Continue Escalating

she... oh I love women :')

I HAVE PLAYED THESE GAMES BEFORE

Weak Hero Class 2 : A show that hits you hard into a coma — only if you love Season 1 and Yeon Sieun. Otherwise, it's only decent (compared to WHC1).

An honest review of S2's story and writing from someone who loves WHC1

I love S1 as much as the next person (I sure hope my neighbour fuckin watched WHC1). WHC1 is just about perfect in every aspect of film making and script. While still decently directed and written, WHC2 loses much of the quiet ambiance and nuance that made WHC1 all the more poignant, as a show under the action genre. Poignant and action don’t come together often in one sentence, which is why WHC1 stole the limelight for me. WHC1 holds the most mind-boggling balance of emotions, plot, action and characters in its harsh grip.

WHC2 is really loud when it it’s loud, and doesn’t come back down to the level of rumination that makes audiences think on their own part, staring at the black screen of their device and to be emotionally affected, aka screaming crying throwing up, compared to WHC1. There’s quite a bit of telling and not showing, which makes WHC2 lose out on the charm that WHC1 had.

Fight/action choreography:

S1 is amazing. Had me on the edge of my seat. Engaging. What really hooked me about the fight choreography in S1 is that it tells a story about the character in and itself. A good fight sequence should always be able to let the audience in on more of how the character thinks and acts — How Sieun uses his surroundings as an advantage, How Suho is not only adept at martial arts, but also quick to think on his feet. How even the thug Gilsoo fights with savagery and brute strength. WHC1 found nuance in its fight choreography with characterisation.

Though the action scenes in S2 are visually stunning, and I love Sieun’s fight with Seongje on the roof (top 10 action scenes in my life in a series) there’s a point where there’s just a lot of flashbang and no real innate story like a lot of action shows out there. The fights don’t strike the balance of character and action as well as WHC1 do especially with the new characters.

They nearly achieve it with Baku and Baekjin in the finale fight — but unfortunately, we don’t spend just enough time with the duo as kids to understand why they fell out to empathise enough, just why they fight the way they do.

Gotak’s taekwondo style fighting wasn’t shown enough, and neither were his backstory and motivations. This severely bumped down the interest I had in his action sequences.

I must say, I severely enjoy Juntae’s fight scenes. He reminds me so much of Sieun and the juxtaposition of his cuddly character with his tenacity tells a very compelling character story. I am very interested in his backstory, which we don’t get. S3 perhaps?

Character writing and handling:

Everything they do with Sieun in WHC2 — perfect. Yum. Angst. Trauma. How he fights. How he lets the Eunjang Gang in. Which is why I say in my header that WHC2 hits hard only if you love WHC1 and are watching it for Sieun, because we already know well what are Sieun's motivations and feelings. If I were a webtoon fan or just watching S2 as a story on its own, characterisation and development of the new cast fall a tad bit short.

Not going into specifics, but I do wish they extended S2 into 10 episodes, just to get us to understand the new cast better. In S1, we are brought along the ride in real time on how Suho works at a barbecue restaurant part time, how Beomseok suffers from abuse and how Sieun feels so empty + dislikes his parents. In S2, much of what we know about the Eunjang Gang + antagonists are told to us via exposition and dialogue. Telling and not showing is a very big no no in writing circles, as it alienates the audience. Even if there are scenes that give us a glimpse into who they are, it’s not enough and I’m left blinking: you are like my papa

Juntae’s school room with his weeb friends and his iPad wallpaper — amazing, I want more. Why is there only a 5min long scene of that?

Hyuntak’s accident with his knee and Baku going ballistic about it — uh, I want more..? Can I? Please? Don’t give me exposition.

The writers were almost good with how they handled Baku and his relationship with Baekjin. They clearly spent the most effort and time fleshing them out. Baku is the most compelling character this season with all the scenes with his father, the Union and Baekjin. But still, it’s not enough. If I were the writer, I would have dedicated an entire episode detailing Baku's life and he will the character we follow the entire episode. We'll get to know his childhood with Baekjin, how they fallout, how he meets Gotak, a fight scene of him going out against the Union, how Gotak got his knee injured etc, right up till the present timeline.

Given more time, Baku and Baekjin's backstory would have formed a very strong literary foil against Suho and Sieun's history, as both pairs clearly have guilt and trauma from violence. Furthermore, one of the pair taught the other how to fight.

I really would have loved a morally grey antagonist which they shaped Baekjin up to be, but we don’t get anything more than his scene at the orphanage. Then he dies. (Am I just a view to you, writers?)

Lastly, the writers seem to be confused about who is the real protagonist of the season - Sieun or Baku. The writers want to build on both, but the focus becomes convoluted and it messes up the story pacing.

Story pacing (my largest gripe with WHC2):

WHC1 have the same 8 episodes duration and somehow manage to have no extraneous/unneeded scenes. Nothing more or nothing less. Every scene is impactful and matters to either the plot or characters. Right at the midway point of Ep4, WHC1 changes its arc from an external antagonist (Gilsoo) to an internal antagonist (Beomseok and Co).

WHC2 is a little confused with its pace; sometimes dawdling, sometimes fast. I found myself watching along at some scenes only because Sieun was there. Characters entered and left scenes whenever they liked, as though the writers weren't sure what to do to start or end the scene with purpose.

WHC2's quiet scenes don't hit as hard as WHC1's. The lack of in-depth characterisation for the new cast and too much needed world-building in a short span is the cause. WHC1 spent a lot of time only with Suho, Sieun and Beomseok + their antagonists, while WHC2 is rushing to explain all about the Union, the Eunjang Boys and Sieun's continuing trauma. Hence, when they go all quiet and accompany each other, there's not much emotional attachment going around. Imo, a 10 episode season is really needed for an improvement in the pacing and writing, which will make their quiet moments hit harder.

This is even a harsh comment for my standards (because I genuinely love Suho and Sieun's relationship): If the writers wanted to keep to 8 episodes, they should have removed some scenes of Sieun with Suho/reminiscing about Suho. Ultimately, there isn't enough pay-off for all the pining Sieun does and the ending is still the same (Suho returns for 3 minutes in the last episode). Removing one or two scenes would have greatly improved the focus and cohesion of other active characters who matter more in determining the finale of WHC2. Definitely a fair bit of fanservice going on.

Overall comments:

I won't say WHC2 is the worst. On its own, it's fun. It definitely does a more than decent job at reconciling WHC1 with new characters and plot of WHC2. The action scenes are its best features, which is a bummer for me, as the characters were the stars of WHC1. But we're comparing to WHC1 here — WHC1 is unbearably gentle where it needs to be and achingly harsh where it needs to be. Many aspects are concise but well developed at the same time. As a writer and someone who loves films/tv series, I find that WHC1 is truly a masterclass in nuance and writing, especially in the action genre. WHC2 unfortunately, isn't able replicate the delicate balance that WHC1 achieved with the story's highs and lows.

Variety

London’s Biggest Eurovision Song Contest Screening Party Canceled Due to Israel’s Participation

A London screening party for the Eurovision Song Contest finals has been canceled, the organizers have said.

London’s biggest screening party for the Eurovision Song Contest finals has been canceled, the venue Rio Cinema and organizer Eurovision Party London have said. “Following discussion with the organizers of Eurovision Party London, we have collectively decided not to screen the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest this year while Israel remains in the competition,” the Rio Cinema said in a statement on X. “The Eurovision Party London has been a beloved partner of The Rio Cinema for many years, and we will continue to work with them in the future. We firmly believe that the Eurovision Song Contest has the power to bring people together across the world, and when its core values of inclusivity, equality and universality are upheld, it can be a genuine force for good. With its own slogan in mind, we hope that we can all be United By Music again soon. We will continue to organize fundraising events for the charities we support, including Doctors Without Borders and Medical Aid for Palestine.”

My genuine reaction to Conquest's Monologue tbh.

But no seriously, think about it, the Viltrumites are the exaggerated evolution of a hyper-competitive, hyper-violent, hyper-individualist society. Low key, I think that's why Kirkman made every male Viltrumite looks like someone's Dad or Uncle. It's almost like, a very blatant representation of what even a normal guy is forced to become under such an extreme system.

Additionally, the mustache, especially the short ones that most Viltrumites wear exude a sense of that old-school patriarchal look.

GENOCIDE Art by Igor Dobrowolski

@IgorDobrowolsk

تخيل الفنان البولندي إيجور دوبرولسكي شكل إعلانات الشركات العالمية التي تدعم الاحتلال في حربها على غزة. فقد جمع هذا الفنان الصور المأساوية للحرب ووضعها إعلانات في شوارع وارسو رسالة منه لمقاطعة هذه العلامات التجارية.

Update:

Igor Dobrowolski

amanda (inspired by the cover of newdad's album 'madra')

watching in horror as i scroll through tiktok and video start to freeze or not load at all. profile pictures disappear. i am unable to leave likes. i felt like watching the ship sink.

i crawl back to tumblr on my hands and knees.

I think more people need to play around with Damian's speech. Don't get me wrong, I love the antiquated Victorian child style of speech, but also he's a teenager that swears plenty in the comics. We really need more scenes like:

Damian: Father, I regret to inform you that I have been assigned in-school suspension for the next three days.

Bruce: What, why?!

Damian: My classmate Kevin was disparaging a female classmate for turning him down, so I called him 'a rizz-less, basic-ass neckbeard bitch' and said I was going to fuck his mom and give her a son she'd actually love.

Bruce: *is completely speechless*

Damian: That is all I needed to tell you. If you will excuse me, I have homework to complete before dinner and patrol.

This is truly sinister.