spoilers for S2E4

there was soooo much hype about this episode, from the people who made it to people who have read the comics (which I have not). I’d heard this episode was going to be so brutal that it would best the S1 finale, that it would be the final episode before the season split and that the split was a good idea because of how devastating it would be, like we’d need to sit with it. But in reality:

- it simply was not that brutal (I have no attachment to the bug society so I didnt feel anything when they were massacred), and the beatings Nolan and Mark took weren’t nearly as hard to witness as what happened at the end of last season. like, I know Mark is going to be fine so being stabbed isnt that upsetting.

- the Viltrumites who came to get Nolan were killed with shocking ease (like, from the impression I got, Mark shouldn’t have been able to get any kind of advantage over Thula. they were about as formidable as Immortal had been on both occasions against Nolan. felt like a plot contrivance that they took their time and weren’t that )

- the stuff on the planet was interwoven with three stories that don’t carry nearly the same amount of gravity (I love Debra and feel for her, I like idea of Donald’s existential crisis, but there was nothing particularly devastating about what happened in this one. and Atom Eve’s story was only slightly interesting. After Nolan gets his back broken and Mark is laying there with a hole in his torso, it immediately cuts to Debra’s story, which is so much slower and has such a different tone. I just don’t get why they thought that was a good idea.)

- there was no sign of Angstrom. we’re halfway thru the season and ive still not been made to care about him

yes, it was a gamechanger episode and I look forward to seeing all thats gonna happen from here but I was hoping this would be the one this season to be the first to hit REALLY hard across its whole runtime, and it just didn’t

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  • RedFox9906@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Nolan is strong even for a Viltrumite. Likewise so is Mark. No I can’t tell you why.

  • barktheshark25@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I blame the sub par animation. The fight scenes have felt very static and awkward this season. Mark’s fight with Nolan felt so much better animated than every fight I’ve seen in this season so far. Same with the dialogue, there’s just random pauses of silence when they’re talking. Like that scene where Debby is crying, she makes some crying sounds and then is just completely silent for like 3 long seconds, and then cries again, and then is dead silent again for an awkward amount of time, and then finishes crying. I’m hoping the animation team gets back to what they were doing originally (maybe the Atom Eve movie cut into their budget?). Season 1’s animation wasn’t perfect, but it was far better than what I’ve seen in this season. You had a good sense of speed with the fights and the dialogue had good pacing, not random pauses that distrupt the flow.

  • Fullyverified@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I’ve spoiled parts of it for myself but I can tell you that they were winning the fight somewhat easily because Nolan is incredibly strong for a viltrumite. I won’t say why. The fact probably extends to Mark as well.

  • Briannacortes33@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    yeah, i get where you’re coming from. it didn’t hit as hard as i expected either. hoping the next episodes deliver more impact.

  • LostBoy996@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Angstrom isn’t gonna be the antagonist people hype him up to be. He’s a cool foil to Mark but people was comparing him to Green Goblin or Pain from Naruto lmaooooooooo. The dudes a slightly better villain of the week.

  • CharlesEverettDekker@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    My really only negative opinion about the 4th episode is how tame it is compared to the comics panel I’ve seen.
    Maybe it’s just me but the second season wasn’t even closely as brutal and violent and gore as the first season?
    Which kinda doesn’t make sense considering the show has the same age restriction as the first season. It would be understandable if Amazon decided to tone down a bit to get a lower age rating to appeal for broader audience, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.
    Nevertheless I’m still hyped for the second part of the season and really hope they release it in January.