A couple of things became crystal clear after last night’s episode of Succession.
For starters, don’t miss an episode because it puts you way behind (I was at the beach last week with my family). More importantly, a war is brewing inside the Roy family, and stakes are only everything Logan (Brian Cox) worked so hard to build. What’s striking is how Jesse Armstong, Adam Mckay, and the team of writers working on Succession built up such an apparent conflict with a stunning amount of simplicity which wasn’t intrusive to the overall narrative in season one. Fans thought the boardroom vote was the pivotal moment in the season and it was for an entirely different reason than was immediately obvious.
Alan Ruck, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin and Nicholas Braun, photo credit: Peter Kramer/HBO
Kendall’s (Jeremy Strong) defeat during the vote of no-confidence and subsequent humiliation was created by the Roy family’s worst enemy, another Logan. Who better to take down the old man than one of his offspring? At first, the initial season of Succession seemed to be about the fall and rise of a great tyrant when in reality it’s a twisted retelling of Julius Ceasar.
Instead of “Beware The Ides Of March” it’s now “Beware Tom and Shiv’s Wedding”. Armstrong and Mckay are both at the helm of the final episode of the season and with good reason. This is what we’ve been building up to. If this journey has already involved urinating in a business office and doing lines of cocaine in an underground party, there’s no telling what’s going to occur during the finale.
Matthew Macfadyen and Sarah Snook, photo credit: Peter Kramer/HBO
So where did this start to become clear? Well, it began during Tom’s (Matthew Macfadyen) bachelor party when Stewie (Arian Moayed) pulls Kendall (Long) aside and tells him Sandy (Larry Pine) is at the party and wants to talk. Through the course of the conversation, it’s revealed that Stewie and Sandy are a team and it was all part of a ploy to get on the Waystar board. Sandy wants to buy Kendall out which he initially resists.
After a deal falls through for the former temporary CEO, he then approaches Sandy with the idea of a hostile takeover. Kendall has nothing to lose at this point and whatever empathy he had for the family died when his father humiliated him, and his brother didn’t cast the deciding vote to oust his father as CEO.
Harriet Walter and Sarah Snook, photo credit: Colin Hutton/HBO
We then pivot to last night’s episode which unfolded at Eastnor Castle (the site of Tom and Shiv’s wedding). Preparations are underway for the ceremony, and it’s becoming more and more evident that Shiv might have a little something going on with her fellow campaign manager. She, of course, denies it but even her mother (played brilliantly by Harriet Walter) recognizes this marriage is doomed. Tom’s even on to her, but she manages to weasel her way out of it. Shiv has other things on her mind pertaining the future of her presidential candidate. Using some company secrets which she heard from Tom to her advantage, she manages to create a truce between the liberal candidate she’s working for and her father.
Brian Cox, photo credit: Colin Hutton/HBO
Word begins to seep out about the impending hostile takeover of Waystar and the timeline is bumped up to Shiv’s wedding weekend setting up for an explosive finale.
Peter Friedman, J. Smith Cameron and Jeremy Strong, photo credit: Colin Hutton/HBO
What do I think is going to occur? Kendall coming out on top seems too neat of a finale. Somehow Stewie is going to end up screwing him in the end, and I’d be floored if Logan doesn’t have a meltdown when he’s notified of the takeover.
Double Dare is back but is it a welcomed return? Nostalgia is a tricky thing to talk about. Everyone’s childhood is different, and as a result, it can be hard to rationalize your feelings on something. As an adult, it may not be as good as you remember. I’ve always found the way to counteract nostalgia is to keep everything objective. To this end, I’ll review this show as it were any other show.
Why am I saying all this? Well, just recently Nickelodeon premiered its much-hyped revival of Double Dare, and you better believe I have a strong feeling about it.
I never saw the original when it first aired. However, I was able to catch reruns on the departed Nick GAS network, when I was growing up. So, I did grow up on the series, just not in the way you’d expect (this explains why whenever I see someone going as a team from Legends of the Hidden Temple, I smile to myself).
Can this succeed? Did you read the title of this review?
So why did I bring up nostalgia in the opening paragraph? Well, whenever I see people praise this new revival, I wonder if the reviewers were paid off. They seemed so blinded by so much nostalgia; they were already hailing the revival before it came out. As a result, I’ll be gentle, where I can. After watching five or six episodes, I was ready for proverbial blood. A final note, at specific points I’ll compare the original and the revival. Is this fair to do? Not really, however, if Nickelodeon spent the money to build a modern replica of the set, hired the original host, and brought back the composer to remix the themes, then it’s not a question of fairness anymore. It’s more of a foregone conclusion.
The Positives
The set design is downright impressive, updating the original design, and even keeping the eggcrate numbers (although they’re now digital). I also love how both the main set and the obstacle course are organized in the studio. Marc Summers is a delight, and it always makes me happy to see him on TV. Even Edd Kalehoff was brought back in to revise his original music, and the music’s still as catchy as ever. The obstacle course keeps a lot of the classic charm, with the giant pool, the giant nose, and the sundae slide, all making return appearances.
Unironically, one of the best parts of this revival
Minor Problems
First, technical quibbles, these are minor, but minor problems add up, and next thing you know you’re being chased by a giant snowball. Notably, the sound effects are the not the originals. This seems minor, yet when they put all the effort in doing a semi-recreation of the original show, for Nick not to use the original sound effects is sacrilege. Why is the end of round sound effect now (what Desus & Mero called) a “Wild dance horn?” For all I know when I hear the sound effect, I’m thinking Nagisa (or “Thugisa”) from 50% Off is near. I shouldn’t be thinking this while watching a game show! Also, the “challenge cleared” sound effect is different and nowhere near memorable as the original. There also wasn’t a sound effect for a correct answer and money entering the team’s bank in the original which gets to be grating in the revival.
The second major technical quibble: Why is there a giant vertical screen behind the host podium? The video wall is entirely superfluous, only telling us when a team dares, and the 30-second clock for physical challenges. There’s no reason they could have gone with the digital time clock descending from the roof, and a solid wall, instead of a monitor. From a presentation standpoint, it’s distracting with the vertical monitor going through its animation behind the host.
Why do we need a giant video screen?
Second minor problem is the physical challenges and the obstacle course. Some of the new physical challenges introduced lean too much on toilet humor. I’m not saying the original didn’t have these challenges because some of them did. Most of the challenges involved wrapping people up in life-size burrito wraps, throwing pizzas into boxes from long distances, and hitting targets. You know real challenges requiring a certain amount of thought, creative vision, and effort put into them. Double Dare (2018) seems to lack these qualities.
I’ll gladly take this type of physical challenge… (Yes, they are throwing ping pong balls at flypaper)…over this type of Physical Challenge.
In the obstacle course, the producers added something foolish: The Mount St. Double Dare. This incline rope climb with “top” spewing smoke and presented as a “final” (i.e., permanent) obstacle. The idea of a “final/permanent” obstacle is not a bad one. Yet the only time I saw it in action, it didn’t look appealing. Am I saying a “final” obstacle should be the Aggro Crag from Guts? No, (although that would be awesome) it’s just for a final obstacle, it’s quite lame. Here’s a thought: a final co-op obstacle, where the two team members must work as one to grab the flag, I can’t tell you what it would look like; it’s just a thought.
A new obstacle, and the colossally awful “Mt. St. Double Dare”
A Missing Corollary
The previous paragraphs explained a painfully obvious flaw in this revival, yet it’s led me to a theory Nathan Rabin posited when he was on The A.V. Club and writing My Year of Flops. In the entry about Ishtar, he talked about “the Curse of Bigness.” The danger of throwing too much money and production design into projects, traditionally made on the cheap; i.e., comedies. While I found Rabin’s theory to be correct, I felt he was missing a corollary effect and didn’t apply it to television. This is my little contribution.
To explain this, let’s talk about another 80s icon: David Letterman. I always found Letterman to be at his funniest when he under a limited budget. This explains why I feel Late Night with David Letterman holds up better than Late Show. Creativity increases as the budget decreases. The inverse holds true as well.
You see this? This is ingenious and required innovation.
You can apply this theory to Double Dare. Watch an episode when the show was in Philadelphia (from 1986-through part of 1989), and the innovation is on full display. Physical challenges involving paper airplanes, balancing cans on stomachs, and impromptu theme days like Miami Vice day, or 3-D day (without any 3-D) are all present. These are all creative (and brilliant) ideas coming about with a limited budget and time.
When the show moved to Orlando (from 1989 to 1993, 2000) a lot of the impromptu creativity was lost. Those psychical challenges went from paper airplanes and ping-pong balls to over-sized props which seemed convoluted and impossible to recreate at home (unless your dad was a special effects builder). Was the show still good? Obviously, yes! However, some of the charm was lost, and you would be surprised how much you can miss charm, if it’s not there. Double Dare (2018) [now filmed at the CBS Studio Center in L.A.] has made things larger, and significantly worse.
The Host
Finally, there is the host: Liza Koshy. She is atrocious. I am not joking; she embodies some of the worst traits of lousy game show hosts. She tries too hard to be funny, wants to join in on the action, mugs for the camera, and appears she wants the show to be about her.
Allow me to explain to you what I feel a great game show host should be: a great host is in effect a straight-man. The host sets up the contestants, is seemingly interested in the contestants and the game itself and runs a tight ship (or appears to anyway). While it is possible for a host to be funny, I find the only type of comedy that seems to work (from years of watching game shows) for hosting is sarcasm/snide remarks. Why? It all goes back to the straight man theory. They set everything up, and if they do get a shot at a joke, they make it as snide and sarcastic as possible. There’s a reason straight-men burn cooler than anyone else in comedy. They set up other people to be funny.
Where am I going with this? Simple. A great host can make a good show great; a bad host can make a great show atrocious. Guess which one Koshy is.
As I had mentioned earlier, let’s get to comparisons. Summers got what I talked about two paragraphs ago, on the original show. He understood the quasi-straight-man routine required for game show host, as he had experiences with the creative side of game shows (fun fact: he wrote for a 1970s revival of Truth or Consequences, and the short-lived Jay Wolpert game show Hit Man). For me, Summers was to Double Dare, what Gene Rayburn was to Match Game; indispensable, and if anyone were to try to fill those shoes, it would be an impossible feat.
You would be crazy to replace him with someone else as host, right?
By contrast, Koshy doesn’t seem to get it. She’s not getting that no one is here to watch you do your stand up schtick when you’re hosting a game show. What people want you to do when hosting a game show: Focus on the game and try not to force in jokes, stay neutral (she gets involved with the kids/contestants, which corrupts the process of fair play.) If you can get them to laugh, good for you, however you need to find the perfect comedic time to do so. Here, she’s seconds off, and it kills all comedic tension. She gets better at hosting in some episodes, then immediately gets worse in others, so you can add inconsistency to the mix as well.
Part of me is wondering where they found someone who couldn’t host a game show to save their life. I did some research and found out she was a “YouTube celebrity” (My soul died a little writing that), which makes perfect sense, because [the joke here was funny but has been taken out because it could offend the universe. We apologize for this oversight. – The Management.] If the roles were reversed and Koshy was the announcer and Summers was the host, this probably would not be an issue. If you need proof take the episode that aired July 27th, when Koshy was fighting a sore throat, and Summers took over hosting in the second round, and the obstacle course. Summers immediately turned the show around, and the show became instantly watchable.
Apparently, Nickelodeon iscrazy to think this would work.
Final Thoughts
I wanted to like this new remake of a classic. The set looks nice, Summers is excellent, and it’s nice to see some of the original obstacles. Unfortunately, the miscalculations that occurred (an awful host, annoying sound effects, and the large stage) are too great to overcome.
New episodes of Double Dare (2018) air at 8 pm weekdays, on Nickelodeon.
The third season of Attack On Titan doesn’t slow down with the second episode. Instead, a perfect mixture of action, drama, and tension are all on display.
Summary
Levi pushes himself to the limit to save Eren and Historia from his former mentor, Kenny.
Review
It almost feels like the purpose of this episode was to make up for the lack of Captain Levi action from the second season. Done nursing his injured leg, Levi finds himself having to face off against his former mentor, Kenny. This ghost from his past has come with a group with the sole purpose of kidnapping Eren and Historia and killing anyone who gets in their way. The action is intense and Levi showcases again why he is one of the best men to ever wear a Three-Dimensional Maneuvering Gear.
After the intense battle with with Levi and Kenny’s force, the drama takes center stage. The scout team has to come to terms with the difficulty of fighting humans. This helps to showcase the amount of disconnect each of the members put themselves in. They were trained to fight Titans, monsters whose sole intent was to eat them. Their new opponents are humans, people who could have had lives and feelings. This is hard for many in the team to accept, especially Erwin.
Also, it should be noted, the ending for the new season finally debuts. Turns out, LInked Horizon was on tap for the season after all, they were just going to be the ones to supply the ending. It’s a very emotionally sweet and uplifting song which translates to “Daybreak Requiem.” Its quality is far beyond the creepy melody of the second season ending.
Great drama and intense action help to make this series keep from getting dull. Hopefully the balance can continue as their seems to be a political conspiracy on the horizon.
Considering the franchise-best box office that Mission: Impossible — Fallout earned in its opening weekend (not to mention all the critical praise, including my own), it’s unlikely that Paramount or Tom Cruise are angling to wrap up the series anytime soon. And why should they? Against all odds, the Mission: Impossible franchise appears to be getting only better with age, and at least for the time being, Cruise seems perfectly capable of continuing to perform the death-defying stunts that are part and parcel of Ethan Hunt’s lifestyle.
However, as much as fans and Cruise himself may want to keep the series going indefinitely, the ravages of time are bound to force a conclusion one way or another. Whether that happens as the result of a creative choice, because Cruise is no longer up for the physical demands of these films or due to declining box office totals, the Mission: Impossible series — at least in its current state — can’t go on forever. That said, the series go very well continue by embracing one of its key supporting players and essentially becoming its own spinoff series. Here’s why Rebecca Ferguson should take over when the time is right.
Rebecca Ferguson deserves her own franchise
While Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and company have longer histories with the Mission: Impossible series, none of those actors nor their characters are really suited to lead the franchise after Cruise’s departure. However, Ferguson has the blend of charisma, vulnerability and strength that makes hers a compelling character we would follow anywhere. Not only does the actress have the acting chops to humanize the films in the face of all the insane action, she has also demonstrated a commitment to the fight choreography and physicality required to play Ilsa Faust, even if she has yet to risk life and limb like Cruise insists on doing. In short, get this actress her own franchise ASAP.
Ilsa Faust is a total badass
When Ilsa Faust was introduced in Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, it was under the most mysterious of circumstances. However, as we soon learned, she is an elite member of MI6 and, by all accounts, equal in experience and training to Ethan himself. They face off numerous times, and with each encounter, Ilsa either bests Ethan or comes close to it. So, while she would need to come under the employ of the U.S. government, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for her to become naturalized as a U.S. citizen so that she can join the IMF.
She is already an integral part of the series
Even though she’s only appeared in two films, Ferguson has left an indelible mark on the series. As the only leading female in more than one film, her role in Fallout breaks the streak of revolving-door leading ladies that has seen the likes of Thandie Newton, Maggie Q and Paula Patton exit the series just as soon as they’d entered. But Ilsa is different. In short order, she’s established a close personal relationship with Ethan himself as well as neatly played off of Luther (Rhames), Benji (Pegg) and other members of the ensemble. Presumably, for Ilsa to take over as the point woman of the IMF, Ethan would either retire or be killed off, and graduating Ilsa into his spot would keep Cruise a part of the series at least in spirit.
More female-led studio representation
As alluded to above, the Mission: Impossible series hasn’t always been kind to its leading ladies, treating them more as motivators for Ethan than anything else. Yet, Christopher McQuarrie — writer/director of both Rogue Nation and Fallout — has created a character that is up to par with Ethan on multiple levels. Concurrently, the studio system is finally starting to realize that female-led franchises can turn an impressive profit simply by tapping into the underserved market that makes up roughly half the population. If the runaway success of films like Wonder Woman and Ocean’s 8 is any indication, Mission: Impossible may be positioned to lean into this trend as well, allowing for more female representation onscreen (and perhaps behind the camera).
Fallout sets her up for more adventures
No matter how much business sense it might make to move Ferguson/Ilsa to the forefront of Mission: Impossible, it just wouldn’t work if the narrative of Fallout had written the character into a corner. Thankfully, this isn’t the case (no spoilers!), as McQuarrie leaves the door wide open for the character to continue as a supporting player or even advance into a more central role in the inevitable Mission: Impossible 7. At this point, it remains to be seen where the series will go and if McQuarrie will stay on for at least one more installment. But we’d like to think that Paramount has signed Ferguson on for more films, allowing McQuarrie or his successor to develop this fascinating character even further in subsequent adventures.
Agree or disagree with my thoughts? Comment below to let me know or chat movies with me on Twitter @crookedtable!
Whether you’re looking for a bank robbery, wannabe vampires, or the least heartwarming adoption in history, you’ll find it in “Les Enfants Du Sang”.
Preacher Feature is a weekly look into the AMC show Preacher based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. In this column, Josh Versalle gives a breakdown of the events from the show, including how they relate to the comics, and speculates as to what’s going on and what might be coming up. That means we’re headed into SPOILER territory, pardner, so if you haven’t got the grit for it, turn back now.
Need to catch up on last week’s action? Look no further.
“My story is just beginning.”
Poor Eugene. He finally makes it back from Hell to his hometown of Annville, only to find out that everyone he’s ever known or loved was killed in a fiery methane explosion while he was gone. But, surely this is rock-bottom, right? Surely there’s nothing left but smiles and sunshine for the Job-like young man with the unbreakable spirit and the face like an anus, right? Wrong. In Preacher, there are no rock-bottoms and Eugene finds himself in an orphanage and although he seems to be immediately adopted, the would-be parent is none other than the Saint of Killers, whose days as a caring parent are some 100+ years in the past.
“Clock’s ticking. Let’s go steal some shit.”
In order to save Miss Marie, Jody and TC agree to work with Jesse and Tulip. The plan is to rob the bank where Sabina keeps her souls, thus hurting their rivals the Boyds at the same time. To do so, director Laura Belsey (The Flash, Arrow), takes us into full-heist movie mode: quick cuts of security cameras, Tulip in a blond wig, fingerprint, er…saliva verification, the works.
Since they need Sabina’s saliva to open her deposit box, Jesse tries to get her to spit in his face. When this scheme fails, he goes for an alternate line of action (though it seems like it was his plan A the whole time): getting his ex to kiss him instead.
Everyone’s got a part to play in the plan. For TC, it’s using his peculiar interests to cause a distraction, i.e.: banging a goat in a local petting zoo to draw the police away from the bank. Jody heads to the Boyds’ motel HQ and kills the lot of them. Well, almost the lot. We find out later that he has kidnapped Sabina, in order to feed her soul to Miss Marie.
“We are plotting a coup.”
Pip Torrens (Herr Starr) gives my favorite performance of the episode, being reduced from fearless leader of his conspiracy-within-the-conspiracy to simpering toady in the face of the Grail’s true leader, the All-Father. The elevator ride with Hoover (Malcolm Barrett) is hilarious, but it’s the expressions on Torrens’ face as he tries to lie to the murderous All-Father and hide his disgust at the man and his choice of meal (an entire barbecued horse, his portion of which the All-Father then pukes into a waiting receptable) that push the performance from memorable to classic. Starr learns the All-Father’s plan for Armageddon is to destroy Earth in nuclear fire. He also learns, to his great dismay, that the All-Father knows about Jesse.
“Who’s prepared to lie back and take flight?”
Meanwhile, Cassidy is learning more of what being a vampire can mean. He meets Eccarius (Adam Croasdell), the leader of Les Enfants Du Sang. At first he looks to Cassidy like a wanker (and let’s face it, he is), but the harp-playing dandy knows a few things Cassidy hasn’t learned in his 100 years of being undead, like how to fly, enthrall humans, and transform oneself into a beast (okay, it’s just a house cat, but that’s more than Cass can do). After demonstrating his abilities to Cass, Eccarius reveals how he achieves them: drinking the blood of his followers and turning them into vampires. Cassidy, still troubled by how things went down with his son Denis (in “The End of the Road”, last season), tries to kick Eccarius’s ass, but he’s no match for the foppish, but lighting-quick vampire. Eccarius says the difference between Denis and his group is that each member of Les Enfants Du Sang is a good person.
After rejecting Eccarius’s attempt to befriend him, Cass falls back into old habits, namely smoking crack in a graffiti-covered basement. Tulip calls him, lonely and worried about the way she left things with him at the end of “The Tombs”. Tulip feels she and Jesse abandoned Cassidy, but reassures him that they three will be reunited soon. Cass tells her that he’s gone through a lot of friends in his abnormally-long lifetime and she and Jesse are no different. He hang up and heads back to the basement headquarters of Les Enfants Du Sang.
Tulip doesn’t get much time to wallow, though, as she is quickly knocked out by Jody. TC also knocks out Jesse and we see that Marie has Sabina hooked up to the soul extractor. Marie plans to drain the soul from Sabina, then have her fight in the Tombs. Jesse wakes up in time to kill Sabina, sparing her from the torturous fate of becoming a soulless drone. He tells Marie he will pay his debt to her. The only way he knows to do that is to contact the Grail.
From Panels to Screen:
All-father eating a horse was a reference to the Preacher one-shot comic Tall in the Saddle, a western-themed flashback to Jesse and Tulip pre-Genesis, where they take down a bunch of horse thieves whose plan is to sell the horses to a Frenchman named Napoleon Vichy, who in turn plans to cook up the horseflesh.
Herr Starr is trying out one of many hats to cover up his head’s phallic appearance (to quote the All-Father “Your head looks like a penis, Starr.”), inspired no doubt by these wonderful panels of Steve Dillon’s from the comic book:
Fantastic Four: The Coming of Galactus is out this week from Marvel’s Epic Collection line, and it’s chock full of Silver Age, Jack Kirby greatness.
This volume collects Fantastic Four issues #33 through #51, and Annual #3, published between 1964 and 1966. The comics are all by FF co-creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Marvel’s Epic Collections have been a great way to get into classic stories without breaking the bank. This volume in particular is packed with pivotal arcs, from the introduction of the Inhumans, Galactus, and Silver Surfer, to seminal single issues like “This Man, This Monster” from FF #51.
Watch our video review here:
Yes, Silver Age superhero comics can seem dated at times. The dialogue is over-the-top and heavy on exposition, but that doesn’t change the fact that these stories are damn fun. Stan and Jack captured lightning in a bottle with these early stories, and there’s a reason people still talk about them.
Stan and Jack knew how to tell big, bombastic stories, but also balance them out with heart and character development. The Fantastic Four feel like a real family and you come to care about them. When The Thing hurts, you hurt. Cheesy dialogue or not, good comics transcend time.
But make no mistake about it, this is The Jack Kirby Show. There’s a reason they call him the King. Kirby was the true architect of these early Marvel stories, and you see all of his power on display in this collection. His fast paced, economic storytelling; his dynamic, energetic action sequences; the emotion. Kirby was a visionary in every sense of the word. Look no further than his work on Fantastic Four for proof.
The bottom line is this: if you want a heavy dose of kick-ass Jack Kirby storytelling, check out the Fantastic Four: The Coming of Galactus Epic Collection.
Ozark season two continues to follow Marty Bryde and his family as they navigate the murky waters of life within a dangerous drug cartel. With Del out, the crime syndicate sends their ruthless attorney Helen Pierce to town to shake things up just as The Byrdes are finally settling in. Marty and Wendy struggle to balance their family interests amid the escalating dangers presented by their partnerships with the power-hungry Snells, the cartel and their new deputy, Ruth Langmore, whose father Cade has been released from prison. The stakes are even higher than before and The Byrdes soon realize they have to go all in before they can get out.
Ozark season 2 launches globally on Netflix on August 31, 2018.
The revelation last week about the character Shiro on Voltron: Legendary Defender and his sexual orientation received a lot of positive reactions. Many fans were delighted to hear such a strong character who represented Asians, amputees, and those who struggle with mental illness in a positive light, was also a representative of the LGBT community. The news has resulted in fans shipping for a particular pairing to come true. In the long run, this may not be the best idea.
SPOILERS For VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER Season 6
During the events of Season 6, it is revealed Shiro had essentially died, had been replaced by a clone, and his consciousness was locked in the black lion. In an effort to reach out to Shiro’s clone and break him from Hagar’s control, Keith tried to connect with the doppelganger by saying, “Shiro, please! You’re my brother. I love you!” Many agreed this scene was one of the best to come from the entire series.
Fans of the Keith and Shiro relationship (“Sheith” as the couple’s relationship is known) eagerly jumped at this news and hoped it would signify the two characters being together in the future. Most of the time, shippers need two characters to be in a room together or share a glance to signify they have a connection and bond. For one character to scream, “I love you,” regardless of the context it is in, a shipper can easily point to it and say, “This proves they were made for one another.” Unfortunately, this may not be the best idea. Why? Because Keith not being gay has the chance to deliver an even more powerful message.
To reinforce the opening paragraph, the reveal about Shiro being gay is awesome. He is a strong leader, a good friend, and a valuable member of the team. His sexuality doesn’t change these dynamics of his character in the slightest. This being said, Keith not being gay would help to showcase another important message which is just as critical: Education
The character Keith represents the loner. An angry young man who hasn’t had a family since he was a child, always felt out of place, and eternally searching for who he was. It took many episodes, life-threatening battles with his team, and years of drifting through space with his estranged alien mother to finally come to terms with being able to express his feelings. By embracing these feelings, Keith was able to conquer one of his great challenges in a battle which eventually saved the soul of someone he cares for as a mentor, friend, and brother.
Why is such a distinction important? It’s time to bring in a term many have heard about, but few know the actual definition: Toxic Masculinity.
The concept of toxic masculinity is used in psychology and gender studies to refer to certain norms of masculine behavior…associated with harm to society and to men themselves. Traditional stereotypes of men as socially dominant, along with related traits such as misogyny and homophobia, can be considered “toxic” due to their promotion of violence, including sexual assault and domestic violence.
Though Keith doesn’t entirely personify the idea of Toxic Masculinity, he does display some of the characteristics early in the series. Keith lost his father, didn’t know his mother, and his impressive skills as a pilot made it so his time in the Garrison didn’t challenge him or give him a way to break out of his shell. Though it could be attributed to turning off his emotions and not being able to connect with others, such a method led to him becoming aggressive and at times violent. It was only through Shiro’s help and mentoring, teaching Keith lessons like “Patience yields focus” was he able to become a caring and compassionate individual. Keith didn’t need a lover. He needed a mentor to help to show him how to properly present himself as a man. Shiro assumed this role and helped to sculpt Keith into a more caring and compassionate individual. The mentoring aspect of their relationship is why Keith loves Shiro like a brother.
If Keith and Shiro were to end up together, it would be a beautiful thing. They are a great pairing of a loner and the individual who helped him to understand it was okay to be happy and helped him be the best person possible. On the other hand, if Keith and Shiro remain friends, the show has a chance to provide a great example of how a man can change. It would show a man who was expressing several characteristics of Toxic Masculinity and evolved through positive relationships. Keith learned it was okay to have feelings for others, to be open, and care for something other than himself.
Still, there is something to be said about the idea helping to shape the interactions of men in media. This is why role models are so important. Keeping Shiro and Keith’s relationship platonic can show how a straight man can have a close, non-sexual relationship with a gay man without worrying about it becoming romantic. This will help to break down the barrier formed by individuals who foolishly believe having a connection with a gay person changes you. It will also help to move in the right direction to take down Toxic Masculinity. It won’t be a total defeat of the concept but it will be a positive step.
How men and boys act in today’s society is a tough topic to cover all at once, but the cast and crew of Voltron: Legendary Defender has a chance to send a profound social message which could resonate and start conversations. It is possible and acceptable to have platonic feelings for a gay person without being gay yourself. Loving others platonically helps to break down barriers, bring people closer, and make the world a little better in the end.
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Do you agree with the article or do you still feel Keith and Shiro should still end up together? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Time Travel, Multiverses, Multiples, and so much more all in this week’s RAPID FIRE RECAP as the highly anticipated INFINITY WARS PRIME #1 arrives with an epic cliffhanger and MR. AND MRS. X #1 has a Honeymoon that’s out of this world.
Almost every last Marvel Comic, cliffhanger, and plot twist released the week of July 25, 2018, is going to get SPOILED ROTTEN! Turn back now, unless you’re done reading for the week OR you simply just don’t care. Don’t forget to click on our book titles below to read our fantastic reviews.
Adam Warlock goes into the Soul Realm and comes across something that looks like the Demogorgon. Then, some Final Fantasy looking character holding an over-sized broad sword cuts off Thanos’ head. No lie, Thanos is DEAD!
MR. AND MRS. X #1
Rogue and Gambit have a honeymoon in space until Kitty asks them for help. It puts a new spin on “to the moon Alice!” Then, the new married couple fights with the Imperial Guard and Rogue gets lost in space until she’s picked up by Deadpool.
Peter’s back in school, dating MJ, and things are looking up until he bumps into another Peter Parker. Or, did he bump into another Spider-Man? Either way, there are two of them now! And remember, all it takes is a little bit of money, and then anyone can teach kids; even if that person is a man-eating, giant lizard.
Ben and Johnny don’t have their powers anymore and are stuck in another multiverse led by an Evil Spider-Man. After listening to the TALKING HEADS, Ben and Johnny burn down their house. Meanwhile, Amadeus Cho sends out a multiversal message that’s answered by the Fantastic Four led by the Mad Thinker. Yikes!
Bob lost his Confluctor and frantically tries to find it before time runs out, and he gets thrown in jail by Misty Knight, Tony Stark, and the military. But, he’s too late. Readers find out that it was Bob’s sidekick Billy who stole the Confluctor and wants to be the new Sentry. Billy just wants to fill that void…😀
A duplicate of Jamie Madrox went into the future with four other duplicates to stop himself (another duplicate) from taking over the world. Confused yet? These doubles join a Resistance led by Jamie Madrox Prime’s son and Forge. However, the Hulk duplicate gets pissed during a fight and blows up.
Knull created the Necrosword and killed a Celestial. After losing the sword to the God Butcher, he began establishing symbiotic relationships with all lifeforms. Knull traveled the cosmos until Thor broke his connection with his symbiotes. The symbiotes revolted, covered Knull, and formed planet Klyntar around him.
Well, that’s a wrap for this week. What did you guys think? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @dispatchdcu
