#episode

A good maker story is not just about a clever build. It is about what the project teaches, what problem it solves and what curious readers can borrow for their own experiments. Maker projects matter because they show technology at work with the cover removed: parts, constraints, mistakes, trade-offs and the small decisions that make an idea real. (more…)

It is an interesting observation on the melodramatic personalities of these characters. Both Nutsy from The Adventures of Blinky Bill (by Yoram Gross Film Studios) and Lady Baden-Baden from The Raccoons are known to wear their hearts on their sleeves, with Lady Baden-Baden being famously over-dramatic and Nutsy Koala displaying a softer, more emotional side. 

While The Adventures of Blinky Bill is primarily categorized as an adventure and comedy series, adding a dramatic genre tag would certainly fit the emotional trials the koalas go through when separated from their habitats or reacting to Greenpatch's various perils. 

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Nutsy Koala's habit of crying, paired with Lady Baden-Baden's highly animated and occasionally dramatic tears, definitely highlights the comedic, emotional range Yoram Gross brought to 90s animated classics. 

While The Adventures of Blinky Bill (produced by Yoram Gross Film Studio) is predominantly remembered as an adventure and comedy, adding a "drama" label would make sense considering the heavy emotional beats the characters navigate. 

As you mentioned, Nutsy often serves as the "good girl" who gets swept up in occasional meltdowns, fitting perfectly into the melodramatic archetype. Similarly, Lady Baden-Baden from The Raccoons is famous for her theatrical tears in specific episodes: 

The Prism of Zenda (Season 3, Episode 1)

A Catered Affair (Season 4, Episode 4)

Right. So, Episode 3 is kinda fun because we finally get to test the colour palette hypothesis we've been building over the last two episodes. And dare I say, our hypothesis is somewhat accurate.

We can see colder tones in Areala’s flashback, which helps reinforce the idea that this palette is tied to the Warrior Nun.

Now, onto something that's both colour palette and blocking related.

Notice whenever Vincent tries to talk Ava into staying with them, a door will always present itself towards Ava for her to leave?

Like this part, when Ava tries to tell him she needs the weekend to think it over.

Or this part, when Vincent goes all gloomy and serious about the whole responsibility and duty of Warrior Nun.

Every time he's trying to persuade her to stay, the frame quietly gives Ava a visible exit.

And honestly? How could we blame her for leaving? She has just started making decisions based on what she can see, instead of what she feels.

And the colour relation of this blocking is that both doors in the pictures above lead Ava towards an exit that’s surrounded by a warm palette.

And remember in Episode 1, when Ava left the cold palette and head towards the warm palette to escape? And where did that lead her? Right back to the church. So now, Ava decides to leave the warm palette, and head towards the colder ones (through the window), because at this point, girly will try anything if it means she could get away from all this weird demon shit.

Blocking.

Honourable mention of this blocking. Love how the cane and stick form a ‘cross’ in this shot. A cross that’s also placed on Ava’s left shoulder, just like the previous ‘cross’ from Episode 2. The only difference is, Lilith and Mother Superion are the very reason why the cross existed. I’d say it depends on who’s on the right side of Ava to determine who stands where in Ava’s story, but I fear I might be reaching or reading too much into it.

Important Avatrice blocking.

I know the most pivotal Ava and Beatrice scene in this episode is the hug after Mama Supes goes full Cruella on Ava, but I think Drizzle's rant already covers most of the symbolism there. So instead, I'm gonna yap about this scene—the first time Ava and Beatrice get to talk to each other completely alone.

I love how Bea initially stands on the darker side of the frame. That's kind of her thing: she's always there for people, but just far enough away that she isn't really seen. (She does this back in Episode 1 too, when Shannon and Mary are talking.)

But then Bea notices Ava misinterpreting that distance as distrust—Ava says, "I'm serious," when Bea immediately, without hesitation, tells her that she believes her when she said she didn’t kill herself.

We see Bea start to step into the light, to let Ava see her wholly as she assures her on how she believes Ava to not be someone who’s dishonest. As she says this, she literally steps into the light. She’s choosing to let Ava see her more fully—to trust her with a little more of herself.

But then Ava starts ga(y)uging her;

And that leads to Bea retreating back into the dark—fearing that if Ava gets to see her in the light any longer, then she’ll see her for who she truly is.

By the end of the scene, we understand something important: Beatrice trusts Ava with the Halo, and she trusts Ava with part of her past, but she doesn't trust her enough to tell her everything.

Slow burnnnnn.

Okay, shots first.

There were no ‘important’ rear-view shots of Ava in Episode 3. I think it’s safe to say that our girl is now trying to make decisions based on what she’s seeing, rather than what she’s feeling, which explains why we get to see a lot of front-view shots of Ava just a few seconds before she decides something.

Like this part, when Vincent is telling her she will be safe in here along with the other OCS’s members who are literally trained to fight demons and shit.

And then again when she’s assessing Mother Superion.

And also here, when she decided that she could work with Beatrice in the midst of everyone outcasting her.

It’s also worth mentioning that although we don’t get Ava’s usual rear-view shots in this episode, we do get quite a few of Vincent and Mother Superion.

In their case, though, I don’t think the rear-view shots represent internal conflict the way they do with Ava. Instead, they seem to emphasise how both characters are carrying histories and secrets that we haven’t uncovered yet.

The contrasting dynamics of characters who do not fit the traditional masculine molds in animated series. While The Raccoons featured its own quirky, scheming businessman in Cyril Sneer, the Blinky Bill franchise famously explored these themes through the crocodile characters you mentioned. 

In Season 2, Episode 20 of The Adventures of Blinky Bill ("Blinky Bill and the Crocodiles"), Blinky and his friends encounter Sirol, a softer, "effeminate" crocodile who struggles with his father's harsh expectations. This dynamic of characters being alienated for not living up to traditional stereotypes is a common trope in classic cartoons, where characters like Sirol are judged by their peers or parents for being too gentle or "soft".

Similarly, many children's shows feature characters like the spoiled, bossy, and tough-acting little crocodile boys who actively reject anything they deem "sissy" or weak in order to maintain a tough exterior among their peers.