But there are other aspects of Kalos and XY that were handled well. Clemont, Bonnie, Serena, and Korrina all had great returns
As I said, even the positive elements of good returns as with Clemont/Bonnie had drawbacks when it came to production, pacing, etc...That Kalos two partner with Clemont and Bonnie that followed up with the Drasna battle really didn't look good at all in terms of animation, let alone the storytelling problems in the Drasna episode.
I've already made my feelings clear on the Serena episode extensively in my original two part analysis and with the following arguments surrounding it. My confidence in what I wrote there really hasn't been shaken in any fundamental way(really only has grown) and it seems clear to me that more people have moved to my view of how that episode was handled. That can of course, still change in a major way if Serena does end up showing up and has substantial interaction.
As I said with that episode(and this applies to all of the JN Kalos episodes), I'm actually pretty glad that some XY/Serena fans took value out of those episodes, especially the Serena one in particular, but it's been very clear to me that I'd much rather those JN episodes not exist given the damage they've done to XY/XYZ's narrative. JN's nowhere near a good enough series for XY to fall on its sword for it. I don't extend that sentiment to the people who have never really been fans of XY/Serena and come to this thread to regulate what people think about how those elements were handled.
It's unfortunate that people like Speed and Cricket are able to dominate the discussion and act as strawmen, but it is what is. It's great that moderation is able to handle some of that.
To not be so dour, I'll link one of my favorite posts ever from my time on the forum for some hope. The day before the final episode of XY, a legendary post from Omegaz, probably the most recognizable user in Amour threads back then, was made. It really does embody the
" Never give up spirit. " In the end, we got a perfect climactic episode that handled Serena's character and her relationship with Ash amazingly well. We were massive doomers even back and I read that post over sometimes when I'm in the forums as it reminds that sometimes good things do happen.
