I Want To Elaborate Even Further On Why I Think Alastors Breakdown In The Finale Was (at Least In Part)

I want to elaborate even further on why I think Alastor’s breakdown in the finale was (at least in part) motivated by the fact that he has come to care about the people at the hotel. A few people have responded to me saying they don't believe he actually cares or asking me about my opinions on certain counterarguments against the interpretation that he cares and I figured it would be easier to just make one post in response. (this is just meant to expand on my thoughts. You don't have to agree. That's half the fun of media interpretation.)

The consistent throughline I keep being told is that his breakdown was purely motivated by pride and loss of control and I do think these were massive parts of the breakdown.

Alastor is very aware of the fact that the situation around him is spiraling out of his control. That the notoriety he had cultivated as an unchallengeable overlord is crumbling. His time away allowed the fear he sowed to dull. He keeps coming face to face with beings that rival or surpass his strength. People who wouldn’t dare question him before are banging on his door. His foothold in the world isn’t secure like it once was and that has him reeling.

Alastor's pride is a driving factor in his actions, but, like I said in my last analysis, I think this is only part of it. I think this breakdown is motivated by the fact that he feels like he’s losing control of himself on top of the situation around him.

I'm going to start with the points/questions I've been asked first then expand on my thoughts after.

The first one I was asked about is the interpretation that Alastor was mocking the very idea that he would sacrifice himself for someone else when he says "Great Alastor, altruist, died for his friends." and I think that would work if it wasn't for the visuals paired with this line.

He literally looks like THIS when he is speaking the line. This isn’t the face of someone mocking the very idea that he would do this.

It was actually this shot that convinced me there was some truth to the words he was saying because it looks like he’s beginning to have a breakdown over the fact that this is almost exactly what happened.

The second one that I was asked about was the idea that he was forced to fight and protect Charlie by whoever owns his soul. But if he was forced to fight in this battle due to his contract why not describe it this way when alone? How could he even leave if he was forced to fight and protect the hotel? I doubt there was a caveat that he could leave the fight if he was seriously injured if he was ordered to fight and protect Charlie and the hotel.

I do think he's at the hotel because of whoever owns his soul, but I don't think it's why he fought or why he helped Charlie get Cannibal Town to aid them through his connection to Rosie.

And the last one that I was asked about was the idea that the demons had to be fighting for love like Carmilla said to Vaggie to defeat the angels and the reason Alastor didn't win was because he was fighting purely for his own interests. Freedom, power, and control.

And, while I think the base idea of this is really interesting (This is a genuinely cool idea!) and could challenge Alastor's more selfish motivations, the show itself doesn't really back this up.

Charlie is the literal embodiment of fighting to protect those she cares about-- she has the biggest heart out of anyone at the hotel-- and yet she doesn't defeat anyone in this battle.

Before she faces Adam all she uses is a shield to protect herself and the other residents. She apologizes to those she hits, while Vaggie finishes them off. When she does face Adam she doesn't beat him. She gets in a good hit, but she isn't able to finish him off. She would have been killed if Lucifer didn't step in.

Plus, Alastor's shield killed multiple exorcists before Adam destroyed it, so I don't think this means he hasn't grown to care about the residents of the hotel or that there wasn't some part of him that was fighting to protect them.

Now to expand on my own thoughts now that I've answered the questions I've gotten, it's not just the final battle/fallout that brought me to believe he had come to care about the hotel and its residents.

The show itself seems to want us to think he is starting to grow “accustomed” (In Alastor’s words to Niffty) to the group with little moments that are played straight like when he sends Mimzy (possibly his oldest friend) away, telling her she can stay if she truly wants to try for redemption, but if she just wants to put the hotel in danger then she has to leave.

When he says he believes in Charlie and wants to mentor her in cannibal town. He even gives her his microphone which is a literal extension of himself to help her.

When he talks to Niffty (who he is clearly fond of) and admits he finds the group enjoyable to be around. He says he could grow accustomed to them after Niffty says she really likes them almost in agreement with her.

There is no sinister undertone or hint of the usual facade Alastor puts on in these scenes.

Like I said above I don't think that the fact that Alastor has come to care about the residents is the only factor in his breakdown or the only reason he fought in the first place (Alastor's blatant overconfidence in his fight against Adam makes it clear pride was a factor. That overconfidence is why he lost that battle). It's a combination of multiple things (his pride, loss of control, desire for freedom, etc), but I do think it's a valid reading that it was a part of it considering all the information the show has given us.

This isn't to say I think Alastor is going to melt and be a team player for the hotel from now on. In fact, I think he's going to lash out against this internal change.

Alastor has always put himself first and in the finale he almost died trying to protect this hotel and it's rattled him. It's challenged his entire self-perception. He doesn’t like that it’s being challenged. That he’s losing control of himself on top of the situation around him. So, he doubles down on his initial goals.

I think this internal conflict is fascinating. I wouldn't have written so much about it if I didn't. I genuinely can't wait to see what they do with it in season 2.

If you feel differently feel free to send an ask, message, or respond to this post. I'd love to hear what other people think! Differing views and connections to characters is what makes media so impactful and fun to consume.

I actually did think about what Charlie's role in this would be and I think the reason Alastor was sent to look over Charlie would be because she'd be a pawn in Eve's plan.

Eve has been hurt by both heaven and hell. She's the one that benefits the most from this war that is coming in episode 8.

We don't know who told heaven that hell was trying to rise up against them. It's clear that Lucifer wasn't trying to start anything and Lilith (based on Charlie's story at the beginning) was mostly just building her people up. There wasn't a hint of an uprising.

So who fed heaven this lie?

Eve.

And Charlie is the only one in hell trying to change the status quo. It felt like the sinners were resigned to their fate so they just lived however they wanted at the start of the story.

Alastor would have been sent to the hotel after it was announced to ensure it didn't fail because if it succeeded then the reasoning behind the angels' extermination would come to light to both hell's inhabitants and the rest of heaven. This would then cause an actual uprising in hell.

And we know that sinners can kill exterminators because of Carmilla. (I think the only reason she could kill them could be her weapons. I think she's the one that Striker got the gun to kill Stolas from, but it's been a while since I watched that episode.)

The hazbin hotel itself looks like it's going to become a symbol of the resistance against hell in the next episode with Charlie leading the charge. Charlie is the best person for this. She's exempt from the extermination, the daughter of the king of hell, and likely very powerful (even if she doesn't show it). She's a symbol.

As a result heaven and hell destroy each other.

Alastor Theory

Okay, I'm gonna throw my hat into the ring when it come to who has Alastor on a leash and I'm not gonna say Lilith.

I think Eve might also be an option for being the one that owns Alastor's soul.

I think the Lilith connection is a bit too obvious and Lilith hates being forced into subservience canonically within the show, so it would be weird if she chained another soul to do her bidding. And Eve is easily the character that would have the most issues with the Morningstar family, heaven, and hell. She was made out of Adam's rib and given the apple by Lilith and Lucifer. She's been a pawn in other people's plans since the beginning. She's the one blamed for original sin and it's clear she's not in heaven. She was the scapegoat while Adam got off relatively Scott free.

She has so many reasons to want to get back at everyone and what better way to gradually gain a foothold without drawing attention to herself than enlisting the services of a sinner in hell?

It’s said that Alastor immediately started taking out overlords that had been dominant for centuries the moment he stepped foot in hell. There has to be a reason for that. It feels too calculated to be a coincidence.

Plus Lilith’s disappearance coinciding with the Alastor's isn’t necessarily a factor against this theory because it can be explained as Eve essentially throwing Alastor into a battle with Lilith where Alastor was injured and had to take time to recover.

His reaction when Zestial said people thought he had been struck down by holy arms was a bit telling to me. The way he took that moment to look away and collect himself to brush it off read as Zestial hitting too close to the mark.

He's super touchy about why he was gone for 7 years and we've seen that Alastor's berserk button is his pride and he dislikes his strength being questioned. He absolutely would not want to admit he was gone because he was recovering.

That comment seemed too pointed by the writers to be completely written off.

Maybe in this battle Eve got Lilith's soul. If she doesn’t why would Lilith be gone from Charlie’s life for seven years? Why wouldn't she return around the same time as Alastor? She seemed to really care about Charlie. Charlie still tries to call her and she doesn’t seem to hold any resentment toward Lilith, so I think there would have to be a reason beyond nebulous plans that's keeping her away.

Alastor also clearly does not have a good relationship to whoever has his soul, so I kind of imagine if it was Lilith he would be a bit more hostile towards Charlie or it would show a bit more in the moments where he was alone or when Charlie isn't looking. (Alastor is the only character this show is truly subtle with)

I just wanted to put my opinion out there because I've seen so many Lilith owns Alastor's soul theories out there and I wanted to offer a different angle.

Rise of the TMNT First Time Watch Thoughts

Rise is a series I didn’t get into right when it came out. It was released very soon after my favorite tmnt cartoon, 2012, had ended and I was going through a major transition in my life. 

I watched the first few episodes, but my schedule was jam packed and I fell off of watching it rather quickly. I still wanted to give it a shot but later when more episodes were released and I could binge it because I felt that this show deserved more than a fleeting shot. But I didn’t really get around to watching it in full until recently.

I do want to say right off the bat that the backlash against this incarnation when it was first announced was ridiculous. The show hadn’t even aired and people were rallying to cancel it. You can’t judge the quality of something before seeing it and changing something from past iterations isn’t necessarily a bad thing even if it is an adaptation. 

My rule for adaptations is that what’s most important for new iterations is that they understand the heart of the series and characters that they are adapting and I would say that Rise clearly understood the heart of its characters and series but it just chose to adapt it in a different way. And in my opinion that’s great.

And I’m not going to pretend that all the changes worked for me. Some changes just didn’t mesh with me personally and I found myself preferring certain iterations of the characters and their dynamics/arguments from past iterations more. It’s just a matter of personal preference.

I have spoilers below the cut but I want to say that if you haven't watched it I really recommend giving it a shot!

I want to get into my full actual thoughts on the series now that that’s out of the way.

While Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles is a great series, it got off to a bit of a rocky start. The first half of season one, while fun and full of amazing action scenes, wasn’t the type of start to absolutely grip me like the first seasons of 2012 and 2003. It did, however, manage to set itself apart from the other iterations of the turtles and firmly establish the unique personalities of these versions of the turtles, Splinter, and April O’Neil. 

The show clearly had some issues finding its footing at first and I think one of the major issues was that the show itself had trouble figuring out how exactly to implement the changes it made to the lore and characters from past incarnations into the first season, which led to pacing issues and some mixed characterization that took a while to get used to from characters such as Splinter (he gets a lot better later on and I really grew to like him but at first I wasn’t that fond of him). 

But, while I didn’t personally love the first season as much as other iterations of the teenage mutant ninja turtles due to this slow start, once it established its lore and changes and firmly knew what it wanted to be the show really took off and could reach great heights in a way completely unique from the other interpretations. 

This shift occurs about halfway through the first season with “The Evil League of Mutants” when the origins of Splinter and the Turtles and their connection with Baron Draxum finally get revealed (in a really good musical number I might add). This is where I really started to get invested in the new lore of this series and the changes the show made to the characters and backstory.

This is when everything that was slowly and sometimes awkwardly established started to come together and form a much clearer picture of what this series was trying to do. Those disparate pieces that felt a bit strange such as the new characters of Baron Draxum and Big Mama, the idea of the yokai, and the very different and at times kind of perplexing iteration of the foot clan finally interacted to hint at an endgame for this season and it worked much better than I anticipated.

I also was glad we finally got some development for Splinter, his relationship to the turtles, and his backstory. Up until this point he didn’t really work that well for me and the lack of any meaningful interactions between him and the turtles was a bit off putting, but starting with this episode so much new information was revealed about him that vastly improved the character and endeared me to him.

This continued development for Splinter leads to some of my favorite moments from the series.

For example, one of my favorite moments from the first season is when Splinter tricks Donnie and Mikey into going to a demolition derby with him. When Donnie discovers that Splinter lied he gets really upset and believes that Splinter didn’t really want to spend time with him.

It’s made clear leading up to this point that Donnie is really effected by the lack of attention and affection Splinter gives him and before now it was mostly said in a joking way that didn’t betray just how deeply it hurt him but he finally lets it out in a rare moment of vulnerability. And in response Splinter calls Donatello by his actual name for the first time in the series and apologizes. There’s a real and authentic moment of connection that wouldn’t have hit the way it did if Splinter wasn’t characterized the way he was early on. (I also absolutely love rise's version of Donnie.)

It’s not something that necessarily makes him more likable earlier in the series but that characterization early on makes his development and eventual connection with his sons heartwarming. 

The season’s momentum doesn’t stop with “The Evil League of Mutant” or Splinter’s development. It keeps building until it finally reaches the finale, which is a great culmination of all that came before, and ends with the shredder finally being formally introduced into the series and things feeling really dire for the turtles. 

This version of the shredder took him in a completely different direction from all the ones that came before and took a big swing by making him a man merged with a demon. One that’s thousands of years old that the Hamato clan was staked with keeping contained forever.

While this version of the shredder doesn’t have the depth of 2012 or the menace of 2003 they managed to build him up in a way that made his threat feel palpable. The desperation to keep the foot from collecting the dark armor paired with the revelations about the Hamato clan’s duty made it so that the inevitable confrontation felt like one that must be avoided at all costs.

This connection to the Hamato clan brought in an interesting conflict between duty and family for Splinter that we hadn't gotten to see before. When the turtles are captured Splinter is pulled in two different directions one that upholds his duty and one that preserves his family. Splinter eventually chooses his sons over his duty. (This carries over into the second season when they managed to combine the two and become their best selves as warriors and family.)

Another really fascinating aspect of the finale that I haven’t touched upon is how it subverts expectations by having Baron Draxum simply be a stepping stone for the shredder’s release. Up until this point Baron Draxum had been the closest thing to a big bad the series had. We had followed his plan step by step and believed he was the one pulling the strings only for the rug to be pulled out from under him at the last second when the turtles believed they had won.

This led to a cliffhanger that had me on the edge of my seat. It really felt like this was another turning point in the series like “Evil League of Mutants” had been…

But I don’t really feel like the second season carried that momentum over as well as it could have. The battle with the shredder wasn’t the tour de force I expected or the turning point in tone I anticipated. And there are things that were set up in the first season that, when finally seen, felt like anti-climaxes. This is most notable to me in the season premiere and the episode “Goyles, Goyles, Goyles” when we finally see the day that Splinter and the turtles were mutated.

With the premiere it was a weird split between things I absolutely adored– Leo finally displaying his excellent planning and leadership skills– and things I felt were anti-climactic compared to the build-up– the turtles’ fight with Shredder. 

I feel like the Leo stuff is self explanatory. Everyone knows that Leo is traditionally the leader of the turtles and up until this point Leo didn’t show much of that or have any significant development outside of a few select moments, but this was the episode that really showed his potential. 

It wasn’t just his ingenious plan that was really enjoyable to see come together, but also the fact that he knew his brothers well enough to trust in their skills and know exactly how they would be able to fend off and find the shredder. 

As a longtime fan of the turtles I loved this development. I had really enjoyed this version of Leo before now, but this was the moment that won me over to this version of him.

But the way the show handled the face off with the shredder didn’t really work for me. The biggest reason was that most of it happened off screen and then when we did get to see what was going on it was to show that the shredder was weak to tickling. 

After all that build up for the shredder and what a threat he will pose the way it went fell flat, especially considering how the first season finale ended with the turtles thinking they beat the shredder only for a much more powerful version to emerge from the smoke to face them down.

The ending with Big Mama set up some very interesting possibilities that I was excited to see come to fruition in the future (and eventually lead to a phenomenal season 2 finale) but it and Leo’s arc didn’t negate the disappointment I felt with how the shredder and his showdown with the turtles was handled.

Goyles, Goyles, Goyles felt like an intentional anti-climax, but even with that obvious intent it still fell flat for me. This moment was one of my favorite reveals of the first season. The way it was revealed in song by Draxum and his henchmen and the amazing still animation reflecting the words was a real turning point in just how much I enjoyed this series as I said above. And when we finally got to see exactly what happened… it was almost all a joke.

And this type of subversion is very common in Rise. It usually works better for me though because there isn’t as much build up and excitement towards them like there was for the shredder fight and the Draxum and the turtles backstory. 

In fact, there are plenty of moments in this series where this type of subversion works really well for me. In the season one finale the random reveal that the turtles cracked Splinter’s teapot as children and never told him being an important plot point was one that worked really well for me. 

The biggest difference between those subversions is that the one in the finale didn’t magically solve things or completely dampen the more dramatic and emotional moments. The teapot reveal didn’t retroactively make Splinter’s decision to put his sons above his ancestral duty any less meaningful and it didn’t magically save the day like they expected it to. It allowed things to still carry the weight they were meant to while still being funny and unexpected.

The show goes back to problem of the week episodes and as a result does fall into a few of the pacing and tonal issues that plagued the first season, but they were overall stronger and more fun episodes here than they were in season 1 due to the fact that there is a larger cast to bounce the characters off of and a lot more locations to explore. This allowed for some really interesting and unexpected character pairings that made some of the most entertaining episodes of the show.

The episodes centered on April and Splinter are a particular favorite of mine in season 2. 

I wasn’t expecting how much I would adore their dynamic, but it was easily one of my favorites in the entire show. I really liked Splinter’s unwavering faith in April and how they came together to better each other. 

Splinter very rarely has this type of relationship in any of the other shows. He’s mostly the one lifting others up and giving them wisdom and is rarely the one getting support in this type of way. April is able to interact with Splinter’s past in a way the turtles in this show can’t and it allows him to re-establish a connection to who he was in a healthier way than he had prior to her coming into his life.

It’s a great mutual relationship that finds a unique spin to what their dynamic usually is in turtles canon.

Now it’s time to talk about the final few episodes of season 2. These episodes showcase all the best aspects of the Rise show. They take what the series does differently from all the other interpretations and run with them, really showing what the show can do at its height.

These episodes gave me the shredder showdown I was hoping to see in the premiere. He posed the type of threat he had in many of the other shredder incarnations and served the turtles losses that they struggled to bounce back from.

This is the type of enemy shredder should be and the way they had this tie into Splinter’s past was amazing and moving.

The episode where the Baron Draxum sent the Turtles into Splinter’s mind was one of the most emotionally poignant episodes, showing the pain and emptiness of Splinter’s life before he mutated. It puts Splinter’s life before and after the turtles into stark contrast.

Splinter isn’t alone like he felt like he was before and he found a new family after the loss of his mother that gave him the strength and courage to accept the duty he had rejected because of the loss it brought him.

Splinter has grown from the character I was most disappointed with to one of my favorites of the series and this episode really hammered home just how great the writing for him in this series has been.

Splinter isn’t the only one that gets an increase in focus, April also gets some spotlight and a unique and unexpected role in this finale.

April’s growth from human ally to the turtles to a member of their family was amazing to watch. Having that bond that had been cultivated over the course of the two seasons that culminates in these episodes where she becomes an honorary member of the Hamato clan, fusing with Karai and teaching the turtles the way of their ancestors, was such an interesting change from past iterations of the character.

It really felt like her arc and relationship to the turtles was coming full circle when April was the one to talk Raph out of his despair. It really hammered home how far all of them have come and just how much a part of this family April is.

April’s talk to Raph leads into a great moment where the brothers unlock their mystic powers through their connection and trust in one another. They aren’t alone in this struggle or the fight with Shredder. It doesn’t come down to just one of them but their whole family. 

The heart of the turtles and their various series, at least to me, has always been the Hamato family and their bond with one another and this moment shows just how much this show understands that.

There’s just so much about this finale to gush about but there were two minor issues I had. Those are the reveal of Cassandra Jones and Splinter naming Leo the leader.

Cassandra Jones felt like a last minute reveal. The series made a few jokes about Cassandra being called unnamed foot soldier yet had her as a recurring character so it felt obvious that she was going to be a legacy character in some way but having her be Casey Jones felt odd. 

I don’t really know a better way of putting it. I’m not mad or anything and I don’t believe the show butchered Casey like I’ve seen some people say (especially considering how they brought Casey Jones into the movie), but it felt like the most out of left field choice rise had made up until this point. (I do want to say that I feel like this could have turned into a very interesting interpretation of the character if the show was allowed to continue and flesh this decision out.)

And Leo being named leader was especially rushed considering just earlier in the finale (parts 2 and 3) the show really felt like it solidified Raph as the leader. He was the one who was able to make the tough calls and he was the one who learned to trust his brothers in a way he needed to be the best leader he could be.

Leo only really had the second season premiere to set up the idea that he would make a great leader and strategist if he really applied himself but that thread felt like it was dropped for the rest of the season and had no real buildup within the finale unlike Raph’s leadership skills.

These didn’t really impact my enjoyment of the episodes especially considering that they were such a small part of the finale and they were both fixed/expanded on in the movie.

Speaking of the movie. It was absolutely phenomenal. 

This movie focuses on Leo and his journey into growing into a leadership role for the team with the Kraang as the turtles’ adversaries. 

Right off the bat this movie is considerably darker than the main series with the opening alone showing blood and the deaths of both Mikey and Leo. It immediately shatters any possibility of past conveniences present in the series like the Kraang being ticklish or the turtles escaping due to incompetent sidekicks. 

There’s a palpable danger established by this shift in tone that carries on throughout the movie and creates actual tension and stakes to the sacrifices made later on. 

I can also say with full confidence that this is easily the most intimidating the Kraang have ever been in turtles canon. 

While the Kraang have been threats in some of the series and even beaten the turtles more than once I never felt like they were the overwhelming threat they are here. That the turtles were completely outmatched.

This amazing update of the kraang and the threat they pose is paired with a great arc for Leo where he has to confront the more immature and impulsive side of him that has been ever present in the series up until this point.

These flaws had been addressed at varying points throughout the series proper but they were never treated anywhere near as seriously as they are here. 

And it addresses these shortcomings through Rise’s interpretation of the classic Raph and Leo conflict.

Raph and Leo are almost always the two brothers that come into conflict the most often in every iteration of the turtles. Their ways of thinking are incompatible in ways that make it hard for them to see eye to eye. This was something the main series of Rise didn’t really address. For the most part the brothers got along well and any conflicts they did have were either resolved or ended on a joke which fit with what the series was trying to do with them before this point.

I’ve heard a few complaints about this because the conflict between Leo and Raph is something the movie makes it seem like is a recurring problem for them when in reality Leo and Raph don’t really get into any real serious arguments/conflicts throughout the series. In fact, Raph almost never gets angry the way he does at the beginning. Rise Raph’s anger is almost always aimed at himself rather than others. 

And I can understand that to a degree because these aspects weren’t really established in the series but I don’t think either of these inconsistencies really hurt the movie and are in fact explained rather well within the context and time frame given. The conflict itself is well written and has the two coming to an actual understanding that feels organic to both characters.

The movie’s take on Leo and Raph’s conflict has the two switching places from their usual roles. Leo is the impulsive brother that does care deeply about his brothers but makes mistakes due to his personal flaws that gets them in trouble, while doubting/going against the older brother’s wishes/orders. Raph is the older, more responsible brother with the weight of his brothers lives on his shoulders because of his position as the de facto leader of their family (at least before the season 2 finale).

It’s not necessarily a completely unique take on the conflict since the roles are simply reversed with a few tweaks to better fit their characters but it plays out in a way that makes Leo’s arc and journey of growing into his leadership role very impactful in a way that separates itself from 2003 and 2012 Leonardos.

Leo’s arc culminates in such an amazing and heartbreaking sacrifice that, while it obviously didn’t last, was the moment from Rise that hit me the hardest.

The way the movie managed to really hammer home the weight of Leo’s decision and the growth of his character in that moment through everyone’s reactions, the music, and the stunning animation and coloring was incredible.

Outside of Leo’s fantastic arc and the Kraang the animation is absolutely stunning. There’s a reason the fight with the Kraang leader was all over the place after this movie released. The animation for Rise has always been fantastic and here is no exception. I don’t really think I can add anything to this point that hasn’t already been said by anyone who has seen the film.

Honestly if you haven’t seen it yet you should definitely give it a shot.

I’m just really disappointed this movie is probably the last we’ll see of Rise of the Tmnt because from my experience watching the series for the first time this show just continually got better. It introduced and hinted at so many elements from past iterations of the turtles near the end that I really wanted to see their take on.

Overall I think Rise is a really fun series that has amazing highs and a finale and movie that are legitimately great but it is a bit inconsistent in terms of pacing and tone with a rocky start and contains some changes to the characters that didn’t work completely for me personally. 

At its best this show easily stands toe to toe with the heights of the previous series. And in many ways those heights are completely unique from all the other iterations because of how much it twists the previously established lore and characters to make them its own.

After watching this series I can completely understand why so many people love this iteration of the turtles and I do consider the show great. I will definitely re-visit many of these episodes and the movie time and time again.

Extra Thoughts

What is it with tmnt series and dark futures? There’s Same as it Never Was, Mutant Apocalypse, The Rise Movie, The Last Ronin, etc. The brothers can never catch a break and get a nice happy ending can they?

I really love this version of Donnie and I think he's the character that worked best for me in this series. Donatello has always been my favorite turtle and in early iterations of the turtles I was a bit disappointed with how underutilized he was in the series. The episodes focused on him were great, but until 2012 Donatello was easily the most underappreciated turtle with the least amount of focus and screen time of the four. 2012 and Rise finally gave him the attention and focus I always wanted.

I kind of feel bad for saying this but I prefer Rafael and Leonardo’s conflict in the 2003 show, 2012 show, and 2007 TMNT movie to their conflict in this series. I also prefer the Character interpretations of Rafael where he’s the hothead. Where he chafes under Leo’s leadership and is forced to grow and mature so that he can handle his anger in better, more productive ways. I’m not saying this version of Rafael is bad or that Leo and Raph’s conflict isn’t complex, just that I personally prefer different versions of these things. And I completely understand that that’s personal preference. I think that this iteration will definitely work really well for other people and I think that’s great.

I really enjoy this version of Mikey and I'm disappointed he is given significantly less focus than any of the other turtles in this series. All the rest of the turtles get episodes dedicated solely to them and their struggles even April gets more individual focus than Mikey in season 2. I think Mikey is a great character to bounce off of but I was disappointed he never really got much time in the spotlight.

While the lore grew to become one of my favorite things about the series, not all of it worked for me. It was actually mostly the mystic pizza joint and some of the yokai that didn’t work for me because Big Mama, The hidden city, Draxum, the battle nexus, and the shredder/foot all grew on me whereas that part didn’t. I think this had more to do with the fact that the episodes centered on this part of the world were my least favorite in the series than anything else.

This series made the interesting decision to move away from the more grounded tone of past turtles incarnations. The turtles, at least in the shows, had progressively gotten more and more grounded in “reality” with even Donnie’s inventions, while still being incredible, reflecting the limited resources they would realistically have when living in the sewers. This series abandons any tether it might have had to reality and has the turtles out in broad daylight with only hoodies/tops to hide in, Donnie's inventions are even grander than before, and there's a whole hidden city where the turtles can be normal. They also immediately get mystic power and rarely interact with street level crime like their past incarnations. In some ways this worked and made the series immediately recognizable and stand out from its predecessors but in others it made them feel very disconnected from their roots and what made them so relatable in the first place which unfortunately alienated some people.

This ended up working really well for me after things started to come together and I think it’s a bit unfortunate that this will be a roadblock for people getting into the series.

The backlash the character designs got is something that I never really understood. Each turtle looks completely unique and for most of them you can grasp aspects of their personality and what they like by looking at them. This is a mark of good character design.

Amphibia Season 3 Thoughts/Review

Season 3 of Amphibia is easily the most divisive season among the fanbase. There are a lot of different reasons for this but I think it primarily comes down to tone and pacing.

The reason why the issues with tone and pacing are so prominent is because of how it followed up True Colors. True Colors came in and seemed to promise that things would never be the same. It created a scenario for Anne and the Plantars that was very desperate. Sasha was left in Amphibia, Marcy had been stabbed (and for all they knew was dead), Amphibia was in imminent danger, and earth was going to be invaded next.

All of this should have created a massive sense of urgency and worry, but this doesn’t carry over very well into many of the episodes. The tonal whiplash that occurs when you watch True Colors and The New Normal back to back is massive. It goes from that gut punch of an ending to Anne being excited that she has wifi for the first time in months so quickly that it’s almost as if the characters forgot what happened.

When the show does address the sense of urgency the characters should have it is always on Anne’s end. Anne is the one staying up researching how to get back, Anne is the one trying to drop everything for new leads, Anne is the one losing sleep over the situation. The most the Plantars show on their end is homesickness. 

They are frequently the ones telling Anne to be careful or calm down which seems odd because they should have very pressing and important reasons for wanting to get back beyond missing their home.

In season 2 the heroes’ lack of urgency made sense. They didn’t know about Andrias’ plans, the core, or Sasha’s toad rebellion. The episodes where they explored Newtopia or visited towns on their travels fit much better because of their gap in knowledge and like I said previously those episodes usually found a way to keep the story moving forward or have important character moments so that they rarely distracted from the plot.

In season 3 there’s too much hanging over the characters’ heads that they know about for it to feel organic watching the episodes back to back. 

This isn’t to say that what happens on the earth half of the season is bad. The content is actually very enjoyable. Watching the role reversal between Anne and the Plantars is fun and we get to see even more of Anne’s culture and home life which is always a welcome addition.

The exploration of Anne’s family and culture is one of the best things about the first half of the season. The Thai Temple episode (Temple Frogs) in particular is one of my favorites. 

It has Anne displaying the urgency that some episodes were missing while also addressing how Anne’s parents struggled during her time away and how their community kept them afloat. This strikes a balance that makes almost everything that happens feel important on an emotional level without losing sight of what this half of the season is building towards.

This is also the case with the Christmas episode.

This half of the season doesn’t all take place on earth either. The perspective shifts back to Amphibia for a few episodes as well and they are two of the best episodes to come out of this half of the season. 

Turning Point and Olivia & Yunan serve as much needed glimpses into what is happening in Amphibia and handle the fallout of True Colors more directly.

In Turning Point Sasha takes responsibility for her actions throughout the series and decides to work towards being a better person with every action moving forward. She uses her strengths for good to fight against Andrias and protect the people and starts her redemption.

In Olivia & Yunan we see the crushing guilt Marcy is dealing with in the wake of True Colors and how she’s not doing so hot after being STABBED THROUGH THE CHEST. She is then possessed by the core in an honestly horrifying scene and loses all autonomy. 

In both of these episodes the course of the show is irrevocably changed and so are Sasha and Marcy. These episodes set up their arcs and roles heading into the endgame of Amphibia. 

This makes these episodes stand in stark contrast to many of the episodes surrounding them. They are darker in tone and have a sharp focus on what they are trying to do. These episodes are more in line with what I believe people thought this season would be heading into it. This helps make these what I believe to be the best episodes of this half of the season.

These episodes also break up the earth portions of the season and help the pacing immensely on re-watch. 

The first half of the season ends on the Christmas episode Froggy Little Christmas which, while a fun episodes that refocuses on the conflict with Andrias, shouldn’t have been the midseason finale. Escape to Amphibia should have been. It is the actual end of the earth portion of the series and feels like the beginning of the end in a way that the Christmas episode couldn’t capture (understandably).

So much about the episode is a bookend to this chapter of Amphibia and it has a lot of parallels that harken back to formative aspects of Anne’s character and the show as a whole. My favorite ones are this one 

and this one 

The first parallel is very reminiscent of Sasha during the third temple and I think that is intentional. Sasha’s redesign has her incorporate blue into her armor along with the red which symbolizes how Anne has changed Sasha and how she is incorporating the lessons she has learned throughout Amphibia and Anne into herself. This shows that the effect on each other is mutual. Sasha was not a good friend to Anne before this point but her good traits (when not taken to the extreme) have rubbed off on Anne and in some ways inspired her like she said in “The Third Temple”.

And the second parallel is very effective because it is put into stark contrast with the first time Anne and the Plantars come over the hill and see the rest of the valley for the first time. It takes the wonder and awe that was present the first time and twists it into shock and horror. It really hits home just how long Anne has been away and just how much True Colors effected Amphibia.

I want to take a second to mention how great Anne’s parents are. They really were the MVPs of the earth portion of the season and this episode.

It’s refreshing to see Anne and the Plantars back in Amphibia and this marks the start of the second half of the season which is the hardest to talk about in regards to the series as a whole in my opinion.

The second half of the season is complicated because it’s probably the most inconsistent part of the series. It contains some of the best content of the entire show and of any animated series airing at the time but it also has lows that mess up the pacing and ultimately end up feeling directionless at times.

The second half of the season starts out strong with Escape to Amphibia and Commander Anne but doesn’t maintain that momentum. The episodes primarily focus on the rebellion gaining forces to take on King Andrias but this doesn’t culminate in a satisfying way. 

The only episode we get to see the army fight is The Beginning of the End, but then they quickly become irrelevant after Sasha and Anne’s plan fails and the invasion of earth begins. This makes the majority of episodes in season 3B ultimately feel like they weren’t building towards anything. 

At least in 3A a lot of the people Anne and the Plantars impacted on their earth adventures come together to help them take on the government and get back to Amphibia. It makes it feel like there is some semblance of an end goal.

But with 3B the important players aren’t any of the amphibians they get to join their cause and it is entirely focused on the calamity trio, Andrias, the Plantars, and Grime. The army doesn’t play a part in stopping Andrias’ invasion when they get to earth or taking down the core.

It’s odd because these episodes bring back so many characters and plot points from the first season and makes it seem like it’s all coming full circle. That everything that happened in the beginning is going to come around in a big way and be the reason they will win in the end.

It built a certain expectation that it didn’t fulfill which hurts the episodes a lot on re-watch. 

These episodes do manage to flow better than the episodes in the first half of the season (at least to me) though because the setting and characters are ones I’m familiar with and invested in which always makes them at the very least enjoyable to watch. 

Episodes like Grime’s Pupil and Sasha’s Angels have all the issues I mentioned above but because they feature new relationships between characters I know and love and are centered around the conflict I am more emotionally invested in they always manage to hold my attention more than certain episodes in the first half and remain fun. 

There are episodes that didn’t do this nearly as well like Mother of Olms, which promised so much more than it actually ended up delivering on that it left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth when I first watched it. It’s better on re-watch, but it’s episodes like this coupled with the overarching narrative problems that leads to an uneven stretch of episodes.

There are some very good episodes sprinkled into this run with the clear standout being The Core and The King. 

The Core and The King is a fascinating look into Andrias’ past and why he is the way he is. It adds so much nuance to his character and actions in True Colors. It is held back a bit by the fact it isn’t a half hour special episode and thus can’t spend the time necessary to attach the audience to the characters of Leif and Barrel, but it still believably portrays the actions and relationships that it focuses on. The best relationship exploration of the episode is easily that of Andrias and his father, which recontextualizes his allegiance to the core and dedication to his mission.

This episode adds a level of tragedy to Andrias and his relationship to Marcy that retroactively elevates their relationship in season 2 and the betrayal in True Colors. There’s a level of regret and genuine care that feels like it’s simmering just below the surface that plants the seeds for the flashbacks in All In and makes their entire journey together really bittersweet.

This leads us to the finale three episodes (essentially one big finale), but before I talk about those I want to address how this season handles the calamity trio.

I’d say this is a mixed bag and it’s understandable why people have such conflicting opinions on this particular part of the season. This is where the trio are at their most important. The emotional climaxes of almost all 3 parts of the finale depend on them.

They are the ones the final battles come down to. There is so much riding on their growth and the audience’s emotional connection to them that they needed focus this season.

Sasha and Marcy have had limited screen time coming into this season but it was handled well in regards to the story and themes the show was trying to cover. In the third season they both still have limited screen time but the way that screen time is handled is vastly different between the two.

Sasha is the one that comes out far better in regards to this. She completes her arc and gets her redemption. Her perspective and change is put on full display.

There’s even a subplot that has Anne and Sasha go through an awkward transitionary period in their friendship that has Anne’s doubts and frustrations with the past surface. These moments are used to show Sasha’s change and work in regards to their overarching relationship. It feels earned that their friendship comes back together stronger because of who they are now as people and all the trials they’ve gone through. 

Sasha’s arc is one of the best handled in the series. A few things could have been tightened up, such as her gaining the trust of the Wartwood citizens, but overall it had a strong core that it never lost sight of.

It also culminates in a powerful way within All In.

But that isn’t the case with Marcy. Marcy is benched for a lot of this final season due to her possession. The idea behind Darcy is very intriguing and they could have been one of the best Disney villains to come out of a cartoon in recent years, but they were underutilized so the emotional impact of them was limited to mainly The Beginning of the End (which was fantastic).

This choice made it so Marcy was put into stasis and couldn’t realize her own development that started in True Colors. It makes for an emotional reunion in The Beginning of the End and All In but it makes it so Marcy’s arc feels shortchanged in comparison to her friends.

There’s also the fact that due to the crews strained relationship with Disney and S&P after the True Colors fiasco they weren’t allowed to address Marcy getting stabbed. This was a major moment that should have had massive repercussions moving forward but due to this handicap it fizzled out into an afterthought that hurt Marcy’s character arc and diminished how well her importance to Sasha and Anne could be displayed.

Even with the show struggling to juggle the calamity trio and their baggage (particularly Marcy) with the lighter tone they were encouraged to have and some of the directions they chose to go in the final three episodes hit almost all of the beats they needed to for the conclusion to their arcs and the journey of the show to be satisfying.

The final three episodes of the show are great and have some of the most emotional moments of the series. They were allowed to be darker and address the more difficult topics and themes the show had set up. It’s a shame that many of these very fascinating issues and conflicts were pushed back to the final few episodes, but the way they are dealt with here are for the most part fantastic.

I’ve talked in depth about each part of the finale on here already but to sum it up they manage to make the themes and character arcs set up in the story and pay them all off. There are a few issues I have with each of them here and there but for the most part they are a fitting send off and provide one of the best conclusions to a series I’ve seen in quite some time. 

The Beginning of the End expands on the pre-amphibia trio dynamic in regards to Marcy in a poignant portrayal of her isolation that elevates the tragic reunion between the friends at the end and is easily the episode that best utilizes Darcy.

All In puts the changes each of the trio have gone through during their journey in Amphibia on full display, allowing them to have a quiet reconciliation that touches on the care and impact each have had on one another.

The Hardest Thing manages to be a heartfelt goodbye to the series and world of Amphibia as a whole and keeps a sharp focus on the main themes of the story. This is the episode I have the most issues with of the three but it still manages to close out the series on a bittersweet note that makes sure the impact of these adventures can be felt on the characters even ten years later.

These episodes aren’t perfect (I go into greater depth on the episodes in the linked posts) but they are still some of my favorite of the series and remind me why I love this show so much in the first place. 

I feel like this came off rather harsh. I wanted to take a more objective look at the series season by season and address some of the legitimate issues while explaining its strengths and expressing what I personally loved about it. I don’t know if I got the balance right but I want to express that I really do love this show.

Amphibia is such a great and fun series. It wasn’t perfect but nothing is. It’s been almost a year since the show ended but I still miss it. I really came to love the characters and world this series created. I hope others got the enjoyment that I did out of it.

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Extra Thoughts

I really love where the trio end the series. In a way it hits harder considering where I am in my life. It’s pretty obvious that none of the trio really loved themselves prior to their journey in Amphibia but you see how each have grown into their own and are happy with where they are. They’ve found callings that help them express themselves and what they learned and it hits you that they’re okay. That things changed and they lost things and people but they kept those memories and eventually reconnected. I really like that. 

The jobs each of the girls end up with after the time skip are so perfect for each of them. 

I realized I never said this in any of my previous re-watch thoughts/reviews but Anne is a great protagonist that goes through so much development and growth. Her arc of learning self love and worth is amazing. I just felt that needed to be said.

I’m mixed on the decision to keep the reveal of the new Sasha a secret until Commander Anne. One the one hand it does succeed in what it was attempting to do. It does shock the audience with how much Sasha has changed just like it does Anne. But on the other hand I wish we had gotten to see that change in greater depth. It felt like a bit of a missed opportunity. It wouldn’t have needed a ton of screen time, in fact I think having at least a single episode showing Sasha growing into the role of commander of Wartwood while working on being a better person could have helped the awkward pacing of the first part of the season and establish the dynamics of the resistance.

One issue I didn’t touch upon above is how the show struggles to keep the Plantars relevant in the second half of the season. Many episodes just have the Plantars be present but don’t give them much to do, if they give them anything at all. In fact, Polly gets no focus or development in the second half of the season. 

There is one part in Escape to Amphibia that doesn’t really sit right with me and that’s the scene where Sprig tells Anne it couldn’t hurt for them to wait a bit longer before returning to Amphibia if she isn’t ready. I understand what the writer was going for with Anne not being ready to say goodbye to her parents again and face a war that may have already claimed her friends, but it once again undercuts the desperation of the situation. Almost as if the characters and show believe the conflict in Amphibia is put into stasis because Anne and the Plantars aren’t there which hurts the storytelling and tension of the season. Once again not taking the consequences of True Colors as seriously as they should.

Marcy and Sasha’s parents should have been seen at least once in the series. I could go into a hundred reasons why this would have been the better move but plenty of people have talked about it before and in greater depth than I could. It was definitely wasted potential and felt weird to tease them twice (Froggy Little Christmas and All In) only to never see them in the show.

This season is what I believe to be the musical peak of the series with fantastic and emotionally charged tracks that I listen to. I love the entirety of the score for All In but my personal favorite one of this season has to be the sad rendition of Marcy’s theme that plays over the credits of The Beginning of the End. That track is a gut punch. (TJ Hill has released most of the tracks on his youtube channel)

I do really enjoy the development that Polly gets in the first half of the season. She was the only Plantar that felt like they had tangible development which is once again disappointing because I do genuinely like the Plantars.

Blue Eye Samurai Thoughts

These thoughts are sort of scattered and don’t cover everything I think makes this show great but I wanted to get something out about this amazing show.

Every once in a while an animated project comes around that makes me sit back in awe that something this phenomenal was allowed to be made. That something this rife with creativity, care, and emotion was given the freedom necessary for the people behind the scenes to make an authentic experience that really pushes the boundaries of what animation can do. And Blue Eye Samurai did just that. 

The last time I felt that way about an animated show was Arcane.

Blue Eye Samurai follows Mizu, a child of mixed race that was deemed a monster due to her parentage, and her journey to kill the man who sired her. It’s a dark, tragic tale that blends 2D and 3D animation to create a story that centers themes of prejudice, class, identity, found family, revenge, and loss.

It’s one of the most gorgeous shows to come out in the last few years. With pretty much the entire show having the ability to leave you breathless. The action scenes in particular are standouts (shocking I know).

In these action scenes the show really embraces the freedom its rating gives it without falling into the usual trappings shows with a mature rating tend to. Blue Eye Samurai has an abundance of bloody gore filled violence that never becomes gratuitous. It all feels purposeful and poignant within the story itself and how it explores its themes. It gives the consequences of Mizu’s revenge depth. Not just in how it effects the people around her and the collateral, but also in how the violence Mizu perpetrates effects her.

This is best explored in episode 5 (The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride), which is probably the best episode in the season, where we get to see a glimpse into Mizu’s past and how her path towards revenge is solidified.

The hopefulness of the past is directly juxtaposed with the bloody carnage of the present, while the story of the bride and the ronin is told over the course of the episode. There’s a foreboding that is layered over top of every scene in the past, the knowledge that in some way this goes wrong and leads Mizu to this point. To become this force of nature capable of cutting down men without hesitation.

It shows those parts of Mizu she’s lost through the hardships her life threw at her and those parts she’s been forced to discard herself to accomplish her goals.

The loss brought on by the hardships her life threw at her is shown in the past with her mother and husband and their betrayal and death. And the parts of herself she’s had to discard is shown in the present when she initially spares the boy that turns her in and almost gets the women in the brothel and herself killed that she ultimately kills in the end when faced with the same choice.

This is all just scratching the surface of this exploration, but I think it gets across the point that this show does a good job of exploring the nuances of revenge and what led Mizu to this point.

It’s the show’s meticulous exploration of aspects of Mizu’s character that makes her such a complicated character and an amazing protagonist. I don’t know if anything I write would really do her justice, but the complexity and nuance of her character alone make this show worth watching.

The second most interesting character to me was Akemi. 

Akemi’s arc is incredibly compelling. She goes from feeling trapped and trying desperately to escape to learning how to use her cunning to try and become great. But because this arc is occurring in Blue Eye Samurai it isn’t as straightforward as that description makes it seem on the surface. That arc is flipped on its head and to show what I mean I want to look at the scene on the bridge.

That scene on the bridge after Seki dies was one of the most intriguing of the final episode. That moment you can see the shift in Akemi’s desires from that of freedom to that of greatness. In many ways this isn’t the victory that it should be.

The wording seems like that of someone taking control of their own destiny and deciding to pull themselves up to a position higher than anyone thought possible, but the framing with the city in flames behind her, the shogunate’s enemies burning alive, and Seki dead on the ground put it in a more tragic/sinister light.

And those words she speaks that are on the surface sound triumphant echo sentiments that her father has said to her (telling him he’s only alive because of her and the belief that she can control the shogun, etc). Her desire for greatness even reflects his own. 

This isn’t really freedom and considering the almost naive quest for that freedom she went through during the season and was even hopeful she could obtain just moments before, living out her days with Seki on his family farm, make this feel less a victory and more like she’s becoming what she has to. That she’s hardened. That she’s starting down a path that mirrors Mizu’s in some ways.

And this mirror between Mizu and Akemi is clearly intentional. The show itself visually mirrors the two within this same episode in the exact scene I was just talking about.

And throughout the season she is the most direct foil to Mizu. Both found different ways to try and work around the inherent restrictions being a woman in 1600s Japan would entail, to gain any semblance of freedom from those restrictions, but were ultimately hurt by those expectations/restrictions in a way that forced them to change.

They took how they handled it in two completely opposite directions (Mizu presenting as a man and Akemi using her sexuality and forced marriage to her advantage. In broad, over-simplified terms: rejecting femininity vs embracing it to achieve their goals) which is what makes them such interesting foils for one another.

This parallel/contrast to Mizu makes her the most interesting of the supporting cast and her end point puts her into what might be the most compelling spot out of all the main characters heading into next season.

(Plus she’s voiced by Brenda Song aka Anne Boonchuy and London Tipton)

Honestly all of the characters are given nuance that makes them at the very least entertaining.

The show even manages to make a character that could have just been comedic relief an interesting character and an avenue to expand on its exploration of themes with (season MVP) Ringo.

This is best shown through Ringo’s views of greatness. They at first seem shallow and naive. Not really looking deeper than the surface at what this idea entails and he floats from one thing to the next so easily that it can initially seem unfocused, but I think that’s the point. Ringo doesn’t really know what greatness is so his view of it is constantly changing and what he believes he can be great at is constantly changing too. 

Just like the audience he is awed by Mizu’s strength and ability in battle, but as the brutality and reality of what that skill brings comes to light the idea that this skill and determination is greatness slowly dims. It never entirely dies out because this isn’t meant to destroy his idea of greatness, but instead change it from a black and white binary to something that is more blurred. He still sees greatness/potential for greatness within Mizu, but he doesn’t see her as the pinnacle anymore. The end all be all.

And what he can do to be great constantly changes because he’s suddenly had so many opportunities he never could have dreamed about, due to his disability and being stuck at his father’s noodle shop, opened to him that he needs the time to explore what he wants. He’s still trying to find his calling and by the end of the series he might have found the start of it in the same place that Mizu did– With Swordfather. 

The one thing about Blue Eye Samurai that didn’t quite work for me is the use of music. The show’s score is beautiful and used to great effect, but the music it chose to put over scenes would pull me out of the moment almost every time because it used highly recognizable songs that I’d heard in so many pieces of media it felt inauthentic and jarring.

This is a small complaint because there are only 2 scenes where the music choice did this, but I felt I should mention it because of how important these scenes were supposed to be. The rest of the show easily makes up for this small gripe.

I could probably ramble about this show all day but I’ll cut this off here and say this: Blue Eye Samurai easily lives up to the hype that everyone has been giving it. It’s a visually stunning show with compelling characters that explores its themes in such depth that I can’t wait to see where it goes from here. 

Random thoughts

I love the shot of Mizu in The Great Fire of 1657 where she’s staring Fowler down, flames behind her and eyes a piercing blue, because of the perspective of this shot. This is shown through the eyes of Fowler, the man who just brought an army to the shogunate’s doorstep with the plan to take over Japan, and yet he’s afraid of Mizu and the lengths she will go to achieve her goals. It’s such a chilling shot that absolutely shook me to my core. (Man Blue Eye Samurai is amazing at these types of shots)

Taigen is a character that I had a lot of fun with, but didn’t make as much of an impression on me as the rest of the characters. He isn’t as complicated and compelling as Mizu and Akemi or as thematically interesting as (season MVP) Ringo. I wish I had more to say about him, but I don’t. I do think his dynamic with Mizu is interesting though.

Fowler is a really fun villain and I can’t wait to see how he plays off of Mizu now that he is going to be her guide in London. I can’t wait to explore those bombshells he dropped in the finale about Mizu’s origins.

The fights in episode 6 were the most visually stunning to me in the season. The way it played around with lighting and perspective was incredible. 

I didn’t talk about it much above but I thought the way Blue Eye Samurai explored Mizu’s relationship to her gender to be very compelling and nuanced. The way it’s handled lends itself to a fascinating exploration of identity and gender that I think is important.

Swordfather has such a great relationship with Mizu. He knew she didn't leave his house the night before and just decides to adopt her and teach her everything he knows, giving her a stable relationship that doesn't reinforce her shame. He doesn't recognize her mixed heritage as a point of shame instead embracing her for who she is and letting her know that her mixed heritage doesn't make her impure, standing up for her when the bandit threatens to hit her and insults her origins. This genuine care is something Mizu desperately needed as a child and it was amazing to watch.

I think I want to go into greater depth at some point on my points on Mizu and Akemi being mirrors to one another and how The Ronin and the Bride explores violence and loss and how they're intertwined in Mizu's life at some point.

It’s shows like this that make me even more frustrated at Netflix. They were on such a role in animation and were (and sort of still are) a driving factor in changing the landscape of adult animation that they were frequently the platform that I was most excited to see new animated projects on, but then they absolutely gutted their animation division and showed little to no respect to the work of those that made the animated properties and I lost a lot of respect for them as a result. I really hope projects like Blue Eye Samurai keep being made and that platforms start respecting animation like it deserves.

I kind of feel like adding a few adult animated recommendations on netflix to this so here goes: Arcane (duh. It’s a masterpiece), Pluto, Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Castlevania, Carol and the End of the World, Skull Island, Inside Job, and Tear Along the Dotted Line.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners - What We Leave Behind

“You don't make a name as a cyberpunk by how you live. You're remembered by how you die.”

And yet after David’s death when Lucy is on the moon she remembers him for his life. She remembers who he was when she first met him and why she was drawn to him in the first place. She remembers how happy and passionate he was when she showed him her dream. It was that part of him that pushed her forward and made her fall in love.

She remembers David Martinez, not the edgerunner, but the human.

So much of Cyberpunk Edgerunners focuses on just how little we really leave behind once we’re gone. Many of the characters die suddenly without warning and there is nothing tangible to remember them by. The only characters that leave something physical behind are Maine and Gloria. Their keepsakes are carried on David and are later destroyed during David’s final mission.

Even David’s death has nothing tangible to show for it. He didn’t get the chance to leave a keepsake or a physical part of himself. Even how he died is covered up by the Arasaka corporation so it isn’t replayed on those chips we saw at the beginning.

But people aren’t just measured by what they physically leave behind but by how they impact the people around them and how their memory is carried forward. That’s what that final scene is about. 

The show ultimately places the emphasis on the connections you make when alive and the impact you had on the people around you. 

Lucy’s dream was to go to the moon but after his promise to take her there it shifted to going to the moon with David. He can’t be there in the physical sense but she carries him with her on the moon through her memories.

The final few shots even mirror episode 2 when Lucy showed David her simulation of the moon and Lucy even takes David’s place in a few of the shot recreations to emphasize the point.

This show is tragic with so many layers but this was what hit me the hardest when watching the finale.