Not Just "Some Man" - Review of "Mummy on the Orient Express"

Review/Recap of Doctor Who, Series 8 Episode 8: "Mummy on the Orient Express" - Spoilers!

Back in Series 6, when I reviewed "The God Complex," I said that I really didn't like that episode. Because it was all angsty and deconstructionalist and academic and sophisticated and it brought up a lot of idiotic pretentious crap that I never enjoy on any level. And it was annoying that all the "high thinkers" of fandom loved it (you can love what you love - doesn't mean I'm going to love you for it). The next episode, however, was "Closing Time." Which is one that I will continually watch and rewatch. I adore it to pieces. Not necessarily because of Craig Owens and Alfie and the Eleventh Doctor - but because it made everything that was wrong and painful and angsty all right again. The Doctor was back in his element. Doctor Who as I knew it was back. The stories of hope and light in the midst of darkest trouble had returned. I was grateful for it.

In a similar vein, I'm grateful for "Mummy on the Orient Express." Because after last week's shouting match in fandom over all the weirdness that "Kill the Moon" engendered - whether it was bafflement about "The moon is an egg" (I'm somewhat over it, but not completely) or the anger and confusion over political messages (which - if that was meant to be a political message, it wasn't done very well. But I'm going to let that dead horse lie and never speak of it again). Even the aftermath of Clara and the Doctor's... I don't want to call it a fight, but I don't have anything else to call it. But it hurt. It cut deep. Both were in the wrong, both had blame to shoulder, both were also in the right. It was a difficult situation - one that can't be solved with the mediation techniques available to ordinary people. And, frankly, we all needed something to wash away the... whatever-that-was of last week.

Not that there aren't consequences leftover from last week - those certainly are addressed. I'm glad. Because it was such an emotionally heavy thing and to ignore it would be wrong. As the Doctor and Clara board the Orient Express (IN SPACE!), they both acknowledge that this is a "last hurrah" sort of deal and after this, Clara is done. While I don't believe for a second that's true (Jenna Coleman having tweeted out that she'd wrapped filming on the Christmas Special last week), I did feel good about Clara and the Doctor trying to mend fences before parting ways. It shows a depth of maturity both on the part of the characters and the writer that they would want to do that at all - and not just stomp off in separate directions like a two-year-old throwing a fit and calling it "drama." And, in a sense, Clara and the Doctor do spend some time separated and it seems to do them both good.

I loved Clara and Maisie locked in the room. It was good for Clara to air out some grievances with a third party, honestly. It reminded me a little bit of last week's episode of Once Upon a Time where Emma finally gets to talk openly about her fears and hesitation of being the Savior of Storybrooke and having powers and admitting to Elsa that she has no idea what she's doing or why. And Elsa listens because (A) she has a similar experience and (B) she's not from Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest and she's not dependent on Emma's Savior-ing gig like everyone else is. Same thing here with Clara - she's talked to the Doctor and she's talked to Danny, but those two are deeply involved in this whole situation and it's probably hard for her to be fully honest with them because of that attachment. But here's Maisie - someone Clara just met and connected with (Clara's really good at that) and Maisie's been through some tough stuff too. And she helps Clara sort out her feelings about traveling with the Doctor. On the flip side, Clara helps Maisie sort out her guilt at maybe having killed her grandmother because she wished her dead so many times - and she died due to supernatural (it seems) circumstances. Honestly, that whole conversation just felt right. Two near-strangers bonding over their problems with people close to them, helping each other work it out with a fresh perspective that both are able to give.

(I also loved that Maisie said she didn't think that the Doctor was just "some man." Because he's not the dopey guy from down the hall that you befriend because you don't have anything else to do. He's the freaking Doctor! He's a Time Lord that can travel in space and time and have awesome adventures! He's not something that two women have to avoid talking about so as to pass some arbitrary feminist test that tells you if a piece of fiction is worth your time or not! Tell Old Lady Bechdel to put that in her pipe and smoke it).

(Quick Tangent - Whenever I hear the Bechdel Test being brought up in any serious critical discussion of fiction, I just want to throw things. It's a piece of garbage and it ruins everything I love. Someday, I'll chronicle why I think using it is unnecessary and problematic, reducing interesting and intriguing individuals as merely a census box to be ticked in order to claim diversity so you can say have that all-important "representation" in your story - whether or not you're story's actually any good. *so sick of these stupid buzzwords* But I digress - I'd rather want to focus on happier things, so on with the review!)

The mystery of the mummy is pretty straightforward, as Doctor Who plots tend to go. The Doctor does his sciencey thingummy and solves the problem by turning the problem on himself. And keeping in tradition with the Twelfth Doctor, he has to lie in order for this to work. But just when you think that Maisie is being offered up as bait - the Doctor deflects it away from her so he can see the mummy in order to study it. At least, that's what he says he's doing. Personally, I think this is a turn in a new direction - just like in "Closing Time," the Doctor was reminded that he still is a good man and that he does do good things and just because he had one bad adventure doesn't mean that nobody wants to be around him anymore.

Mystery solved (another thing with soldiers - all right then) and the Doctor and Clara are out on a beach. And we actually get a rational, calm discussion of the Whys and Wherefores of how the Doctor does his thing. That he really is just pulling this stuff out of nowhere and hoping that it works, even if it probably won't and don't get your hopes up kid because it might not. Twelve is a guy that's seen some pretty tough stuff (Trenzalore, anyone?) and, like Eleven said clear at the beginning of the season - he's gonna need some help. Even when he does crappy things and pushes the limits of Clara's patience. And Clara - some part of her still needs the Doctor as well. Even with Danny Pink calling to see if she's done the "breakup" thing with the Doctor and is she on her way home? (oh... that's going to be a problem later, isn't it?) And while she has every intention of doing so - she changes her mind last minute and decides that she is still addicted to this traveling thing and she's going to keep going with the Doctor. And the fence is mended - though there is still some potential for issues later (man, why can't the Doctor and Danny just be friends? I mean - they both care about Clara. Just in different ways. Argh! Stupid boys... sometimes I just wanna...)

Some Things I Liked/Noticed - 
- The music cues sounded a lot like the music from "Pyramids of Mars" (and I only picked up on that because we watched that for Friday Night Who last night).

- Also - I said something similar about the Doctor's bedside manner on Twitter during Friday Night Who last night. Uncanny.

- The Doctor's dressing up like his first incarnation (minus the checked trousers, but we can't have everything) and that makes me happy. Similarly, I loved Clara's flapper look. She rocked the 1920s bob cut like nobody's business.

- "Where would we all be if we followed our job descriptions?"

- "Life would be so much simpler if you liked the right people - the people you're supposed to like. But then I guess there's be no fairy tales."

- "Hatred is a strong emotion to waste on someone you don't like."

- "Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones - but you still have to choose." (There were some wonderful lines in this episode. Can we keep Jamie Mathieson in the writer rotation? I like him very much).

- From the moment the Doctor called Clara to bring Maisie to the lab area until the end, I was drawn into the story. I completely forgot to take notes during that time. Not sorry at all.

I said it on Twitter and I'll say it again now - Yes to everything from "Mummy on the Orient Express." Just the palate cleanser we needed at this point in the season. It's perfectly placed after angst and intense drama to give us that lift we all needed (I said the same thing about "Robot of Sherwood" - it served a similar purpose, but in a different way). Keep balancing out the storytelling like this and I think I'll keep this show around for a litt

And I just want to end this review with a callback to "Closing Time." Because I'm just in that type of mood right now. And it makes me happy.

The Five(ish) Fangirls Episode #17 - Storybrooke Goes Frozen

(I've neglected to put these up here the past few weeks - I'll fix that later).

Continuing our celebration of Fall Premiere Season, the Five(ish) Fangirls tackle the Season 4 premiere of Once Upon a Time "A Tale of Two Sisters" - which introduced Frozen to the show as well as a slew of other plot threads and storylines this season promises to weave into its already-intricate plot. Laughter and smiles and fun abounds, as well as some well-placed tears - but not necessarily from who you think.

Also, news of the week - Doctor Who Big Finish fans say goodbye to a beloved companion, we welcome back an old online favorite, a familiar face from the Marvel Cinematic Universe joins Agent Carter on the small screen, and a hometown Comic Con asks for fan input!

Complete show notes and mp3 download of the episode can be found here.

A Force That's Powerful and Strange

Recap/Review of Once Upon a Time Episode 4.02 "White Out" - Spoilers!

Okay - I might have a better handle on how to review these episodes. Hang with me here...

This episode returns to tried and true method of Once focus on a few characters at a time per episode, rather than the whirlwind premiere/finale tradition of dealing with everybody's stories at once. This go-round, the episode focuses on a power outage and a wall of ice plaguing present-day Storybrooke and flashbacks of Anna's continued journey through the Enchanted Forest.  Also, there were Feels Aplenty. From many of the usual suspects, of course (Hook and Emma are determined to kill me this season, I swear), but also some surprising sources as well (we'll get there).

Anna and Charming

Except it isn't Charming. Not yet, anyway. The press releases teased Anna meeting up with David as a shepherd, long before he became a prince and met Snow. And he and his mother are dealing with an evil overlord named... Bo Peep.

(Everyone, welcome to Once Upon a Time).

Turns out, Anna inspires Charming to stand up to Bo Peep, who is actually quite a convincing villain (I had my doubts before I actually saw the episode, I admit). I mean, the costume says "cute little shepherdess," but the attitude says "I'm seriously going to kill you if you don't pay up, kid." And, oddly enough, Charming is a real pushover. And there are reasons for it - reasons that I'm glad the show got to explore here. I can't remember the last time we had anything that dealt with Charming on his own - without Snow. I mean, Snow's great - don't get me wrong. But there's a lot more to the backstory in the Enchanted Forest than Regina and Snow's feud with each other.

And here - Anna actually teaches Charming how to swordfight (yeah, I know about Charming's metal hair band hair - just go with it. He was buds with Kristoff once, apparently). And I love that episode didn't make a big deal out of being a girl teaching a man how to fight - that it was simply one person having a particular skill set teaching that skill set to another person who needed to learn. It wasn't all that "Girl Powaaa!" nonsense that often gets in the way of a good story. Besides, that wouldn't fit in with Anna's character of helping others simply because it's the right thing to do and never mind the danger. It's one of the most refreshing things about Once Upon a Time. There's no agenda, no crappy message, no shoehorned statement - just telling wonderful stories with very real and personable characters.

Storybrooke



(Elsa's ice barrier reminded me of the Midway Ice Castles, which are actually not far from where I live - makes me wonder if the Once FX crew took some inspiration from there. Or if it's just random coincidence. But, anything to use The Piano Guys in a blog post, right?)

Elsa, upon discovering her sister may be in Storybrooke, puts up ice walls all around the town which also knock out the power - vowing that nobody gets in or out of town until she finds Anna. But before that, over at Casa de Charming - Henry is packing up a care basket for Regina. Chocolate, red wine (how a minor got hold of that... never mind), a movie - and he's heading over to help her through this whole breakup with Robin Hood. And... I knew this was going to be a feelsy episode - but I didn't quite realize that Henry of all people was going to get this Feels Fest started this early! It got even worse when a raven comes by with a message telling Henry not to come over that night. And poor Henry - who is only trying to help and who is the one person that would probably actually have some success in getting Regina out of this funk - is completely torn up about his mom pushing him away.

(won't lie - I got choked up at that one).

Emma tries to console Henry at Granny's, but the kid will not be consoled (don't blame him) and that's when the blackout hits ("blackout" - "White Out" - oohhhhhh I get it now!) David radios to Emma that he's going to check it out and Emma asks Henry to come along, saying he could call it Operation Nightshade or some such - but nothing doing (HENRY!!! D: Look, this was a distressing thing for me - Henry's the heart and soul of this show and when he's hurting... that just ain't right!)

Beware the Frozen Heart

Emma and David head out to the town line and, yup, it's the wall of ice that did the thing. And who should show up out of the shadows, but Hook, who's evidently been checking things out on his own (and who Emma must have called en route, even though we didn't see it - eh, it'll be on the DVD deleted scenes, I'm sure. Or fanfic writers will make it up. Either way...) And there is just a wonderful little exchange where Hook calls this their second date - because the snow monster was the first date. He's got to count all the life-threatening escapades because they'd probably never get through a quiet dinner together. And what I love about this is that I can't tell if he's just being his usual sarcastic self or if he's masking something else that's cutting a little deeper (or if I'm just reading too much into it). Regardless, Emma's clearly still not ready for any relationship stuff yet (but bonus points for David breaking in to sort of try the "That's my daughter - what are your intentions" talk, but Hook - as usual - has some pretty great lines there. Bless Jane Espenson forever for that. Actually - bless her for this whole damn episode. Many fandoms consider her the High Queen Empress of genre TV writing and I'm starting to see why).

So, Emma goes to get a closer look at the ice wall and she meets Elsa. And Elsa is scared/mad as hell and she's not listening to anything Emma's going to say that doesn't have to do with giving up Anna's whereabouts (like Emma knows where she is). Elsa's powers go nuts for a minute and she seals herself and Emma in the ice wall. Elsa's still trying to bluff her way through this whole thing and get somebody - anybody at all - to find her sister. Problem is, Emma's slowly freezing to death in the ice cave (it's not a problem for Elsa because, well, the cold never bothered her. Yes, friends, that line was actually in the episode).

And - oh man - Charming and Hook's desperation to get Emma out of there. I mean, Hook's out of his mind with worry - trying to chip away at the ice with his hook (I think my heart just about fell to pieces there) - and then he grabs the radio from David when Emma makes contact from inside the ice. Basically, David's got to take charge and think things through clearly. The ice wall was made from magic - they've got to find someone with magic who can help. Which ends up being Rumple - who is (predictably) an ass about the whole thing. And David realizes that he does know Anna from Way Back When (he recognizes the necklace).

Oh - and we meet Bo Peep in Storybrooke. And that encounter was a nice parallel to the Enchanted Forest flashback because David isn't that scared little shepherd kid anymore. And he actually stands up to the woman. Granted, he's come a long way from that time, but it's still a great parallel - doubly great that the show can still find ways to make these parallels, even when the two worlds are so different from each other (yet similar enough).

Back in the ice cave, Emma isn't doing so hot (there's a time and a place for terrible puns, but this ain't it - sorry about that). Elsa tries to keep her awake and talking - in the interim, they find out that they actually have a lot in common. Both have magic that they can't always control. Both have had a lot of responsibilities kind of thrust upon them. They're basically kindred spirits - which, Elsa hasn't had a lot of (and I'm pretty sure Emma's never had that either). Oh, sure - they both have family and people they care about. But it's different when you have a best friend that you can confide in like that. Someone who's been through similar things that you have - who's had the same struggles with accepting yourself and not being afraid to let your true self show, even with the people closest to you.

It's like... last spring, before the whole "Once does Frozen" thing came about, I kept playing "Let It Go" over and over again. And I was continually struck by how much the lyrics just fit with Emma Swan's character. "Let It Go" is not an anthem of "Hey, I've got everything figured out and life is peachy!" "Let It Go" is Elsa basically trying to convince herself (rather defiantly) that she has things under control and she doesn't need anyone in her life because she just makes a mess of it all. It's easier to let your true self show in a way that alienates people, almost. Or that you think you're alienating people. That you believe you're too strange and weird and dangerous and once people see that, they'll leave you alone - that you'll be okay once that happens. And... actually... it doesn't. Even in Frozen - after Elsa's built the ice palace and become the beautiful snow queen - she still paces the floors, trying to control her magic that is clearly not going to be controlled. And it's only after she realizes that she needs to let herself be loved by her sister that she can control her magic. That it's not a threat - it's a gift, even. She says as much to Emma - Elsa needs her sister's unconditional love in order to feel like she can control her powers. And I have a feeling that something similar is going to come into play with Emma (especially since we had that moment where Emma tried to use her own magic to get out and it didn't work - even though last episode, she did use it briefly to try to stop Marshmallow. Though... think about it. Who was standing next to her in that moment? Being encouraging and believing in Emma like he always does? Yup - it was Captain-freaking-Hook. Remind me why I ship Captain Swan again?)

Anyway - Emma's in bad shape. Charming and Hook make it back to the ice wall with (they hope) means of locating Anna. Charming even tells Elsa that he met Anna once and she made a great impact on his life - she taught him things about being brave and standing up against bullies and Elsa is reminded of her sister and she is able to break open the ice cave and get Emma out. What follows is - well, I'm just going to let Tumblr speak for me because... the feels are strong with this one.

(smiles - hugs - hands - relief - David pretty much handing Emma into Hook's arms - I just... yeah - this show you guys. THIS SHOW!)

(The Piano Guys aren't helping in this instance, but I. Do. Not. Care.)

Mayor Mama Snow

By the way - Snow's been unofficially elected as the new mayor since Regina is indisposed at the moment (and because Snow cast the latest curse to bring them into Storybrooke - I guess that's how that works). This whole time, Snow's been trying to get the power back on (no thanks to Grumpy and Granny and Random Dwarf #6). Eventually, Snow gets the generator back up and running - remembering that even generators need to eat (thanks Baby Baelfire - and yes, that's what I'm calling him from now on) and she turns on the fuel line and gets the power back on. Thank goodness for unexpected comic relief (we kinda needed it in this one).

Feels Fest 2014

Hook, David, and Elsa get Emma back to Casa de Charming where Henry's waiting to kill us all with feels and hot chocolate ("I already lost one mom." OH KID COME HERE AND LET ME HUG YOU!) Hook and Emma finish the job with all this ridiculous cuddling and hand holding and looking for all the world like they're the new True Love Couple in town (which, they are). And David has this lovely little speech about how their family never gives up on each other and they always find one another - and then some FREAKING GENIUS in the editing department goes and does THIS to us all after that line.

Folks - I'm blogging to you from the afterlife.

Henry and Regina

And the episode is not done with us yet. Oh no. Because Henry's still got to go after his brunette mom. And emulating his blonde mom's actions of the previous episode, he stands at the door yelling for Regina to let him in because he's not going to give up on her and he wants to see her and he misses his room. So, what does Regina do? She lets him in. Because it's Henry. And I'm dead. Again.

The Snow Queen

PS - There's a Snow Queen in this episode. She owns the ice cream stand in town. And she's played by Elizabeth Mitchell (called it!) But I just don't have the energy to deal with that now. Next week, though.

So - That Happened

Recap/Review of Doctor Who Series 8, Episode 7: "Kill the Moon" - Spoilers!

Well - an episode that's bound to divide fandom. LIKE WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY OF THOSE YET!

I jest, of course (or do I?)

One thing I have loved about Series 8 is that these episodes have been increasingly less about the monsters or alien threats or other sci-fi trappings and more about the characters involved in these adventures. Ultimately, "Kill the Moon" is about how far the Doctor can push Clara and how far she is willing to allow that to happen. I think on one level, Clara realizes that her travels with the Doctor have pushed her to become more than she ever could be as an ordinary person with a job and a social life and that's it. That could be why she does it (why do people do anything, after all?) But what happens when that become too much? Or when Clara is asked to make an uncomfortable choice? Or follow an uncomfortable instruction from the Doctor - whom she loves and trusts?

The Twelfth Doctor is not a comfortable Doctor. Many past incarnations of the Doctor have been thus (the First Doctor was. So was the Sixth. Eight had some frightening moments in Big Finish. Even the precious Fourth Doctor had his spiky moments. And lest I forget - even my dear Fivey had periods of ruthlessness. So, this is not new). And I think we've forgotten that in the New Series (hell, even the New Series Doctors have pulled this crap. Time Lord Victorious, anyone?) The Doctor's moral code is not humanity's moral code (though there is some overlap, to be sure). The Doctor is not always your bestest-best-bud who's going to take you on lovely little outings for picnics in the park and tell you you're a darling child. He's doing his own thing in his own way and not a care for what his human companions think - you'd just better sit down, shut up, and do what he tells you to do. At the same time - he's conflicted by this. The overarching theme of "Am I a Good Man?" is the Doctor trying to map out his morality alongside the morality he's acquired from being around humans so much. And sometimes, that leads to disaster.

So, you have all these story elements that you want to include in a story. And you need some kind of impetus to make this scenario happen. How best do you go about doing this?

By making the moon into an egg, of course!

While all of the Fandom Intellectual Eliterati have been worrying themselves silly over the nuances and implications and intense discomfort they feel over this story (quelle horreur!) - I heard the line "The moon is an egg" and my expression has been something like this ever since:

So - forgive me if my reaction is more lukewarm than most others. Because... the moon is an egg. This information will assist you in enjoying the rest of my thoughts here.

When the cold open starts with Clara begging Earth to help her save an innocent life - I thought it was Courtney who would be in danger (I swore I saw her in a promo - and, yep, I was right). But no... she was standing there next to Clara when the shot pulled back. After the opening titles played and we find the Doctor (not in his Caretaker uniform) walking the halls of Coal Hill with Clara and discussing Courtney's self-esteem problems, I was kind of all "Well - that came out of no where." The last time we saw Courtney, she was tossing her cookies on the TARDIS from being space-and-time-travel sick (is that a thing? I guess it is now). Was the inclusion of Courtney a red herring? Or was it vital to reminding Clara of her life on Earth and her responsibility to her job and her students? I tend to think the latter, personally.

Random astronauts - yeah, don't really care about them either way. Beyond them being an intro to the story and the plot. Also - don't the events of "Kill the Moon" almost negate "The Waters of Mars" in some way? Like, this is ten years (wait - *does math* yup) before the fixed point of Bowie Base One happens. And here is ANOTHER fixed point in time that has implications about humanity's eventual trek out into space? Well - I can buy that. The Doctor saying that time is in flux and everything's getting jumbled about kind of fixes that.

But guys -  THE MOON IS AN EGG!! I just don't know where to go beyond that. Like - HOW do you not notice that in years and years of watching the skies and other assorted space exploration? I just... I don't know what to say about it. It's almost like a Big Lipped Alligator Moment, except the rest of the episode hinges on it, so it's not like they don't mention it again. (and how does bacteria grow into being monster alien spiders??) But still it's... THE MOON IS AN EGG YOU GUYS!!

I seriously... I've got nothin'.

Fast forward to the end. Clara is (understandably) pissed that the Doctor up and left her and Courtney to make this humongous decision in the midst of this terribly dangerous situation (at this point, it doesn't matter what the situation is - I'm ignoring the details for now because they just make me go "WHAAAA???") And Clara pulls a Tegan Jovanka - she calls him out on his bullshit and leaves the TARDIS. And, also like Tegan at the end of "Resurrection of the Daleks," she has second thoughts about her choice to leave the Doctor, but by then it's too late to change her mind (or is it?? Jenna Coleman recently tweeted out about wrapping up filming on the Christmas Special, so who knows?) And Danny, just like he promised, is there to help Clara make sense of her decision. He is supportive and helpful and honest and probably the best person for Clara right now (I adore Danny Pink, just so you're aware). And we leave, wondering when and if Clara will return to the Doctor - and if the Doctor is going to clean up his act and start behaving better. Or if he'll still be a pretentious jerk like he has been to this point in Series 8 - maybe mend his ways a little bit. Take this twist of Clara walking out as a wake-up call that he'd better shape up or else.

I guess we'll find out next week. In the meantime... the moon is an egg.

(still not over it)

There's Beauty and There's Danger Here

Recap/Review of Once Upon A Time, Episode 4.01 "A Tale of Two Sisters" - Spoilers!

I was kind of on the fence of whether I wanted to do actual reviews of Once Upon a Time like I do some of my other favorite shows - mostly because my reaction to Once often falls somewhere between "OMG - THEY DID NOT!" and frantic fangirl keysmashing on Tumblr. And I tend to ramble on where Once is concerned (that's an understatement...) But... I figured if I can't do that frantic fangirling on my own blog, then where can I do it? Plus, Tumblr seems to be the place where I just agree with the stuff that I agree with and ignore the crap that I don't. And that leaves little room for my own reactions and interpretations. So, we're going to see how this goes.

Before I really get into the meat of my review, I've got to talk Frozen a little bit. I've made little secret about how much I adore Frozen. Not since the Disney movies of my youth (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King - just to name the main ones) have I been this excited about any Disney movie. That's not to say things like Tangled and The Princess and the Frog haven't been good. But Frozen - man, that one made me think about the story. I was thinking about it for days afterward! It was one of those things that me think that, yeah hundreds and thousands of people have seen it and loved it, but it felt like it was made just for me. Especially Elsa. I was just so drawn to her story and her challenges and I wanted to know more about her (which, I've also been honest about the fact that I feel like the movie didn't give enough time over to her personal backstory - even though Elsa's problems are what start the story of the movie going forward). Hell, I even wrote a little drabbly fanfiction about Elsa after I came home from the movie! As time went on and I got thinking more - maybe Elsa's internal fight with herself is a little too dark for a Disney animated movie. Which is a shame, because there is some great storytelling potential here.

Then Once Upon a Time came out with the idea of putting Frozen in their universe. And I was all "Well OF COURSE they'd do that!" Because if there's one thing that Once excels at (okay, there are several things, but we'll get there), it's giving all these classic fairy tale characters depth. And while the Frozen story already had a great deal of depth - there was so much room for more. But Once already had a great springboard to start from with this story, so why not do it?

I talked about this in my last Doctor Who review - some of my favorite storytelling involves taking madcap fantastical stories about aliens and wizards and fairies and pirates and making those characters feel like they could be real people. I suppose it's a no-brainer (at least, it ought to be), but that's the kind of stuff I simply adore. And it's what Once does so well

And with this being a season premiere, there was a LOT that this episode had to accomplish. Fans have spent four months wondering and theorizing what was going to happen next - there's the question of how Frozen fits in so you have to account for that. But also - what about the regular main characters? (hold onto that thought for a minute). It felt like this episode had to be all things to all people - and maybe possibly bring in an audience that before now had only a passing interest in the show - maybe if there wasn't anything else on. Tall order for one episode.

So... how did they do? Speaking as a fan (and if there are any first-timers who want to comment, feel free to do so) - I think they did a damn good job!

First off - the burning question everyone wants to know (heh - "burning") - How did they do with translating Frozen into the Once-verse? In a word - Spot-on (okay, that might actually be two words). And it starts at the very beginning. With a scene that, quite honestly, I didn't know I wanted until I actually saw it. With Elsa and Anna's parents on the ship in the storm that killed them. Setting up a plot thread that (we later find out) is going to go through the entire story arc - the queen is frantically trying to send a message in hopes that it'll get back to Arendelle, telling the girls why they left in the first place. Given what happens later on, I could probably spend and entire blog post screaming WHY DIDN'T YOU DO THAT BEFORE YOU LEFT??? at these two (look, I know they love their daughters and want them to be happy and stuff - but sometimes, I question their parenting choices. And I realize I'm saying this speaking as not being a parent in any way, but whatever). And there's one shot that actually shocked me - the moment when the ship actually goes down looks EXACTLY like the shot in the animated movie. And this wasn't the first time that happened - because the next scene is Arendelle five years later and Anna and Elsa are visiting their parents' gravestones. Which also look just like they did in the movie. And the costumes look just like the did in the movie. And the casting - holy cow - the casting! I mean, you're never going to make real life people look like animated characters. But as a real life interpretation of animated characters? Um - yeah. Georgina Haig and Elizabeth Lail. Elsa and Anna. They got it. Perfectly spot-on (I'm going to be using that a lot, aren't I?)

Well - as much as the marketing has advertised it, this isn't the Frozen show. And we need to see the scene that we've all been anxious to see since May - the fallout from Hook and Emma's Back to the Future homage (still my favorite thing ever, by the way). Emma saved Maid Marian when she should have been killed by Regina in the Enchanted Forest, Regina is now dating Robin Hood except now Robin's heretofore dead wife is no longer dead - and, yeah, this is a sticky situation for all involved (even those involved only tangentially). And, honestly, I could probably write an entire blog post about this single 2-3 minute scene. I mean, people were worried that Regina was suddenly going to revert back to Evil Queen Out For Revenge - Henry (dear Henry) even voiced his own worries about that. Emma tries to apologize for what her actions did to Regina - but NOT for saving someone's life (that's an important distinction to make). Marian (understandably) is confused as hell about why everyone is treating Regina like a friend - or at least an ally - and yelling about how Regina is this terrible monster and how can Robin be involved with Regina.

And Regina - oh boy - there is one small moment that encapsulates Regina's mindset just perfectly. It's when Marian is calling Regina a monster - Regina takes a tiny step forward and her hand moves as though she's going to perform some incineration spell. Her face is twisted in anger and you actually think for a moment that she's going to do it. But then... she steps back. And she doesn't give in to that temptation to fry Marian on the spot. And that one tiny moment, I think, sets the tone for the kind of Regina we're going to get this season. She's not the vengeful Evil Queen anymore. She is certainly no less powerful or cunning - but the anger that fuels her power has been softened by the experiences she's had in being a good guy. She's learned how to love - she's learned how to love her son, she's learned how to love Robin, she's even learned how to care about the people she once hated (that heart-to-heart she and Mary Margaret had in Season 3 about Cora - yeah, that made an impact. Don't try to tell me it didn't). Good grief - she used light magic to beat Zelena when by all accounts there was no way that she could ever do that! And as the episode progresses, you really see that this is a different side of Regina. She's still so much the same character, but she is in a place that she's never been. And she's going to react to this situation in a very unique way (as least, compared to how she's done in the past).

(Wow. Not even ten minutes in. Told you this would be long and involved).

What other fallout do we have to deal with? (I'm saving the best for last - since the episode did that too). Rumple and Belle are on their honeymoon - but before they can get started, they take a short detour to Neal's grave. If you think about it, Rumple never got to pay his respects after his son's death (which is really heartbreaking) - but that gives us a chance for this very tender scene. But it's not just yet another chance for Once to kill us with feels. Because one of the Big Questions the finale left us with is - Rumple gave Belle a fake dagger and what's going to happen when she finds out about that? Well, turns out that Rumple only switched the daggers in order to avenge Neal's death. Which... doesn't make his actions any less problematic. But the fact that he wants to give the real one back and the fact that he intended to hang onto it only for that one thing... yeah, it's still a problem. But not as bad as we initially thought it was (still a problem - I will never say that it's not!) So, when they get to this ~*~mysterious mansion~*~ out in the forest that no one seems to live in (but it's fully furnished and looks rather well-cared for - hmmmm... okay, we'll go with it for now) - Rumple switches back the daggers when Belle is temporarily time-locked (okay, fine - this is life with the Dark One. We're just going to have to get used to it). After sparing a moment to look at this mysterious ornate and obviously magical object sitting on an end table - Belle and Rumple get their first dance as a married couple. In the most nostalgic and beautiful scene that Once has given us (and how many of those has this show had?) - we get a straight-up tribute to the famous ballroom scene from Beauty and the Beast. For no other reason than they could do it. Costumes, music, everything! And, lemme tell you, seven-year-old me was giggling with joy at that (oh hell, twenty-nine-year-old me was giggling with joy at that - it's one of the best Disney moments ever! If you can do something like that - why wouldn't you??)

Source

And, finally, we come to the fallout from that other huge thing that happened at the end of Season 3. Yes, friends - the episode FINALLY gets around to checking in on how the good ship Captain Swan is faring. And... okay, yeah - it's not the typical Happily Ever After that we're used to seeing (and, really, if you look back at Snow and Charming during Season 1 - it took them a while to get there too. Now, they're the most stable couple on the show! So - don't worry about it). Emma is, understandably, not doing well with the idea that she ruined Regina's life with Robin. Plus, she's not really sure how to do a romantic relationship. But she can do the Savior of Storybrooke thing - so that's where she's going to bury herself until she figures out what exactly what this whole thing with Hook is. Thing is... she clearly wants to try to figure it out by herself. And Hook, being the tenacious and determined guy he is (especially where Emma is concerned) - yeah, there ain't no way that's going to happen. And he's right behind her - just like he was all of last season - to remind her that he's definitely not going to leave her to do any of this alone. And if there are any quiet moments to be had in the meantime - well, take them while they're there. It's almost a direct repeat of the scene last year after the team got back from Neverland and Charming tells Emma that she can't just live her life looking for the next fight - that she has to take advantage of the good moments and live in them because what else are you even fighting for? (and even in this, Hook and Charming are in accord. And you can't help but love that).

Sure enough - the town crier, Grumpy, comes running in to alert the Savior that there's a new threat to Storybrooke. Emma's back in Savior Mode - and Hook's right there with her (*fangirl squee*) - following this strange trail of ice that's just randomly wandering through the town. Because Elsa - who Hook inadvertently let out of Rumple's vault (so, Emma's not the only one that brought back an unexpected visitor - wonder how long it'll take them to figure that out) - has been taking in her new surroundings and she is scared out of her mind. And what happens when Elsa gets scared? She reacts with her magic. She's already frozen Grumpy and Sleepy's truck out on the road, there's an ice trail following her around (and I love the attention to detail about that - even in the background when it's somewhat out of focus behind Elsa, you can see this shiny strip of where the ice is supposed to be). And, mirroring what happened in Arendelle when Elsa's powers were revealed, Utter Chaos ensues in Storybrooke. Emma and Hook follow the ice trail to a fenced-off vacant lot (at least, that's what I thought it was) (and here I must pause to fangirl flail over those two pretty much working in tandem together because - YES I AM HERE FOR THAT!) - they look around a little bit, trying to figure out who's back there. And Elsa, hiding behind a pile of random stuff, creates a giant snow monster akin to Marshmallow from the movie. And here - I was cheering out loud. You know the love that most people have for Olaf? That's the kind of love I have for Marshmallow (I would buy plushies of Marshmallow if I knew where to get them). And when set reports started coming out from filming that there was a scene with a snow monster in Storybrooke, I wanted it so much to be Marshmallow. And yup - it was Marshmallow! Who looked amazing in CGI - and you all know how much (or little, actually) I care about CGI in anything. But I really loved it here!

Speaking of CGI - Grand Pabbie back in Arendelle. Oh wow - just - yes! They actually did it! they made the animated Rock Troll character look like the character from the movie and it still fit in with the rest of the visuals. And having John Rhys-Davies and the voice of Grand Pabbie does not hurt in the slightest (oh no indeed!) But that brings me to why Grand Pabbie is here at all - Anna and Elsa, it turns out, discover that there might be more to their parents' voyage that killed them. They might have found something to do with Elsa's magic and a way to help her cope with it (and why they didn't tell her BEFORE they left... ugh. Seriously - HISHE had the right of it with these two. Once has a long way to go toward redeeming them in my eyes. Which they may still do - not counting anything out at this point). So, the day before Anna and Kristoff's wedding - Anna treks out (in her mother's wedding dress - oh Anna, what are we going to do with you?) to the Rock Trolls to ask Grand Pabbie what he knows about their parents' journey. All Pabbie knows, sadly, is that they were heading out to a place called Mist Haven (all right - new fairy tale locations! Except it's not new - it's actually the Enchanted Forest. Well... fine then). Anna gets it in her head that she just has to go to Mist Haven to find out what this is all about. On her own. Without anybody's help. ON THE DAY BEFORE HER WEDDING!!

Though that probably isn't as bad as
Anna wearing her wedding dress out in the forest
(gif source)

Elsa gets the truth of Anna's plans out of Kristoff, but by that time, Anna's long gone. And Kristoff, bless him, he's so awkward and loving and earnest in his affections toward Anna that he happily stays behind because Anna doesn't want Elsa to be alone while Anna's gone (even though Anna has a lot of problems in her logic - leaving the day before her wedding?? I ask you...) But that's just like Anna from the movie - doing things that don't make a whole lot of sense to everyone else, but because it means her sister's happiness - yeah, she's off and running!

Back in Storybrooke, Marshmallow's headed out to the forest and Emma, Hook, and Charming are after the creature as well. They've already figured out that the creature only attacks if it's threatened (perfect extension of Elsa, of course). Thing is - nobody has any way to calm the creature down. All anyone can do is attack it. Emma even tries her magic and that doesn't work. Marshmallow knocks everyone out and they are down for the count.

Except Marian. And Regina. Who kind of materialized out of the forest like the badass queen she is. After having spent a good deal of the episode plotting with Sidney Glass - her old magic mirror/propaganda peddler in Storybrooke who is clearly still enamored of his old flame (oh man, this isn't going to bring all that back is it? Hopefully Regina's look of distaste as Sidney's suggested methods for dealing with Marian means that it's not), Regina seems to have decided that it would be better if she was seen being kind of Marian, rather than antagonistic. Especially since Robin, who clearly still loves Regina, also still feels an obligation to be faithful to his not-dead-wife (that sounds like she's a zombie. Once Upon a Time, everyone) - and can Regina be anything less than honorable in this situation? So - rather than let Marshmallow stomp Marian flat, Regina steps in and destroys the snow monster (RIP Marshmallow) and saves everyone. Emma tries to go after Regina, just to talk and try to explain things, but Regina poofs out of there.

And here we go, Captain Swan fans - because this is what we've been teased for all these long months! That Emma has a long way to go until she can truly feel like she deserves a happy relationship, even though, yes, this is something she wants. But she's just not quite sure how to go about having it (she's had plenty of experience with unhappy relationships, though). And while we're used to seeing her push away the people who care about her - including Hook - it's so refreshing to see Emma reach out and be honest with how she feels (with a little coaxing, but that's all right. Right?). Emma's the one who initiates the really soft, tender kiss (though she did initiate the one at the end of last season, come to think of it) before she asks Hook to "be patient" and leaves to go take care of something. And if there's anything that Killian Jones knows how to do, it's be patient (you have to feel for the guy - at some point, his patience is going to run out. But maybe it's that 300 years in Neverland that does something - heck, I don't know!) Anyway - it's a sweet and short little scene - but it definitely promises at great things (and likely painful things, let's be honest here) to come for my favorite ship. And I would be lying if I said I hadn't watched that one scene at the end at least four or five times (probably up to ten by the time I finally post this).

The heartwrenching continues. Because if we still weren't convinced that Once Upon a Time parallels with Frozen - we get the moment where Emma goes to see Regina at the mayor's office. Regina is curled up against the door, not letting anyone in - Emma is on the other side, promising that, as the Savior, she is going to bring back everyone's happy endings. Including Regina's. This, paired with the final flashback scene of Arendelle with Elsa and Kristoff watching Anna's ship sail away to Mist Haven (the Enchanted Forest - to-may-toe, to-mah-toe) - and the promised theme of "Never giving up on the ones you love," I'm pretty sure we've got the running theme of Season 4 down pretty well.

Also - Regina wants to find the writer of Henry's fairy tale book. Because she believes that because she's a villain in the book, she's always going to be the villain and she's never going to have a happy ending (which kind of begs the question - we've got three anti-villains in Once: the Evil Queen, Rumplestiltskin, and Captain Hook. All three have shown both heroic and villainous tendencies, all three are working toward happy endings to one degree or another - does that mean that Regina wants to chuck all that out the window? I mean, I know she's hurting... but if anything - and I mean anything - derails Hook and Emma right now, I'm going to go apeshit on somebody. But perhaps that's another discussion for another day). So, Regina - she wants to find the person who wrote the book that, she thinks, forces her to lose out on her happiness - that she is simply a static character without any agency or autonomy of her own. When, honestly, nothing could be further from the truth! (look, I know Regina's hurting right now. I'm hurting for her too. And at least she's backed off the the of screwing around with time travel. I mean, we saw how much of a bad idea that was).

(Though the question of who wrote the book is a really cool one - something I thought we'd never see. At least, not at this point in the story. But let's go with it).

Just for one more mystery (that may or may not be connected to the book) - the scene cuts to Rumple at the mansion in the middle of the night checking out that odd little trinket box he was so interested in earlier. He steals back the dagger (all for a good cause, right Rumple?) and activates the box to reveal - a pretty good live-action rendition of the wizard's hat from The Sorcerer's Apprentice as seen in Fantasia.

Well, if you ever wondered how they'd work Mickey Mouse into Once Upon a Time...

To close out, Elsa's discovered that Rumplestiltskin is in this strange new place she's found herself in (wedding announcements on the front page? Eh, it's Mr. Gold. He still owns the town, I guess) and he tracks him down to the pawn shop. That, wonder of wonders, also has Anna's necklace that Elsa gave her. Which could mean several things - Anna got swept up in the Curse (first or second - doesn't really matter), she's being kept prisoner by Rumple, or... something else I haven't thought of yet. And, judging by the "Next Week" promo - yeah, Elsa's going to be more than a little pissed. She already didn't take too kindly to being called a monster (granted, that was Grumpy's big mouth - and he was talking about Marshmallow) - and now she thinks someone's got her beloved baby sister captured? Gold, you get your dagger-swapping backside

Other Things I Liked -  (as if this wasn't long enough)

- "Maybe we should have named him Baelfire." Too late Charming, you already got your graduation certificate in the mail.

- I didn't talk a whole lot about it, but Robin coming to talk to Regina - very obviously torn up about what's happened. And... maybe we're getting a Robin Hood episode this season? *crosses fingers and toes*

- Give the reindeer playing Sven a Emmy - his reactions were perfectly hilarious!

- Of all the dwarves to make the designated driver, the one notorious for falling asleep at random times would NOT be my first choice (but that's just me).

- New Drinking Game - Take a drink every time Hook and/or Emma roll their eyes at something stupid someone else does (even if it's directed at the other).

- Elsa's snow flurries that appeared when she was scared or upset. Nice touch.

- Henry wasn't in the episode much (there was a lot to cover, kid!) But I love that he hung back to call Regina when she wasn't answering Emma's calls. Wonder if he ever got through...

- The entire Netflix scene. Hook - you're a lovesick dork and I love you for it!

And before I totally lose my audience (bless you for sticking around this long) here's the "Next Week" promo (I'm not going to make it) -



I'm off to see if Fantasia's on Netflix. It's been forever since I've seen it...

(and...it's not. Well, fine then...)

Hey! Teacher! Leave Those Kids Alone!

Recap/Review of Doctor Who, Series 8 Episode 6: "The Caretaker" - SPOILERS!

Well... I didn't get that Ian Chesterton cameo (rats!) Other than that - this was a lovely episode.

One thing that I've noticed people getting a bit miffed about in recent Doctor Who is that the monsters seem to be taking a back seat to the characters and their stories. To me, that's actually one of the great strengths of the show, particularly in the Steven Moffat-era. Not that I wasn't interested in the characters in the Russell T Davies years, but Moffat's characters seem to be even more real. Especially juxtaposed next to the utterly bonkers adventures that they find themselves in. It's one of the things that I adore about fantasy and science fiction in general - when the stories are so steeped in the fantastical, but the characters still feel like they could be real people (even when one is an alien with two hearts and eyebrows that are threatening to declare independence from the rest of his face. Sorry, Scotland - I had to throw that in there).

By design, "The Caretaker" is meant to show us Clara trying to balance her real life with her Doctor life. Even more than Amy and Rory got the chance to do in "The Power of Three" (which, that is one of my all-time favorite episodes with the Ponds) - because we are essentially in the middle of Clara's story with the Doctor (at least, I hope so *not saying nothing - stupid rumor mill*). She is going on all these madcap adventures, but in the meantime she's got a job and a guy that she really likes and a life that she is still figuring out at this stage. And this episode's opening sequence shows that really well - also shows that Danny Pink is most certainly twigging to the fact that this girl that he really likes is also a bit strange. But he goes along with it because, dammit, he really likes her! (and she likes him too).

I enjoy these slice-of-life stories for the companions. I love delving into what traveling with the Doctor does to them and to their loved ones. And I love how creative these kinds of stories have gotten since the 2005 revival. It's not just "my daughter has been missing for a year" anymore. It's "here's my ordinary life - oh, the TARDIS is here! Doctor Time!" and feeling like you have to keep that a secret from the people you care about. Either because it's too weird to try to explain, or because it's too dangerous.

So when the danger invades Clara's very ordinary and safe life at school, what does she do? How does she keep her secrets without alienating Danny or the Doctor. This story is quite unique in that not only has Clara been keeping her Doctor life secret from Danny, but she's also kept the fact that she has a boyfriend secret from the Doctor. I love that aspect of the story - that Clara has these two people that she cares about in very different, but still meaningful, ways and she's essentially had to lie to both of them about various things. And it turns out that those secrets and lies were very unnecessary because both the Doctor and Danny care about her and are willing to listen to her when it comes time for those secrets to be revealed. Not saying that they're particularly happy that she lied, but once the truth is out, it's out. And it's time to deal with it, instead of being angry about Clara having hidden it.

In the end, the alien threat (which I don't even remember its name and it really doesn't matter) only serves to bring the weird space stuff into Clara's normal life and give the Doctor a reason to come to Coal Hill School under his version of "deep cover" (*snort* Right....) And these events move Danny and Clara's relationship further, as evidenced by their conversation at the end - where Danny admits that he wants to help Clara with whatever she needs because he cares about her a lot. But he can't help her if he doesn't know what's going on. To me, that is the best way of showing how two people care about each other. Don't get me wrong - I loved Clara's impassioned "I love him!" in the assembly-room-thing. But Danny's comment that he wants Clara to tell him if something in her life with the Doctor goes wrong because, as a soldier, he's used to dealing with officer-type guys and he wants Clara to be safe and happy was just as important and meaningful. And it gave me the warm fuzzy feels and I will never say no to that! :)

Other Things I Liked - 

- Of course, anything with the Doctor and Clara is going to be wonderful (Peter and Jenna are just so good together!) I think my favorite was the whole Jane Austen bit where Clara goes off about how the Doctor must have met Jane while she was writing Pride and Prejudice and they went off on holiday together and met Buddy Holly and whatever else, but then the Doctor just says that he read the bio at the back of the book that said that Jane Austen had written the book in 1796 (or whatever the date was).

- Courtney Woods - I thought she had potential as a companion, but then she really didn't. Do we count her with Adam as a failed companion? (Your Mileage May Vary)

- "I'm a disruptive influence." "Nice to meet you. Now get lost."

- Sooooo... soldiers can't teach math, Doctor? You're just going to ignore Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart teaching math at a boys' school in "Mawdryn Undead," then?

- I've heard people be upset about the new version of the opening theme tune. I admit I hadn't given it much thought, but this week I decided to pay attention to it. Honestly, it's fine. I don't mind it. People just need something to whine about, I guess.

- I love how the Doctor gets all serious when Clara asks him point blank if the kids in the school are safe.

- Do all British schools have a giant chess board? Or is that just Hogwarts and Coal Hill?

- The Doctor assumes Clara's boyfriend is the Matt Smith lookalike with the bowtie. Bless.

That's about all I've got for this week. Great, fun little story. Gave us some wonderful character relationship stuff. Just a very enjoyable episode. I wanna watch it again!

Who Saves the Savior?

Review/Recap of Sailor Moon Crystal, Act 6: Tuxedo Mask - SPOILERS!

This review is going to be a bit different. Rather than go through and do a blow-by-blow analysis, there is one particular scene I want to focus on because there is so much packed into it (and the rest of the stuff is kind of secondary anyway - no less important to the overall story, but this one bit really stuck out to me. I love it when that happens) -

Actually - the seeds for this were sown at the end of Act 5 where Luna gives Sailor Moon the Moon Stick and says "You - Leader! Act like it!" And it kind of continues throughout this episode with the scenes in the arcade after hours. Luna’s giving the girls the whole “Your mission in life is to fight the Silver Crystal and guard the princess. There’s more to the story, but you’re only going to get bits and pieces of this until a certain unspecified time.” And there’s a secret compartment under the arcade that serves as a secret base and the Sailor V game is part of it (that oughta please the rabid nit-pickers. But of course it won’t so forget I even mentioned it). Ami, Rei, and Makoto are in awe of this random secret base under the thing - but Usagi... well, remember how at the end of Act 5 Luna dropped the whole “Hey, you - Leader!” thing on her? She’s still processing it. She’s still in complete and utter shock of that revelation.

Because the genre deems it so - stop fighting this

And Usagi - bless her - is not doing well with this information.

The idea that Tuxedo Mask could be their enemy doesn't sit well either. I'll get there.

And here I must back up for a bit and discuss my current mindset. For that is the lens through which I am watching Sailor Moon Crystal. At the beginning of this year, I was semi-involved in a business deal that, had it gone through, would have made me the manager (of sorts) of a huge chunk of our family’s business. This is what a lot of people in my age and situation are hankering for, right? This is what women in general have fought and campaigned for - the ability to be leaders in business and make high-powered decisions and be the boss and be over everybody and everything. Right?

The mystery of the pen-dispensing video game revealed!

I should have been excited about the opportunity. I should have been foaming at the mouth to get this thing done. I should have been ready to waltz in there and take charge and be the Head Bitch In Charge. I should aspire to being on the list of Top 100 Women Leaders in Business because that’s what women’s rights groups tell me I should want. This quiet, meek, little bookworm who maybe wants to someday get married and have a family - pffft! That’s weak sauce! That goes against everything women have worked for the past 200 (or so) years! Be a modern, proactive woman! Be the boss! Be intelligent! Be tough! Girl power! (and all that shit).

The reality? I was terrified. I almost didn’t want the deal to go through, even though I knew that it would open up untold opportunities not just for myself, but for our family’s business interests - thus, it would be beneficial to my parents, my siblings, possibly my niece and nephew (and future nieces and nephews). But I wasn’t sure if I could handle being in charge of something so huge and important. I was scared I’d mess it up and make things worse. I was comfortable and happy where I was - why should I want that to change?

Even in the face of all the "evidence,"
Usagi's faith in Tuxedo Mask is unwavering and I love that!

(In the end - there were some outside influences that prevented the deal from happening and our little Brain Trust group ended up parting ways with that particular company. Doesn’t mean that there aren’t other deals that could happen and I’ll end up back in the same situation - hopefully with an organization that wasn’t as messed-up as we later found out that one was. It’s a long story...)

Video Game!Sailor V being helpful in the way that Sailor V can

My point is that I can understand Usagi running away from being a leader. Especially where she’s this happy-go-lucky sweetheart girl who just wants to make friends and make the people around her feel loved. She cares little for school and other serious responsibilities, no matter how many times she’s told she should take more care in these things. Even being Sailor Moon - well, there are three other Sailor Guardians to help her. She can defer to one of them. She just happens to be the first one Luna found. She can depend on one of the others. Right?

And you need to stop being a pain in the ass, cat!

Nope. According to the talking cat - Usagi’s the leader. She’s in charge. She’s the one who had to run point and figure things out. And that scares her to death. She can barely manage to pass math class (if indeed she passes math at all) - how in the world can she lead??

To this point, this is not a side of Usagi we’ve seen. We’ve seen her be the best friend and the fun-loving girl. She pulls people out of their shells and helps them feel loved. She’s the glue that brings this unlikely little family together. Even back in the original anime - Usagi had very little angst or self-doubts. The times we saw a sad Usagi were the times that her friends were in danger and there was nothing she could do about it. She very rarely second-guessed herself. Which is why I’m so glad Crystal is allowing us to see this side of Usagi. Like Rei’s episode where we saw Rei dealing with some very real internal struggles, this episode gave Usagi some much-needed character development and a chance to see what’s under that happy face she puts on for so many people.

I know the feeling, kid.

And it’s interesting that this character study comes in this particular episode - the one where we’re promised more insight into Tuxedo Mask. Because as well as the bombshell of finding out she’s supposed to be the leader, Usagi also discovers that the one person (besides Luna) that’s been with her on this journey since the beginning might not be everything that she assumed he was. Usagi has taken strength and inspiration from Tuxedo Mask, even though she doesn’t have a clue who he really is. All she knows is that he shows up to help her when she needs it most. As much as Sailor Moon (the series, not the character) is about girls finding the power within themselves and not necessarily needing a man to help them through this (and as the theme song so succinctly puts it every episode) - Usagi does need that encouragement and reassurance from Tuxedo Mask. She relies on him just as much as Ami, Rei, and Makoto rely on Usagi.

And what’s interesting is that we do get that moment of introspection from Tuxedo Mask (which, if you don’t know that Tux is actually Mamoru Chiba at this point, you haven’t been paying attention at all). Because he even says he doesn’t have powers like Sailor Moon does. He admits that she is capable of so much more than he ever could do ([Spoiler Redacted]). And I think if we were allowed to follow Mamoru the way we’ve followed Usagi and the girls, we’d learn a lot more about the things he’s gone through to get to this point (then again - we’re getting the second part of his story in two weeks, so we’re not shutting the book on that line of inquiry just yet. To which I say - Hell Yes! I am here for that!)

I know the manga is its own storyline and it’s clear from the changes that have been made that Some Intense Stuff is going to go down - but I just want to talk about what I love about the manga in terms of Usagi and Mamoru’s relationship. In the original anime, I fell in love with the timeless love story. I thought it was adorable and romantic and so much squee worthy and wouldn’t it be amazing to be the beautiful princess and marry the handsome prince. But at the same time, I felt like it didn’t go far enough. I felt like there was more of their story to tell, but I’d have to fill that in on my own. It wasn’t until years later that I read the manga and I found how just how deep this story runs and that depth was there from the beginning! Because the anime tended to sort of gloss over the love story (and the English dub didn’t do it any favors in some respects, but I’m not here to discuss that) and some lovely details were lost in favor of oddly-placed humor and crass stereotypes (because societal gender wars between men and women are so much more important than finding common ground and realizing how much we actually do need each other, you know).

I think my fangirl senses went from "Okay, good" to "OMG YES!!" right here.

Perhaps it’s because I’m older and I've seen more disappointment and heartbreak - not just in my life, but in others’ lives as well - but I love that we have this moment where Usagi and Tuxedo Mask admit their failings to one another. It pains me to admit it, but that handsome white knight doesn’t exist. Oh, he may put on a good front, but he’s either trying to pull a fast one over on some gullible chicky-poo or he’s faking it because that’s how he knows how to gain approval (but he’s not very good at it, so it goes unnoticed).

You tried and that's all that matters. I think.

I mean, look at this - Mamoru is admitting that he screwed up with this whole “Help Me Find the Silver Crystal” thing. The Dark Kingdom was able to piggy-back off his publicity stunt and brainwash people into looking for the Crystal and then they attacked the entire city. Again, Tux needs Sailor Moon to fix a specific problem and he admits to her that he doesn’t have powers like she does (like I said before). But here’s the thing - he has to tell Usagi this through the guise of Tuxedo Mask (and never has a superhero name been so appropo). He clearly knows that she’s Sailor Moon, but he’s still not ready to reveal himself to her just yet. And I’m sitting here thinking - why? What happened in this guy’s past that he would effectively wall himself away from people like this? I mean, I guess it could be a commentary on how we all have our disguises and masks to keep the people we care about at arms length. But this feels like it’s a more specific instance. This is where I wish we had more insight into what Mamoru’s mindset is and what he’s thinking right here. I know what events happened in his past (the “Next Time” promo even gives it to us), and we can fill in the blanks as an audience. But I’d love to have more details and information - it would be a fascinating character study. I mean, just because it’s a magical girl anime doesn’t mean you need to leave out such a vital component of a vital and interesting character just because he’s a guy, right?

(Oh man, I probably just opened up a huge can of worms with that remark. Still - my point stands. I want to know more about Mamoru Chiba. I want more of his backstory and growing up years and what made him become Tuxedo Mask. Simply because I don’t know what happened to him. I’m already interested in this guy. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be asking for more backstory. He’s just as much a part of this story as Usagi or any of the other girls. In fact - I hope we do get more backstory on all the characters. C’mon, Crystal - you can do this thing!)

Anyway - it’s a tender and poignant moment. One that I hope and wish fandom will appreciate more and more. Not just because it’s “ZOMG - OTP!” (though that is fun and I won’t lie - I got butterflies from it) - but because it’s an example of how to do romantic relationships in fiction and do them well. I don’t care if your story is set on the planet Zog 496 and the people there have spatulas instead of fingers - if you can give me a realistic relationship between two people (romantic or otherwise) and make those characters interesting on their own as well as together, you’ve got me.

Mad props for the fade effect, animators!

I’ve barely touched any of the rest of the episode! We get dream sequences of the Silver Millennium - not just from Usagi, but also from Mamoru (loving the connection these two already have!) Not just that they're having dreams about each other, but also that those dreams take place in the huge battle that destroyed the Silver Millennium - much more dramatic than the princess simply staring out into the distance mewling about the Silver Crystal all the time.

A chance encounter between both of them - but this time Ami and Mako are there to witness it. I love that Mako points out that Usagi’s blushing and that Mako kind of gives her static about it (that’s what best friends do).

The design of the secret base under the arcade is gorgeous and wonderful. Sailor Moon’s new attack is quite well done too. The Dark Kingdom continues to be ominous and threatening - not foppish or cartoony at all (man, they really are scary this time around).

Also, Ikuko playing with Luna as if she were a normal cat brings me life. I love that we got just that one little comic moment and then it was back to the heaviness of the main story. It’s these little details that make Crystal so enjoyable and fun and I’m glad they’re allowing themselves to do things like this.

And for next time... you know - I love how this episode was “Tuxedo Mask” and the next one is called “Mamoru Chiba.” It seems like they two parts of one continuing narrative and that was sorely needed. Especially since Usagi has the two personas separated in her mind - so we had to have one exploring Mamoru as Tuxedo Mask and one exploring Mamoru as himself (so it’s very possible that all that lamenting I did about Mamoru needing more backstory and explanation will be moot in two weeks anyway. I need to go back and refresh my memory of how the manga dealt with this part of the story - it’s been a while).

Crystal continues to promise big things and it continues to deliver! Keep it up, kids!