JustaUsername
Since: Jul, 2009
08/01/2021 00:00:00
I don\'t think honesty would be enough to save the series. Teela would need to be re-written to be a more likeable character as well considering that she alone makes it hard to watch, even without the misleading trailers.
Some people say I'm lazy. It's hard to disagree.
SkullWriter
Since: Mar, 2021
08/01/2021 00:00:00
Yeah, I agree, Teela was unbearable, she needs to receive some \'what the hell hero\' moments and some reality checks (frankly this could lead to an interesting villain origin). I mostly meant that it wouldn\'t have raised such a big ruckus and outrage if the producers went from the getgo with \'Hey this will be a side-series about Teela as a protag\'. But again, perhaps the big ruckus was intentional, but I\'m not qualified to analyze it.
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(Spoilers galore) Wasted potential, though an interesting Analysis on "Death of the Author"
I'm one of the 'old guard' that watched the original He-Man cartoon on TV, and I have no problems with He-Man dying or focusing side-characters. In fact, this is far from the first time I saw He-Man die (he bit the dust some times in comics)
On its own, the series is somewhat on the mediocre (As in 'medium') to just 'bad', nothing to tear yourself apart or break furniture over. Other reviews explained better that what really sinks this series is how Teela went from the 'by the book' rigorous soldier that was a good person and good friend to Adam, wanting him to be better (not knowing he was He-Man) to an insufferable egomaniac: She couldn't care less if the whole universe is slowly dying an agonizing death, or how Adam had to live with a secret his whole life till he sacrificed himself to save her, to her, they 'lied to her'. And since she is the protagonist of the show, we have to endure her tantrums.
There were good ideas that were sadly tossed aside, such as 'How would the kingdom react to the revelation of Adam being He-Man?'. Or, going with the 'no more power route', exploring his life as Adam, give him things to do that show he is smart and kind-hearted without He-Man. The twin swords were also wasted: They could have been better used instead of 'seek this mcguffin piece'.
The big problem, and the interesting part comes from the creator of this new series: Kevin Smith. For those who had the luck of missing all the drama, he promised viewers that it would be a series about He-man, making a trailer focusing on him (a pretty good one I might add) and, when caught lying, denied the fact, threw a tantrum, and blamed the viewers, telling them to 'grow the (expletive deleted) up' when reactions were bad. Not only that, he was also caught gloating how he 'killed he-man twice', and how he 'made Orko cool before killing him'. Producers were also caught saying that 'there are too many blondes' when deciding to turn King Greyskull black. I'm not bothered at the change, but they could have handled it a lot better. For example, announcing this change was to 'show that anyone, regardless of their origins, can wield the power, if their hearts are pure' as a friend said.
After hearing that, I watched the series again, and with this point of view in mind the episodes interestingly unfolded in new ways. It felt as if everything was made out of genuine spite, with characters dying not because of valiant and selfless actions, but because the author hated them, wanting shock value. And Teela being so self-absorbed because doing otherwise would mean acknowledging good deeds from He-Man.
Overall, the series would be better received if the creators were honest from the getgo and knew how to deal with their fanbase. It's like ordering a pizza, being given an hamburger, and getting yelled at because you didn't like it. Frankly, this kind of behavior needs to stop.