User blog comment:Thailog/Ep. 201 "Happy New Year!" discussion/@comment-108.89.83.90-20120429053814

I'm really torn. On the one hand, if I'd never seen season one and came into YJ:I as a brand new viewer, I would have loved this episode. Well-written, well acted, strong plot. All the makings of excellent TV.

On the other hand... it feels like I just switched captains of the Enterprise (Star Trek reference, for any non-fans on the blog). And way too soon. If this had been season 3 or 4... I'd get it. But I was really looking forward to watching clone-Roy search for the real-Roy, the slow unraveling of those missing 16 hours, and the gradual shift in relations within the Team. It seems like a lot of that will be explained retroactively through flashbacks. Which, for me, just feels a bit... cheap.

Yes, I understand that we'll be finding out a lot about those missing hours in this season (presumably because they're intricately tied to the invasion). And I know the Roy search is supposed to be a big subplot this season two. And yet...

Really? The world's greatest superheroes (not to mention the world's greatest detective) didn't figure any of this crap out in 5 years? Yes, one of the Leaguers (was it Batman? I'm having a hard time remembering) did "cover" this by saying "Oh gee, we never thought to consider off-world travel."

Bull-crap. Of course they would have considered that. They've got a TEAM FULL OF ALIENS! And a group of villains that has a Lord of Chaos in their mix - and Klarion is definitely not limited to one planet, let alone one universe. They (and Batman especially) would have considered every possibility - earth, other solar systems, alternate universes even.

For me, the fact that they didn't even consider space travel in those missing hours makes them look rather... stupid. I mean, seriously, they went missing for 16 HOURS. The world's most powerful individuals. Heck, John Stewart alone should have checked in with OA, just a quick "Hey fellow Lanterns, could you check your sectors and see if I did anything bizarre recently? You know, wreaked some havoc, started an unstoppable chain of events that would lead to an alien invasion of earth?  Oh, I DID?  Well poop.  Thanks for the heads up!"

Limiting their investigation to earth activities is the ultimate face palm. And totally... out of character (in my opinion at least).

But, even with all of that aside, what irks me the most is that Greg Weisman lied. A flat-out, bold-faced lie. He said there would be "no timeskip." He said that "Happy New Year" would take place directly after "Auld Acquaintance." Obvious baloney. If you want to vaguely misdirect me (i.e. like they did with Roy being the mole all along), fine. Creative license. But don't lie to me. That just... makes me not trust or like you. And, yes, clearly he was just saying that to throw the fans off. But you know what, find a different way, Mr. Weisman. Call me old-fashioned, but I was raised to believe that lying was not an acceptable way of interacting with other people.

And what's worse, he didn't need to lie. When people asked if season 2 took place right after season 1, he could have found a clever way to answer without giving a firm yes or no. Something like "Season 2 starts on New Years Day." There, not a lie at all. It does start on New Years Day. 5 years later, but hey, whatever - not his fault if everyone just assumes it's the New Years right after the Watchtower attack. But to flat out say "no timeskip" and then include a MASSIVE timeskip? Not necessary.

And heck, I think that's why I'm having such an issue with the season 2 premiere. And maybe it's the same for other fans. It was just a complete surprise. And not a good "I threw you a birthday party" surprise. More of a "I threw you a birthday party, but there's a monkey taking a crap on your cake" surprise.


 * sigh* Rant over. Sorry to babble on.  But does anyone agree with me about any of this?

Also, let me reiterate, there was a lot of good in the episode itself. I'm not about to throw the towel in on the series or anything. I just think there was a lot of poorly handled execution along the way.