Writing About All Things Pop Culture
*Slow clapping from being thoroughly impressed* Those magnificent people who work on Rick and Morty. They did it. After an (admittedly) lackluster second half to Season 4, Rick and Morty manages to stick the landing with the best episode since “The Rickshank Redemption.” Not to mention, it’s the best finale since “Wedding Squanchers.”
On Saturday, May 30th, at 3:22 PM, I I tuned in on YouTube and on my TV as millions of people watched live as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched at Cape Canaveral, bound for the International Space Station. It’s the first time since 2011 that Americans have launched from our own soil. And if all goes well, it’s the first step to returning to the Moon by the middle of this decade.
So, it may be because I’ve been really busy now that I’m back at work, but I just couldn’t get into this week’s episode of Harley Quinn. Last week, we saw Harley Quinn try to bury her feelings for Ivy by doubling down on being a villain. However, that ended as well as I thought. Steven Universe Future taught me that it’s not healthy to bury your emotions in denial. Just when Harley’s about to confess to Ivy, though, she sees how happy she is Kite Man and can’t go through with it. As a result, this episode sees Harley try to pull the “I want my beloved to be happy” trope and support Ivy. But Star vs. The Forces of Evil also taught me that bottling up your feelings can lead to heartache.
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had one dream that will refuse to die, no matter how impossible it may be. And that dream is being able to go … Continue Reading #LaunchAmerica Delayed, Very Sad
So, remember back in chapter 81 when we saw Drakken Joe show off what Ether Gear Overdrive is? That was already scary as it was. However, Mashima manages to take that and make Overdrive even more terrifying! Even Shiki’s going to need some help beating the Crime Lord. And as events in this chapter show, Weisz may end up being what helps them to win.
If you thought that this would just be another family camping episode, then you don’t know Rick and Morty.
So, it looks like the final battle for the fate of Wano’s going to be a slow burn. Moreso than usual as Oda’s quarantining himself from COVID-19. It’s a shame, because I’m looking forward to seeing the Beast Pirates get what’s coming to them. However, this week’s chapter manages to give us a small appetizer as the party gets started. And all because Luffy wants some payback for the starving people of Wano.
So, the last episode of Harley Quinn ended with Harley and Ivy escaping Bane’s Pit. And then they kissed. THEY. KISSED. We knew it was coming, but to happen so suddenly is as crazy as Quinn is. The last time I got the same reaction to a kiss was the infamous “Booth Buddies” episode of Star vs. The Forces of Evil. Unlike that show, though, this episode actually addresses the effects of the kiss. Or rather, Harley denies there being any effects all episode, with terrible results.
Well, it’s all come down to this, people. The fight between Demon King Shiki and the Undead Crime Lord Drakken Joe. We all know Shiki will win this time. It’s how Shonen manga works, after all. What matters is how it does it, though. Let Shiki vs Drakken Joe begin at last!
Okay, people, on this day one year ago, we saw the ending to two awesome shows. One of them was an animated cartoon, while the other was an adaptation of the life’s work of a guy that’s dragging his heels on finishing his work. Rather than talk about the ending to Game of Thrones since there’s enough hate for that, I wanted to talk about the end to the other good show on May 19th, 2019.
Well, this episode of Harley Quinn should have made Harley+Ivy shippers very happy in the end. And then they kisssss…. Shipping wars.
Rick Sanchez, I knew you were a sociopathic monster that cares little besides himself, but dang, man. The “Vat of Acid Episode” hammered home how petty Rick can be. That’s what everyone who’s watched it says, and I see no reason to argue with that. Comedic sociopathy aside, the “Vat of Acid Episode” hammered home an important point for me. That point being how far Rick will go to keep Morty under his toxic influence.
Here’s to my all-time favorite cartoon, Avatar: The Last Airbender! I could go on for hours and hours about how amazing this show is. From the fighting based on real-world martial arts to the inspiration from real-world cultures, to its incorporation of anime art-styles. Avatar: The Last Airbender was, is, and hopefully always will be, the gold standard by which I judge cartoons. And I’m glad it’s up on Netflix in America.
We all remember what happened the first time that Shiki tried to stand up to Drakken Joe. We saw him get brutally murdered by the crime lord, traumatizing poor Rebecca and leaving her with PTSD. Even with the reset button Mashima gave the manga, the fact remains that Shiki’s outmatched against Joe. However, this is a Shonen manga. In Shonen manga, when the hero faces a villain stronger than them, they have to get stronger. In other words, unless we want a repeat of the execution site, Shiki has to get tougher.
You know what I spent all weekend watching? Solar Opposites, from the co-creator of Rick and Morty, Justin Roiland. It’s awesome!
So, I’ve never actually seen any films from the Alien franchise, but I know the premise. Monstrous aliens that reproduce by injecting hosts with parasitic embryos that hatch by exploding out of their victim’s chests. Something like Alien is easy pickings for the likes of Rick and Morty, and that’s just what happens in their newest episode, “Promortyus.”