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Reviews WesternAnimation / Trollhunters

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Matitya Since: Dec, 2020
04/01/2021 15:17:03 •••

Good show, bland Villains

I’ve not read the book upon which this show is based. That said, I like Trollhunters. I like the hero, James Lake Junior who becomes an unlikely Chosen One to fight for trolls and humans alike but endures Fantastic Racism for being human.

I like Jim’s wonderfully entertaining sidekick Toby.

I like the bully Steve Palchuk and am honestly impressed that they had him go from a generic jerk jock to one of the allies of the protagonist. And I like Pepperjack.

I do like Jim’s love interest Claire Nuñez but at times I find the show depicts her as almost too perfect to be a likeable character. Though this is salvaged by the show when Claire is possessed by Morgana, knows about the fact, and despite Not Enriqués objections keeps it a secret leading to her needing to be rescued by Jim.

I like Jim’s mentor Blinky and Blinky’s sidekick Aargh.

I like how Merlin is a jerk but he has a point and despite them questioning his motivations he really is trying to fight for the survival of humanity. And I like Dr Lake.

I don’t love the villains of this show. Bular is introduced as a homicidal troll whose goal is to free his father Gunmar from the Darklands and “doesn’t know how to negotiate”. And he managed to provide drama to the first season but he was more a Monster of the Week than a compelling villain.

Strickler, on the other hand, was a compelling villain. He masterminded the plot to build Killahead Bridge, infiltrated Arcadia and earned Jim’s trust. And he enslaved Angor Rot to unleash him against Jim and prevented Jim from killing him by enchanting Dr. Lake so that anything Jim did to him would happen to her.

Strickler is a Magnificent Bastard with a prior connection to Jim and he has an understandable motivation to combat fantastic racism and he has qualms about threatening Jim’s mother Dr. Lake. But then he undergoes a Heel–Face Turn after which he is easily forgiven in comparison to say Prince Zuko from Avatar.

Angor Rot has a sympathetic backstory involving being tricked by Morgana and a legitimate grievance against Jim. While being a serious threat. And that makes for a good villain. But then he has a Heel–Face Turn.

Gunmar is a Pure Evil character who is little more than a stock villain. He poses a serious threat which is a good quality for him but I think it’s not unreasonable to want one of the other villains to be more than just a more powerful monster than the last one.

Morgana somewhat alleviates that inasmuch as when she appears she’s just a Dark Lord but then it turns out she was an apprentice of Merlin but he betrayed her and cut off her arm so he could use it to create the Amulet he needed to create the Trollhunters to fight Gunmar. And this betrayal led to her seeking to exact revenge by destroying those for whom Merlin fights leading to her efforts to wipe out all humanity with the Eternal Night. And she doesn’t get a Heel–Face Turn. (I’m ignoring spin-offs). But the fact that her backstory isn’t revealed until the final episode weakens it somewhat.

So I don’t like how (with one exception) every single villain who is given a backstory ends up having a Heel–Face Turn. Still all in all it’s a good show.

megagutsman (Seven Years' War)
03/30/2021 00:00:00

(Replying to you here because I haven't seen yet the other two parts of Tales of Arcadia but I will be making reference to the reviews you made about them)

You know, I do agree with most of this review, save for one point:

"So I don’t like how (with one exception) every single villain who is given a backstory ends up having a Heel–Face Turn."

Apparently you don't like Heel-Face Turns. And am not saying it sorely because of this review, your other two reviews on the Tales of Arcadia also shows this. Might I ask why? After all, if a villain has a compelling enough reason, wouldn't it be better for them to admit their mistakes and turn a new leaf? Why should villains be villains till the end?.

Matitya Since: Dec, 2020
03/31/2021 00:00:00

I actually don’t dislike Heel Face Turns at all. I love Prince Zuko from Avatar including his Heel Face Turn. I like Colonel Cutter’s Heel Face Turn in Antz, Silver’s in TreasurePlanet, Sam’s in Green Eggs and Ham and even Harry’s in SpiderMan3.

My problem isn’t that Angor Rot has a Heel Face Turn in Trollhunters, I had actually very much wanted that to happen when I saw the show. My problem was that every single one of the compelling villains ends up with a Heel Face Turn which makes it seem to me like this show is either unable or unwilling to have a compelling villain as the main antagonist. And that’s something I find a tad annoying.

megagutsman (Seven Years' War)
03/31/2021 00:00:00

Oh, okay. Suppose we\'ll have to agree to disagree then. After all, I do like when a villain has the opportunity to turn a new leaf and have no problem with a show or anime finishing with all their enemies turning for the better, meanwhile it is done well. Suppose that that comes from my own naivete were I would like something like this happening in our world.

Matitya Since: Dec, 2020
04/01/2021 00:00:00

All right. It by no means ruins the show, which remains quite good.

Theokal3 Since: Jan, 2012
04/01/2021 00:00:00

I honestly do not mind villains doing a Heel–Face Turn, especially since I like the idea that almost everyone can be redeemed if done right. But I do agree to some extend that it\'s a bit sad that all the genuinely evil villains are bland and not particularly complex.


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