Continuing with the second part of the premiere, here are my notes:
- I have warmed up a bit to Carmen, especially through her younger self.
- On a related note, I like the angle of her only truly grasping the full depravity of VILE's activities once she is in the real world. Making Carmen sympathetic to the pursuit of knowledge and cultural preservation is a crucial shift in a reboot where she is the protagonist rather than the boogeyman (anti)villain she was in the 80s and 90s.
- Villains International League of Evil is such a campy name that the vibe of this show did not prepare me for lmao.
- Coach Brunt and Chase Devineaux were specially designed for both sides of my bisexuality I'm going to gnaw my legs off-
- The backstory-framing device of this two-parter is so disconnected from the actual backstory that I forgot it existed. Why is Carmen so chill about trauma-dumping to a man threatening to kill her?
- I'm REALLY hoping Mime Bomb becomes more than a gag character in the future because of how much they focus on him. It certainly can't be because the 'mimes are quiet' joke was so funny the 15th time.
- "White collar crime is where the real money is," is a surprisingly frank line. It's not terribly deep or insightful but it is one of many instances of the writing being much more...aware? than the shows that I grew up with in the 2000s. This show knows how to feel modern and mature without feeling pandering and edgy, is what I'm trying to say.
- The explanation of where Carmen's name and red aesthetic comes from didn't really satisfy me, tbh. I assumed it would be more meaningful than a brand name stitched to a hat she just stole 10 minutes ago.
- However, the musical sting at the end fucking slaps.
Overall: my first impressions from the first episode haven't changed much, but I do think this has the potential to be a fun series.