Lurker > SeabassDebeste

not enough distinction being drawn between 5 and 6 here! 6 did feel more like phoenix was a master attorney imo
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Season 2, Episode 1

Recap: It's a new September with its own issues. Veronica is getting sucked back into detective work by the (sigh) exacerbated class warfare at Neptune. Precipitating it is Logan, who managed to get off on the murder of one of Weevil's boys, apparently. Unable to deal with Logan's issues, Veronica has taken up with Duncan, which troubles Meg. Oh, and Meg dies.

So, this season is focusing on possibly the least compelling of all VM-verse elements, the class tensions of the town. That means a bigger role for Weevil, no doubt. Urk. Just as rough - his return to pick up Veronica, combined with shaky romantic footing for Veronica, seemed like a possible seeding of a relationship tease.

The initial murder that launches this season is quite obviously less exciting than the personal, chilling "Who killed Lilly Kane?" But it's still a pretty interesting circumstance - just not sure if it can sustain a whole season. Thankfully, the derailing of a whole school bus - including a bizarrely bubbly teacher and the "good girl" - seems much more interesting. (The directing on the reveal is amazing - some semblance of triumph as Veronica and Weevil coast along the beautiful mountain, then the stammering of the shell-shocked teens in the limo, and finally the desperate turn of the camera over the cliffs...)

Network convention often dictates that summers in TV shows be uneventful. Buffy, the high school show to which I'm comparing VM generally, hands us blockbuster finales that demand periods of repose. S1 of Veronica Mars left its mysteries resolved, but it left us two major, related cliffhangers - what happens to Logan, and who knocks on Veronica's door at the end there. We find out through a timeskip, and it's deliberately ambiguous with its use of 'your boyfriend' to refer to Logan and Duncan at different points in time.

To me, this is disappointing. The atmosphere that's created by Logan's getting off in trial and Veronica's going back to Duncan - i.e. the escalating tensions, Veronica's being on the 'side of the haves,' loss of Meg's friendship - wind up being loss interesting than the process that gets yada-yada'd - Logan's trial, investigating who stabbed that kid, Veronica's being torn between two lovers. The latter point especially looks like we're headed into love triangle territory for the rest of the season. But at this point, the damages are already too high on all fronts. I would've preferred to see it during the vulnerable summer phase.

Anyway, it seems like there's enough to look forward to, here, that I'm not feeling too pessimistic.

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* Dick and Beaver are added to the regular cast! One of my favorite recurring jokes was Dick's

* Speaking of Buffy comparisons, Charisma Carpenter is quite obviously here primarily for her looks. Also, I definitely had to look her up on Wikipedia just now, because she looks like she's way too young to be the mom of an eighteen-year-old. But she was around 35 at the time, so... yeah, it's semi-plausible, I guess.

* Wallace helps Veronica with more open communication this episode! Something's carried over at least. Also, love when Veronica asks if he ate the secret cookies. 'Like six of them!'
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

jayson tatum has started and won 33 games, most of any player in the league this season
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

huge ups for power grid and keyflower. they're not tiny-footprint, but yeah, they're comparable to scythe i'd say. and better, imho!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

hanabi has a small footprint for 5

6p borders into party game territory - no scythe-like games at that count pretty much, save for like game of thrones
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

CoolCly posted...

I thought about responding to this earlier but I didn't want to give much away... but I never got the impression that this was "redemption" for Aaron.

Like it was good he was standing up for his daughter, and it was an incredibly well done scene, but I thought Aaron came away from that scene looking like a very terrifying man, and he was already pretty intimidating.

Many scenes where someone inflicts violence on someone unsympathetic - even if they come off as scary - are meant to be positive portrayals! To me, it feels like a very clever red herring. I think the development of Aaron as the killer is the absolute strongest part of the season.

Terastodon posted...

Yeah, I think this is why VM the show gets the love of it's fans - it nails the things that matter every time.

Djungelurban posted...

Yeah, the a-plots are fun distractions but they also don't really matter very often. I mean, sometimes they revolve around characters we actually know and then it's a bit more meaningful, but for the most part it feels like they're mostly there to cater to network TV conventions at the time... It's the arcs that matter and Veronica Mars season 1 arc is up there among the best of them...

It's very noticeable how much more seriously the show and the characters take the main plot arc versus the daily high school drama.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

also one celtics game in 9 days now, and it's not even in the evening :(
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

the sixers annihilating the pistons seems to be ritual this season
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

sneaky ninja leon
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

in 1/2/3, that just felt like the nature of the beast - you have to have your lawyer at a disadvantage, making unlikely claims at times

but AA5 made that into phoenix's defining character trait
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

yeah, aa4 phoenix himself is actually great. it's 4-0 that's the problem. i do think aa5 phoenix is bad, but aa6 phoenix feels a lot more confident in general. he's just put into insane situations compared to aa5 so his confusion feels more earned.

agreed that it's a POV thing. POV characters have to have self-doubt and usually can't have master plans. probably the highest points that the AA1-3 phoenix reaches on that regard are 1-4 and 3-3, where he figures out the keys to DL-6 and bringing down tigre.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

no streams working for the celtics game tonight :(
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

the coverups have been insane for a long time. 3-3, 3-5, and 1-5 have some of the most ridiculous coverups (though unlike 5-3, they're all assisted).
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

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* No messing around for Keith when he opens the DNA test results. Dude gets shit done.

* Greatly enjoyed the classic closet POV direction in the scene where Veronica finds the tapes. Even after Duncan (the fake scare) shows, the camera views the duo from a corner, and then lingers on a closet door.

* Veronica does a crack job of hiding the tapes from Aaron while on the run, too. Good stuff.

* Sheriff Lamb!!! Never thought I'd miss him so much, and the ornery jackass is wonderful when he's frustrating dudes who are less sympathetic (and intelligent) than the Mars fam. Aaron doesn't want him to search his house. 'Whoa-whoa now - you can't just barge in -' / 'Come on now. You know how this works. You've been in what, like thirty cop movies?'

* Spectacular bit of acting when Lamb laughs in Logan's face and tells him Veronica sold him out.

* This might be the last time we see Amanda Seyfried as Lilly Kane, but gods, she was alive. A selfie-video of her and Veronica dancing around and singing along to Spice Girls... and her chapter is closed.

* MY DAUGHTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

* Two major cliffhangers, including a very literal one for Logan this episode. It feels icky, but with the recent distribution of screen time, I'd rather see the face at Veronica's door be... Logan's??? But Duncan still loves her! But now Duncan seems like the more messed up one...
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Season 1, Episode 22

Recap: Logan's friend Beaver breaks Logan's allegedly bulletproof alibi. Veronica investigates Lilly's room and finds videotapes linking her to Aaron Echols. Father and daughter unite to take Aaron down physically. Meanwhile, Veronica's parentage is proven legitimate, and Veronica chooses her father over her mother.

I'm going to nitpick first. And these nits are massive.

While they're legitimately exciting, the thrills from Logan's alibi breaking are... kind of cheap. We're literally told 'don't worry about it' and then 'oh wait maybe we should worry about it' at the last moment, when it would have ruined Logan's character.

Why is Veronica the first person to search inside Lilly's vents?! This wasn't some minor small-town case that was botched or swept under the rug; this is the richest family in town! What the fuck gives???

Oh, and finally - Veronica's been taking every precaution to make sure she doesn't run into Aaron. She tells Duncan to keep an eye on him; she calls her dad... and she can't check the back seat of her car??? It's hilariously dumb, purely a move to manufacture fake drama.

Okay, but man, Aaron being an unrepentant killer - and a secret lover of Lilly - is an awesomely satisfying answer to the mystery. While there is no direct evidence before this, everything clicks in hindsight. The season has focused a lot on slut-shaming, and recent episodes in particular played up Logan's jealousy of Weevil. Aaron's wife committed suicide earlier in large part due to his utter inability to keep it in his pants. Lilly's propensity to keep secrets was well-established, and Aaron has been shown to be a violent bastard fully capable of doing this kind of damage.

From a meta/storytelling perspective, it's perfect, too. Aaron is an utter douchebag whose plot significance up to this point has been massively outweighed by his screen time. The real purpose behind his being on this show? Of course! Furthermore, at this point, it's begun to look like some sort of accident or crime of passion, especially with regards to Duncan, but Veronica's raising these possibilities almost rules them out. The anticlimax with which Duncan is brought back pretty much assures us that the coverup was only because the Kanes thought it was him. The red herrings of Jake's 'Because you killed her!' and Logan's sudden loss of alibi - both telegraphed, not-super-original plays - serve to enhance the identity of the actual killer, which does come as a shock.

We wind up not with some unsatisfying accident or someone associated with the Kanes, but with a complete monster. Thanks to the setup of the season, both the motive and the identity of the killer come as surprises. And every bit of it feels earned.

In sideplot land, good on Veronica with regards to her mom. She's Mom, but she's not the one who's been there all season. Keith has been an amazing father, even when he had doubts about Veronica's parentage. Alicia loves him and is steady and reliable. And Veronica's mom has been a trainwreck who cheated on her husband, which contributed to ruining Keith's career, who has shunned the family until the newspapers called her out. When it comes down to who's put their life on the line for the family and for Veronica in particular, how can she be the one at the hospital bed? "I bet on you and I lost."
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

i think i need a replay too, but my instinct agrees that day 1 is stronger due to simon, while day 2 has higher peak moments (at least plot-wise)

though blackquill breaking the perceive might be the best moment in both days
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

5-6 has a surprisingly solid cast all around
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Yeah, I think 5-2 actually has a really solid ending (except the villain himself lacks). Thoroughly agreed with Leon on everything, and I'd add that the Secret of Tenma Taro to the list of cool things about that ending. Agreed with tran*y on everything else, especially that 5-6 is debeste.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

how could someone possibly think 5-6 > 5-5

if they hadn't finished the case yet
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

thanks! i'm enjoying doing the topic, too

also i finished season 1! stay tuned
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

wtf my bench press is garb now
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

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* Logan goes out to look for liquor for 'just a few minutes.' Low-key was thinking that instead of Veronica's finding a reason not to get with Logan, Logan was gonna die. High point of their relationship, jealous Duncan in a violent, incoherent rage, and you step out for a few minutes? Kinda surprised that nothing happened!

* Now that Weevil's thing for Lilly is explicit, I actually for once was able to enjoy Logan and Weevil's rivalry, as they argue over Lilly's affections. The rich/poor insults just never clicked, but character drama will always have a better chance to strike a better chord.

* Veronica lets Wallace in on the investigation. D'aww.

* For once in my life, I was sympathetic to someone cutting off someone else's explanation - Keith telling Veronica to can it when Alicia's complaining about the bug. It's a conversation between adults, and even though Veronica is the subject, it's not her place to talk at that point.

* Keith to Clarence: 'I'll send you a postcard. You can hang it in your cell.'

* The Aaron Echols Redemption Project Tracker: He doesn't know Logan's birthday. This seems mind-blowing to me, but only because I'm good with birthdays. 'I'm the one allergic to shellfish,' Logan reminds him, 'Trina's the one allergic to work.' Also my god that party is so ill-informed and I love the reaction. (Also, not to nitpick, but wouldn't you notice that many ?)

* Veronica assures Alicia about Keith: 'He's not going anywhere.' It feels ominous - and sure enough, Veronica's mom has got it going on again.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Season 1, Episode 21

Recap: Veronica is spurred into researching her rape, and her search takes her all through the school. Eventually it comes out that she was drugged unintentionally, and that her erstwhile rapist was Duncan. This allows her to reconcile with Logan, but a newly rediscovered Duncan absolutely flips his shit.

What's this? No dumb high school plot? Payoff from the season?!

The early parts of this episode prominently feature Veronica's scrubbing. What's she cleaning up? Is it the stain she feels from being deflowered at the party that way? Or maybe loose ends of a season that's rapidly approaching its conclusion?

My favorite part of this episode is the way Veronica calls in her debts. We see a dozen familiar faces from the season - brainwashed cultist Josh, Logan's steroid-pushing friend, rape-victim's friend Carrie, switched-at-birth Madison, "suck my" Dick, and of course Meg. Each of them has something to contribute to piecing together what happened the night of that party. In the end, it's kind of fascinating that this traumatic event in Veronica's past can be somewhat laid to rest - no one was out to drug her intentionally, and while there was grossness with rape-y students, the person she actually chose was someone who thought there was consent.

Veronica and Logan's relationship is honestly kind of weird this episode. Everything appears to go stunningly well for a change, and then Veronica splits because she sees that Logan makes sex tapes and that she's on camera. It's dirty, but this is still Logan. Maybe the camera just reminded Veronica of this fact? It just seems so much less severe than the fact that this is a dude who organized fight clubs with homeless people. But there you go.

Anyway, despite the episode's focus on Logan/Veronica, the enduring image from the episode is of Duncan. His being apprehended by Keith in Cuba is surprisingly downplayed in the cold open, and after that he's just back to normal. Or at least, everyone treats him as if he's back to normal. He, on the other hand, is a fucking loose cannon. That animalistic reaction to seeing Logan and Veronica together is terrifying. Even when we think he's fine - like when Veronica confronts him about that night at the party - he's constantly on the verge of a breakdown. He's so fucking anguished about it - 'BECAUSE YOU'RE MY SISTER AND I KNEW IT.'

Anyway, Keith has finally reached an 'entertainer he's been looking for, for a year.' It seems like she's helped him off-screen with the murder investigation, and next time we see him, he's at home with Veronica's mom. I'm probably wrong about her being the killer, but there's no way she's not an important witness. Oh, and it's finale-time, so let's fucking go.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

No one's denying your frustration, just that Amazon doesn't seem remotely to be at fault. It's more like a no-fault situation. The fact that you're holding them accountable for their customer service seems almost like parody.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

i'm like half-convinced this topic is viral marketing for amazon's customer service
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

well that win was just satisfying in every possible way
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

no bot bump today huh
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

who wants some finale
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

i have it as one of the more memorable (in a good way) investigation days
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

day 1 of 4-2 is awesome all around!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

My Immortal posted...

Veronica x Logan is one of my favorite couples to ship eveeeerrrrrrr.

That scene of their first kiss was so good

you a psycho, boy. the first kiss is really good, though.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

first workout of the new year

it was mediocre
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Season 1, Episode 20

Recap: Veronica gains leverage on a slut-shaming, would-be ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, the Duncan Kane Missing Person Case Reward is now at $50,000, and the Mars are enlisting help for it. Veronica and Logan start getting serious, but information about a certain party eighteen months ago may sink that ship.

This series and its fixation on slut-shaming. I feel bad for the smoking hot girl at the center of it, but I also just... don't care. We've seen this before with Meg. Turning the jackass's homophobia against him is pretty clever, but that's about it as far as this plot goes.

On the other hand, Logan, he of the punchable face, is making a legit effort to be a Good Boyfriend (TM) again. This episode has Aaron showing his actual good side in his Redemption Quest - by recognizing that Veronica and Logan are a secret, respecting it, and then giving it his blessing. Everything seems to be going swimmingly, until of course we remember that this is fucking Logan we're talking about, and we all know what he was before the series started.

Keith and Alicia's relationship is shown at its highest points here (naturally, as it's about to be put under fire), and perhaps it's not coincidental that it happens right after Keith hears about his wife's infidelity. Keith's starting to think about divorce proceedings, and how can you blame him?

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* The contents of the spy-pen will probably play a role later in the series, but I'm definitely not buying Weevil as the killer. Veronica seems to agree.

* Clarence Wiedman finally discovers the bug in his office... and is in a position to threaten Wallace's mom. Uh-oh...

* Another iZombie connection that I'd missed before: both of these series start with weird drugs being handed out at a party.

* With the season winding down and still no Duncan in sight, I'm pretty excited about the shoes we have left to drop. Veronica's mom is sitting in rehab, Wiedman's got leverage on Keith, Keith's got new knowledge about his wife and the Kanes, there's the reanimated question of Veronica's parentage, and we've got a lead on Duncan. The end doesn't feel imminent in-story necessarily, but I'm enjoying the sensation of the season bearing down with all these loose ends.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

i finished the proposal

then four weddings and a funeral
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Season 1, Episode 19

Recap: Weevil gets arrested for breaking into the Kanes' house. Veronica investigates missing dogs in Neptune. Logan's dad beats up Trina's abusive boyfriend. Veronica kisses Logan again, then breaks up with Leo.

Bizarre episode that suddenly gives a lot of focus to dogs and decides to take aim at Spanish-speaking dudes. I'm just gonna leave the A-plot to the side, because it is not good.

Spectacular appearance by Celeste Kane this episode: 'I know you think I hate you. I don't hate you. I just can't stand to look at you.' Was Keith really oblivious to his wife and Celeste's husband's affair this whole time, until he walked in on Celeste and Veronica's conversation. The fact that he's finally ordering a DNA test on Veronica suggests this is new to him. (I'd previously assumed that some of his antagonism toward the Kanes was because he knew about this affair.)

Another episode for Logan, another episode where it feels like a man's show with a conveniently female protagonist. Here, domestic abuse of a girl - Logan's sister - is used as an opportunity for the men to appear awesome as they protect her. We're meant to revel in Aaron's beatdown of the colossal douchebag boyfriend - the comic music and the gleefully manic camera clearly emphasize this. It's redemption for Aaron! It's a chance for Logan to feel closer to his father!

It's not like I'm above being taken by it a bit - it is satisfying (and rather amusing) to watch Aaron kick the boyfriend's ass, and to have that feeling of realization before the kid about what's coming to him. (He offers a bit of meat at the pointed end of a very long, very sharp steak-knife. The kid says it's perfect, and Aaron responds, 'not so much.') I'm not against some cathartic violence in my TV shows, but the fact we have to introduce a throwaway domestic abuser just to give Aaron a chance to redeem himself is bad. I guess violence is an aphrodisiac, though, since it spurs Logan and Veronica's deciding to take it further.

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* Odds that Veronica intercepts the DNA test results?

* Veronica saying Wallace is her brother is pretty entertaining. Not her brother-brother, but you know... brother.

* Props to Officer "Schmidt" Leo for being a bro about the breakup and still getting to bust face on the dognappers.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

at this rate d'antoni's been running, ariza's next.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

happy new year!

will comment on some of these responses later!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

but not today. happy new year!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

30 wins before january
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

happy birthday matey!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

LeonhartFour posted...

Actually, aren't Ini and Acro the only witnesses on their respective second days? I think Alita's the only day 2 witness in 4-2, too.

all sounds correct to me.

vazquez is nearly the only witness on day 3, but i guess sal manella gets cut short first.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

adrian has like 4 on day 1 and 4 on day 2. not as high as a percentage but more testimonies overall i'd think
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

watched an ep but deleted my notes. writeup to come
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

just by box scores, pop still hasn't figured out LMA/kawhi together. san antonio's offense has been bad in games both played together. pistons getting a blowout W and it looks like LMA:pop :: rondo:carlisle
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Having played each upward of a dozen times, I probably like Forbidden Island a bit more than Pandemic, due to the variable map, the simpler rules, and the fact that you cycle through the player deck and the flood deck. Pandemic's more involved and it has some kind of fiddly bits, but it can be more satisfying of a puzzle. Forbidden Desert is really good and, while it has a ton of similarities, it's probably more distinct than the other two - I haven't played it as much but I love it too.

Definitely get Hanabi. It's super-cheap, super-portable, and plays quickly. It'll almost never be your favorite experience, but it'll almost always be a decent one.

D-Day Dice might be worth looking into if you're willing to play a WW2-themed one. It does start to push up against one-hour mark in terms of time limit and requires a bit of setup, but it's fun and rolling dice is fun.

Codenames Duet - if you have 4 players or fewer, I prefer this to the original Codenames (1-2 players on each side). If you've never played Codenames or are playing with a bigger group, just forget co-op and get Codenames. It's the best.

Here are a few I've tried just once/a few times but found cool:

- Big Book of Madness (a deck-building game where you collect spells as a group and fight monsters by playing cards)

- Zombicide (killing zombies is kinda cool - not too deep, but enjoyable for the tactile/minis feel) - length depends on scenario - it's the setup/teardown that will take the longest time though

- Ghost Stories (a 9x9 grid where you fight off monsters on each side) - probably around the 60-75 minute mark

- Kreus (a game where you have to play cards to form pyramids in nature and stuff - it feels like Hanabi in reverse. I'd love to replay it)

- Space Alert (rules-heavy, but it's a Vlaada Chvatil design - real-time madness followed by 'what have I done' as you resolve the actions you programmed)

- Burgle Bros (very much in the Forbidden/Pandemic mold, but a bit more involved and with more of a spatial element)
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Leonhart4 posted...

There are a few little things to quibble with, like Apollo's shut down of Blackquill doesn't happen until the climax of day 2 with the revelation that Damian is the Amazing Nine-Tales. It's an A+ moment because of day 1 though. Blackquill dominates day 1 in a way no prosecutor has since 2-4 day 1. He has Apollo on the ropes almost the whole time and he just barely escapes because of his air vent theory that turned out to be 100% completely wrong.

I'll go into a few others when I'm not on a phone.

maybe i should get on that AA4+ replay then! i think i confuse it for day 1 because 1. as you point out, day 1 is blackquill's day in a way day 2 isn't, and 2. there's so much blackquill in the game, and my lasting memory is that he got his ass kicked very early on in it. end of 5-2 is actually still very early relative to blackquill appearances, even if it's not early in 5-2 itself.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

The Greatest

7. E2-1 - Edgeworth vs Knightley

One thing I really like here is that Knightley isn't the baddest dude. He looks like kind of a pushover with his hair and that neck brace, and DeKiller certainly treats him this way. Yet when Shelley splits, you're left with only one possible murderer, and he winds up being way more impressive in cunning than he is in physical prowess. The gun-switch is one of the cooler tricks in the series. Love his animations, too.

6. 5-6 - The Dissin' of Phoenix Wright

Love everything about this one from the transformation to the epic rap cross-examination to the two-whales twist to the truth... that it wasn't murder at all.

5. 1-3 - Edgeworth face-turn

I wasn't thrilled with the Vazquez battle the first time through, since she kind of stonewalls and doesn't react very dramatically. I tend to enjoy that type of composure a bit more now, and Edgeworth turning on her is super-thrilling thanks to the music. One of the funniest takedowns on the whole.

4. E1-4 - Investigation leads to the courtroom

I love the absolute sense of climax you get here. All the suspects are eliminated and you meet in the courtroom, as if it's a regular AA game. Yew makes you prove everything, even if the evidence is fairly straightforward most of the time. Her asking for evidence is always accompanied by a totally uncalled for jab at Edgeworth's prissiness. And honestly, the music is a huge part of this one. Confrontation Presto '09 and Confess the Truth '09 are incredible. This represents basically the only really satisfying confrontation, front-to-back, of the game - other than the buried part in E1-5, of course.

3. 3-3 - Catching a Tigre

Tigre has four meaty testimonies of the old-school variety. I like this better than 3-5 and 2-4's involved testimonies, for example, because you're going right at an enemy who doesn't want to be caught. He just lies outright, and you have to break him down bit by bit and fight Godot along with it. In the end, it's a near-perfect-crime scenario, yet the bluff feels original and satisfying, since you get to bait Tigre into it instead of their just blurting out something.

2. 1-4 - Solving DL-6

I'm defining this one as starting from the moment that Edgeworth raises this objection to the Judge's verdict on the Christmas Day killing. Pretty much every moment of this sequence is iconic, from the moment Phoenix starts going over the case files to the head-banging at the end. Von Karma is still probably the greatest villain and antagonist of the series.

1. E2-5 - Mastermind

Discussed this already, but the best showdown of the series for sure. Simon actually does commit perfect crimes here, as he can't be directly convicted for getting Knightley killed, or pointing the laser gun, and the like. And he's so much fun as an opponent, too.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Excellent

14. 2-4 - Toying with the Radio

I love 2-4 and I love 2-4's ending. De Killer is a wonderful witness with some hilarious dark humor - the Judge being convinced that Phoenix wants him dead is one of the most memorable Judge moments of the series. Edgeworth is in top form. But the actual testimony winds up feeling a bit punchless in the end, solely a stall for Franziska and Gumshoe to deliver the final evidence. That part, of course, is wonderfully satisfying, making it all worth it. It's just that the interrogation and the climax don't feel like they feed one another.

13. 6-5 - Changing a nation

Like so many other cases clustered around here, the final moments with Nahyuta on the stand, taking down Ga'ran, are not the best of the case. They're fun, but after such a marathon and an incredible witness in Amara, it feels rather strange to circle back to take down the Big Bad of the series. That said - great opponent, great stakes, and awesome (if predictable and weirdly delayed in reveal) dagger in Ga'ran's inability to perform magic.

12. 3-5 - Godot's penance

I didn't like 3-5's final act the first time around - it feels like Phoenix using his ego to push Maya into convicting a good guy. but when viewed it through the lens of Godot seeking justice for what he's done and trying to deal with his self-loathing, it becomes far more emotional. Only letdown is using Maya as essentially a pawn here. Also, mandatory AA3 testimony music mention, along with Godot's theme, his bloody tears, and AA1's Cornered music.

11. 4-1 - Lobster dinner rises from the sea/stand

The stakes and scope are small in this case, but accusing Kristoph is fantastic, complete with Phoenix's old Objection! theme. The mere fact that Phoenix takes up the assistant role here boosts it, and the dirty Bloody Ace trick, along with Kristoph's non-confession... fantastic stuff for an intro case.

10. 1-5 - Thunderstruck

Gant's pretty satisfying to break down, and this feels like a case that actually merits the attorney-prosecutor-pile-on. I say F that to the Blue Badger stuff and the overwhelming length and Evidence Law, but after three days of AA2/3-length investigation, this is a great reward. The past case is pretty interesting, too, though it's undermined by being such a carbon copy of DL-6.

9. E2-3 Finishing the candyman

The thing about AAI games is the way that you flow into the culprit at the end, and you know it's the end, and then (... usually) they don't drag out too long. That's Gustavia, a guy who might have seemed sympathetic before - he's clumsy and has a disability! - but when he turns out to be an unrepentant bastard who can only have done it due to process of elimination... it's even better. Immensely satisfying battle with a spectacular defeat animation where he slices up the pastry version of himself.

8. 3-4 - Terry Fawles

You know it's coming, and you know you've got Dahlia, and young, undefeated Edgeworth is right on the brink of defeat... tremendous confrontation against Dahlia, and killer ending.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Near-Epic

20. E2-4 - Debeste way to take someone down

Blaise is a pushover who kind of sucks at the evidence game, which means this confrontation doesn't need to be as long as it is. It has this dimorphism to it where the testimony is actually kind of trivial (and Courtney's face-turn lacks a punch to it) - but Edgeworth himself is the star here, sticking up for Kay. Neat trick about the scar being on Blaise's face, though I feel that was a little too strongly hinted.

19. E2-2 - Gator warden

After such an exhausting case, it feels really satisfying to have this showdown with the warden. She makes you prove it with evidence, and due to the great format of the game, you're forced to produce it in a great manner. There's something I just really like about how neatly everything finally ties together in this case once all the chips are down and you're just standing there, despite its having many lows along the way.

18. 2-2 - Scars that burn

Ini/Mimi's secret is a pretty OG plot twist, and her beret-spinning animation post-transformation is great.

17. 2-3 - Max's bust is...

The non-canon game over here is pretty hilarious. The first time through, I didn't appreciate Acro's unflappability. But he's a really solid opponent who has no give, and his quiet shock is fun to contend against. Actually finding the murder weapon is pretty damn awesome.

16. 5-5 - The Phantom

Most of the fight against the Phantom isn't bad. The Mood Matrix is a great part of it for sure, and there's some novelty fun with masks (at first, at least). The problem, of course, is that the best part of the case is the part Edgeworth prosecutes. The ending here is overdrawn and surprisingly light on emotional stakes in a case that earlier touches some of the darkest territory in an AA game.

15. 6-3 - The true cause of death

Channeling Tahrust is an awesome final act, and it's fascinating the way he fights against you until you realize his true intent. It's nearly inexplicable until you finally put it together. It's exhausting - but satisfyingly so. And this isn't a knock on the case, but it's a little unfortunate that this awesome Day 2 finale is somehow not the strongest emotional moment of the case - that, I'd say, is Phoenix losing on Day 1.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Solid Showdowns

26. 1-1 - Toupee Toss

Frank Sahwit is such an iconic AA villain. This showdown hits all the beats - music, transformation, breakdown, turning your thinking around, and a devastatingly fun one-liner pun to finish things off.

25. 5-2 - Perfume for all

L'Belle isn't the greatest villain, unfortunately. The real climax of 5-2 is the end of Day 1, where Apollo badly shuts down Blackquill. He's still amusing to beat up on, and I enjoyed the secrets of Tenma Taro and the especially the Amazing Nine-Tails.

24. 5-4 - Blast-off

Yuri annoyed me, but the solution behind the moving outer platform is pretty fucking cool, and his spinning/blasting off damage animation is hilarious. The cliffhanger resolution - not just Athena being accused of murder, but the trial in general ending without a new suspect named - is incredibly unique, and bolsters this.

23. 4-3 - Cocoons?

A really bad case has a surprisingly fun finale. Daryan is one vicious, amoral dude, making him a tremendous opponent to work on. The exact nature of smuggling is pretty interesting here. It's a bit unfortunate that Klavier buries him so quickly, but Apollo desperately needs his help to face an enemy this unflappable at this point. That said, it loses points for being stuck in a garbage case and depending on Machi Tobaye, maybe the worst defendant in the series, to close it out.

22. 3-2 - The real Unmasque-ing

I alluded to this in the 6-2 description, but 3-2 is a near-perfect crime. As a result, you spend most of your time poking holes in Atmey's coverup, but none in proving he did it. Not a big fan of the Mia involvement. Big fan of Godot chugging his coffee and the incredible cross-examination music. And that final nine-piece testimony is pretty clever.

21. 3-1 - MIA FEY MIA FEY MIA FEY

Phoenix's getting off is a foregone conclusion, but attorney Mia is a treat, and watching her pitbull aggression on Dahlia - whom we find out she has great reason to despise - is awesome. It brings an epic quality to a case where we don't expect those stakes.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness