Having the daughter of a soldier, or Captain of the Guard, learn how to fight (either with the help of her father or by "just watching") is a very well used trope. It's a pretty common way to insert an Action Girl into a medieval setting.
This is the same Captain of the Guard whom went out of his way to train a horse into the ultimate soldier. I wouldn't put it past him to train his daughter as well, either as a father/daughter past time or for her to be a backup bodyguard when the princess was inevitably found.
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."Just saw "Rapunzel's Enemy" I'm even more baffled now.
This is the episode where an old man hates Rapunzel for no apparent reason. And of course everyone loves him. Rap becomes obsessed about finding out why. Meanwhile there's a subplot with a "catch the gopher" contest that of course goes wrong.
Basically, he was mad because Rap had changed the traditional contest seal, and other things had changed since her return. She befriends him in disguise and even saves his life but in the end, he still hates her (or pretends to, anyway.) The moral apparently was... not everyone has to like you? That'd be OK, except his motives were pathetic and he was not even really mad in the end.
Also, Cassandra continues to tick me off. She continues to antagonize Flynn subtly or directly, and when the gopher goes wild because because he fed it the wrong food he points out correctly that she was to blame too for letting him take care of it (and she did not admit it.)
edited 31st Mar '17 7:19:20 PM by Sijo
Sounds like one of the script writers was watching a little too much Caddyshack. ;P
Come on! Let's bless them all until we get fershnickered!While I agree that the show's portrayal of Rap as cluelessness makes sense given her upbringing, it just doesn't fit with what we have seen of her character in the movies. There she was shown to be curious and ignorant, but also learned quickly, and was strong-willed, not reckless. I mean seriously? She can't tell "Boo" is offensive from the reaction of those around her?
I know I'm overthinking a kid's comedy. But that's the way I am.
@Cass knowing how to fight: go to Rejected Princesses or Badass of the week and check out "La Maupin" for what it could mean to be the daughter of a swordsman in the Renaissance era.
Just saw the pilot movie, it looks nice, I will look at what is next. Rapunzel is still one of the most lovable and endearing heroines ever.
I'm caught up on the series now. :) I have to say I liked the first episode more than the second.
Come on! Let's bless them all until we get fershnickered!It sure did. Tonight's episode was even better than the previous one. :) ![]()
I actually feared I would hate this episode... but I actually liked it. A lot!
Well, the first part with Flynn failing at everything he tried was so forced it made me groan. But then his becoming a guard because of his familiarity with criminals made perfect sense. And I was surprised that Cassandra effectively sided with him, for once, and against her father to boot.
In fact I ended up actually enjoying their banter as well, especially "Can we get to the but in that sentence already?"
I was glad they found him a job in the end, even if not as a guard.
OTOH, the Rapunzel sideplot was just- there. It was OK, it served to set up the climax but other than that, eh. Oh well it was Flynn's episode anyway.
edited 7th Apr '17 8:29:25 PM by Sijo
I liked the punchline of Eugene actually being a gifted cobbler, but losing the job anyway because he once robbed the shopkeeper.
I also liked the scene of Eugene gushing about becoming a guard, as a horrible idea, and Rapunzel gushing about putting everything she's good at in the portrait all at once, as an even worse idea, and the two of them just being so adorably made for each other.
It's kind of amusing that Eugene's role in the kingdom is essentially the same as Aladdin's was, except by the ends the guards actively encourage Eugene to teach them, whereas Al and Razoul never really got past "loyal to each other to an extent."
edited 7th Apr '17 11:00:56 PM by KnownUnknown
I do wish they'd get back to the storyline (what's up with the thorns?), but I do like Eugene and Casandra as Vitriolic Best Buds.
"Battle of the Brave" confirms to me that they just aren't taking this series as seriously as they did the movie. Its more a parody with occasional action moments than a romance/adventure. Everybody has been reduced to a stereotype- Rapunzel is a Cloudcuckoolander, Flynn is a comedy relief sidekick and Cassandra is a Knight in Sour Armor.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, the show is fun enough. But when even a series like Disney's own Sofia The First feels better written, you have to scratch your head.The quality of the writing has been wavering between good (last episode) to bad (Rapunzel's Enemy.) Disney needs to check their plots better... assuming they care instead of going "Eh, its just for kids."
edited 15th Apr '17 11:36:18 AM by Sijo
Even Aladdin, which is imo the best Disney tie-in-to show and pretty high on the list of best Disney animated series period, had clunkier episodes where the characters were more caricatures and the plot was less thought out. The Disney Afternoon in general thrived on sandwiching blander episodes with better ones (and vice versa).
So especially given that the last episode was, as you say, pretty good, it's just too early to judge.
Maybe in my case its because I liked the movie better. It was a nice Fantasy Romance (with some humor and action). The show, despite of some action here and there, is mostly an uninspired comedy. So far. I grant that there is room for growth- just that I haven't seen it yet (except in the episode with Flynn earning a job. And he was back to being a buffoon the next one.)
Saw the most recent episode. It kind of hurts the episode's idea that Eugene and Cassandra need to learn to work together when most of the episode's problems are legitimately Eugene's fault.
In any case, nice to see the Stabbingtons. I thought they were dead. They were arrested for the same crimes Eugene was, after all, and they didn't even wait a day before trying to execute him.
edited 21st Apr '17 12:01:22 PM by KnownUnknown

Then its even odder that her father taught her to fight (those were hardly feminist times.) Sure, maybe she learned by *just watching*, maybe practicing secretly... still odd. And asking Rapunzel to lie for her is still questionable.
All I'm saying is, there's something wrong here. But maybe that's the point, and we'll find out more later.