Truth and consequences: W.I.T.C.H. F - I
Mar. 3rd, 2013 10:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameF is for Facades (Jon Weisman): Previously on W.I.T.C.H.: The Guardians all discovered new civilian powers and a new element for Will, Matt tried (and failed) to be a badass, and they learned that the evil witch Nerissa is behind all of their problems.
The story opens with yet another celebration of the Rebels' awesomeness, with Elyon awarding Drake, Aldarn, Julian, and Caleb the Medal of Meridian. No medals for Blunk. Caleb really hates the whole thing and is completely embarrassed, wishing he were on duty instead, but Cornelia is feeling petty and assumes he's soaking up the attention. Aldarn, however, has to return to his post, but he's kidnapped by the KoV en route. Apparently security at a major event presided over by the Queen is really lax. The Mage congratulates Julian on Caleb being amazing, and Julian agrees that Caleb's grown into a fine young man. Mage tries to give credit for that to the father, but Julian insists Caleb's mother deserves just as much credit. Oh. Oh. I'll go leave you two alone now. Caleb is still striking out with Cornelia and argues that he still loves her despite having to put his duty first. Cornelia quizzes him on Elyon's hobbies. When he gets it right, she asks him what her favorite hobby is. Naturally, he doesn't know—you guys just got together at the end of last season and you hid him in the basement most of the season. He's not gonna know! To his credit, however, he does ask and insists he wants to know, but the idiot thinks she's joking when she says ice skating.
The other Guardians decide it's their duty to cheer Cornelia up, since clearly they've been doing a great job of it so far. Irma takes the opportunity to show off her newest civilian power: changing her clothes (or anybody else's, for that matter) bright pink. I'm not sure how helpful that is unless you're a Power Ranger, but okay. Lillian walks in and reveals that Cornelia's going skating with a boy, so, naturally, the girls want details. Cornelia thinks she's safe in the elevator and ages up, but the girls find her and really press her for details now, especially with her being able to do that age-changing thing at will now. It turns out that she's going out with Peter, Taranee's older brother, and under the name of Lillian. Oh, and they've been dating for weeks. The others aren't standing for this bullshit.
Meanwhile, in Meridian, Caleb's getting ribbed by his dad and Elyon. Damn, man, when your dad has the Queen to back him up, you're screwed. He makes a comment about wishing he'd never met Cornelia, but Elyon reminds him that she has the power to do just that, and he flips out. Elyon urges him that Cornelia's a girl worth fighting for (okay, I'll stop the Mulan jokes, I promise!) and drags his sorry butt to Earth. Because sometimes you need a Sassy Royal Friend. They just miss Cornelia and the others, who are on their way to the rink. Caleb really begins to freak, since he's a "disaster" on skates. But Matchmaker Elyon insists that Earth girls like clumsy derps—a point proven when Lillian tackles him, screaming, "Take me with you!"
Also meanwhile in Meridian, Julian and Drake are planning schedules or something when they start to realize Aldarn's been gone a while. They're promptly attacked by the KoV and kidnapped. A pissed-off Mage confronts them, zapping Miranda with her eyes, and Frost warns Tracker to leave them, on Raythor's orders. Dude, not honorable. Just saying.
Taranee is especially pissed that Cornelia's playing this game with her brother, and totally supports sabotaging everything when the others notice Caleb, Elyon, and li'l Lillian. Once again, we learn that you do not piss Taranee Cook off. Elyon distracts Lillian while Will equips Caleb with skates. Elyon explains to Irma that she had him swallow his pride. It's good to be the Queen. Taranee goes straight for the cockblock and hijacks her brother in a game of Snake. Elyon and Irma kidnap Cornelia and warn her, showing off Caleb's complete willingness to humiliate himself in the name of love. Realizing he's going to see her soon, Cornelia reverts ages, and Irma provides a little power of pink to disguise her. Cornelia finds herself falling head over heels for Caleb, but she skates away to avoid Peter. Will gets the lightning to dim down to the spotlights, allowing Cornelia to shift forms and go on both dates, maintaining one facade while losing the other. By the time the tech gets everything back on mode, Cornelia and Caleb have found themselves in a bit of a compromising position, but they're happy about it. Caleb insists he's trying, and a grateful Cornelia promises to meet him outside in five minutes. But when he returns his skates, he sees her transform and kiss Peter. She tries to explain things to Caleb, but Blunk arrives with news of the kidnappings. Cornelia sticks Peter with the real Lillian as they all head off.
Mage has Miranda in an energy cage, and the seven interrogate her. Being a Grey DeLisle character, she offers them a deal that really only benefits her: Release her and let her take Caleb, or they don't stand any chance of tracking down the others. Cornelia objects, but a pissed and heartbroken Caleb tells her it's none of her business and agrees. Blunk tracks them, but it leads to a trap, and Blunk is captured, forcing the Guardians to search for them well into the night.
Nerissa finally appears and is completely pissed that the KoV acted without her. She blasts at the cave holding the heroes, and Will senses the energy and follows it to their HQ. Funny. You'd think that their powers were connected and Nerissa wanted them to find her. Cornelia is desperate to get in and save Caleb, so Irma and Hay Lin make an ice trail for her to skate on past the KoV, and everyone provides backup for her. Cornelia awesomely takes out Raythor and Miranda, but she's held fast by Sandpit. The others save her, but Gargoyle causes the cave to collapse. Only Blunk, Aldarn, and Drake manage to escape.
All of the warriors are devastated by the loss of Julian and Caleb as they return to the castle, and Cornelia falls to her knees, crying. As the other Guardians gather to comfort her, a fold opens, dropping Caleb and Julian. Elyon debriefs them over dinner, and they reveal that Nerissa zapped them, but things are fuzzy from there. Cornelia reaches for Caleb's hand, but he pulls away. And excuse me, but I've been holding in this squee since season 2 of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. Call me crazy, but I really love this whole bit. She was not being fair to Caleb. Argue all you want about how Caleb wasn't being fair to her, putting Elyon first and whatnot, but really? Cornelia was being equally as stubborn. Caleb had to eat some major humble pie, and she does too. They refused to communicate, and rather than working out the problem, Cornelia assumed Caleb would figure out what she was feeling. That's not how relationships work. The two of them need to communicate, and now it's Cornelia's turn to apologize for being unfair to Caleb, especially when she was dating another boy as rebound. She admits that she deserves his anger and tries to explain how much he means to her. He challenges her about Peter, and she reveals that she tried to break up with him, after seeing what Caleb was willing to do for her. This is what they need if they're going to survive being together—communication and equality. If he's willing to throw away his pride for her, she needs to be willing to do the same for him.
Cornelia calls it off with Peter, who seems upset about the whole thing. Taranee asks him if he'll be okay, but he admits the sadness was just a facade. He knew that "Lillian" wasn't the one for him, and he was planning on breaking up with her, knowing he couldn't be happy with her if it wasn't real. But at least now, Cornelia and Caleb have something that is real.
G is for Garbage (Kevin Hopps): Blunk is trading in a nomadic village when he spots Jeek trading with one of his customers. The customer offers Jeek the Horn of Hypnos as payment, but Jeek refuses. Blunk, smart enough to recognize it and not let on, tries to trade for it, and the rivalry is on. He manages to win it when he's got more gadgets and gizmos to offer, and he rushes off, knowing the damn thing is trouble. But Jeek follows him through a fold, determined to still make a buck off of it. Unfortunately, the fold opens into a dump, and Blunk gets distracted, neglecting his bag. Soon after, the KoV attack the nomads in search of the Horn—they have plans.
Meanwhile, Irma tries and fails to get out of cleaning the garage. She'd made the mistake of offering some storage space to Blunk, and he's turned it into a treasure trove of junk. When he comes over to try to give her the Horn, she refuses to listen and hijacks him into helping, forcing him to neglect his bag again. While this is going on, the other Guardians and Matt call her to discuss Mrs. Rudolph's retirement party, but Irma's dad takes her phone. Matt and Cornelia then smell Passling stink, and they find it suspicious because Irma said Blunk was with her. The team investigates and find Jeek with the Horn, so all five of them—yes, Matt included—jump rooftops in pursuit. Looks like someone's badass lessons finally stuck. But they lose Jeek, so the girls decide to warn everyone in Meridian while Matt goes to find Irma. But as soon as they leave, Jeek pops up out of hiding and sneaks into the fold.
With all the junk cleared out, Irma uses her powers to clean up the filth in the garage. Matt arrives and fills her in about the Horn of Hypnos—something that Blunk finds hard to believe because he had the Horn. But when he empties his bag to search for it, it's gone. Irma is furious, blaming him for not telling her about it and letting it out of his sight, but Matt is sane and insists that this is no time to play the blame game and they really need to worry about getting it back. Blunk insists on helping and opens a fold to Meridian. As they leave, Irma's dad arrives and is impressed with Irma's cleaning, but he slips on the spilled garbage and decides to ground her. I'd criticize him, but I think I said all I could stand about him in episode C. Blunk tracks down Jeek's home, and Jeek insists that he lost the Guardians and the Horn. Awesomely, Blunk doesn't buy a word of this, pointing out that he must have traded it for the fancy helmet he's using as a bowl. Matt grabs Jeek and almost goes Batman on him, so Jeek spills that he traded it to the KoV. Blunk then calls him a jerk and puts the helmet on Jeek's head, covering him with soup. Why, yes. This is an Awesome Blunk Episode.
Matt ties up Jeek and has him lead them to the KoV. The whole way, Irma and Blunk are arguing. Irma's still pissed at him, and Blunk insists that she didn't give him a chance to tell her anything before she forced him to clean, and Irma insists it's his fault for storing all of his garbage in her garage. Matt once again tries to be the voice of reason, but the Guardians appear with the Horn, under its spell. As Will raises the Horn to her lips, they run—Irma taking Blunk in one direction while Matt takes Jeek another. With no powers and his running buddy tied up, Matt is easily caught and entranced. Irma and Blunk remain hidden, with Blunk grateful to Irma for saving him, and he swears to save her in return, now that the KoV are ordering their Trance Marchers to find Irma and control her too. But Irma continues to yell at him the entire time. He hides her in one of his garbage grottos while trying to remember the counter-tune. Unfortunately, he can't remember and wishes Caleb were there to help him like last time. Irma loses her temper, particularly after a mountain of trash falls on her, and she essentially calls him worthless garbage. Let's put a pin in this for me to discuss later, okay? It's a big enough deal, but it needs a few more episodes and incidents to really get the analysis it deserves. Just as she realizes she's gone too far, Jeek and Matt have caught up and are trying to open the cave. Cornelia takes over, but Blunk busts Irma out of there on a bathtub on wheels and a ski. Yes, no matter how horribly she's treated him the entire episode, he still tries to save her. The little guy is just amazing this episode. It really shows how far he's come since last season, when he was pretty much a coward for the most of it. He and Caleb had a rough relationship until Caleb let it slip that he thought of him as his friend...or am I thinking of Ren and Shinji from Ryuki again? Here, Irma's treating him just as badly as Caleb had, in some ways worse because while some of Caleb's belittling comments flew over his head, she makes it absolutely clear how little she thinks of him right now. And he still risks his life to save her. GIVE THAT PASSLING A MEDAL. Anyway, they go down the mountain and land in the river, attacked from above. They manage to hide in the grass, and Blunk puts another piece of his garbage to good use as a distraction, luring Will away from the Horn. Unfortunately, it's still guarded by Hay Lin from above, and Will blows the Horn right in front of Irma and Blunk. They meet up with Raythor and the other KoV, who order Will to transform Irma and march on the palace to enslave Elyon.
Fortunately, however, Blunk and Irma wore earplugs to protect them from the Horn. Blunk still can't remember the tune, and Irma still can't get the Horn, but they decide to put their specialties to the test. Blunk proves that one man's trash is another man's weapon, and he kicks a fair amount of ass while Irma gathers her power and creates a massive avatar of herself from the water. Irmazilla does a good job until Will zaps her, but the huge wave caused from the collapse of Irmazilla washes out everybody, giving Blunk the chance to seize the Horn. Will and Cornelia attack, crushing the Horn under a boulder. Unfortunately, that's not enough to save them—but the sound effects are enough to remind Blunk of the counterspell and he sings it for everyone. The spell breaks, and the broken Horn disappears.
The nomad reveals that Raythor left as soon as he realized the spell was broken, and Jeek tries to make a break for it. Irma's not standing for that shit, and she decides that he needs to be punished by a jury of his peers—which would be Blunk, who decides that Jeek needs a bath, prompting Irma to blast him with water.
H is for Hunted (Steve Peterman and Gary Dontzig): Nerissa appears in Heatherfield, scaring off a homeless guy with a garbage can. She has plans for Will, who is thrilled it's the last day of school. Her mom tells her she's got to do the laundry, since she's let it go too long. But Will wants to help her friends decorate the gym for Mrs. Rudolph's retirement party, and the others told her that if she doesn't help, she can't party. Nice, guys. Nice. So Will makes an Astral Drop and makes her do the laundry while she's in school, zapping the machines to life to talk her through the process. This is perfect for Nerissa, who zaps Will 2 with Quintessence. Instead of a soulless Astral Drop, she's an Auramere—a living being, created by magic, to be an exact copy of the original, down to emotions, memories, and powers. Though Will 2 is scared of Nerissa, remembering her from Will 1's nightmares, Nerissa reminds her that she gave her life, so she's practically a friend. While you've haunted her nightmares. You've got a weird idea of friendship there. But Will 2 is gleefully experimenting with her new life, doing crazy stuff like overloading the washing machines just so she can see what it's like. It's all part of Nerissa's plan—Will 2 has something to lose, and thus, something worth fighting to keep.
At school, Alchemy and Elyon say a tearful goodbye. With it now being the end of term, Elyon's deal with her parents is up, and she needs to focus on Meridian only, so she tells her friend that she's moving away. When Alchemy leaves, Caleb reminds Elyon that she's doing the right thing, since the Queen can't commute between worlds for school. It's the same reason Galgheta—Mrs. Rudolph—is retiring, to tutor her. But Elyon is more upset about having to leave her entire life on Earth behind. This is something that the first season really should have touched on. Even if she was being manipulated into thinking her parents were kidnappers or whatever and Cornelia and the others hated her, Elyon should have started missing other things about her life on Earth—her other friends at school, for example.
Decorating the gym for the party turns out to be tedious work, and Irma suggests they use their powers. But Will argues that they need to use their powers responsibly and never to do something like the laundry...she means decorating. However, Irma continues to insist that they need to transform, asking Will if she's really never used her powers for personal gain. Unfortunately, she starts projecting her guilt enough for Taranee to pick up on what she did, making her furious. In exchange for keeping her secret, Taranee convinces her to let them transform so she can "get back to her laundry."
Will actually does return to the laundromat to check on Will 2, but the Altermere abandoned the soapy mess when she got hungry. Will 2 actually went home and devoured almost everything in the fridge. She cheerfully hugs Mrs. Vandom when she comes in, then invites her to the party. Will 1 narrowly misses her on the way home and sees the mess left behind in the kitchen. She hides the wet laundry in the fridge when her mom comes in, utterly confused as to why her mom's dressed to party. When her mom leaves to go do her laundry, Will 1 continues the search.
Will 2 is really enjoying life, smelling a rose, playing on the swings, and splashing in a puddle. Nerissa comes up to her and warns her that Will 1 is after her, and when she finds her, she'll absorb her back into the Heart, into oblivion. The only way to escape that is to replace Will 1. After Nerissa's left Will 2 to think, Will 1 appears, ready to return her to the Heart after all the mess she's made. Hearing this, Will 2 panics and attacks with lightning. She's shocked at her own actions and runs off, leaving behind a very confused Will 1, who can't believe an Astral Drop can use her powers now.
Will 2 runs into Cornelia and Irma, who hijack her to the party. Inside are tons of people who didn't help set up, including Matt and his band, and Will 2 goes up on stage to dance with them. Also there is Caleb, who makes sure that Cornelia's cool with him going back to his own world. It's nice to see they're communicating and on equal ground and not being stubborn idiots. Will 1 makes it to the party, where she and her mom are confused to see each other, though when Will 1 hears that Will 2 invited her, she covers by saying she thought she'd be inside already. When she gets in, Irma and Martin ask her when she got it in her to dance in front of everybody, which clues her into what kind of mess her doppelganger is making now. She gets away from them and starts looking, always narrowly missing her. When Will 2 leaves Taranee at the punch bowl, 1 arrives too late. Taranee tells her she's had a lot to drink, cluing her to check the bathroom, where 2 just left. Suspicious, the others surround Will 1 and get her to spill, asking them to help her hunt down the other her. Will 2 overhears everything and escapes, spotting two people making out in the hallway. She doesn't have time to freak out about it because Will 1 has caught up.
The Wills confront each other on the court, with Will 1 confused why saying "Astral Drop" doesn't make Will 2 disappear. Crying, Will 2 insists she's not a Drop, but Will 1 fails to get the message, angering her to the point Will 2 starts punching and kicking her. The others arrive, but they can't tell who's who, and the Heart transforms them both. And poor Caleb is more confused than ever. Will 2 insists she's an Altermere and that she doesn't want to be hunted down and absorbed into the Heart. Will 1 insists she shouldn't care or feel, being a Drop. Will 2 shouts that she's alive and shares everything with her, telling her "the old woman" said she could replace Will 1. The other Guardians are ready to just attack the both of them and sort it who's who later, but Taranee stops them so she can hear Will 2's explanation. Will 1 realizes that the old woman is the same one from her nightmares, and Will 2 attacks with a blast of lightning. Caleb kicks a soccer ball to intercept it, and the others trap her in ice and turf. But Will 1 realizes that Will 2 would never have attacked her if Nerissa hadn't convinced her Will 1 would destroy her, so she orders the others to set her free. Will 2 isn't too trusting and almost attacks, still convinced that Will 1 will return her to oblivion within the Heart. But Will 1 reminds her that if they're truly the same, 2 should know she would never hurt a living being like that. 2 relents, and they hug, declaring themselves sisters.
However, Nerissa is unimpressed with the result, since 2 couldn't quietly replace 1 like she'd wanted. So while they're distracted, she sends a massive bolt of electricity toward Will 1. Will 2 sees it and pushes Will 1 out of the way, taking the lethal hit instead. The others are unable to stop Nerissa before she folds away, irritated that even that didn't go as planned. Will 1 is shocked that after Will 2's deepest desire was to live, she'd sacrifice her life so easily, but Will 2 insists that's what sisters do. As she begins to disappear, Will 1 offers to absorb her into herself. That way, instead of disappearing, her memories, emotions, and thoughts will live on inside Will 1. To be honest, it could have been explored a whole lot more than it was. Aside from one particular memory we'll see in a bit, we get no sense that this is different from her disappearing into the Heart—although Will is understandably hesitant to use Astral Drops ever again. How is the Will from here on our Will with the memories and emotions of a more naïve being inside her? They don't show it well. Anyway, Will 2 agrees, and the two become one, with her memories merging with Will 1's—including the memory of her mother and Dean Collins making out in the school hallway.
At home, Mrs. Vandom gets on Will's case about the laundry in the fridge. Will counters that her mom promised she wouldn't go out with Dean. She insists that her mom has no right to lecture her on responsibility when she's been lying all this time. And yeah, the episode ends here, but honestly? I want to discuss this. This is a great bit. I've been very critical in the past of Will's arguments with her mother, probably because I'm an adult and find it hard to sympathize with Will when she gets mad that her mom gets on her for not doing something fairly simple, like chores. But here, I'm with Will 100%.
First off, she makes it clear that she has no problem with her mom dating. Which is great to see. Will isn't opposed to that particular issue. It's deeper than that.
What becomes a problem is that her mother is dating her teacher, which she's uncomfortable with. Even disregarding the possibility that Collins is facing a conflict of interest (his girlfriend's daughter is barely passing his class), Will does not feel comfortable with her mother's choice of boyfriend. This is something that Mrs. Vandom absolutely has to run past her daughter. It's not like having no kids when it's only you that you've got to worry about here. Whoever she dates is going to affect her daughter too, and if the person she's with is someone her daughter feels uncomfortable with? She's either got to try to help her become more comfortable or let him go. Either way, her daughter's got to come first in this particular case.
And third, Will is most upset that her mother is lying to her. Will has been working her ass off for the past 30-odd episodes to try to become a good hero. She's been struggling all season with her responsibilities on Earth and on Meridian, juggling her two lives. She's been trying her hardest to improve her studies all while fighting a dangerous enemy who outthinks her at every turn. She's had her mother criticizing her, her teachers criticizing her, and she's been trying to get through it and improve in everything. And worst of all? She just came off of this problem! She lied to Elyon about her heritage and it came back and bit her in the ass HARD. So, yeah, she's going to be big on honesty now. And here's her mother lying to her face all this time, all while lecturing her on taking responsibility for herself? Will is fuming, and for very good reason. Her mother isn't taking responsibility for her own actions—she's thinking selfishly and lying to her daughter, things that she's told Will not to do. She's being hypocritical, and Will is calling her out.
This is a lesson that's really there for parents more than for kids. Because parents are going to mess up. They're going to make mistakes. They're human, and all humans are imperfect.
Instead of teaching kids "Respect your elders," this is a lesson to teach parents "Respect your children." You're allowed to make mistakes, of course, but make sure that you're not asking your kids to do something that you won't do yourself. Practice what you preach. Don't try and tell them to be honest and responsible while not being honest and responsible yourself. And I think that more kids' shows should leave parents walking away with a little good advice every once in a while too.
The story opens with yet another celebration of the Rebels' awesomeness, with Elyon awarding Drake, Aldarn, Julian, and Caleb the Medal of Meridian. No medals for Blunk. Caleb really hates the whole thing and is completely embarrassed, wishing he were on duty instead, but Cornelia is feeling petty and assumes he's soaking up the attention. Aldarn, however, has to return to his post, but he's kidnapped by the KoV en route. Apparently security at a major event presided over by the Queen is really lax. The Mage congratulates Julian on Caleb being amazing, and Julian agrees that Caleb's grown into a fine young man. Mage tries to give credit for that to the father, but Julian insists Caleb's mother deserves just as much credit. Oh. Oh. I'll go leave you two alone now. Caleb is still striking out with Cornelia and argues that he still loves her despite having to put his duty first. Cornelia quizzes him on Elyon's hobbies. When he gets it right, she asks him what her favorite hobby is. Naturally, he doesn't know—you guys just got together at the end of last season and you hid him in the basement most of the season. He's not gonna know! To his credit, however, he does ask and insists he wants to know, but the idiot thinks she's joking when she says ice skating.
The other Guardians decide it's their duty to cheer Cornelia up, since clearly they've been doing a great job of it so far. Irma takes the opportunity to show off her newest civilian power: changing her clothes (or anybody else's, for that matter) bright pink. I'm not sure how helpful that is unless you're a Power Ranger, but okay. Lillian walks in and reveals that Cornelia's going skating with a boy, so, naturally, the girls want details. Cornelia thinks she's safe in the elevator and ages up, but the girls find her and really press her for details now, especially with her being able to do that age-changing thing at will now. It turns out that she's going out with Peter, Taranee's older brother, and under the name of Lillian. Oh, and they've been dating for weeks. The others aren't standing for this bullshit.
Meanwhile, in Meridian, Caleb's getting ribbed by his dad and Elyon. Damn, man, when your dad has the Queen to back him up, you're screwed. He makes a comment about wishing he'd never met Cornelia, but Elyon reminds him that she has the power to do just that, and he flips out. Elyon urges him that Cornelia's a girl worth fighting for (okay, I'll stop the Mulan jokes, I promise!) and drags his sorry butt to Earth. Because sometimes you need a Sassy Royal Friend. They just miss Cornelia and the others, who are on their way to the rink. Caleb really begins to freak, since he's a "disaster" on skates. But Matchmaker Elyon insists that Earth girls like clumsy derps—a point proven when Lillian tackles him, screaming, "Take me with you!"
Also meanwhile in Meridian, Julian and Drake are planning schedules or something when they start to realize Aldarn's been gone a while. They're promptly attacked by the KoV and kidnapped. A pissed-off Mage confronts them, zapping Miranda with her eyes, and Frost warns Tracker to leave them, on Raythor's orders. Dude, not honorable. Just saying.
Taranee is especially pissed that Cornelia's playing this game with her brother, and totally supports sabotaging everything when the others notice Caleb, Elyon, and li'l Lillian. Once again, we learn that you do not piss Taranee Cook off. Elyon distracts Lillian while Will equips Caleb with skates. Elyon explains to Irma that she had him swallow his pride. It's good to be the Queen. Taranee goes straight for the cockblock and hijacks her brother in a game of Snake. Elyon and Irma kidnap Cornelia and warn her, showing off Caleb's complete willingness to humiliate himself in the name of love. Realizing he's going to see her soon, Cornelia reverts ages, and Irma provides a little power of pink to disguise her. Cornelia finds herself falling head over heels for Caleb, but she skates away to avoid Peter. Will gets the lightning to dim down to the spotlights, allowing Cornelia to shift forms and go on both dates, maintaining one facade while losing the other. By the time the tech gets everything back on mode, Cornelia and Caleb have found themselves in a bit of a compromising position, but they're happy about it. Caleb insists he's trying, and a grateful Cornelia promises to meet him outside in five minutes. But when he returns his skates, he sees her transform and kiss Peter. She tries to explain things to Caleb, but Blunk arrives with news of the kidnappings. Cornelia sticks Peter with the real Lillian as they all head off.
Mage has Miranda in an energy cage, and the seven interrogate her. Being a Grey DeLisle character, she offers them a deal that really only benefits her: Release her and let her take Caleb, or they don't stand any chance of tracking down the others. Cornelia objects, but a pissed and heartbroken Caleb tells her it's none of her business and agrees. Blunk tracks them, but it leads to a trap, and Blunk is captured, forcing the Guardians to search for them well into the night.
Nerissa finally appears and is completely pissed that the KoV acted without her. She blasts at the cave holding the heroes, and Will senses the energy and follows it to their HQ. Funny. You'd think that their powers were connected and Nerissa wanted them to find her. Cornelia is desperate to get in and save Caleb, so Irma and Hay Lin make an ice trail for her to skate on past the KoV, and everyone provides backup for her. Cornelia awesomely takes out Raythor and Miranda, but she's held fast by Sandpit. The others save her, but Gargoyle causes the cave to collapse. Only Blunk, Aldarn, and Drake manage to escape.
All of the warriors are devastated by the loss of Julian and Caleb as they return to the castle, and Cornelia falls to her knees, crying. As the other Guardians gather to comfort her, a fold opens, dropping Caleb and Julian. Elyon debriefs them over dinner, and they reveal that Nerissa zapped them, but things are fuzzy from there. Cornelia reaches for Caleb's hand, but he pulls away. And excuse me, but I've been holding in this squee since season 2 of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. Call me crazy, but I really love this whole bit. She was not being fair to Caleb. Argue all you want about how Caleb wasn't being fair to her, putting Elyon first and whatnot, but really? Cornelia was being equally as stubborn. Caleb had to eat some major humble pie, and she does too. They refused to communicate, and rather than working out the problem, Cornelia assumed Caleb would figure out what she was feeling. That's not how relationships work. The two of them need to communicate, and now it's Cornelia's turn to apologize for being unfair to Caleb, especially when she was dating another boy as rebound. She admits that she deserves his anger and tries to explain how much he means to her. He challenges her about Peter, and she reveals that she tried to break up with him, after seeing what Caleb was willing to do for her. This is what they need if they're going to survive being together—communication and equality. If he's willing to throw away his pride for her, she needs to be willing to do the same for him.
Cornelia calls it off with Peter, who seems upset about the whole thing. Taranee asks him if he'll be okay, but he admits the sadness was just a facade. He knew that "Lillian" wasn't the one for him, and he was planning on breaking up with her, knowing he couldn't be happy with her if it wasn't real. But at least now, Cornelia and Caleb have something that is real.
G is for Garbage (Kevin Hopps): Blunk is trading in a nomadic village when he spots Jeek trading with one of his customers. The customer offers Jeek the Horn of Hypnos as payment, but Jeek refuses. Blunk, smart enough to recognize it and not let on, tries to trade for it, and the rivalry is on. He manages to win it when he's got more gadgets and gizmos to offer, and he rushes off, knowing the damn thing is trouble. But Jeek follows him through a fold, determined to still make a buck off of it. Unfortunately, the fold opens into a dump, and Blunk gets distracted, neglecting his bag. Soon after, the KoV attack the nomads in search of the Horn—they have plans.
Meanwhile, Irma tries and fails to get out of cleaning the garage. She'd made the mistake of offering some storage space to Blunk, and he's turned it into a treasure trove of junk. When he comes over to try to give her the Horn, she refuses to listen and hijacks him into helping, forcing him to neglect his bag again. While this is going on, the other Guardians and Matt call her to discuss Mrs. Rudolph's retirement party, but Irma's dad takes her phone. Matt and Cornelia then smell Passling stink, and they find it suspicious because Irma said Blunk was with her. The team investigates and find Jeek with the Horn, so all five of them—yes, Matt included—jump rooftops in pursuit. Looks like someone's badass lessons finally stuck. But they lose Jeek, so the girls decide to warn everyone in Meridian while Matt goes to find Irma. But as soon as they leave, Jeek pops up out of hiding and sneaks into the fold.
With all the junk cleared out, Irma uses her powers to clean up the filth in the garage. Matt arrives and fills her in about the Horn of Hypnos—something that Blunk finds hard to believe because he had the Horn. But when he empties his bag to search for it, it's gone. Irma is furious, blaming him for not telling her about it and letting it out of his sight, but Matt is sane and insists that this is no time to play the blame game and they really need to worry about getting it back. Blunk insists on helping and opens a fold to Meridian. As they leave, Irma's dad arrives and is impressed with Irma's cleaning, but he slips on the spilled garbage and decides to ground her. I'd criticize him, but I think I said all I could stand about him in episode C. Blunk tracks down Jeek's home, and Jeek insists that he lost the Guardians and the Horn. Awesomely, Blunk doesn't buy a word of this, pointing out that he must have traded it for the fancy helmet he's using as a bowl. Matt grabs Jeek and almost goes Batman on him, so Jeek spills that he traded it to the KoV. Blunk then calls him a jerk and puts the helmet on Jeek's head, covering him with soup. Why, yes. This is an Awesome Blunk Episode.
Matt ties up Jeek and has him lead them to the KoV. The whole way, Irma and Blunk are arguing. Irma's still pissed at him, and Blunk insists that she didn't give him a chance to tell her anything before she forced him to clean, and Irma insists it's his fault for storing all of his garbage in her garage. Matt once again tries to be the voice of reason, but the Guardians appear with the Horn, under its spell. As Will raises the Horn to her lips, they run—Irma taking Blunk in one direction while Matt takes Jeek another. With no powers and his running buddy tied up, Matt is easily caught and entranced. Irma and Blunk remain hidden, with Blunk grateful to Irma for saving him, and he swears to save her in return, now that the KoV are ordering their Trance Marchers to find Irma and control her too. But Irma continues to yell at him the entire time. He hides her in one of his garbage grottos while trying to remember the counter-tune. Unfortunately, he can't remember and wishes Caleb were there to help him like last time. Irma loses her temper, particularly after a mountain of trash falls on her, and she essentially calls him worthless garbage. Let's put a pin in this for me to discuss later, okay? It's a big enough deal, but it needs a few more episodes and incidents to really get the analysis it deserves. Just as she realizes she's gone too far, Jeek and Matt have caught up and are trying to open the cave. Cornelia takes over, but Blunk busts Irma out of there on a bathtub on wheels and a ski. Yes, no matter how horribly she's treated him the entire episode, he still tries to save her. The little guy is just amazing this episode. It really shows how far he's come since last season, when he was pretty much a coward for the most of it. He and Caleb had a rough relationship until Caleb let it slip that he thought of him as his friend...or am I thinking of Ren and Shinji from Ryuki again? Here, Irma's treating him just as badly as Caleb had, in some ways worse because while some of Caleb's belittling comments flew over his head, she makes it absolutely clear how little she thinks of him right now. And he still risks his life to save her. GIVE THAT PASSLING A MEDAL. Anyway, they go down the mountain and land in the river, attacked from above. They manage to hide in the grass, and Blunk puts another piece of his garbage to good use as a distraction, luring Will away from the Horn. Unfortunately, it's still guarded by Hay Lin from above, and Will blows the Horn right in front of Irma and Blunk. They meet up with Raythor and the other KoV, who order Will to transform Irma and march on the palace to enslave Elyon.
Fortunately, however, Blunk and Irma wore earplugs to protect them from the Horn. Blunk still can't remember the tune, and Irma still can't get the Horn, but they decide to put their specialties to the test. Blunk proves that one man's trash is another man's weapon, and he kicks a fair amount of ass while Irma gathers her power and creates a massive avatar of herself from the water. Irmazilla does a good job until Will zaps her, but the huge wave caused from the collapse of Irmazilla washes out everybody, giving Blunk the chance to seize the Horn. Will and Cornelia attack, crushing the Horn under a boulder. Unfortunately, that's not enough to save them—but the sound effects are enough to remind Blunk of the counterspell and he sings it for everyone. The spell breaks, and the broken Horn disappears.
The nomad reveals that Raythor left as soon as he realized the spell was broken, and Jeek tries to make a break for it. Irma's not standing for that shit, and she decides that he needs to be punished by a jury of his peers—which would be Blunk, who decides that Jeek needs a bath, prompting Irma to blast him with water.
H is for Hunted (Steve Peterman and Gary Dontzig): Nerissa appears in Heatherfield, scaring off a homeless guy with a garbage can. She has plans for Will, who is thrilled it's the last day of school. Her mom tells her she's got to do the laundry, since she's let it go too long. But Will wants to help her friends decorate the gym for Mrs. Rudolph's retirement party, and the others told her that if she doesn't help, she can't party. Nice, guys. Nice. So Will makes an Astral Drop and makes her do the laundry while she's in school, zapping the machines to life to talk her through the process. This is perfect for Nerissa, who zaps Will 2 with Quintessence. Instead of a soulless Astral Drop, she's an Auramere—a living being, created by magic, to be an exact copy of the original, down to emotions, memories, and powers. Though Will 2 is scared of Nerissa, remembering her from Will 1's nightmares, Nerissa reminds her that she gave her life, so she's practically a friend. While you've haunted her nightmares. You've got a weird idea of friendship there. But Will 2 is gleefully experimenting with her new life, doing crazy stuff like overloading the washing machines just so she can see what it's like. It's all part of Nerissa's plan—Will 2 has something to lose, and thus, something worth fighting to keep.
At school, Alchemy and Elyon say a tearful goodbye. With it now being the end of term, Elyon's deal with her parents is up, and she needs to focus on Meridian only, so she tells her friend that she's moving away. When Alchemy leaves, Caleb reminds Elyon that she's doing the right thing, since the Queen can't commute between worlds for school. It's the same reason Galgheta—Mrs. Rudolph—is retiring, to tutor her. But Elyon is more upset about having to leave her entire life on Earth behind. This is something that the first season really should have touched on. Even if she was being manipulated into thinking her parents were kidnappers or whatever and Cornelia and the others hated her, Elyon should have started missing other things about her life on Earth—her other friends at school, for example.
Decorating the gym for the party turns out to be tedious work, and Irma suggests they use their powers. But Will argues that they need to use their powers responsibly and never to do something like the laundry...she means decorating. However, Irma continues to insist that they need to transform, asking Will if she's really never used her powers for personal gain. Unfortunately, she starts projecting her guilt enough for Taranee to pick up on what she did, making her furious. In exchange for keeping her secret, Taranee convinces her to let them transform so she can "get back to her laundry."
Will actually does return to the laundromat to check on Will 2, but the Altermere abandoned the soapy mess when she got hungry. Will 2 actually went home and devoured almost everything in the fridge. She cheerfully hugs Mrs. Vandom when she comes in, then invites her to the party. Will 1 narrowly misses her on the way home and sees the mess left behind in the kitchen. She hides the wet laundry in the fridge when her mom comes in, utterly confused as to why her mom's dressed to party. When her mom leaves to go do her laundry, Will 1 continues the search.
Will 2 is really enjoying life, smelling a rose, playing on the swings, and splashing in a puddle. Nerissa comes up to her and warns her that Will 1 is after her, and when she finds her, she'll absorb her back into the Heart, into oblivion. The only way to escape that is to replace Will 1. After Nerissa's left Will 2 to think, Will 1 appears, ready to return her to the Heart after all the mess she's made. Hearing this, Will 2 panics and attacks with lightning. She's shocked at her own actions and runs off, leaving behind a very confused Will 1, who can't believe an Astral Drop can use her powers now.
Will 2 runs into Cornelia and Irma, who hijack her to the party. Inside are tons of people who didn't help set up, including Matt and his band, and Will 2 goes up on stage to dance with them. Also there is Caleb, who makes sure that Cornelia's cool with him going back to his own world. It's nice to see they're communicating and on equal ground and not being stubborn idiots. Will 1 makes it to the party, where she and her mom are confused to see each other, though when Will 1 hears that Will 2 invited her, she covers by saying she thought she'd be inside already. When she gets in, Irma and Martin ask her when she got it in her to dance in front of everybody, which clues her into what kind of mess her doppelganger is making now. She gets away from them and starts looking, always narrowly missing her. When Will 2 leaves Taranee at the punch bowl, 1 arrives too late. Taranee tells her she's had a lot to drink, cluing her to check the bathroom, where 2 just left. Suspicious, the others surround Will 1 and get her to spill, asking them to help her hunt down the other her. Will 2 overhears everything and escapes, spotting two people making out in the hallway. She doesn't have time to freak out about it because Will 1 has caught up.
The Wills confront each other on the court, with Will 1 confused why saying "Astral Drop" doesn't make Will 2 disappear. Crying, Will 2 insists she's not a Drop, but Will 1 fails to get the message, angering her to the point Will 2 starts punching and kicking her. The others arrive, but they can't tell who's who, and the Heart transforms them both. And poor Caleb is more confused than ever. Will 2 insists she's an Altermere and that she doesn't want to be hunted down and absorbed into the Heart. Will 1 insists she shouldn't care or feel, being a Drop. Will 2 shouts that she's alive and shares everything with her, telling her "the old woman" said she could replace Will 1. The other Guardians are ready to just attack the both of them and sort it who's who later, but Taranee stops them so she can hear Will 2's explanation. Will 1 realizes that the old woman is the same one from her nightmares, and Will 2 attacks with a blast of lightning. Caleb kicks a soccer ball to intercept it, and the others trap her in ice and turf. But Will 1 realizes that Will 2 would never have attacked her if Nerissa hadn't convinced her Will 1 would destroy her, so she orders the others to set her free. Will 2 isn't too trusting and almost attacks, still convinced that Will 1 will return her to oblivion within the Heart. But Will 1 reminds her that if they're truly the same, 2 should know she would never hurt a living being like that. 2 relents, and they hug, declaring themselves sisters.
However, Nerissa is unimpressed with the result, since 2 couldn't quietly replace 1 like she'd wanted. So while they're distracted, she sends a massive bolt of electricity toward Will 1. Will 2 sees it and pushes Will 1 out of the way, taking the lethal hit instead. The others are unable to stop Nerissa before she folds away, irritated that even that didn't go as planned. Will 1 is shocked that after Will 2's deepest desire was to live, she'd sacrifice her life so easily, but Will 2 insists that's what sisters do. As she begins to disappear, Will 1 offers to absorb her into herself. That way, instead of disappearing, her memories, emotions, and thoughts will live on inside Will 1. To be honest, it could have been explored a whole lot more than it was. Aside from one particular memory we'll see in a bit, we get no sense that this is different from her disappearing into the Heart—although Will is understandably hesitant to use Astral Drops ever again. How is the Will from here on our Will with the memories and emotions of a more naïve being inside her? They don't show it well. Anyway, Will 2 agrees, and the two become one, with her memories merging with Will 1's—including the memory of her mother and Dean Collins making out in the school hallway.
At home, Mrs. Vandom gets on Will's case about the laundry in the fridge. Will counters that her mom promised she wouldn't go out with Dean. She insists that her mom has no right to lecture her on responsibility when she's been lying all this time. And yeah, the episode ends here, but honestly? I want to discuss this. This is a great bit. I've been very critical in the past of Will's arguments with her mother, probably because I'm an adult and find it hard to sympathize with Will when she gets mad that her mom gets on her for not doing something fairly simple, like chores. But here, I'm with Will 100%.
First off, she makes it clear that she has no problem with her mom dating. Which is great to see. Will isn't opposed to that particular issue. It's deeper than that.
What becomes a problem is that her mother is dating her teacher, which she's uncomfortable with. Even disregarding the possibility that Collins is facing a conflict of interest (his girlfriend's daughter is barely passing his class), Will does not feel comfortable with her mother's choice of boyfriend. This is something that Mrs. Vandom absolutely has to run past her daughter. It's not like having no kids when it's only you that you've got to worry about here. Whoever she dates is going to affect her daughter too, and if the person she's with is someone her daughter feels uncomfortable with? She's either got to try to help her become more comfortable or let him go. Either way, her daughter's got to come first in this particular case.
And third, Will is most upset that her mother is lying to her. Will has been working her ass off for the past 30-odd episodes to try to become a good hero. She's been struggling all season with her responsibilities on Earth and on Meridian, juggling her two lives. She's been trying her hardest to improve her studies all while fighting a dangerous enemy who outthinks her at every turn. She's had her mother criticizing her, her teachers criticizing her, and she's been trying to get through it and improve in everything. And worst of all? She just came off of this problem! She lied to Elyon about her heritage and it came back and bit her in the ass HARD. So, yeah, she's going to be big on honesty now. And here's her mother lying to her face all this time, all while lecturing her on taking responsibility for herself? Will is fuming, and for very good reason. Her mother isn't taking responsibility for her own actions—she's thinking selfishly and lying to her daughter, things that she's told Will not to do. She's being hypocritical, and Will is calling her out.
This is a lesson that's really there for parents more than for kids. Because parents are going to mess up. They're going to make mistakes. They're human, and all humans are imperfect.
Instead of teaching kids "Respect your elders," this is a lesson to teach parents "Respect your children." You're allowed to make mistakes, of course, but make sure that you're not asking your kids to do something that you won't do yourself. Practice what you preach. Don't try and tell them to be honest and responsible while not being honest and responsible yourself. And I think that more kids' shows should leave parents walking away with a little good advice every once in a while too.
Comic/TV-series difference.
Date: 2013-03-09 02:16 am (UTC)Yeah, this was massively different in the comics, where the Astral Drops "rebellion" was an actual arc, and their actual sentience there came from abusing the power... but they had memories and feelings even before they became completely "sentient".
Will's Astral Drop acted as Will's stand-in and was actually kidnapped and frightened out of her wits(as the Astral Drop don't have powers, this was espescially bad).
Eventually, the Astral Drop decides she's had enough and rounds up the rest, and they start making life terrible hard for the girls, who of course reacts negatively. Eventually, the powerless Drops are chased by the out-for-blood Guardians(the guardians would essentially absorb them back and remove all their memories- it can be thought of as killing them, and the tone of the comic is certainly that).
There are also problems: If the Drops stay too long, they will take the originals places.
Either way, this is the first, and perhaps only arc that really delves into the girls darker and more selfish sides, and shows why they are actually threatening: We sympathize with the powerless and abused Drops, who are chased by life-threatening, powerful creatures(who, by the way, lack the mercy of the TV-series; They do kill their enemies when capable of doing so, and not just as a last resort).
The girls do have decent reasons to react the way they do, but the problem is still that they by and large are the bad guys of the arc.
This is even pointed out in the big end sequence(which involves The Oracle in one of his most awesome scenes in the comic series).
This episodes really sets the difference in tone.
Comic Guardians: Effective (but unforgiving) guardians, but also very emotional teenagers that are quite flawed in quite a few ways(comparatively, the older "quasi-member" of the team, Orube, acts much more reasonable and does what is needed, not because of emotional turmoil).
Cartoon Guardians: Merciful but not quite as effective(leaving openings at bad times), but altogether better people than the comic guardians.
I do very much prefer the comic(this is arguably my favorite part of the entire comic series), but I have to say- the cartoon team wouldn't have worked with it. They were established as much too "soft" far earlier.
In the end, both are nice stories.
I do like a simple fact about Caleb in both stories- he is an "offshoot" of evil. You know the cartoon Caleb, and as for the comic Caleb?
Comic Caleb is a whisperer. And in the comic, the whisperers are literally part of Phobos(while the new authors who introduced him might not have intended this, the whisperers being parts of Phobos personality was established to be the case early on and was never rebuked in any way). This is interesting in a number of ways:
1. It explains his magical aptitude. Caleb is weak in magic, but very skilled. He is in fact the one to teach the girls how to use their powers to teleport(after learning to do so himself with a slight amount of their power he retains from his "resurrection"). When granted new magic in a later spot, he actually uses it much better than the original wielder.
2. His way of "gaining" magic is similar to Phobos who drains magic to fill his own supply- when Phobos uses magic, this magic is lost and he needs to absorb it from the world. Caleb is very limited in his use of magic, likely for the same reasons.
3. It makes his statement about his destiny to forever be a slave to someone a good deal more reasonable.
4. He is essentially Phobos good counterpart.
It's also interesting in regards to Elyon:
She drew him back, in the human world before ever meeting him (likely actually forming the real Caleb from the whisperer), giving him life. In a way, he's both her brother, and her son. His extreme desire to be with Elyon is actually the parts of Phobos that genuinely care for her.
It also explains, to a degree, why he took Cornelia's actual shape so seriously(revealing her real form and it's age to be different from her guardian self). He hates facades, because it's what Phobos used to trick Elyon(his creator, sister, mother, and later on, lover). Even if the intewnt wasn't to trick him, his reaction, seen from this angle, is understandable.
This also makes his and Elyon's relationship in the comics quite disturbing, though.
People need to remember that Comic Caleb is not just a plant man who came to life and fought Phobos- he's a literal part of Phobos personality split off from Phobos (by Elyon) who hates the rest of Phobos so much he lead a rebellion against him.
Re: Comic/TV-series difference.
Date: 2013-03-09 03:30 am (UTC)