies.

Luna Lovegood:

Ok, ok. Luna is not a more obscure side character, but much of her character development was removed from the movies entirely. Luna was actually the last person standing with Harry at the battle of the Department of Mysteries, a fact that is often overlooked. When Luna’s room in the last book is discovered, her friends realize that Luna has painted a giant mural of all of them on the ceiling. Later, when they find her being held captive with Ollivander, it is revealed that Luna has been giving up some of her food to keep Ollivander well. All of these incredibly selfless and strong acts are never portrayed in the movies and are barely even hinted at.

Viktor Krum:

Viktor Krum is dealt such a bad hand in the movies. In the books it takes an incredible amount of both strength and intelligence for someone to be chosen by the Tri-wizard tournament. All of the comments that refer to Krum as just being a dumb jock are not present in the books. It’s almost like they wanted to give Viktor a reason to be dislikable so that the audience would root for the couple of Ron and Hermione instead. Viktor is always nice to Hermione and they actually talk with each other a lot at the Yule Ball. He doesn’t just stare at her all the time.

Charlie Weasley:

Other than a photo in one of the movies, Charlie was cut entirely from the films. Though, to an extent, I understand this decision. Charlie barely shows up in the books either. But it would have been nice to at least see him once. Charlie, like Bill, was very cool but for a different reason. Because he worked with dragons in Romania, he had scratches and burns all down his arms. Charlie was also very much married to his work and never interested in being married himself. He’s probably the most laid-back Weasley and it would have been nice to see at least a cameo from him when the dragons came in for the first challenge in the fourth movie.

Dean Thomas:

We needed more Dean Thomas in both the books and the movies. Dean Thomas is probably the person Harry is closest to at Hogwarts other than the main characters. That’s probably because originally the trio was going to be four and Dean would have been part of the main group. Which would have been nice considering that Dean is one of the only Black characters in Harry Potter as a whole. The movies do even worse with him and you just can’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had been given more. Dean’s friendship with Luna at Shell Cottage, which is both hilarious and adorable, is also skipped over.

Oliver Wood:

A lot of quidditch is skipped over, but they couldn’t have at least showed them all finally winning the Quidditch cup? Oliver Wood really did deserve better and it would have been amazing to see his insane planning and strategies in the movies too.

Angelina Johnson:

Angelina Johnson was a badass and I would have loved to legitimately see her as the next captain of the Quidditch team after Oliver. Unfortunately, the movies barely ever focus on her at all or even give her any screen time. But at least they didn’t do the Fred and George storyline with her that was released after the books. You know, the one where she marries George after Fred dies because she was dating Fred. Because that is messed up in every way it possibly could be and it always has been. What an awful way to say that Fred was replaceable to you.

There you have it! There are plenty more that I just didn’t get to, but I had to talk about these ones. There’s just so much that I wish was in the movies, but there’s also a lot that I’m glad they left out of the movies. Like the house elf storyline for example. So, even though I am disappointed at some of the things they left out (they could have at least given Bill that earring!), I’m kind of content with the storyline being simplified. Especially after everything that’s happened.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Marvel: ‘WandaVision’ Episode 8 Review

Screenshot of Elizabeth Olsen and Kathryn Hahn is episode 8 of ‘WandaVision’. Copyright goes to Marvel Studios and Disney.

Hey! Hallie here!

We’re nearly to the season finale and, as usual, that means more reveals! This episode was by far the most emotional episode so far. It also finally gave us Wanda’s full backstory and her version of recent events. We know so much and I still have so many more questions. As usual I’m going to cut this short by jumping right into SPOILER territory. Be warned.

What I Liked:

Wanda: Here she is in her usual spot. We have so much to talk about for this episode. First off, Elizabeth Olsen did an incredible job. Seeing Wanda break down as she revisited her past was heartbreaking. But we did receive some essential information. One is that Wanda was a witch even before HYDRA got involved. She protected herself and Pietro with her powers when their house was bombed. We also saw that, when she was exposed to the mind stone by HYDRA, the mind stone reveled to her the image of the Scarlet Witch. We know from Agatha Harkness that the Scarlet Witch is a powerful witch from legend and that Wanda’s insane amount of power confirms that Wanda is that Scarlet Witch. Whether she inherited that title from a long line of witches, like she did in the comics, remains to be seen. Additionally, the footage of Wanda stealing Vision’s body was altered. I suspected that Wanda took Vision’s body because of the evil intent of SWORD, but not that Wanda didn’t steal the body at all. Wanda did become enraged when she saw SWORD was dismantling and experimenting on Vision’s body. But after a heartbreaking moment where she confirmed she couldn’t feel Vision’s presence, she left without the body. She then drove to Westview where we discovered, in yet another devastating scene, that Vision bought property there for himself and Wanda. Upon seeing the property Wanda completely broke down, uncontrollably creating the Hex and a different version of Vision. While Wanda creating the Hex and holding hostage the people of Westview was an accident, she wasn’t exactly eager to undo it. Especially with how much grief she was going through. Once again Wanda has been proven to be a tragic character who’s villainous actions are completely understandable. I hope she receives her happy ending, but I doubt this story will end well for her.

Vision: We have two Visions to talk about this time around. The first is the real Vision. We got a few more insights into Vision and Wanda’s relationship this episode, and I don’t think I can love Vision anymore than I do now. We were given Vision attempting to comfort Wanda after she lost Pietro. This included watching a sitcom with her and attempting to understand why she found it funny. It also included the wise observation that grief was love persisting after death. This coupled with the land he bought himself and Wanda reveals just how thoughtful of a man he was. However, the second Vision we have to talk about won’t quite be so thoughtful. In an end credit scene it was revealed that SWORD used the real corpse of Vision to recreate him as White Vision. For those who don’t know, in the comics there was a point where Vision died and was brought back to life as White Vision. White Vision couldn’t feel emotions and eventually had to tell Wanda and his children that he didn’t love them. In this series, it seems like White Vision will be sent to kill Wanda in order to stop the Hex. It also seems like the ultimate goal for SWORD is combining White Vision with the better-functioning Vision Wanda created. None of this bodes well.

What I Have Questions About:

Why is Agatha Interested in Wanda?: At this point I’m completely confused by Agatha’s presence over all. We got the revelation that “It was Agatha all along” last episode, which I was skeptical of, but this episode revealed none of it was Agatha. In fact, it further doubled down on the fact that Wanda was the one who caused everything. Agatha did a few messed up things like use a fake Pietro to spy on Wanda, egg on Vision when he was attempting to leave, and kill a dog. But she wasn’t responsible for any of the major things that have occurred so far. So why is she here? What is she attempting to accomplish? We know that she was interested in how Wanda created the Hex, but we don’t know why. We also don’t know how Agatha managed to appear right when the Hex was created. Was she already tailing Wanda at the time? Was she in the area when Wanda lost control? Or did she tunnel in underneath the Hex in record time? Agatha in general confuses me.

Who is Pietro?: We received information that Agatha basically brainwashed someone so she could have them act as Pietro and use them as her spy. So who is the guy she’s brainwashing? Is he X-Men’s Quicksilver? Or is he just some random guy?

What will happen to Wiccan and Speed?: Knowing that Vision almost died when attempting to escape the Hex because Wanda is his creator, does that mean that Wiccan and Speed won’t be able to leave, either? They are also her creations, so it would makes sense. But I do want to see them turn into the fully fledged superheroes we see in the comics.

I’m so interested to see what the finale will look like. There are so many loose ends they still have to tie up before it ends. Including the series’ bridge into the next Doctor Strange movie. Will Stephen Strange show up? Will Vision merge with White Vision? Will he die or survive past the series? Will Wanda be a villain after all this, or will she be at least partially absolved of some of the events that have happened? Will Wanda be the creator of the multiverse? I’m excited to see what direction the finale will go!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

K-Pop and K-Dramas: My Bias Story

Image of Kim Namjoon (RM) and Park Jimin from a ‘BTS Bomb’ released by BigHit Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I had to do an update on the boys because I love them so much, but also because so much has changed for me personally when it comes to them. And that includes very recently. For those of you who have been with this blog for a while, you’ll know that my bias switched from Jimin to Yoongi not long ago. Well, that’s changed again and now I need to talk about the journey between biases I went through. I do this so that other people choosing biases will hopefully feel less alone. If you want tips on how to choose a bias, my sister has an entire post with tips on that. But if you are just getting into the fandom (that is admittedly a little intimidating at first… I swear most of us are nice!) I can see why you would feel a little nervous about changing your bias. Trust me, your bias will probably change at least a couple times and your bias wrecker will probably change even more than that. So don’t feel bad or like you’re betraying anyone! Your bias is just who you are drawn the most to and as long as you love the other boys just as much, you’re good! But let’s get into the confusion that I went through up until extremely recently.

First: Bias Jimin, Bias Wrecker Namjoon

Like most English speakers, the first person I probably noticed in BTS was Namjoon. But that’s entirely because I believe the first exposure I had to them was when they appeared on ‘Ellen’. Over time that completely changed. I went to college with someone who was very into BTS and because of that I ended up clicking on Tae’s ‘Singularity’ when it showed up on the trending page of Youtube. I believe I mentioned this before on my Tae-centric post for his birthday, but sexy was not my first reaction to the song. I was in the middle of a stressful project and his lower singing register helped my anxiety. So when I actually started looking up BTS because I had listened to more songs that I liked, I thought my bias would be V. The issue was that the first music video I clicked on was ‘Blood, Sweat, and Tears’. Now you know why my original bias was Jimin. His dancing immediately captured my attention. But Namjoon was still definitely on my radar for how intelligent and kind he seemed when promoting the ‘love yourself’ message for the band. Because the performance and the message ended up being the first things I truly fell in love with when it came to BTS, these are the two that started out this crazy journey.

Second: Bias Yoongi, Bias Wrecker Jimin/Jungkook

When I started watching ‘Run BTS’ is when I first started to notice Yoongi’s dry sense of humor, and around that time ‘Daechwita’ came out. I think everyone was a Yoongi bias for a while after he released that one. It was, and probably still is, the most badass thing I have ever listened to. Yoongi became my bias after I connected to these two things and then Jimin, who I was still absolutely in love with for his performance, fell to the bias wrecker position. The issue was that not long after that, Jungkook started doing press with his long hair. I also listened to ‘Still With You’ for the first time, which completely floored me. That’s definitely another one that helps with my anxiety occasionally. But I still noticed that every time I watched them all perform as a group my eye would generally go to Jimin. Though really this has lasted for a shorter period than the Jimin bias, this was around the time where I felt like I was really getting to know the group so it feels like longer. Yoongi talking about mental health helped me through my own issues and Jimin and Jungkook kept my energy up. But I also felt super wishy-washy during this stage, I seriously couldn’t make up my mind. And that’s probably because I love every single member of BTS so much.

Now: Bias Jimin, Bias Wrecker Namjoon

You might look at this and think it’s a little hilarious. I seriously came full circle here after getting to know the band and just being really confused as to where to turn. As I’ve said before, it is still so difficult for me to choose anything or anyone concerning this band. At this point I’m practically OT7. But you are still probably wondering why I went back instead of continuing on. That’s entirely because I started watching their concerts more frequently. With all of them being so loveable to me already, it really came down to who I was most drawn to in performance and which songs I listened to the most. I’m constantly listening to Jimin’s stuff or watching him perform and I realized that it is entirely because he is still my bias. He also has one of those smiles that immediately makes you happy whenever you see it, but I digress. I have to say that ‘Promise’ has helped me through so much at this point, so I have to thank Jimin for that. When it comes to Namjoon, his words were often also helping me through awful mental health days as well. When I learned that he had written ‘Zero O’Clock’ from his own experiences I was so inspired because of how much I related to and connected with those lyrics. He’s also the president. I mean, c’mon. (Listen to ‘Tokyo’ off of Mono if you feel awful, it’ll help.) They were the ones that originally comforted me and brought me into this fandom, so it’s entirely unsurprising that they drew me back in eventually. Namjoon is surrounded by this aura of trustworthiness and Jimin is guaranteed to make you a little bit happier. What they each represent is so important to me.

Again, choosing a bias isn’t necessarily choosing a favorite. You can’t, it’s impossible. Every ARMY is mostly OT7. They are all also incredibly kind to each other and everyone else. I have considered every single one of the members of BTS for being my bias seriously. Choosing a bias can often come down to the pettiest things or sometimes it’s just about performance or who you relate to most. It can be stressful, but it’s always fun. I wish you the best of luck in finding your bias because you will absolutely need it! And my best advice is to accept that you are going to love all of them pretty equally no matter what because they will all make you fall in love with them at some point or other.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Video Games: Upcoming Live Action Projects

Screenshot of Joel (Troy Baker) and Ellie (Ashley Johnson) in ‘The Last of Us’. Copyright goes to Naughty Dog and Sony Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

Recently we got some major news about two different video game franchises getting adapted to live action formats. The first is ‘The Last of Us’ which is getting an entire series on HBO. The second is a ‘Borderlands’ movie from director Eli Roth. Adaptations of video games have been notoriously bad on most occasions, so there’s definitely reason to be skeptical of both projects. But one of these is looking much more dismal than the other so far. Of course, I hope both of these do well. But many video games fans know that one of them being good, let alone both, is a lot to hope for. So let’s go through each project and see what the newest attempts at bringing video games to other media formats will look like.

‘The Last of Us’:

One of the most promising things about this series is that Neil Druckmann, the creative director for the game, is the co-writer for the show. The other writer is Craig Mazin, the writer for the show ‘Chernobyl’. I’m not familiar with the show, but I do know that it was a dramatic retelling of the events that occurred after a nuclear plant disaster. That seems to align pretty well with the events of ‘The Last of Us’. The difference between a real life disaster and a zombie apocalypse is large, but the ideas behind showing characters realistically react to tragedy aren’t so different. As of now we only know the director for the first episode, Kantemir Balagov, a Russian director. I’m not familiar with his work either, but he also seems to be more interested in the character-driven dramas that align with a plot as bleak as this one.

Our two main characters have already been given actors as well. Joel will be played by Pedro Pascal, who seems to be making a lot of money playing disgruntled dads. I’m not complaining. He’s very good at being both endearing and badass, which is essential to Joel. I also like that they decided to go a different route than the typical southern white man. Ellie will be played by Bella Ramsey. I’m not a ‘Game of Thrones’ fan, so I can’t speak on the work she’s done so far. I can say that I’m extremely happy they cast someone around Ellie’s age, rather than an older actress pretending to be young. Ellie’s somewhat childlike nature is one of the brightest parts of the original game and no one can pull that off better than an actual teenager. The story of ‘The Last of Us’ relies a lot on player interaction. The harrowing experiences you feel while playing as Joel, and sometimes Ellie, make you feel closer to both characters and sympathize with what they’re going through. After all, you as the player are going through the same experiences. It’s an instant connection that no other form of media can pull off. My main concern for this show will be making the viewers just as invested as the game does. The team looks great so far, however, so I have higher hopes for this one.

‘Borderlands’:

Oh boy. To be honest, this one doesn’t look so good as of now. Eli Roth will be directing it, which doesn’t exactly convince me of much. He’s mostly known for horror, and while ‘Borderlands’ is gory, that isn’t exactly the point of the game. As someone who hates horror. I’m, unsurprisingly, unfamiliar with his work. Because of that, I can’t say I have any strong feelings about this choice. Only that I don’t see anything he’s done so far that proves he’s well suited to make this movie. Also, based on the cast, I’m not certain what, if any, ‘Borderlands’ story he’s going for. The announced “main characters” as of now are the characters who took leading positions in the first game. But the first game has a notoriously lackluster plot. And I think I can speak for most fans when I say I really want to see Handsome Jack on the big screen, who doesn’t appear until the second installment. I guess we’ll see what Eli Roth has up his sleeve at a later date. My main concern right now is the cast. Firstly, it’s star studded in the way we’ve seen random stars thrown together to make a couple extra bucks before. Hollywood does this often, and it doesn’t often work out. Secondly, most of the stars cast so far don’t seem particularly suited to their roles.

Cate Blanchet has been cast as Lilith, and while she’s definitely a badass, Lilith is different kind of badass. Lilith is blunt, sometimes rude, sarcastic, and grungy. She’s also portrayed as being, at most, in her early thirties. This means that Cate Blanchet will be tackling a type of character we don’t often see her as, and the movie will be aging said character up so she can better fit the actress. Next Jack Black was cast as the voice of Claptrap. I love Jack Black. I don’t see his voice being particularly suited to the nasally, purposefully-annoying voice of claptrap. He can be loud and obnoxious, much like Claptrap is, but there’s a line that Claptrap walks between an adorable idiot and a frustrating asshole that doesn’t really make me think of Jack Black. I almost wish John Mulaney could have tackled this role, if I’m honest. Roland is my biggest problem. Roland is the Captain America of ‘Borderlands’. He’s a himbo who can’t say no when anyone asks him for a favor. He’s a brave man who embodies, more than any other character, the appearance of a hero. Kevin Hart is not that. Kevin Hart has never played that. I don’t see how this even mildly makes sense. Tannis is the only character I think was done any justice when it comes to casting. Jamie Lee Curtis has played a badass and she’s played a conceited woman who doesn’t like other people. Tannis is both. It seems like the best fit in the cast so far. Once again, these are just my concerns. I could be completely proved wrong once the movie is released. But, as of now, I’m very concerned about what I’m seeing. It feels like the characters are being made to fit the cast rather than the cast fitting the characters, which is never a good sign.

These are my thoughts about the recent video game announcements. I’m keeping my expectations for ‘The Last of Us’ low as of now. But I can’t help but be excited by both the incredible casting and the involvement of Neil Druckmann. ‘Borderlands’ can’t boast a fitting cast or the involvement of the original creative team. My expectations are pretty low, but I sincerely hope it exceeds them. I really want some form of media to break the video game adaptation curse that has plagued Hollywood and frustrated gamers for years.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Twins in Media: Semi-Finals

Promotional image of Dove Cameron and Dove Cameron for ‘Liv and Maddie’. Copyright goes to Disney Channel.

Hi! It’s Annie!

We are definitely almost to the end of this thing now that we are in the semi-finals! Since we have already talked about all of the pairings of twins now at length, I’m going to be using this post to cover both rounds of the semi-finals so that the next post will lead straight into the finals. In this round of semi-finals we have two match ups to get through to determine which twins will go against each other in the final round:

Hallie and Annie vs. Liv and Maddie

Jacob and Evie Frye vs. Dipper and Mabel

Though it’s generally more likely to talk about both pairings completely in this round, I mainly want to go over why the winners of each of these are pretty obvious. Though the semi-finals result might be obvious to me, the finals result escapes me a bit more. So let’s get into it and figure out which ones are moving on!

Hallie and Annie vs. Liv and Maddie:

These are both Disney channel twins portrayed by the same actress. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of any twins being played by the same actress. It does not promote an understanding to the audience that twins are two different people with different voices, interests, ways of dressing, habits, and even ways their appearances themselves are different. But it’s pretty clear that this one has to go to Hallie and Annie. Liv and Maddie are played by the same person, but are still very different characters. I will give them that. But the fact of the matter is that they are still opposites. The girly girl versus the tomboy is something that has long been ingrained in societal expectations for women and it is also something that has long been used in conjunction with the opposite twins trope. When twins were first portrayed as different people in media rather than the same person with one hive mind, they were either played in two different ways. Evil twin or opposites. Obviously, the unexpected surfacing of an evil twin that nobody knew one of the characters had in the first place is infinitely more harmful. But the opposites trope began the idea that twins either have to be exactly the same or have to be opposites of each other. Most siblings in general who live together for much of their lives have similarities and differences, not all of one. So why is this expected of twins? Liv and Maddie not only push the opposites trope, but they also ascribe to female tropes as well. Women are very rarely all tomboy or all girly girl either. So they can’t possibly win here.

Hallie and Annie don’t spend much of the movie together and are separated at birth. Another harmful trope that promoted the idea that for twins to develop different personalities they must be separated. Obviously, this is a ridiculous notion. But the movie doesn’t dwell on that too much and shows two different personalities of their same sex twins without presenting them as opposites. In fact, at camp they are shown to have some of the same interests even though they have very different personalities. Hallie and Annie don’t really finish each other’s sentences or do weird twin telepathy fakeness either. This is exactly why they win here. There’s even a point in the movie where Hallie asks her mother to love her uniquely as Hallie and not as Annie. Though it disappoints me that they are played by the same person, Hallie and Annie are quite possibly the best portrayal of same sex twins we’ve ever had in media. They aren’t overly sexualized or rely too much on tropes. It would be great to see this with two different actresses.

Winner: Hallie and Annie

Jacob and Evie Frye vs. Dipper and Mabel:

We placed the same sex twins versus each other and now we’ve done the same for the opposite sex twins. Jacob and Evie Frye also suffer from the opposites trope, so there’s not much to say there that I haven’t already said. They also have a sibling rivalry that has become common with all siblings in media. Sometimes I feel like it can be difficult to find a pair of siblings in media who are completely supportive of each other. With all of this, and even with writing itself, there is absolutely no way they would have ever won against Dipper and Mabel.

As I’ve said before, Dipper and Mabel’s only problem is the fact that there’s an uncomfortably large part of the fandom that ships them as a couple. But that is not the fault of the writing for these characters. Of all the twins we’ve covered, these are the only ones that were written by an actual twin and it really shows. He covered personal experiences with his twin sister as well as how he’s best friends with her and they’ve always had each other’s backs. But that does not make them the same and it doesn’t mean that he always grows their characters together. They have character building moments together and apart. They were not separated at birth, they have very different personalities, they have some of the same interests and some interests that are different, and they are best friends. They are such a realistic portrayal of twins and I’m really glad to see them out there. But, as we have both said before, it is easier to find opposite sex twins who don’t fall in as many tropes. Same sex twins still don’t receive this treatment and that should change. Opposite sex twins usually aren’t fetishized as much (though the fandom of Gravity Falls proves that they still can be), whereas it never stops happening to same sex twins. I can’t express enough that it isn’t ok to view twins as a singular unit in ANY circumstance no matter how similar they may seem. So the answer to your question if you were asking it is, yes. All of those shows where a character talks about having a threesome with twins or features incest are completely awful and absolutely harmful. It pains me that I have to say that and that it isn’t common knowledge. And it isn’t ok for you to ship twin characters in any circumstance either.

Winner: Dipper and Mabel

So the final round will be Hallie and Annie vs. Dipper and Mabel! Stay tuned to see how that all turns out and hopefully we’ll receive twin characters that are just as good in the future!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi/ Superheroes: ‘Space Sweepers’

Screenshot of Kim Tae-ri as Captain Jang, Song Joong-Ki as Tae-ho, and Bubs voiced by Yoo Hae-jin in ‘Space Sweepers’. Copyright goes to Bidangil Pictures, Dexter Studios, and Netflix.

Hey! Hallie here!

A lot of people have been recommending this movie recently and I’ve seen a lot of people upset that this movie isn’t getting the recognition it deserves. So I finally decided to watch it and see what all the hype was about. This movie is incredible. From it’s characters to it’s story to it’s messages, this movie has impressed me more than any movie that’s come out in the last few years. There is so much I want to talk about, but I want to start this out by encouraging you to go watch this movie right now. I will be diving into some SPOILER territory and you will absolutely want to go into this movie blind. If you’re still here, awesome! Let’s talk about what I loved about this movie.

The Languages:

This is the first thing I noticed watching the movie. The film is a South Korean film and it’s main actors are South Korean. But it’s long list of side characters are from a range of different nationalities. Every character introduced from a different country speaks their own language. The movie gives all of it’s characters machinery by their ear that translates languages for them and allows them to communicate in return. So when you hear a character speaking French, they will be speaking French for the majority of the movie regardless of who they’re speaking to. Throughout the movie you can hear Korean, English, French, Chinese, Filipino, and many many more languages. The movie shows a deep respect for various cultures and gives us a glimpse of what movies can be like without the barriers we usually put up.

The Characters:

Any good movie gives you rich characters to relate to throughout the movie. Most movies with an ensemble cast start out with the cast separated so their personalities can be explored individually before they come together. But at the start of this movie we already see our main characters as the crew of the ship “Victory”, and they’ve been a group for some time. This is what the movie does so brilliantly. It slowly unfolds the characters personalities and backstories as the movie goes on so that, by the end, you discover why they work so well together in the first place. The movie does this by introducing the character of Dorothy. Dorothy, or Kot-nim, is a small child who is supposedly a dangerous bomb. However, after the crew accidentally come across her, she slowly reveals a much less terrifying and much more adorable personality. As she begins to chip away at the crew’s hard exteriors, we get to see who they truly are.

Tae-ho, the character we follow for most of the movie, is obsessed with money. He will do whatever it takes to get his hands on it, even, early on in the film, selling Kot-nim to an apparent terrorist organization. However, his obsession with wealth isn’t completely selfish. He had a daughter who was swept into space during an attack. There was the possibility that she could be retrieved, but he had no money to pay for such services. He was also told that he’d have to obtain the money before his daughter drifted out of orbit and could no longer be retrieved. Because of this, he joined the crew to obtain said money as fast as possible. He’s initially very cold towards Kot-nim because selling her will make him the money he needs and because she reminds him too much of his lost daughter. But when he finally obtains the money at the cost of Kot-nim, he realizes that his daughter would be disappointed in him for the way he’s been acting. He comes back to the team just in time to get Kot-nim back and shift his determination to a much better cause.

Captain Jang is a former Special Forces Squad officer who left the force to form her own pirate gang and attempt to assassinate her former boss, James Sullivan. She didn’t succeed and wound up dreaming of revenge while turning to alcoholism. As the movie goes on she also begins to warm to Kot-nim, and as such, begins to feel more responsible for both her and the crew. Coming face to face with Sullivan after years of dreaming confirms for her that revenge is no longer what drives her. Instead, she shows her capabilities as a true leader of multiple crews and as a protector.

Tiger Park is the very first person to warm to Kot-nim. He’s well known for his scary appearance and had prior been sentenced to death on Earth for gang affiliations and selling drugs. But it only takes Kot-nim drawing his picture for him to decide that her well being is more important than his own. He’s the character the audience gets to see unfurl before their eyes first. He goes from intensely frightening criminal to a devoted father in minutes. He’s still very intimidating, though, and his fight scenes are some of the most badass in the entire movie.

Bubs is a robot who’s obsession with money is only rivaled by Tae-ho’s. This character trait is waved away as the greediness commonly seen in pirates. But when Bubs starts to question Kot-nim about being an android, before she learns Kot-nim is actually a real girl, we see her true intentions. Bubs wants the money to give herself android upgrades, giving her the feminine traits she knows suit her. As the movie goes on she learns to trust and love the crew that has supported her dreams and nearly sacrifices her life for them. By the end of the movie she still turns to Kot-nim for advice on her upgrades.

The Messages:

This movie has a lot it wants to say, and it does it very well. It’s entire cast is diverse and one of it’s main characters is a robot who identifies as Transfeminine. It’s pretty obvious that one of this movie’s main goals is to promote acceptance of all types of people. At it’s core, however, this movie is a giant criticism of rich society. It’s main characters are criminals, but the movie doesn’t judge them for it. The movie instead points out that the rich members of society have forced them into positions of poverty. They have taken all the resources and left others to suffer. Meanwhile, a major corporation has decided to create their own Utopia for the people who the CEO, James Sullivan, deems worthy. However, in order to sell this idea, James Sullivan realizes that Earth must be destroyed to leave Mars as the only option for humanity. So he decides to expedite the process by destroying Earth, reasoning that it’s inhabitants are mostly poor and insignificant anyway. The villainization of major corporations and those that look down on the poor isn’t unwarranted. It sends a strong message that our current society is flawed and is due for a change.

I could talk about this movie all day, but I’ll leave it here for now. Once again, I’ll remind you to watch this movie because it deserves a watch. In fact, it deserves several watches. It’s incredible characters, acting, casting, messages, story, and everything in between make it unforgettable. It’s definitely my favorite movie that I’ve watched in quarantine so far.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie