What aunt_zelda Thinks: The Review Must Go On
First, the comment I want to post on tgwtg.com, but either my internet is weird or it's not letting me post for some reason:
So, the character development and emotional tumultuous ending of To Boldly Flee, the nice closure, the crying from fans and the ultimate satisfying conclusion ... that's all been tossed out the window? That meant nothing? People who were genuinely moved by the ending of To Boldly Flee ... just don't count?
No, of course, listen to the whiners, the haters, the people who dismissed Demo Reel not for legit concerns about writing or character development but because it "wasn't new episodes of Nostalgia Critic."
Demo Reel was finally starting to kick ass, those last couple episodes? So awesome.
So now all those characters are dead. And Donnie was just the Critic all along. So it was all ultimately pointless, these past few months don't matter at all. Heck, To Boldly Flee doesn't matter at all either, apparently Because some people wouldn't stop whining about every episode of Demo Reel "not being a new Nostalgia Critic episode."
This video made me cry, but not tears of joy. This legitimately upset me. You seemed so bitter, so unwilling, the NC had to actually badger you into insanity to get you to go back to this. Is this truly what you want to do, or are you just caving to the vocal minority demanding something old and familiar over something new and different?
You said you'd wanted to do Demo Reel for years. I hate to think that some whiners ate away at your confidence these past couple months until you gave in to their demands.
First, this made me cry. Then it made me angry. Now ... now I'm just sad.
If this is truly what you want, Mr. Walker, that's your decision. But I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with it.
Here's what I typed as I watched, taking things very personally and pausing to sob in a rather frightening manner. Seriously, a lot of people on my floor were concerned about me when I went to go get my kettle from the Common Room after I wrote this
WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS MEAN-SPIRITED DOCTOR WHO PLOT DEVICE BULLSHIT?!?!?!?!??!?!?!
[Edit: I meant Doctor Who plot device as in, there are people disappearing and it's scary, I did not mean that Doctor Who routinely uses mean-spirited plot devices or bullshit.]
I am actually screaming "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?!??!?!?" and "WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT?!?!?!?" and "NO YOU CAN'T DO THIS!!!!!!!" and I'm yelling in the dorms. So everyone on this floor probably thinks I'm insane.
And then Carl turned into Rob with a dinosaur head? I think?
And then I yelled "NO!" a lot. And pointed at the screen in anger.
Great idea Doug. Make an emotional and satisfying end for the Critic that made everyone cry and mourn and respect you and made a few assholes complain about you deciding to branch out and do something new and creative …
... and just undo the awesome ending you crafted. Brutally and cruelly kill off all the characters you spent several episodes making us love.
What the … fuck. I can't even swear creatively right now. This isn't funny. This is sad. And upsetting.
I CRIED about the ending of To Boldly Flee. The ramifications of that ending, and through the fandom, during that final month of this summer, when some truly awful stuff happened in my life with my family … I think it made me incredibly and deeply sad for quite some time. I was kinda scared for a while there, mostly because of my family stuff but also about how even THINKING of "Rocket Man" made me burst into tears and stuff. Know what got me out of that funk? Working on a script of my own and making a movie of my own with some fantastic friends of mine at college. Living the reality that making movies is a fun thing, what I want to do, something I was writing an essay on because I wanted to SWITCH MY MAJOR and spent the summer and last semester doing that.
How dare you, Doug. HOW DARE YOU CAVE. After years of dealing with assholes on the internet, you cave to the pressure of a few cranky people who can't seem to understand that artists like to move on and try new things?! You said you wanted to do Demo Reel for years, and you finally bought a studio and got new people and … Demo Reel was just starting to hit its curve …
(On a sidenote, Nella has an adorable car. Awwwww. Tiny car is adorable!)
(Also, I like the paint in Doug's house. Or … whatever house this was filmed at, if this isn't his house. I like the colors.)
And then I'm crying and yelling "No! NO! How can you do this?! Don't do this!"
This is filmed so creepily. He is giving in to a psychotic vision making demands that badgered him relentlessly and showed up creepily in his mirror until he gave in. That's like the most awful way to bring back a beloved character who sacrificed himself bravely for the good of the world and his friends …
So then I started crying and whimpering "why would you do this?!"
Donnie was the Critic all along? Huh?
"Your mind wouldn't believe you were capable of such a selfless act."
…
…
…
[Edit: the face I made there was something you had to see to believe. It was rather something like those Rage Comic faces, in fact. I also had to pause because that line made me sob and cry and whimper "whyyyyyyyyyyy" and "noooo" and variations on those words.]
So this is all a big "fuck you" to everyone who cared about the ending of To Boldly Flee, was moved by it, thought it was great character development, or cried at it, or made heartfelt comments or posts online or made videos about how much it meant to them?
I'm a little scared of how hard and hysterically I'm crying right now. I had to take a break for a minute. I can't remember the last time I cried this hard. Oh, right, LES MISERABLES.
[Edit: And somehow, I still came out of that film uplifted somewhat, singing and whimpering, sobbing and cheering. I got none of those positive emotions from this video, only the pain and the crying parts.]
This is like a nightmare.
He seems to think this is a triumphant return and it's playing like a bitter, horrible, spiteful, depressing, mean spirited pile of pretentious ignorant HORSESHIT.
And all the characters from Demo Reel get absorbed and FUCKING DIE.
Fuck you, Doug Walker. Now everyone on my floor thinks I'm going insane.
Thoughts after all of that:
First I was crying and begging and hoping against hope that no, no, this couldn't be what it was, he was gonna do some kinda twist, save them, do something, say "No, the Nostalgia Critic sacrificed himself to save the world, I don't know what kind of drug-induced bullshit this is, but I'm not having it!" and he'd kick the Plot Hole away and wake up after a drinking binge with the Demo Reel crew and tell Quinn "remind me never to chug tequila and vodka simultaneously" and that'd be the end of it.
But it wasn't.
I don't know what this is. Is he just caving to popular (or not so popular) opinion? Is the site traffic lagging that badly? Does he genuinely miss it? He seemed so ... unwilling. Reluctant. If this was supposed to be a triumphant return, he sure shot it like a terrifying battle between himself and a psychotic haunting specter that he ultimately lost.
Maybe it's genuine, maybe he got burned out and took a break and then wanted to get back into things. But I disagree with him even if he isn't just doing this because of fan opinions. He gave a great end to a character who started out as a silly ranting man on the internet making us laugh every week. And now that great end has been, essentially, retconned. Undone. Status Quo is God. The Critic learned nothing. His sacrifice was pointless. Know that hero we were all crying about a couple months ago, for taking on the Plot Hole and saving everything? He's now been replaced by Douchey McNitpick, zapping mistakes from the sky. A kick in the teeth to anyone who thought TBF's conclusion was good or moving or emotionally satisfying or an example of character development and a fitting end for a great character. It's like saying "You wanted a hero, huh? A nice heroic and moving end for a beloved character? PSYCH! He's going back to his usual show, his usual shtick, suffering every week for your amusement while his ultimate fate, keeping the universe from collapsing on itself, has been taken over by this caricature of a troll. That's what you WANTED, right?"
I don't want new NC reviews because of something like that. That leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It makes me sad. It makes me angry. It makes me want to yell mean things into the internet like "spineless coward" and "heartless bastard" even though those things aren't true at all. It makes me so ashamed that I said I wasn't that crazy about Demo Reel from the start, that it took me a few episodes to really get into it. That I only started writing fic for it a few days ago.
I'm going to curl up in a ball with my plushies now. I'd say I'm going to watch NC reviews, or listen to Rob's commentary of TBF, but neither of those options are viable right now
m I in a minority here? Am I taking this too personally? Am I reading too much into the actions of an internet reviewer