This was a breath of fresh air after the mental slog of the last one. Just a few critiques: It was still a bit overly complicated, and I felt like we were rushed through the world building in the other quadrants. There were also several times where I would completely forget a character was there because they would have no dialogue for ages, not responding to anything that was going on, and then suddenly they’d say something and it was really jarring. Also the number of times it was intentionally kept from us what was going on, but there was still tons of exhibition about what was happening, was frustrating. If there’s no way to guess what crazy plan Carl is enacting, it doesn’t really serve the story’s framework to keep it from us while forcing us to try and piece together all the random moving pieces and follow along with no context for what’s happening. The side character dialogue was also a bit clunky in several places that made it kinda distracting, but not overwhelmingly so.
That being said!! HOLY SHIT! Shit is getting REAL and I am SO STOKED FOR IT!! Carl is done pulling his punches and I’m absolutely obsessed with where this is going. The character development is off the charts in so many directions, and it’s nice to have a few loose ends finally tied up so we can focus on what’s to come. The twists and turns in this one actually felt like they were intentional, and we were allowed to be in on just enough of it to not feel left out in the cold when the reveal hit. YOU WILL NOT BREAK HIM! ✊🏼