It’s remarkable the effect an ending can have on a story. A really good ending leaves you feeling fulfilled. Consider Casablanca, where Rick’s last-minute change of heart is the culmination of his character throughout the film as his cynicism fades. Or Inception, where the uncertain top drives home the question of reality that has permeated… Continue reading Endings Are Hard
Tag: Lost
Sticking The Landing
WandaVision is an odd show. Teased as a 50s-style sitcom featuring Wanda and Vision from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was certainly not the sort of thing you’d expect from Marvel Studios’ foray into Disney+ shows, especially when compared to the more conventional shows announced around the same time like The Falcon and the Winter… Continue reading Sticking The Landing
Here Comes The Ending
In many ways, I’m super jealous of the writers behind the Game of Thrones tv show. Over the years, they’ve built up an array of excellently developed and flawed characters, well-rounded, conflicted people who are often their own worst enemy. It’s Jon Snow’s loyalty to his homeland that makes his relationship with the Free Folk… Continue reading Here Comes The Ending
Fear of The Unknown
One of the wonderful agonies I found when I started watching Lost years and years ago was the show’s tendency to show a character’s reaction to a revelation/object/monster rather than the revelation/object/monster itself. It became characteristic of the show, and something emblematic of Abrams’ style. Granted, J.J. Abrams had little involvement with Lost past the pilot,… Continue reading Fear of The Unknown
Expository Conflict
Othello really hits the ground running. The first time we see the titular character in Shakespeare’s play he’s on trial in a war room. Now, it’s important to note that this is his introduction, this is when we learn who he is. The easiest way to clue the audience in would be to just give… Continue reading Expository Conflict
Mother Met
I wasn’t a fan of the How I Met Your Mother finale that aired on Monday. Now, I usually like finales; I love the ending of Lost and I do like how Chuck ended. Though both are controversial in their own right, they felt emotionally honest and true to the show. The problem with How… Continue reading Mother Met
The One With Aristotle
Around 2,300-odd years ago this guy named Aristotle wrote a thingy about what makes good stories. Yes, I’m referencing Aristotle; this is definitely an essay and not a rant. Now, I think storytelling as a whole has progressed beyond some of his ideas (his limitation of fiction to tragedy, epic poetry, and comedy, for example),… Continue reading The One With Aristotle
Change is Good
The TV show Chuck begun with a really simple conceit: nerdy, intelligent twenty-something stuck in a crappy deadend job in a BestBuy BuyMore suddenly finds himself with a CIA computer (the Intersect) in his brain and involved with various spy activities with agents from the NSA and CIA. Simple. The show could have very easily… Continue reading Change is Good
Too Many Characters, Too Little Time
I started watching Game of Thrones with a couple friends of mine because everybody and their grandmother (actually, no, your grandmother wouldn’t watch Game of Thrones) have been telling us how good it is. And it is, but that’s not quite the point of this essay (that’s not a rant). One of the great things… Continue reading Too Many Characters, Too Little Time
One Year
Holy crap. This is my fifty-second post. That means I’ve been keeping up this blog for one year. One post a week for a whole year Dang. I’m actually quite impressed I’ve managed to keep this up. My last attempt at a weekly blog wound up becoming bi-weekly, then monthly, then wheneverly. The fact that… Continue reading One Year
