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beccaelizabethUgh.
I mean, don't get me wrong, the idea that the work of one man can inspire a generation to great heroism has obvious emotional appeal, I'm a writer and I get exactly why they wanted to write this.
But it's just... ugh.
The way they did it has too much of the self congratulatory back pat and I got bored.
The only bits of this I listened to with actual sound were the Mick story.
... many of us have been wanting to hear Mick say "I love you" to Len but not like this.
Also the parts of the episode don't really connect much. Two emotional points where they should: inspired by, and Sara feeling responsible for getting everyone back on the ship. Both could be about Snart.
The whole thing with Rip suffering from the temporal equivalent of electrocution ... probably sounded funnier to the writers? I mean you get that moment where you strip the character down and see what's in his heart, and there's the impression left that he's always doing an impression of Rip Hunter anyway, which is interesting. His tendency in season one to do inspirational speeches to talk himself into believing them, and his occasional feeling like a fraud. Thinking Sara is the real hero. Lots of plausible interesting notes. And this is one side of pulling him apart to see how he ticks. If all that's left is feelings, turns out he's still the guy who'll step up.
In the stupidest way possible. I mean, why? Ugh.
"recreational drug user" is... a thing. they just threw that in there for the funny, but it's not funny.
And then he's going to get tortured. Way to end an otherwise funny episode.
tonally jarring.
as is everything that happens with Mick and Martin. I mean, it seems like it's meant to be funny, but it's fucking tragic.
Also I can't tell if the writers agree with Martin and think this is normal grieving??? ??? ??
The bit in the middle where there's a receiver in Mick's head and Mick gets the flashback of the very bad the Time Masters did to him and Martin had just... forgotten...
*shudders*
this crew do not look after each other.
I realise Mick threatening to kill Martin is super inappropriate too, that has not escaped my attention, but half a dozen beer bottles and some hallucinations mean he's not the responsible adult right then. Martin just... didn't think about this.
His whole reaction is not appropriate. Mick is trying to get help? Insist he gets the right help. Ask him who his last pshrink was. Make clear to a more sober version that physics and psychiatry have no overlap, no matter how much time Martin spends in the med bay.
Also, the disconnect between the two parts of the story is massive and ridiculous: Ray is remembering being a surgeon. A medical doctor. But that never gets relevant.
The theoretical physicist does brain surgery and *Sara and Jax let him*.
At around this point I want to rescue Mick from these people.
Also from the writers.
That is deeply fucked up.
Also the writers put this whole story in to raise and smash hopes of Oculus Len surviving in a modified form.
Thanks a lot.
I know they needed to do it to get the character and plot where they want him to go, but surprise, the viewers didn't want him to go there. And the viewers had that hope. So why... this?
It also complicates things that this happened during a temporal aberration that effected the crew. I mean, I don't think it will in canon, but it should. Anything learned about the chip in Mick's head might have been altered along with everything else.
Mick having a chip in his head that can receive signals nothing else around there can ought to be a fascinating thread. They should put the chip on a different receiver and see what messages it's getting. They should research its original purpose.
But I doubt they will.
Mick having been hit on the head one too many times to turn it off?
Not actually funny.
Why is brain injury and emotional trauma being used as a punchline?
I say this as someone who read Justice League comics from that time after Guy got hit in the head and lost most of his smarts but turned nicer. I read that, I ended up a big fan of Guy Gardner, because here's a guy with brain damage who never lets it stop him.
Same with Mick. All the shit he's been through, he's still here.
The fact his team treat him so poorly, and Martin makes those snide little jokes about Mick having an idea being a first, just... screw all of them.
Mick threatening them physically is not on either.
Though it's kind of relevant almost everyone else has superpowers and he just has a gun?
But even so it's not acceptable.
But the way the supposed good guys treat this person who will literally carry all their arses out of the fire at one point or another is just... no.
I quite liked the idea of Oculus Len the time ghost. Who wouldn't?
... Mick wanted the receiver out of his head, so, er, Mick.
... Len in his head keeps telling Mick to get out. And has a point...
It's frustrating me how the story is giving us all these heartbreaking pieces but seems to think it makes Mick frightening and funny. I just... I don't get what they think they're doing. And I don't like it.
Everyone's getting a lot of character stuff and emotional mileage, Sara and leadership and trying to live up to the past, Martin and his arrogant judgemental self making changes, Ray and Nate losing and finding themselves repeatedly, but Mick's is the most emotionally charged.
... and I know how it ends, and am not looking forwards to it.
*sigh*
I mean, don't get me wrong, the idea that the work of one man can inspire a generation to great heroism has obvious emotional appeal, I'm a writer and I get exactly why they wanted to write this.
But it's just... ugh.
The way they did it has too much of the self congratulatory back pat and I got bored.
The only bits of this I listened to with actual sound were the Mick story.
... many of us have been wanting to hear Mick say "I love you" to Len but not like this.
Also the parts of the episode don't really connect much. Two emotional points where they should: inspired by, and Sara feeling responsible for getting everyone back on the ship. Both could be about Snart.
The whole thing with Rip suffering from the temporal equivalent of electrocution ... probably sounded funnier to the writers? I mean you get that moment where you strip the character down and see what's in his heart, and there's the impression left that he's always doing an impression of Rip Hunter anyway, which is interesting. His tendency in season one to do inspirational speeches to talk himself into believing them, and his occasional feeling like a fraud. Thinking Sara is the real hero. Lots of plausible interesting notes. And this is one side of pulling him apart to see how he ticks. If all that's left is feelings, turns out he's still the guy who'll step up.
In the stupidest way possible. I mean, why? Ugh.
"recreational drug user" is... a thing. they just threw that in there for the funny, but it's not funny.
And then he's going to get tortured. Way to end an otherwise funny episode.
tonally jarring.
as is everything that happens with Mick and Martin. I mean, it seems like it's meant to be funny, but it's fucking tragic.
Also I can't tell if the writers agree with Martin and think this is normal grieving??? ??? ??
The bit in the middle where there's a receiver in Mick's head and Mick gets the flashback of the very bad the Time Masters did to him and Martin had just... forgotten...
*shudders*
this crew do not look after each other.
I realise Mick threatening to kill Martin is super inappropriate too, that has not escaped my attention, but half a dozen beer bottles and some hallucinations mean he's not the responsible adult right then. Martin just... didn't think about this.
His whole reaction is not appropriate. Mick is trying to get help? Insist he gets the right help. Ask him who his last pshrink was. Make clear to a more sober version that physics and psychiatry have no overlap, no matter how much time Martin spends in the med bay.
Also, the disconnect between the two parts of the story is massive and ridiculous: Ray is remembering being a surgeon. A medical doctor. But that never gets relevant.
The theoretical physicist does brain surgery and *Sara and Jax let him*.
At around this point I want to rescue Mick from these people.
Also from the writers.
That is deeply fucked up.
Also the writers put this whole story in to raise and smash hopes of Oculus Len surviving in a modified form.
Thanks a lot.
I know they needed to do it to get the character and plot where they want him to go, but surprise, the viewers didn't want him to go there. And the viewers had that hope. So why... this?
It also complicates things that this happened during a temporal aberration that effected the crew. I mean, I don't think it will in canon, but it should. Anything learned about the chip in Mick's head might have been altered along with everything else.
Mick having a chip in his head that can receive signals nothing else around there can ought to be a fascinating thread. They should put the chip on a different receiver and see what messages it's getting. They should research its original purpose.
But I doubt they will.
Mick having been hit on the head one too many times to turn it off?
Not actually funny.
Why is brain injury and emotional trauma being used as a punchline?
I say this as someone who read Justice League comics from that time after Guy got hit in the head and lost most of his smarts but turned nicer. I read that, I ended up a big fan of Guy Gardner, because here's a guy with brain damage who never lets it stop him.
Same with Mick. All the shit he's been through, he's still here.
The fact his team treat him so poorly, and Martin makes those snide little jokes about Mick having an idea being a first, just... screw all of them.
Mick threatening them physically is not on either.
Though it's kind of relevant almost everyone else has superpowers and he just has a gun?
But even so it's not acceptable.
But the way the supposed good guys treat this person who will literally carry all their arses out of the fire at one point or another is just... no.
I quite liked the idea of Oculus Len the time ghost. Who wouldn't?
... Mick wanted the receiver out of his head, so, er, Mick.
... Len in his head keeps telling Mick to get out. And has a point...
It's frustrating me how the story is giving us all these heartbreaking pieces but seems to think it makes Mick frightening and funny. I just... I don't get what they think they're doing. And I don't like it.
Everyone's getting a lot of character stuff and emotional mileage, Sara and leadership and trying to live up to the past, Martin and his arrogant judgemental self making changes, Ray and Nate losing and finding themselves repeatedly, but Mick's is the most emotionally charged.
... and I know how it ends, and am not looking forwards to it.
*sigh*