Scott Pilgrim: The Final Final Thoughts, Lost in Adaptation ~ The Dom

[@Formoka]

And suddenly NegaDom starts a channel critiquing video game to movie adaptations. Wait, I'd still watch that...

[@carlrood4457]

Serhctaw lufituaeb ym olleh

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

Given the lack of detail I've seen from reviews of video game movies, I wouldn't mind.

[@bretsheeley4034]

Should it be "NegaDom" or "NegaTheDom"? Anyway... NegaTheDom: "The Legend of Zelda is the story of a grand ruler who's efforts to create a kingdom filled with people of various races deemed as 'monsters' by the highly racist locals is constantly thwarted by a series of random snot-nosed kids who just happen to always have the same name." The Dom: "Well, this isn't going as expected. Maybe I should put a stop to this." Terrence smirks: "Eh, I don't know. This could be entertaining." NegaTheDom: "Next week, I will review a new video game entry from the Harry Potter series, where a bunch of little shits from boarding school prevent the rise of one of the most glorious-" The Dom: "Terrence! PUT YOUR WAND DOWN!" *tackle*

[@CrouchingTigress01]

Or NegaDom will be used to review the last of Grey movies, since he might have been born from that, and it would save our Dom's sanity... maybe?

[@argiromarioli4917]

NegaDom would review book adaptations of movies.

[@kevincorey4406]

My goodness, the Dom, I can’t do that! Some kid with a flaming sword of love defeated me in a duel to the death and took all my coins!

[@alexlee4154]

So is it now the dom canon that he bunks daily with a wizard, a monochrome version of himself and two alternate future versions of himself? Oh and his defective clone butler is there too Id watch the sitcom

[@Kris-wo4pj]

Didn't he also move in with his gf and two cats? That's a very full house.

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

And his GF, and Terrance is in-and-out frequently.

[@douglasfreer]

And that's just the ones we know right now

[@albertschoise8091]

Alex Lee monochrome?

[@JonathonWilder]

@@albertschoise8091 Greyscale, black, grey, and white... Basicly, without color.

[@redjoshman]

Sounds like that Scott Pilgrim would be well suited for a miniseries.

[@EionBlue]

one hour episode for each book?

[@jaredbumblecrum]

@@EionBlue Y E S

[@1987MartinT]

Oh yeah! Cartoon mini series with the artstyle from the comics!

[@merrittanimation7721]

I'd watch the hack out of that.

[@redjoshman]

Viredae at the very least. Maybe even two episodes a book depending on everything that’d be needed for to do a full & proper adaption.

[@quinnsinclair7028]

So now it’s: Calluna Terrence Utopian Future Dom Dystopian Future Dom Nega Dom Regular Dom And of course two cats. That is one full house.

[@albertschoise8091]

Quinn Sinclair RRRRREGINALD

[@quinnsinclair7028]

Yeah but he’s kept in the closet till needed so he’s not really taking up much space. The real question is where are the more intelligent Dom clones that preceded Reginald? Clone degradation takes a large number of copies to start manifesting in visible defects so there has to be at least a couple thousand Doms out there somewhere. Maybe he could do a clone sagas

[@21700r]

Don't forget Reginald!

[@kyletowers9662]

🎵What ever happened to predictability...🎵

[@limbobilbo8743]

Quinn Sinclair we need a tv series of this

[@Rainbow-Reilly]

Oh, man, the alternate ending. I've seen so many people say they wished they'd used it instead, and I cannot understand why. Going back to your teenage ex is not character growth. The fact that Scott had ever dated Knives in the first place just showed how immature and emotionally stunted he was. He would rather date a high schooler, who was inevitably going to think he was cool just because he was older, than risk being emotionally vulnerable with someone his own age. I can understand why the filmmakers were interested in trying an ending that defies conventions, by having Scott not end up with the girl he's been fighting for, but it's not subversive to just switch Ramona out for Knives. It would have been far more daring to have Scott and Ramona realize they were both dysfunctional people who needed to work on themselves before pursuing a relationship, and quietly go their seperate ways.

[@carlrood4457]

I think it's because we feel bad for Knives and Ramona never really thaws in the movie. While the context of Knives as someone who can't let go and Scott basically having used her is disturbing, the line about Ramona never fighting for someone still rings true. I'd say the movie's best ending would have been all three going their separate ways since they all had growing up to do.

[@merchantfan]

Also the timeline is much shorter for her 'stalker' period. She really had just been broken up with for...what a couple weeks at most? in the film

[@jonsnor4313]

For that to work knives, and scott would have needed a significant character groth to justify it. But neither does she become more than an obsessed ex, nor does he grow as a character. It would be a different movie. Actually having less focus on ramona in this scenario would have made that possible. Somehow.

[@Maker_Az_Is]

I think if they had scott giving each of them a hug and they walked off as he looked up into the sky and the continue? and countdown happened it would have been more poignant.

[@huntcd2012]

I am surprised that they filmed that ending as we were that Knives too good for Scott right off the bat

[@joelmole3157]

Scott Pilgrim would make a fantastic animated Netflix series!

[@gracekim25]

Joel Mole I second that

[@Viriditas87]

Somewhere on KZbin is a fan project called Scott Pilgrim vs The animation. Something like that with a bigger budget would be awesome.

[@tystall2930]

YES

[@tystall2930]

@@Viriditas87 that was a tie in to the movie made by adult swim wasn't it?

[@virgovirtuoso]

I'd watch the ever living fuck outta that

[@fat1fared]

I liked the film a lot, but think its biggest failing is its handling of Ramona, rather than Scott. Whilst I completely respect that many people prefer the book's development of him, I think the idea of developing self-respect is a good basis for a story - particularly the condensed one the film was telling. Anyone who has spent time with an emotionally stunted person, will probably have found much of their selfishness is not a sign of them having too much self-respect, but a lack of it. The reason they often close themselves from others is that they do not have the confidence in themselves to be introspective and self-reflective. Scott gaining the power of self-respect was him finally developing the confidence to be honest about who he was and what he had to do to be better. This is also why self-respect came over love. As you said, he first wanted to be better for someone else, before finally just wanting to be better for sake of being a better person. As I said, you can prefer the comic's arch more - there exists many reasons to do so - but the film does have an acceptable arch for Scott. Ramona, on the other-hand, is such a non-entity in the story, and considering how good her character and arch in the comics is, that is a real shame. In film, she seems more of just a trophy for Scott to win, which is actually why I think the film's handling of her is so problematic. The whole idea of Scott becoming a better person, meaning he has the love of another is kind of undermined if the person who likes him basically has so little character, they even lack agency.

[@Maker_Az_Is]

Ramona is used as the manic pixie dream girl in a story that seems to be written to rip that trope to shreds showing that a person is just a person. If every ex scott fought through not just got some of her backstory but also broke down a bit of her facade she had put up after each break up; it would have made her more compelling. Making fighting the exes a metaphor about learning a potential significant other's baggage and trying to get to know why they act the way they do. Gideon being the "Big Boss" because he is the emotional abuser (also implied maybe also physical abuser). Creating a reason for their relationship to continue at the end.

[@huntcd2012]

I think the reason Ramona felt like less of a character in this movie was because of the fact that Wright and company were going to make Scott and Knives get together in the end. As such Ramona was meant to come across as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl type, whom Scott realized wasn't the one for him at the end of the movie. Thus Ramona leaves the story the way she came in only on a more bittersweet note as she realized that there could've been something between them as she goes through the Subspace door. On the other hand, I think the theatrical ending makes sense as well. Scott was trying to have an actual relationship with Ramona, but the Exes kept attacking and screwing everything up before they had a chance to really become a couple. As such, once the Exes business is over, Ramona assumes that Scott is through with her too only he stops her because he wants to try again, and this time it can be for real. There is something heartwarming about that, I think.

[@Troopertroll]

If there's one thing Edgar Wright doesn't do, it's unnecessary lines. "You're too good for him" at the beginning with the seemingly strange music sting as a throwaway line sets up Scott as not being a good person. He doesn't deserve someone as genuine as Knives until he improves himself at the end, and is stuck fighting for someone as ambivalent as himself during his struggles. If you go by the original ending and can overlook the unfortunate decision to make Knives 17, I think it's the stronger film story.

[@fat1fared]

Thanks for the replies. :) On the point about this being a consequence of the ending being changed. I do agree that is probably a big part of why this happened, but I would not say that it is really a defence for why it happened because: 1) we need to judge the film we got, not what the film could have been; 2) if we were to judge the film as it could have been, Ramona still remains a non-entity; and 3) the original ending would have been even worse, as Ramona - one of the two leads of the comics - would have been relegated to the roll of disposable ex-partner, like the male ex’s you see in bad romantic comedies all the time. And that is before one even gets into all the other problems with the original ending.

[@helenl3193]

I agree that there's a massive difference in costing to fight for himself and his previous selfish actions - so much of the time he's been aimless and passive in his interactions, so his being able to not only act on a decision for himself, but to do so while acknowledging it and his past mistakes, etc. shows his starting to see himself as willing and capable of being a good person, who by extension is therefore worth fighting for. Although, as mentioned the changes to Ramona do weaken the message somewhat

[@Donovaneagle2098]

Holy shit I just realized that the two best actors in this went on to be the Captains of the MCU.

[@charlezard5579]

Donovaneagle2098 same

[@Goleon]

And one of them was dating Superman.

[@bretsheeley4034]

And another was a Waterbender.

[@Goleon]

I looked it up and Gideon's actor played one of the Sherman brothers in Saving Mr Banks while Ramona was Gwen in Sky High, Wallace was Fuller in the first two Home Alone movies (and the younger brother of Macaulay Culkin), Scott's sister is Poppy from Trolls (and Norman's older sister in ParaNorman), Julie's Eska from Korra (so we got two Waterbenders) and Michael Cera's Robin. (I'm not kidding, he voices him in the Lego Batman and made him adorable beyond belief)

[@lainiwakura1776]

Audrey Plaza was in Scott Pilgrim? huh.

[@ToaArcan]

I have a sneaking suspicion that the scene between Scott and Knives in Finest Hour was added as a response to the glut of Scott/Knives shipping that the movie created. The movie is somewhat written and plotted out in a way that leads into the original ending- this is probably why Ramona remains detached while Knives' arc is spread out longer and tied more directly into Scott's, with the film showing that they functioned rather well as a couple before Scott became obsessed with Ramona. Meanwhile, Precious Little Life didn't exactly hide how pathetic Scott was for dating Knives. I remember when the movie dropped, and a lot of reviews and responses were asking *why* Scott didn't end up with Knives, apparently missing all the problems with it. I was pleased to hear you blasting it for those problems during this review. Roll on Volume 6, and something about the way the encounter between Scott and Knives during his regression phase feels like a direct response to the above. Rather than simply have Scott's awkward advances shut down or blasted, as with Kim and Envy, the Scott/Knives kiss is framed with text directly stating "But it was horrible. For everyone. *That includes you*", directly addressing the audience in a way that the book rarely does. It felt like O'Malley going out of his way to state that the Scott/Knives couple was a bad one. As far as endings go, I think Finest Hour handles it better than the movie, though perhaps a mix of the better elements of the two would really sell it. Overall, I love this series, and I'm probably not the only one chomping at the bit for a more faithful serialised adaptation via Netflix.

[@georgepayne9381]

I hate being a necro, but I did really like this series of Dom vids and the interpretations being made. I just disagree with this last one. I feel like the movie and the people backing the Ramona/Scott relationship are missing how stalkerish and desperate Scott and Ramona are for eachother in the film. They're not seeing how childish and creepy they both are towards their past loves. And most importantly, the only thing they have in common is their self loathing. That's not the makings of a healthy relationship. Scott and Knives actually got along. I'm not saying that a teenager is emotionally aware enough to comprehend love and relationships, I'm saying neither is he. It was creepy because he was too old to be acting like a 17 year old boy. And through all the trauma they both became more aware of what is and isn't love, and both grew up a little. And most importantly, like Toa Arcan says, they get along. They're alike. They could actually spend time together and enjoy things with eachother, maybe for the rest of their lives. Scott and Ramona are going to break up in 2 years, because they wanted to get with eachother just to get with eachother. Everyone in the story did creepy-wrong things, and having Knives' relationship with Scott start before she graduates would just be one more creepy-wrong thing that they did. Eventually neither of them will be in highschool, but they'll still have the friendship and mutual respect that made them a good relationship in the first place. Of course all of life is die-rolls, so it's just as possible Scott and Ramona will develop some kind of real connection in the future, and maybe Scott and Knives would have stopped working out because one or the other just outright changed, but I really just can't agree that Scott and Ramona was the ending that made more sense. Also unpopular opinion but you're not cheating or committing adultery until you're married. You're dating non-exclusively. The pseudo-marriages we've been forcing kids into for the past 30 years or so just end up making stressful, abusive relationships and unhappy real marriages. /rant

[@meenamajeed]

It takes place over a yuuuuear. A yuuuuuear. I love the way The Dom speaks

[@camelopardalis84]

I had trouble concentrating after hearing him say it like that. And even twice within two seconds! Total greatness overload.

[@fat1fared]

You mean like a British person? ;)

[@Valtharr]

The thing with the alternate endings is interesting to me. Because quite frankly, when I saw the film the first time - as a teenager - I didn't get the ending. It was absolutely not what I expected, because it totally seemed like they were building up to Scott reuniting with Knives at the end. Now, don't get me wrong, now that I'm older, I totally get how creepy it would have been for the movie to essentially say "the best thing for this grown man is to get back with the literal teenager he basically used as a rebound tactic", and I get that it was good character development for Knives, albeit a rushed one. HOWEVER, if we, just for the sake of argument, ignore the age difference between Knives and Scott, what reason was there for him to get with Ramona in the end instead of Knives? The film almost went ouf its way to show that Knives and Scott actually had pretty good chemistry, even going so far as drawing attention to it in the final fight where they both took down Gideon together, while showing barely, if any chemistry between Scott and Ramona. As Dom points out in this video, Ramona never really outgrows the detached, too-cool-for-real-connections attitude, so at points, it seemed to me as if she was only using Scott as a rebound herself. Which, yeah, I guess was kind of the intention, but it was missing the development of her growing actual fondness for him. Really, the end kind of feels less like "these two have finally found true love and are on their way to a shared happy ending" and more like "these two horribly people are now finally with each other, so they won't hurt anyone decent ever again." Now, I still like the movie (and I admit, most of this only came to me after thinking about it, on the initial viewing it was just a vague "this feels wrong"), and I'm definitely not saying that they should have gone the route of presenting the morally questionable manchild getting together with his emotionally unstable underaged stalker as a good thing...but I am saying that they really should have made it more clear that Ramona really is the best choice for Scott, and not just the less questionable one.

[@yserareborn]

Eh, this is why I like the comics more. You have a point: why should we want Scott and Ramona to get back together in the films? It was the comics that actually built their relationship to something special and showed they did actually make each other better people.

[@faithelizabeth413]

It would have been interesting if in the movie Scott just ended up staying single in the end.

[@Valtharr]

@@faithelizabeth413 that would have also made much more sense, seeing how the "Power of Self-Respect" was shown as more powerful and desirable than the "Power of Love." If the ending would have been something like Ramona kinda reluctantly be all like "well, you beat all seven, so now we can be together" and Scott had reacted with "you know what? I think I'm good on my own" or something, it would not only have been character growth for the person so eager to jump from (toxic) relationship to (toxic) relationship, but, again, would have been much more in line with "Self-Respect" being more important than "Love" (aka being in a relationship).

[@jonsnor4313]

Another one who thinks that scott deserved neither girl in the movie. And he and ramona are like stangers, not like the on off thing they have in the comic. And knives would be a huge step back. I thought dom would say that the alternate ending had scott single and soul searching what he is without a girlfriend to lean on.

[@robbybevard8034]

In the film Scott and Knives DID have the better relationship and all the chemistry, fighting togehter and in the deleted scene going back to DDR together and all that. Yes, the age gap is pretty bad when she's still in high school and he's 23... total squick, should not be a couple. But eventually when she's 20 and he's 25, that doesn't feel anywhere near as iffy even though it's just two years later. (My parents are 10 years apart.) Scott made shit decisions and cheated on her, but learned and grew and probably wouldn't do it again, so... maybe it's okay? As long as they aren't specifically dating for a period and have a chance to grow as just friends for a while first.

[@pushinguproses]

I found this series extremely interesting and it really did inspire me to pick up the comics. I had no idea they were as complex as they are and they somehow also make me appreciate the movie more, even though it was a little more shallow comparatively. Great job, Dom!

[@llouie4999]

I was super grateful that the film did the Scott & Ramona "try again" ending. The story spoke to me as a reflection on dealing with modern relationships. Not only would it be a disservice to Knives (who deserves better & her push showed she too gained the power of self-respect), but it felt truer to the other two both actively trying to grow. Even their more toned down temperaments I think work because of the condensed time frame. Both still are trying to move past so they're going to be a bit guarded. I also do prefer the hilarity that Scott isn't even a champ fighter. Like the video game logic, it's just something even the weakest seeming people in this world can pull out and do Thanks for the series Dominic!

[@kinnundo6434]

If you still want to do your rebrand to become Dominic Smith rather then The Dom, you could have had Negadom punch the "The" out of your name. Fitting kookiness considering the movie/novels you were doing :)

[@GoldenMan1002]

In the commentary they said that the only reason they reshoot the ending with Ramona was because in 1 of their private screenings somebody said it was sad he spent the entire movie fighting for Ramona only to end up with someone else at the end.

[@sirrmobreadings6978]

i think my favourite difference between movie and comic is when gideon tells scott how long it took to create the league, both say it took three hours but film gideon says it like his time was worth millions per second and that gives off an air of disgust at the fact that HIS plan, which took that much of his time failed. meanwhile comic gideon says it like it's nothing, like the act of creating a league was so easy (Which it was) that they honestly should be ashamed of having so many evil ex's (which he did say) it shows to me a difference between a guy who takes himself too seriously for a role in his world as the ultimate, the supreme, and a guy that just decides to go with the flow and become the big bad for no other reason than the world seemed to want him to. anyone else?

[@sirrmobreadings6978]

@SNAPLocket read it again, I call them film Gideon and comic gideon

[@sirrmobreadings6978]

@SNAPLocket oh wait you mean the last comparison, film Gideon takes it seriously, and comic gideon goes with his weird flow

[@TheDreamerExtreme]

I've noticed Edgar Wright doesn't have a good track record with his female characters; they're not "characters," just quirky gfs, sexy sultry seductresses or one dimensional damsels. Each of his movies leave an impression that he doesn't think of them on the same level as his male characters, unfortunately. He still does great work (love his work), just gotta point out criticisms, you know

[@anouk356]

Or maybe he's just not good at writing women...

[@zelenilum290]

Did you see Spaced? Much netter female charakters in it.

[@l.tc.5032]

I'm kinda glad he didn't end up directing the Ant Man movies. Hope and Cassie are great characters, and even though there's room for improvement given what I've seen of Edgar Wright I don't think they'd have been in the best hands if he stayed the man in charge.

[@helenl3193]

@@zelenilum290 Spaced was written by the two lead actors, so Wright had less creative control of the characters. I also love his work, but I had noticed this pattern of un/under-developed female characters in his work. No one's perfect, and I think the move to Hollywood - a very male-dominated industry - probably hasn't helped him move past (/even be aware of?) this issue

[@joelmole3157]

Well his next film, Last Night in Soho, will feature a female protagonist played by Anya Taylor-Joy so it will be interesting to see how he would write them... then again it's co-written by a woman so it might have something to do with it

[@TheBlackDemon1996]

I'd like to see a Scott Pilgrim TV show.

[@wcapewell3089]

Id like a percy jackson tv show.

[@MegaManDBZX]

TheBlackDemon1996 If they make it animated and cast Yuri Lowenthal or Johnny Yong Bosch as Scott, it would be great.

[@Goleon]

MegaManDBZX - Or Michael J Tatum.

[@smolderiing7166]

TheBlackDemon1996 TV show that includes a sequel

[@kostajovanovic3711]

Maybe.... There seems to be some news

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

Honestly, because of the character changes, I thought the deleted ending for the movie was more suitable than the one in the final cut. It actually felt a bit more mature with Scott realizing he already had something decent with Knives (despite her being a high schooler) and Ramona deciding she needed to focus on herself for a little while. Though, i can see your point.

[@marcelobonnet544]

I feel that the comics were slice of life+battle manga while the movie was mostly battle manga/action based but more focused while preserving the integrity of the story. It's insane how much imagery they both borrow from each other. Both Edgar and Bryan are geniuses in their respective mediums.

[@serpenking]

The only reason I'm not totally angry about the Artemis Fowl movie is that you're bound to do a lost in adaptation on it!!

[@severium8057]

There is a movie?

[@josephdavis9234]

It's been announced and we've had a teaser trailer and cast reveal. Neither of which leave much reason to be hopeful.

[@severium8057]

@@josephdavis9234 Oh God no... I loved that series, can it please not be a shit fest

[@mistresssaturn]

@@severium8057 Root is now a woman... Commander Julius Root is now a woman. I'll let that sink in.

[@hrishiv27]

mistresssaturn To be fair, it isn’t just a woman, it’s Judy Dench. They’re clearly going for more of an M vibe.

[@Viriditas87]

So now we have: The Dom, Reginald, Terence, Dystopian Dom, Utopian Dom and Nega Dom. How does Calluna deal with all these people? ^^

[@GriffinPilgrim]

Well, 6 incomes can't hurt. And I'm pretty sure they don't feed Reginald.

[@einootspork]

A pointy stick.

[@jonsnor4313]

Did Calluna Terence and dom ever do the devils tango? Do dystopian and utopian dom ever come to visit? There are nearly as much personalities as contrapoints natalie has. Thinking o contrapoint, a sexy evil nazi dom would be interesting.

[@LemonCurry.]

@@jonsnor4313 Neat! from which adaptation would he emerge though?

[@SergGirl]

Is there a NegaTerrence too? Is he a Hufflepuff??

[@RabblesTheBinx]

He is. Good bloke, too. Fair, understanding, good with ladies. Terrence doesn't like to talk about it because NegaTerrence got considerably more O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s than him, though.

[@bretsheeley4034]

Actually he's a muggle, but like most Hufflepuffs, it can be hard to tell the difference.

[@tauntingshrimp8488]

Bret Sheeley hey be nice Hufflepuffs are cool to #hufflepuffpride

[@vigilantsycamore8750]

@@tauntingshrimp8488 As a Batman nerd, I'm certain that if Batman was a wizard, he'd be a Hufflepuff

[@Azazreal]

@@vigilantsycamore8750 Really? Batman? The dude known for his intelligence? Sorry but he is so clearly a Ravenclaw

[@QuikVidGuy]

I have to insist that there's a difference between selfishness and self-respect

[@helloallhumans2595]

Fun Fact: Another alternate ending to the film was a news report on how a local teen had killed seven people.

[@NoirRaven]

Oh that sounds should've been the ending

[@andymac4883]

Funny, when the Dom mentioned the theory that Scott was viewing the world through a mental video game filter, I thought for sure he'd bring that ending up.

[@star3catcherSEQUEL]

Source?

[@Dominic-Noble]

Ehhh. I was already breaking my rule talking about the alt ending they did film. Talking about one they DIDN'T film would be pushing it too far.

[@helloallhumans2595]

@@Dominic-Noble That's Fair

[@kinnundo6434]

I kind of like the new "I can't scream" Dom voice. It's incredibly relaxing

[@tavila]

I would have LOVED an animated series version.

[@AngelicaKroner]

The Dom should review a lost in adaptation of Cirque du Freak

[@Viriditas87]

Definitely, I love the Darren Shan novels (and the manga).

[@raphaelhemery152]

@@Viriditas87 I only experienced it through the manga, I really loved it. I'm guessing the books are worth it ?

[@lexalina132]

Raphaël Hemery the books are very very good :)

[@MarkQuick0411]

Oh damn I remember those manga holy shit Those were batshit insane from what I remember

[@raphaelhemery152]

@@lexalina132 I'll make sure to give them a try then.

[@andresreydecastro]

I think the reason why Wright made Scott the inexplicable womanizer in the movie, an uninteresting guy who is somehow a magnet to girls that have a lot more personality than himself, is because he basically interpreted the comic as a love letter to harem anime. Which it kind of is, although it avoids falling into the usual traps of harem anime by having the characters actually grow past their infatuation for the protagonist.

[@DezMarivette]

As always, you've put together an exceptional compendium for Scott Pilgrim! I also love that you reference the Harry Potter adaptations - they were the first things I saw on your channel and in my opinion you can never reference them enough! Cheers and Gratitude!

[@TheHobgoblyn]

I could understand the ending of getting back together with knives. After all, he already had a good relationship and he went chasing after some manic pixie dream girl he knew absolutely nothing about, never made any actual connection with during the entirety of the story and was basically forced to fight people for. Hell, it seems like anyone romantically connected to Ramona goes evil anyway and she never really altered from the start to the end of the movie. So how was Scott getting together with this girl he was stalking for entirely shallow reasons a good ending?

[@CurtainofHonor]

Because he dated knives for the wrong reasons. He dated her because she was easy. Knives dated him because she was immature and was unhealthily obsessed with scott. I don't blame you for missing this as the movie sort of missed the point of this as well due to how much they had to cut out, but ultimately, when you understand the context of it, the knives-scott relationship is not a "healthy, true love," relationship. It's weird because I agree with you that ramona-scott in the movie ALSO wasn't a healthy relationship, but again, that's more on the failings of the film to show ramona as a decent person on her own merit, again due to how much they cut out.

[@BrontoSmilodon1]

Honestly I hope scott pilgrim gets an adaption on adult swim. That would probably give rick & morty a run for it money.

[@dallonpainter2674]

They already animated the school flashback

[@BrontoSmilodon1]

I'm talking about a full series

[@LagrimaArdiente]

11:36 I'm not super familiar with Edgar Wright's work, but judging from Ant-man (yes, I know he left, but the final script was heavily based off his) and Baby Driver, I'm more surprised that he _did_ change that Knives ending.

[@Wolfeur]

Dude, watch the Cornetto Trilogy!

[@LagrimaArdiente]

@@Wolfeur I'll add it to my backlog. 😝

[@dDeckon]

Early Test Screens Had Negative Remarks for the OG Ending; So he was Pressured to change it

[@VodkaHellstorm]

I love Baby Driver in particular but yeah, his female characters do tend to lack development and agency. It's honestly the one criticism I have for him as a director and it's something one of my other favourite directors, George Miller, absolutely nails, and because I watch their films so frequently just for the pure joy of experiencing the worlds those two create, Edgar's female characters have stood out as, at best, underserviced to me for awhile now.

[@gwfb5]

I bought the color editions of all 6 books on GooglePlay last year but never got around to reading them for some reason. That is until you started doing these videos, so thank you for that extra bit of motivation. I saw the film years ago and I thought it was okay, but I absolutely loved the books! I'm definitely going to recommend them to people.

[@morganstiefvater2019]

My first thought when you said "I wonder what memories I'm repressing?" Was "50 Shades."

[@sparkycall6991]

Been rewatching this whole series and reading people’s comments about how much they’d enjoy an animated miniseries, and I’m here from the future with good news 😁 Fingers crossed this new version of Scott Pilgrim can translate the themes of the books a lot more faithfully (while standing alongside the movie, which was still super fun)

[@ArcstoneBionicle]

I am also here from the future, also with good news.

[@icemanlj2k7]

So, now living in the Dom/Calluna home we have Dominic ‘The Dom’ Smith Heather ‘Calluna’ MacDonald Terrence ‘Terry’ Boot Sir Terry Wisp The two Doms from alternate futures and now Nega Dom Gotta be getting crowded 😂

[@Mariusweeddeath]

Probably personal interpretation but I thought the reason for the alternate ending (going back to knives) was because of the self-respect part of the fight early. As mentioned before, the entire movie; Scott never actually goes into any of the fights. Most of them are obligations and its only in the last two that his motivation for the fights aren't solely because "they are trying to kill me" (his fight with the twins are an anger outlet and Gideon is Gideon). The entire movie, he doesn't really do anything aside from just going through the motions that is expected of a 'Ramona Boyfriend'. Yet the actual movie doesn't really give you a reason to root for Scott to get with Ramona. She's mostly dismissive of him, never really seems as invested in him as he is with her and keeps him at arms length for most of the movie (emotionally at least). Scott is only Ramona's boyfriend by technicality. In the most literal of sense since its the fight that establishes that he's her boyfriend at the moment. So, while incredibly late in this whole debacle, he finally says he doesn't want to do any of this. He goes to beat up Gideon because he is an honest asshole and not really because of Ramona. She doesn't seem to care about him the same way she does so why should he have to put in all the work (in a very literal sense at this point) for this relationship? Him saying goodbye to Ramona is saying that while he probably liked her at some point, she wasn't putting anything into the relationship (for reason) like he was and he wasn't going to keep it going if he had to do that. He goes to Knives because she actually does put the work in the relationship. She is willing to give as much as she takes and that's a lot more of something he deserves than what he had to do with Ramona. It isn't done the best (she's still a highschooler) but I get the reasoning for the alternate ending he Edgar might have wanted to go for it. The other delete scene does muddy that a little bit but I hadn't heard of that one. Still, personal take and all.

[@limbobilbo8743]

AHEM, scott pilgrim should be turned into a show with each season revolving around a book. This would allow for an in depth adaptation for the story. I agree with this

[@Disthron]

You know, when this movie was approaching, I remember there was a big deal made out of it being a comic book movie. But it's really a movie grounded in video game culture. I wonder if that marketing foible hurt the movie much or if there was something else that caused it to bomb. I definitely don't think it was the quality of the movie. Adaption issues aside I thought it was pretty good.

[@danielladahoui888]

That's a really good point you made about Michael's casting and arc, how him being the best fighter in the province made more sense with the more confident and cocky Scott than the wallflower Scott. Great videos! Had a lot of fun watching them! And yes, I got the books which are great, and I'll totally re-read them after this! Thanks!

[@smolderiing7166]

Daniella Dahoui PREACH. The movie adaptation of Scott’s new personality and the audience’s introduction to his fighting skills did take me by surprise, but a bit in a negative way. It just felt unnatural and sort of weird. Comic Scott made more sense because well, his extroverted personality made it seem like he could be a fighter. I’m not saying introverts can’t be fighters, but movie Scott’s personality just made it seem like he’s just a video game nerd who likes to play the bass and is kind of a shy douchebag.

[@ribbonquest]

I wasn't sure about watching seven videos about a movie I thought was okay and a comic series I never bothered to read. I'm glad I did though because it was interesting to hear the comparisons. If Scott Pilgrim were ever revisited, I think a web series in the style of Samurai Jack would suit it very well.

[@idanschonberger8994]

Thank you so much for this lengthy in depth review of the comic and the film. Scott pilgrim vs the world is one of my top favourite movies ever, and I was so curious to know how different it is from the comic. Sadly I live in a country with no comic book store that has the Scott pilgrim books, and ordering them online is ridiculously expensive. Thank you so so much

[@klonvomhaus]

Thanks for pushing through your pain to bring us all of this. I hope you're better now (it's two months later so I hope progress happened...)

[@Troopertroll]

This has been my favourite video series (in general) in a long time! Scott Pilgrim really does have a lot of relatable character moments, and I find myself able to watch/read it over and over and still find something new to take away. I'm going to visit a friend in a couple of weeks to show her the film, and I haven't touched the guitar since high school but I've got those three chords down pat to play along 😄

[@lindyhop24]

Thanks for doing this series! You really gave me a better appreciation for the comics. I also read them after I watched the film, and I think the part of my brain that was distracted by all the differences made it hard for me to really follow the deeper meaning of what was going on in the comic (especially since the comic jumped around a lot, which made it more confusing to follow than the film). I've really enjoyed getting this deeper look into this series :)

[@Annafyz]

It's always nice to have something worthy of discussion. Btw, Scott Pilgrim the film wasn't a bomb in Russia, for example. It was huge when it came out, all older teens/young adults were talking about it, it sparked an interest in graphic novels and comics nation wide. I was too young to see it in the theatre, only watching in for the first time a year later, when I was 15. It was so amazing, after the final scene I was running around the house screaming OH MY GOD THAT'S AWESOME OH MY GOD. Then I watched it two more times in a row.

[@VincentMariethe4th]

Yeah, when I saw the movie I had a problem with the "Self-Respect" sword as lack of self-respect was not the thing Scott clearly needed to fix about himself. Also I really didn't like the revelation that Ramona had a mind-control chip implanted by Gideon; kind of rendered her character as something to be won by Scott like a trophy. That said I really need to give the comics another shot. I read up until about halfway through Volume 3 by the time I saw the movie and stuff like the aforementioned film details I didn't like somewhat skewed my perception of it. I should check which volumes my library has...

[@silverwind3766]

I'm late to finish this series because the intro to your video on volume 4 had me convinced to read the comics myself. So I took a break to track down the full colour hardbacks (at a reasonable price) and I have to say I'm really glad you decided to cover Scott Pilgrim. If you didn't I wouldn't have read these books and in hindsight I'd be a lesser man for it. Thank you The Dom.

[@13ciaran13000]

I watched these videos back when they came out and made a point to read Scott Pilgrim at some point. It took me some years to get around to it, but I finally did this month. Thanks for introducing me.

[@13ciaran13000]

Also unrelated note, you should totally do his dark materials -- both the 2019 series and the 2007 film

[@ikanhazw1n]

Scott Pilgrim is the only series I know that has an awesome source, awesome film, and awesome game, all of which tell different stories

[@TheSmartestMoronReviews]

This series of videos made wanna read Scott Pilgrim so badly. Excellent job, good sir!

[@philconti1945]

im new to the channel and started with the Percy Jackson series, i had to come to your most recent video to say you do a great job, bits of humor and a well though out analysis along with great editing, honestly a 10/10 channel

[@TomSketchit]

This has been a hell of a ride. Thank you for taking me back through this series and movie that I love.

[@LuxuryPossum]

Thank you for giving this series justice and going over the books in great detail! Because the film condensed the timeline of events from the book, I was always disappointed in the smaller character interactions that the film had to leave out. Now I'm excited for the Netflix animated series they're doing with the original cast. I hope that gives them an opportunity to expand on the world and its side characters. Maybe present day Dom can revisit the series after the show comes out.

[@meronayalew2790]

Its interesting how in the movie Ramona is a standard manic pixie dream girl through and through but in the comics you actually get to see her develop from that archetype into a three dimensional character worth fighting for. Personally, I didn't really care for the fact that her and Scott ended up getting back together in the movie for this reason. If not for the obviously problematic fact of Knives being in high-school, I actually think the alternative ending would have made more sense. Unlike Ramona's character, Knives does have some development. She goes from hating Ramona for "stealing her man" to maturing enough to not only fight for Ramona's sake in the end but also let Scott go. As for the stalker tendencies that she showed, I think that had more to do with the fact that Scott was her first "real" relationship and puppy love. Once she's given all the facts behind her relationship's end, i.e. Scott cheating on her and not really caring about her as much, she's quick to accept it and not be as obsessive. I think these factors make her more stable in the end which, at least to me, showed that her and Scott made more sense. However, considering every factor such as the age difference, Scott's initial reasoning for dating Knives, and his obsession with Ramona up until the end (which side note came off to me as more of another distraction for Scott rather than actual feelings), I think I would have preferred seeing him just not end up with either girl and being content with himself instead of ending up with one of them and being defined in the relationship he is in; think it would have made a lot more sense with the way the movie went with his character.

[@AquaLantern]

Yet another Dom? Man, your apartment must be a multiversal nexus! Welp, that's it for Scott Pilgrim. A great comic series, a good movie, and a fandom crying their throats out for Netflix to pick up the license. All is right with the world :)

[@markchapman6800]

The "my goodness the Dom, I can't do that!" bits at the end continue to be a highlight!

[@gonzalofraguasbringas8617]

The ending Patreon quips make staying till the end always worth it! "My goodness the Dom, you're a delight to watch!"

[@peterbeck88]

Thank you on acknowledging how movie Ramona never seems that into Scott. It drove me nuts how devoid of chemistry they were in the film, especially being a reader of the comics before I saw the movie. I was half expecting Edgar Wright to change the ending so that they go their seperate ways forever, given how lifeless their relationship felt.

[@colinvandenberg3446]

As a fan of film, this video series has been fun to watch and fascinating at the same time. Thanks

[@doremidreams]

Absolutely wonderful long series, I loved the way you found out how much of the comics are in the movie and the comparisons, super interesting.

[@Plunkcown]

i was just playing some Sex Bob-omb songs on guitar and i might have just realized something: do they hint at Stills being gay with the lyrics? Garbage Truck: "I'll take out your junk" Threshold: "The feminine abyss. Reaching my threshold; staring at the truth till i'm blind" idk i'm probably reaching but i wouldn't be surprised if Beck (who wrote the sex bob-omb songs for the film) did that intentionally

[@sociallyineptspider-man2366]

I think Edgar Wright should have made it a TV show instead of a movie

[@JohnPannozzi]

Please add this video to your Scott Pilgrim Playlist ASAP, Dom!

[@jcxz100]

Love your timing in the delivery of your speak! Very obvious when the negative version of you appears for the second time; well done, sir 👍

[@NaramSinofAkkad790]

I don't agree with Brian's thoughts on the endings. Knives being dragged back into the fight in the comics would be weird. She was never made for the insanity of Scott's world. She was always just a normal teenager growing up and by the end she's grown and moved on. It's perfect for her.

[@shadowscribe]

In light of the fact Edgar Wright at best had a synopsis and a super truncated timeline, the Knives ending does make some sense, since in the movie it could be read as Scott's infatuation with Ramona was derailing a loving relationship, and post-game Scott realized he did have real love right there and he was just throwing it away to be with a new hottie. In this light, Knives' stalkery behavior was her version of the train wreck life falling apart that Scott got most of volume 5; only occurring in the background because she wasn't the protagonist. I do wish the comic cleaned up the whole glow/weapon/Gideon vs self denial elements. Even on my first read it felt less of a brilliant reveal that brought elements together and more of a hurried info dump that came and went without much impact.

[@raphaelhemery152]

Well, thank you for reviewing the series so thoroughly. I love these comics, I like this movie, and I wish there was more. Your videos are a delight.

[@huntcd2012]

Part of me thinks the lack of major development for Ramona was a result of the film steering us in the direction of the original “Scott gets back together with Knives” ending. Ramona was meant to be what a ‘we saw and what we got’ type hence the way it ends with her leaving Scott’s life the way she entered it only on a more somber note.

[@lizard_the_queen]

That colourful punch at the beginning was so COOL! Like something taken from an anime and put to real life.😁

[@thepineyapple]

I wish I weren’t so damn broke. You’re my favorite KZbinr and I wish there were more I could do besides liking and sharing. I know love doesn’t equal money but here’s some hearts for you ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@bree7592]

I actually decided to read the comics before watching this and really like this. The fourth book is my favorite too. Thanks for the recommendation!!!

[@rebbyberard8150]

i think a tv show or maybe a mini-series would be really good for the books cuz it allows you to really cover the whole story and character growth and set up the comic ending a bit more than even the comics do. Also if this ever happened, I think it being animated would be a cool way to keep the original imagery without basically recreating the shots from the movie which are recreations of the panels of the comics

[@Ashrudel]

This whole retrospective was so well done. Amazing job on all of this Dom.

[@edgyspaceunicorn7215]

So we’ve got Dom, Terrence, Reginald, Utopian Dom, Dystopian Dom and NegaDom. Did I forget any?

[@Teag_Brohman15]

I feel like Ramona was made to be more colder and less interested in Scott to make the audience feel more sympathy for Knives

[@benwasserman8223]

Hey Nega-Dom is now a member of the cast. Sweet!

[@SSM654]

Wow...That really touched me the part about being devoted to someone who hurt you. Thanks. It’s great the way you explained and but that bit

[@Jordyb33123]

Think you've struck a great balance with your voice in this one Dom!

[@Inlelendri]

...dammit, now I want to see a crossover of some sort with Linkara's roster of characters, especially Reginald and Linksano, though Harvey being distinctly unimpressed with Terrence would be fun, too. If you have trouble spotting symbolism, then I am even more impressed with your analysis, genuinely so, because spotting symbolism is about the easiest way of digging into any text, whether it's there or not. Thank you as always for the reviews, they're delightful. :D :3

[@brianacoman4011]

I read the books because of your vids after having seen the movie ages ago. I will admit I didn't like all of the books or at least some stretches, but I liked the conclusion which tugged at my heartstrings just a lil bit. Over all: fun and enjoyable. My favorite panel is when Scott apologizes to Kim "for me" instead of "for everything" because as Kim replies everything in the world is not Scott's fault but the way he chose to act is, which totes tied into NegaScott. B/c of that and the scene where Kim pretends to read a message from Ramona I thought they might end up together, but I'm not a hardcore shipper or anything. Love your vids!!!

[@TotallyHuman]

@TheDom hey that thing you just said about it being a NOT-coming-of-age story? Congrats, THAT'S what made me go find a place to grab the graphic novels. you won me over in the EPILOGUE.

[@bubblegum1366]

I KNEW IT. I was so damn confused when you talked about the movie ending with him getting with Ramona, apparently I had only ever seen it with the original ending!

[@VodkaHellstorm]

Edgar Wright is hands down my favourite director of all time and I absolutely adore him, but, gun to my head, my big criticism is that his female characters lack agency and tend to fall into basic archetypes. Sometimes these archetypes are there to be played on, like Darling in Baby Driver, but it wouldn't surprise me if he's just literally been brought up on so much media that this is how he subconsciously views relationships. In some ways it kinda feels like Edgar was the kind of person the comic was written to try to speak to.

[@JasonDitz]

They made some weird choices in age changes too. Scott starts the comic as 23, the movie as 22. Young Neil is 19 in comic, 20 in the movie. Knives is 17 in both cases, but in the comics she met Scott on the bus on her 17th birthday, and in the movies she invited Scott to her birthday dinner very early on. This suggests that despite the lack of time passing in the movie, Knives is probably 18 by the time she's dating Young Neil, and certainly by movie's end, even though it's never addressed.

[@ellironi9163]

This is a comment. Because you're awesome Dom and the algorithm shall not consume you!

[@user-ni2hu4bs3q]

Loved this series! Thank you for this (veeery detailed) analysis of one of my favourite movies. Now I absolutely need to pick up these comics.

[@DoctorBored357]

Another great -thon. As someone who loves the movie, it's nice to see others that thought relatively-highly of of it as well. While I'm more fond of the movie version of Scott(mainly because we're both awkward dorks), the book version is still incredibly fascinating. I might just have to track them down. Thanks!

[@TheGum525]

I loved this series! I’m so happy you took the time to devote full videos to each book! Keep up the good work!

[@cassyblack3346]

Very cool to see this all finished. Yep, I do like both products. I sadly don't have the color versions of the books, and I should fix that. Ha, I really want to see a video of all the You's that are rooming together now.

[@squeethemog213]

This was an awesome marathon. I loved every part. It was intriguing to learn about the books as I have never read them before. I definitely will add these books to my Christmas list this year to grab. I am hyped to read them through.

[@Awakeandalive1]

Thank you for not judging me and my three jetpacks.

[@Ylunio]

I loved this series! Great job as always.

[@robinpullman1488]

I love your videos! Please keep on making them!

[@allenl5960]

Two years late, but I think I will give these comics a try if I find them/I work up the effort to buy something online again.

[@lifeofahumanbean]

The Dom really out here doing Lost In Adaptation ASMR

[@riverdasgard860]

I haven't re-watched this movie since I saw it in theatres, cause I don't know how or why, (maybe cause it was one of those discount theatres that shows movies for super-cheap after they've ended their major theatre run, but haven't been released on video yet) but when I saw it, the ending I saw was the ending where Scott ended up with Knives. I was SO PISSED at that ending. I was shocked when I watched this and learned that that wasn't how it was supposed to go at all (and, I suppose, slightly vindicated).

[@marcgrafgregorio8751]

Coming back to this after the Scott Pilgrim the anime announcement ! 🤯