ars PARADOXICA
Sep. 6th, 2020 12:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
satalasers So: time travel.
- Alright, I'll admit: if the theme of the show is time travel, then I don't mind a reset ending quite as much? And the thing is, it didn't end before it began, TBH? Sally didn't ever return to her 'present', she just ended up in the time before ODAR went time travel mad TBH. I'm little a bit iffy on the ending, but I feel warmer to this reset ending rather than Puss In Boots.
- I have mixed feelings about Sally Grissom. On one hand, it's great to have an ace and aro protagonist. But sometimes I felt her personality was a bit gimmicky, with the constant pop culture references that didn't exist yet, and people from decades ago were supposed to understand.
- I did think she had some pretty good friendships, though. Her and Anthony Partridge was great, and I loved her and Nikhail as well. I enjoyed the slow development of Sally and Esther too, TBH.
- Man, I feel bad for original Anthony Partridge's fate though. He didn't deserve that, but it was clear to see that his own devotion to his work was pushing his wife away, and have her eventually leave him. I did make me laugh that in the heat of the moment, he blames ODAR's chief, rather than himself, and kills him, rather than admit -- later, he does -- that it was entirely his fault. So, I'm glad that reset!Anthony doesn't have to go through that.
- IDK if I ever liked Petra. I get that she was permanently angry, and wasn't really ever allowed to be herself, but still. I think I appreciated her sisterhood (?) with Carmen, and how that bled into her interactions with people -- namely, a past version of Esther and her sister. But on the whole, IDK. I liked her friendship with Nikhail as well. Interestingly, I enjoyed that despite hating future!Esther for the things she did, and probably present!Esther too, she was relatively at ease with her at most part?
- Chet Whickman was easily my favourite character just because I liked that he stepped up from basically being a nobody, to eventually, the boss of the place. (And maybe I enjoyed his partnership with Esther, who was equally as morally ambiguous and steeped in a greater sense of purpose, but kind of got corrupted along the way.) (And also smokes weed.) Kind of sad that he all but disappeared by the end, I understand that he left ODAR, but I still missed him. Not sure he deserved the eyepatch TBH.
- I'm going to say that I'm marginally more invested in Bridgit/Esther rather than Nikhail/Matteo, just because it seemed that Matteo pretty much only interacted with Nikhail, whereas Bridget talked with more people, I think? While I'm glad both got to have their happy ever after, I'm not entirely certain how invested I was in any of the romances TBH.
- TBH, I think I'm happier with the reset here was because there were so MANY resets, TBH? If it's just one, I think I'm put out because so much has been undone. But if it's done repeatedly, it's not just a one and done deal, you know?
- Nikhail was great. I was shocked to learn that he pretty much appeared and died in the same episode, especially since he was so likeable and charming. And then it turns out that things again were not as they seemed, and he lived!
- I liked Esther's moral ambiguity, and how eventually she herself became troubled by it, and decided to leave ODAR to be a better person.
- Super proud of Jack Wyatt for leaving ODAR in the early days, before things went buckwild TBH.
- Also loved that Director Donovan kind of got obsessed with the time travel, even though it messed up his brain, and had some terrible ramifications, but he couldn't help himself from repeatedly using it, even if it was super clear that he was not getting better from butterfly syndrome.
- Butterfly syndrome, in general, was a pretty neat way to limit the time travel and prevent talking to your future self, and I think I did enjoy learning that ODAR got kids specifically who were groomed to become immune to it - hence why Petra's anger always made sense - even if it was super horrifying too.
- Didn't care about the coded messages at the end of the episode. I'm vaguely curious to know, but I'm also fine not knowing.
- Last couple of episodes were pretty rushed and veered into nonsensical, but I guess since none of it happened, and Petra, our!Sally and currently-new-to-time-travel!Sally are finally free from ODAR's influence, and ODAR never get their hands on time travel technology, I'm assuming that the time line righted itself into what was the original timeline. So, it's fine. The story ended. They get to live a normal life for the first time in forever.
- I guess by the end I just sort of felt ambivalent. It was okay, and I'm glad I listened to it, but it's not something I want to relisten to again.
- Alright, I'll admit: if the theme of the show is time travel, then I don't mind a reset ending quite as much? And the thing is, it didn't end before it began, TBH? Sally didn't ever return to her 'present', she just ended up in the time before ODAR went time travel mad TBH. I'm little a bit iffy on the ending, but I feel warmer to this reset ending rather than Puss In Boots.
- I have mixed feelings about Sally Grissom. On one hand, it's great to have an ace and aro protagonist. But sometimes I felt her personality was a bit gimmicky, with the constant pop culture references that didn't exist yet, and people from decades ago were supposed to understand.
- I did think she had some pretty good friendships, though. Her and Anthony Partridge was great, and I loved her and Nikhail as well. I enjoyed the slow development of Sally and Esther too, TBH.
- Man, I feel bad for original Anthony Partridge's fate though. He didn't deserve that, but it was clear to see that his own devotion to his work was pushing his wife away, and have her eventually leave him. I did make me laugh that in the heat of the moment, he blames ODAR's chief, rather than himself, and kills him, rather than admit -- later, he does -- that it was entirely his fault. So, I'm glad that reset!Anthony doesn't have to go through that.
- IDK if I ever liked Petra. I get that she was permanently angry, and wasn't really ever allowed to be herself, but still. I think I appreciated her sisterhood (?) with Carmen, and how that bled into her interactions with people -- namely, a past version of Esther and her sister. But on the whole, IDK. I liked her friendship with Nikhail as well. Interestingly, I enjoyed that despite hating future!Esther for the things she did, and probably present!Esther too, she was relatively at ease with her at most part?
- Chet Whickman was easily my favourite character just because I liked that he stepped up from basically being a nobody, to eventually, the boss of the place. (And maybe I enjoyed his partnership with Esther, who was equally as morally ambiguous and steeped in a greater sense of purpose, but kind of got corrupted along the way.) (And also smokes weed.) Kind of sad that he all but disappeared by the end, I understand that he left ODAR, but I still missed him. Not sure he deserved the eyepatch TBH.
- I'm going to say that I'm marginally more invested in Bridgit/Esther rather than Nikhail/Matteo, just because it seemed that Matteo pretty much only interacted with Nikhail, whereas Bridget talked with more people, I think? While I'm glad both got to have their happy ever after, I'm not entirely certain how invested I was in any of the romances TBH.
- TBH, I think I'm happier with the reset here was because there were so MANY resets, TBH? If it's just one, I think I'm put out because so much has been undone. But if it's done repeatedly, it's not just a one and done deal, you know?
- Nikhail was great. I was shocked to learn that he pretty much appeared and died in the same episode, especially since he was so likeable and charming. And then it turns out that things again were not as they seemed, and he lived!
- I liked Esther's moral ambiguity, and how eventually she herself became troubled by it, and decided to leave ODAR to be a better person.
- Super proud of Jack Wyatt for leaving ODAR in the early days, before things went buckwild TBH.
- Also loved that Director Donovan kind of got obsessed with the time travel, even though it messed up his brain, and had some terrible ramifications, but he couldn't help himself from repeatedly using it, even if it was super clear that he was not getting better from butterfly syndrome.
- Butterfly syndrome, in general, was a pretty neat way to limit the time travel and prevent talking to your future self, and I think I did enjoy learning that ODAR got kids specifically who were groomed to become immune to it - hence why Petra's anger always made sense - even if it was super horrifying too.
- Didn't care about the coded messages at the end of the episode. I'm vaguely curious to know, but I'm also fine not knowing.
- Last couple of episodes were pretty rushed and veered into nonsensical, but I guess since none of it happened, and Petra, our!Sally and currently-new-to-time-travel!Sally are finally free from ODAR's influence, and ODAR never get their hands on time travel technology, I'm assuming that the time line righted itself into what was the original timeline. So, it's fine. The story ended. They get to live a normal life for the first time in forever.
- I guess by the end I just sort of felt ambivalent. It was okay, and I'm glad I listened to it, but it's not something I want to relisten to again.
