9/10

I'm now moving my rating to the previous 3 episodes to 3/10

much better presentation all around.

I enjoyed that. I wonder if Jade will make an appearance.

Except, we didn't really get all that. Instead of being an evil conquerer, who relishes in his victory, he gave off a being annoyed and busy at work vibe. The only times I got the sense of him being an evil scumbag, is during the animation cutscenes when he manipulated Kitana and Mileena growing up and put on that evil grin.

So I don't know if the actor is to blame, the direction or both, but there was just nothing to that Shao Kahn. Adding the helmet wouldn't change that fact.

@NoobSaibot5

I agree that the mask is besides the point. But I think most people see the mask as a rough-and-ready symbol for Shao Kahn's villainy. Hence, the argument about the mask strikes me as actually an argument about what kind of character Shao Kahn is supposed to be.

I think we can all agree that he's evil, even given what we see in the episode. He brutally conquers a peace-loving realm, and clones his step-daughter with Tarkatan gene-splicing. Factually, the character is doing evil things, but his presentation in the series seems to suggest that he is not evil. There's a very obvious tension in the episode between what we know about the characters actions (as narrated) and his actual portrayal in the live-action sequences.

Even if he 'softens up' to woo Sindel, it's quite clear that this would be a mode of interaction for him that is entirely foreign. He takes what he wants, and, I would assume, he takes power to be his most alluring feature. There's no sense of frustration or inner conflict in his character. He acts like your typical unrequited love archetype, despite the fact that we know, or can take it as a good working assumption, that an unrequited love archetype runs a little differently when he's the Emperor of Outworld.

The real problem with this episode is that everything interesting about it is narrated away. This is not a criticism of Kevin's budget, it's a criticism of his storytelling decisions. The chance to tell a story about Mileena and Kitana should seize the opportunity to allow us to watch how they interact with each other. All Kevin needs is a small, tightly written scene where the most salient features of M&K's character-traits are given expression. With a sampling like this, we can infer a great deal about who they are.

As I've said before, I suspect that Mileena fans rush to defend this episode because they appreciate that Mileena is given a personality. Everyone agrees on this point (I think). But Mileena fans should like this episode least of all. It's a totally squandered opportunity to give her genuine expression. They didn't give her a genuine personality, they merely stipulated that she has one. That's poor storytelling no matter how you slice it.

The difference is that one of those is a fighting game special move. I'm willing to go along with most anything MK throws at me, but even my suspension of disbelief has limits.

BBT and others hating on this episode.. its a two parter.. maybe wait until you see part 2 before you make judgement on the storytelling, the characters or the feel of the episode.
Next week will be a lot more about the interactions between the two sisters.. as well as a bit more graphic gore I'm guessin from either Baraka, or if another outworld villain appears

oh, and I stand by my suggestion that Fame did work for what it was artistically, given Kevin has been given the Glee movie to run..
i think a lot of the hate on Glee was on the story, not so much the direction.. he is a director on the rise in Hollywood

@Siang

Agreed. I limit my remarks to part 1 only, just as those that praise part 1 aren't taken to be praising the entire episode just yet. Part 2 might redeem the episode as a whole, and I'm open to that possibility. I suspect that if part 2 does what it should, part 1 will seem mostly superfluous. We'll see next week.

Fun fact: not all twins are identical, though (dizygotic twin-pregnancy). And this is a realm where people grow blades out of their foreheads and forearms. Probably penis too. Prehensile penis blade.

The best subterfuge goes on right in front of one's eyes. Handwave it by
a. Mileena had an accident. This is Outworldian reconstruction surgery.
b. enhancement for battle. Alan Zane style. Went psychotic. He surgically implanted blades into her lips. Codename: Mileena.
c. aforementioned richness of Outworld.


Ok, rant-time:

The problem is, either way I look at it, Shao Kahn is an idiot. Keeping the telltale mark hidden by virtue of a fucking cloth over her mouth is about as intellectually sound as pissing on highwires. How about confronting the young Kitana about how Millie has such and such deformities but those things were necessary because....-insert reason. Then let them train together etc building up sisterly trust etc. In their youth.

Hell, this waaay more economic than keep your face hidden forever, lulz. Not to mention that dad wears a fucking mask all the time. Nothing suspicious about that in the first place.... and dad isn't exactly a loving father too.

A few simple acted out sentences explaining falsehoods as facts could have saved Kahn the trouble these two cockteases put him through. Hell, Shao Kahn could take notes from Gendo Ikari about manipulating relatives and clones of relatives.

He should not have told her about a twin in the first place. This is why I kinda dig the new iteration. Mileena is a replacement, not just a sorry Pinocchio skin-walker wannabe who has identity and entitlement issues.

Everyone knows the difference between identical twins and fraternal twins, Chrome.

Mileena's cover story was specifically the former, not the latter. Because the latter would be STUPID because other than her deformed parts, Mileena is supposed to look EXACTLY like Kitana 'cause she's a fucking genetic duplicate.
Why do you force me to state the obvious?

Because he's Chrome? XD
Come on, episode 5!

Which flies right out the window once you add Tarkatan genes, but whatever. It is called genetic splicing.

I just do not see any advantages in the original timeline: either the process of cloning went wrong, or by deliberately adding the fangs Kahn undermined his own scheme. And if the cloning process is not perfect, then why start it in the first place?

Or maybe Shang Tsung just fucked her up for the lulz.

Because how would they KNOW if it will work or not until they try?

Mileena was a prototype that they decided to keep and do something useful with because sure, her looks didn't turn out good enough to replace Kitana like planned, but throwing her out would be a waste of a good soldier.
And there was no point trying a second time, once you know adding Tarkatan DNA without getting deformities isn't possible and it's pointless to make a clone withOUT the added DNA, because that wouldn't make Kitana with more loyalty, it would JUST make a second Kitana with the same brain as the first, which defeats the whole purpose of the project.
The whole point of the two characters is SUPPOSED to be that NEITHER is the daughter Kahn would REALLY want, one looks hideous and the other can't be trusted, but he made do with what he had...and it happened that he loved the untrustworthy one better because she was first, she was more real, and you could look at her face without being disgusted.

So tired...But...Must....Watch...New...Episode....
*Face to desk*
Where is it?!!

Fair enough that Mileena was the prototype, but then why do one clone without splicing in tarkatan blood?

Infact, I cannot see Mileena's existence anythingother than a pet project of the emperor. For one, he is immortal, hereditary souvereignship is a moot point. He wanted a daughter, then why not make a clone of Kitana plain and simple and have her conditioned to be utterly loyal?

It turns out that the original is still a super prototype, because she regularly owned at least twice Mileena's ass if we go by MK logic. Even with assuming that Kahn did not know that beforehand, why would he need a tarkatan Kitana?

Seems to me that the outcome was decided before the plotting, we needed a deformed Mileena, and have an excuse plot to justify her existence. Even if her creation reeks of idiocy and lack of foresight.

Apparently in the new iteration Kahn has no qualms about having a bear trap faced daughter.