timepiececlock (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timepiececlock) wrote2008-03-08 12:03 am
timepiececlock) wrote2008-03-08 12:03 am
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Death Note 19
Well that's it until the new episode Saturday night on Adult Swim. I'll have to consider whether it's worth it to just go forward and watch the subs or wait for weekly episodes.
Speculation + Spoilers for DN #19:
Given what the audience knows about Light, it's pretty clear that there is a third Kira, chosen by Risa's shinigami, or perhaps Kira himself. I wouldn't be surprised if it's someone who's already been introduced on the show, or at least been seen on screen. I'm glad that Light is still distracted by his moral introspection; as much as I am entertained by the idea of Light and Misa being paradoxically helpful in finding themselves, it would be a shame to just treat Light as a good, innocent kid now that his memories are gone. It's true he can't remember, but he did do those murders, and based on his constant introspection and fascination with the idea, it seems deep down some part of him knows he's capable of it, whether he wants to consciously admit it or not. I like the way the show is playing with guilt and responsibility, extending that theme past Kira's criminal victims to Light himself. It was also a fairly smooth way to extend the plot line. If no one else had gotten the book, this show would have ended in 13 episodes, with everyone dead or everyone's memories wiped clean. That will probably be how the series ends anyway, just at a much later date.
I am certain that Light will regain his memories before the show concludes, though whether he ever gets a DN again is not so certain. In a way, once he has the memories but not the notebook, he'll have the best of both worlds... freedom and the knowledge that he got away and won. Then again, his arrogance so far suggests that if he got his memory back he'd make every (lethal) effort to get a notebook again, because being burdened with guilty memories but being powerless to complete his goals of ruling the world would definitely eat at him; he'd want it all.
I am certain that if Light gets a notebook again, he will make the eyes deal. He'll remember how difficult Misa's eyes made his own situation, and how she outstripped him because of it. She couldn't outstrip the cop's crime lab (you never can) but she did win against Kira by finding his name and approaching him first. Light will never--should never--forget that.
I am getting more and more sure that someone's going to give L a notebook. When I don't know, and what he'll choose to do I don't know. It would be sad, though, to see the inevitable corruption that comes with it. He'd be too into the game to give up the advantages it offered, but once he had it he'd be on the side of the bad guys, simply in the act of possession and potential.
I like that he provoked the family cop to leave the group; that was kind of him.
Misa's situation is even more interesting. She's clearly capable of justifying murder, was then and is now, openly even. Yet she freaked out something awful when she thought the police wanted to execute her for justice. Something definitely warped in this girl. Watching her cooperate with L's team is interesting because she's such a variable. I'm wondering if the writer[s] are trying to suggest that her encounter with a murderous stalker a few years before triggered some kind of murderous stalker behavior in her, like the victims of abuse can later become abusers. Seems kind of illogical, since I think sexual obsession (as her attacker felt for her and as she feels for Light) isn't the same as molestation. It would make more sense if that part of her personality was already present. Since I'm not sure what the writers are going for with that, I'll just assume I'm reading more deeply into it than it deserves.
The dub acting in the car scene climax in episode 17 was very well done, particularly by the VA for Light. I continue to enjoy the dub. L's voice actor is entertaining too, though he has an easier job than the VAs for Light or the Chief.
Speculation + Spoilers for DN #19:
Given what the audience knows about Light, it's pretty clear that there is a third Kira, chosen by Risa's shinigami, or perhaps Kira himself. I wouldn't be surprised if it's someone who's already been introduced on the show, or at least been seen on screen. I'm glad that Light is still distracted by his moral introspection; as much as I am entertained by the idea of Light and Misa being paradoxically helpful in finding themselves, it would be a shame to just treat Light as a good, innocent kid now that his memories are gone. It's true he can't remember, but he did do those murders, and based on his constant introspection and fascination with the idea, it seems deep down some part of him knows he's capable of it, whether he wants to consciously admit it or not. I like the way the show is playing with guilt and responsibility, extending that theme past Kira's criminal victims to Light himself. It was also a fairly smooth way to extend the plot line. If no one else had gotten the book, this show would have ended in 13 episodes, with everyone dead or everyone's memories wiped clean. That will probably be how the series ends anyway, just at a much later date.
I am certain that Light will regain his memories before the show concludes, though whether he ever gets a DN again is not so certain. In a way, once he has the memories but not the notebook, he'll have the best of both worlds... freedom and the knowledge that he got away and won. Then again, his arrogance so far suggests that if he got his memory back he'd make every (lethal) effort to get a notebook again, because being burdened with guilty memories but being powerless to complete his goals of ruling the world would definitely eat at him; he'd want it all.
I am certain that if Light gets a notebook again, he will make the eyes deal. He'll remember how difficult Misa's eyes made his own situation, and how she outstripped him because of it. She couldn't outstrip the cop's crime lab (you never can) but she did win against Kira by finding his name and approaching him first. Light will never--should never--forget that.
I am getting more and more sure that someone's going to give L a notebook. When I don't know, and what he'll choose to do I don't know. It would be sad, though, to see the inevitable corruption that comes with it. He'd be too into the game to give up the advantages it offered, but once he had it he'd be on the side of the bad guys, simply in the act of possession and potential.
I like that he provoked the family cop to leave the group; that was kind of him.
Misa's situation is even more interesting. She's clearly capable of justifying murder, was then and is now, openly even. Yet she freaked out something awful when she thought the police wanted to execute her for justice. Something definitely warped in this girl. Watching her cooperate with L's team is interesting because she's such a variable. I'm wondering if the writer[s] are trying to suggest that her encounter with a murderous stalker a few years before triggered some kind of murderous stalker behavior in her, like the victims of abuse can later become abusers. Seems kind of illogical, since I think sexual obsession (as her attacker felt for her and as she feels for Light) isn't the same as molestation. It would make more sense if that part of her personality was already present. Since I'm not sure what the writers are going for with that, I'll just assume I'm reading more deeply into it than it deserves.
The dub acting in the car scene climax in episode 17 was very well done, particularly by the VA for Light. I continue to enjoy the dub. L's voice actor is entertaining too, though he has an easier job than the VAs for Light or the Chief.
no subject
Sidenote, this series is why I can't watch Dexter. As Dexter seems to use the same excuse for killing people as Raito (the scans I read referred to him as "Raito") does early on. And still later, to a certain extent. I don't buy into feeling its okay to kill someone because they've "done wrong" and have or have not "gotten away with it".
no subject
I don't buy into feeling its okay to kill someone because they've "done wrong" and have or have not "gotten away with it".
So far it seems that the show's narrative perspective (I didn't read the manga) condemns Kira's behavior, and has since the beginning. I certainly don't have an ounce of sympathy for him, and I expect he'll die before the series ends. I don't think it's just me; I feel like the audience is supposed to see his actions as unjustifiable and villainous.
It's been about two years or so since I read any of this, so I had to really think about where you're at in the story. I know you're getting close to the point where I said "FUCK THIS" and stopped reading it. Because something happened that pissed me off. I mean, really pissed me off.
When I pass that point, let me know what it was that pissed you off if I don't mention it myself. I'm at the point now where they infiltrated the business group that's been using the DN to kill off competition, faked Matsuda's death, and got Misa a job as a representative. There's a new episode on in half an hour, episode 20. Misa and Light have lost their memories and their death notes.
no subject
Oh, you're right. From the manga-ka's POV, you aren't supposed to agree with what he's doing. It's just that in the case of Dexter, the character continues to serial murder people as his other "job". The excuse given, to sort of make it "okay" for the audience to condone his behavior is Dexter "only kills people who've gotten away with some heinous crime". And he doesn't kill a person unless he's "sure" they're guilty. I don't buy into that. Murder is murder is murder, no matter what the motive. I couldn't watch the show for more than four episodes. There was always some subplot where he gave out his "vigilante justice" to some guy who "beat" the law.
On an unrelated note, as a feminist I am really interested to read your thoughts on this particular post. I posted about it in my LJ as well, which you may want to check out, since I've added a link on slash fiction written by the same person.
no subject
I also never liked Inara's "job" on the show nor considered it particularly feminist or egalitarian or advanced. I eventually ignored it given that the show was so brief, but I had wondered if Joss would ever turn it around and condemn being a "companion" if given enough storyline. I am inclined to think not given the one episode about the whore house, but I still wonder what he would have done with her character.
The thing about the black woman calling the man "sir" seems a little ridiculous to me, since it's focusing on one part of their interaction that I always felt said far more about Zoe as a person still dealing with her history as a soldier than anything about Mal. It's not about Mal, it's about Zoe. And the writer seems to ignore the other facets of their relationship. On a surface level I can see that, and maybe because I'm not a person of color I am seeing it through a biased lens, but to me that seemed less credible a complaint than the institutionalized glamour of prostitution with Inara's character.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Joss uses his own wife in this way. Expects her to clean up his emotional messes. Expects her to be there, eternally supportive, eternally subservient and grateful to him in all his manly glory. I hope the money is worth it, Mrs. Whedon. But somehow I doubt that it is. No amount of money can buy back wasted emotional resources.
What the fuck? That paragraph costs this amateur essayist quite a bit of respect and credibility. Talk shit about the guy all you want, because he's putting his work out there, but you don't get to comment on his marriage or his wife. You don't get to talk about the private lives and spouses of people you don't know, have never met, and have no involvement with you. How childish. That's incredibly disrespectful, and if I were listening to this rant in person I'd end the conversation her.
I counted the amount of times women talk in the episode Serenity compared to the amount of times men talk. The result was unsurprising. Men: 458 Women: 175. So throughout the first episode men talk more than two and a half times as much as women do. And women talk mainly in questions whereas men talk in statements. Basically, this means that men direct the action and are active participants whereas women are merely observers and facilitators.
Taking her word on those numbers (I'm not going to try counting myself), this argument has a little more validity with me. It's something I have to catch myself doing sometimes with fic... balancing dialogue allotment and watching for traps in patterns of give/take dialogue.
Let me just say now that I have never personally known of a healthy relationship between a white man and a woman of colour. I have known a black woman whose white husband would strangle and bash her while her young children watched. My white grandfather liked black women because they were ‘exotic’, and he did not, could not treat women, especially women of colour, like human beings. I grew up watching my great aunts, my aunty and my mother all treated like shit by their white husbands, the men they loved. So you will forgive me for believing that the character, Wash, is a rapist and an abuser, particularly considering that he treats Zoe like an object and possession.
As an essayist and critic, she utterly fails in keeping an emotional distance from the subject matter she's judging. I understand she seems to have had painful experiences on this topic but I don't think that means that all couples are like her experiences. The statement itself makes me roll my eyes in its presumptuousness that all white men who marry black women are evil and all black women who marry white men eventually become victims or objects. It's unfair and dismissive of black women as well as white men, because it implies that black women are fools and victims who never have the judgement or self-confidence not to marry complete assholes.
continued
Joss Whedon does not share my view, of course, and he paints the relationship between Zoe and Wash as a perfectly happy, healthy union.
It seemed to me that there were a LOT of unspoken/under-addressed issues in their marriage. If I remember correctly they had at least two or three large arguments and several "minor" arguments that, to me, implied larger issues and old, well-trodden conflicts, not the least of which was children (something all marriages deal with or don't deal with eventually) and the future of their marriage in the context of a dangerous lifestyle.
I agree with some of her points-- distaste for the "companion" prostitution thing being a big one, as well as some ups and downs in Buffy's arch as a female hero protagonist-- and I agree that Mal is an asshole who didn't get the loyalty he got by being nice. But her delivery is too aggressive and she sacrifices logic and perspective for making overblown grandiose statements. And I still can't believe she arbitrarily judged Whedon's wife, who I'm going to guess she's never met nor been close with enough to judge a marriage.
I mean, that's just immature. You don't comment on a stranger's married life or spouse or children or religious practices or what they eat for breakfast. This is just common manners and decency. Joss Whedon may have written material that offended this essayist, but his wife sure as hell didn't, and she deserves neither reproach, pity, praise, or judgement of any kind. You don't fucking talk about people's spouses-- you don't get to go there and still be taken seriously.