...Damn, Netflix.
I really enjoyed JJ season 1. It had characters who were strongly written and flawed and interacted believably. It had themes that deserved attention.
Similarly, I guess, I should say I also enjoyed season 1 of Daredevil.
Luke Cage...? Eh. Pretty strong start, charismatic lead, weak finish. Haven't been able to force myself to finish Iron Fist. I enjoyed Defenders well enough, when it wasn't being stupid... I think they vastly overestimated our investment in Elektra and her connection to Daredevil, and Danny Rand is still Danny Rand, even with the occasional interjection from one of the other players indicating awareness that he's kind of an idiot.
Oh, and Punisher. Punisher was better than I expected, given how unlikable the character was when they introduced him in Daredevil. I'd give it a B-.
Jessica Jones Season 2 is... Frustrating. And, well, no mincing words... It's bad.
Maybe all the more frustrating because there's some good stuff in it- it's just that almost all of it occurs in side characters, and the farther they get from the central plot the more interesting they get to be. Hogarth gets some interesting things to do and some character development, of all people. Hogarth!
By episode 11, I accurately predicted most of what was going to happen, right down to Trish's final "revelation". The only times I didn't expect things to happen (or at least not in the ways that they did) were because they way they panned out was stupid. And then I got to watch as it dragged on, dropping pieces like a zombie, for two more episodes.
This is a show where multiple times people have one conversation about someone's motivations- and, suddenly, those are their motivations. It's not that there's any sort of serious A-B-C; it's like a beginner's improv class: "This is your motivation. GO!" And these are motivations that go against what people have done before, motivations that fly in the face of common sense, motivations that serve to drag the plot kicking and screaming at the expense of character building and consistency and sympathy. And realism, to whatever tiny extent a gritty superhero show can lay any claim to realism. (My, but Jessica's legal problems vanish when it's convenient...)
I'm not going to say they can't pull another good season, but for all the attempts to shake the viewer by the collar and say "THIS HAS SERIOUS EMOTIONAL CONSEQUENCES!"... 90% of what happens in this season would be better put behind it and never mentioned again. It's beginning to feel like either the stronger writing in earlier Marvel-Netflix shows was a fluke, or they're trying to do too much too fast and stretching themselves too thin.
In either case, whoever gets hold of Marvel's cinematic efforts and sends drafts back to the writing table for another round of polish before they hit the screen... They need someone like that, and badly, or this whole enterprise is going to fall apart.
I really enjoyed JJ season 1. It had characters who were strongly written and flawed and interacted believably. It had themes that deserved attention.
Similarly, I guess, I should say I also enjoyed season 1 of Daredevil.
Luke Cage...? Eh. Pretty strong start, charismatic lead, weak finish. Haven't been able to force myself to finish Iron Fist. I enjoyed Defenders well enough, when it wasn't being stupid... I think they vastly overestimated our investment in Elektra and her connection to Daredevil, and Danny Rand is still Danny Rand, even with the occasional interjection from one of the other players indicating awareness that he's kind of an idiot.
Oh, and Punisher. Punisher was better than I expected, given how unlikable the character was when they introduced him in Daredevil. I'd give it a B-.
Jessica Jones Season 2 is... Frustrating. And, well, no mincing words... It's bad.
Maybe all the more frustrating because there's some good stuff in it- it's just that almost all of it occurs in side characters, and the farther they get from the central plot the more interesting they get to be. Hogarth gets some interesting things to do and some character development, of all people. Hogarth!
By episode 11, I accurately predicted most of what was going to happen, right down to Trish's final "revelation". The only times I didn't expect things to happen (or at least not in the ways that they did) were because they way they panned out was stupid. And then I got to watch as it dragged on, dropping pieces like a zombie, for two more episodes.
This is a show where multiple times people have one conversation about someone's motivations- and, suddenly, those are their motivations. It's not that there's any sort of serious A-B-C; it's like a beginner's improv class: "This is your motivation. GO!" And these are motivations that go against what people have done before, motivations that fly in the face of common sense, motivations that serve to drag the plot kicking and screaming at the expense of character building and consistency and sympathy. And realism, to whatever tiny extent a gritty superhero show can lay any claim to realism. (My, but Jessica's legal problems vanish when it's convenient...)
I'm not going to say they can't pull another good season, but for all the attempts to shake the viewer by the collar and say "THIS HAS SERIOUS EMOTIONAL CONSEQUENCES!"... 90% of what happens in this season would be better put behind it and never mentioned again. It's beginning to feel like either the stronger writing in earlier Marvel-Netflix shows was a fluke, or they're trying to do too much too fast and stretching themselves too thin.
In either case, whoever gets hold of Marvel's cinematic efforts and sends drafts back to the writing table for another round of polish before they hit the screen... They need someone like that, and badly, or this whole enterprise is going to fall apart.
