Always Winter, Never Christmas

“It's always nice to look out the window
“And see those very first few flakes of snow.”

My family and I moved from Utah to Texas earlier this year, so for the first time (unless another winter freeze hits) we’re going to have a warm Christmas. Growing up in Canada and then living in Utah, I’m used to winters akin to the White Witch’s reign in Narnia. 

“And later on we can go outside
“And create the impression of an angel that fell from the sky.”

I grew up building snow forts and making snowmen. We’d have snowball fights and go sledding down a nearby hill. As a kid, the year’s first snow was just as fun as Calvin describes it (minus the demon snowmen). But as the winter rolls on, especially as an adult, winter just seems to persist and it feels like it’ll never get warmer. Even though we know spring will come, it can still be depressing at times. 

“When February rolls around I'll roll my eyes
“Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies
“And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh
“For the green grass waiting on the other side.”

Life has emotional winters, as I’m sure we’ve all experienced. I mean COVID sometimes seems like a winter that’ll never end… and it’s even stopped holidays to some extent. Always winter, but never Christmas.

“It's always winter but never Christmas
“It seems this curse just can't be lifted
“Yet in the midst of all this ice and snow
“Our hearts stay warm cause they are filled with hope.”

If we look back into the White Witch’s endless winter in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the winter didn’t end all of a sudden. And the end didn’t begin until the Pevensie children began bringing hope back to Narnia. And the first thing to happen (even before the springtime thaw began) was Christmas. Father Christmas brought the children their presents, only adding to the hope of Narnia’s freedom. 

“And everything it changed overnight
“This dying world you brought it back to life
“And deep inside I felt things
“Shifting everything was melting
“Away oh away
“And you gave us the most beautiful of days.”

Christmas brings us hope, even if you don’t celebrate it for religious reasons, as we look towards a better world, in the midst of the darkest time of the year (at least in the northern hemisphere). And it only gets brighter and brighter after Christmas. “Halfway out of the dark,” the Eleventh Doctor said (Doctor Who: “A Christmas Carol”). 

“Cause when it's always winter but never Christmas
“Sometimes it feels like you're not with us
“But deep inside our hearts we know
“That you are here and we will not lose hope.”

It’s hard to find hope sometimes. Obviously on this blog we testify of the reality of Jesus Christ, especially at this time of year. But even after Christmas is over and we look forward to 2022, we will still look to Him. At New Years we often talk about change and new beginnings. While I’ve made my thoughts about New Year’s resolutions known before, I believe in change, because I believe in a Savior. He is where our hope comes from. 

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

(Lyrics by Relient K “In Like a Lion”)

Learn to love yourself, Spiderman.

I’ll let you know when the major spoilers start. Very minor spoilers for now.

Was Spiderman: No Way Home the best superhero movie of the last decade? Well, probably. I loved it, not gonna lie. I’m a pretty big geek, though. 

(Quick recap of the ending of the last movie) The movie starts off right as the last one ended. Mysterio has revealed Spiderman’s identity to the world, which was one of Peter’s top priorities. He was scared it would endanger the people he loves or change his life, and it does alter things in ways he had hoped to avoid. He quickly becomes a worldwide celebrity instead of just a 17-year-old kid. Mysterio really messed up his life and blamed all the evils he performed (giant holographic drone monsters) on Spiderman at the end of Far from Home, which adds to the chaos. Who hasn’t wanted to change their life in some way and undo things that went wrong, especially when it hurt others? Of course Peter wants to make that right, and of course he doesn't understand the consequences that could cause.

On a different note: Multiverses can be fun. I loved when the CW series in the Arrowverse did a multiverse series and we got to see everything from Smallville to two versions of Brandon Routh standing next to each other as different characters. We even got a connection to Ezra Miller’s Flash from the Justice League movies! Those of us that have enjoyed and been along for the ride loved every second of it as all of our dreams came true right in front of our eyes. 

The introduction of the Multiverse to the MCU has been a long time coming and one that was introduced in such a fun way. The Disney+ series Loki really started that intro for us, but we haven’t seen much come of it until now. 

*SPOILERS BELOW* *PROCEED WITH CAUTION*

Oh. my. Goodness. This movie was so much fun. It was a happy minefield of Easter Eggs. 

Starting things off strong was Matt Murdock from Netflix’s Daredevil. This was a *huge* surprise to everyone, as most had assumed the Netflix Marvel shows would never really connect to the MCU. It was also perfectly timed with the reveal of the Kingpin from the same series showing up in Hawkeye only a few days before! Apparently all of those connect as well. So does Venom now. 

Hopefully you got those post-credit scenes as well, where Dr. Strange and Wand are talking about undoing this mess, or maybe it’s about stopping an evil Dr. Strange from the What if… series (which, I stand by my opinion, was mediocre at best.) It was a surprising tie-in though. 

Let’s get to the real heart of this movie, though.

Peter having to watch the people he loves get hurt and learning from other Peters who have had to do the same thing. Really, they all seemed to imply that the deaths of Uncle Ben or Aunt May right after they gave a “With great power comes great responsibility” speech was what forged Spiderman into Spiderman. It was an anchor on his path, despite it torturing him and making him angry enough to let someone die, or to kill someone. The two older Peters admitted it would hurt and haunt them the rest of their lives. 

It was also about empathy and finding our tribe. Imagine if you got to meet a different version of yourself from a different universe. What would you say if that version of you talked down to him/herself? Let it slide? Could you see the effort that person was making to be better and the successes that person has had? If so, why can’t we see that in ourselves? The other versions of us certainly could. A friend once introduced me to a wonderful song called Be Kind to Yourself by Andrew Peterson. In it he asks a really good question:

How does it end, when the war that you’re in is just you against you against you? 

You’ve gotta learn to love, learn to love, learn to love your enemy, too.

Two other Spidermen who have experienced that loss are able to help and support Peter in a way they only could, partly because they are a version of him. He was able to mourn with MJ and Ned, who could see his pain and knew him. It’s easy to tell ourselves that others don’t *really* understand though, but that’s really just a cop out as we wallow in misery. People do understand, and some of them can be safe to talk to if we’re willing to open up and be real. What if we did that and found people who could understand us in a way others didn’t fully grasp? I’ve experienced that and have tried to bring that empathy back into my life because, like in this movie, those experiences aren’t reality by themselves. We have to go back into the real world, but we have the ability to make our world a better place, full of love, compassion, and understanding. 

It still breaks my heart that Peter couldn’t let his friends share his pain, though. That wasn’t really his choice to make, especially when they had told him otherwise and to undo the spell. Do I get why he made the choice to leave them behind in the coffee shop? I do, but I still wish he had pushed through that. Having people who see us as we really are, for all that we are, is a gift. Having those people love us when we’re afraid they won’t, is a life changing gift. Check out this spot-on quote from The Moment of Lift. 

Love can transform us, when we're known and loved. The next paragraph as a wise woman told me, is where the rubber meets the road. "Trying to help others while keeping them at a safe distance cannot truly help them or heal us." Poor (literally now) Peter Parker gave that option up for his friends. 

He's going for a new beginning, I think, but he's made it a lonely one. We can do better than that. 

-Garrett

3 Interesting Origins to Dungeons and Dragons Monsters

 Most monsters from the world's greatest roleplay game are creatures from mythologies from around the world, but not all mythologies are born alike. Over the centuries some have lasted longer than others, and some monsters were made up just for the game. So here's three interesting origins to some Dungeons and Dragons monsters. 

3: Tiamat

The legendary Queen of Dragons has ruled far longer than when Gygax first put pen to paper. Tiamat started life as a Babylonian goddess of the sea and water, and took the form of a massive sea serpent. In the myth she went to war with her king lover and created an army of monsters, several of them resembling modern interpretations of dragons, and went to war. After she was slain in the battle however, her body was used to form the land and sky, her eyes were used as the source of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and her blood helped spawn mankind. I like to think of this origin as how she would up in the Nine Hells, her current prison in Dungeons and Dragons lore. 

2: Tarrasque 

When I was but a baby player the Tarrasque was just a myth told around game store tables, a legendary monster designed to kill naughty players who didn't listen to their DM's. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the D&D kaiju was real (well, a real myth) and wasn't just made up for the game! Historically, the Tarrasque comes from southern France where it was a terrifying dragonlike being with a protective shell keeping it safe from damage, much like its spell reflecting shell would do in-game. The local villagers sought the help of a local saint to defeat the monster, who did by using holy water and a cross. The Tarrasque and the saint are celebrated today in some parts of Europe, where large models of the monster are paraded through the streets and I presume the villagers throw dice at it. 

1: Displacer Beast

Not originating in myth, the Displacer Beast started life in the science fiction novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle, where a similar beast pretended to be unintelligent until it infiltrated the ship and started killing crewmembers, which sounds like something a cat would do. 

Non Dungeons and Dragons side note: The author, A.E. van Vought sued 20th Century Fox because he thought that another alien from the same book bore a striking resemblance to the Xenomorphs from the movie Alien. The lawsuit was settled out of court. That's pretty cool. 

-JOE

Who Could be the Next Doctor?

(Guest post by K.T.)

Doctor Who Series 13 has wrapped and aired (minus three specials coming in 2022). A whole article could be written to discuss lingering questions and concerns that are the result of the Flux and its aftermath, but we can leave that for another day. For those of you that have yet to see Season 13, don’t worry, there will be no spoilers here… Well, unless you weren’t aware that Jodie Whittaker’s time as the Doctor is coming to an end (sorry!). Whittaker’s fate and the events to bring about the next Doctor have yet to be revealed, but that hasn’t stopped a lot of folks from wondering who is going to be the next Doctor. And, that’s what we are going to talk about here. There are plenty of articles  from writers  with more experience giving real, practical guesses as to the identity of the next Doctor. You won’t find that here so much. Instead, this list is going to be comprised of the “dream” picks, regardless of how likely they are to be. You never know though, anything could happen!

Series 14 of Doctor Who is set for 2023 and expected to be very exciting with the return of Russell T. Davies as the beloved showrunner (many believe to save a sinking ship, but things haven’t been that bad, have they?). Throw in a new Doctor to the mix and we have the opportunity to see great things come out of the show. So, who would be a great pick to be the next Doctor? Let’s see below. 

Hugh Bonneville 

I know what some of you are thinking. “The guy from Downton Abbey, really?” but hear me out. Hugh Bonneville is known for a commanding presence in his roles and that is something Doctor needs. The whole universe either fears or respects the Doctor.  Furthermore, while I didn’t mind him, there are many who weren’t fond of Peter Capaldi. Another gray haired actor wouldn’t hurt to show that age doesn’t make a good Doctor (I mean the Doctor is over 900 years old after all).  

John Boyega

John Boyega’s beloved role in the Star Wars sequels would bring a popular well known name into the role, which is likely to attract new viewers. That’s besides the great acting that he would be sure to bring. 

Bennedict Cumberbatch 

Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Strange. Cumbersbatch seems like the perfect fit to play the Doctor. He’s already played one doctor with time traveling abilities, why not another? This is a pick that anybody should love.

Judi Dench

Judi Dench’s acting career goes back more than half a century. She has held a number of award winning parts, and would add a great layer of personality to the Doctor’s history. At the age of 86, she might be too old to want to take on the role, but that doesn't mean she wouldn’t do great in it. 

Henry Cavill

Superman, The man from UNCLE, and even the Count of Monte Cristo; Henry Cavill has been in some large roles and big name movies. He is a fabulous actor that is  also beloved by a lot of fans. There are many folks that would enjoy seeing him in that role, I know I would. 

Tilda Swinton

The Ancient One or White Witch ring any bells? An actress known for playing some characters of mystery, the Doctor seems like a wonderful fit. As we continue to learn, there is so much about the Doctor that we just don’t know. 

Dev Patel

Known for his roles in Skins and Slumdog Millionaire, Dev Patel has played great roles in both the comedic and dramatic. Those are two traits that are very important for anyone who plays the Doctor. Dev Patel would definitely be enjoyable to watch. 

Emma Watson 

Emma Watson really needs no introduction. Between the Harry Potter Series, Beauty and the Beast and other films, she’s a household name. With that said, some might argue she is younger than most others that are cast into the role, but nonetheless, we all know she’d do great in it. 

Naomie Harris

Known for starring in 007 and Moonlight. Adding her to Doctor Who would bring an attractive actress into this action packed role that lots of fans would love. I certainly think she would be enjoyable to watch. 

So, what do you think? Which of these actors would you like to see as the new Doctor? 

The Problem with Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V

The name of this blog post was originally going to be “Why I Stopped Watching Yu-Gi-Oh!” I’ve been watching Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V and I was going to wait to write this post until I was done… but I couldn’t wait any longer. Last year I wrote that Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal was my least favorite of the franchise so far… but I think Arc-V may have overtaken it there. I mean, what was with duelists ALWAYS clasping their hands together whenever they fusion summon? But anyway, onto the real rant… and then a couple things I’ve liked I guess.

First off, the duels felt really drawn out and they overlapped with other duels at weird points. Maybe the original series did this and I just don’t remember, but there was literally a duel with Yuri vs. Yugo happening simultaneously with Yuya vs. the Professor. The only times I remember this happening in the original series or GX was when the second duel was only minor action. We didn’t see a play-by-play, just the highlights. As a result, some of these duels ended up taking multiple episodes. Not just a two-part episode, but they’d go on for a while. In the original series, Yugi fought with Marik for five episodes at the end of Battle City, but that was the big bad of the story arc, not some random underling.

The whole concept of “dueltaining” bugged me. With technology that allowed the duelists to physically interact with their monsters, I suppose it’s a natural progression of the game. It’s not just about competing, but it’s about being an entertainer… kind of like pro wrestling. However, the problem I had was Yuya’s determination to end the interdimensional war by entertaining everyone so much and teaching them to have fun. When he met the Professor, I was seriously worried he was going to beat him by entertaining him. Unfortunately, not everyone can be talked down. Not everyone will listen to reason. I had this same problem with 2021’s run of The Flash and Supergirl. Barry Allen literally talked down four god-like forces of nature. Yeah, that’s the ideal resolution to a conflict, but it’s not realistic. 

I also didn’t care for the reinventing of previously known characters. I actually enjoyed the idea of this multiverse (but I’ll talk about that in a moment), but we had variations of Jack Atlas, Aster Phoenix, and others from across GX, 5Ds, and Zexal. It was cool to see some new doppelgangers of them, I suppose, but it felt unnecessary. Why not just include Jack from 5Ds and expand the story? Why make Kite, Jack, and the rest go through the same character development again?

As promised, I will address a couple things I liked. Despite what I said about doppelgangers a couple seconds ago, I actually really liked the concept of the multiverse. Digimon did it. DC and Marvel do it all the time. It gives a franchise the freedom to reinvent itself, but keep within the same continuity. I’d have liked it better if the Fusion Dimension had been the original and GX series, the Synchro Dimension the 5Ds series, and the Xyz Dimension the Zexal series. But I already addressed that above. And the general concept of the split dimension being reunited is very much like "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (maybe even inspired by it?). But a great idea… poor execution.

I also really liked how this series included all current summoning methods. OG Yu-Gi-Oh and GX only had fusion and ritual summoning (did everyone just forget that ritual summoning is another unique method of summoning? There was no Ritual Dimension), 5Ds had synchro summoning, and Zexal had Xyz. However, right from the start (even before the multiverse arrived) we had all the summoning methods featured. For all its faults, this fact showed continuity in the franchise… even though I still don’t like how they reinvented the doppelgangers.

Anyway, I still have 10ish episodes left of Arc-V. Because of my personality, I’ll finish out the series (otherwise I’d have stopped 20 episodes ago). But I’m not gonna continue with VRAINS or Sevens. At least for now. In the meantime, I’ll go back to the original series and watch some Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. Maybe revive my interest in the franchise. I guess we’ll see.

Friday Creature Feature - House-Elves

The time between October and December are essentially Harry Potter months in our home. I don’t know if that’s the case with anyone else’s home, but we tend to run through all eight movies between Halloween and Christmas. You know who doesn’t get enough credit in the movies? The house-elves. So let’s check them out. 

House-elves are indentured servants of wizards and witches. And to a large extent, they don’t mind. They work for the love of work. They tend to only be owned by the rich and powerful, but there’s also a legion of them working in the Hogwarts kitchen. The only way to free a house-elf is to present them with clothing, but generally considered shameful to be let go… except for Dobby. So let’s start there...

Dobby

We first met Dobby when he was the slave of the Malfoy family. He knew something dark was afoot, so he tried to save Harry from inevitable danger. After the basilisk was defeated, Harry tricked Lucius Malfoy into freeing Dobby from the abusive servitude. In his freedom, Dobby went looking for new masters but also began demanding pay (a big no no for house-elves). Dumbledore eventually hired him to work at Hogwarts where he reunited with Harry. His loyalty to Harry and his friends never wavered, even when he was face to face with Bellatrix and the Malfoys. He saved Harry and the others, losing his life in the process. Forget house-elves, you’d be hard pressed to find many better people than Dobby. 

Winky

Born into servitude, Winky followed her ancestors by serving the Crouch family. As servant of Barty Crouch and his family, she was privy to the secrets at work in the home, including Barty Jr being snuck out of Azkaban. This led to her taking Junior to the 1994 Quidditch World Cup (her idea) where he summoned the Dark Mark. After the Mark, Crouch Sr fired Winky and she eventually ended up with Dobby working in the Hogwarts kitchens. At the end of the year, she was called in by Dumbledore as they discovered Barty Jr was posing as Mad-Eye Moody. We wouldn’t see Winkly again until years later during the Battle of Hogwarts, fighting alongside Kreacher and the other house-elves.

Kreacher

Born to serve the Black family, it was Kreacher’s greatest desire to be beheaded and hung by his mother’s head when he died. He was fiercely loyal to Regulus Black and was used to hide Slytherin’s locket and again to retrieve it after Regulus defected. Later, after Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, Kreacher was forced to serve him. After Bellatrix killed Sirius, Kreacher was left to Harry Potter and sent to work at Hogwarts. But he would later be instrumental in tracking down the locket horcrux again to avenge Regulus’s death.

Bippy

In the Harry Potter parody play Puffs (read more about the play here), we get a new beloved house-elf: Bippy. She doesn’t show up until year seven, but acts as though she’s known Wayne and Megan for years. An obvious jab at how Dobby was written out of two films and Kreacher out of one. Regretfully, she died in the Battle of Hogwarts saving our Puff trio, not unlike Dobby dying to save Harry and friends. Everyone ought to love Bippy. And watch Puffs. Like now.

Santa’s Elves

Now for the head-canon. At this time of year we’re singing songs of Santa Claus and his reindeer. But let’s stop and consider his elves for a moment. We’ve seen many renditions of Santa’s elves from the child-like ones in The Santa Clause to the grouchy old ones in Disney’s Noelle. But what if his elves are house-elves? You may have heard the Harry Potter head-canon/theory that Santa Claus is a wizard using floo powder to make it appear he’s going down chimneys. If this is the case, it would make sense that his helpers would be house-elves. However… This makes you wonder why Dobby would choose to work for Dumbledore and not Santa. He’d be searching for a couple years before he ended up at Hogwarts. So the benevolent Santa Claus was less willing to work with Dobby’s requests than Dumbledore? That doesn’t reflect well on Santa… just saying. 

Who is Poison Ivy?

Batman lands softly on the grass, his cape billowing around him like wings. He begins investigating the area around the chalk outline for clues. The soft park lights hide the slowly encroaching vines until they wrap around his leg and begin dragging him away. 

We can guess who the killer is. 

And Batman is in trouble. 

Poison Ivy is arguably Batman's most powerful villain, with abilities that stretch far beyond having a great tailor and personnel department. She's deadly, beautiful, and is worth talking about before her debut appearance on Batwoman. 

The Seeds of Evil

Like all comic characters, Ivy's origin has changed depending on the writer and the time. In general, Dr. Pamila Isley was a brilliant botanist with a passion for preserving plant life from human interaction. Then either through accident, some jerk with a syringe full of science, or just because, she gained plant powers and became one of DC's most powerful metahumans. With the ability to control plants  and being herself toxic, she decided to use her newfound abilities to protect the plant life on earth, even if that means killing off all non-plant life to do it. 

Toxic Temptress

The appeal for fans in Poison Ivy is that she's the vixen of the rogue's gallery. Say what you will about Catwoman, Poison Ivy has no qualms about seducing enemies to get her way, then ditching them when she's done. Despite her sexualization, she's never shown as promiscuous, more Jessica Rabbit than Blanche Devereaux. In Batman: The Animated Series she managed to catfish Bruce Wayne with a woman made out of plants, never needing to get her hands dirty but still bilking him for cash. 

Her most famous (or infamous, depending on opinion) was her depiction in the critically panned Batman and Robin movie, where she played by Uma Thurman. Let's not go through the multiple issues this film had with characterization, but the character who came closest to hitting their character's mark. Thurman was a fun scene stealing temptress with outrageous plant-based outfits. Her final fight was extremely anti-climatic, but we'll blame that on direction and not on the actress. Undoubtedly, she's the best thing in that movie. 

The Flower and the Clown

Ivy's most important relationship is with her best friend and my favorite, Harley Quinn. Starting once again in Batman: The Animated Series (Seriously, why don't we talk about this show more on this blog?) Ivy and Harley started as partners in crime which continued into the comics. Her relationship with Joker's Favorite Henchgirl evolved in The Harley Quinn Show, where we also got the most well rounded Ivy in any media. Harley brings the anti-social villain out of her shell and becomes her only friend, and later her lover. Ivy is shown to want to pull Harley away from the Joker, and encouraged her to become an independent woman. This relationship helps enhance both characters, making the relationship one of the better written ones in comics. 

Beautiful but Deadly

Poison Ivy began life as a dangerous and seductive enemy to Batman, but has evolved into a well-rounded and fully realized character throughout the years. Ivy is a dangerous fem-fatale but instead of in the game for money or power she's trying to defend the endangered ecosystem. She seduces men to get her way, but her most significant relationship is with Harley Quinn, with intensity depending on the age the media is written for. She takes control of the situation, is deadly to her enemies and iconic to her fans. 

Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas

Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas has all the trappings and trimmings and tropes of a good, cheesy Hallmark Christmas special: There's frantic holiday baking! Everybody home for the holidays! A loved one has passed and now the holidays will never be the same!

It's that last one that really forms the heart of ZEC. Zoey wants desperately to relive her childhood memories of Christmas, mostly as a natural and deep-seated psychological response to her father's death. Her childhood memories are symbolized by a snow globe, an interesting choice for her memories. Snow globes are always changing. They get shaken up and never look exactly the same twice. They are fragile, made of glass, easily broken. And how interesting that that's exactly what happens in Zoey's life – when the snow globe is broken, so are her hopes for recreating the Christmas memories of her father. And that's the way it should be: we can honor the past and carry on traditions, but trying to recreate the past is an exercise in futility. Instead, Zoey learns (in a dream where the entire room turns into a snow globe!) that she can – and should – create new memories, building on the traditions her father helped create. 

This was so poignant to me. I'm recently divorced and navigating the world of being a single father to four children. I've learned the hard way that I can't carry on all the traditions that we had when I was married. Loss stings. But like a controlled forest fire, loss sometimes can make way for new life. I decided that I was going to start some new Christmas traditions in the wake of my divorce. Our family looks different, so our family traditions should too!

Zoey and Max also go through some great relationship building stuff, built on the backbone of Max gaining Zoey's power to read minds through Broadway-quality song and dance routines. They decide that the universe has granted Max this power, as a way to help him feel empathy for Zoey's heavy burden, and not as a way to save the show and boost ratings. This type of healthy relationship building compassion is much needed. Max and Zoey even joke about having to communicate like regular adults, but not before performing some really clever numbers together with both their powers on display. Like a Broadway diva and divo battling it out for the title of Best Duo – but instead of crowing a single victor, everybody wins. Including the audience.

Enjoy this Christmas special (released on the Roku Channel, and vying for the regular show to be picked back up!) It's got all the fluff and tinsel and cheese of any holiday special you've seen before. But like Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist itself, it has a bit more substance and depth than your average show. 

Just bring tissues for when Peter Gallagher shows up. 

Lost in Songlation Vol. 1: Let it Go vs. Ari no Mama De

Having served a mission in Japan, I enjoy consuming media in Japanese to help with my listening skills. So when I found the Japanese version of the Frozen soundtrack I had to give it a try. Side note: this might be an unpopular opinion, but I thought Tangled was a MUCH more compelling film than Frozen, especially when it came to the big musical numbers. Anyway don’t get me wrong, Idina Menzel is one of my favorite musicians and Broadway stars, but when she belted on about letting it go I struggled to connect with the lyrics. In the context of the story, it makes sense: Elsa has been told to suppress her gifts her whole life, and she is no longer able to hold her powers back.

The Japanese message on the other hand has a separate focus: it is more about Elsa embracing herself just as she is, aligning more truly with herself. The subtle nuances between the translations actually lead to entirely different songs. I resonate a lot with this, as I have had to come face to face with my own attributes and parts of myself that I haven’t liked or have had to struggle with. Learning how to accept and love myself right where I am at has been one of the keys to finding peace and growth.

After looking up the Japanese lyrics (I’m not always able to hear or understand what I’m listening to), I went through and translated the meaning (see below). I may be slightly off with some of the words, but it should be mostly accurate. 

For your reference, here is the English version of the song.

Here is the Japanese version.

—————————————

The snow begins to fall and erases my footprints.

In this stark whole world, I’m alone.

The wind whispers to my heart:

“You can’t go on like this…”

Confusion… wounds…

I was suffering without confiding in anyone,

But I’ve had enough!

Just as I am, I will show my form.

Just as I am, I will become myself.

I’m not afraid of anything.

Let the wind blow.

It’s not even the least bit cold.

The things I was suffering from were like a lie

But now I’m free,

I am capable of anything!

How far can I go?

I want to test myself.

That’s it, I can change

Just as I am, I will ride on the winds

Just as I am, I will fly.

I won’t shed another tear.

I will wrap up the cold ground,

And paint my dancing thoughts up high,

Just like a crystal made of flower-blooming ice.

I want to shine brightly, I’ve decided!

Is this enough,

Making myself as I like?

Is this enough,

Believing in myself?

While bathing myself in light,

I will walk forward.

It’s not even the least bit cold.

—————————————

What do you think? Which version of the lyrics do you resonate with more?

Boba Fett Binge List

We're into December, which means we're less than a month until The Book of Boba Fett premieres. I'm working my way through Rebels right now, but I took a moment to rewatch the Mando episodes that included the return of our fan favorite bounty hunter. If you need a refresher on Boba Fett before the new series, check this out.

Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Obviously this is where Boba Fett’s story begins (chronologically at least). We get his backstory: who his father Jango was and  how the clones and Boba came to be. After a fight with Obi Wan, we also saw Boba Fett on Geonosis witnessing the death of his father at the hand of Mace Windu. Talk about an origin story.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Season 2, Episodes 20-22

Here we get Boba Fett infiltrating a group of young clones as they’re being trained on a Jedi cruiser. All of it just an elaborate trick on his part to get close enough to Mace Windu to get revenge for killing Jango Fett. But as the trilogy of episodes continues, we see Boba isn’t as ruthless as he thought he’d be. It’s interesting to see a villain so classic to Star Wars question himself like that. 

Season 4, Episode 15

If any Boba Fett story is optional, it’s this one. The episode revolves around Obi Wan. Boba’s appearance amounts to not much more than a cameo. It shows us Boba is still in Republic custody and still angry. 

Season 4, Episode 20

Somehow Boba is out of prison (Maybe he escaped in the same riot as Obi Wan? Maybe he completed his sentence?) and is teaming up with Ventress. The episode focuses more on Ventress and her story arc, with Boba as a supporting character. However, it does establish Boba as a budding bounty hunter in his own right, as we see later on. 

Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

By the time Luke, Leia, and Han were flying around the galaxy, Boba was a feared bounty hunter. As far as release order, this is the first time we got introduced to Boba Fett. He might be a man of few words in the Original Trilogy, but he left an impression on fans. I mean, he was the only one of Vader’s bounty hunters to successfully track Han and Leia to Cloud City.

Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

So after Boba Fett returns Han Solo to Jabba, he sticks around. Maybe a little too long. If he’d moved onto a new job, he probably wouldn’t have been on Jabba’s party ship. During the ensuing battle aboard said party ship, Han accidentally knocks Boba Fett into the Sarlacc Pit where he was to die. Or so we thought...

The Mandalorian

Season 1, Episode 5

You might only see Boba’s legs in this episode, but it’s the connecting piece between his supposed demise in the Original Trilogy and his full return in The Mandalorian Season 2. This episode also introduced Fennec Shand, who’ll appear in The Book of Boba Fett. If you want more Fennec, you can also check out The Bad Batch “Cornered” and “Bounty Lost”.

Season 2, Episode 1

We only see Boba Fett in the end of the episode for another slightly less brief cameo. But even though we barely even see his face, this is where we see the final fate of the Sarlacc Pit where Boba “died” and it features the return of Boba Fett’s armor (found by Jawas in the previously mentioned Sarlacc Pit). 

Season 2, Episodes 6-8

After getting directions from Ahsoka Tano to find a Jedi for Grogu’s training, Din Djarin (aka Mando) ends up teaming up with Boba and Fennec to protect and subsequently save the child from the Empire. With the help of Cara Dune, Bo Katan, and the other Mandalorians, Mando is able to save Baby Yoda from capture. Boba Fett and Fennec leave moments before Jedi Master Luke Skywalker arrives to claim Grogu as his student. By that point, Boba was probably already halfway to Tatooine where he usurped Jabba’s throne from Bib Fortuna. 

And that is where the Book of Boba Fett begins. So we’ll see where things go. Can’t wait to see more Ming Na Wen… maybe more in the next season of Bad Batch too.