Pull up a chair. Today's guest walked in fifteen minutes early, brought a binder, and has already reorganized the waiting room by color-coded folder. She's thrilled to be here. She's also, I'd wager, a little worried this session is going to find something she can't fix with a well-timed breakfast of waffles and whipped cream. … Continue reading The Character Couch – Leslie Knope
Character Analysis
Life Finds a Way Back: How Grant, Sattler, and Malcolm Grew Up Alongside the Franchise
Most franchises that run this long eventually become about the franchise instead of the people in it. New leads show up, old ones get a nostalgic cameo, and the theme park (sometimes literally, in this case) keeps expanding while the actual characters quietly calcify into action figures. Jurassic Park has done plenty of that too. … Continue reading Life Finds a Way Back: How Grant, Sattler, and Malcolm Grew Up Alongside the Franchise
Solid Snake’s Legacy: Metal Gear Solid Franchise Analysis
There's a moment near the end of Metal Gear Solid, right after Snake has destroyed REX and stopped Liquid, when Colonel Campbell tells him something almost throwaway. To keep the government from hunting him down, Snake will simply be registered as killed in action. He saved the world and the reward is that the world … Continue reading Solid Snake’s Legacy: Metal Gear Solid Franchise Analysis
The Evolution of Severus Snape: From Antagonist to Tragic Hero
There is a moment in the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that nobody remembers, because it has nothing to do with Severus Snape. A baby is left on a doorstep. A scar is described. A nosey cat goes uncommented on by passing Muggles. But J.K. Rowling has said that by the … Continue reading The Evolution of Severus Snape: From Antagonist to Tragic Hero
The Character Couch – Eleanor Shellstrop
Welcome back to The Character Couch, where we dust off our amateur psychology credentials and spend some quality time with fictional people who absolutely could have benefited from a real therapist at some point. Today's subject shuffled in a little late, made a joke about the waiting room being a trap, and spent the first … Continue reading The Character Couch – Eleanor Shellstrop
The Character Couch – Cece Parikh
Welcome back to The Character Couch, where we put on our amateur psychology hats and spend some quality time with characters who probably could have used a real therapist at some point along the way. Today's subject arrived looking impeccably put-together — and I mean that literally. She is a professional fashion model, so she … Continue reading The Character Couch – Cece Parikh
Hogwarts Houses: Stereotypes, Unity, and Personal Growth
There is a question that has followed Harry Potter fans around for nearly thirty years now, surviving playground arguments, Pottermore quizzes, and at least a dozen personality tests designed to help you figure out whether you belong with the brave ones, the loyal ones, the clever ones, or the ambitious ones. The question is deceptively … Continue reading Hogwarts Houses: Stereotypes, Unity, and Personal Growth
12 Characters I Hate From Movies I Love
Let me be clear about something right off the bat: I have excellent taste in movies. I do. I'm not going to sit here and pretend otherwise. But even the most beloved films — the ones you'd fight someone over at a dinner party, the ones you can quote in your sleep, the ones that … Continue reading 12 Characters I Hate From Movies I Love
