#fialkov

>Anytime Aja is excited about anything is a win for me.  I love her enthusiasm so freaking much.

>Also Krel doing trial runs with his worm hole generator.  Man, do I love these two as protagonists, as well as the dynamic they have with each other.

>Spaghettification is one of my fav words too, now

>You guys are just gonna go outside in your Akiridion forms huh?  In broad daylight where the neighbors can see.  Do you guys even have neighbors I wonder?

>My dudes, you have no idea how long I waited for the Arrrgh!!! in summer school thing to pay off after seeing a promo image for it, and the scene did not disappoint 😆 

>Coach Lawrence, I’m just curious how you think getting a massive stone troll on a high school wrestling team is going to go over with your school’s rivals, or anyone.

Although, that should definitely be the way the rest of the world learns about trolls.  Not some big plot thing.  Coach Lawrence convincing Arrrgh!!! to wrestle for him.

gonna give more bonus points to Arrrgh!!! for being AWESOME SAUCE!!!

>Kubritz, you should really listen to Costas.  I mean, you really should.  Did I mention how this show is slowly convincing me to like Costas, because this show is slowly convincing me to like Costas.

>The return of Jim Lake disease warrants points for continuity

(I don’t actually have a points system I’m using in these liveblogs and I don’t really know why I keep awarding points, but it’s fun)

>Yay for Vex and Zadra working together!  And Luug too!

>Luug and Buster friendship FOR THE WIN!

>I really like Mary’s interrogation.  Especially how she points out that “Teddy” (the guy in the orange jumpsuit with Costas interrogating her) is weird.  Like, yes, way to point out that the Area 49B guys are weird, especially how they just barged into the school.  You go, Mary, for pointing out they’re kind of hypocrites about the whole ‘weird’ thing.

This is an episode I enjoy a lot because it shows how the high schoolers aren’t only willing to protect trolls (Arrrgh!!! is literally walking by the door as the interrogation happens, but Mary doesn’t point that out), but later the Akiridions too.  Like, I don’t feel like there’s much to analyze too deeply here because it’s a well put-together episode making a point that I think really belongs in a children’s show, especially considering the current climate in the US.

>I like how Toby does question Aja and Krel’s plan (his ‘they’re here for you’ line), but can’t act on it because Aja jumps out from their hiding spot and prevents him.

>It just occurred to me that Tronos attacking Aja and Krel at the school parallels how Angor Rot attacked Jim at the school in Trollhunters.

Just I feel like there’s a lot of narrative parallels between Tronos and Angor Rot that I need to explore more at some point.

>Steve and Eli hanging out is cute.  I do like ‘cheese slice’ as a nickname.

>Why couldn’t they have left the Toby fat jokes in the past, just ghsijghfsjghefsji I don’t like those.

>The fact they implied that Kubritz did something to Krel here ups the intensity quite a lot.  This is the beginning of 3Below Part 2 not being afraid to throw down.

>Also, the beginning of Tronos’s backstory.  It doesn’t make much sense because last episode he said Aja was worth billions/the bounty was his because he had the royals (which shows he does care about the money).

However, I do this backstory for him (so I don’t mind the sudden switch all too much).  I think ‘avenging his homeworld’s destruction’ has more depth to it than ‘I want to be rich’.  I also like the implications that Fialkov and Coranda may not have been as honorable as their children think.  Between this and the fact Fialkov would not let Vex avenge his family, it shows they may have not been perfect monarchs.

On the one hand, I do want to say that this development was never really acted on in the show so it was wasted potential.  On the other, I’m willing to give the writers a chance.

For instance, they introduced the Deep in S2 of Trollhunters and then dropped it for the rest of that show, only to return to it later in S2 of 3Below.  Given what the Deep was, they could not have expanded on it in TH without spoiling plot points for 3B.  I’m not saying we will see more to Fialkov and Coranda’s characters in Wizards (because yeah maybe it was just wasted potential).

What I am saying is that I’m willing to give the writers a chance.  What might feel like a plot hole in one series may be an intentional withholding of information as to not spoil the next series.

Essentially, I’m not too keen on saying the writers wasted the potential of Aja and Krel’s parents (or Morando for that matter), because they may have plans to return to them and expand on them when tying all three shows together.  In this particular instance, I’m going to withhold my full judgment until Wizards is out and I can see the entire narrative laid out in completion.

>The Vex and Zadra vs. the Foo Foos fight gives some much needed levity to this episode.

>I really really like the scene where Eli confronts Steve about shoving people in lockers.  It shows that a) they did have a conversation about Steve’s past bullying and Steve listened to Eli and b) Steve maintains his personality, but he’s also changing for the better.  Just, all I’ve ever wanted if the writers are going to continue to have Steve be a recurring character is improvement from him.

>The last confrontation between Kubritz and the kids and Coach Lawrence was so immensely good.  One thing I absolutely love about 3Below is how it addresses issues like immigration and how it shows how kids can stand up against people like Kubritz.  idk I think that’s something really important to have in a children’s cartoon.

>Mary and Darci’s little hand gesture is cute.

>Aja deciding she needs to know the truth about Voltar is great character development for her.  It strikes me as the beginning of her heading to queenship.  Aja, personally, may not like the idea of being a royal, but she is resolute about standing up for what’s right and is willing to use her royal status for that cause.  This harkens back to Part 1, in the Arcadian Job, where she decides to help Stuart help free Buster.  She believed it was the right thing to do, so she did it.  To me, that plus her determination to know what happened to Voltar, is the beginning of setting her up to be a good queen.

Also, Aja’s been shown to be extremely sympathetic to grotesque/unusual creatures.  Again, with Buster in season 1.  When we’re introduced to them, Luug seems to be more her pet than Krel’s.  Arrrgh!!! is strange to her, yet she finds him magnificent.  

Aja, I think, is capable of great empathy and care (and these interactions are the evidence of that).  She does not fear someone because of the way they look, or considers them a monster.  I really love that about her.

Thinking about it, I also believe it is these things that set her up to return to Akiridion-5 to rule (rather than Krel, who’s motivated more by scientific research and discovery and has less of the diplomatic/charismatic characteristics required of a monarch).  A huge driving force behind a lot of the actions Aja does is connecting with others, which is something she is shown to do easily.  As a ruler, she would have more power to reach out to those in need and, as herself, would have an easier time empathizing and connecting with them.

Aja doesn’t have to stop being herself to be a queen.