I liked ThreeBelow, though not as much as Trollhunters but I absolutely hate the theme song which is something I don’t normally care about.
More to the point the Big Bad General Morando orchestrated his coup in an effort to exact revenge against the Tarrons for having banished him. But it’s never revealed why he was banished in the first place. Indeed, the only thing we know of Morando from before then is the fact that he is responsible for the characters getting the Mothership and that that was something for which the King and Queen were grateful. And that’s it. We have absolutely no explanation of motive for his original offence, even if it were a purely evil one.
And that gets me to what I consider the Franchise Original Sin which is the show’s handling of its Villains. The Colonel is originally an impressive and formidable antagonist. But when she turns against the electricity monster guy (I don’t remember his name) she correctly points out that he is the one who broke the deal. And when Morando decides to wipe out all humans (including her) she immediately decides to turn against him and he easily kills her. Something Trollhunters already did with Angor Rot and did much better.
The electricity monster guy is given a sympathetic backstory involving the destruction of his world. And (after being tortured by the Colonel) performs a Heel–Face Turn.
The Colonel’s sidekick has qualms about their allegiance with Morando and performs a Heel–Face Turn.
A Villain can’t have compelling motivations in this show without performing a Heel–Face Turn.
I find the political messages to be overly heavyhanded. And I didn’t care for the Sequel Hook at the end of the show which could hardly have felt more forced.
That said, there are a lot of good things about this show. I like Krel as a mechanical genius who is also an outsider and struggles to change things. I find Varvatos Vex to be an immensely entertaining character even before his hidden depths were shown. And I like Vex’s backstory. Vex is probably my favourite character in this one.
I like the protagonist Aja. And I like the nods to Trollhunters though the show on occasion becomes overly reliant thereupon. I like how Señor Uhl the Unforgiving becomes a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. And I like Stuart.
I also like the relationships between the established characters. And the high stakes ending. Delaying the inevitable death of the Tarron parents to the series finale to get a good heroic sacrifice is something I’m fine with because it meant Varvatos Vex wouldn’t have to cross a Moral Event Horizon. And I liked Vex’s glorious heroic sacrifice though his surviving it felt forced. And I liked Krel’s arc leading to him recognizing that Earth has become his home.
It’s good but Trollhunters was better.
I liked ThreeBelow, though not as much as Trollhunters but I absolutely hate the theme song which is something I don’t normally care about.
More to the point the Big Bad General Morando orchestrated his coup in an effort to exact revenge against the Tarrons for having banished him. But it’s never revealed why he was banished in the first place. Indeed, the only thing we know of Morando from before then is the fact that he is responsible for the characters getting the Mothership and that that was something for which the King and Queen were grateful. And that’s it. We have absolutely no explanation of motive for his original offence, even if it were a purely evil one.
And that gets me to what I consider the Franchise Original Sin which is the show’s handling of its Villains. The Colonel is originally an impressive and formidable antagonist. But when she turns against the electricity monster guy (I don’t remember his name) she correctly points out that he is the one who broke the deal. And when Morando decides to wipe out all humans (including her) she immediately decides to turn against him and he easily kills her. Something Trollhunters already did with Angor Rot and did much better.
The electricity monster guy is given a sympathetic backstory involving the destruction of his world. And (after being tortured by the Colonel) performs a Heel–Face Turn.
The Colonel’s sidekick has qualms about their allegiance with Morando and performs a Heel–Face Turn.
A Villain can’t have compelling motivations in this show without performing a Heel–Face Turn.
I find the political messages to be overly heavyhanded. And I didn’t care for the Sequel Hook at the end of the show which could hardly have felt more forced.
That said, there are a lot of good things about this show. I like Krel as a mechanical genius who is also an outsider and struggles to change things. I find Varvatos Vex to be an immensely entertaining character even before his hidden depths were shown. And I like Vex’s backstory. Vex is probably my favourite character in this one.
I like the protagonist Aja. And I like the nods to Trollhunters though the show on occasion becomes overly reliant thereupon. I like how Señor Uhl the Unforgiving becomes a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. And I like Stuart.
I also like the relationships between the established characters. And the high stakes ending. Delaying the inevitable death of the Tarron parents to the series finale to get a good heroic sacrifice is something I’m fine with because it meant Varvatos Vex wouldn’t have to cross a Moral Event Horizon. And I liked Vex’s glorious heroic sacrifice though his surviving it felt forced. And I liked Krel’s arc leading to him recognizing that Earth has become his home.
All in all, it’s good but Trollhunters was better