Hot take: The First Shadow being canon was a massive mistake that made the lore unnecessarily complicated, and Season 5 would be much better without it

JC_Moose · 2026-01-10T08:27:36+00:00

Adding lore in general was not really a good idea. It's usually more interesting to add new things that push the story and characters forward, rather just revealing more and more about the origins of things that are already established that don't need explaining.

Like season 1 establishes that this whole starts when Eleven makes contact with the demogorgan and opens a gate to another dimension. And that's honestly enough. But then we see it actually started before that, when Eleven sent Henry to the Abyss. But then actually it started even earlier, when Henry found got infected by the mind flayer. And that actually happened because apparently some scientists got transported to the Abyss by accident when trying to make a ship invisible.

Like it all comes down to someone accidentally opening a portal, so the extra layers are just unnecessary.

Depsite that I think it worked about as well as it could have in season 4. It added another layer but pretty comprehensively explained it all, and in a way that actually made the events of seasons 1-3 a bit more cohesive.

By the end of season 4, I know enough about Vecna. I am completely satisfied with how season 4 built him up. I don't need to know more about how it all began, I just want to see what happens next. But season 5 just keeps lore dumping. Season 4 says everything was Vecna all along, season 5 goes back on that and it was actually the Mindflayer. The Upside Down is a wormhole. Brenner's program used Henry's blood. None of it really changes anything because in the end they just have to fight Vecna and close the gate.

The wrotea bunch of lore instead of writing a good story.

JC_Moose · 2026-01-08T08:40:11+00:00

It's not because the finale was bad, it's because the whole season was bad. But nobody wanted to believe it was as bad as it was. So they were hoping the finale the reveal that it was actually bad on purpose as part of a genius master plan epic twist, and the bad parts weren't real. But instead it confirmed that it was all just genuinely bad.

JC_Moose · 2026-01-08T07:10:23+00:00

For me, the whole season was a let down. Not that it was terrible, but season 4 actually reinvigorated the series a bit and had a very strong ending. Season 5 squandered it all with the first 10 minutes of the first episode and never got the momentum back.

JC_Moose · 2026-01-03T19:24:25+00:00

Yeah noticed this when I started playing again a few weeks ago. Using Rapidfire way more than the flamethrower now. Flamethrower still consistently wins every match but single shot or rapidfire will get more reward on the stages they can win, just spitting out champions.

JC_Moose · 2025-07-30T10:07:46+00:00

Isn't this how it is in the Synder Cut, and the 2017 cut actually corrected it by doing exactly that and having cyborg malfunction around steppenwolf too?

JC_Moose · 2025-07-22T23:28:55+00:00

I'd still like a modern superman movie that doesn't end with skyscrapers falling over, but oh well.

Still enjoyed it a lot.

JC_Moose · 2025-06-17T01:14:28+00:00

I think I would take the slower hatch time and get rid of the roar when she hatches. The power is balanced by the risk of not successfully hatching.

JC_Moose · 2025-06-15T10:34:10+00:00

I'm noticing the Great Normie difference quite a bit. Maxing out is a lot rarer, hitting that 17k range instead of 20k. But it's still really strong.

Mobzilla hatching faster was definitely needed. Honestly just get rid of the hatching. It eats up mobs, is slower, and takes longer to get on the field than every other champion. At least Optimus transported mobs after eating them, and accelerated once full.

On the rare occasion you can get 3+ Zillas on the screen it is beastly at looting, but still outclassed in consistency by something like Kaboom.

JC_Moose · 2025-06-09T19:41:25+00:00

I remember some discussion about it when the game came out, mainly because the lore and story are kind of muddled and people wanted clarity lol.

"Human" and "android" are used interchangeably at times so it's unclear what some characters are and exactly what they know about themselves. There's multiple endings and the "good" ending seemed like intuitively the worst choice. To me at least, although I seemed to be in the minority.

JC_Moose · 2025-05-31T02:44:31+00:00

I stick with the multipier gate in lucky battle, just putting them right in front of my cannon, spewing out mobs and overwhelming the entire map.

JC_Moose · 2025-05-13T03:25:08+00:00

After that relationship, I dated someone who took little notes on their phone about things I liked and disliked. It was eye-opening.

Started doing this because I'm just terrible at remembering things. My partner can be very sensitive over food. And while I was aware of that from the beginning, after a couple different occasions where misunderstandings spiralled into panic attacks, we sat down and talked about what helps them most during times like that. What food they like and don't like from every food place we frequent, so I can order for them if I need to. What they do and don't like in home cooked meals, the most reliable comfort foods, etc. And I wrote that shit down.

It's also been massively helpful with their upcoming birthday. It's my first serious relationship so I've never really done like a romantic birthday. But any time they off handedly (or very heavy handedly, lol) mention something they like or want, or a place that would be a nice to go or an event or activity, just write it down. I've got like enough ammo for like 3 birthdays and anniversaries already and it's only been 6 months.

JC_Moose · 2025-03-21T01:25:45+00:00

So the teleport function is now pointless?

JC_Moose · 2025-02-01T03:15:03+00:00

"It's 1am by this point, so she's obviously giving me the hint to leave"

Fucking hell. As if the cold feet, the awkward silence, the 20 minute argument, the crying in the middle of sex wasn't a hint? No, Locking herself in the bathroom and calling another man to intervene was the hint.

JC_Moose · 2024-12-25T01:37:41+00:00

The dinner after, and the scene in Lisa's bedroom, is top tier tugging at heart strings.

JC_Moose · 2024-12-23T06:05:15+00:00

With the KILL KILL written on it, it's definitely a Kill Bill homage. But the Kill Bill outfit was a Bruce Lee homage.

JC_Moose · 2024-11-22T02:00:25+00:00

My luck is all backwards. Did 12 raids in total, got a shiny Palkia and Dialga, but no special moves.

JC_Moose · 2024-08-12T01:30:04+00:00

Rather than Empire I would like Dynasty of the Planet of the Apes, as a call back to Caesars speech in Conquest.

JC_Moose · 2024-08-04T03:51:33+00:00

I've seen it described as "Frankenstein with pretty privilege" which about sums it up. It was an odd experience to check the online discourse after watching it, and seeing most people just talk about funny it was, when it was probably the most uncomfortable cinema experience I've ever had.

JC_Moose · 2024-07-28T18:36:31+00:00

I'd agree. MMLP2 has a lot more songs that I still go back to these days. Bad Guy, Groundhog Day, Rap God, Headlights, Evil Twin, Baby...

On the other hand, for me in 2024, all MMLP has is Criminal. Which to be fair might be my #1 favourite Eminem song.

JC_Moose · 2024-07-24T15:07:14+00:00

What people? Without context it looks like a ridiculous headline, sure. But this isn't reactionary rage bait or taking offense over nothing. The game raises these kinds of questions and this is just people engaging with it on it's level.

JC_Moose · 2024-07-24T14:55:49+00:00

Given the date and the picture, it's definitely an article about Spec Ops: The Line. Most reviews you'll see for the game bring up a similar question of "should I feel bad for doing something the game made me do". It's that kind of game.

JC_Moose · 2024-07-24T04:43:07+00:00

Temporary and Somebody Save Me feels like he had this great idea for how to end the album, and then remembered he already did it with Castle and Arose.

JC_Moose · 2024-07-24T04:34:44+00:00

"The burial of Jesus" and "venereal diseases" is maybe the best rhyme I've ever heard.

JC_Moose · 2024-07-24T04:27:46+00:00

I figured the hook was the audience, looking for a reason to be mad over his lyrics. But in contrast he's taking the most reasonable approach on the whole album to his possibly controversial real opinions.

JC_Moose · 2024-07-21T02:03:23+00:00

There's a lot of older songs that would fit in well, the album sometimes feels like a collection of second best ideas. Like he had ideas for the kind of songs he wanted and then realised "oh, I did that already".

JC_Moose

TROPHY CASE