Locke & Key Summary

No spoilers, but let’s talk about the premise and what happened in season one. Locke & Key is a young adult styled horror themed show about the Locke family. After Rendell, the father, is killed in seemingly a random attack by a student he was counseling, Nina takes her kids, Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode back to Massachusetts and the Keyhouse, where Locke, grew up.

There, Bode meets an imaginary friend, or so he thinks, in the well house, Dodge. And he starts to hear strange whispering sounds that lead him to keys. These keys all of magical powers, like a key that opens a door to anywhere. Unfortunately, Dodge is not just an imaginary friend, but an entity from another dimension who bonded to Lucas, one of Rendell’s friends from high school, years ago.

Dodge wants the keys, and in particular wants the Omega key, one that will open the door blocking off the portal. Using the student who attacked and killed Rendell, Dodge tries to get the keys that she needs in order to complete their plan. Meanwhile, Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode are dealing with a new town and that adults don’t know about the keys. Eventually, though, they manage to defeat Dodge and throw her through the portal back to her dimension, or so they think.

Locke & Key Season 2

Season two picks up shortly after the events of season two. Really when the kids next year of school starts. And of course, as viewers, we know, that the issue at hand is Dodge. She is still around, but the kids don’t know that. So what is Dodge’s plan going to be now?

The style of the show stays very much the same. It is still a young adult show with horror elements to it. For me, the feel of the show leans more into those horror elements, but not too much. But one of the things that this season does, it dig more into the lore of the Keyhouse and the Locke family. It is shown early on, but really delved into towards the end of season two.

What Doesn’t Work?

I think the one knock people might have from season one still remains. If you read the comic by Joe Hill you know how much darker and twisted that is. While Tyler, Kinsey and Bode are all around the same age, the world and how they interact with it is much less fanciful. They struggle with life more, and the actions of the student are grimmer.

For something on Netflix, I think that the changes work. But while season two is a little bit darker, it is not that dark horror. So if season one is not your jam, then season two is not going to be either. Now if season one grew on you, this might feel a bit more like the comics. And I think as someone who read the comics and likes the show, I see more nods to the comics in this one. There are in season one, but more direct references I feel here.

What Works?

I really think that building on the lore works well in this season. We get to find out not about where the portal goes to, but more of the history of it. More of what Dodge wants as well, which is intriguing. The house and lore are so intriguing that it’s hard not to want to know more about it and see more in the world. The portal to another dimension is that element that just feels different and out there from other shows.

I think they also toned down the teen drama a little bit. Watch the first few episodes, and you will disagree. But the further you get into the series, the more you see that drop away. There is still drama, since they aren’t going fully horror, drama needs to exist in some other ways. But it isn’t as much as times in season one. And a lot of that is that Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode feel like a weight has been lifted with Dodge being gone.

I appreciate, as well, that there is more adult involvement and that some of that involvement, while similar to the comics, is handled better. I think that they create a more interesting story that way. And it feels like the adult involvement makes more sense in this case.

Finally, the acting is still very strong. Bode, as a kid actor, is not always the best, nor the new kid actor in there as well. But Gabe is amazing (Dodge’s current form), and the other two kids, Kinsey and Tyler do a very good job as well. I love it when a show does well with the casting. And their mother, Nina, is very good at being confused.

Who Is It For?

I think it is for fans of Stranger Things. Another Netflix property with a similar feel, but more of a kids on bikes focus. This feels like it’s a tad more cleaned up from that and while it blends fantasy and horror, the feel is not quite the same.

As for fans of the comics, I do think that season two is likely to be appreciated more. But it is young adult in tone versus the comics. So if you dislike season one, season two is unlikely to change that. And I can understand that if expectations starts differently that this might seem very off. But if you go into season one knowing it is young adult, you’ll likely be able to appreciate it more.

Locke & Key Season 2 Final Thoughts

I like this show a lot. For me, I do not mind the young adult feel, nor am I sure that I would love to watch something that sticks perfectly to the comics. This helps balance out some of the trauma that they went through by showing off the wonder of the Keyhouse and what it is to be a Locke. The decisions that Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode face still are heavy, but there are more moments in there.

And I know there is going to be one more season. I think, many people, like myself, didn’t watch season two immediately when it dropped. There is just too much time between the seasons. But, thankfully, Netflix is already committed to a season three and they know it will be the last one. I want to see where the series ends, and while it might not be release day binge, I will watch it.

Do you enjoy Locke & Key on Netflix?

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The Plot

Alina is an orphan who, like most orphans either gets brought to fight in the army or become a cartographer. She’s a cartographer, and her best friend, Mal, is in the army. Neither of them have the powers that the Grisha have, expect, well, Alina actually does, she just doesn’t know it. She quickly finds out that she is what is known a sun summoner. A power set that is not common and is basically just a myth. This attracts the attention of General Kirigan, the head of the Grisha. Meanwhile, Kaz, the leader of a group known as the Crows, finds out about a dangerous job to get through the darkness that separates the lands in order to get the sun summoner.

What I Didn’t Like

That’s a very basic summary of the start of the plot that I give you there. I think that the plot as a whole is pretty solid. There are a few elements that feel pretty standard young adult fantasy. The friendship and relationship of Alina and Mal works well, but in terms of any complexity to it, it is what you’d expect.

And, I will say, not as a real dislike for myself who hasn’t read the books, or my wife who has, they combine two different series in the same world that happen at different times. So Kaz and Alina’s stories don’t cross in the books, at least not in the same way that they do in the show. I couldn’t tell that they were supposed to be separate with how they weave things together. That said, some readers of the books might notice that or not like it as well for that reason.

What I Liked

So, I say that some of the story is a bit standard. But for the most part, I don’t feel like that is the case. We get magic and science mixed together with the armies have guns and weapons but you still have the Grisha who very powerful as well. The setting unique and the scenario is unique as well. This darkness that separates things is not normal for fantasy, so it’s a good plot device that drives a wedge between the countries, literally.

The acting in the show is also very good. Freddy Carter as Kaz is amazing as are all of the Crows. They really stand out as some of the most interesting character. Jessie Mei Li as Alina is good as is Archie Renaux as Mal, but they are given less to work with, so their story is just more lacking. It’s fairly standard to YA where the main characters are a bit more vanilla. And Ben Barnes as General Kirigan is a very strong actor, he has the charisma that his character needs.

The world building is done well in the show as well. I don’t like it when shows give you an information dump at the beginning, actually same with fantasy books. I want to find out about the world when I need to. And Shadow and Bone gives you the information as you need it. Shows tend to be better about not doing that, and Shadow and Bone is very solid at just giving you enough so you aren’t confused.

The aesthetic of the show is also really well done. Like I said, it blends magic, almost the industrial revolution, and guns along with that for the show. So it’s not your normal high fantasy look, there is a bit of dirtiness to the world and the people which you also don’t always see. It manages the idea of a dirty or real world that the characters live in, but without going grim dark to make it gritty.

Who Is This For?

I do call this a YA (Young Adult) series, at least for the books. But it isn’t YA in a bad way, there are a lot of good YA stories out there. There are also a lot that just live off of angst. This isn’t one of those. It tells a compelling story for adults without making the theme too mature so that you’d question teenagers watching it. This goes back to that actual world but not gritty. So I recommend this for most people, especially if you like fantasy.

Final Thoughts

This is a really enjoyable show. The people I’ve told about it have really liked it as well. The fantasy is just enough different to keep even us big fantasy lovers engaged throughout. And in terms of acting, this is so much better than most YA shows, it’s impressive. So if you want to find some good fantasy, I highly recommend Shadow and Bone.

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The Plot

Well, you can guess some of the plot, a kid, a weakling in his village, sets out to the big city to become a soldier. Of course, his town isn’t a normal town, it’s a little town out by the last dungeon, the hardest one to beat, and he’s going to a big town that is basically a starter town in an MMORPG. Now, I say MMORPG, this world isn’t one. He wants to join the military to become a hero like from a book he loved growing up. Hijinks ensue as he gets turned away even though he is more powerful than anyone in the town.

Of course, being a bit clueless doesn’t help the main character, Lloyd Belladona navigate the city any better. He has to deal with being a bit clueless as well as then people out to get him. Eventually some of the things start falling into place for him to reach his goal, but will he ever not be clueless?

What Type of Anime Is This?

It is a straight up fantasy anime that also is a harem anime. If you aren’t familiar with the term harem anime, it means that the main character is surrounded by female characters. Much like Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, has a main character who is clueless about that fact. Lloyd Belladona being inferior and a weakling in his own town thinks that is going to be the case everywhere.

However, being a harem anime, that does mean that there is some fan service. Now, I will say, for being a harem anime, the fan service is a bit tamer than a lot of them. There is no nudity, because while the anime does make some jokes around that and the main character does see a few characters naked, the anime kind of targets a younger audience.

What Doesn’t Work?

This isn’t a earth shattering anime when it comes storytelling. I won’t put it as a major negative however. It does some fun things in terms of who is or isn’t a bad guy. The clueless Lloyd is fun. The humor works in it, but again, it’s more targeted for that younger audience.

What Works?

I like that the anime doesn’t do the normal heroes journey. Lloyd is fully powered up when he comes to the starter town. Compared to other anime like this where the hero grows in power, always able to just defeat the next challenge, Lloyd stomps everything. Lloyd is only weak in his head. This twist makes the show feel different.

I also like the trope of the clueless main character. Harem anime are very common, however, a lot of them just feel sketchy. Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town doesn’t feel like that. Instead, you get a sweet caring character who just wants to do right. Lloyd has little to no idea as to what is going on around him.

The bad guys work as well in this anime. I don’t think it’s a massive twist as to who the bad guys are, but it is a bit of one. The twists of the world are done well also, so you get an understanding of what is going on. But really, this anime is about the goofiness and humor throughout it. And that works for an anime with a clueless main character.

Would I Recommend It?

That’s a good question. I think that it’s a fun anime and that a lot of people will enjoy it. I don’t know that a lot of people will love it though. The story is fine, the characters are fun, and it works for what it is trying to do. I prefer Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon. However, this one does flip the script and skips the leveling up, which was a fun experience. So, yes, I would recommend this, but know that you will see a light romping anime, versus a heavier more serious anime.

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Spoilers Start Now

So, at this point in time, Marvel has put out two shows on Disney+. The first being WandaVision and now we’ve gotten The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Both of these shows focus on Avengers characters, but not the main four or so that we’ve seen a lot of. The Hulk had a movie, though it was Edward Norton, Captain America had three, Thor, three, and Iron Man had three movies. Plus they all played larger parts in the Avengers movies. We’ve only gotten to see bits and pieces of characters like Wanda Maximoff, Vison, Sam Wilson and to a less extent Bucky Barnes. So Marvel has taken an opportunity to tell us more about them.

What is the Story?

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier follows the exploits of Sam and Bucky as they both try and deal with the reality that Captain America is gone (whatever that means). For Sam it is about how he can pick up the shield that Cap gave him. And Bucky it is about making amends for his time as the Winter Soldier and growing beyond that past. Now, there is more to the story, but when you get down to it, that is the most important part of the story and the real focus. Both Sam and Bucky need to move past the shadow of Captain America and stand on their own.

What About Villains?

There are of course villains along the way. Three groups that stand out. Firstly there is the GRC and John Walker. John Walker is basically whom the US government picks to take over as Captain America when Sam gives the shield away. Needless to say that doesn’t go well and there are run ins with him. There are the Flagsmashers who like how things were before everyone came back. And there is the mysterious power broker working in the background.

The Flagsmashers are really the main villains but they are not the most interesting villain. In fact, I think that John Walker as a rival is the most interesting villianish part of the series. John Walker isn’t even truly a villain though. He is more of an anti-hero. That is who he generally is in the comics as well. He’s the person who will take things too far or lose control versus truly wanting to be bad. And I give mad props to Wyatt Russell, he played that role perfectly.

But the Flagsmashers?

So, this is starting to get out there more. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier primarily filmed in 2019. You might remember that time as being before a pandemic. And part of what was filmed was there was a virus going around the GRC camps for the people who had come back from the blip. In the current version of the show, that was completely removed. There were minor hints, the Flagsmashers had stolen a vaccine, but beyond that pretty limited.

This removal and adjustment of everything didn’t do the series any favors. The Flagsmashers kind of lost their teeth. They didn’t have a reason for doing things, and the GRC came across as a bureaucratic organization is bad just because they are a bureaucratic organization. Trying to adjust on the fly for the show really caused the main villains to be more of a mess and the GRC to feel kind of tired in what they are.

Who Is Isaiah Bradley?

One of the main storylines for Sam and Sam picking up the shield and why it was hard to pick up. It wasn’t because of the Flagsmashers. It was Isaiah Bradley. I will say, this part of the show with Sam worked the best out of anything. Isaiah Bradley, the black Captain America basically. And how his story was so much different than that of Captain America. How when he did the same thing that Cap did, he got thrown into prison. How the government tried to cover up the experiments and how his life was broken because of what had happened.

It makes the weight of the shield that much more for Sam to pick up. But it also is then more hopeful when Sam does pick up the shield. Sam is a character who wants to change what has been done wrong and help those who have been wronged or are struggling. And he is able to do that with Isaiah Bradley in a very meaningful way for the character but also just in general in the show.

Other Odds and Ends

Zemo, why was he in this show? Besides just him dancing, the main reason he should be in everything, there is another reason. Zemo, most likely, is going to be in a group called the Thunderbolts. They might also get called the Dark Avengers. Basically a group of villains or anti-heroes often headed up by the likes of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. You might know what name from The Edward Norton film, The Incredible Hulk, and then again in Winter Soldier and Civil War. I am guessing that Val is helping Ross to set-up a Thunderbolts like team with US Agent, John Walker’s new hero name, Zemo, and some more characters who might be on the Raft with Zemo.

Then there is the Powerbroker. Right now we believe that the Powerbroker is Sharon Carter. I think in the end that will be true. I don’t think they are going to do a misdirect after the characters lay it out so well. But what was that. That part of the storyline was hot garbage. It was a mystery who the Powerbroker was, except it was somewhat obvious who they were setting up to be the Powerbroker. But it was then more of a mystery didn’t make sense for Sharon to be the Powerbroker.

Basically Sharon Carter went on the run in Civil War, no one has reached out to her, she is maybe dusted in the snap, and now six months later, she’s running an criminal organization in Madripoor, what? Most likely they are trying to set her up as a villain for the Armor Wars show, possibly being brainwashed and a deep sleeper of Hydra? But they did it so poorly in the story that no, just get rid of the Powerbroker from the show. Or make Sharon Carter a Skrull.

How Does This Compare to WandaVision?

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was what I expected it would be. It is more of a standard super hero fare. We saw more normal villains, there was less of a WTF is going on that happened with WandaVision, and more action throughout. However, because of the vaccine storyline being removed, and less of a clear vision on the show as a whole, I don’t think it is as good as WandaVision. I think there are some interesting parts to it, but for the most part, it is just average. The Sam Wilson/Isaiah Bradley stuff is amazing, John Walker is good. Bucky in general does a really good job. But the show lacked the tension and interest that WandaVision had.

So What’s Next?

Well, there are a number of interesting things that can come out of this. Like I said, I think Sharon Carter might be the main villain in the Armor Wars show. I hope that it turns out to be she was brainwashed by Hydra as a sleeper agent and just activated. But that’s one likely thing.

Then there is John Walker, US Agent, and Zemo, I think that both will end up being on a Thunderbolts team. I would like the Thunderbolts to get a Disney+ show, but they might be movie material. I could see that team being presented as a new Avengers type team and maybe cause the formation of the Young Avengers.

And we are getting a Captain America 4. That is going to be a movie with Sam Wilson Captain America taking the starring role. I am very interested in seeing what they’ll do with that movie.

Final Thoughts

This was not as good as show as WandaVision. And I am not sure it’s much watch Marvel content. Now, it is still really enjoyable, but if you are wanting to watch a show that matters for the movies, this one isn’t it. At the end of Endgame, everyone expects Sam to become Captain America, at the end of this Sam becomes Captain America. The main great thing you get from this is the Isaiah Bradley story and the introduction of his nephew Eli Bradley who is a Young Avenger. Otherwise, I don’t know what you’ll be missing too much. Now, if you are a Marvel fanatic like I am, there is a lot of good and a lot to be mined from the show. So if you love Marvel, watch it, if you go out of your way to see all the movies in theaters, watch it. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, it just isn’t as good as WandaVision.

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Spoilers For WandaVision Start Now

Now, I’m going to talk about the show here, not the prediction or what we got wrong about those. If you want to hear me talk about that, you can do so over with the 10 Minute Marvel podcast. But I will talk about the questions and end credit scenes and what we might be looking at.

What’s the Story

WandaVision is a story, at it’s basic level, about Wanda dealing with her grief. She has just lost Vision twice and the snap happens and dusts her. Then the blip happens and brings her back and she gets to fight Thanos. When the show starts, however, she’s had weeks to start to process her grief.

Things start out very haywire in this 1950’s sitcom show. Wanda is there, Vision is there, and they are happily married living in this almost ideal world. However, we see that things aren’t quite right. But the community seems to be good, they have the classic nosy neighbor and Vision works at a job that makes no sense like in sitcoms. The next episode we move into the next decade and so on, until we break to what is the outside world and we see that Wanda has basically taken the whole town captive to create this ideal world for herself where she can get Vision back.

We get the introduction of a lot of interesting characters. We see Jimmy Woo, FBI Agent from Ant-Man, back and he’s learned close up magic, Darcy from Thor is there, now Dr. Darcy, and Monica Rambeau, the young girl from Captain Marvel, now all grown up. And that’s just outside of the Hex spell that Wanda has cast. Inside there is Agnes the nosy neighbor and the witch Agatha Harkness. And the two kids that Wanda creates, Billy and Tommy.

Things do have to come to an end, though, when Agatha wants to take Wanda’s powers, the acting-Director of SWORD is out to create his own Vision, and Wanda comes to realize that she’s torturing the people in the town. Now there’s a ton more to that, but if you’re this far into this article, you’ve watched the show as well.

Thoughts On The Show

I really loved WandaVision, I won’t go into the random theories like I said, but even those were fun. I thought that this was great show to come back with. I love the sitcom universe that has been created and the decades that they go through. They nail how they get through the decades and they nail the intrigue in the story.

It is interesting, I’ve heard about people who waited to binge the show, and they did get as sucked into the mystery. Based off of the format of the show, I think that a lot of us who were watching it week by week and had missed Marvel, it was easy to try and see clues in everything. But even with going down that rabbit trail, I still loved the show. I didn’t think that the end was disappointing at all. In fact, in my 2nd to last 10 Minute Marvel on it, Season 2 Episode 7, I wasn’t sure where it was going to end.

What stood out to me as so great, though, was Elizabeth Olsen’s performance as Wanda. We really got to see Wanda’s character being fleshed out. But not just fleshed out, but in this small world dealing with the grief of everything that’s happened. It’s heart breaking at the end, and it’s tough to see what she went through growing up. Though, I do love the Easter Egg that she seems to have had powers before dealing with the mind stone at all, and that’s cool.

Kathryn Hahn as the nosy neighbor Agnes and the witch Agatha Harkness was amazing as well. I love the fact that they didn’t kill of her character. I know that we’re getting a multiverse, but Marvel has killed a lot of characters that if they want to bring them back in, it’ll be a bit hokey. Wanda just used magic on Agnes to make her into that nosy neighbor character she had chosen to play. I want her character back, and I can see her coming back possibly as early as Dr. Strange And the Multiverse of Madness.

Overall, just a phenomenal show. I think it is unfortunate that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier didn’t come out first. WandaVision had very high expectations for something very big. And the mystery format encourages people to dive into the story and try and figure out and find every clue. That said, I like that it didn’t need a ton of big reveals or twists to tell an amazing story. And it has a lot of twists and some reveals anyways.

What Questions Are There Going Forward?

Now, Marvel rarely does anything without some future plans. Especially now, it is so big, they can plan out years in advance. We know everything that’s coming out in the next two years and some beyond that. But how will WandaVision tie into that, and are there any loose ends to be answered.

Who Is Jimmy Woo’s Missing Witness?

Now, some think that it might be Ralph. He has a head shot, maybe that is to help him get into his new character. However, there is a major flaw with that thinking. Jimmy Woo sees Evan Peter’s/Pietro on screen. If Ralph is the person in witness protection, Woo would have recognized him. Now, that might be a plot device to get him there and have him as a character in the show. But could WandaVision have worked without him there, probably, it could have been anyone. I like the call back to him, but I want to know who his witness was, and will that come up again?

Where Did Vision Go?

I am not talking about the one in the Hex, that was a construction of Wanda. But the white Vision. After the hex Vision gives white Vision his memories, White Vision just peaces out. He flies away, he doesn’t help Wanda, he doesn’t do anything, just heads away. Where did white Vision go to? I mean, he’ll likely return, I could see him returning to help train a team of Young Avengers.

What Did Wanda Hear At the End?

Yes, I know she heard her kids. That part is obvious, but how, I guess, might be a better question. This could go back to one of the original theories. In the comics, Billy and Tommy are part of Mephisto’s soul. That might still be the case in the MCU. It could be that she is hearing them call across a dimension for her to find them. This scene, I think, is important for Dr. Strange And the Multiverse of Madness, and I’ll talk about that more soon.

Why does Monica dislike Captain Marvel so much?

Now, this seems like it could be for a few reasons. I have heard theories that the radiation from Captain Marvel caused Monica’s mother’s cancer. Or it could be as simple that Captain Marvel wasn’t there to stop Thanos at the first snap. Had she been there, could have Monica at least been by her mother’s side when she passed away? But it’s only been three weeks, it feels like it might be a longer cause, so the causing the cancer, or not coming or being available when Monica needed her during that time.

So We’re Getting Skrulls?

I talk about this in 10 Minute Marvel as well, but we are getting more Skrull. The comic Secret Invasion storyline is all about Skrull being able to be anyone on Earth. They can pretend to be heroes, they can get into important places in the government with the plan to take down and take over the world. Now, Skrull, that we’ve seen, aren’t like that in the MCU, the Kree are worse. However, we know we get a Secret Invasion story which will star Nick Fury and will tie into Captain Marvel 2, so what is going on there. And how will Monica play into it?

What Will Happen In Dr. Strange 2?

Final question to ask, but what will happen in Doctor Strange 2? I think that’s the question most people have. We knew that WandaVision was going to tie into Dr. Strange 2, and it seems now probably into Spider-Man 3 as well. But how will that work? I, of course, have thoughts on what this looks like.

In Dr. Strange And the Multiverse of Madness, I think that Wanda will start off as the bad guy. The Darkhold, the book that she is reading, in the comics was created by Chthon. He is an elder god of chaos, I could also see it being created my Mephisto in the MCU. But basically, I expect it will have corrupted Wanda. Wanda is going to start tearing open the multiverse looking for Billy and Tommy, and tear into the Dark Dimension as that is where Chthon resides, of course so does Dormammu. Dr. Strange will confront her and he will lose a battle. In fact, he might lose his magic to some extent because of Baron Mordo. But being a Doctor and not someone who gives up, he will go back to Wanda and instead of fighting her, he will try to heal her. At that point in time, though, a ton of damage will be done and it might be impossible to close off the multiverse again. He will be able to heal her and he will help her to find Billy and Tommy. But together, both will have to fight against Chthon or Mephisto, whomever has the boys. If they want to make it more focused on Mordo, then Mordo would somehow have them. Together, they defeat the big bad and Wanda gets her boys back.

What do you think of that idea? Would you watch that movie? Let me know in the comments below.

And what do you think of WandaVision? Did you go down the theory rabbit trail? Where you hoping for something bigger to happen?

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The Story

There is a giant dungeon in the middle of the town of Orario. It’s a place where adventurers can go and test themselves and grow their stats. However, you don’t get stats and you can’t become an adventurer unless you are part of a familia. These familia are headed up by gods and goddesses who have come down from the heaven to interact with their children. Bell Cranel is one such adventurer who can only find one god who will work with him, the goddess Hestia, because he is too small and doesn’t look like a normal adventurer. Hestia, also doesn’t look like a normal god and doesn’t have a familia of her own until she brings Bell into the fold. Bell, in the dungeon, encounters Ais Wallenstein, a top level adventurer from the Loki familia when she saves him from a minotaur and he falls for her. This makes Hestia very jealous but grants Bell a skill which allows him to level up quickly.

The Show

Season 1 vs Season 2

So, there are a few things to cover with how this show goes. Let’s start with the first two seasons, since that is what I’ve seen. There is a big tonal shift between the two seasons. The first season is all about Hestia and Bell and how Bell is growing into a hero. The second season focuses more on how the gods interact with each other and I’m not really sure we end up going into the dungeon at all. It is a bit jarring, and while there are parts of it that are still well done, it feels much more scattered in focus, which is a shame, because the first season left more to be explored in the dungeon and with Bell growing. I’m not sure if season three is more focused or not, but I will check it out when it’s dubbed. Season 2 also leans more into the fan service in a different way, I’ll talk about that later.

Sub vs Dub

Before watching the dubbed version of the show recently, I have watched the subbed version as well. The dubbed version is better between the two of them. However, I wanted to watch the subbed version and will likely continue with that in Season 3 now that I’ve watched dubbed because I am working from home, so I can put it on in the background. The dubbed voice acting is good for some characters, but for others is a bit stiff, which is a shame.

Fan Service

Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is what is known as a harem anime. along with other things. Bell Cranel basically ends up surrounded for the most part by girls. However, he’s more of a clueless leader of the harem versus some anime where characters seem to realize that girls love him. Bell really only has eyes for Ais (pronounced the same) and a lot of the other girls have eyes for Bell. Hestia in particular wants Bell all to herself. And there is fan service because of that, Hestia wears small clothing and is buxom and the same can be said for other goddesses and adventurers as well. In the first season, there is a lot of fan service, but it’s done in a way that really highlights how Bell is such a pure character and only has his focus on Ais. In the second season, we delve into a story arc with Ishtar who runs the redlight distract of Orario and it is much more on display there in a way that is very different than season one. I felt like that arc really pushed it over the top in a way that it didn’t need to.

The Story

But with all of those things, is the story good. Season 1 is one of my favorite anime seasons of all time. They just do a great job of creating this main character who is so focused on becoming the best adventurer and becoming the strongest or catching up to Ais so he is worth her attention. And the interplay between Hestia, the other gods, and Bell is really good. The second season, like I’ve said before, loses some of that focus as the story expands. And the story jumps around a bit more. Now, the first arc in season two is quite good with the Apollo familia, but the subsequent two are less interesting. I want to spend more time in the dungeon and I want more of Bell and Ais, and Hestia complaining about Ais. I hope that season three, whether or not we go back to the dungeon feels like a more cohesive story.

Who Should Watch This Anime?

I do have some final thoughts on this. I have talked about how there is a fair amount of fan service. For that reason, Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? won’t be for everyone. I’ve enjoyed both of my watches of it, though, like I said, the second season wasn’t as good. I think that even with the fan service most anime fans will like season one. The anime has a heavy LitRPG type feel to it, and tells a good story in season one. If that season is just fine, then I’d skip season two. I’m not sure that I’ll ever go back and watch season two again, though I might depending on if more comes out for the anime and I feel like I need to catch up. But season one is good, season two drops off.

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The Story

Bloom thought that she was just a normal girl until an accident happened and she almost killed her mother with some magic. At that point, she got admitted into a special school in “Switzerland”. Really, it was a magic school for fairies. Most of the students there are fairy born, and Bloom doesn’t fit in right away. Things go crazy, around the school, however, as Burned Ones, a monster that had been thought to be gone for a long time start to show up again. Bloom also needs to figure out where she is from and how she fits into this world that is very new to her.

Thoughts On The Show

The Plot

This story is pretty predictable, though that’s not a horrible thing. Now, I don’t know that the show tries to be predictable, but a lot of the twists and turns it has coming are quite predictable. This is a bit of a knock, especially in the later episodes where everything falls into place in a way that you’d expect. There were a few interesting twists on things, but overall it felt like a young-adult story that had been done a lot of times before. And while it is a young-adult show, there is a lot of swearing in the show as well, not bad, but a surprising amount.

The Characters

The characters in the show are fine as well. In the dorm, the four girls that Bloom shares are room with are more interesting than here. Bloom falls into the boring main character trope. I’ve talked about it before, but the idea is that the main character is supposed to be standard enough that the viewer, or reader in the case of books, can insert themselves into the role that they are playing. It can work fine, but it has to be done with a deft hand, and it works better in books than shows. In this, all of her dormmates are more interesting than her, the love interest is more interesting than her. Bloom should be more interesting, and she is the main focus, but everything around her feels rushed somehow but also like it doesn’t mean as much or feel as intense as it should. Also, this is supposed to be high school aged kids, I’d believe college, it’s odd.

The Bad Guy(s)

Fate: The Winx Saga ends up having surprisingly interesting villains. I think that is the strong point of the show. Multiple villains show up throughout the show so I won’t spoil them all. One of the first we meet is another student named Beatrix. The villains definitely have their own agenda and believe what they are doing is right. For me that is one thing the show gets right. You can feel how bad these people are, but also that they so firmly believe they are the heroes of the story as well. Even the burned ones, who are more of a mindless drove are interesting monsters.

But Is the Show Good?

That’s what we are all really here to find out. Is Fate: The Winx Saga a good show? I’d say, kind of. In terms of world building, it is good. They have created a very interesting setting, a good school, and some very interesting ideas with the burned ones and how everything is working. In terms of the story, it’s a bit of a mess. I think it falls into too many tropes, which is common for young-adult focused shows. Locke And Key is another fantasy young-adult focused show, and while it strips away a lot of the adult content from the comics, it still keeps much of the spirit of it and the show has a lot of whimsy and tension to it. Fate: The Winx Saga doesn’t have that nearly as much. It comes across more as a CW show.

So, no, it’s not a good show, but did I enjoy watching it, generally yes. It was entertaining, like I said, the world building and the villains are good in the show and they deserve more than this standard young-adult handling of the story. But even with that issue, it didn’t get in the way of this feeling like something big and something different. It’d have been easy for it to feel like generic fantasy, but it doesn’t and that’s a credit to the show. I’ll definitely be checking out the second season if it comes out.

Should You Watch It?

I’ve tried to lay it out well so that you will know if this is the show for you. I think there is something enjoyable to watch there. But if you can’t stand the standard CW young-adult tropes, you won’t like this. Flat out as simple as that, if you are willing to dive into the world that is being created and just let the trope filled story lead you through it, it’s a fun watch. It isn’t anything deep, a popcorn show is what I’d call it, but it’s also not as bad as my knocking it would suggest.

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AIM

Now this one is one of the harder ones that I have buying. It’s in episode two when the beekeeper shows up, or the person in the beekeeper suit. It was pointed out that this is fairly similar to the outfits that the AIM scientists wear, generally a yellow hazmat style suit, but it’s the 1960’s world so maybe that just looks like a beekeepers suit. However, the outfit has SWORD’s emblem on the back, and we’ve already seen that in places. I think it’s probably more likely that SWORD is trying to figure out what’s happened to the people in the helicopter that was sucked into this world or what has happened to Geraldine, aka, Monica Rambeau. Whatever it is, it’s something from outside of Wanda’s reality and she’s trying to get rid of it.

Agnes

Now this section might be a little bit long, but there’s a reason for that. Agnes seems like she is going to be an extremely important character, and in fact she’s made herself into being Wanda’s closest friend outside of Vision. It’s almost like Agnes is always there.

Let’s start in episode one, she starts hinting about romance and the idea of kids, this then plays out in the second episode about how everything is for the children, which is plenty creepy. Why does she care about Wanda having kids? Well, the speculation is that Agnes is actually, in the real world, Agatha Harkness (or the MCU version of that character). Agatha Harkness is a witch from the Salem witch trials who is still alive and in cahoots with Marvel’s devil, Mephisto. It’ll get weirder, but we have a few things that suggest this might be the case.

First, there is the broach that Agnes is always wearing. This is a common image for Agatha Harkness in the comics to have a cape with a broach. There is the day that she and Ralph, her never seen husband, got married, June 2nd. This is the real world day that the Salem Witch trials started. So maybe it’s less that she got married, but she entered into another type of contract with the devil to survive.

Mephisto

Now, as Dottie says, “The Devil is in the details.” or more likely, as Agne’s says, “That’s not the only spot he is.” But it seems like we might have a mastermind pulling the strings behind everything. Comic book wise we almost have more hints than other places in the show. The whole Ralph character is a sitcom trope, but also might imply him, there’s the big red gum, the devil, Senor Scratch, Scratch being slang for the Devil in the middle ages, and that line above.

But in the comics, Mephisto is the reason for Wanda’s children for the manifestation of them. Parts of his soul are in them and he wants to get that back. This actually leads to be a big story line, which will be our next topic. There have also been rumors that we’re going to be getting Evan Peters, who was Quicksilver in the X-Men movies, as Mephisto in the comics. Plus, in Loki, we see a stained glass window with what looks like Mephisto in it. So lots of things that suggest he might be pulling the strings behind things.

House of M

If you’re up on the 10 Minute Marvel podcast, you’ll know that I’ve talked about this a lot before. Mainly, I thought that they might do some sort of reverse House of M where Wanda creates all the mutants, and I think we might be seeing that. The first hint for that is the Maison Du Mepris, translated as House of Mepris, or House of M.

However, it might not be right now that we go full House of M, that might be Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. It seems likely that something will happen to Wanda’s children, like it does in the comics, and that’ll cause even a greater break from reality than she is having now. That is how it happens in the comics as well, and it’s only Charles Xavier who can keep her in a coma so that nothing happens, but Pietro “rescues” her, thinking that she might die, and which when she wakes up she completely changes the world where she and her family are in control over everything.

Stark and Stucker

I’m lumping these two together because they show up in the commercials in the two episodes of WandaVision. Now, some people think that this might mean that Hydra is also somehow involved, but I tend to think that’s not the case.

Looking at Wanda’s timeline that we know, we know that she was in Sokovia when a bomb with the name Stark on it hit the apartment and apartment building that she, Pietro, and her parents were living in. Then next we see of her, Strucker is experimenting on her and Pietro with the mindstone, unlocking their powers. I tend to think that the next commercial will somehow tie into Age of Ultron, maybe even Ultron himself, the next being who shaped their life, basically playing through some of her “greatest” hits. The commercials are an interruption to normal TV shows, and now in this case, they are an interruption to her made up world, basically reality forcing it’s way back in. I suspect at sometime she’ll acknowledge or become aware of the commercials.

Grim Reaper

Now, honestly, I don’t know what to do with this one. In the animated, Be-Witched style, credits we see in Episode 2, Vision goes through the floor, and we see the space between. One of the things we see is the Grim Reapers helmet. He’s a super villain, but how would he fit into this story?

Comic wise, he’s Wonderman’s brother whom Visions brain patterns are based off of, and he’s angry because it feels like Vision has stolen something from his brother. But I don’t know how you work that into a bigger story.

What’s Ahead

So, in my opinion we’re going to see a Mephisto storyline play out. It seems like the biggest clues and the closest tie-in to the comics, while still being different. My guess is that, if we’re going to work the Grim Reaper in, he has made some deal with Mephisto or has been tasked to crash land Wanda into this reality, somehow aiding in her break from everything. He is working along with Agnes, Agatha Harkness, and we’re basically seeing Wanda creating this world while Agatha is helping shape it so that Wanda doesn’t realize that it’s not the real world and that Vision isn’t real.

Things go sideways at some point in time as SWORD, Sentient Weapon not World as in the comics, is trying to get her back out. However, it’s an outside intrusion upon her world, which is why she keeps on rejecting them. Geraldine can stick around because Wanda doesn’t realize that she’s a SWORD agent, yet. Eventually Wanda will figure this out, but by then it’ll be too late and she’ll have had the kids, which Mephisto or in his place, Agnes might take, since they have some of Mephisto’s soul in them. We know that Evan Peters is going to be appearing in WandaVision, but I wonder if instead of making him look like the Devil he might look like a version of Pietro.

At that point in time Wanda goes on the rampage against everything and everyone in there, and starts to break from reality, possibly creating even some more of the sitcom realities looking for a real Vision and for her children again, splintering off the multiverse but also pulling and putting things in other multiverses. Spider-Man 3 is also supposed to deal with the multiverse, so I’m wondering if because WandaVision might be taking place in New Jersey, her powers spread shooting Spider-Man into other dimension or other Spider-Man into Earth 616, aka, this Earth in the comics/movies.

This makes sense to some extent because the movies we have between now and Spider-Man 3, Black Widow, Shang Chi, and Eternals don’t have to spend much time in the current world, but are more set in the past. That way they don’t have to deal with the multiverse.

It’ll all eventually culminate in Wanda finding her Children hidden amongst mutants or something of the sort in Dr. Strange the Multiverse of Madness, and bringing them and that reality, possibly even living sibling into the world again.

There’s probably even more that we can pull out from in there. There are a ton of references and nods to think, the Vision comic included that I haven’t touched on, but those are my thoughts on it for now, and there’s a lot to unpack, what’s your theory on how the show is going to go, or what might be happening?

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The story starts with a young business man dying, and then being reborn in a fantasy world. There, he is raised as the grandson of Merlin Wolford. He learns about magic but not so much about common sense. When Shin, the grandchild, turns 15, the king of Earlshide recommends that Shin be sent to the magic school there to learn more about magic and maybe something about common sense.

Let me start by saying, this is an anime of two halves. The first half is a pretty traditional anime with an isekai. Shin knows that something is different and he can visualize magic in a different way because of what he knew from being science on Earth. The second half is something completely different. It goes off into an adventure of romance, fan service, and just being poorly written plus a weird storyline for the kingdom of Earlshide being under attack, and okay villains? It’s been a bit since I saw this, mainly because Kristen also wrote something up for Twin Cities Geek and you can see her article here.

I think that the story starts out with a fairly standard idea, they don’t really delve into the fact that he knows stuff from the Earth, and really that thread it kind of thrown away throughout the anime as it becomes less focused on that and more on the team of heroes being built up, some training montages, and fan service. Again, I think I’ll probably beat this part of it to death, they go off and spend time training, doing things that aren’t related to the fact that this team is probably the most powerful group of magic users in the land, more so than then trained adults, and they go off and have a training session because people dying isn’t that big a deal and because they wanted to. It loses the tone of the anime a lot.

The Wise Man’s Grandchild also lacks in character development. Merlin sends Shin to learn because he doesn’t have any common sense. In the end, Shin has maybe a tiny bit more common sense but not much. To put it in something like D&D terms, if Shin has a 6 in Wisdom to start, which is really bad and is a -2 modifier, he is maybe at 8 which is still a -1. He gets by on being able to manipulate magic with his knowledge of science. And the people he’s around don’t get much smarter either or have arcs of their own. This story could have done a lot with Shin learning and becoming a good leader, but that wasn’t needed simply because he’s always more powerful. There are other anime that have used that powerful trope well and they still have to learn, because as Uncle Ben would say, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

So, I’ve mentioned fan service, I’ve mentioned the story, I’ve mentioned the characters, do I recommend this anime. Nope, I don’t think it’s a good anime. If you were to stop half way through you’d have equally as good a story be just fine but nothing special. In terms of isekai there are so many anime out there that are better in the genre. The Devil is a Part-Timer, Overlord, No Game No Life, Sword Art Online, and Restaurant To Another World, and I don’t even love all of those. The Wise Man’s Grandchild is just a so so anime at the start and a below average one at the end. I’d skip it i I were you.

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In a world where spontaneous human combustion is a thing, and when it happens, the people turn into monsters, there is a special elite set of stations. Station 8 was created because every other station either has allegiances to their area, the Hijima corporation, or the religious order, and everyone is supposed to be working to figure out the cause of spontaneous human combustion, but they aren’t and Station 8 is tasked with figuring it out. That’s where new recruit, Shinra Kusakabe, is assigned. He’s a 3rd Generation pyrokinetic which mean that he can create and manipulate fire. Can he complete his dream of becoming a hero and help figure out what happened years ago when he lost his mother and brother in a fire?

This is a pretty standard anime in that it has a big ensemble cast of characters who all get their moment to shine, there is a lot of fighting and completely absurd situations that happen. There’s humor and fan service, and it kind of meanders towards the main plot at times, introducing new characters along the way, and then will rush through other parts of the plot. That said, I like the story. I think that it’s fun, and it’s not an anime that I’m going to think about after watching it, but I’ve had a good time watching it, and I feel like in 2020 that’s what I really want, and more so when it starts to get darker earlier, it’s just nice to have a show that you can pay attention to but doesn’t demand all of your brain power.

The cast of characters is what really makes this show. I think that the villains, while mainly just monsters, work pretty well, and I like the whole of station 8. They’ve done a solid job in the show of giving them all their moments, though the show does focus mainly on Shinra. There are plenty of other characters, like Arthur, Iris, Maki, and more that are getting a lot of chance to shine. While Shinra often gets to take down the biggest bad guy, in combat, it’s not like some anime and shows in general where the side characters get beaten up and the main character then comes in and saves the day for everyone. In this, everyone is very good at what they do and fairly competent about it, as competent, if not more than the main character.

The story itself makes a fair amount of sense actually, in an anime way. I think that they do a solid job of building the world out further and further as they go, which is really great because they don’t do a knowledge dump on you at the start. You learn more as you go, possibly matching when the creator learned the stuff or decided on stuff, but it works. And I think that it really is so character driven around Shinra most of the time, it also works. He has good motivation for what he is doing, why he is doing it, and an attitude that makes sense for the story and for the problems that he needs to overcome.

Let’s talk a bit about fan service. I wrote about Food Wars! last time and the fan service for Fire Force is no where near on the same level. There is a character who will lose articles of clothing at times and shots of cleavage, but for the most part the losing of the clothing is more for comedic affect than for fan service reasons. That isn’t to say that there aren’t characters who are drawn the way they are drawn so as to be fan service almost every time they are on the screen. That is certainly something that is the case for a few of the female characters. There is also an episode where there is a nude calendar shoot, but that is all the male characters in the calendar, and also no nudity is shown.

Overall, I think this is a pretty classic anime in terms of what it does. And I like that about it. It’s a show that doesn’t pretend it’s going to go that deep, but it also isn’t a random nonsensical plot to it. I would recommend this one to most anime fans, I think some will find it a bit to light and goofy for their taste, but I think that this is a pretty safe anime for most people to watch and enjoy.

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