forever phandom

Valerie is amazing. Like - okay sorry, I just have to start off with this. She’s not necessarily nice in this episode - or previous - I mean, she’s a ‘popular kid’ who asks Kwan to beat a kid up, but the ground work is laid. She’s driven (by revenge), intelligent (the equipment helps, but man she picked up that equipment quick), and is rather strong overall. I mean, this isn’t a blind watch through - it’s a rewatch. I know the person she turns into, and her character growth is great, which might be clouding my judgement. But, I’d like to think the seeds of who she turns into are here. Plus I love her dad. And the small glimpse we get into their father/daughter relationship just warms my heart. 

Kwan. Get new friends. You’re actually a decent guy with some morals. BE THE NICE GUY. 

In that line, we see how much environment can influence behaviour and enable it. The popular kids enable their poor behaviour and encourage it - they don’t care about the losers. Point and case with Kwan - he was pretty okay with what happened, accidents happen. Until Valerie told him to beat Danny up. Also, at the table when they shun Valerie it shows how shallow that club is, and how if you aren’t in, you’re very very out. I can’t remember if Valerie ever reconciles with them or not - but I hope not. They suck.

SO LET’S TALK ABOUT GHOST ANIMALS. Why do some talk? What makes them stay? WHO KNOWS. Like, are the ectopusses remnants of actual octopuses, or were the pieced together by something, some sort of sentience? I mean we’ve only seen them briefly, and they just kind of scream. But man, what is their story?

Moving on, we see the vultures! Vlad’s minions! They can talk - but why? They aren’t the only animals to talk (well sort of, and I’m jumping ahead of myself to Wulf, ect) but why are they talking and how are they talking? Is it age/power? Is it dependant on how they die? I am just so so curious as to why some ghost animals - ghostimals?? - can talk while others can’t. I mean, it could just be for convenience, depending on plot. BUT I WANT THEORIES. Cujo is a relatively new ghost. Vultures seem older. Could it also be where they’ve hung out in the Ghost Zone and what they’ve run into in there? I have so many ideas!

Also, how does Cujo escape so easily? Is it a dog thing? He just kind of digs his way out of the door - which other ghosts absolutely can’t. In addition to this, a couple of times he’s shown appearing by digging upwards through the ground. Can he just... appear at will? GHOST ANIMALS MAN, THEY BREAK THE RULES!

Vlad’s technology is pretty amazing, like knowing when Valerie was not on and being able to pick her up. But man, is he a dick. Using a teenager to get at his rival. He’ll do it again. I aggressively love him, but Vlad get your shit together. You know he’s not all that concerned with Valerie’s safety. It’s all about him. Also just how close is he watching AMity? WHich ghosts are spying for him? Vlad you’re a little... obsessive, heh.

And that’s it! Thanks for sticking around and reading my ramblings mostly on Valerie and GHOSTIMALS. :D

I think honestly Spectra is one of the most insidious and destructive ghosts featured in this show. Mostly because she doesn’t outright destroy or attack, she instead preys on already present fears and doubts. It isn’t a physical attack, and it isn’t something that leaves and obvious mark - and it isn’t property destruction. It’s all in your head, which is why it is so terrible. This is one of the reasons I love Spectra as a villain - she embodies something everyone can relate to, and she’s damn sneaky about it. 

When I say that what I mean is that she takes pains to hide her presence, has obviously done this before and hasn’t been caught (not that many people could technically catch her), and what she incites in people can be written off easily as teenage angst/hormones. How many kids has she fed off? How long has she been doing this? For how old she appears in the end, it’s decades if not centuries. We, the viewer, can relate because we’ve likely gone through something like this. Being a teenager can be tough. Life in general can be. When you’re feeling beaten down, everything can seem grey and nothing you do is right.  

Danny certainly is feeling this. Like, how far do his issues run? Spectra called him a spa - and that’s pretty intense. This episode isn’t subtle about how he’s feeling like it has in previous episodes (his freak outs, how he’s unable to reconcile his ghost half and human half, ect). It smashes any idea of Danny being okay. He keeps a lot to himself. I would hope after this episode he talks to Sam and Tucker more about how he’s feeling, but who knows. 

As a human, he’s afraid of being called a loser, of being one. As a ghost, he’s afraid of failing, of not becoming better, and kind of, of himself. Spectra’s words right before Jazz steps in affect him greatly. A ghost pretending to be human (which is kind of a cool idea, tbh), a kid with creepy powers? What are you, is the driving point - and Danny doesn’t know. He doesn’t understand himself, and Spectra’s constant nibbling at him has brought these issues to the forefront. It’s painful, to see him in such conflict with himself. Danny has improved and has acknowledged it in the past - but Spectra’s thrown him so badly that he’s thinking he’s becoming worse. Just, augh my heart. Danny’s so conflicted with himself, and he doesn’t have any clear answer as to who or what he is and it bothers him. So many identity issues. So. Many.

Continuing on this line, he makes several jabs at Jazz being the “smart one”. Danny is likely used to being compared to Jazz, who likes being academic and is academically strong, and he probably doesn’t feel smart because of their differences in academic performance. But Danny is smart, and it sucks that the world is so focus on academic performance. He’s just different than Jazz. Danny figured out that Spectra was a ghost, he’s figured out how to defeat many other ghosts, he’s figured out how to use many of his parent’s inventions. He honestly does not give himself enough credit. I also believe that Danny, if he wasn’t fighting ghosts all the time and was motivated to pay a bit more attention, he’d be as good as Jazz. 

Spectra, man.

I liked this episode, I liked it a lot. It was a good kind of different, and man. It just brought up ALL THE ISSUES and dealt with a lot of them. 

I love the little things they add, and the bits and pieces of comedy to help lighten the mood so it isn’t too heavy. Lancer the cheerleader. Totally forgot about that one. I love how Mr. Lancer is so into Spirit Week. 

I love how Sam and Tucker bought that Jazz bought their explanation. It was a nice try, but man. 

I like Jazz a lot in this episode. She’s definitely an overbearing big sister, but he loves Danny, and they have a great dynamic. She’s stepped over lines in the name of love, but also recognizes where it’s important to step back - especially like letting Danny come to her when he’s ready to talk to her, versus making him talk. Character growth, man.

That last shot of Danny flying around in bliss definitely gives off a sense of Danny at peace with himself. Flying is probably one of if not the best part about being half ghost - it looks so freeing! And, likely that’s what Danny feels. It gives me, as a viewer after this episode, the feeling that while Danny might have many issues with being half ghost, he’s starting to understand himself, and be at peace with who he is and what he’s become. I don’t think we’ve really seen Danny enjoying his powers like this - I mean, we’ve seen him pull pranks and that sort, but that’s not the same thing. In this case he’s flying because he likes it, with really no other goal in mind. And, guys, his expression just makes me happy.