PTSD in the MCU
Welcome back to Westview, Marvelites! If you’re looking for a place to fangirl and discuss all things WandaVision, you’re in the right place!
Today we’ll be exploring the 8th episode.
I first read The Ghost Bride by Yangszee Choo a few years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recently I stumbled upon the fact that it was a series on Netflix. I gladly binged it.
The story takes place in Malacca, Malaysia in 1893. Li Lan is a young woman whose family has fallen on hard economic times. Her father announces that he’s received an offer from a wealthy associate for Li Lan to become a Ghost Bride for their recently deceased son, Tiang Ching: to enter into a symbolic marriage to ensure companionship in the afterlife. He’s reluctant to allow his daughter to spend her entire life as a widow, and Li Lan hadn’t put much thought into her future. That is until the ghost of Tian Ching starts stalking her.
He tries to convince her that the marriage would be a good thing, but Li Lan knows it won’t be. She tries everything she can to keep him at bay, even if she’s not quite sure that she really believes in ghosts. Along the way she meets a mysterious stranger named Er Lang who isn’t quite human. Li Lan can’t be sure whether to trust him or not, but she can’t help being drawn to him.
Li Lan’s soul gets separated from her body, and she finds herself wandering the Plains of the Dead. Er Lang needs her to find out who is causing problems there. When things get bad in the afterlife, it can overflow into the living world and cause disaster. Li Lan knows that Tian Ching has been bribing border officials to haunt her and that his family might be behind the problems. Li Lan and Er Lang search for the evidence to stop them.
The book’s world is so immersive. The images in both the worlds of the living and especially of the dead are so well conjured. On the Plains of the Dead, everything seems a little bit off, all composed of burned offerings from family. The food, the furniture, and animals all have a creepy artificial appearance. Even the servants are mindless puppets. It’s a very easy world to sink into.
I thought the Netflix adaptation was good for the most part. It was originally in Chinese and is dubbed in English. I probably would have preferred subtitles and hearing the tone of the dialogue even if I don’t understand it.
As usual, some things are cut or changed. Li Lan thinks that the Tian Ching in the book is a “buffoon,” but the series makes him a swaggering rock star type. It makes him more interesting especially since he becomes the main villain in the story and not a pawn in others’ schemes. Er Lang’s more acerbic edges are toned down and he and Li Lan get into some classic rom-com arguments.
The best part of the series is the costumes. They’re beautiful. They didn’t stick exactly to period, as some appear more modern than the historical setting but it works.
As usual in adaptations, I missed some of the things in the books. Li Lan’s time on the Plains of the Dead and the ghosts that she meets there could be a series in themselves.
Well, maybe that’s season two!
We’ve never really done anything like this before, but in these crazy times, anything goes! And with that, a very important disclaimer:
THIS EPISODE IS FULL OF WESTWORLD SPOILERS THROUGH SEASON 3.
At the tail end of the 2010s, we’ve come into a mindset as a fandom where we analyze everything we watch extremely carefully — sometimes for the better, sometimes to a fault. One thing I’ve seen a lot of hangups on in the last handful of years is what the presence of a character type is assumed to mean about a creator. That is, if a character is present in a series as anything but an outright villain, the writer approves of anything they say or do. I could absolutely speak to some shows where this is the case, but more often than not . . . it just isn’t. And so much is being missed by making this assumption.
At the end of June, Netflix added the Evangelion series into its streaming services. You can watch both the whole series and movies now. I’ll be honest: it’s been years since I watched Neon Genesis Evangelion and the proceeding movies that followed. From what I remembered, there were copious amounts of blood, violence and sexually-charged scenes with heavy imagery that lingered in the back of my mind. Of course, I had a feeling I would need to rewatch the series before viewing this movie.
It’s a good thing I did.
Sartorial Geeks, I love Fleabag so much. So much. Words cannot adequately describe how I felt after finishing Season Two (or after watching that scene).
I finished watching Season Two last night and I can’t stop thinking about it. If you’re on the fence about watching it, or haven’t heard of it, here are my top 4 reasons why I think you should binge it immediately:
Okay, okay. I know everyone is all up in their feelings about our Game of Thrones watch ending. Although we can’t seem to agree on whether we love or hate Season 8, there is one thing I think we can agree on: Jon Snow is freaking Jaime Lannister.
Hear me out:
Fans have been waiting with bated breath for the return of the final episodes of Shadowhunters. Now that the team is back, they are ready to make their mark on television one last time. The episode started off with an amazing fight sequence. It was then filled with emotional tributes to Clary, love, and brotherhood, and ended with, of course, a cliffhanger.
It’s a Turkey Day miracle! Mystery Science Theater 3000 returned to Netflix this Thanksgiving with the six-episode series “The Gauntlet.” Challenged to a riffing marathon by the Mads at Moon 13, Jonah and the ‘bots take on six films. Mac & Me, Killer Fish, and more create the basis of a “binge made to be binge watched” spectacular.
As with last season, the tenants of the Satellite of Love mail it. Maybe it’s the firm, slightly silly hand of show creator Joel Hodgson. Maybe it’s the talented cast who themselves grew up on the unique series. But whatever the reason, MST3K retains a special honor: it is one of the few revivals to just plain get it right.
Most of the streaming networks have amazing programming; this is a fact that cannot be denied. From Stranger Things, The Crown, Mozart in the Jungle, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Harlots to so many more that should be named, but for time sake I will leave out, choices are almost unlimited. With more added almost every month, the flood can be daunting. I want to throw out a new one, one that has me looking forward to Wednesdays.