Hallo, alle miteinander! This is Wright Wednesday, the place where we recap, analyze, and review the cases of the Ace Attorney series. Today's a special day where we get to do all three because it's the end of another case, namely the second case of the second game, Reunion and Turnabout. But who is 'we'? Why, I'm Roy, and I'm scared.
I'm Sam, and I fear nothing and no one. Before the trial begins, Maya is musing about how much more grown up von Karma seems despite them both being 18. Pearl shows up declaring that everything will turn out fine because Morgan is here today. Phoenix then asks Pearl if she can channel Mia today too, because he doesn't feel confident otherwise. She agrees. After she leaves, Phoenix expresses relief that, if Pearl is channeling Mia, she won't see what's going to happen today.
Perhaps the only use of Mia channeling in this case I actually like, though it does set an unfortunate precedent.
I still dislike the entire "bring the dead character back all the time" thing, and I don't like her constant presence in this trial, but I like Phoenix's reasoning. Even if I'm not sure how Pearl does it intentionally considering we previously established this was Mia's doing, and Pearl doesn't know how to channel, but whatever.
Actually, I'm pretty sure Pearl definitely does know how to channel, and even if it often feels like Mia is the one initiating the magic, it's always specifically made clear that Maya or Pearl call out to her, so they are actually channeling Mia correctly. It's later established very well that Mia can't possess a medium on her own, no spirit can.
I guess I didn't remember that later development, but I guess the calling out makes sense. The trial begins, and indeed, Pearl is standing next to Phoenix and channeling Mia right from the start. Franziska opens things up by claiming that Maya did indeed leave the Channeling Chamber at some point, and brings Morgan up to testify. Morgan testifies that, before she could perform the Spirit Severing Technique, Maya knocked her unconscious and escaped from the room while still possessed.
Mia does a bit of character shilling of Morgan Fey here, and while it was a bit annoying, it's an issue that will be far worse later on.
Pressing Morgan doesn't bring up any issues, except that she couldn't know that Maya left the room if she was unconscious as she claims. So von Karma moves to her next witness, Ini Miney, to establish that. Ini testifies that Maya came to her while still channeling her sister, Mimi, to tell her that she had taken her revenge.
While this does explain how the key left the room, it does nothing to explain how the bullet hole appeared post-murder on the sleeve, something von Karma and Phoenix never even bring up again.
Ini's story mostly checks out, but she insists that she wasn't surprised to see her dead sister because she knew all about the Kurain Channeling Technique, and her response was totally normal because nothing was strange about her appearance. But Phoenix points out that her robes were all covered in blood after the murder, which should have been at least a little shocking. Or at least noteworthy.
Prepare yourselves for one of the worst cover-up attempts in Ace Attorney history
She lashes out while trying to explain herself--like seriously, she'd be hard-pressed to fool even a GOP-majority Senate into thinking she's innocent--but eventually calms down and continues her testimony. She says it was dark in the Side Room, and the blood blended into the robes, so she told her sister it wasn't okay to murder the guy and walked her back to the Channeling Chamber. When Pressed, she says she didn't see anything abnormal along the way, at which point Phoenix reveals what happened with Pearl and Ami Fey's soul jar. Ini should have come across Pearl putting the jar back together if she had walked along that path at that time.
It's funny that when Phoenix tries Pressing on how subjective the lighting thing is, especially since he had been in that room, von Karma tells him that doesn't work because he isn't a witness. Oh, but Phoenix claims Pearl was reconstructing the urn with no supporting evidence? Sure, everyone believes him now.
This case has...a lot of things like that? We'll get to the biggest one at the end, but it definitely feels like it's cutting corners in a lot of places.
This shatters her story enough that Phoenix is able to make the claim that Ini was actually at the scene of the crime when the murder took place. He posits that she hid behind the folding screen, inside the clothing box that was in the side room (but wasn't there during the murder). He does have to prove it was there when the murder took place, however, and he does so by pointing out the bullet hole in the box, at the same height as the one in the folding screen.
And as a side note, I kind of hate how they regularly use the word "costume?" Like these are the legit holy vestments of a spiritual tradition. I'm sure it's just a poor choice of words in localization, but it comes across as real disrespectful, and even Morgan uses it.
I think it's less calling the outfits "costumes" and more that this is a costume box, that just happens to be holding non-costume clothing.
But that's a thing they do throughout this case. Maya's clothing is referred to as a "costume" throughout, by all the characters including Morgan herself. It bugged me before too, but I never mentioned it.
That's a good point, I never noticed that before, and it is quite disrespectful of them. Technically speaking I don't think it's a religious issue, as their spiritualism isn't definitively tied to any religion they may or may not follow, but it's culturally insensitive for sure.
In any case, everything is coming together at this point, but von Karma objects based on the idea that this is too much for one person to have done on her own. Phoenix agrees. And takes the opportunity to posit that Morgan Fey was Ini's accomplice.
Ini breaks down, and Phoenix explains how it all happened. Ini hid herself in the room long beforehand. When Maya was trying to perform the channeling, Ini came out and knocked her out before stabbing Dr. Grey. But while Ini tried to hide Maya in the box so she could pose as her and frame her, Grey was still alive, and shot at her, making the bullet holes in the partition and box. Ini grabbed the gun and shot him, then covered herself in blood and pretended to be Maya. Then Morgan told Phoenix and Lotta to leave, conveniently leaving her and Ini to their work.
It makes a lot of sense, I just wish the player was given the chance to help work it out, instead of Phoenix just expositing it all. And once again, the drugging of Maya is brought up with no evidence at all.
Usually the series calls Phoenix out hard when he bridges this many gaps in the evidence, but it's not really challenged here.
It seems like Phoenix has everyone convinced, but von Karma laughs, bringing up the problem of motivation. This was a far more complex scheme than Ini would need to simply kill Dr. Grey, so this explanation is inexplicably convoluted. The game has telegraphed Morgan's motivations enough that the reason should be obvious, but I guess they haven't been established in court yet. She also asks why Ini would want to kill Dr. Grey, despite that being even more obvious.
I'd argue that Franziska is actually pretty on-point. Sure, Phoenix could try to prove Morgan's motivation, but even if he can prove there was a motive for murder, the plan that occurred is so overly complicated that his explanation needs to also include why they went to such absurd lengths.
That's certainly true! Except that establishing Morgan's motive, which Phoenix already knows, would accomplish that easily. And...well we'll talk more about that at the end.
Again, I would argue that would still be insufficient, as Phoenix is claiming Ini is the murderer and Morgan the accomplice. Morgan's motive explains why she would go through with the plot, but not why Ini would as well.
But Ini's motivation is also easy to establish, given the history between Mimi and Dr. Grey. Both have reasonable motivations, and that explains why the plan was so convoluted; it has to simultaneously kill Dr. Grey and frame Maya. Ini's motive turns out to be a bit different than simple revenge in the end, but the fact that there's such a plausible explanation right there and they just skirt around it really bugs me.
I can see that, but I can also accept the game's explanation that, if Ini had wanted Dr. Grey dead, she's had six months to enact it, and there really was no need for her to enlist the help of a spirit medium. Also, as she quickly brings up, Dr. Grey is the one who asked her about a spirit medium and set all of this up, she didn't initiate anything.
That's fair. I guess at this point my objection is more about how the game brought itself to its final conclusions, rather than taking issue with the facts as they relate to those conclusions. But I think we've gone to good ways into the analysis portion.
That's a fair point, and I do agree that they could have this differently.
In any case, Phoenix Presents the articles about the car accident to display Ini's motivation, but she posits that there's no proof he drugged her sister (which doesn't matter to her motive if she thought he had, but whatever), and if she wanted revenge she wouldn't have waited this long. And as Roy mentioned, it was also his idea to do the spirit medium thing, so blaming her for it is a stretch. She reverts back to her airhead persona over the course of this dialogue, as well. But the Judge decides Phoenix's explanation is overly complicated, that Ini has no motive, and that there is no reason for Morgan to cooperate with it (despite her motive, again, being aggressively obvious).
Obvious to Phoenix, but not to the court, since he never tried explaining it to them at all
But more importantly, obvious to the player and never coming up. But again, we'll get to that later. Before the Judge can declare the cross examination over, Mia objects, telling Phoenix to try and provide the evidence of Ini's motive. Von Karma, with as much hubris as her father, insists he be given the opportunity so she can knock him down as long as he has the will to fight. Much to Ini's chagrin, the Judge orders the continuation of the cross examination after a short recess.
During said recess, Maya is struggling over the idea her aunt helped frame her for this crime, but von Karma enters the lobby to interrupt. Maya and Phoenix both throw shade her way, bringing up how this revenge won't save her father's reputation or bring him back. From the dead? Prison? Unclear. Franziska doesn't actually respond to confirm or deny anything either of them are claiming, she just came to gloat that she's going to win, and since this trial is being broadcast around the world, everyone will see her victory over Phoenix Wright.
Her motivations are a lot more vapid and petty than even Edgeworth's, really, which...well we can drive into that later in the game.
I find it interesting that you say that, because there's a lot more going on than I think you remember.
I figured there might be, which is why I put off analysis for later. I hope you're right!
Anyway, back to the trial. Ini is asked to testify about the car crash, and she explains that her sister was really tired due to the investigation against her for the malpractice incident, and she fell asleep at the wheel. The car crashed, Ini (who was also asleep) woke up and escaped, only to find out she was the only survivor of the crash. Pressing her statements for more details, Phoenix brings up the question of why she didn't take over driving if her sister was so tired, but Ini claims not to have a driver's license, so that wouldn't have worked.
I have to admit I like this upcoming twist, though I have issues with how it's handled.
Phoenix Presents the licences photo he got from "Director Hotti", which proves she should have a license. Ini admits the photo is accurate, but claims that at the time she only had her permit, and didn't get the licence until months after the accident happened. This leads to a funny bit where it's revealed definitively that Phoenix doesn't have a car or know how to drive.
While she could have stopped there, Ini continues and gives a new testimony about how, even she had had her driver's license at the time, there's no way Mimi would have let her drive the car. Mimi Miney was a huge car fanatic, and this was a new car she'd just gotten, a British sports car that cost a ton of time and money to import. When Pressing, there's a funny bit I relate to so much where Phoenix is so confounded at the idea of why anyone would want to spend so much time and energy keeping a car clean since, y'know, driving it around makes it dirty anyway.
As someone who's about as disinterested in cars as one could be, I also relate.
Of course, the real trick here is that British detail. They drive on the opposite side of the road, so their cars have opposite passenger and driver sides. In the article, which Ini even says is a better summation of the events than anything she can give now, her interview has her say she left via the right car door. But with that kind of car, that meant she was driving, not a passenger. How to explain this contradiction? Simple: this witness isn't Ini Miney, but Mimi Miney. She was the survivor of the crash, and used a photo of her now dead younger sister for the facial reconstruction surgery to escape the torment the malpractice incident had caused.
I do love that, in a newspaper interview, she inexplicably specifies which side of the car she got out of. It's an entirely unnecessary detail I can't imagine her giving in that context, but that's not a big enough issue to matter. Just amuses me. But like I said before, I do like this twist. Exactly the kind of game changing, soapy, just unlikely enough to be surprising but not entirely unbelievable twist that I want from this series.
Same here! Mimi admits everything, and Phoenix figures out why this whole plan was necessary for her: Dr. Grey had come to her, thinking she was Ini, for help in finding a spirit medium to summon the ghost of Mimi Miney. But there was the problem, there is no ghost to summon. Not wanting to be found out, she started this, but now she's just sad and tired of it all. Taking her sister's place has been the worst thing to happen in her life, as she actually hates the paranormal. With that settled, the case belongs to Phoenix, and he takes some time to gloat...and is returned in kind with Franziska whipping everyone in the courtroom, but Phoenix in particular so much that he ends up being knocked unconscious.
Given your aforementioned discomfort with the violence played for laughs, I bet that went over great.
I think this moment is really where it crosses the line from silly to assault for me, but whatever. The case ends, Maya is Not Guilty, and back in the Defendant Lobby we have a touching scene, as with Pearl being the one channeling Mia, Maya and Mia can hug each other and reconnect. It's very heartwarming, and only slightly marred by the fact that Pearl's wardrobe issue mean's Maya's head is nestled right into her sister's open boobs.
That situation never got better.
Maya reveals that the reason she felt so safe while unconscious in that costume box was because it smelled familiar, it was the same box Mia used when she still lived at home. It's all quite touching, but Maya does still want to know why Morgan did this. Phoenix finally explains that it's clearly because of Pearl, she wants her to get what Morgan never did: becoming the Master of Kurain Village. They ponder a little how things would have gone if Grey hadn't have gotten the shot in, and Maya sadly reflects that her life keeps bringing misery to those around her. The last scene of the case is in the Solitary Confinement Cell assigned to Morgan Fey, where she ruminates that she is quite the patient person, and even if this scheme didn't work, she will make sure her daughter gets her rightful inheritance, no matter what it takes.
Ugh. This ending was a major letdown for me, honestly. But I'm sure we'll get to that.
We will, in fact, because it's analysis time right now! Want to start us off, Sam?
Okay cool, so yeah, this is one hell of an anticlimax. There's a lot to this case that just...doesn't get meaningfully addressed. They even jailed Morgan without any attempt on her part to explain herself or make up an excuse. The whole issue of family class struggles just kind of falls off the map, replaced with a sad but thematically thin story about a woman using her dead sister to erase her past life. I really want to like this case, but it just doesn't come together in the end in a way that I can really get behind.
See, I don't know if I entirely agree. I find the Fey family drama incredibly uninteresting, and by contrast I like what's done with Ini Miney far more. It's left ambiguous just how involved she was in this plot, whether it was her or Morgan's idea and how willing she was to do all this, but the overall impression I get is that Morgan was very much in the driver's seat, so to speak, and that Ini was driven more by fear and being trapped in the life she'd been forced to make for herself. Not only do I actually find her story very interesting, but it's much more thematically relevant to this game's overall driving theme. As we discussed before, Grey was a victim who was a complete asshat, and the game never definitively makes clear if he was at fault for the malpractice and/or the accident, and I like that ambiguity. It doesn't hurt that, from what we see of him and the fact he brought a gun with him, possibly to threaten the ghost of Mimi Miney into signing his confession, that he's the kind of man who could have done those awful things. He's a despicable man who it's hard to feel bad about being killed, the sympathy in this case is carried more by Maya's being framed.
But then there's also Mimi Miney, a woman who did this crime out of desperation and who admits her guilt with tears in her eyes, and can easily be seen as having been used by Morgan Fey. The question is beginning to be raised if Phoenix's simple worldview of "Victim's death is sad, defendant is good, killer is evil" holds water. This would have been stronger if the game hadn't pushed Ini's negative aspects in the previous investigation segment with her humble pie comment, but nonetheless I feel like her story works overall.
That's fair. The relation to the game's overall themes is definitely stronger with Ini's story than Morgan's. I could see Morgan being a more sympathetic villain, but it would take so much more character work and backstory that it's not really worth speculating, let alone factoring into the analysis.
The thing is that the Fey family drama could have been interesting. A disgruntled sister pushed aside by her own family because of their hierarchical, traditionalist way of life, a child being used as a pawn in a power struggle she's too young to understand, and another child being punished for the supposed sins of a mother she barely knew... this is all good stuff, and it's right there, but the game only uses it for plot, not story. It doesn't even begin to dive into what this all means for Pearl, which would have set her up to be a far more interesting character. But the game just kind of glosses over all this, and Morgan's barely even involved in the final trial segment. It seems like a colossal missed opportunity to me.
I can see that. I think the issue is that they were telling to tell two different stories, and needed to decide which one to really zero-in on and which to drop with less focus. There's the story of Dr. Grey and the Miney sisters, which ties in more with the themes of this particular game, and the story of Morgan Fey, which ties in more with the Trilogy's overall Fey Family plotline. Personally, I think the choice to focus more time on Dr. Grey and Mimi Miney was a benefit, as I think that thematic heft is the most interesting thing about the game and doing that while focusing on the Fey stuff would be more difficult. I suppose there's also the fact that the Fey plot is so mishandled, and Morgan Fey such a one-dimensional evil figure, that I find it hard to actually imagine a version of that story worth telling. I'm happier with what we got rather than some version that sacrificed some of the Miney plot to focus more on Morgan Fey. Perhaps it would have been better not to try and do both stories in the same case, I don't know for sure. What I can say is that, in the end, I do quite like the entire plot of Ini/Mimi Miney, and she's probably one of the Killer characters I like more.
See, I see a lot of potential in Morgan. She's a one dimensional villain, but she doesn't have to be. She was shunned by her own family, meant to be elevated by her birth but ultimately sidelines because of the circumstances of her channeling ability. There's an argument to be made that she was wronged, and this is (however evil) her attempt to right it. There's another argument to be made that the traditions that made her expect to lead the head family are themselves illegitimate, and she's entitled as a result of the classist, bloodline-based Fey family hierarchy. There's interesting stuff here, the case just doesn't dig into it nearly enough to get to any of it.
And ultimately, that stuff is more about corrupt institutions and systems that fail their subjects, which aren't the thematic focus of Justice for All. That kind of thing would fit better in the first one, or perhaps Dual Destinies. So I see your argument that the case chose the right focus for this game. That just doesn't fix the way it glosses over a major element of its own story in a way that abandons some loose threads and leads to a pretty underwhelming conclusion. There was more of this story to tell, and it just...didn't.
It's honestly really fascinating to hear that perspective. Personally, perhaps because I'm so used to how the Fey plotline actually went, I've never considered that lost thematic potential. Morgan Fey definitely could have been a sympathetic character in theory, but in practice she is the purest form of that Fey Family traditionalism and isolationism we ever see, so seeing her as a victim of these things is a little more difficult for me. The things you're talking about sure would be interesting, but it's clear the creators weren't interested in telling that story, as far as I can see. Honestly, they never really confront the Fey traditions, despite how much pain they cause. Maya's life is ruled by this force, but in the end she just succumbs to it and becomes the person they need her to be.
Now, in a surprising move, I do want to say that this is my favorite segment of this case and the game so far. While there are still a lot of logic issues, on the whole I like the pacing, where the story goes, how it connects to later developments, and it's full of really good moments. I'm not trying to skip to the review portion just yet, but I did want to make clear that this segment is the shining star of Reunion and Turnabout for me, enough so that I end up feeling more favorable about than I otherwise would.
Oh, interesting, because it had the opposite effect on me. It held back on revelations that had been obvious for ages, and somehow still managed to make a ton of major logical leaps to actually get to them, which is a hell of a feat of bad mystery writing. Between that and the weirdly anticlimactic ending where only one of the two killers is actually cross-examined about the murder and a major element of the story just drops out of existence, this last segment brought the whole case down for me.
We've danced a little around Pearl, partially because she's barely in this segment, but I do think we should talk about what happened in this case. Namely, Phoenix purposefully had her summon Mia so she couldn't watch the trial, hiding the truth of what her mother had done. We can argue about the morality of doing that, but it's also important because this is not the last time they'll hide the truth of terrible events from Pearl. It's a reoccurring element of her character that is never actually addressed properly.
I have mixed feelings on that. Entirely aside from the whole "child's body morphed into an adult with tons of cleavage" thing.
Which is still incredibly gross and creepy.
For sure.
We should also talk a little about Franziska this segment. It's emphasized more than ever how the only reason she's even here is just to take down Phoenix Wright, but the actual reasoning for it is still obfuscated, with "revenge" being the only clear statement. Phoenix and Maya seem to think it has to do with her father, but she's never said that. They also take time to really make a note that she and Maya are the same age, and that's actually pretty important, though exactly why is something for quite a bit later on.
Much like Edgeworth in the first game, all we can really do for the moment is track what the game reveals about Franziska, because we won't have a full image of her character or motivations for a good while to come.
Was there anything else big you wanted to talk about in terms of analysis, or could we move to some smaller analysis topics?
No, I'm good. What did you have in mind?
Well, there are a few things. To start with, I think this is a good time to talk about how cross-examinations work. Like the question of whether cases happen off-screen, something I'm sure we'll discuss another day, it's a hotly debated topic within the Ace Attorney fandom. The main camps are thus: Cross-examinations happen at the same time as the testimony, with Phoenix interrupting the witness; Phoenix does wait until the testimony is over, then asks questions or brings up evidence; or it's exactly as shown in the game, the witness restates the testimony to be interrupted as much as is necessary. I've always seen canon as closest to the last option, and I think this segment shows why: while Pressing statements, characters will talk about what was discussed later in the testimony, discounting the first option, but they also try to segway neatly into the next statement so it flows smoothly. What are your thoughts, Sam?
That's...well I'm going to be entirely honest, it's not something I've ever thought of, nor something I particularly care about. Video games are always, no matter how realistic, an approximated simulation of their subjects. So of course, the actual process of play won't fit 1:1 with in-universe reality, even beyond the mechanical limitations themselves. Like when I jump around a rock like an idiot in Skyrim so I can climb a mountain, that's probably not what the Dragonborn is canonically doing right there, nor does Kratos swing his blades uselessly as much as I misjudge my distance and attack out of range of my enemy.
This is like that. The flow of gameplay isn't meant to match with reality, it's meant to provide the player an effective and enjoyable way to interact with the simulation. The exact details of what elements of that process do or do not exist in canon seems kind of pointless to me, if I'm being honest. So...I guess that's my answer. That's just how it's presented to us for the purposes of the gameplay simulation, and I don't see what there is to be gained by determining the minute details of how conversations flow outside of that simulation. Which is also why neither explanation fully explains it, nor does it need to.
That was a very long and Sam answer. Another small thing I thought I'd bring up is the fact that Phoenix, after getting chided by Ini Miney early on in this segment, thinks to himself "Well, excuse me, princess." This series already makes a lot of pulp culture references, but Phoenix was born somewhere around 1992. It is entirely plausible he grew up on The Legend of Zelda cartoon, which apparently exists even in this alternate universe to our own. Does Nintendo, as a company, also exist? Does Capcom? How far does the rabbit hole go?
Now this is a subject of pointless speculation I can get behind! My personal headcanon is that The Legend of Zelda actually only exists in this universe as a cartoon, and it became so popular and beloved that even Phoenix, completely ignorant of nerd culture as he is, is intimately familiar with it. But it's just a theory. A theory with absolutely no backing or value. A game theory.
I might think his videos are hit or miss, but MatPat ain't hurting nobody and I think his position as an internet whipping boy is uncalled for.
Now, I'd say we're ready to start the review. As the second case of the game, this is an Establishing Case, and as the name implies it's incredibly vital role is to establish what makes this game in the series unique. In order of importance from greatest to least important, its duties are: to show the player how investigation segments work, usually with an easier to understand layout than the cases after it; to introduce the new Assistant, Prosecutor, and/or Detective characters of the game and make it clear who they are and why we should care about them; to set-up thematic and plot elements that are overarching and integral to this game in the series; and to be a good story in its own right. How does Reunion and Turnabout handle all those tasks for you, Sam?
Well... frankly I don't think it does many of those things well. The introduction of von Karma works fine, giving us a good idea of who she is without giving away too much of the depth we'll see later. It's nice to see Maya again, but frankly it feels like she has an even smaller role in this case than she did when Phoenix defended her in the first game, and regardless I think it's unfortunate that we apparently can't seem to introduce Maya without damseling her.
The investigation segments in this case aren't my least favorite of the series so far--that still goes to Turnabout Samurai--but they're not great. While I love the addition of the Magatama, the game had me going back and forth between different places hoping to trigger a random event so I would know what to do a few more times than I would like.
It does set up the game's overarching themes alright, though. I already aired my complaints with the story of this case, and I do think this aspect of the case could have been stronger if the story itself was stronger, but we're seeing how the game plays with the previously rather black-and-white portrayal of the morality of guilty and innocent people. So that's something.
I agree that von Karma had a fairly good introduction. Not fantastic, but acceptable. As for Maya, that has less bearing on the merits of this case, as she's not the Assistant the game is introducing. That would be Pearl. And, no matter what other complaints I have about the case or her arc, it does introduce her very well. There is no new detective this game, so that metric isn't really important.
I'd agree that the investigation segments here aren't great, but they aren't terrible either. Average is the best descriptor I could give them. While this case does a great job setting up the game's overall themes, it doesn't do much for its overall story, if only because this game doesn't have much of one.
Honestly, I would say this case succeeds on most of its necessary criteria...its only weak spot is how it stands as a case in its own right. The logic is often confusing, and it doesn't take advantage of the many opportunities it has be more interesting, to go in really unexpected directions. Could the ideas in this case have worked? Sure. But they needed a much better execution, and considering the time allotted to an Establishing Case, it would have needed to cut back on some of its ambitions to make the ones it stuck to really succeed. Say what you will about Turnabout Sisters, the Establishing Case of the first game, but it is lean. It knows the story it wanted to tell, and it freaking told it. I admire this case's aspirations, but I still see it as a disappointment overall.
All of that said, I do think it has some worthwhile scenes, and characters. There are far more sinful stories to play later on in the series. On the whole, I'd describe it as more mediocre than bad.
More mediocre than bad is a pretty accurate summation, really, but I think my opinion of the case gets lowered by all that missed potential. It did what it did alright; not well, but fine. But it also clearly telegraphed and hinted at other things it could have done, that would have made it far better, or at least some bare minimum of ambitious, but it squandered its subject material and its established conflict points so thoroughly that I can't help but like it less than I otherwise might.
We rate every case on a scale from 1 to 10, but this isn't an attempt to try and gauge some sort of nebulous absolute quality. No, it's an actual scale, with 1's being the worst cases in the series, 10's the best, and 5's and 6's the averages. If it wasn't clear already, I don't particularly care for this case. It does a few things I like, but on the whole it works a lot less well than it could have. I give this case a 4, the same score I gave to The First Turnabout, though I do feel this case is a few steps below that one. It's below-average, that's to be sure, but there are a lot of cases I have more bones to pick with later on.
I'm going to give this one a 3. It probably deserves a 4 based purely on its own merits, but like I said, I feel like it had a lot more potential that it just didn't live up to, so it loses a point for that in my mind.
Compared to our previous scores, we both prefer this to the Lost Turnabout, but like it less than Turnabout Samurai. It's funny, because both Samurai and Reunion are flawed cases, better in concept than in execution.
Yeah, Samurai has a looooot of problems for sure. I think what made the difference between them for me was that Samurai ended up doing more, narratively and thematically, than I expected from it, whereas this fell decidedly short of its own promises for me. So I came out of that one frustrated but surprisingly satisfied, whereas I finished this one frustrated and surprisingly unfulfilled.
Well, next time...
...we're going to the circus. Aha! Aha! Aha!
...crap.
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