Top 10 Favorite Video Games of 2020

When I look back at this year,  I will likely call it "The Year of Escapism." I never had a greater appreciation for escapism than in this turbulent year, and this is coming from someone who has been bullied as a child and went to graduate school. I never heard the word "unprecedented" so many times in a year. 

So in the spirit of escapism, I thought I would give my Top 10 favorite things I got into in 2020. And since I have so many favorite things to cover, I am going to break it up into three parts starting with computer games. Now even though these are my favorite games of 2020 doesn't mean that they came out in 2020. The games on this list range from coming out this year to coming out more than two decades ago. However, I first played them this year which is why I will be considering them for this list. This also means games I played this year that I have played before in a previous year won't count towards the running like Kao the Kangaroo Second Round. Although, Kao wouldn't get on the list even if it was eligible.  

Oh, and honorable mention to Jackbox. You offered a great experience for my friends and I. However, like connecting jumper cables to your nipples, I feel there are more meaningful experiences out there. 

There is nothing much else to say, so let's start it off. 

Number 10: Half Life 2 & Doom Eternal

I played Half Life 2 early this year and considered it my favorite FPS at one point. However, as the year went on, I found the game to be kind of forgettable. Aside from Ravenholm and the opening/ending sequence, none of the game really stuck with me. It's an FPS that has a slower pace which is unusual for the genre. And while that will leave a profound impression once you immediately finish the game, it's not something that lasts. It was a middling experience similar to Doom Eternal which I also played this year. Similar to Half Life 2, only a few sequences stuck with me. And those who've played it might already know those sequences when I say these simple words: Mars. Sword. The First Doom Hunters. And the game is much MUCH faster than Half Life 2, its forgettability stems from a unfortunate case of sequelitis.   

Despite being vague in my memory, I do recall excellent gun play and wonderful movement. In Half Life 2, the atmosphere is astonishingly good whereas Doom Eternal's strength is chaotic rock paper scissors combat that encourages the player to both think on their feet and strategize their approach. 

They were really fun games but not games that stuck with me. Therefore, I feel having them share the number ten spot would suffice.

Number 9: Persona 5

A game that did stuck with me was Persona 5 which was the first game I finished in 2020. 

This game is notorious for getting non-JRPG fans into becoming JRPG fans. And yeah, I guess in a way I was one of those non-JRPG* fans. It is because of Persona 5 that I started playing more games like Final Fantasy 7 and intend on playing others in the future. 

If I had to give Persona 5 a report card, I would give P5 an A+ in presentation, an A- in gameplay, and a B- in story. At its worst, the story falls apart around the last act while the gameplay has mild portions that drag on a bit. However, the presentation is already iconic in gaming culture sporting a wonderful soundtrack and aesthetic. The gameplay is essentially Pokémon which I can't complain about and is probably why it is so accessible. And while the last act to Persona 5 deserves its own future blog post for how bad it is, the characters overall are likable enough to keep everything together.  

I'm glad I enjoyed it as much as it did. I mean, I better have enjoyed it if I spent over 60 hours on it. 

Number 8: Celeste & Sonic Mania

I am doing another tie because I am not sure which game is more deserving. Both games are side-scrolling platformers with fantastic soundtracks. I played both on the Nintendo Switch which adds two more reasons why buying a Switch was one of the wisest gaming purchases I made. And finally, both are aesthetically pleasing with tight controls. 

Despite the many similarities, they obviously feel so different. Celeste was a serene play though. Its story, while not amazing, had its little moments that were pretty tender. The feather scene comes to mind as a great exploration of dealing with an anxiety attack. And admittedly, I started to use the feather trick myself from time to time. As for Sonic, well it's Sonic, and Sonic Mania may be the best Sonic game in the franchise. At the very least, it is deserving to be on the same tier as Sonic 3 and Knuckles and Sonic Colours which is another way to say it's a Sonic game that doesn't have the typical problems that is....well Sonic. It's just pure game and fun, and it became one of the few games this year that I 100%. I tried to do the same for Celeste. But one thing Celeste does that's separate from Sonic Mania was that it's hard as hell. 

  

To add one more similarity before I move on, both are easily some of the best 2D platformers I have played, so it should reflect the next game's quality as it is also a side scrolling platformer. 

Number 7: Battlekid: Fortress of Peril

Let me preface that I played in a way where I would save state between rooms, so obviously I didn't get the complete Battlekid experience of continually banging your head against the wall. However, I don't like banging my head against the wall. I hate the NES hard design of making someone repeat challenges they have already overcome just to get another attempt at one they have yet to complete, so save states it is.  I'm glad I did because without the punishing difficulty the game is really fun. 

And where Shovel Knight seeks to evoke the NES aesthetic, Battlekid seeks to just be an NES game and feels more authentic as a result. And if Battlekid actually came out during the NES era, I would definitely consider it one of my few favorites on the NES. 

Why is it better than Celeste and Sonic Mania? Well Lotus Guardian, that's why. Beating Lotus Guardian was one of the most satisfying gaming moments I had since beating Ornstein and Smough for the first time. Gaming adrenaline is an intoxicating thing. You bet I am going to tell my grandkids about this whether they care or not. 

Number 6: Diablo

There are games I haven't played simply because I think I wouldn't like them: Civilization V, Elite Dangerous, Stardew Valley, Tony Hawk etc. I'm not saying they're bad. I just don't think they fit my tastes.

Well after playing Diablo, I might have to step out of my comfort zone a little more often.

I didn't think I would be into these mindless isometric hack and slashes. For example I couldn't get into Bastion because of the gameplay.

And while the combat can get a little mindless, what makes this game great is everything around the hacking and slashing. This game has an amazing story and a thick atmosphere. I also love how this game handles exploration and progression. It feels like an adventure where you just happen across an awesome sword or a particular monster at any given moment. And unlike Legend of Zelda or other games of the same type, there is no fan fare to these discoveries aside from the final boss.  

The game is also short enough where none of it feels like filler but has plenty of extras encouraging another playthrough. I finished the game wanting more, and that's a good feeling. 

Number 5: Secret of Monkey Island 2

I had this game for a while, but I never got around to playing it as it gather dust in my XBOX 360 digital library.

Well recently, I watched a playthrough of the first game since I was too lazy to play it again. I had such a good time watching it that I needed that high again, so I finally got around to the second one. And let me say, like a lot of my favorite things, I wish I played this game sooner. This game ups the humor, the imagination, and the pacing. Whereas the first game loses engagement after the first half, this game is great all the way up until the final level where it gets really tedious.

Other than that, it has some trappings of the usual point and click: precision clicking to solve puzzles and obtuse solutions. Although in fairness, if you are paying close attention, you will notice the game telegraphs its puzzle solutions more than you think.

Overall, this game rocks. It has some excellent writing and charm. I played a lot of adventure games this year, and this one is easily the favorite among them. 

Number 4: Hades

Remember in the last blog post where I said Kao the Kangaroo was the last game I played in 2020? Well that ended up becoming a lie. Hell, it isn't even the second to last game I played since I compulsively decide to do a quick run through of Hollow Knight over a weekend. 

Anyway, Hades is actually the last game I played in 2020. My brother gave me a $20 e-shop gift card around the time Hades was one sale for $20. I took that as a sign or at least a minimal excuse to impulse buy another game. 

And boy, Hades was a much better way to end 2020 than Kao the Kangaroo. 

I remember seeing Hades a while back and thinking I wouldn't like it. I am not a fan of Supergiant's art style nor do I like how they play, and I thought Hades was going to be another example of that. I only gave it a try because I like roguelikes and have a soft spot for Greek mythology.  

And you know what, Hades surprised me. For one thing, this is probably the best example of contextualizing roguelike elements. Not only do they contextualize it, they make it into a full fledge story with interesting interpersonal relationships, themes, and personality. And because the gameplay is really absorbing, the story elements don't feel like they are hitting you over the head. Easily, it is one of the best written games I have played in a while helped with some luscious voice acting. 

This is also a rare example of a game where I will take the time between each run attempt to just soak in the story and atmosphere. It got to the point where I preferred the breaks between runs more so than the gameplay itself. 

Also an honorable mention to Slay the Spire which was another excellent roguelike I played this year. 

Number 3: Pokémon XD: Gales of Darkness

I am going to cheat on this one because I played this before many times as a kid. However, this recent playthrough was the first time I played this game with Action Replay codes, and the codes do so much to change the game. The biggest problem with Gales of Darkness is the limited Pokémon selection making it one of the least open ended Pokémon games in terms of team roster.  

Action Replay codes completely nullify this. Do you want a Bulbasaur as a starter instead of Eevee? You can do that. Do you want a team of nothing but Spindas and one Unown. You can do that you specific spring child. This turns Gales of Darkness from an okay Pokémon spin off into one of the best RPGs ever. 

I love this game's atmosphere and story. Granted, the story isn't Fitzgerald, but it has a charm of a really good children's anime which I admire. It is also refreshing to have a Pokémon game that doesn't follow a gym badge formula, one of the more stagnant aspects in the Pokémon franchise, nor does it have other stagnant Pokémon archetypes like an Elite Four, a rival, and navigating through random encounter-ridden caves.

With action replay, I have more reasons to play this one. I love this game. 

Number 2: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

*I should clarify that while I don't identify as a JRPG fan, one notable exception to this notion are the Nintendo RPGs, specifically the Fire Emblem series. 

I played a lot of Fire Emblem! In fact, I am slowly going through the series and am down to just six games out of thirteen, excluding games that have since been remade like Gaiden.

Speaking of Gaiden, its remake, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (FE15), is excellent and easily stands as my favorite Fire Emblem. 

What people consider to be a great Fire Emblem varies from person to person. So for me, FE15 is the closest to perfecting the series. Its difficulty is just right and has modern flourishes to make the game more fair such a limited rewind function. 

Its story, while arguably not good, is told extremely well through some great voice acting. I usually skip past most Fire Emblem story lines, but this one, as flawed as it is, is very engaging. 

Number 1: Nier Gestalt

I gotta be honest with you. I don't remember what compelled me to buy this game. I don't know if I should credit a Youtuber for recommending me Nier, or a Reddit forum, or a dream. I just know one day I knew this game was amazing and decided to buy it. 

Now I knew it was going to be good, but I didn't expect it was going to end up becoming one of my favorite games I have ever played. 

The literature, video essays, and discussion on this game is rather immense that talking about it would be redundant. It would also spoil one of the most interesting endings to a video game, so my take on Nier is going to be barren as a result.

While I love the themes Yoko Taro presents in Nier, what made me fall in love with this game is the characters. Nier probably has my favorite fellowship in all of the fantasy/sci-fi genre. Granted, I am not well versed in every group of adventurers story out there, but I can't think of a single story that had me this engaged with every single character in an adventuring party. Nier is an excellent protagonist. Kaine & Emil are tied for being one of my favorite video game characters ever. And last but not least, Grimoire Weiss is beautifully sassy and well written. The voice acting is incredible. If the final act was less repetitive and egregious, I would call it a perfect game. 

You could think the gameplay and aesthetic is dated or even outright terrible, but you need to play it. This is a story worth checking out. If I wrote a 1001 Games to Play Before you Die, Nier would be near the top of the list. But for right now, it will sit as my number one favorite game I played in 2020. 

Kao the Kangaroo: Round Two & Metroid Prime 3: Corruption | The Most Unnecessary Comparison Review Ever

In the year 2020, I manage to beat over 100 games in one year. It was a perfect storm of being an man-child with access to money and a pandemic that encouraged me to wallow away in escapism. I like to think 12-year old me would be proud somehow. 

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to review the last game I finished during this year. I thought my last game of 2020 should be something special to warrant a review, so I started brainstorming. First, I thought I play Persona 1 for the PSP as a nice bookend since the first game I finished this year was the wonderful Persona 5. Then after dealing with random encounters again-and again-and again-and AGAIN, I figured Persona 1 wasn't for me. 

I then asked a friend for suggestions to which he suggested the critically acclaimed Disco Elysium. However, I am still waiting on a worthwhile price drop on that game. Yeah I may be a man child with money, but I am also a man child that at least tries to be economical. This is also why I didn't decide to do Spiritfarer, Bug Fables, Pillars of Eternity, and Persona 4 Golden. Great games. I'm just a cheap ass gamer. 

After that, I just started spitballing: Red Dead Redemption 2, Infamous, Last of Us 1&2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Dragon Quest VIII. Nothing... 

THEN, I thought I should throw my hands up and do something completely off the wall. A game that literally no one cares about. I had a few ideas for that one such as Wuppo and Chulip, but nothing spoke to me. It was here that I asked myself, "why not do a game that was on the PSP, that is cheap to play, and that no one cares about?" 

Well after some quick thinking, I decided to buy Kao the Kangaroo Round Two on Steam, and this is why you don't make compromises. 

It's telling that I would rather talk about why I decided to play Kao than actually talk about Kao. There is nothing much to Kao the Kangaroo as it is probably the most generic 3D Platformer I have ever played. Considering there is some hefty competition for that title, this is saying a lot.  

Generic is prominent throughout the game in its story, character design, level design, collectables that I realized that I don't have much to say on the game other than it was creatively plain. "Oh God," I thought. "I don't want to have to go back to the drawing board, especially after three hours of slogging through Kao the Kangaroo." 

I wanted to salvage the idea of reviewing Kao in a silly example of a sunk cost fallacy. So after some more quick thinking, I thought I would compare the game to Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Why Metroid Prime 3? Well Metroid Prime 3 was the second-to-last game I played in 2020....and that's it. Honestly, I couldn't have accidently pick a more different game to Kao the Kangaroo than Metroid fucking Prime! 

I think in a way this will make it into an interesting review, and I say this with sincerity. Not to get ahead of myself, but upon playing Kao it made me grow a fonder appreciation of Prime 3. But with that said, about five hundred words later, let's actually start the review. Here we go!

Round 1: The Story

Metroid Prime 3's story makes no hesitation to differentiate from not only the Prime games but the Metroid series as a whole focusing on a more plot heavy narrative. Generally, Metroid games will leave Samus to her devices even in the more story-centric Metroids. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes has a heavy first act but not much after that. Metroid Prime 3 takes an approach mainly seen in action movies. The first act involves setting up the conflict and the goals of the main characters. The last act resolves that conflict. Everything in between are set pieces to get to that final act. The plot involves Samus as she is tasked by the Federation to defeat Leviathans that have taken over certain planets. The climax involves Samus and the Federation tactfully invading an major enemy fortress. And in between that, you have set pieces you would see in a typical action sequence. For example, Samus has to defend a floating bomb as it is being moved to its drop zone. 

This approach also means there are more moving parts mainly in the character department. Along with the Federation you also have the bounty hunters Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda which add extra meat to the plot. My only complaint is that the characters don't get the screen time they need to be fully developed characters, but I will get more into that later.

In Kao, you play as a kangaroo who has to defeat the Hunter and save his friends. That's it. 

Now I won't say Metroid Prime 3 is a good story. In fact I would say most Metroids don't have great narratives in a traditional sense. I guess Super Metroid has a solid arc with the baby Metroid, and Metroid Fusion has a decent character relationship. However, I wouldn't necessarily call it mind blowing, but that's fine. Metroid is held up on the experience, the atmosphere. Metroid Prime 1 exemplifies this best. You are dropped on this planet with no cue on where to go next. All the game tells you is keep moving until the game tells you to stop. To me, that is Metroid in a nutshell. It is this isolation that is both relaxing or chilling depending on what the game wants you to feel. 

Prime 3 has this but tries to add in a narrative on top of it, but the two very different things clash from time to time. The bounty hunters are a good example of this. I love the bounty hunters in their designs and small bits of personalities, but I would have love to know more. However knowing more might interrupt the gameplay, so their story is compromised. I suppose you can do the Dark Souls approach, and Metroid Prime does do this. However, with how action-movie oriented Prime 3 is, I think it would have benefited more from a more traditional story. The stuff with the bounty hunters is just begging for some cool interpersonal relationships. In its current form, the story feels like a generic sci-fi action story that is underdeveloped. 

This is thing number one that Kao would make me retroactively appreciate about Metroid Prime 3. Yeah, I didn't love Metroid Prime 3's story, but hey seeing this in Metroid was new to the palate. It was refreshing how much effort Prime 3 puts in the world building, and I hope the narrative direction in Prime 3 could be better executed in a future title. I see potential of an interesting traditional plot in Metroid. The pieces are there. It just needs more of a creative spark and inspired direction. At the very least, the narrative inspires discussion which is something I can't say for Kao.  

As for Kao, since this a Kao review too, the story is at best needless and at worst disruptive. The plot to Kao, as you have already seen in my one sentence synopsis, is about as basic as a Banjo Kazooie game. However, the game lacks any charm of a Banjo Kazooie game. The dialogue between Kao and his animal friends are purely for function. "The Hunter is at the S&M club. You need to go there next, Kao!" There is no sense of their relationship, no comradery, and no humor. It's so generic it makes the generic elements of Metroid Prime 3's narrative seem less so by comparison. It doesn't help that the sound mixing makes the pacing of the dialogue really bad. I don't remember if this was also a problem in the PSP version or if the problem is exclusive to the Steam release. I can't say. 

Also  the villain is seriously called "The Hunter?" They couldn't think of a better name than that? Can you at least try to stimulate me?!?

Round 2: The Gameplay

Metroid Prime 3 and Kao are pretty blanket derivatives of their genre, Metroidvania and 3D Platformer respectively. Metroid Prime 3 doesn't break any new grounds in the series aside from some motion control gimmicks. Likewise, Kao feels like a conglomeration of random mechanics from other platformers. It has the level design and projectile combat from Rayman 2. It has boomerangs as weapons like in Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, and it has a narrative similar to most animal mascot platformers like Sonic the Hedgehog. 

The lack of gameplay innovation is frankly disappointing to see in Metroid since it is one of Nintendo's most innovative franchises alongside Mario and Zelda. However unlike Mario and Zelda, the series gets kind of rigid from a gameplay perspective, and the innovations between games don't always end in success. For example, compare the innovations between Super Metroid to Samus Returns for the 3DS to the innovations between Link to the Past and Breath of the Wild. Link to the Past established the Zelda formula. Ocarina of Time laid a standard for 3D action adventure games. Majora's Mask had the three day mechanic. Wind Waker had sailing. Twilight Princess had the wolf. Skyward Sword had one-to-one motion controls. And finally, Breath of the Wild brought back open ended exploration seen in original Legend of Zelda. As for Metroid, we don't get to see that level of difference that is as well regarded in Zelda, with some exceptions. Super Metroid established the Metroidvania formula as we know today. Metroid Prime takes Metroid to the 3rd dimension. Metroid Prime 2 adds a dark world mechanic. And finally, Other M does a 3D Metroid from a 3rd person perspective. 

Keep in mind, I skipped Metroid Fusion, Metroid Zero Mission, Metroid Prime 3, and Samus Returns for the 3DS since they don't add anything major from a gameplay perspective. Although they are well made games. Also keep in mind in the case of Metroid Prime 2 and Other M, that their gameplay isn't well regarded among fans. In Other M's case, it is almost universally derided by fans. Point is there is less experimentation when it comes to gameplay in Metroid. Granted, there is experimentation in other aspects. Metroid Fusion adds a more horror vibe. Metroid Prime 3 and Other M add more of a narrative with varying degrees of success. However, Zelda and Mario includes those things in addition to their gameplay advances. Wind Waker and Mario Galaxy are basically iconic examples of aesthetic innovations. Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess also add more of a narrative with again varying degrees of success. For that, Metroid Prime 3 really lacks in gameplay novelty.

It's telling that most of the major innovations in the Metroidvania are not from Metroid games such as Hallow Knight and Cave Story. 

Of course, it's also telling when you compare a game like Metroid Prime 3 to some of gaming's greats, they are going to come off as run of the mill. When you compare it to Kao, on the other hand, your game starts to become more interesting.  

Yeah Metroid Prime 3 isn't innovative, but it still retains that Nintendo polish. Kao is fine, but compare to those Marios and Zeldas and Kao gets pulverized. The combat comes to mind. Kao will get hit randomly when boxing with common enemies. The spider enemies gives you exactly one second to defeat with a boomerang or else you instantly get hit with their projectile. And probably the most egregious example, there are spiked enemies that are only vulnerable when they land behind you meaning you have to wrestle your camera quickly in order to do your roll attack. Again, it is not offensively bad, but it is not polished. 

Metroid Prime 3 gameplay is much smoother to play aside from a few aspects. Certain enemy designs don't convey which weapon you should use because of the muddled environments, which is a step down from the color coordinated pirates from Prime 1. There are also more interruptions in the form of voice calls telling you your next objection. Admittedly, they were helpful in a few situations that keep the game from reaching the obtuse levels of Metroid Prime 2. However, in everything else, it's unfortunately reminiscent of annoying video game helper syndrome. Otherwise, it is a solid Metroid romp. 

Conclusion

Both games are kind of generic but Prime 3 has way more creative energy by comparison. Would I recommend Prime 3? Ehhh kind of. If you are starving for Metroid then this game will fill your appetite, and if you got the game through the Metroid Prime Trilogy Collection then you might as well play it if you haven't already. 

Would I recommend Kao: Second Round? Well no. If you are starving for a 3D platformer, I hope you were really starving like I was because there is not much else to like in Kao. 

That concludes my ramble. Now if you excuse me, I gotta spend time regretting playing Kao as my last game of 2020. 

 

Raising Hope: A Show Where Every Episode Makes Me Cry

The Sitcom. It's technically a crappy genre. One that is full of low common denominator humor, contrived writing, and social values or acts that are either going to be socially unacceptable or are already socially unacceptable, and I love it! Yeah sitcoms sometimes have those things but they also sometimes have clever wordplay and great characters. They may also have additional elements that elevate it beyond the trappings of the sitcom, mainly such things like social commentary or an innovative presentation. 

These are the diamonds in the rough: Seinfeld, Roseanne, The Simpsons, Married with Children. These shows are not only some of the greatest sitcoms but some of the greatest television shows. It would be hard to talk about TV's greats without talking about Seinfeld, Roseanne, and the Simpsons. 

Anyway, Raising Hope is not one of those shows. But hey, it's pretty good or why else I would be talking about it. 

For the longest time, I consider Raising Hope one of my favorite sitcoms. I considered it Greg Garcia's masterpiece, and at one point considered it as "the Show Where Every Episode Makes Me Cry." I loved it so much I thought I rewatch it during election week because Raising Hope is also a great comfort show which is something sitcoms are great at. Yeah I'm not a fan of Friends, but I can't disagree that people genuinely find comfort in binging that show, and Raising Hope is that for me. However, I have come to learn that when I binge sitcoms I tend to discover their warts. I watched Raising Hope when it was a once a week affair. Every episode back-to-back doesn't do the show any favors. 

The same thing happened to another one of my favorite sitcoms and at one point my all-time favorite show, Malcolm in the Middle, until it was replaced by Avatar the Last Airbender. I thought Malcolm in the Middle was perfect throughout until I binged it one year. There I saw the show's quality split in half where it was a comedic masterpiece during the first half and a somewhat mediocre slog in the second half. There was less creative energy and more flanderization. 

Raising Hope thankfully doesn't flanderize its characters because all of their characters are already flanderized to begin with. It's a hallmark of a Greg Garcia sitcom. Its Beverly Hillbillies if it was PG-13. They're all dumb. One character is the pathetic loser. Another will be the creepy loser. You get the pattern. All the characters are more caricatures, and usually that will be a bad thing. However, I think what makes Raising Hope work is the acting is just damn good. Raising Hope has some really strong casting chops. I think a good example of this is Martha Plimpton who plays Virginia Chance, the mother of the main character who knocks up a serial killer on death row leaving the Chance family with a newborn daughter named Hope. (There, I explained a synopsis without having to dedicate a paragraph to it. You're welcome.)

For those familiar with Garcia's other show, My Name is Earl, you would think Virginia is the Raising Hope equivalent of Joy, and she is on paper. She is short-tempered and often wrong despite her unearned confidence. There is a sensitive side, but it is underneath a hard exterior. 

However, watching Plimpton, you see a subtle spin that is different to Jaime Pressly. There is an apparent sensitivity that makes the character far more empathetic than she has any right to be, and its emphasize by all the other characters displaying empathetic qualities. 

Ok, spoilers for Raising Hope from this point on. Although this is a sitcom not Game of Thrones. I don't know why I am bothering-ok, I'm going off topic-

I think my favorite episode that shows this is the Mother's Day episode. Virginia and Sabrina (Shannon Woodward) share a wonderful scene together. It has a great character moment for the two that's elegantly done. Sabrina, a daughter neglected by her rich parents, finds parental love in Virginia. While Virginia, who in this episode is struggling with the fact that she is not the only mother figure for Hope when Sabrina marries into the family, finds solace in being a mother figure for Sabrina. It's simple, but it is emotionally powerful because of it. It works in the same way as reading a news story of a soldier returning home. It is immediately relatable and caters to basic emotional needs of love and acceptance. Of course, if it were that simple then every sitcom would be emotionally satisfying. The acting is the key! I think the reason I cry every episode is because the acting turns every simple moment to gold. 

So if every episode makes me cry, why don't I hail it on the same level as the sitcom greats? After all, if a show is able to make me cry Iron Giant tears every episode, it has to be fucking masterful. I am not one to cry easy. 

Well it is because I am lying about how every episode makes me cry which in sitcom fashion is sort of the mid-episode twist to this review. Although I did preface that this show has problems. Also my overly positive introduction was also in past tense. If anything, it wasn't a lie but a poor use of a transitional device to segway to the narrative flaws of the show. 

Raising Hope's humor is a lot like that last paragraph. There is meta-commentary, references and parodies to other shows and movies including My Name is Earl, fourth wall humor, and a general self-awareness to the narrative. It's amusing but also repetitive. If you plan on binging a sitcom that was originally designed to be shown once a week, know that you might start noticing a pattern. 

Yeah, I get that is sort of the nature of sitcoms. They are repetitive which
is why they are so comfortable, but I think people underestimate how much variety is in a well made sitcom. Let's go back to My Name is Earl as an example. One of the brilliant aspects of My Name is Earl is the variety of the townsfolk. The problem of week is generally focused on a new townsfolk that offers a new backstory that feels unique to that episode. It's certainly an example of "same but different," but the different adds a much needed flavor to the rhythm of the narrative loop.   

My Name is Earl also throws in occasional overarching problems that break up the monotony. Season 3 alone has Earl in prison, dealing with a conflicting love interest, and in a coma within the span of 22 episodes. 

Raising Hope doesn't nearly have the minimal variety that My Name is Earl does. Yeah there are episodes that have the main characters interact with new townsfolk, but the show puts more attention on the main cast than the one offs, a complete opposite of My Name is Earl. This wouldn't typically be a problem, but a lot of the stories in Raising Hope devolve into:  A.) Virginia and Burt (Garret Dillahunt) made an awful parenting decision when they were younger. B.) And because of that, Jimmy (Lucas Neff) has some problem to deal with in the present. And C.) shenanigans and moral lessons ensue. A lot of Raising Hope episodes bleed together because of this repetition and none of the attempts at variety ever stick. Aside from the thrift store lady, I can't recall any other enjoyable one-off characters. 

It doesn't help that Raising Hope manages to break almost every sitcom cliché in the book. You can bet those aforementioned God awful tropes are present in Raising Hope. There is some cheap humor throughout the show such as predictable punchlines and slapstick. This is where the pattern has the biggest negative impact since the humorous writing feels a lot like filling in mad libs than anything with creative energy.

One character gets hit by a bus which quickly resolves an episode and fulfilling the plot contrivance. The titular Hope feels more like a plot device that will disappear for episodes at a time. After the first season, the show quickly quits being about "Raising Hope." 

And yes, it has a moment involving Burt admitting to poking a hole in a condom on purpose in order to get Virginia pregnant, and no one fucking bats an eye that Burt committed a form of sexual assault. Another episode involves Wyatt (Ryan Doom), Sabrina's boyfriend, threatening to kill himself, Sabrina, and Jimmy by driving into incoming traffic unless Sabrina and him talk out their relationship problem. I would add that to the socially unacceptable category. But considering we are suppose to kind of hate Wyatt by that point, I will give it a pass. And oh, don't even get me started on the "Dysfunction Junction" episode.

And yet, despite all of those problems, I still love it. 

This is the power of good acting. The generic jokes are awful, but they are saved somewhat by solid delivery. The repetition is obnoxious, but the acting is engaging enough for me to push that problem aside. If the characters existed in real life, I would hate all of them, but the Raising Hope cast makes them affable and wholesome. It's telling that I still enjoy Burt as a character despite doing the most heinous thing on the show. 

Is Raising Hope one of my favorite sitcoms now? No, not really. Is it Greg Garcia's masterpiece? Well not anymore. I think My Name is Earl, in retrospect, has better writing. And finally, does every episode make me cry? Well that was already just a click-baity tagline, but I won't hold the show against that. 

Raising Hope is a perfect example of a show that shouldn't be binged. Like a good comfort food, it is warm and makes you feel good. But if you eat too much of it, you will start to feel the negative effects of saturated sitcoms.

Additional Thoughts Too Unnoteworthy to Include in This Review But I'm Including Anyway

I said that the characters are already flanderized, but I would extend an exception to Sabrina. They really up the weirdness to her character as the show continues. Some it works. Some of it comes off really forced. That being said, Shannon Woodward does a great job with the character.

Season 2 seems to have the worst batch of episodes. Season 1 is great, Season 3 is solid, and Season 4 is sort of a mix bag.  

I hate the "Jimmy the Kid Episode." It has an annoying kid. I guess add annoying kid to the horrible sitcom tropes. 

To highlight a good episode, my favorite episodes aside from the Mother Day's episode is "Lord of the Ring" and "Dream Hoarders." The former because it has some of the best shenanigans. The latter because it has my favorite tender moment in the show.   

Ok one other funny one-off character is the defense lawyer. He got a few laughs out of me. Also what is with sitcoms have highly inaccurate portrayals of the legal system? If My Cousin Vinny can be both accurate and funny then so can sitcoms!

The episode where Jimmy and Sabrina get together felt really anticlimactic. Granted, I don't know how I would have done better, so I will also give this a pass as well. Speaking of which, I will say that unlike Jim and Pam from the Office, Jimmy and Sabrina doesn't get less interesting once they get together which is nice. In fact, one of my favorite moments of the show is a little scene where Jimmy and Sabrina dress up as goths. If you've seen the show, then you will know how much of a great payoff that was. It was done perfectly! Overall, the relationship was one of the few instances where it would offer a break from the routine. 

Like My Name is Earl, this show got canceled. However, it was probably for the best. I don't know if I could deal with the show's repetition for another season. Plus, unless they put more focus on Jimmy and Sabrina's relationship, as well as Hope herself, I don't see much ground left when it comes to Burt and especially Virginia. The last episode felt like a great end to Virginia's story. 

November 7, 2020

Well Biden won, and I feel…well a lot of things.

One of those feelings is fear. I am afraid what President Trump will do to try to delegitimize this victory. I am afraid of what Trump supporters will do. I’m afraid of any wild card that might take away this fleeting moment.

However, I am mainly afraid of being happy.

2020 has been punishing for the hopeful. Anytime I had a hint of optimism, 2020 would slap it away. This is easily the best news of this entire year for me, and I am afraid to cherish it.

You know, originally, I was going to write a blog about the election where I would write one portion before the results and one portion once the results were decided.

 I noticed two very different versions of me in that rough draft of that blog. Before the election, I was angry, scared, spiteful. Trump supporters destroyed any patience I had left. In fact, here is the excerpt from that rough draft:

“The line between Trump supporters and segregationists from the 1960s are starting to blur. I see some of my conservative Facebook friends sharing genuinely stomach-churning stuff, and I genuinely wondered if at any point did they look themselves in mirror and see history reflect poorly back at them. My grandparents were kick out of restaurants for being Hispanic. My migrant working ancestors were treated like animals. And yet here I am, watching my Facebook friends voting for a man who looks at that racist time with nostalgia. The line between Trump supporters and segregationists has been a blurred line for the longest time. But like a thunderstorm, it's scarier to see it at your front door.

 For the first time, I considered simply unfriending people on Facebook out of pure disappointment of what they have shown. I look at my friend's list, I am counting: One. Two. Three. Four. At least four people I hope to never see again because their Trump rhetoric breaks my heart. Trump supporters might consider me a snowflake for saying that. I just hope you realize that as a Hispanic, I am carrying ancestral scars that you can't even comprehend. And as a lover of history, I am also carrying the scars of fallen empires, dictatorships, and polarized civil wars all the while watching the country that I love walk closer and closer to repeating it.”

However now, as I try to write my thoughts after the election, those thoughts before the election now feel rather pointless. That anger I have for Trump supporters is pointless. Right now, all I can do is heal. Granted, I imagine my feelings would be very similar if Trump won the electoral vote, but we thankfully don’t live in that universe.

There is going to be a lot of angry people. Those people were protesting Obama, and they will do the same for Biden/Kamala. However, if there was one good thing that came out of society of the Obama administration it is that we tabooed the shit out of those people. We tabooed racial hatred and bigotry. We lost that in these last four years, and I hope this administration brings it back.

Trump and his supporters aren’t going to evaporate when Biden gets inaugurated (again assuming Trump doesn’t pull any dirty tricks). The best we can do is heal with them and start a conversation on why their actions have been so damaging to this society.

 Also, I don’t know if this is worth saying. Did you know this is the first election where my candidate won? Every election I have voted for ever since I turned 18 ended in defeat: Beto O Rourke. Sanders (twice). Clinton (despite winning popular vote). Just to name a few.

I think that is all I have to say. All I am thinking about is my family and friends. I have so many people I just want to hug right now.

Also, special shout out to Raising Hope for getting me through this week. In fact, the next blog post is going to be a review on that. I can’t wait to write that.

It’s strange I am not angry as I am. I could be mad at Trump. The fact that it wasn’t a landslide. The fact that Trump has yet to concede (and now has said he won’t concede). I could be mad that there was so much in the way to delegitimize the democratic process like blocking mail in ballots, and that there are still some hurdles between Biden and his inauguration. But I can’t. All I can think about is the people that mean the most to me.

And the fact that AOC is really attractive. Holy crap, so I watched I think a Vanity Fair interview of her, and oh my God. She is so cute. She has such an affable personality.   

But that is really it. I have spoken from the heart. I hope these next few months go by smoothly. After all, Trump is still president, and you know how anarchic he gets when he is angry.

I hope at the very least this serves a warm relief for Americans that love can still win, and compassion can still win even if it was a close win.

I also hope that serves as a lesson to conservatives. Maybe if you want someone representing you, you don’t elect a would-be tyrant.

I want to end this be reiterating that there is a lot of work to be done. The cliché adage of winning the battle but not the war is apparent today. I pray to God that the next few months are filled with continued failure from people who want to take this away from the American people. I pray that the next four years will have milestones as the one of Kamala Harris being the first POC woman to be elected vice president. I hope that isn’t too much to ask.

Now if you excuse me. I really got to pee. 

An Ode to the Stories I Never Finished

With the massive rise in popularity for television shows and gaming in just this year alone thanks to quarantine, it is easy to think that longform storytelling is sort of the new stage in evolution for narrative and art, but it really isn't. 

I went into this ramble thinking I was going to talk about the unique qualities games and shows have when it comes to long form story telling and list some of the games (and a couple of shows) that I never finished that I also love talking about. It was there that I realized that almost every medium involves some sort of lengthy time investment with some investments more subtle than others. 

Of course I am still going to list some games I have never finished, but it isn't a ramble without me getting sidetracked. 

An obvious example of long form storytelling in a medium outside of games and television would be the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you were around when the first Iron Man was released and stayed all the way through Endgame, you invested more than ten years into a series of movies. If you are wrestling fan during the Monday Night Wars, you were apart of a story that lasted about six years. Even in pop music, if you are a fan of a musician that is still releasing content, in a way you are investing time into a story of an artist as they shift and grow in a society you are also apart of. 

There are also long books and book series but who honestly reads anymore?

Hell, forget about commitments that can last days, months, or years. Stories that only last a couple of hours is still quite a commitment. A common term in economics is opportunity cost, and yeah sitting down and watching a movie or a play is quite the opportunity cost. I can't tell you the number of times I am watching a bad movie thinking to myself "I could be doing dishes, answering emails, or doing literally anything else." 

I think what I am leading to is that the why we stop investing into something can be just as interesting as finishing a narrative itself regardless if it was long or short. With that in mind, I will like to try my hand and listing 10 things I am dying to talk about but was always afraid to because I didn't 'finish' them. We tend to be down on people who give opinions on shows they never finish. I myself prefer if someone has finished a story before really giving their thoughts on a piece. But sometimes, that opinion could have some worth. I guess it just depends on how they give those thoughts, but I digress: 

Number 10: Death Stranding

You can say that this game was the reason I wanted to do this blog. I played this earlier this year and stopped almost immediately after the first chapter. This game had a lot going for it. It was Kojima's first original project since the Metal Gear Solid series. It had a unique core gameplay mechanic that wasn't based on combat which I am a huge proponent of. 

However, it didn't take long before I realized those two promising features would come with a giant asterisk. Because it was Kojima game, it would have cutscenes. And you would think he would learn from Metal Gear Solid 4 that overly long and poorly written cutscenes kill pacing the same way serial killers kill prostitutes. I couldn't stand the cutscenes. I was patient with Kojima in MGS4, but I couldn't bare through it again with Death Stranding which arguably gives less reason for you to sit down and watch the scenes play out. I want to experience the story of Death Stranding god damnit! Why would make me put up with this crap?

Kojima's writing is the equivalent of a high schooler who has some good ideas but can't seem to execute basic writing techniques to make his ideas have a real impact. I love some of the ideas he has done over the years. Metal Gear Solid 2 specifically stands as my favorite Metal Gear game for that reason. It's unique, daring, but it also has something to say. And I am only being vague with describing MGS2 because being specific would A.) spoil the incredible ending and B.) leave you with more questions than answers. Of course, MGS2 is far from perfect, but it is interesting.

That's why despite its dumb high school flaws, I engage with Kojima's stories, and I want to do the same with Death Stranding. It's a shame that I can't because the cutscenes are too much for me. 

Number 9: Outer Worlds

I noticed a trend with me that I have a tough time finishing sci-fi RPGs. I think the only real exception was the original Mass Effect, but that's it. I guess you can include the Dishonored and Bioshock series, but I have a tough time counting those as sci-fi RPGs for reasons I won't go into, but I digress. Every other sci-fi RPG that I have attempted ended with me stopping for some reason. There is Deus Ex Human Revolution, Fallout 3, Shadowrun and XCOM Enemy Unknown. 

Outer Worlds is the most recent example of this which is why it's on this list. I can't say this game is bad aside from some horrible glitches, but I cannot understand the appeal of this game. The game tries too hard to be satirical and funny. The RPG mechanics are overbearing and don't give a sense that they add anything. There is no pacing nor any stakes as to why you should care about this world. It just feels bland. 

Now that explains Outer Worlds, but what about the other sci-fi RPGS? In fact, there is a lot of sci-fi that I can't get into. For example, I have a tough time getting into William Gibson books. I think Black Mirror is overrated as hell. I know that sci-fi notoriously has a high barrier of entry, but it's not like I didn't enjoyed sci-fi in the past. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is one of my favorite point and click adventure games. Virtues Last Reward is one of my favorite games ever! I love me the occasional Star Trek TOS episode, and I think Hitchhikers Guide doesn't get enough credit for its sci-fi world. 

I suppose what that means is that certain sci-fi tropes speak better to me when its elements are more subdued. I love world building but I don't like the overbearing detail seen in William Gibson. I love the themes in sci-fi but I don't like the surface level garbage Black Mirror touts as deep. And I like sci-fi video games, but I don't like how RPG mechanics are implemented in most sci-fi games. As for why I like the original Mass Effect...I don't know. I guess I like sexxy gurls.  

  

Number 8: Spacechem

Ok, I have soften you guys up with popular games, so let's talk about a game that is obscure as shit assuming you aren't subscribed to Matthewmatosis. 

Spacechem is a puzzle game where you automate and bond chemicals, and it is stupid fun. It sounds boring, but I can assure you it has so much going for it. Frankly, I don't have much to add to the conversation. I will just end up repeating what Matthewmatosis has said on the game, so I would suggest just watching his videos on the subject. Link is here...

Screenshot of the game. Yeah I know it's a lot. Trust me it's good. 

But what I will say on Spacechem is that it is hard! The way I play Spacechem is as follows: I start a new game after going months without playing it. I feel like a mad scientist as I go through the easy puzzles. I feel even more like a mad scientist as I pass the point that I initially got stuck on. And finally, I get stuck to the point where I stop playing for a while. Rinse and repeat. 

There is nothing more satisfying than solving a Spacechem puzzle, so I suppose it is a good thing that I still got plenty left in the main campaign and that each puzzle gets progressively more difficult. I will be riding this high for a while as I savor easily one of the best puzzle games I have ever played. 

Number 7: Prince of Persia Sands of Time

I love this game. Really, I honestly can't tell you a single bad thing about this game. So why didn't I finish this game? well.... fuck if I should know. 

This is one of those games where I will play it, and then stop. Then because I have a huge affinity and respect for the game, I will start from scratch when I get back on it. Rinse and repeat. I have done this at least twice, and I don't know why I can't bring myself to finish it other than general laziness. 

Besides maybe the repetitive combat, the game is as close to perfect as you can get. The writing is some of the best AAA gaming has to offer. The platforming controls are smooth as butter. And aesthetically, it is one of the best looking games ever with its beautiful Middle Eastern environments. 

Sometimes there are no explanations as to why someone doesn't finish something, and this is one of them. Let's move on...

Number 6/5: Dexter & Game of Thrones

These next two entries make a great companion piece in this discussion. See if you can catch it. 

I don't talk about this show often even though I consider Dexter very inspiring. Dexter Morgan's monologues inspired me to start journal writing since I started mimicking Dexter's cadence in my inner monologue, and I knew I had to put some of this narration onto paper. Dexter's first season is a master class in telling a season wide arc and is a show I look at when I need help writing something needing character and structure. 

It's safe to say that the first season of Dexter is one of the best seasons of television, but I can't say the same for the later seasons. I was warned that each season gets progressively worse, and they were right. The plot started to become more over the top, and the subtly was fading more and more. I stopped after season 3 because I couldn't bare seeing such an important show for me getting any worse. Unfortunately, I had to pack it in. 

I also don't talk about Game of Thrones despite liking a lot of elements of it. And while this show isn't personally important to me, it is important to a lot of people. Heck, it is important to television in general. That said, I only finished the first season. I heard the same warnings where it gets worse after a certain point, so I didn't want to bother with a show that I know will have an unfortunate fate. I've heard different answers as to the exact season, but the general consensus I've read is after the fourth season is where the show starts going downhill. 

My commitments to GoT and Dexter feel a lot like dating. In both cases, they were girls that I had amazing first dates with yet both had people telling me they were psycho. In Dexter's case, I ignored those warnings and proceeded to get into a relationship only to see the early warning signs. It's a good thing I left when I did. In GoT's case, those same people gave me the warning to avoid this bitch at all costs, and I followed their advice. Now, I am watching other people date Game of Thrones and breath a sigh of relief as I see this girl wreck other people's lives. 

Take my advice, date someone like Breaking Bad or Mystery Incorporated. They are nice girls. 

Number 4: Grand Theft Auto IV

I never got caught up in the free roaming appeal of running grandmothers over in the large cities of GTA, and I definitely never got caught up in GTA's overly long story campaigns. Even San Andreas, the only GTA campaign that I actually kind of enjoyed, I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I am highlighting four as that one holds a special place in my heart as the first game I described as overrated. So as a contrarian, GTA IV was a special moment for me.

A game about running grandmothers over took itself way too seriously leaving a game with a boring brown presentation and a lack of personality. It also has the most interruptions out of all the GTA games I have played with the incessant phone calls. SO MANY PHONE CALLS.

It wasn't until GTA V that I realized I am just not into GTA as a franchise. Somehow though, I manage to beat GTA V. I couldn't tell you why. In fact, I couldn't tell you anything about GTA V's campaign since it was so forgettable. The only thing I can say is that it is the first and only GTA game I finished. I wish I can say the same for the others.

Number 3: Silent Hills (P.T)

So we talked about the stuff I never finished, but what about the situations where the opposite happens. What happens when a creator never finishes a story they set out to make?

We all had that show canceled or that cult game without a sequel that we hold so dear. For me, it was Freaks and Geeks. However, the difference between Freaks and Geeks and number three on this list is that I have accepted the fate of Freaks and Geeks. It sucked, but after a while I accepted and move on that Freaks and Geeks won't get a second season. I can live without a second season of Freaks and Geeks, but I am still not over Silent Hills. 

P.T was evidence that Silent Hills was going to be special based on the fact that P.T already became one of the most interesting games of the last decade. A demo was more interesting than some full released titles. This is not like Firefly season 2 where the qualities of the story is left to the imaginations of the audience. P.T showed that Silent Hills could have been something great. Granted, it might have been marred by Kojima's aforementioned cutscenes, but let's imagine that it wouldn't have been as bad as Death Stranding. 

It's a tragedy Silent Hills got a fate made by what was essentially greedy and incompetent businessmen. To quote Del Toro, "it's not gonna happen, and that breaks my greasy heart." Oh yeah, did I mention bloody horror genius, Guillermo Del Toro was on the project? God, I am never going to get over this one.  

Number 2: Professional Wrestling

I mentioned wrestling already, but that is only the tip of the iceberg with this giant of long form story telling. The Monday Night Wars lasted SIX YEARS yet that is only a sliver of WWE as a whole. WWE alone is never ending content. It's safe to say the Professional Wrestling shouldn't even be consider television anymore but rather an entire medium on its own. Even if you somehow managed to watch every WWE storyline, you still got Japan pro wrestling which has its fair share of interesting narratives. 

Professional wrestling is an anomaly as a medium as it blends both qualities of entertainment and sports. And like sports, while I have stopped watching professional wrestling because it is a slog to keep up with, I do like indulging in video essays and documentaries about the subject. It's a great substitute than watching something that will clearly outlive me. 

Number 1: Love 

If I had a Top 5 for TV shows, I imagine it would be as follows: The Last Airbender, Breaking Bad, Atlanta Mystery Incorporated, and Love. What makes Love different? Well, it is the only show out of these five that I still haven't finished. It's not like it is as long as professional wrestling. It's only 34 episodes over the course of three seasons. Nor is the show bad. I mean obviously not if it is one of my favorite shows. Granted, I can't speak for seasons two and three. 

This show is very much like Prince of Persia. It is a great story that I simply never got around to finishing. However, unlike Prince of Persia, I have a reason why I am hesitant on continuing Love.

Love is a tough watch especially if you have social anxiety. It's about as realistic as a love story can get. It's awkward, slow, vulnerable, and it's tender because of that. This is not a comfort show like School Rumble. It is a show that is demanding as you wallow in the in the lives of what feels like real people. 

I haven't looked up the reviews for the later seasons because I hope to one day continue this show. However, I am also afraid to continue because I don't want to be disappointed. I guess I have commitment issues. I don't want these characters that I love to have a bad ending. 

Investment in a story is weird. We like to think we are above the parasocial relationships or visceral emotions that come from something that is mostly fictional, but a little investment can add value to something that in the end doesn't mean anything in the grand schemes of the universe, and that's fine. 

Art is simultaneously the most and least important things in our society. It is an anomaly that always keeps me up at night. But harkening back to my blog where I talk about why we choose what things are our favorite things, it is important to note that the things we love are valid simply because we choose them to be. That also applies similarly to what we invest time in.. To quote an Internet adage, "it means nothing but we assigned value to it anyway" in regard to humanity doing anything that doesn't tangibly improve our society, our social circles, or even our personal lives. 

In a year where it is important to appreciate the little things, I learned a valuable lesson in learning to smell the roses. I learned to love my favorite things without overthinking as to why they are my favorite things. I learned to respect the things I never finished without judging myself for never finishing them. Yeah there is a little bit of tragedy to the things that are unfinished. But to look at it optimistically, those unfinished things can also serve to highlight the finished. And hey, I'm blessed to be currently living a young life. I have plenty of time to finished the unfinished. It's just a matter of making the dive. 

Ozark First Impressions

Lubbock, TX. A city smart enough to grow past the small towns that surround it but not exactly smart enough to excel to the level of Dallas or Austin-at least not yet. 

It is also considered one of the most conservative cities in the United States.

Now, I have a lot to say about the conservatives in Lubbock, but one thing I would like to point out is the Facebook comment section of our local news station, KCBD. If you want to see a bigger collection of swamp people saying some of the most ignorant things on the planet, you owe it to yourself to experience the KCBD comment section. And then, you realize that they are just as eligible to vote as you are before crying yourself to sleep. 

I have a frustrated disdain towards these people. I literally can't fathom this level of idiocy. How much mental gymnastics does one person have to go through in order to create a delusional world where Trump is somehow doing everything right and all the criticisms are just conspiracies and whining from the left? The only good out of these people is that one day they will be looked at from our history books in the same way we look at slave masters, segregationists, and klansmen. 

And yes, this is a first impressions blog of the Ozark. I'm getting to that. 

Otherwise, there is little catharsis from these people. There is only so much schadenfreude COVID deniers getting COVID and Karens getting tased can bring to my little heart. Schadenfreude is an addicting vice, and you always want a bigger dose once you get used to it. The biggest dose on my mind is Trump losing this year's election, but that will be short lived as the mouth breathers that support him aren't just going to evaporate once Trump is dethroned. 

They will just keep infecting the KCDB comment sections with their delusions, conspiracies, and their entitled whining. 

I think that leads to why my favorite scene from the Ozark so far works so well. Keep in mind, I am only two episodes in, but already I have a lot to say on the show. 

But before I get to that scene, I want to generally talk about Ozark and its place in what some people like to call the 'white anti-hero' genre.

It doesn't take long for Ozark to establish itself as a derivative of that genre. And for a while, you don't really know what it is trying to do to separate itself from the likes of Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men. It's just another morally gray white guy who is involved in some illegal activity for arguably righteous reasons. 

The first episode starts off slow because of that. You are not given a reason to care because the situation isn't unique enough to warrant your attention. This is a basic adage in screen writing and journalism: why are they reading this? For the first episode, I never really got that answer. The closest thing to an answer was something along the lines of "hey Breaking Bad was great, well how about we do that with a boring color grade and less interesting cinematography." God, this is the second blog in a row where I talk about Breaking Bad. Let's just move on. 

It was thankfully the second episode where the question of why I am watching this started to make sense, and it has nothing to do with the main characters, the writing, or the acting which is usually the go to praise when talking about the white anti-hero genre. Really, the best thing about Ozark are the tiki-torch white people that populate the town. 

These white people remind me a lot of Lubbock. I guess lake people and plainsmen share the same ancestors. Reading the reviews of Ozark's portrayal of the Missouri town was also rather amusing because I imagine the citizens of Lubbock saying the exact same thing in a alternate realty where Netflix has a new original show called "The Lubbock."

It is the same useless drivel I have heard when people attempt to give tempered praise to Lubbock. One article from Vox Magazine said Ozark neglected to portray the family friendly spots of Ozark's tourism. One resident in a Lake Expo article called the Ozark a "horrible representation of the Ozarks" referring to the vast depiction of crime and corruption. 

Ahhhh, I could hear "The Lubbock" alternate reality now: "Lubbock is more friendly than that. We aren't just hillbilly rednecks. There is more than just crime in Lubbock!" Yeah, I feel the people who criticize the accuracy of Ozark aren't quite getting the point. Though in fairness, there are some criticisms that are very understandable. For example. Ozark filming in Georgia instead of Missouri itself has been a point of contention. However, it should be worth noting that the obvious reason they are filming in Georgia is because of Georgia's huge tax incentives for filmmakers. It makes you wonder if Missouri did something similar they wouldn't have this problem in the first place. 

It's that backwoods logic that I was referring to. They could easily solve this complaint, boost tourism, and strengthen the local film community with a more competitive tax incentive but they rather complain that a television show is portraying their little town incorrectly. It again leads to why my favorite scene in the Ozark is my favorite scene, so let's get into it. Spoilers if you haven't watched up to the end of the second episode. 

To give a quick set up, a girl of a trashier variety breaks into The Byrde's hotel room and steals a bag of money owned by the cartel. Reasonably, Martin (Jason Bateman) is very concerned about this situation. If he doesn't get this money back, he is dead. 

He quickly tracks the girl and her family and is immediately put at gun point by one of the family members. The way the family members see this situation is that they just came across a large pile of free money, but they don't know the whole story.

Byrde, calmly, fills them in. In order to use this money, they have to kill him or else face the wrath of an extremely dangerous drug lord. And even if they do that, they could only use this money for groceries and fuel or else deal with the wrath of the IRS and the feds. And even if they do that, there is still the possibility that one of the family members will spend irresponsibly leading to chaos, possibly death & violence, in the family. The only sensible path is to give the money back to Martin as if nothing ever happened. 

And you know what, THEY STILL CONSIDER KILLING MARTIN! Even after the game theory logic is explained that there is no way they will benefit from this situation, there is still tension within a few members that maybe killing Byrde is a good idea. 

I remember watching that scene with the same anger as if I was reading a KCBD comment section. Byrde thankfully makes it out alive, but reality has shown different outcomes of that situation. It has shown voters still believing COVID as a hoax even after more than 200,000 dead Americans and a president that is unwillingly to budge despite getting COVID himself. It has shown that voters will still support a man even after that man has essentially said he will hold the stimulus hostage until after the election. People can and have took that cartel money without even a shred of care to how it will effectively ruin their entire lives. 

That's what separates the Ozark from the rest of the crowd, and something tells me that uniqueness is only going to get more tragic from there. 

A Slightly Contrarian Review of Death Note

It’s hard not to start this review without using the generic line that Death Note is often regarded as one of the best pieces of narrative in Japanese anime.   

And all of this bothers me because I overall find Death Note kind of meh. This was made worse still by the fact that any attempt to find confirmation bias left me either with people that gave it tempered praise or contrarians that thinks it is one of the most overrated shows ever made. I am not in any of those camps. So like a loner, I have to pitch my tent somewhere else.

There are a few areas of discussion that I feel I could put my own spin on which is why I am writing this review. But considering this is a review, I will briefly go through some of the more obvious points first that are no brainers.

I should also mention that this is a spoiler review. Everything after this point will contain spoilers. I don’t know why I need to say this considering the show is almost 15 years old. Hell, I feel the entire anime community has entirely moved on from the discourse of this show. Wait, why am I talking about this—

1.) Death Note knows how to explore a concept.

Death Note uses the entire buffalo when exploring the concept of a notebook that kills people when you write their name in it. I feel if you got a handful of writers to write down some various concepts you could explore in Death Note, likely it already is an episode of Death Note. That’s how thorough the show is. It’s really fun seeing how various types of people use the Death Note. The rules and mechanics of the Death Note are great. It’s just impressive how much thought went into the Death Note itself.

2.) The show loses a lot of its enjoyment after Episode 25.

I believe this is generally one of the few pieces of consensus regarding criticism of Death Note. L and Light are such a major focus of the show. Once L is gone, the show is left meandering until an admittedly interesting ending. To me, it reminded of the notoriously second season of Twin Peaks. Oh shoot, I guess there is also spoilers of Twin Peaks.

Once you find out who Laura Palmer’s killer is, Twin Peaks struggles to find a purpose for a good chunk of the show. Death Note’s last 12 episodes have that same feeling.

3.) Any further criticism I give to this show, I imagine may not really be a problem in the manga.

I don’t like reading, so I wouldn’t know what the manga is like. All of my criticisms are merely directed towards the show. If the manga addresses any of the problems I have, then that’s great—I am still not reading the manga.

Oh, I guess I should also mention—

3a.) I haven’t seen this show in more than a year, and I am too lazy to rewatch this anime for this review. If I forget some important detail that vindicates the show, don’t @ me. Frankly, I don’t care enough. If I forgot about something then the show didn't make it that important or memorable to begin with. 

So with that out of the way, we are left with the question I posed in the beginning. Why am I “meh” on Death Note?

I have been ruminating on this question for a while ever since I saw it in 2019. And while I could break down my answer into numbered points like before, I think all these points can be boiled down to…

 

1.) I really hate Light Yagami as a character.

 Now saying that alone will obviously draw a ton of rebuttals usually in the form of “you are supposed to hate Light” and “Light is supposed to be a vessel to explore this interesting moral dilemma.” And while both are valid, I don’t think either of those make him compelling.

The thing with Light is that his greatest strength as a character is dictated by whether you are interested in the question “what would you do if you had the Death Note?” I wasn’t, and that left me with a character that wasn’t compelling beyond the notebook in his hands. He was just a boring sociopath.

I feel a worthy comparison to Light Yagami is Walter White from Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad. I feel they parallel rather nicely: They are portrayed as normal people with normal lives. They both happen upon something that gives them power. In Death Note, it is obviously the titular notebook. In Breaking Bad, it is Walter White’s discovery of using his chemistry expertise to become a very successful meth cook. And finally, both characters are corrupted by said power leaving them as decayed versions of their former self.

However, what makes Walter White different, and in my opinion better, is twofold. First, Walter White isn’t just about becoming the best crystal meth cook. Walter White’s story diverges into other areas such as his struggling marriage, his connection with his son, and his health early on. I think I am going to end up spoiling Breaking Bad too, aren’t I? This is unlike Light where I felt his sole interest was related to the Death Note (as well as not getting caught). The only exception is arguably his romantic relationships. But considering those relationships are either superficial or purely to further his goals with the Death Note, it doesn’t really mean anything. Walter White’s struggling marriage and the like are also a part of his character long before White breaks bad. They are tangentially related. This is why Walter White’s tragedy is more impactful as we are seeing how his path is exacerbating his problems established at the beginning of the show. Light is sort of a blank slate in the beginning, so it’s hard for me to get invested. When he does become more evil, I am left indifferent because I am not given a reason to care.

It also helps that Walter White has a clear motivation which not only makes him more relatable but makes his plunge into darkness more unsettling.

What I found interesting from fans of both shows is that both like to make the observation that the main characters are the true villains or at least both stories can be described as villain origin stories. However, while I find Breaking Bad fans are genuine when saying this, I feel Death Note fans only say this as an excuse for Light being a one-dimensional character. I think this goes without saying but even villain characters need to be well written, and a simple way to make someone better written is to give them an interesting motivation. Hell, the sole reason why some of narrative’s most popular villains work, like Thanos, is because of their motivation.

Whenever I watch Breaking Bad, I always felt convinced that Walter White was doing the things he was doing for the purposes of providing for his family. However, the scariness of White’s character is how his flaws and insecurities corrupt White’s virtuous motivations into something evil. It’s partly why White remains such a relatable character despite doing some of the most horrible things I have ever seen on television as well as losing sight of his initial goal in the later seasons.

Now in fairness, Death Note kind of does this. We see Light rewarded with hero points by saving a random girl before he quickly wants to become an enforcer of justice before even more quickly developing a God complex. Any other motivations feel like throwaway lines to try to give this blank slate more depth such as his dad being a cop which could tie into his want for justice in the world “yadda yadda yadda.”

It’s so thin to me. It’s so thin to the point where the show becomes more interesting when other people have the Death Note. At least most of the other Death Note owners have a clear goal in mind instead of the nebulous goal of ridding the world of evil.

I feel you can blame this on the show rather focusing on the cat and mouse dynamics between Light and L which overshadows any opportunities for Light to have any personal stakes in the story. Speaking of which…

1a.) L is part of the problem.

For this, I would like to make the obvious comparison to Sherlock Holmes. It’s pretty obvious that the Light and L dynamic bears a striking resemblance to the dynamic between Holmes and Professor Moriarty. The thing is I like Moriarty a whole lot more than L (or Light if you think Light is the villain).

The appeal of Moriarty is that he is the only match to Sherlock Holmes’ intelligence which is an unusual contrast to a normal Sherlock Holmes story. Sherlock Holmes, at its core, is pure power fantasy. It is just Sherlock Holmes pwning noobs. In most episodes or chapters, he seems invincible. It is only until Moriarty is thrown into the mix that we get a dose of vulnerability in Sherlock which in turn makes Moriarty more intimidating.

It should also be worth noting that this only works in small doses. It’s why Moriarty tends to work better in shorter formats and why most other Sherlock villains seem like weaker attempts to make lighting strike twice. It certainly doesn’t work having a Sherlock-Moriarty dynamic in a 37-episode stretch.

Now, I really like L, but he is introduced way too early in the show. That dose of vulnerability lasts for a few episodes before it just becomes a mindless back and forth of Light and L trying to one up each other. Admittedly, the show does shines in certain spots when they play psychological mind games with one another. The “Encounter” episode is one of my favorites because of this. I also like when Light uses the rules of Death Note in creative ways going back to the show doing really well at exploring a concept. However, a lot of the tension is lost because after long stretch of this back and forth, you get the sense that Light is going to make it until the very end. Granted, the same can be said for Sherlock, Moriarty doesn’t overstay his welcome for that to be an issue. Moriarty comes and goes in two separate episodes of BBC Sherlock. If we were to split those episodes using Death Note’s typical runtime, that is about eight episodes. Of course, this is ignoring the later seasons of Sherlock which have their own problems but that is for another review. Does that count as Sherlock spoilers? I don’t know anymore.

Instead, we get a show that tries to have its cake and eat it too. It wants to be a Sherlock like power fantasy but is too bloated for it to be compelling throughout. However, it also wants to be a character study that explores into the moral hypothetical questions that Death Note brings, but Light is just not explored enough for those concepts to be at least interesting because the show is so lasered focus on the Light v. L rivalry. Both are fighting for space, but it seems the Light v. L side of Death Note won. And frankly, I would have preferred if they have spent less time on Light v. L in favor of making Light a more complete character.  

But that is my take on Death Note. I want this to be clear that this isn’t an objective take down of one of anime’s most beloved shows. I won’t say that it is overrated. I just couldn’t get into it. I found it “meh” and I wanted to know why. I hope this explains why Death Note didn’t work for me.

And no, I am still not reading the manga.