I wanted to raise/articulate some issues I had with the story telling. I didn't mind the Rite of Succession story so much, or rather I enjoyed it more than I didn't. I found the Alexandria story, however, much more unoriginal
In the end, I wanted to tell Wuk Lamat "You're good, you can do this, you don't need me, and your mood swings up and down are giving me whiplash. I'm going to go hand out with Estinien..." because only he seemed like he was really having a good time.
1) The Alexandria Story seems a poor reimagining of what WoL had been fighting against for the last 10 years, through SB and EW. Where else have we seem a story where our enemy: "Asserts that the Ends justify the Means, so they will, at the expense of the living, sacrifice countless lives, across all the reflections, so they can bring back their beloved dead. Their people are more importantrs than your people, so they prioritize them over you. " plot? The Ardor/Emet's arguments. The similarities are too painfully obvious to not be frustrating.
2) Dialogue frequently contradicts what immediately preceded or follows said dialogue and/or manufactures tension or pity where none is present or earned by the events leading up to, or following it. Wuk Lamat was cute, but only Wuk Evu and Otis were endearing enough to make me care. Some "huh?" examples: (A) Dawn of a New Tomorrow (Papa says 2 things, over 9-10 seconds, before "But I've talked for long enough!"... really? 10 seconds it the max huh? (B) Wuk Lamat's first attack Bakool Ja Ja, who blocks and pushes her back, and everyone immediately assumes "she is dead" followed by "glad your not dead" (C) Valigarmanda, that world ending monster is introduced for 10 minutes as the Skyruin, it gets released, and dealt with/killed in 5-10 minutes, no one died, no reinforcements needed. These poor attempts at telling, rather than showing, was often why I had trouble mustering up the energy to care. There are no stakes, its 'the boy that cried wolf' all the way down as we're fed the world though the game that is the contest. The world, NPCs, and what our emotional response is, all of it is fed through this field trip to history site lecture.
3) The Yuk T'el burial grounds failed to explain ANYTHING other then 'we have high infant mortality' and 'we wanted more blessed children to empower/protect us'. Were there forced breeding pits they failed to mention and that's why the elders are at fault? Is the conclusion here "No more mixed dating!"? Everyone keeps trying to take the blame in the end, but we dont know WHY they are to blame. Only Bakool Ja Ja's response makes sense (the guilt he feels over having survived where they did not).
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In the end, I wanted to tell Wuk Lamat "You're good, you can do this, you don't need me, and your mood swings up and down are giving me whiplash. I'm going to go hand out with Estinien..." because only he seemed like he was really having a good time.
1) The Alexandria Story seems a poor reimagining of what WoL had been fighting against for the last 10 years, through SB and EW. Where else have we seem a story where our enemy: "Asserts that the Ends justify the Means, so they will, at the expense of the living, sacrifice countless lives, across all the reflections, so they can bring back their beloved dead. Their people are more importantrs than your people, so they prioritize them over you. " plot? The Ardor/Emet's arguments. The similarities are too painfully obvious to not be frustrating.
2) Dialogue frequently contradicts what immediately preceded or follows said dialogue and/or manufactures tension or pity where none is present or earned by the events leading up to, or following it. Wuk Lamat was cute, but only Wuk Evu and Otis were endearing enough to make me care. Some "huh?" examples: (A) Dawn of a New Tomorrow (Papa says 2 things, over 9-10 seconds, before "But I've talked for long enough!"... really? 10 seconds it the max huh? (B) Wuk Lamat's first attack Bakool Ja Ja, who blocks and pushes her back, and everyone immediately assumes "she is dead" followed by "glad your not dead" (C) Valigarmanda, that world ending monster is introduced for 10 minutes as the Skyruin, it gets released, and dealt with/killed in 5-10 minutes, no one died, no reinforcements needed. These poor attempts at telling, rather than showing, was often why I had trouble mustering up the energy to care. There are no stakes, its 'the boy that cried wolf' all the way down as we're fed the world though the game that is the contest. The world, NPCs, and what our emotional response is, all of it is fed through this field trip to history site lecture.
3) The Yuk T'el burial grounds failed to explain ANYTHING other then 'we have high infant mortality' and 'we wanted more blessed children to empower/protect us'. Were there forced breeding pits they failed to mention and that's why the elders are at fault? Is the conclusion here "No more mixed dating!"? Everyone keeps trying to take the blame in the end, but we dont know WHY they are to blame. Only Bakool Ja Ja's response makes sense (the guilt he feels over having survived where they did not).
Continue reading...