I’m back from my annus horribilis — which culminated in my recent hip-replacement surgery that left me feeling so low — and I am finally officially tired of my own bullshit and ready to jump back into work. Expect lots of stuff from me this week and going forward.
To get us all going:
What are the best (and worse) ways characters have unexpectedly reappeared in a story?
I have chosen the absolute nonsense of “Somehow, Palpatine returned” from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which is so ridiculous that poor Oscar Isaac, who must deliver this line, seems unable to muster enough enthusiasm to even pretend it makes sense, even in the context of science fantasy.
Your turn…
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welcome back! Excited to read future reviews.
Best: Offhand, Doc Brown in Back to the Future. Anyone who’s ever seen a movie before knew the movie wouldn’t allow him to stay dead, but it was still great.
Honorable mention (even though this was the reveal rather than the reappearance, and almost everyone knew it was him already anyway): Westley in The Princess Bride. “As … you … wiiiiiiiiiish.”
Worst: I dunno, it’s hard to beat the Palpatine one.
Hard to beat Palpatine for worst.
For best: “So, tell me—what’s become of my ship?” [bites into an apple, laughs]
Best: Easily Penny Benjamin in Top Gun: Maverick. While she only appeared by name in the original, appearing in the second was awesome!
Worst: Smokey and the Bandit 3. Everyone that reappeared was horrible. Can’t have a sequel without Burt Reynolds.