Seven Deadly Sins season 3

[JeenLeen]

I saw it newly released on Netflix, so figured I'd make a thread.

So far, my attitude is mostly critical, and as someone who really liked seasons 1 and 2. The story is still pretty good, but I might get bored and stop watching. Decent for in the background while I do chores.


They, I think without any setup in earlier seasons, added a numerical Power Level system. It seems mainly to justify a "Oh, no, he is so powerful!" reaction based on sight instead of results... which beyond being really reminiscent of Dragon Ball Z's supertech goggles (not to mention at least once King looked like he was going super-saiyan, glowing yellow and all during a power-up)... just seems like a stupid add-on. I think they'd do better showing relative strength by having a fight.

So seems a way for lazy writing PLUS inconsistent with previous seasons. The internal inconsistency is what bugs me the most.

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It seems Merlin had a super-powerup for Meliodas (his sacred treasure, or at least one he can use) during the whole final battle of season 1, but decided to keep quiet about it. That just seems stupid.

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Also, the groping isn't any better. At least Elizabeth does openly say she like-likes Meliodas... but she seems to think her affection might be one-sided, which makes it seem the groping should be creepy to her. It's one thing if she likes it as a "we're secretly a couple" thing, but now it's like she's accepting it as what she can get, while thinking he's just with her because his true love is dead... kinda creepy and pathetic, and the more I think about it the more it seems like it casts Elizabeth as someone with bad relationship issues instead of just someone absurdly naive (as season 1 seems to portray her).

As usual, the show treats it lightly. I'm just veering a tad more 'thinking into it' than the show probably wants one to.

[JadedDM]

Yeah, I rolled my eyes at the power level thing, too. But I see why they did it. The fights in the show are already ridiculously over the top and the main characters are already so incredibly powerful, I think they needed a way to easily telegraph that the Ten Commandments are even more powerful, and how much so they are. Also, I suspect they wanted to give Hawk something more to do. Even with his power upgrade, he's still waaaaaay below everyone else by a massive margin. (Just don't tell him that.)

There are two relationships in this series that I cannot stand, and that's Meliodas/Elizabeth and Diane/King. And this season actually made them worse, in my mind.

My problem with Diane/King, aside from the fact that King apparently fell in love with her when she was practically a toddler (ugh), is the whole 'will they/won't they' trope taken up to 11. They just go back and forth, back and forth, where one confesses their feelings to the other, but then one of them gets amnesia and forgets it (and the other won't bring it up). Then the one with amnesia gets their memory back, but whoops, now the other one has amnesia now, too. For crying out loud, either break them up or put them together, but this eternal limbo they are stuck in is just boring.

And the whole Meliodas/Elizabeth thing, geez, where to even start? The fact that he referred to her as 'his woman' when she was literally a baby? That it turns out he was watching over her as she was growing up? That his feelings for her are literally just transferred over from Liz?

And then there's the groping. The main problem is that the writers tell us one thing and shows us another. Elizabeth outright says she likes it (that it makes her 'nostalgic' likely referencing her past life as Liz), or at the very least does not mind it. But whenever he starts, she does not act like it she's okay with it. She screams and begs him to stop. Or failing that, just ignores him entirely, having no reaction at all.

I think the problem is that Elizabeth is not allowed to actually enjoy it. The show doesn't just sexualize her, but it also fetishizes her--specifically, her innocence. Elizabeth must maintain her innocence, or she loses her appeal to the (presumed straight male) audience (or so the writers believe, anyway). So she can't appear to ever enjoy the groping; she can't moan pleasurably or grope him right back or anything like that; not anything that would suggest she has an ounce of sexual agency of her own.

It really just boils down to lazy writing. The writers want it both ways. They want Meliodas to grope her, because they think its funny, I guess. But they want Elizabeth to maintain her innocence and for Meliodas to not appear like a monster, so they have her insist she's fine with it. But she acts like she's not fine with it. So really, it just comes off looking like she's so incredibly passive and timid that she just says she's fine with it so not to create waves, not because she actually means it.

Disclaimer: I do actually enjoy this show, despite all my complaining just now.

[Kato]

Hm... I can't quite say why but I had a hard time enjoying the season. (sidenote: what was behind that stupid second season?)

While many shonen go through a phase where they use some kind of power scale to because the actual feats have no rhyme or reason, and I will give Seven Sins props for the three stat system, it still only seems to show how much more awesome some characters are than others. It's possibly one of the worst applications of the idea to me. Also, iirc, they ditch it soon.

The fights mostly are boring because almost always one side is so much stronger than the other someone is just getting tossed around. And even if the fights are more even, we hardly ever get a longer exchange of blows. Some fights still manage to be entertaining, but usually for other reasons.

And something about the structure or pacing or something of the episodes works poorly. Maybe it's because I mostly remember what happens but to me none of the twists or reveals have the effect they should. Also, every episode needs to end on a twist or cliffhanger. Which is just repetitive if you do it that much. And it works way better in a weekly show than on Netflix.

And the characters..
As has been pointed out, the relationship between M & E is just screwed up. There is a little more to it to be revealed soon which makes it kind of less bad, but to me its still screwed up. I don't mind a pervy character or even a pervy hero but he does it all wrong.
D & H are mostly fine. On their own they are pretty okay but so much of them is just focus on their relationship which isn't ideal but that for the most part is the fault of...
GOWTHER. Gowther can be incredibly entertaining and in a proper show he(?) would amazing. But his abilities are terrible, there should be no conflict in this series due to his existence if he remotely applied himself properly (just wait until the show catches up to the manga)
The only one worse than him is Merlin. I just cannot stand her perfect, nearly all powerful self. It really is almost a joke she's not Pride.
Speaking of, Escanor can be very entertaining, or kind of annoying. But when he is at his best he can be very fun and I mostly enjoy having him on screen.
Finally Ban kind of is the best character by sheer virtue of having hardly any flaws. I'm not sure how well he would hold up if he was surrounded by stronger competition but he is mostly entertaining and does very few stupid things.
I would talk about other people but really, there are few worth talking about outside the eight (well, okay, Hawk is balancing the fine line between funny and annoying as well)


Just to be clear, I don't want to say that the show is terrible, but it still has obvious flaws. But it also has moments that are really great. I don't regret watching it but I also don't see myself doing it again, just because it was that good.

[JeenLeen]

One question on consistency between seasons and Ban


King is really badly hurt, and Ban feeds him some of his blood, and King fully heals.

I get that Ban is immortal with super-regen due to the Fountain of Life thing. But how can he heal others? He never did that in season 1, did he? ...and I reckon there were at least a few times a full heal would've been handy for someone on the team.

[Kato]

Ban being essentially a walking fountain of youth is mentioned often enough, including feeding the fairy forest. But no, I can't really think of another instance when he uses his powers like that, but I might be forgetting something.
Though, more likely, the author forgot...

[Present 2.0]

I think the problem is that Elizabeth is not allowed to actually enjoy it. The show doesn't just sexualize her, but it also fetishizes her--specifically, her innocence. Elizabeth must maintain her innocence, or she loses her appeal to the (presumed straight male) audience (or so the writers believe, anyway). So she can't appear to ever enjoy the groping; she can't moan pleasurably or grope him right back or anything like that; not anything that would suggest she has an ounce of sexual agency of her own.

That kinda explains to me, why I loved the kiss between Ban and Elaine after her resurrection so much. Not only are they both enjoying it, but they kiss each other so filled with desire, that it's clear to me, that they both want each other sexually. They seem to both have sexual agency in that scene to me. That scene was even kinda sexy to me, even if I don't find eather character really attractive.

[Sivarias]

GOWTHER. Gowther can be incredibly entertaining and in a proper show he(?) would amazing. But his abilities are terrible, there should be no conflict in this series due to his existence if he remotely applied himself properly (just wait until the show catches up to the manga)


You mean him being the commandment of selflessness? Because that's in this season

[Kato]

You mean him being the commandment of selflessness? Because that's in this season

I mean him brainwashing THE WHOLE WORLD to tip the scales in the demon war.
Dude, don't make a pawn switch sides, just convince everyone important to be buddies. Unless you're secretly a warmongering sociopath. (and you're only half of that)