The Outpost--new fantasy series

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Greg Cox, Jul 11, 2018.

  1. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Okay, Warigami was pretty dumb. Kind of a cute idea -- people with the superpower to "alter the density of paper," making it as strong as steel and a deadly weapon -- but the execution wasn't great, with a story that didn't hold together well, main characters who weren't that likeable, and humor that missed more often than it hit. And the fight choreography wasn't as impressive as it was trying to be, and only one of the Japanese-speaking characters (the main villainess) had an authentic Japanese accent. And it was typical of Western portrayals of Japanese culture in its tendency to exoticize it and highlight the traditional elements of dress, music, etc. that actual present-day Japanese culture tends to save for special occasions. But then, Japanese TV's portrayals of Western culture are similarly exaggerated/exoticized.
     
  2. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Yay, Janzo found the cure! Some really good dramatic writing and acting between Janzo and Elinor. Anand Desai-Barochia really is a terrific actor. I've always found Janzo a bit too broadly played, but he makes it work, and he can be really soulful and nuanced as well. It's no wonder the writers give him so much to do.

    And Gwyn is being way too strict. Surely Janzo's earned a pardon for his achievements, not merely a commuted death sentence. I'm starting to question whether she'd really be a good queen.

    Speaking of which, it's a weird twist with the claimant brother suddenly showing up. I expect him to turn out to be a fraud, although it's hard to guess how he'd know so much about the real brother's life. Unless... maybe he really is the scribe's son that he claims he was switched with, and the two of them were friends and the real prince told him everything. Yeah, that could be it. Still, it is a weird story twist to throw in so late in the season.

    Meanwhile, Talon and Garret are a team again. And we learn that The Outpost's world developed germ theory before high explosives. Hopefully Naya will get a chance to redeem herself by warning Gwyn about the bombs.
     
  3. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Yeah. The Queen was way too harsh on Janzo. One would think that curing a plague and ridding the realm of zombies would be enough to earn a pardon. And even if Gwyn is worried about setting a dangerous precedent, how many future traitors are going to be able to play the "cured a plague" card?

    I'm also puzzled as to why they're throwing in a new character and plotline (the mystery brother) so late in the season, unless they're really confident they're going to get a third season?
     
  4. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Well, one thing it's done is to advance the Gwyn/Tobin romance by giving him an opportunity to show he isn't just pursuing her for her power.

    And it occurred to me this morning that it could be Janzo's path to redemption if he finds some sciencey way to disprove the boy's claim to be the prince. If they have germ theory, maybe they have blood typing. Or maybe he can get the real prince's fingerprints (finger prince? I don't think so) off that family portrait or some other possession Gwen retains.

    Meanwhile, they seem to be glossing over the travel time between the Outpost and the capital. Early in the season, it was treated as a journey of a week or two -- I think Wythers said it was five days' ride to the place where Garret was ambushed, and about as long from there to the capital. And if a character from one location set out for the other, it generally took about two more episodes until they arrived. But Garret set out for the capital just last week, and here he meets Talon en route and reaches the capital by the end of the episode.

    Then again, I suppose we can assume that Janzo's search for a cure covered a fair period of time. I think he said in an early scene that it had been 2 days since Elinor was bitten, and there was a montage sequence in there later on, which could cover the passage of days.
     
  5. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Definitely agree with you guys about both Gwynn's attitude toward Janzo and her brother.
    Gwynn's brother just randomly showing up does seem a little strange and it really does like a pretty big thing to just throw into the story so late in the season.
    And I would agree with you guys that curing the plague should be enough to earn Janzo a pardon from Gwynn. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps they have a specific story line in mind for Janzo that requires him to be in jail.
    We got some really good stuff between Janzo and Eleanor when he was working on the cure.
    I wonder if they'll end up getting Talon and Garret together now that Gwynn is with Tobin?
    Could the stuff with the bomb lead to Naya redeeming herself?
     
  6. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    FYI: Note that we're getting two episodes in a row tonight, for a special two-hour season finale.
     
  7. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    A pretty big 2-part finale. Spoiler-boxing just in case:

    Okay... revealing that the love of Janzo's life is actually his long-lost twin sister was a pretty sick and cruel twist on the writers' part, for all that they played it for humor. I guess they do kind of resemble each other, though; maybe this is what they had in mind all along.

    At least Gwynn finally came to her senses about being too strict and alienating her allies and people. Hopefully she'll extend this new leniency to all her people and not just her friends. I mean, not to the point of letting everyone go, but having more humane punishments than execution and more provisions for earning pardons, or at least time off for good behavior.

    I'm a little surprised they killed Elinor, but as soon as she ran back to save Janzo, I knew that was probably going to happen (though up that moment I figured it'd be Munt who got killed).

    It was also immediately obvious that the "brother" was a scammer as soon as he offered to ride off with a huge amount of the queen's money. Good thing Gwynn took precautions. And ultimately it turned out more positively than I would've thought.

    So Talon was finally forced to call the demons and Blackbloods through, and it backfired massively. I hope we get a season 3 to see how it plays out. The Three being in possession of several of the Kinj as the source of their powers is an interesting revelation that will probably be a plot driver if season 3 happens.
     
  8. Morpheus 02

    Morpheus 02 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't think this is necessary, as most who would follow this would have watched the episodes (I think...just saw the ratings, and the 2nd episode dropped a whole rating point. Not sure if people realized there was a second episode...so there might be a lot of viers the the show that airs next Thursday at 7pm CST)
    I wish I would have said it when I first thought it... Janzo mentioned a sister at the beginning of the season...and then we have the only non-white female in the cast (even supporting cast)...so it kinda made it obvious. But then the kissing made me drop that idea...had no idea they would really go there. EEWWWWWW. But it looks like they would pair up Janzo with Talon (finally) and GArrick with Janzo's sister.


    The ending ….wow...that bomb was destructive for real. Were a few demons and Blackbloods killed because of it? and did that finally wipe out the First, er Prime Order? I know with the budget...it was supposed to be 5000 total, but seemed like 100 actually made it in before being trapped and wiped out. And not sure how many were left outside.

    Fat Sammie proved to be a friend after all...and not a bad fighter. Glad Gwynn was proved wise after all.

    But it's only 1/3 of the Three that were out there , right? SO potentially 2 with powers? Like Orange and Yellow?

    Seemed like too quick an end of the Healer?

    With the Kinj...so what colors do we have and what powers do they hold? Blue is dimensional rifts, Green is mind control? Red telekinesis?

    So if there is a next season...how would that work?

    Elinor's sister is still out there...and would Janzo's sister join her? Would they find a way to free the family?
     
  9. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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  10. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    FYI: Dean Devlin just announced on FB that THE OUTPOST has been renewed for a third season.
     
  11. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    And I'm glad of that. Hopefully the new cliffhanger situation with the Blackbloods taking over the Outpost will mean that Talon's arc will be more integrated with the other characters' arcs. The ensemble was too split up in season 2.
     
  12. Morpheus 02

    Morpheus 02 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Wow...pleasantly surprised!

    Well..she will be there with a few people.

    Janzo's sister and adopted aunt are still out there with Garreth, right? So I guess they will have some adventures for a while...i maybe a pairing?

    The thing is..with the special effects..i just dont see how long they can stretch the takeover of the Outpost. The Blackbloods know the plan right? Or with Janzo there, they have all routea covered
     
  13. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The new season premiere's tonight, and might have already aired in some places. Sorry I didn't post sooner, but I just saw it when I was looking at tonight's schedule on TV Guide a few minutes ago.
     
  14. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Just watched it. It was a fun, lively episode. In my experience, season premieres can sometimes drag a bit since they can be all about housekeeping: wrapping up loose ends from last season, setting things up for the new season, managing cast changes, etc. But a lot happens in this first episode so it never felt like it was dragging its feet.
     
  15. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Thank goodness for next-day streaming on The CW's free site. Although for some reason they don't have the show listed on their main overview page -- I had to find it in the list of shows down at the bottom.

    A decent premiere. You could see them doing the work of exposition and re-establishing the situation, but it wasn't too blatant most of the time (except for the clumsy bit where the Blackfist leader made a point of mentioning "your mother Yevalla" to Wren -- I think she knows her own mom's name, pal). If anything, it rushed through the story a bit too quickly. The status quo of the humans being oppressed and Talon trying to protect them from within while being hated as a traitor seemed like something that warranted at least a couple of full episodes to explore fully.

    The episode opened with something that's fairly rare and surprising to see in television -- a rock quarry location actually being used as a rock quarry! :D
     
  16. Morpheus 02

    Morpheus 02 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Thanks for letting me know...I forgotten all about it. Thought that COVID had stopped production, but i guess they had a already started before the pandemic, and was finally able to do post-production
     
  17. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Plus, they shoot in Serbia, and I have no idea what the COVID situation there is.
     
  18. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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  19. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Like @Christopher, I was a little surprised we didn't get at least another episode or two with the situation at the beginning of the episode.
    Other than that it was pretty good. The new situation with the Blackbloods is pretty interesting, and most of the new characters are good.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    This week's episode was pretty impressive. The A plot with Talon, Janzo, etc. going through the ancient puzzles and deathtraps was your standard tomb-crawl narrative, but the B plot with Tobin and Munt traveling to Tobin's kingdom was impressive, with some good character interplay and some spectacular location work. Munt is blossoming into a really interesting, complex character, and he has a good rapport with Tobin. And those giant stone archways they passed through were amazing. I thought they must be some ruins of Roman aqueducts carved out of the bare stone somehow, but I looked them up, and apparently they're natural features that Serbia is famous for: https://4x4.serbianoutdoor.com/stone-bridges/
     
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