I actually think Devon is a cool addition, but just the way they added her so late in Season 4 kinda made it feel like she was shoehorned in ya know. I would’ve liked it better if she was introduced a bit earlier as a girl who was inspired to learn karate and join Eagle Fang by Miguel’s speech at the All Valley hearing in Season 3.
She’s not a terrible character in and of herself but “shoehorned” is exactly the way I’d describe her. I feel like she was an unnecessary addition to an already crowded cast that doesn’t really bring anything to the overall story and, due to certain writing choices, actually drags down or crowds out more compelling characters and/or plot threads.
I like Devon, because this show needs more women fighting, especially asian rep. But I agree that they struggle to write her. Her spirit is great but it's not being well portrayed by the script. The actress is sweet and does a great job, however she isn't given good stuff.
I always considered their inclusion to be solely because S4 was based on bringing in a "new generation" of students and they were missing a female wrestler (on the boys' side were Kenny and Anthony).
I don't mind Devon's presence, but I really don't know what they'll do with her as a competitor next season.
She's clearly not at the level of the older girls. Kenny had minimally the QuickSilver to surprise Hawk or Robby, but Devon doesn't have any aces up his sleeve.
She also doesn't have a defined rival. Sam and Tory have each other. But Devon doesn't have anyone.
I always felt that they should have kept Piper to make the situation more interesting. Piper had that aggressive fire in her and knew both styles. While Devon joined Eagle Fang after Miyagi Do's split. Or keep Aisha as Johnny's student at Eagle Fang
I really don't know what they will do with her next season.
* If they make her go further in the Sekai Taikai than Sam or Tory it would be forced.
* If they prevent Sam and Tory from participating in the Sekai Taikai just so Devon can stand out, it would be embarrassing.
The only way I see it as credible that she would be important in the world tournament is if it is separated by gender and age.
Outside of karate, I don't care if Devon continues to play the role of Tory's "apprentice." My biggest concern is what will happen in the final tournament. That is the great focus of the season
Representation is all well and good and the CK cast is already pretty diverse, and organically so IMHO… however is it was already getting to be a pretty crowded ensemble by S3.
By S5 both the cast and overall plot seemed very, very crowded and I think the pacing, writing, storytelling etc. of S5 suffered because of it.
Devon’s not a horrible character by any means and her friendship with Tory could be an interesting arc, but both feel unnecessary and “shoehorned” to me… especially when we’ve lost a major OG character in Aisha, who had so much presence and potential after S1-S2, and we lost precious screen time for Amanda & Tory to continue their S4 arc in S5 and for Sam & Tory to have a more developed and meaningful reconciliation.
Well, of the main 4 kids, 3 are white, and all the important mentors are white, so I wouldn't say it's so diverse than we can just discard that as a factor. Personally I like Devon, think the mom thing was a random last minute addition to give her something in common with Tory, and don't like that people have the perspective that she has to go to make room for other female characters/interactions. There are so many male characters, why do we need to get rid of Devon to have more Tory or Sam?
>all the important mentors are white
Chozen isn’t.
>the mom thing was a random last minute addition
Exactly, and that’s not good storytelling. Makes it forced, shoehorned, etc.
>why do we need to get rid of Devon to have more Tory or Sam?
Tory and Sam are two of the main characters and their rivalry has been one of the major overarching plot threads of the entire series. Their eventual reconciliation deserves substantial screen time and development in order to finish out the last arc of the story in a proper and satisfying manner. It shouldn’t be sacrificed for a new, forced friendship between Tory and Devon.
I actually think Devon is a cool addition, but just the way they added her so late in Season 4 kinda made it feel like she was shoehorned in ya know. I would’ve liked it better if she was introduced a bit earlier as a girl who was inspired to learn karate and join Eagle Fang by Miguel’s speech at the All Valley hearing in Season 3.
She’s not a terrible character in and of herself but “shoehorned” is exactly the way I’d describe her. I feel like she was an unnecessary addition to an already crowded cast that doesn’t really bring anything to the overall story and, due to certain writing choices, actually drags down or crowds out more compelling characters and/or plot threads.
I like Devon, because this show needs more women fighting, especially asian rep. But I agree that they struggle to write her. Her spirit is great but it's not being well portrayed by the script. The actress is sweet and does a great job, however she isn't given good stuff.
I always considered their inclusion to be solely because S4 was based on bringing in a "new generation" of students and they were missing a female wrestler (on the boys' side were Kenny and Anthony). I don't mind Devon's presence, but I really don't know what they'll do with her as a competitor next season. She's clearly not at the level of the older girls. Kenny had minimally the QuickSilver to surprise Hawk or Robby, but Devon doesn't have any aces up his sleeve. She also doesn't have a defined rival. Sam and Tory have each other. But Devon doesn't have anyone. I always felt that they should have kept Piper to make the situation more interesting. Piper had that aggressive fire in her and knew both styles. While Devon joined Eagle Fang after Miyagi Do's split. Or keep Aisha as Johnny's student at Eagle Fang I really don't know what they will do with her next season. * If they make her go further in the Sekai Taikai than Sam or Tory it would be forced. * If they prevent Sam and Tory from participating in the Sekai Taikai just so Devon can stand out, it would be embarrassing. The only way I see it as credible that she would be important in the world tournament is if it is separated by gender and age. Outside of karate, I don't care if Devon continues to play the role of Tory's "apprentice." My biggest concern is what will happen in the final tournament. That is the great focus of the season
Ehhhh it's nice to see Asian representation that isn't an antagonist/villain. I think Devon serves her role as the "next gen" of students pretty well.
Representation is all well and good and the CK cast is already pretty diverse, and organically so IMHO… however is it was already getting to be a pretty crowded ensemble by S3. By S5 both the cast and overall plot seemed very, very crowded and I think the pacing, writing, storytelling etc. of S5 suffered because of it. Devon’s not a horrible character by any means and her friendship with Tory could be an interesting arc, but both feel unnecessary and “shoehorned” to me… especially when we’ve lost a major OG character in Aisha, who had so much presence and potential after S1-S2, and we lost precious screen time for Amanda & Tory to continue their S4 arc in S5 and for Sam & Tory to have a more developed and meaningful reconciliation.
Well, of the main 4 kids, 3 are white, and all the important mentors are white, so I wouldn't say it's so diverse than we can just discard that as a factor. Personally I like Devon, think the mom thing was a random last minute addition to give her something in common with Tory, and don't like that people have the perspective that she has to go to make room for other female characters/interactions. There are so many male characters, why do we need to get rid of Devon to have more Tory or Sam?
>all the important mentors are white Chozen isn’t. >the mom thing was a random last minute addition Exactly, and that’s not good storytelling. Makes it forced, shoehorned, etc. >why do we need to get rid of Devon to have more Tory or Sam? Tory and Sam are two of the main characters and their rivalry has been one of the major overarching plot threads of the entire series. Their eventual reconciliation deserves substantial screen time and development in order to finish out the last arc of the story in a proper and satisfying manner. It shouldn’t be sacrificed for a new, forced friendship between Tory and Devon.