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Sunday, November 9, 2014

Doctor Who Series 8: Death in Heaven

SPOILERS!!!!! Read at your own risk.

I did really enjoy this episode, but I was honestly a little bit disappointed. It just wasn't as good as some other Doctor Who finales. Maybe I thought it would be like my two favourite episodes of all time (Utopia/ The Sound of Drums/ Last of the Time Lords and The End of Time) which both had the Master. It was quite as good as those two episodes.

But, seriously, Michelle Gomez is awesome. She's totally not the reason I didn't like this finale as much as some of the others. I may even like her more than John Simm. In Doctor Who extra Steven Moffat basically said that Missy isn't dead and we should expect her to come back which is really exciting and I can't wait.

The main reason I didn't like the episode as much as some others was that the timing seemed a bit off. This seemed to be a big problem in the whole series.

I am really sad that Danny is gone for good. I really loved him. This episode did make me cry, and not many have actually done that, so there's that.

As for Clara, I believe she is going to be in the Christmas special. That may, however, be her last episode, which would make me really sad since she is my favourite companion. Some people have been saying that they want the next companion to be male, but I don't. I always like shows better when there are main characters of multiple genders. I just hope the next companion is awesome.

The Doctor was great in this episode. I love how he answered "Am I a good man?" I wonder what his catchphrase is. At this time it seems like it could be "Shut up." One question: Has Doctor Who been hinting that there will be a female Doctor after Peter Capaldi regenerates? It really seems like it. We got a female Master, and Clara keeps impersonating the Doctor (I really love her impersonation in this episode, by the way). I would be both really excited and really worried if there was a female Doctor. I would be excited, because it could be really awesome. But I would also be worried. While I love Missy, her version of the Master flirts with the Doctor much more than John Simm's version did. I'm worried that a female Doctor would be done in such a way that people think of her as a female version of the Doctor instead of just one regeneration of the Doctor. I'm worried that if the Doctor became female she would start falling in love with men. I do believe that the Doctor is bisexual, but he has fallen for women in the past way more than for men. If he became a woman, I have this sinking suspicion that she would suddenly fall in love with a male companion.

Anyway, here is my updated list of favourite episodes in series 8:
  1. Dark Water/ Death in Heaven
  2. Listen
  3. Deep Breath
  4. Flatline
  5. Into the Dalek
  6. Kill the Moon 
  7. In the Forest of the Night
  8. Mummy on the Orient Express
  9. The Caretaker
  10. Robot of Sherwood
  11. Time Heist
The next episode is the Christmas special and it isn't that far away. I'm not the biggest fan of Christmas specials in general, though there are some large exceptions to this rule. I'm still excited, though. I hope that nothing bad happens to Clara. She deserves to be happy.

Friday, November 7, 2014

"Strong" Female Characters

I dislike the term "strong female character" because it makes it sound as if female characters should always be physically strong and stereotypically "male". Some people hear the term "strong female character" and they write a female character who can shoot a gun and punches guys in the face. The term really means a complex and interesting female character.

In my opinion, female characters should be treated in the same way as male characters. They should all be unique. Some can be physically strong, some can be physically weak. Some can be stereotypically "male", some can be stereotypically "female".


Saturday, November 1, 2014

Doctor Who Series 8: Dark Water

SPOILERS!!!!! Read at your own risk. Really. You do not want to get spoiled for this episode.

Wow! This episode was amazing. I can not wait a week for the second part. I was really, really hoping that Missy would be the Master but I thought I wouldn't get lucky. I did!!! I'm so excited about that. I unfortunately saw a spoiler about itbefore I watched the episode. I always see spoilers. 

The idea for the episode is really odd and it actually legitimately scared me. By "the idea" I mean the thing about what happens after a person dies. I wonder what Missy is trying to accomplish with the cybermen.

I was really surprised about Danny dying randomly in the beginning of the episode like that. I guess it was supposed to be surprising. I wonder if he's going to come back.

Then there was Clara and the Doctor. Most people are annoyed at Clara right now, and I am honestly a bit annoyed at her too. I wonder if there was something more going on in the volcano scene, though. The reason I say that is because of one line from the next time trailer: "I'm not Clara Oswald. Clara Oswald has never existed." I have no idea what that means. And then of course there is what Missy said at the end of In the Forest of the Night. "Clara. My Clara. I have chosen well." We had the big Missy/Master reveal in this episode, but there is something else coming. Something that has to do with Clara.

My theories on Clara? I have no idea. Seriously, I have no clue. Is she some kind of robot? A human version of the Master? I have no idea. Somehow, Missy chose Clara. Why and for what I have no idea. I guess we'll just have to wait a week.

The next episode is Death in Heaven. What is going on with Clara? What is going on with Danny? What is going on with Missy? What is going on???

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

How to Get Away with Murder (and Other Updates)

My friend told me to watch the TV show How to Get Away with Murder, and at first I wasn't especially interested because it's not the kind of thing I normally watch. But I've watched the five episodes that are out so far and I really like it. I think the story is told in a really interesting way. So, new TV show.

I finished watching series 1 of Elementary. I really enjoyed it, especially the last episode. I'm going to start series 2 today. Series 3 actually comes out in a few days which I'm really excited about. I won't be seeing that for a while, though.

I read the second book in the Falling Kingdoms series. I liked it even more than the first one. This series is one of my favourite epic fantasies.

I read the Revenge of Seven, the fifth book in the Lorien Legacies. I read all the other books a year ago, so I was worried I wouldn't enjoy this book because I wouldn't remember anything, but I actually had a great time reading it. The fourth book was kind of a disappointment for me, but the fifth book makes up for it.

I finished The Perilous Sea, the second book in the Elemental Trilogy. I was very impressed by it, mostly because of the unique way the plot was set up. I liked it more than the first book.

Right now I am reading The Young Elites by the author of the Legend trilogy. I am really enjoying it, in fact, I like it more than Legend. Next I'm going to be reading The Crown of Midnight and Unravel Me.

I went to two author events this month. One was with Veronica Roth and Tahereh Mafi. It was cool, but the place was really crowded, and some people got there at 4 in the morning. I bought signed copies of Four: A Divergent Collection and Unravel Me. The other was with Marie Lu. I really enjoyed it. I got Legend and The Young Elites signed.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Doctor Who Series 8: In the Forest of the Night

SPOILERS!!!!! Read at your own risk.

I really enjoyed this episode. I always love Doctor Who episodes with children. Maebh was awesome. I wonder if the episode was separate from the finale or if it has something to do with it.A lot of things in this episode weren't really explained.

I really like Danny. He's a great person. I hope nothing bad happens to him. Please don't let anything bad happen to him.

Here's my updated list of favourite episodes in series 8:

  1. Listen
  2. Deep Breath
  3. Flatline
  4. Into the Dalek
  5. Kill the Moon 
  6. In the Forest of the Night
  7. Mummy on the Orient Express
  8. The Caretaker
  9. Robot of Sherwood
  10. Time Heist
Who is Missy? And also, who is Clara? When Clara says "Clara Oswald never existed" is she telling the truth? I hope not. Clara has to exist. She's my favourite companion. Is she going to leave at the end of this series? In the Christmas special? I'm really, really excited to see the finale and I'm also really scared.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Blood of Olympus Review

SPOILERS FOR BLOOD OF OLYMPUS. Duh.
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I finally got the Blood of Olympus from the library. I really enjoyed reading it, but I was honestly a little bit disappointed with the ending. It would have been better, in my opinion, if the book had been in Leo's perspective when he died. There was just all this build-up for the final battle and then we didn't really get to see it. But, anyway, there were some things I really liked about the book. For one thing, it kind of made me ship Annabeth/Piper, which is amazing because I never ship things that aren't canon. I also really enjoyed reading Nico and Reyna's POVs. Reyna has become one of my favourite characters in the series. I really like that she did not end up with a guy at the end of a series. I was worried that would happen.

So, anyway, I'm going to look at the predictions I made before the book came out and see how true they are.

TO STORM OR FIRE THE WORLD MUST FALL.

My prediction: This is my favourite line in the prophecy. The two leading theories about it are that "storm" and "fire" refer to specific demigods or to the Greek and Roman camps. I don't think that this line refers to people. I can't really explain why I think that, I just do. If it were to refer to people, though, I like the idea of Frank being fire instead of Leo.
I like the camps theory better. I think it is probably true. The reason I say this is because it fits directly with what that random God told Jason (I can't remember his name and I'm too lazy to look it up).
Other possible theories: Storm and Fire refer to Gods?
The other part of this line is "the world must fall". What does "the world" mean? I think it means Gaea. That makes most sense. Whatever storm and fire are, one of them will probably be the thing that defeats Gaea in the end. The fact that the prophecy feels the need to mention both storm and fire makes me think that both will try to defeat Gaea and only one will succeed. If storm and fire means Roman and Greek, then perhaps this means that one of the camps will defeat Gaea. Which doesn't really makes sense, but whatever.
Could "fall" have a different meaning than we think? I doubt it. The prophecy says the world must fall. If that means Gaea, that's good news. If not... what could it possibly mean? The prophecies have always come true in the past, but is it possible that the seven demigods might be able to change fate?


Reality: I was totally wrong about what this line refereed to. I thought it didn't refer to people, but it turns out that storm is Jason and fire is Leo. I'm honestly a bit disappointed by that. I was right about "the world" being Gaea. I was also kind of right about both storm and fire trying to defeat Gaea with only one of them succeeding.

AN OATH TO KEEP WITH A FINAL BREATH.

My Prediction: Most important question: Whose oath? Probably Leo's. That's the most obvious one. I can't really see it being anything else. I like the theory that Leo will have to choose between saving Calypso and staying alive. I have only read House of Hades once, so I don't feel like I can make any guesses as to who else this line might refer to. It is possible, of course, that the oath in question has not been made yet.
Question: Does this line mean that the person mentioned will have to die in order to fulfill their oath or does it mean that the person will die because they did not fulfill their oath? It sound more like the first choice.
What does "final breath" mean? Does it mean death? I can't think of anything else it could mean. Maybe, instead of the oath-maker dying to fulfill their oath they must kill to fulfill their oath?


Reality: The oath was indeed Leo's, but I think we all saw that. He died and then came back to life. Basically the obvious explanation for this line. Again. The first great prophecy was so much better.

WHO WILL DIE?

My Prediction: I don't think any of the seven will die. The reason? No one dies in Percy Jackson. Sure, there were a few deaths in The Titan's Curse and The Last Olympian, but none of the very main characters died. This is a children's series.
That said, I do think that there is a possibility one of the seven will die. It is possible for this to happen in a children's book. Who is the most likely candidate? If I were writing the book, I would kill Leo. But I don't think Rick is going to do that. Leo is the fandom's favourite and besides, he deserves a happy ending. Okay, they all do. But if Rick had to kill one of the seven I think he would kill Frank or Hazel. They're not Percy and Annabeth. They haven't been in the series as long. And I can see one of their deaths meaning something. I personally hope Hazel doesn't die. If I had to choose between them I would kill Frank.
So, what about other characters? I don't think Nico will die. I don't think Nico should die. If he dies, I will be pretty mad, and not because he's one of my favourite characters. He isn't. I've never liked him much. But I think he is too important of a character. It's kind of difficult to explain. It would just be... wrong if he died.
I think Reyna is more likely to die than Nico, but I really hope she doesn't. I want her to continue to lead Camp Jupiter.
I don't think Coach Hedge will die, but you never know.
None of the main characters from the first series will die (like Grover, Tyson and Rachel). No one can kill of main characters if they aren't main characters anymore.
I don't think Octavian will die, unfortunately. But you never know. We might get lucky.


Reality: I was right. No one died (permanently)  which I am again unhappy about. The book really would have been better if a major character died. I was wrong about Octavian. He did die. This kind of annoys me also. The big death of the last book and it's my least favourite character. That isn't a very emotional ending.

CLUE PREDICTIONS:

My Prediction for Clue #1: A goddess says "One of you will die. One of you must die." That means one of them will die, right? Yes. I think so. Gods have always been right with their prophecies in this series. So, does this mean one of the seven will die? It certainly sounds like it. Of course their could be several ways around this. As in Hazel's case, dead people can come back. It's possible that one of the seven will die and become a god, or something like that. Or maybe Nike isn't talking specifically about the seven demigods. One of you must die. One of who? It probably refers to the seven, though. That makes most sense.
"You're magic will help you cheat in this contest but you can't cheat destiny." What contest? Does this just refer to the war with Gaea and the giants or is there some actual contest that Hazel is cheating in?



Reality: This did not, in fact refer to all seven demigods, it referred to the four that were present in this scene (Leo, Frank, Hazel and Percy). Leo did, in fact, die, but he came back to life. So I was kind of right. I was also right to ask whether there was an actual contest Hazel cheated in. There was.

My Prediction for Clue #2: No, Jason. Not again. Is this a dream? I mean, if it isn't, that means Jason dies, right? I find interesting that Juno makes an appearance. Is she going to help them kill the giants? I don't really have any good theories about this clue.



Reality: It was a dream.

My Prediction for Clue #3: What is Leo trying to do? Maybe it has something to do with Calypso.

Reality: I think this line was referring to Leo turning the ship into a dragon. It did have something to do with Calypso. Kind of.

My Prediction for Clue #4: Another Percy vs. Polybotes battle? Awesome. This clue doesn't really tell me anything interesting.

Reality: Um.

My Prediction for Clue #5: "You must bridge the gap between Roman and Greek, my child. Neither storm nor fire can succeed without you." This really does make it sound like "storm" and "fire" mean the Greek and Roman camps.
It sounds like Piper will play a major role in the last book. Aphrodite told her what she had to stop Gaea. That means that Piper will be the one to stop Gaea, unless, of course, she fails. But I don't think she will. It sounds like Piper will have to make some sort of sacrifice to defeat Gaea. Jason's life, maybe? Piper's own life? I'm very excited about this clue. Maybe after Blood of Olympus the fandom will stop saying Piper is useless.



Reality: Aphrodite just meant that Piper would talk Gaea back asleep. Technically she had to sacrifice Leo, but that wasn't really her choice.

My Prediction for Clue #6: I have no idea what this clue refers to. I'm not even going to make any guesses. One questions: What ghosts is Reyna talking about?

Reality: Well. I know the answer now. Reyna is awesome.

My Prediction for Clue #7: Why would Nico have to leave both camps? "If you let your anger rule you." Nico's fatal flaw is holding grudges. Will this have something to do with Blood of Olympus?

Reality: This quote is really not very significant.

My Prediction for Clue #8: This clue doesn't really tell us much. Except that the giants are healing faster. Hmm...

Reality: This quote is from the very end of the book. The giants were healing faster because Gaea was waking.

My Prediction for Clue #9: I can't really get anything new from this clue. Only one question. Go down where? Where are they?

Reality:The Piper and Annabeth battle is my favourite in Blood of Olympus.


So, anyway, Blood of Olympus was definitely not my favourite in the series. House of Hades is. I am excited to read The Sword of Summer (first book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series) and also the third Kane Chronicles/Percy Jackson crossover.