Okay so thoughts about the building contest and such, here we go–
(this turned out so long, I'm so sorry–)
I applaud Alan and his team, because the only reason I'm able to infer so much from these wordless videos is because of their body language animations and clever world building.
Okay so I went back and rewatched (my favorite thing to do). The beginning of this portion of Green's arc starts in "The Building Contest", aka AvM 2. Which takes place approximately two years after the og Animation vs Minecraft. We are early in the timeline.
Anyway, Orange begins the contest, and Green is seen to be very particular about what blocks he uses. He lays down some blocks, looks back at the reference picture, and then apparently decides they aren't good enough. He starts over.
End of the video, Green has created a lovely build, earning himself the trophy. He is very excited about this; he dances around, punches the air, etc. In response to this, Blue and Yellow work together (like the dynamic duo they are) and toss TNT onto his build, blowing it up.
A fascinating start. In simply this video, you could defend Green with "Well, Yellow and Blue were just being bad sports. He earned the win!" That may be true. Let's carry on.
Next video: "Build Battle", aka AvM 17. Two years later (approximately). They've lived through that first big adventure: The Nether, Purple and the End, Skyblock, all of that.
Green's first build this time around is extremely detailed, and he receives the trophy once again. However, his attitude seems challenging. Almost a "what are you gonna do, not give it me? Look what I did." kind of attitude. And then he Fortnite dances on the losers. Not a great look, Green.
Now, the video isn't over, but I have to mention something. I believe that we can infer at this time that this has happened before, and has been happening, from Yellow's reaction.
Yellow approaches Orange and begins to scheme a way to get Green to lose a build battle. I don't think someone would plot their friend's downfall unless 1) the winning had gotten to the point where the game was no longer fun, and 2) if the winner's attitude was one of annoyingly-confidant arrogance.
The next challenge for the build battle is a toy robot. Machines and robotics are Yellow's thing– literally two episodes before he'd taught his friends the basics of redstone. Should be an easy win, right?
Yellow makes a working robot; its eyes light up, the limbs move, it can jump up-and-down. Yellow seems proud of himself, and he and Green share a moment of tense eye contact before they move on. Blue's robot build is good, but then Green brings out his robot.
This is where we delve into one of my headcanons for this scene. I believe that Green cheated here. You simply can't build a robot that complex in vanilla Minecraft, and Green been shown to have cheated in contests before (remember his Minecraft simulator in "Redstone Academy"? I don't think either Green or Orange were being honest there)
Even if Green didn't cheat, and created his robot through completely legitimate means, that doesn't excuse his taunting of his friends after his win, and the fact his robot chased Red and Blue with a diamond sword after they tried and failed to blow it up.
On to another build battle. Interestingly enough, it seems as though Yellow and Co have stopped trying to sabotage Green's success. They continue through the building process as normal.
And then Green summons a Wither. Completely by accident, he was thinking only of what would look most authentic and didn't realize what he was doing. Regardless, the Wither is here and it demolishes most of Green's build and starts to fight him.
While this is going on, the rest of the Color Gang are carrying on as if nothing is happening. They inspect Red's build, then Yellow's (complete with redstone-activated teeth and claws!), where Green attempts to get their attention before getting chased by the Wither. They ignore him. At Blue's build, it is even more clear that they are doing this on purpose. Part of Blue's build gets disintegrated but Blue just casually rebuilds it. Doesn't even look in the direction of the fight in the background.
They continue to Green's... remains of a build. They are not impressed, and then Orange presents the trophy to Blue. Which I think was a fun way to subvert expectations that Yellow would have won because he'd been set up to rival Green in this episode, but we carry on.
What next? The Wither attacks them and the video ends. We have not gotten a build battle video since.
So what do we make of this? Green technically got what he deserved, being all cocky and such. I find it fascinating that we haven't gotten more build battle videos. Sure, it might be because Alan prefers the Noteblock episodes, but in universe?
I think the Gang might have stopped doing build battles, or at least made them less of a deal. They have other things to compete about; see "The Ultimate Minecart Race". And I think Green may have mellowed out a bit.
It is very interesting that between these videos and "The Prank", where his smug personality was on full display, that there was a trend in the Actual Shorts where he would keep getting hurt. Or at least be the butt of the joke.
This was early on. They hadn't gone through some of the craziest adventures yet, where their friendship would be tested, and their very lives put in danger.
I think Green has matured; yes, he's still ridiculously competitive and has an arrogant streak a mile long. But he seems to have focused his skills– honing them, instead of trying to the best at everything. Specifically with music, something that can be done together. Even if he still manages to make it competition. It is still something that brings people together– after all, it's how he was able to reach Purple.
Green is still competitive. But he has become so much more than that. He is focused, determined, confidant, kind, compassionate. A wondrous musician, and likely a terrible cook. He is nuanced and I love him for it.
DONT APOLOGIZE FOR THIS BEING LONG HELLO I AM EATING THIS UP
You sent this at the right time tbh I needed a break from my final paper-
GOD I LOVE THIS ANALYSIS SO MUCH I never noticed that Green mellows out and matures throughout his arc and that’s so real omggg. The idea of Green honing his skills in music not for the sake of being better than anyone but because it brings people together is so good omggg im injecting this into my blood stream.
IT ALSO NEVER STRUCK ME THAT THEY STOPPED HAVING BUILDING CONTESTS AFTER THE LAST ONE THATS TRUE they probably were looking for other ways to compete with each other that’s fair for everyone involved.
And I love love LOVE how Green’s competitive nature is still there even when he has become more compassionate and mature. Since it feels that’s a pretty big stable for his character; being the one that’s good at everything and brags about it.
It’s kinda like how Purple is still a trickster/schemer at heart even though it’s clear he’s much happier and isn’t afraid to be more expressive now. Cause without those traits, the characters just kinda lose the charm and nuance they initially had. So I always get very happy when characters development as people but that trait that gives them so much charm is still there in a way.
