Vendetta #366 - Grimm Tales
POP OF THE NIGHT: (What was the moment, in segment, that you enjoyed the most and why?)
BURNING QUESTIONS: (What questions does the show have you asking after reading?)
HAVE YOUR SAY: (How did you like your characters portrayal and what are your thoughts on your current storyline? What, if any, improvements could be made?)
POTN: First show I'm reading as on the roster having a KIWF finish I don't imagine those are too common so it's kinda cool, plus most of the matches had at least one memorable spot. Segment wise I really liked the moody start of the opener it drew me in or the tensions of the Besties.
Burning Questions: Obvious one what happened after the tape stopped? that was a good hook
HYS: I really can't speak to anything like character wise or storyline wise for obvious reasons. So instead I will point out something that was an adjustment on first read doesn't need fixing but something to chew on. The human eye is generally drawn to bolded statements or things that stand out. So commentators making comments during segments which are bolded could lead to being distracting. During matches it's fine as you're trying to sum up things going on in matches and tell in ring stories. It's not like a make or break thing just something I noticed.
POP OF THE NIGHT: Good Intentions. It was cool to see Morningstar playing the mind games and making the case that he’s manipulating Graves. Nice touch having them not actually fight in the match (old school booking for a big match, good stuff). I think it’s important at this stage for Graves to show some weaknesses or he’ll feel stale being a world crusher week after week. Morningstar being a peer to him and able to take his shots (and, more importantly, Graves registering his fear of that fact) is so necessary. Great segments.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
- What’s next for Morningstar/Graves?
- What is Malakai’s “plan” and what are the implications for OSW broadly?
- How are Foley and DOOM going to work together going forward? What is DOOM’s “way”?
- What is the big secret that Zeus and Muerte are keeping? I don’t know what’s being referenced with Drewitt, but what impact does him possibly being back have?
HAVE YOUR SAY: I don’t have any storyline to comment on for Roland, but thanks to Taufik for the match.
POP OF THE NIGHT:
Visiting Hours IV. The last thing I expected was the seemingly incapacitated Attano to be the only one standing, and given what George wanted to do to him, I'm glad it worked out that way. Somehow, even though this was all Zeus's plan and he's behind it all, I still am of the mind of 'FUCK George!' Harold is back and in a big way.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
- Is Graves schizophrenic, or is Nick the 'God' who has been speaking him to all along without Ezekiel realising?
- Will the hitman give Candy any info?
- Why did Destructo Boy go apeshit at Felix? I know they're after DOOM, but that seemed... Excessive. Maybe it;s just for show as part of a bigger plan?
- What is Malakai's goal with the circus, and is it even the same as Gravedigger's?
- I don't know enough about the door, but why is Zeus so sure nobody has re-entered Arcadia? Now the seal has been broken, maybe the children of the titans are no longer all required? Or is there even another way in that the watchers use, possibly being a group from the outside?
- Is Jackson still alive? All I can think is maybe the guns were loaded with blanks to send a message to Tombstone, and he pulled that desperate gambit not realising.
HAVE YOUR SAY:
I'm very glad that the Stalker has made another appearance - I actually planned on saying here that it felt that plot had fallen by the wayside entirely whilst Redgrave and Aurora locked horns, but I'm very happy it hasn't all been forgotten about. After all, one incident doth not a stalker make. Also curious as to what Aurora's talking about - looks like she might be about to go on her 'final girl' arc and fight back! I was already invested with Redgrave v Aurora, but now with the Stalker back in play, this is even more the case. Part of me even wonders if the stalker is Jasper's true target!
POP OF THE NIGHT:
Old Nick Morningstar winning his first OSW Championship made me pop this week. I was pulling for Old Nick or Ezekiel Graves as I love both of these characters and can see them having big and bright futures in OSW.
Segment wise, El Mariachi Muerte and Zeus coming together in The Grim Truth shone some light on Gemini and the Drewitt situation of last week. I'm so very intrigued to know where this goes.
A special shout out to The Firing Squad as well. Tombstone is such a badass monster and Jackson Cade is seemingly getting further and further away from being mister goody two shoes. I can't wait to see their match at Ring King. It'll be an epic.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
Everything EMM, Zeus and Paragon. I have so many questions about Drewitt and what we might find out. There's so many things at play in the overall arc with Zeus and Grizzly as well that there's a big bang moment coming and I'm here for it.
HAVE YOUR SAY:
Why do I feel like there's a big tag match on the horizon? Between The Besties/Burning Justice and Six Feet Under/The Circus, there's a lot of potential for a very epic match at Ring King... or perhaps I'm reading too much into things?
Otherwise, I enjoy the dynamic between Six Feet Under that continues to grow. It seems that Malakai is trying his best to educate Gravedigger in the philosophy of thinking as opposed to straight up violence. I like that. He's unhinged and Midnight seems to be the perfect foil to reign him in.
POP OF THE NIGHT: Very damn tough here but I'm going with Firing Squad here. Now given that people have attempted to murder Tombstone in the past and it didn't stick, Jackson didn't exactly murk someone here but the fact that he was willing to use some very excessive police force and utilize his men to shoot the ever loving hell out of Tombstone, well let's just say the pressure and power may well be changing Cade here as was warned many a month ago. Brilliant stuff here and very much looking forward to the follow up and whatever encounter they have at Ring King.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
- Will the Cade family meet a grizzly fate at Ring King or will George finally just tell Attano the truth?
- With the mysterious stalker emerging and Aurora starting to play into Redgrave's little game, will the two antagonists of her story collide or is there another twist here?
- What exactly is Midnight planning to do with Solus, Klaus and the rest of the Circus?
- Is Zeus right and Drewitt's voice was just Paragon messing with him or is there something else afoot?
HAVE YOUR SAY:
Gino Carelli: Very intrigued so far, love the idea of the failed hit attempt on Candy but I'm definetly intrigued to see if this'll all be from her perspective for the moment or we see a Gino cut in before Ring King. Either way, very hyped to see this continue.
Destructo Boy: Now here is where I'm a little iffy. So I'm down for more Besties/Burning Justice, the idea of them going to someone who might have answers to more seedier parts of Arcadia and whatnot fits. Feels like it should've really been Destructo Boy going after DOOM for answers and left TBM to organically come back into it after a bit of a break but eh, okay I'm willing to see how this goes cause there's still potential here. And then came this week.
So Felix also being involved doesn't make much sense really at the moment, poor guy's gone through the wringer and two heroes should realistically not want to hurt the man any further. Having a misunderstanding bit where the two try and comfort Felix, see if they can help him and DOOM thinks they're doing wrong by his friend, okay. DOOM has no reason to trust either of them at the moment and that makes sense.
But Destructo Boy, whose middle name is literally Hope, who has never been anything but the goodest of boys apart from when he was corrupted by the pool originally, should A never be the aggressor unless there's a good reason for it and B never attack an innocent hurting man. Yet he immediately comes in, raging at Felix of all people and then starts up a massive brawl like a petulant kid. Black Destructo Boy might have done so but he's normally portrayed as the good, well meaning hero who wants to help people. Now if DOOM was talking to Maxwell, I could see James being a bit apprehensive given Stubbins did try to murder TBM not too long ago but not Felix.
It felt really off, didn't feel like Destructo Boy at all and just felt like a contrived setup to get Besties/Burning Justice again. Again, all for that and I hate being a downer on a story but this felt massively forced this week and definetly not in a good way.
POP OF THE NIGHT:
Gotta be either Good Intentions I, because Old Nick taking those shots on the chin was awesome. Or Jawbreaker, Candy Kane knocking the goon out with brass knuckles made me pop and I'm a fan of the noir feel.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
- What exactly is DOOMs way of doing things?
- What is Midnights plan?
- Where will Old Nick and Graves end up?
- How did Tombstone escape the firing squad?
HAVE YOUR SAY:
What can I say? Old Nick was booked incredibly strong this week and I'm honored to be among the ranks of people who have held OSW gold. It's been a hell of a ride so far, can't wait to see what's coming next. I have ideas of where it might go, but anything is possible and that's exciting.
POP OF THE NIGHT:
Firing Squad for me this week. Tombstone is Tombstone and on the surface, Jackson Cade doing what he did is not only well reasoned, but at the same time ridiculous.
Until he quantifies it by saying:
“This won’t kill you,” Cade growls, “but it’ll hurt you a whole fucking lot.”
That gave me chills. It's clear that Jackson Cade is morphing as a character into something a lot more sinister and I wonder just how far away from snapping he might truly be. If he isn't careful, he'll become what he once tried to hunt in Jasper Redgrave and I think it's worth remembering that their story is probably far from finished too.
I like this side of Cade. Trying to kill Tombstone is in of itself a ridiculous idea, so to just want to hurt him and do what it takes to carry that out, unravels a new part of sadism in the character.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
- How pissed will Tombstone be?
- What's going on with CJ Thorpe and Narcissa? It was a little... understated, shall we say?
- Is Paragon messing with Drewitt/EMM/Gemini as a whole? That doesn't seem like his style and I'd know, I'm Paragon. 😀
HAVE YOUR SAY:
You know, as the weeks go by, I find myself suffering from a bit of a problem. I've been so deeply spoiled by Tombstone vs. Felix Foley that not much that happens regularly is of comparison.
This week, however, I enjoyed Felix' behavior and what I think is a reaction to what he's seeing, I just wish it'd been outright stated so that we have something more to go on. I did speak with Dean earlier this week about how I want to see more Muppets, especially since a show is being built around it and I'm super excited for the concept. It doesn't feel like anywhere near enough time has been spent on what he's seeing and clarifying that for the viewer. He said that's what Foley was suffering from this week, which made sense, though I didn't originally see it in the segment writing. If I didn't realize that, could someone who doesn't know about the Muppets story, also realize it? I'm unsure they would.
I read what Zac said about Destructo Boy, which makes sense. I also read what Gravedigger said about the tag feud and I'm not sure as yet that either storyline is coming together. They look to be individual at this stage, but I'm keen to know what's next for both. I think we can all agree that The Besties vs. Burning Justice without some kind of additional element has ran its course as a storyline now. Perhaps the addition of Six Feet Under and the Circus to the story might change and refresh the dynamic for Ring King? They've been entangled for well over a year, if not longer, from enemies to friends and back to enemies. This will hopefully be our last hooray and put a pin in the legacy of this story.
POP OF THE NIGHT:
I really want to say the segments with Old Nick and Graves they were so, so smooth, and the transition from last week was epic. Buuuut, I don’t want to be selfish since there were so many great segments!
Firing Squad
It legit felt like a scene out of a movie. The suspense kept building and building, only to cut off at the end, leaving so many unanswered questions. It flowed so smoothly, and the suspense 100% adds to the feud. I’m fully invested and can’t wait to see what happens next.
BURNING QUESTIONS:
• What plan does Malakai have in store?
• What was fired at Tombstone? Cade said, “This won’t kill you,” so I don’t think it was bullets, but what was it?
• Has Aurora finally broken and will do anything at this point?
HAVE YOUR SAY:
First off, I want to say to the handlers of The Burned Man, Klaus Way, and Nick Morningstar, you all killed it in our fatal four-way. You all are amazing writers, and it was a privilege to be part of such an incredible match. Congrats again to Old Nick on your win and becoming a champ. I hope I gave you guys a competitive match with my work.
I’m sooo in love with what’s happening between Graves and Old Nick. The way the staff is building this storyline is simply amazing, and I want to thank you for everything you’re doing. I’m fully invested in this feud, and having not one but two segments in a badass show like Grimm Tales is a huge honour. As someone who was a fan of the fed and now gets to add their character to the fed’s history it’s indescribable.
I hope I don’t come off as an ass-kisser or anything, but I can’t help but praise everything that’s gone down for my character since I joined. Super pumped to see what happens moving forward.
POP OF THE NIGHT: (What was the moment, in segment, that you enjoyed the most and why?)
There's a series of two really banging segments that hit back to back that had some really awesome high-octane moments. I think the placement of these two segments was brilliant - The Road to Hell II and Visiting Hours IV.
The moment that Graves slit the beggar's throat, that was a shock that really cemented the character we all thought he was. This is a pivotal moment in the development of Graves to be the kind of religious guy that will just flat out kill in cold blood for his own believes and self-preservation. Just a great moment. Them, we open in Visiting Hours to Calypso, Thorpe and Balenciaga unconscious, Attano choking out George Cade. Freaking amazing stuff.
The hits just kept on coming.
BURNING QUESTIONS: (What questions does the show have you asking after reading?)
- What is Aurora's plan here. I have a feeling there's more to what's going on here than she's letting on. Just how is she going to twist this around on Jasper now?
- I'm loving the Morningstar vs Graves storyline. These two just seem so perfectly suited for each other. Is this our new Lux vs Solomon Rhodes?
HAVE YOUR SAY: (How did you like your characters portrayal and what are your thoughts on your current storyline? What, if any, improvements could be made?)
EMM