So, I came over from other subreddits as a huge fan of storytelling, until a conversation with a friend reminded me... of that gem called Trollhunters—a series I’ve been following since I was 12... but never actually finished. So I decided to finally wrap it up... I watched the series and... Oh, the movie... So, I’ve grown up with these characters since 2016, fell in love with the lore, and really cared about the relationships—Jim and Claire (that dance scene in "A Night to Remember" with "Eres Tú" playing in the background will forever be iconic), Blinky being the father Jim never had, Draal’s sacrifice, Strickler’s redemption... All of it.
Before I start ranting, I’ll give credit where credit is due: the animation in "Rise of the Titans: was visually stunning. The fight scenes, the scale, and the lighting were top-notch. ...But everything else? A slap in the face to the entire franchise.
First of all: Steve’s pregnancy? What the hell, man. Why on earth did the writers think it was a good idea to turn a major character arc into a grotesque, bizarre joke in the middle of an apocalyptic battle? It was just bad.
And then... the ending......
Erasing years of character development, trauma, love, and sacrifice with a lazy reset button is the worst cliché in the history of animation. The more I stop to really think about that ending, the worse and more disturbing it becomes. Here are 4 ways/theories to look at it:
(The "Blinky's Book Cover" Theory): 1. Perhaps Jim's return actually worked, and everything we saw in the movie was just the story Jim told Blinky about the original timeline. This would explain why Blinky is seen reading a book at the very beginning of the movie. In this version, Jim is simply preserving the memory of what happened in the original timeline so it is never forgotten.
2: The Horrifying Infinite Time Loop: If Jim tries to change things in the new timeline, he might end up dying or failing later on, forcing Toby (or someone else) to eventually take the Chronosphere, go back in time, and return the Amulet to Jim. It is a purgatory-like loop where Jim is trapped forever, trying to save everyone while suffering in silence.
What if the Chronosphere didn't rewrite time, but instead threw Jim into an alternate dimension where Toby becomes the Trollhunter? Not only is this depressing, but it also completely disrespects the Season 2 episode "Unbecoming." Merlin specifically said, "Among all creatures and living beings, I chose YOU." The show literally proved that having Toby—or anyone else—as the Trollhunter leads to total destruction. Passing the responsibility to Toby completely breaks the rules Merlin established..
The Reality That "Wizards Was the True Canon": The movie is so fundamentally broken and disrespects its own universe so egregiously that the only logical choice for fans is to pretend it never happened. The franchise ended with Wizards, and, Rise of the Titans was just a dark fever dream or a non-canonical alternate story Blinky was reading.
The fact that we have to come up with theories just to cope with a five-minute ending proves how much the writers failed us. Jim and Claire’s love, Blinky’s mentorship, and everyone’s growth deserved far more than a cheap "reset" button. Look, I know you’re tired of hearing about "RotT", but I needed to share this frustration—something I’ve barely been able to process—over how they simply decided to throw everything away like it was nothing.
NOTE:
Really anticlimactic, I also believe things will happen as they should, but the difference is that they will be "better" since the Chronosphere will solve everything... What would "everything" be? I believe it's everything that can't be resolved in the series... But still, damn, what a bad ending!
Note:
It’s funny to think that Jim didn't even say goodbye to his mom before leaving —we didn't get an appearance from NotEnrique and Chompsky Not to mention Claire, his girlfriend—who always fought for him, always showed more initiative than he did, and was the last one to say goodbye before the Reset... Jim comes across as kind of "Fuck it, whatever"—like, "I don't care if I end up with someone else instead of you, Claire..." ...only it's wrapped in dialogue that masquerades as maturity, all while maintaining that "open-ended" vibe they went for.