RJ Writing Ink

Amphibia Season 2, Episode 8A/8B Review

Well, everyone, the gang’s finally in Newtopia and all settled in for the next leg of their journey. The good news is that that means we get some more episodes of wacky hijinks in a new setting. The bad news? We have to wait a while for the plot to move forward. The silver lining to it all, though? We got another cute picture of little Anne! Enjoy the adventures in Newtopia!

Lost in Newtopia

The Plantar’s have a few days to kill while Marcy and Andrias look for info on the Calamity Box. Unfortunately for Anne, Sprig, and Polly, Hop Pop insists on taking the safest tour available, which keeps them away from anything interesting. Anne and Polly aren’t having it, though, so they ditch the boys and decide to explore Newtopia on their own. Big mistake, though, as they have no idea what they’re doing and anger the locals at every turn.

I’m not stranger when it comes to traveling to exotic locations, and it’s helped me learn a few things about getting the best experience. And it all involves not doing anything Anne and Polly do!

• Rule 1: make sure you can speak the local language, dialect, and alphabet. It will help save you from misunderstandings.
• Rule 2: make sure you can handle the local cuisine before eating it.
• Rule 3: carry cash on hand. Not everyone takes plastic.
• Rule 4: carry a map with you.

By the time Anne and Polly make it back to the others, there’s an angry mob chasing them down, and they have to resort to breathing fire on them to save their skins. I’m not joking, they eat food so spicy that it makes them breathe fire. It’s hilarious!

Sprig Gets Schooled

In the next segment, the Plantar’s stumble upon the prestigious Newtopia University, the finest school of learning in Amphibia. Sprig manages to impress the Headmaster there with his survival skills and fiddle-playing, so much so that the Headmaster offers him a chance to attend Newtopia Prep. Wanting to please Hop Pop, Sprig accepts the offer. However, after a day of classes, it becomes clear that Sprig’s in over his head and he tries to leave.

As someone who’s gone through the rigors of college life myself, I know how stressful it can be, even for those who are prepared. You have so much more work to finish, and you have to deal with potentially living away from home for the first time. It can be hard for both the parents and adults. And as Hop Pop quickly learns, he’s not ready to let Sprig go yet.

Meanwhile, Anne, basing her knowledge off of her movies, wants to sneak in for a wild college party. Big mistake, though, as Newtopia has prison-like security after dark. The Headmaster says its to protect students from weirdos, which is a justifiable concern. But I still question why they had to lock the student’s doors.

In the end, Sprig decides he’s not ready for Newtopia U, but agrees to return in a few years. Who knows; maybe by the time the show ends, we’ll see Sprig studying to be a renowned scholar.

Nice Little Interlude

Overall, I think that this was a nice little interlude episode, but I think Amphibia was overshadowed this week by The Owl House. COnsidering how this week saw the anticipated season finale for the latter, I think that this is expected, though. Episodes like this do serve a purpose in the grand scheme, as they help to build the world that the characters inhabit and fill in the gaps between important events.

Speaking of important events, two occurred at the beginning and end of “Lost in Newtopia.” In the opening, we see that the robot from the season premiere has followed the Plantar’s all the way to Newtopia. Only now, it appears to be stuck in the ground outside the city. I thought that the robot would have a bigger role to play as the season progressed, and it looks like it will sometime in the near future.

At the end of the segment, we see Marcy and Andrias discover a hidden passage in the castle’s library that leads to an unknown location. People will probably speculate as to what they’ll find, but there’s something that’s bugging me. The episode ends with a focus on this painting on the wall where the passage came out. I don’t why, but it feels familiar somehow.

Maybe I’m just overthinking things, though. At any rate, with The Owl House on break, I’m looking forward to next week’s episode all the more.

I Give “Lost in Newtopia” and “Sprig Gets Schooled” a 3/5 each.

Stray Observations

• Hop Pop called Anne his “Adopted Granddaughter”. How sweet is that?
• We saw what Anne’s mom looks like for the first time.

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Sword Art Online: Alicization-War of Underworld Episode 44 Review/Recap

You know what I hate? When something that we’ve been building up to for a lengthy period of time ends up falling flat on its face. Since the second half of SAO Alicization began, I’ve been waiting for three moments: for Asuna to show up, for Kirito to wake up, and for Kirito to fight Gabriel. Now, we’ve reached the third and final moment on that list. And while it was visually spectacular, I think that it could have gone on another episode.

Oh, well. LINK START!

Recap

After saving Alice from being captured by Gabriel (and reverting her dragons into eggs), Kirito turns to face down Gabriel. This way, Alice and Asuna can have enough time to make it to the World’s End Altar and escape to the real world. Thus, the final battle begins.

An epic battle ensues in the skies above Underworld as the two warriors clash. Somehow, the darkness in Gabriel becomes so great, it devolves him into a demonic entity of darkness. Meanwhile, Kirito throws everything he has at Gabriel, but it’s not enough. Determined to win and return to his friends and loved ones, Kirito pushes himself to even further levels of power. Drawing on the thoughts of everyone in Underworld, the true power of the Night-Sky Sword is revealed. And with a mighty charge and help from Eugeo’s spirit, Kirito manages to obliterate Gabriel once and for all. As for the girls, they reach the Altar, and Alice is whisked away to the real world. At that moment, though, the maximum acceleration begins. As a result, all the remaining players are logged out.

Kirito remains trapped in Underworld for the next two centuries, and breaks down in tears, thinking that he’ll never see his friends again. Only, he’s not alone. Asuna appears before him, revealing that she chose to stay behind.

Review

I had mixed feelings about this episode. On the one hand, I feel like I should have known that the final battle would be done in a single episode. That’s more or less what’s happened in the anime’s run. And I will admit, while the fight was taking place, it had some of the best visuals the anime’s ever done. On the other, I can’t help but feel a little let down by how Kirito was able to defeat Gabriel so soon. Or maybe I just got myself too hyped for this fight in the end. Lesson learned I guess.

There is one scene, though, that I wish they had included in this episode. After Gabriel’s defeat, his spirit returns to the real world, only for the souls of his victims to drag him off to hell. As dark as that was, I would love to see it happen on the screen. I will say this, though: he looked very scary in his final, demonic form.

As for Kirito, I knew ahead of time that he was going to be trapped inside of Underworld, and that Asuna would choose to stay with him. After being separated for so long, that girl wasn’t going to let anything keep her away from her boyfriend. I won’t spoil anything from the novels, but don’t worry about them. They’ll make it out of Underworld in one piece.

With the climax of the story now over, we have three episodes to wrap the anime up. Odds are, we’ll see the end to the raid on RATH and follow Alice as she adjusts to our world in the process. It’s not exciting, but it has to be done.

I Give “Night-Sky Sword” A 3.5/5. Could Have Been Longer, But It’s Cool to Look At.

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A Review of Bill & Ted Face the Music

In the words of the Great Ones, 2020 has been bogus, dude. Summer is not even over, and we’ve faced a pandemic, civil unrest, and the Black Panther just died. This world needs a most excellent pick-me-up now more than ever. It needs Bill & Ted.

Only one problem: are Bill & Ted up to the challenge now?

Bill & Ted Have A Midlife Crisis

It’s been 25 years since their bogus journey to heaven and hell, and something’s gone wrong with Bill & Ted’s lives. Instead of uniting the world like they were foretold, the Wyld Stallions have been struggling to write the song that will do so. They’re barely making a living as a band, and their marriages are on the rocks. In other words, they’re becoming the losers Ted’s dad thinks they are.

As a result of their failure, Kelly, the daughter of their future guide Rufus, comes back with a warning. If they don’t write the song to unite the world in the next seventy-seven or so minutes, the paradox will cause all the universe to unravel. Bill & Ted’s solution? Go to the future and take the song from themselves.

At the start, Bill & Ted remain the good-natured dudes we know and love. But almost right immediately, we see that banging their heads trying to come up with the ultimate song for twenty-five years has left them at the end of their ropes. Ted even considers giving up at one point! Bogus!

The stress they’re under only becomes more apparent as they meet future versions of themselves. Each forthcoming Bill & Ted gets progressively worse as their lives go to hell. It would be a tad bit hilarious if it didn’t feel like a reflection of how bleak the world is now.

A Message About Not Giving Up Hope

Think about it. The year’s only 2/3rds done, but it feels like it’s broken so many people. I cried when I heard about Chadwick Boseman’s death! The thing is, though, there’s a message buried beneath the humor of the film. And its that no matter how bad things get, we should never give up. Bill & Ted never fully give up because they know that if they do, the universe will be all the worse for it. That’s not hyperbole, either; they know the universe will die if they quit.

The Wyld Stallions aren’t the smartest people we know, but they’re smart enough to know the importance of hope no matter how be things may get. But paradoxically, this film’s also about them learning to admit that they may not be the ones whose destiny it is to unite the world through music. At the film’s climax, they learn to face the music and accept that they have to leave things in the hands of the next generation. Which I still consider being a hopeful message.

Billie and Thea’s Excellent Adventure

Enter Billie and Thea, Bill and Ted’s daughters. They’re gender-bent versions of their dads, but slightly smarter and with a wider taste in music. While their dads try to find their song, the two girls embark on their journey that mirrors their dad’s excellent adventures. In this case, they use Kelly’s time machine to gather the best musicians in history for a most excellent band. I never thought I’d see Mozart rock out alongside Louis Armstrong, but here we are!

Turns out, Billie & Thea are even better at this than their dads, which leads to Bill & Ted realizing their real role is to help their daughters. It’s a touching passing the torch moment that speaks to the hope of the next generation. And it leads to an excellent concert spanning space and time.

Excellent!

The critics have spoken: Bill & Ted Face the Music is a most excellent addition to this decades-old franchise. And while it may not make the world less bogus, it came to us when we needed it the most. In a world where everything is bogus, two honest, nice guys remind us kd the importance of not giving up hope. That, and of the importance of their mantra: Be excellent to each other. And party on, dudes.

I Give “Bill & Ted Face the Music” a 4/5

Click here to see my reviews for various films.

Stray Observation

I liked the fact that Kristen Schaal’s playing a time-traveler. It’s a nice, if unintentional nod to another famous character she’s played that traveled through time.

The Owl House Episode 19 Review

I’ll be honest with you guys: after the news broke last night about Chadwick Boseman’s passing, I wasn’t sure if I was in the mood to do a review this week. However, after remembering the hype last week built up for us, I realized I needed a pick-me-up. Also, my desire to learn how the season would end was too great to be quelled. Remember everything that happened? Eda succumbed to her curse and got captured by Lilith. We got the first appearance of the show’s apparent antagonist, Emperor Belos. And top it all off, we learned Lilith cursed Eda as kids. Everything had led to Luz hitting rock-bottom, but we all knew that she wasn’t going to let Belos win. As a result, we got to see Luz come into her own as a witch this episode. This marks the rise of the Good Witch Luz.

Full disclosure: due to everything that happened in the finale, I’ll be breaking down a lot of what we learned in this review.

The Good Witch Luz Goes to War

Picking up where we left off, we see Luz’s guilt-ridden over Eda’s capture. And while it’s never addressed, I think Lilith’s last words really got to her:

Go back to your world, human. This one’s ours

The Owl House, Agony of a Witch

Ever since she got to the Boiling Isles, Luz has had to fight to prove that she can stay there. Rather than breaking her, Eda’s capture fills her with more determination than ever. Donning the cloak Eda made for her, Luz vows to save Eda, even if she has to fight the Emperor himself.

Her timing couldn’t be better. Rather than cure Eda like he promised, Emperor Belos plans to publicly petrify her. As the name implies, that means turning someone into a stone statue; according to King, it’s a process that can’t be undone.

Fortunately, Luz and King are able to break into the Conformitorium, and unlike the last time she was there, she doesn’t have to be sneaky. As a testament to her growth as a witch, she proceeds to plow her way through the guards and members of the Emperor’s Coven in search of Eda. In her subsequent fight with Lilith, Luz manages to put the older witch on the defensive. But most impressive of all, in the episode’s climax, she faces down Emperor Belos and manages to shatter part of his mask!

While I think the fights could be more action-packed, I’m impressed with how badass she is. She’s likely the first person to defy the Emperor like this and live to tell about it. And while she saves Eda in the end, I doubt Belos will forget what Luz did to his pride.

The Start of Lilith’s Redemption Arc

Since we learned last week that Lilith cursed Eda, I’ve seen her get a lot of hate on social media. Like, a lot of hate. That said, I refused to let my disgust fully cloud my judgment until I had learned the whole story. It looks like that was the right call, too, as we get Lilith’s side of the story this week.

As stated by Lilith in the episode “Once Upon a Swap“, Eda also wanted to join the Emperor’s Coven when they were kids. However, this episode reveals that only one of them could join, so the two would have to fight for the position. Rather than lose to Eda, Lilith put the curse on her to lock away her magic. The curse was only meant to last a day. To Lilith’s shock, though, Eda chose to forfeit, knowing how much joining meant for her sister. Tragically, Lilith was unable to undo the curse before the spectators drove her away. Thus, Lilith naively trusted the Emperor to heal her, and is shocked when he reveals he had no intention to do so.

What Lilith did to Eda was horrific, and I don’t think she should be forgiven any time soon. Having said that, this episode leaves little doubt that Lilith is a good person, merely misguided by years of guilt and the Emperor’s lies. When she learns the truth, she doesn’t hesitate to turn on Belos and save Eda, risking her own life in the process. After the group flees, Lilith then uses her powers to transfer part of the curse to her. As a result, Eda reverts to her normal form, but can no longer perform magic naturally. It’s implied that Lilith may not be able to, either.

More World-Building and Belos’ Plans

It may have gotten glossed over by everything that happened, but there was some world-building found in this episode. After pausing the screen at the start of the episode, I read a page of the book that King was reading about the history of the Boiling Isles, and put the photo here.

The book reveals that, eons, ago, beings called Titans roamed the Demon Realm, one of them ending up in the Boiling Sea. It’s remains became the Boiling Isles, and its magic is what the islanders drew from for power. The implications here are that there are lands in the Demon Realm beyond the Boiling Isles. Could future seasons lead to Luz and the others journeying beyond the Isles? Just something to think about.

As for Belos, he keeps talking about this “Day of Unity”. While do don’t know what it is, we get hints at what he’s planning. What Belos really wanted from Eda is the key that opens the portal to Earth. He claims he has no intentions of invading Earth, but that could easily be another lie of his. Or it could just be him seeing it as not an invasion, but “liberation” or some dumb excuse dictators give.

Regardless, Luz knows that if Belos got the key, Earth wouldn’t be safe. Thus, in an act of sacrifice, she destroys it, stranding her in the Boiling Isles in the process.

Belos’ plans have not been stopped, though. In the final moment of the episode, we see him constructing a portal-like machine out of the remains of the door to Earth, and presumably other dimensions. It’s a nice shout-out to Gravity Falls, but it only adds to the mystery of what he has planned.

The New Status Quo

So, this episode shakes up the status quo for the series. Firstly, Luz is now in the Emperor’s sights along with everyone in the Owl House. Lilith is now a fugitive alongside her sister. Luz now has no way back to Earth. And lastly, Eda can’t use magic anymore.

When Season Two will come out is uncertain due to COVID-19, but I can think of a few ideas as to what will end up happening. The new season will see the conflict against Emperor Belos begin to take center stage. Meanwhile, Luz will be trying to help Eda regain her powers, stop Belos’ plans, and find a way home. And while this finale could have been a little more exciting, I’m still satisfied with how things turned out. It’s been a good season, and I can’t wait for the next one.

I Give “Young Blood, Old Souls” A 4/5

Stray Observations

• Did you guys see how Luz can use Eda’s Staff to generate magic now, or remotely activate her spell cards? Could we see more of that in Season Two?
• Luz’s spell cards do not work on Earth. My guess it’s because she can’t draw magic from the Boiling Isles from there. So much for using magic when she decides to go back home to Earth.

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