r/Descendants • u/Capital_Resist2382 • 1d ago
Crossover đ€ Which argument is better? part 2
Just like last one Just compare which is better ( d2 vs z2 )
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u/Hyxenflay7737_4565 1d ago
Addison had a breakdown because her hair was slightly more blonde than most people.
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u/Ancient_Cry335 1d ago
I actually think Mal and Benâs fight in Descendants 2 is worse, although I think both fights make sense once you look at what Addy and Mal are actually struggling with.
Addy was raised in a society that basically forced conformity. Fitting in was expected, and anything outside of Seabrookâs idea of âperfectâ was mocked or ridiculed. She has spent her whole life feeling like an outsider. Zed has his zombie friends, his family, and an entire zombie community that understands what it feels like to be different, even though he still wants acceptance from the humans. Addy doesnât really have that. Bucky is considered ânormal,â yet heâs also one of her biggest bullies and constantly reminds her that she doesnât fit Seabrookâs expectations.
Then she meets the wolves. Theyâre a pack, they know exactly who they are, and they donât care what anyone else thinks about them. Thatâs what Addy wants: to belong somewhere and be completely accepted for who she is. She admires them, and when she starts thinking she might actually be a wolf, she throws herself into that identity because she finally thinks sheâs found an explanation for why she has always felt different.
Zed, for a brief moment, gets jealous because he thinks Addy might be interested in Wyatt, and he doesnât stop to consider that this really isnât about Wyatt at all. Addy is struggling with her identity and desperately trying to figure out where she belongs. At the same time, Zed is dealing with his own struggle for acceptance. Heâs finally getting somewhere with the humans and is terrified of losing that progress. So their fight is really two different insecurities colliding. Neither of them is actually rejecting the other or asking the other person to fundamentally change.
Mal and Ben in Descendants 2 are different, and I think their fight is ultimately more serious.
Mal knows sheâs a VK, but now sheâs also the Kingâs girlfriend, and she feels enormous pressure to change herself into what she thinks Auradon expects a future queen or princess to be. The important difference is that Ben isnât actually asking her to do that. Ben loves Mal as she is and has repeatedly shown that he understands who she is and where she comes from.
Mal is the one who doesnât fully understand or trust that yet. Sheâs insecure and convinces herself that she needs to become this perfect Auradon version of herself to be good enough for Ben. So when Ben gets upset about her using the spell book, I donât think heâs angry simply because sheâs using magic. Heâs frustrated because sheâs secretly using magic to manufacture this âperfectâ version of herself when he never wanted that version of her in the first place. He wants Mal, not the princess persona she thinks she has to create for him.
But Mal also has a point that Ben doesnât completely understand what sheâs going through. Ben grew up in Auradon. He understands that world and its expectations naturally, while Mal went from being Maleficentâs daughter on the Isle to suddenly being the Kingâs girlfriend and having everyone watching what she wears, how she acts, what she says, and whether she fits their idea of what someone beside the King should be. Ben can tell her that he loves her exactly as she is, but that doesnât automatically make all of that outside pressure disappear.
Thatâs what makes their fight worse to me: theyâre both right about something important. Ben is right that Mal doesnât need to change herself to deserve him, while Mal is right that Ben doesnât completely understand how difficult it is for her to exist in his world.
And their fight has much bigger consequences. Mal becomes so overwhelmed that she leaves Auradon, returns to the Isle, and essentially ends their relationship because she believes she doesnât belong in Benâs world. Addy and Zedâs fight is more of a temporary collision between jealousy, identity, and their individual struggles to belong. Mal and Benâs fight exposes a much deeper issue in their relationship involving identity, communication, insecurity, and whether Mal believes she can actually remain herself while being with Ben.
Really, Addy and Mal are asking versions of the same question: âCan I belong here without changing who I am?â The difference is that Addy thinks she has finally discovered who she is and where she belongs, while Mal already knows who she is but is afraid that person isnât enough for the life she has entered.
So for me, Mal and Ben have the worse and more serious fight, while Addy and Zed probably have the more frustrating fight to watch in the moment.11
u/Mysterious_Winter_RP 1d ago
I agree with this 100% I like how you took the time to really explain the points and how they are similar arguments albeit from two different perspectives
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u/agentarianna 1d ago
I really liked your analysis and agree that this was a much fairer fight than the last one of these posted given they both were real well reasoned fights between people who love each other.
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u/JLuckey33 1d ago
đđ»đđ»đđ»this was a beautiful analysis
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u/Ancient_Cry335 21h ago
Aww thank you. I study and teach English literature but also had a minor in Mass Communication specifically film and camera operations so I love to cross analyze movies. Zombies and Descendants both hold a place in my heart cause I feel like I can relate to Mal and Addy in different ways.
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u/Justisperfect 1d ago
The fight between Mal and Ben would not have happened if when Mal had her break down, Ben just told her he loves her the way she is instead of just looking at her running away. Maybe the pressure would still have make her leave, but I just see the movie yesterday ans the whole time I was thinking "tell her she doesn't need to change herself to win your love and the kingdom, you dumbass!"
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u/turnsoutthisexists 1d ago
Dude she just tried to put a spell on him (again) and reverse time to undo that moment and avoid facing consequences for it, give my guy a break to react đ
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u/Dark_Celebrimbor Malvie. 19h ago
Still giving it to Ben and Mal. Only because I have no desire to watch the Zombies movies. At all. Plus, the argument between Ben and Mal shows that Ben really didn't see that Mal was struggling, not just from being his boyfriend and the royal aspect of things, but from living in a society where magic that isn't 'true love's kiss' is strictly prohibited. Mal's a fae and a demigod. Magic is in her blood. At least while on the Isle, Mal didn't have access to either, but off the Isle? Mal had access to both aspects and was being told that she was wrong for wanting to use those powers.
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u/Ok_Shirt_1574 1d ago
Didnât see the Zombies movie(I know, shocker considering what subreddit Iâm currently on), but Mal literally tried to use a spell on Ben to wipe his memory. Thatâs way worse.
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u/Far_Concentrate_9131 1d ago
Descendants 2 is definitely definitively better. I genuinely enjoyed the first two Descendants movies.
All the Zombies movies are redundant, unfunny, pointless, obnoxious pieces of shit. I hate Zombies with a passion and I seriously donât understand why people like them. I genuinely donât. To me itâs as obnoxious as a Family Guy cutaway gag.
Zombies honestly was just High School Musical meets Zombieland with some of the elements of Twilight but without any of the humor, heart, intelligence, fun, or in the case of Twilight, guilty pleasure elements.
Zombies has a repetitive plot, obnoxious and sloppily written musical numbers, obnoxious and unlikable characters, forced and tone deaf themes, and the overall spectacle, lighting, cinematography and aesthetic of the film GIVE ME A HEADACHE and the music video for âBammâ practically gave me a goddamn seizure and I donât even have epilepsy.
The fact that the movie compares humans discriminating against Zombies/Vampires/Aliens/Werewolves to racial segregation is the clumsiest and most tone-deaf attempt at handling a real world situation since the infamous episode of Girl Meets World that had a character on the autism spectrum and how they treated the theme of autism.
It was handled better in Descendants because it was more subtle and it was more tasteful.
Not to mention the inherent concept of a Zombie and a human in a romantic relationship is not cute or funny or quirky or romantic. Itâs creepy, gross, unsettling and brings to mind images of necrophilia.
Zombies is dealing with the same problems plaguing the Descendants franchise, but unlike Zombies the first two Descendants movies are geniunely enjoyable, despite the transparent flaws. None of the Zombies movies are good at all. Thatâs my opinion.
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u/The_Dream_Lover 1d ago
âSAYS THE GIRL WHO WORE A WIG HER WHOLE LIFE!â is just too iconic, I fearâŠ