Post by stargazer1682 on Jun 21, 2020 4:10:27 GMT
S1 Ep 4 - Wildcat
This episode once again underscores the major problem I had with the third episode; which is that they’re still fucking world building.
Don’t get me wrong, character development is good, but this is the most ham handed way to go about it. We knew virtually nothing about Yolanda, except that she was harassed for some incident that took place off screen; and even before they revealed that revealing photos of her had been leaked around the school, it was obvious by the taunts that that was what happened.
Objectively that’s not strictly outside the realm of reality, but it’s literally the only thing that’s defined this character for the first three episodes; we don’t even learn she boxes until the episode that is all about her. On top of that, the only reason it’s about her is because the writers decided to make Courtney borderline obsessed with getting to know her and be her friend; and subsequently decide to make her the next Wildcat. They couldn’t have been any more blunt in their storytelling if they had Courtney declare, “This episode is about Yolanda!”
Here again the writers could have laid more of the ground work during the first three episodes, doing a better job establishing a rapport between Courtney and Yolanda and building up to her taking on the mantle of Wildcat. Arguably, her becoming Wildcat should perhaps have come later, though admittedly when your first season only has 13 episodes, you don’t want to waste too much time. But of course, therein lies the problem of pacing the story this way, where episode four is the first time we’re really getting to know this main character in any sort of depth; and it just becomes this exposition dump, compounded with Courtney making the proactive decision to recruit Yolanda to be the new Wildcast, forcing a plot development, rather than letting it progress organically. Had Courtney managed to get through to Yolanda in the first or even the second episode, that’s time they could have spent doling out these details more evenly; and then found a way of having Yolanda choose to be Wildcat, rather than have the idea thrust on her like it was some sort of game she and Courtney were playing. Seeing as how Courtney is trying to fill roles that were vacated when their predecessors died, in order to go up against the people who killed them; the whole thing is be handled rather cavalierly, especially since between this episode and the previews for the next, they’re basically reforming the Justice Society with teenagers. And I have a sinking feeling this show is gradually turning into Power Rangers.
This episode once again underscores the major problem I had with the third episode; which is that they’re still fucking world building.
Don’t get me wrong, character development is good, but this is the most ham handed way to go about it. We knew virtually nothing about Yolanda, except that she was harassed for some incident that took place off screen; and even before they revealed that revealing photos of her had been leaked around the school, it was obvious by the taunts that that was what happened.
Objectively that’s not strictly outside the realm of reality, but it’s literally the only thing that’s defined this character for the first three episodes; we don’t even learn she boxes until the episode that is all about her. On top of that, the only reason it’s about her is because the writers decided to make Courtney borderline obsessed with getting to know her and be her friend; and subsequently decide to make her the next Wildcat. They couldn’t have been any more blunt in their storytelling if they had Courtney declare, “This episode is about Yolanda!”
Here again the writers could have laid more of the ground work during the first three episodes, doing a better job establishing a rapport between Courtney and Yolanda and building up to her taking on the mantle of Wildcat. Arguably, her becoming Wildcat should perhaps have come later, though admittedly when your first season only has 13 episodes, you don’t want to waste too much time. But of course, therein lies the problem of pacing the story this way, where episode four is the first time we’re really getting to know this main character in any sort of depth; and it just becomes this exposition dump, compounded with Courtney making the proactive decision to recruit Yolanda to be the new Wildcast, forcing a plot development, rather than letting it progress organically. Had Courtney managed to get through to Yolanda in the first or even the second episode, that’s time they could have spent doling out these details more evenly; and then found a way of having Yolanda choose to be Wildcat, rather than have the idea thrust on her like it was some sort of game she and Courtney were playing. Seeing as how Courtney is trying to fill roles that were vacated when their predecessors died, in order to go up against the people who killed them; the whole thing is be handled rather cavalierly, especially since between this episode and the previews for the next, they’re basically reforming the Justice Society with teenagers. And I have a sinking feeling this show is gradually turning into Power Rangers.