I'd seen the Serena return episode once before, but I watching to see if the Contests were more like AG/DP or more like the Performances in XY. I was disappointed they kept the idol aesthetic of XY (I fucking hate Lisia) but pleased that they got rid of the cooking contests. I still can't imagine any of May or Dawn's male rivals being successful in them, though.
Now that I have the almost full context for the episode in Journeys, I get what they wanted to do with Serena here. Serena was basically taking on the same role for Chloe that Ash had taken on for her, and when you compare it to the other Eevee trainers who gave Chloe the same advice (just try things!) it really seems like it comes from a place of established wisdom. If you know Serena's backstory, it easily parallels with Chloe's. Serena didn't want to follow her mother into Rhyhorn racing, and Chloe doesn't necessarily want to be a researcher just because her dad is. I felt like Serena's story, kiss included, was best ended with the idea that she got to express her feelings and then moved on to become her own person without Ash. And the fact that they kept them apart this episode I think solidifies that idea. If she shows up in Horizons, hopefully it'll be without any reference to Ash.
The only complaint I have is Wallace. In DP he was kind of a dandy character, but not exactly effeminate. His Journeys counterpart could give Harley a run for his money though. Also, Wallace wasn't a dick. He was super chill and helped Dawn come out of her rut. I can only assume that after Steven beat him for the championship, combined with the stress of having such a hateworthy niece, Wallace turned to drugs and prostitution.
>>54466744Yes. I "finished" a version of it a couple of weeks ago:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Nr3LMRBx-tJZtSwAbc4s4YTEgg6MVFnc/edit#gid=1304608200As I'm going through Journeys, I'm correcting things. I'll keep revising it as things come up as well.
