#2x07 Safety

[bronx-bomber87]

Good evening everyone and happy Tuesday :)

This ep is a fav of mine. I know there isn’t a ton of Chenford content. But the amount of goodies we get for both Tim and Lucy is so good. Its what I love about them they’re amazing together and separate. Obviously prefer them together but this is a fantastic separated ep. Not a ton of gifs so it'll be partially gifs mostly caps. Also this is a longer one since they BOTH have good SL's in this one.

2x07 Safety.

The cold open is adorable. Tim would hate that phrasing but it’s true. I love sports so I get that excitement and happiness when your team does well. Look how happy he is. When the Rams won the Super Bowl a little while back I thought I bet Tim is thrilled LOL He is happy till a high speed pursuit interrupts his game. He sees the car chase is by his house. So in natural Tim fashion he heads outside to deal with it.

He is sexy af in this scene. That badge around his neck as he calls dispatch and logs in some OT. Then climbs into his truck backs up to block the guy and dispatches of the chase quickly. Gets the guy out of the car and on the ground very fast. Once he’s done drives back into his driveway so he can finish watching the game. Classic. Love this man. So cute jumping up and down cause they won. Damn he cute.

Roll call is upon them and Grey’s initiative today is community policing. Angela is out because she’s taking care of a recovering Wesley. (She ends up taking a side gig protecting a turd and his diamonds) Nolan gets a gig at the hospital leaving Harper open. Grey pairs Jackson with Tim and Lucy with Harper.

Lucy looks nervous af as she looks back at Nyla. I get why she has only seen bits and pieces of Harper. Those pieces they’ve been intense. Reminds me of when Nolan was paired with Tim. Just a little bit of terror in her eyes. It’s such a good ep for them both though. Their scenes are why it’s one of my fav eps.

Grey says Tim/Jackson get the football community gig with the Rams and Lucy/Harper get the community council. Harper makes a crack about it being the 1950’s. The boys get football practice and the girls get the PTA meeting. Grey says fair enough. Only one way to settle this. Challenge Coins. They both have coins from impressive things they’ve done. Tim says he got his from the Chief personally. He’s so cute and proud. Harper being Harper tops him. Says that’s nice. Hers is from the Governor. Tim rolls his eyes haha

Whoever slides theirs across the table closest to the edge wins. Lucy is adorable and in wifey mode already with her phone. Ready to capture the moment for him. I love how he looks over at her first before propelling his. Also his little butt wiggle I can not. Her matching his body posture is fantastic. An exact mirror really so she doesn’t miss a thing. They cute. I love them. Tim loses but Harper doesn’t want football anyways. I swear she did it just to make a point with Grey and mess with Tim.

Poor Lucy bombs right off the bat with Harper. Asking her if she needs anything. Harper looks at her and says 'Officer...?' Lucy happily says Chen. Nyla is her charming self and tells her she’s not going to use her name. That today she’s Not Nolan. Lucy asks John if he has any tips to get on her good side. Nolan makes a crack that he’s not sure she has one LOL You’ll get there. I dare say Lucy and Harper end up closer than her and John ever were, but that is much farther down the road.

First off let’s enjoy how ecstatic Tim looks to be at football practice. He is in one of his happy places right now. The man is radiating joy. It’s so cute. They’re watching practice and see a kid named AJ. How he is easily the best kid on the field. The director says that’s not what matters. His grades were trash before this program. Now he’s on the honor roll. They wave him over. Tim “grills” AJ on his work ethic, drills. and such its adorable. Clearly in his element talking to this kid. (Their scenes in this episode are primo)

AJ’s mom shows up and pulls him over. Director tells them she was just released from prison. Been hard transition for them both. She was in for armed robbery with a serious heist crew. Cute little scene with Tim and Eric Weddle. Eric giving Tim crap for giving up football for the service. Jackson is geeking out next to him its pretty cute. Tim tells him not to make it weird when he bro hugs Eric Weddle LMFAO

Love them having another shot at a pair up. It goes much better this time. They see AJ and his mom fight and walk over. Ask if everything is ok... I mean clearly it’s not. She doesn't answer them. Instead she drags AJ away from practice. They can tell something is wrong they’re just not sure what yet.

Back at the station Lucy and Harper are prepping for their meeting. Nyla tells her to keep this short and simple. Don’t promise anybody anything. Just to tell them ‘We’re aware of the problem and have a task force on it.’ Lucy questions that a bit but Harper says they’ll love that buzzword. She has Lucy lead the meeting. Poor Lucy she is not in the least prepared to do this. At first it works Nyla’s line. Lucy tells first guy verbatim what she’s supposed to. He takes her at her word and sits down. Harper looks proud from the other side of the room.

Then things quickly go sideways for her rapidly. A woman tells her that her neighbor keeps feeding the squirrels. Lucy tries the line again and fails. She questions Lucy and says 'A squirrel task force?' I can't blame her haha The lady tells her she’s worried about her dogs cause squirrels attract coyotes. Lucy’s empathy kicks in and gets her in trouble with Nyla. Tells's her to give her the address of her neighbor. Then she is bombarded with tasks.

Tim and Jackson meet Aj and his mom at their home. Just to make sure everything is copacetic. They can quickly see that it is not. Tim asks AJ if everything is ok. Seeing if he can get to him. It’s obvious that she’s trying to leave town with him. Before they can delve into why she’s leaving the car gets fire bombed. Clearly a targeted attack. Tim and Jackson get them to safety before calling it in.

Jackson takes AJ's mom to the side for questioning and Tim checks in on AJ. I love this scene. Getting to see that soft side Lucy has brought out so much. She would be so happy to watch him with AJ. How well he bonds with him and tries to get him to open up. (wonder how he honed that skill in..) Tim starts off with tossing his football with him. He starts to build his rapport by telling him he’s talented. AJ replies says how his football is always with him. How much he loves to practice. Tim is soft in his reply says it sounds like him with how much he loves the sport. The dedication to get better.

We’re about to get some background on Tim and I love it. Tim tells him in some ways the game saved him. AJ's interest is piqued. He asks Tim how so? Tim tells AJ growing up in his house was a bit chaotic. (Oh how understated that is my love) If you don’t know his backstory already at this point you get a sense his childhood was turbulent.

He empathizes with this kid. Relates to him and it’s written all over their scenes. It’s such a good episode for him. AJ says he knows a little something about that. Tim continues on to build rapport with him. Lets AJ know how his father was testy. Tim never knew what was going to set him off. That football was the only place he felt like he had control. I just love getting this insight into him as a character. Piece by piece we get to see why Tim is the way he is.

This shows us why he needs control like he does. (I.e. always driving the shop and Lucy not doing so) The Tim tests are a product of this as well. His way of controlling his environment and training since he didn't have that growing up. He does everything for a reason. We’re all products of the environment we grew up in. It leaves marks on us whether we like it or not. I could go on and on about him. Very passionate about his character and what makes him tick. His growth. Eric portrays him so well I could go on and on about that too but I won’t haha

AJ agrees again with saying he too relates to that. Football is where he has most control as well. Tim continues on to let him know he gets it. Football taught him teamwork, discipline and it wasn’t just a game for him. (It makes sense why he enlisted. He got everything from the service he loved about football) AJ then asks what game they’re playing now? We connect then I rat on my mom? Tim instantly says 'I would never ask you to do that.' You can see the change in AJ. He knows Tim is being genuine. He just hands him his card. Tells him to call him if he needs anything.

We return to Lucy and Harper responding to one of the many complaints they got. ‘Vagrants in the sewers.’ Harper is none to pleased about it. Says they're going fishing in the arm pit of L.A. Lucy tries to do her optimism thing. Saying isn’t this what community policing should be? Helping like this? Nyla shuts it down and says no it’s what she tells her it should be. That Lucy doesn’t want to be good at those meetings. Lucy asks why? Harper crushes her a bit more by saying if the higher ups see that it'll be all they’ll ever let her do…

They make it deep into the sewer when they find couple meth tweakers. This scene is hard to watch for how beat down Lucy is in this scene. Not just physically but that self esteem Tim has been trying to build up crumbling a bit due to it. They get attacked and Lucy has Harper's back while she cuffs one of them. Lucy is attacked by the second tweaker and overtaken. Harper jumps in to save her. Lucy thanks her but Nyla is livid she had to do so. Tells her those community meetings are all she’s good for. (Too mean Nyla too mean)

It’s not the reaction I expected from Harper first time I watched it. Then rewatching like I have it’s what she needed. Little harsher than I would’ve liked, but needed for the message she ends up delivering. Lucy is upset while the guys get hauled away. Harper picks up on it and ask her if she has something on her mind? At first Lucy says no. Harper snarks back 'That's what I thought.' Lucy snaps and tells Nyla she is wrong about her. Harper isn’t convinced in the least.

Lucy fights back says she’s more than those meetings. Harper continues the harshness and replies she must be really good at paperwork.... Then she tacks on that she can’t fight. Lucy tells her she can she’s won a lot of fights. Harper says not this one. Lucy bites back he was huge. That it wasn't fair he was much bigger than her. Harper shoots her down again. Says she took him down and his buddy.

Harper is getting under Lucy’s skin and she knows it. Says Lucy wants to hit her. That she can see it in her eyes. Tells Lucy to hit her. Lucy bawks and can't believe she's asking her to do this. Nyla shoves her to rile her up. Tells her come at her like that tweaker came after her. Lucy is pissed enough and does and quickly fails. Lucy is on her ass in seconds. Now Nyla is brutal but her message at its core is sound. Tells Lucy to stay down and get used to that position. Being a woman in uniform is anything but fair. That contrary to belief she is not a 6’2 180 lb man.

Unfortunately this isn’t gif’ed it's too bad it's such a good scene. Harper goes on to tell her ‘Tim might be a good T.O. but he can’t teach her to fight like a girl.’ She's not wrong. Nyla continues on that they get a higher show of force especially from men. That when she’s alone against a desperate suspect and she’s between them and their freedom she can’t be thinking 'Oh my he’s bigger than me.'

Harper helps her up. Tells her if she’s going to survive the streets as a 5’6 woman and one of color no less, she better be willing to learn what these boys don’t know how to teach (one of the best lines of the scene) Harpers impact on Lucy is immense. It’s not kind at first because Nyla isn’t in that place yet. She is a wrecking ball emotionally. Not her softest approach but her message like I said is sound in its logic. Lucy needs to know things she had no idea she needed until today. Why her pairing up with Nyla benefits her so much. Doesn't feel like it right now but it really does.

Lucy tries to mend fences when they get back to station. It’s who she is. I would be same way. Tries to make a joke about the meeting. How she should've listened to Harper's way of it. She gets no reply then tries to ask about her challenge coin. Harper calls her on the chit chat. Lucy is then upfront and tells her she wants to learn the job the way Harper does it.

Lucy is smart and can see the logic of what Harper was telling her. Tim is great for her but he can’t teach her what Harper knows. Nyla sadly doesn’t take her olive branch. Tells her not to be like her. Lucy commends her career and all she’s done. Harper tells her wasn't worth what she lost. That she doesn’t even want to be her. Oh Nyla you broken soul.

AJ shows up to station using Tim’s card like he was hoping he would. Tells Tim and Jackson his mom left for an errand and never came back. He’s worried something has happened to her. Tim asks him to be straight with them. That he’s stressed he gets it but can’t help her if he doesn’t. He tells them she had been hounded lately by her ex-BF to help be a getaway driver. Said he would kill AJ if she didn’t. They start to get a search grid going for her. Tim is so sweet puts his hand on his shoulder tells him it’ll be ok. I love this.

Harper is jealous Tim and Jackson are squaring off against a heist crew. She asks Lucy what they’re doing at this house. Her reply is too funny. ‘Talk to neighbor about feeding squirrels…’ Harper tells her to stay in the shop. She goes to the door solo and talks to him. She notices his hand is messed up and is instantly suspicious. Harper returns and tells Lucy to run background check.

They look him up and Harper thinks it’s the UCLA bomber. Lucy tells her they’ll need DNA. Tries to call in a warrant and Harper says no. Just needs his trash. They don't need a warrant to do a lawful search of that. Lucy starts her redemption and says Harper will need a distraction then.

Lucy knocks on the door pretending to be someone informing people about drought resistant plants. (her first mini UC) Guy isn't interested but she is persistent. Asks if she can have some water to buy Harper more time. Harper accidentally tears the bag of garbage as she is leaving. He spots Nyla outside the window and arms the floor. We hear the pressure plates click in to place.

Leaving Lucy stuck inside with his armed floor. We hear Nyla call for her (uses her last name BTW. )Lucy warns Harper to get the bomb squad. Tells her the house is armed and he’s rigging a bomb. Then is a total bad ass. Uses those worn spots she notices on his hardwood floor as her map. She slowly navigates the floor to the back room where he’s rigging a big bomb.

After she stops him from arming the bomb she throws him out the window. Harper sees them exit. You know she just proved to Nyla how good she is under pressure. Also how smart she is. She got into the house no problem with her ruse, navigated her way out, and nabbed him before he set bomb off. Nyla asks if she’s gonna puke and she says no. Then does poor girl. All that adrenaline I can’t imagine.

Lucy catches Harper before she leaves. Tells her it was nice working with her today. Nyla is kind and says me too. We see that growth kicking in. Tells Lucy she was wrong to discourage her today. Tells her to goes as far as she wants in this job. That she can be a cop like her but to be better. Tells her she’s has what it takes ‘Not Nolan’ ha

Lucy doing what she does best calling people out. Tells Harper she heard her call her Chen back at the house. Says she knows Harper knows her name haha Harper respects it and she gets a smile out of Nyla. Even John hasn’t gotten that LOL Lucy asks her if she can ask her advice from time to time. She gets a much better response this time and says 'Sure just not all the time' haha She has a rep to protect hehe. So begins a beautiful friendship.

Tim can teach her a lot of what she needs to know truly he can. But he can not teach the wisdom Nyla ends up teaching her. How to handle herself as a female cop. Talia missed the mark so badly with Lucy on that. Nyla truly capitalizes on this moving forward. Harper is exactly what Lucy needed. A strong bad ass female role model she could lean on from time to time. She is apart of the development of the Confident BAMF Lucy that we have today. One of the reasons I adore her character so much. Why I love this ep a lot as well. So good.

Tim and Jackson save AJ’s mom from the heist that takes place. Angela luckily happened to be guarding the target as an off duty side gig. It was wrapped up nicely. They were able to keep AJ's mom from being charged since she was coerced. The ending is super sweet. Get to see Tim/Jackson playing with AJ. His mom watching on. Tim looks so happy and once again in his element. Bragging about how he was one of the top QBs in the state. Eric Weddle shows back up gives Tim crap. Says his interceptions were always perfect spirals ha

Ep ends super sweet Tim/AJ squaring off against Eric and Jackson. Lots of trash talking snd cuteness haha Perfect way to end the SL. Love this so for them individually so very much. Tim for showing his compassion and sharing his past with AJ. Lucy for growing and learning about herself as a cop. Harper becoming an ally for her is huge.

Fantastic episode. Thanks to all who continue to like/comment (love me some comments), and reblog. You are amazing and I appreciate you all.

~~~~~

Side notes-Non chenford

Not really much two main SLs were Tim and Lucy separately. So I will say I did like Nolan and the doctor. They had a good background and chemistry. Too bad they didn't work out.

Shall see you all in 2x08 :)

[renegadesstuff]

TIMOTHY BRADFORD 🔥

[raayllum]

I think this is also reinforced by the idea that Callum and Rayla fight against, sometimes, that they worry (at first) over loving each other too much

Callum being worried about liking/trusting Rayla more than he ‘should’ in 1x06, even though he wants to

“I can’t lose you like this, you mean too much to me.” 

The track playing when Rayla kisses him in 1x04 is “One feeling too far”

“I’m going to keep you safe. I have to. I love you too much not to.” 

Honourary possible shout out to “The world just isn’t ready for what we have”

The sheer insanity that jumping off the mountain for her is / the way Opeli tries (and fails) to caution him at all in 5x01 because she knows he’s ‘not thinking entirely straight’ (and if it was anyone but Rayla, he really wouldn’t be)

Moonshadow elves aren’t supposed to share fear but Rayla admits she’s scared on his behalf in 2x02 to another Moonshadow elf / catches him in 4x04 and looks up at Aaravos absolutely terrified like she didn’t just completely show her hand

"He couldn't think about her, not now" in Callum's short story because he knows it'd distract him, and it is indeed what makes him lose control of his magic later

“But the second you see that elf girl in pain, you completely lost yourself” because Callum saw her in pain and he just fucking Snapped

and it’s just such a great instance that the same character trait(s) / bond(s) can be both a Good and a Bad thing, depending on the circumstance and how it manifests, and how S4 and S5 continually build up “doing terrible things in the name of love” as a theme, particularly for these two

So, it's like this right. Callum would do anything for Rayla. And in Rayla's case, the one thing she refuses to sacrifice is Callum. Where is too far for those two. Or more aptly, how far past "too far" are they willing to go for each other. "I always knew you'd go far—but I didn't know how far you'd go to get there."

[raayllum]

Rayla's Super Selective Hearing, or What is Callum Actually Afraid of?

There's a running current throughout the series, but especially Arc 2 and S6 in particular, about recognizing fear in another individual and the importance of it as a sort of moral horizon line not to cross.

We see this time and time again being twisted/warped with the dark mage characters:

as well as others as a warning sign

which is contrasted most notably with Rayla in S1 as an explicit reason for mercy and recognizing personhood:

RUNAAN: You let him go! RAYLA: Runaan, I'm sorry. The human — he looked up at me and I saw the fear in his eyes. RUNAAN: Of course he was afraid, but you had a job to do! (1x01)

RAYLA: And then I just... let him go. I don't know why. EZRAN: Because you felt for him. RAYLA: But he was a human. My enemy. EZRAN: Yeah, but then you saw he was scared, and you knew he was a person, just like you. RAYLA: That shouldn't have mattered. I had a job to do. (1x08)

and in pleas of ignoring fear:

versus reassurance that it's okay, even if the two can overlap:

And fear, is, of course one of the most consistent feelings that Callum has towards Aaravos, and subsequently one of the threads built upon between Callum and Rayla.

Some of this, mind you, is because they're going to have to confront the "it doesn't matter that the human was afraid, you had a job to do and should've killed him" holdover whenever Callum gets possessed again, which is also part of the reason why Runaan turns and flees from Rayla's compassion and forgiveness in 6x09: he's afraid he doesn't deserve it, and that he "can't go back". He's worried that he's too far gone, and that he's a monster.

This also plays into Viren's realization and acceptance of what had happened with Lissa, who was terrified of him and said similarly that he had "become a monster" as previously noted (and eventually he was able to acknowledge that she was right).

This same fear of becoming monstrous one of the many fears we see plaguing Callum in S6: that not only will Aaravos control and/or manipulate him, not only did he do dark magic again, but that if it happens again or if Rayla finds out that she'll be scared of him, down to similar framing to boot.

Callum's fear doesn't come to fruition in 6x03, with Rayla being not scared of him, for scared for him. As she lists out reasons why he shouldn't do dark magic (without knowing why he did so), she cites:

Because it's dangerous. Because it hurts you. But most of all, because it makes you vulnerable to the thing you're most afraid of. [...] I just don't understand why you would keep doing it, knowing that it puts your life in terrible danger.

And Rayla has good reason to think that Aaravos is Callum's worst fear, given that Callum has emphasized his fear over Aaravos a few times to her:

So Callum is scared of Aaravos, as are most of the characters, but the possession gets to him specifically. Part of this is because the possession strips Callum of the quality he cares about the most: his agency ("You think [making a mistake because Aaravos took control of me] makes me feel better? That makes me feel worse" / "I felt so weak and out of control. I was his puppet"). This is also what he affirms to Ezran in 4x05 ("when he took over my whole body and used me like a puppet").

The other side is one that he spells out for us in 4x07, so let's go line by line now that S6 has provided more reaffirmation / context.

I'm not afraid that he'll hurt me.

This line, of course, shows Callum's selflessness and willingness to risk his life (1x02, 2x07, 3x01, 3x09, 5x08), in addition to his rationale for asking Rayla to kill him. If his destiny under Aaravos and the harm it brings it inevitable, his own life and safety would be a reasonable concern, but it's not. And we know this because it's Rayla's primary concern in the possession plotline, and one that's not good enough for him. "We're all in danger," he rebuts when she just talks about him; she questions why he would use dark magic again when "it puts your life in terrible danger". But just his own life being at risk isn't enough to get him to not do something — at least not when he has a good enough motivation ("You can risk your life to learn magic" vs jumping off the Pinnacle or trying to take Ezran's place).

I'm afraid that he'll use me

This line is the crux of Callum's dynamic with Aaravos on his end — the fear, the concern, the paranoia. In 4x07, it's a scary possibility; in 6x01, he treats it more like an imminent inevitability unless he can find a way to destroy the pearl: "As long as it's here or anywhere, it poses a threat, because Aaravos can manipulate people on the outside. Like he did with Lord Viren. And... me." We'll get to why I think this change of "he will" (still leaves some room for doubt) to "he is" (he is going to) has happened in the next couple of lines. We also see that Callum finding out that Aaravos has used him in switching the pearl in 6x06 was enough to break his spirit even without knowing anything that leaving the pearl back in Katolis was going to lead to, so the stakes of the action itself (losing agency/control) are high. It's scary to think he might've already "played into" Aaravos' hands per his 'destiny' even if we know (thanks to the pawn intro) that he hasn't and much more is in store.

But what is Callum scared about when it comes to Aaravos' hold on him? Especially since 6x01 trims both of these things out of the mix in terms of verbal dialogue.

to do awful things

This is the first thing Callum mentions, so it accordingly has weight. We see that Callum, like the bulk of the main cast but especially the core trio, wants to and tries to do the right thing ("The right thing, I hope") and it's something he admires in other people ("she does what's right even when it puts her own life in danger"). He doesn't want to cause unnecessary suffering and he doesn't want to hurt people, and unlike characters who also feel that way most of the time but don't follow through (hi Claudia, hi arc 1 Viren), he is usually accordingly tormented and guilty when he feels like he hasn't lived up to his own ideal (apologizing to Ez for his temper, doing dark magic, etc).

However, "awful things" is a little vague. It can't include hurting the people around him per say because that gets its own distinction, so what does 'awful things' refer to? Harrow refers to his choices with the Magma Titan and Avizandum and Zym as "terrible things"; Soren asserts the same about trying to kill the princes; and Terry most explicitly tells Claudia that "I've seen you do a lot of awful things, dark magic things". So the most distinct thing we can get there is 1) killing and/or sacrificing people and/or 2) dark magic in general.

This is, to me, part of why 5x08 is so difficult for Callum as an episode, because he's forced to do some terrible things. Finnegrin tries to make him pick which one of his loved ones is losing a hand; Callum is nearly coerced and then chooses to use dark magic; he gives a dangerous man an even more dangerous spell and the trade doesn't even amount to anything.

Because if it comes down to doing terrible things, Callum would prefer doing that in order to not

or hurt people I care about.

Callum clearly thinks that dark magic and doing dark magic is awful. We see this routinely expressed throughout the series, scaffolded by dark magic always being a last resort and nothing else for him thus far: "But is it really so wrong?" "Yes!" (2x08); "But in your eyes I see guilt. What have you done that's got you so twisted up inside?" (5x08); "I did it, I'm ruined, it's too late for me, who cares?" (6x03)

Ergo, on Finnegrin's ship, in his own eyes, he did something awful. This is because I think it's evident that being vulnerable to Aaravos isn't Callum's worst fear, as Rayla posits: it's losing her or Ezran.

Being vulnerable and possessed by Aaravos is scary to him because it might mean hurting them. Yes he doesn't want to do something awful, but we've seen in canon that he's willing to if the alternative is letting either of them die (much like how Rayla didn't want to emotionally hurt Callum, but it was a trade she was willing to make if it meant keeping him physically safe). We know he's not worried about Aaravos controlling him just for his own safety (points to previous sections).

The phrasing of the line itself is interesting, as you can read it two ways, of him being scared Aaravos will use him to hurt his loved ones, or scared that Aaravos (generally) will hurt his loved ones. Neither is an appealing prospect.

But as Finnegrin says:

All that talk about how love makes you stronger, but the second you see that elf girl in pain, you completely lost yourself.

Callum would rather do something awful (dark magic) and make himself vulnerable to Aaravos, his 'worst fear,' than lose Rayla (or Ezran), which is his Actual worst fear. This is, of course, just perfect Greek tragedy irony: Callum getting possessed in order to save Rayla, only to inadvertently put her in danger again under Aaravos' control. Nor is this exclusive to Callum — I imagine the worst fears for basically everyone in TDP would be the loss of the people they love, even over the loss of their own life, and this is something we see reflected time and time again with Harrow and Sarai, Gren and Amaya, Aaravos and Leola, Rayla and Callum, etc.

What is more exclusive to Callum is the sheer lengths he may be willing to go to in order to not lose them. As he says in 4x07, he's afraid Aaravos will use him because it could lead to doing awful things or hurting people he loves; in 6x01, his speech has changed because he has a better understanding of how/why Aaravos would be able to manipulate him, and because he knows he'll do things he considers awful to protect/save the people he loves.

After all, as previously noted, Callum is afraid of having no choice... and that's exactly what happened.

[morganas-pendragons]

wash away the blood | celebrimbor

gif by beaulesbian

this idea was WAY too good for my little brain to pass up. I'm gonna keep writing these regardless of what happens to him (I have 2 hurt/comfort fics for Celebrimbor in my drafts... let me know what else you want to see!) and this was born from my desire to hug Celebrimbor and never let go.

this still follows the elf reader for my past fic Ease and is a female reader + the prompt is ''river'' and ''blood'' (which I came up with myself LOL)

LIGHT SPOILERS FOR 2x07 READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

His entire being aches down to the very core of his soul. His hands are bloodied, and his cheeks are cut up and bruised, but Celebrimbor cannot help but allow himself this one moment of comfort as Galadriel stands in front of him and cradles his face like he is the most precious thing in this world.

The hearts of his kin were always far bigger than he could comprehend.

"I built this city. My place is here."

Galadriel shook her head. "No," She replied. "Your place is with her, far away from Sauron's influence. I will take The Nine for you. You dare not face him alone."

Like a being straight out of his dreams, Celebrimbor watches you emerge from the darkness of Eregion's ruins with all the desperation of a woman just trying to save the man she loves.

That is the promise you made to him, after all.

It was the one thing he could count on amid the illusion.

"Celebrimbor, my love," You slip your bow over your shoulders and approach him with haste, wrapping an arm around his waist to steady him as he leans his weight into the warmth of your embrace. You have been an embodiment of safety and security since Annatar showed up. You had proven to him that despite his misgivings, his pride, and his arrogance, he was worth more than simply the skills he had to offer Middle Earth. "She's right. We have to go. I distracted Annatar enough that he'd be struggling to look for The Nine for a while. We have time to flee the city if we go now."

"Go to Lindon. You will be safe there," Galadriel assures. "Tell them it was I who sent you. I will buy you time."

You don't tell Celebrimbor that you've regained your memory of the spells you grew up learning or how you successfully kept yourself shielded from Sauron's manipulations. You don't tell him that the staff slung across your back is your own either. He will surely find out that you've regained your magical capabilities soon enough.

Your face crumples when you feel his hand come to cradle your jaw and find it slick with blood. His thumb is missing. You feel the weight of him sinking into you further and shifting to accommodate as you turn yourself and Celebrimbor toward Galadriel. She has no argument. The Commander of the Northern Armies simply nods her confirmation and disappears into the shadow and flame.

Celebrimbor's quiet, agonized confession echoes soundlessly in your ears as you lead the way toward the Dwarven tunnel.

"All that loss, all that death... And it all remains on my hands."

You don't have anything to say to him. Bracing your hand against his hip, you lead the Smith you love to the horse at the end of the tunnel and help him into the saddle first. He is barely conscious by the time you sit behind him and gently pull his body into your own so he will sit upright.

A quiet sigh breaks past your lips as you press your chin into his shoulder and allow silent tears to fall. Celebrimbor follows suit, swallowing the knot in his throat as tears fall down the blood on his cheeks.

He can only manage a strangled whisper of, "I love you." before your fingers are pressed against his stomach, murmuring in Quenya under your breath as he falls into unconsciousness.

***

The first thing Celebrimbor feels upon waking is warmth. His entire being is warm. The crackle of a fire echoes beside him as he slowly opens his eyes, greeted with a twilight sky and the gentle hum of a voice somewhere above him as fingers card through his hair.

He feigns sleep for another moment to bask in the moment. It is the first true moment of safety he has felt in weeks.

"Good morning, my love." You murmur. Celebrimbor forces his eyes open again to gaze upon your face and softens. You look the picture of beauty, even with your unkempt hair and ash and blood upon your cheeks. "You've been asleep for two days."

Well. That was mostly true. Sauron's influence had not fully lost its grip until you were well out of Eregion's reach, and in that time, he had attempted to attack you twice and had left bruises on you. You chalked it up to exhaustion and delirium. He would not. Celebrimbor would never forgive himself for it.

"I seem to be a mess," He said quietly. You pressed your hands against his shoulders and slowly helped him to sit up. The forest around you was quiet save for the chatter of creatures and bird song. There was no war to be seen for miles. "And here you are, taking care of me yet again."

"I love you. What happened in Eregion and what Sauron did does not change that." You said firmly. Reaching over him, you produce a bag of fruits and nuts you'd obtained earlier that morning while he slept. "I do however want you to try to eat."

He almost immediately complies, were it not for the shock of seeing his hand healed.

Celebrimbor's eyes snap to you in astonishment as he runs his other hand over where his injured thumb is. He remembered being in agonizing pain, remembered the gentle lull of your voice and the warmth of silver light engulfing him.

It was you.

"You..." His voice falters, leaving you an opportunity to interject if you so wish to. You did not dare. His voice had been taken from him for so long that you would never put him in a position where he could not speak his thoughts and feelings again. "It was mangled when we left Eregion. Bloodied. What did you do?"

You tap your circlet and wiggle your fingers. "I told you I have healing magic. It's just one thing I've remembered how to do." You said. "But I cannot heal weariness. That only comes with time."

Your eyes are fixated on his mouth as his tongue slides across one of the berries before disappearing behind his lips.

The air between you is thick with tension, electrified by your growing desire for him. He knows it. So do you, but you do not wish to overstep, especially when he is in this state. That is what prompts Celebrimbor to motion toward the river and then to his robes.

"I believe we are both in need of a cleansing. I am too weak to do it on my own." He states. Realization flickers behind your eyes as he sets the bag of food aside before gesturing for your hand. "Would you guide me to the river, My Lady?"

How are you supposed to say no when he's looking at you like you hung the stars and the moon in the sky, like you are an emissary sent straight from the Valar themselves, ever the image of true beauty?

Despite knowing you love him and he loves you, he still has such capacity to reduce you into a stuttering mess.

You nod wordlessly and stand to your feet. He's still hesitant to be in the open, as is expected, but there is something about your protection in Celebrimbor's most vulnerable moment that puts him at ease as you two trek the distance to the river.

It only occurs to you upon spotting its banks that this is the first time since you will see him fully unclothed. It's not like the massage when you met. It's more intimate. It's vulnerable.

"My love," Celebrimbor's voice breaks through your reverie as you step into the sand. "I believe I may need help removing these old things. I don't know what use they will be anymore. Can you assist me?"

You don't know why you're hesitating. You love him. He's made it clear he loves you too, and no one else in this world has ever made you feel so safe. He'd taken such good care of you when you arrived in Eregion. Alone and destitute, The Lord of the Elven Smiths had brought you under his wing as you sought out refuge from the world around you. From your lack of memories, from your lack of trust.

And then he'd shown you what pure love looked like. You had been his ever since.

"Lift your arms." You murmur low in his ear. Celebrimbor complies, wincing as the fabric grazes a wound on his side before he finds himself free of the confines of his robes. His underclothes do not fare much better. "I'm sorry, Celebrimbor."

"Whatever for? You are not to blame for this."

"I'm sorry that he inflicted such pain upon you. You have a kind and gracious heart that only wished to fulfill a legacy you feel is an expectation of being from the House of Feanör," You state as you slowly lead him into the water just enough to where it dips beneath your waist. You are still dressed in your own clothes. The armor you'd worn during the Siege has long been discarded. "And I'm sorry he used you as a means to his own end."

"I survived." He replies. You lean outward as his good hand catches your face, seeking out the warmth and comfort of a desired touch as his thumb traces your lips. "You were my only truth amid all the deceit."

You allow him to draw you to him as he bends his head to meet your mouth, sighing softly in response as you press your hands to his chest. It is a sweet and short kiss that conveys nothing short of Celebrimbor's gratitude that you have stood by his side throughout it all.

When you are the first to pull away, you bend down to cup your hands and fill them with water. "It'll be easier for me to wash your hair if you are kneeling. Would you?"

"Of course."

The next few minutes pass in silence as you wash the blood from his hair. The water of the river tinges red as you continue, working your fingers through his curls and deep against his scalp to ensure you have removed all of the dirt and grime that has settled there. He tips his head into your hands, at your total mercy, and allows his eyes to flicker across your aspect as you continue.

"Okay," You remark. "That is your hair. The rest-"

"I would very much like it to be your turn, My Love." He interjects. You raise a brow at his forwardness and laugh as his cheeks tinge pink. "If you'll allow it."

You turn your body toward him and lift your hair to allow him access to the fastenings of your clothing. You are just as bloodied as he is, skin smeared with orc and elf blood as you had spent the majority of your time during the Siege at the front when Elrond had shown up.

A shiver runs down your spine as Celebrimbors fingers graze the curve of your back, loosening each fastening before your shirt is loose and heavy with water. You nod your confirmation and watch it fly back in the direction of the shoreline where his robes sit.

You kneel and peer up at him through your hair. You're so glad he's here. You were so sure that Sauron was going to kill him before you could get back to the Tower.

''Hey, hey. What are these tears for?" He asks, urgency and concern lingering in his tone as he kneels to meet you in the water.

"I thought-" You swallow your fear and screw your eyes shut as your forehead seeks his own. Celebrimbor softens. He's always admired your ability to be vulnerable with him. To let him see your heart in a way no one else ever has. "I thought Sauron was going to kill you. Kill you, make me watch-"

He'd thought the same thing.

Celebrimbor runs his fingers over the bruises on your cheeks before shaking his head. "You and Galadriel made me see reason. You got me out. You took care of me and tended to my wounds. No one else would have been able to break through his influence like you did. And now that we are here?" You open your eyes and sigh as water descends through your hair and down your neck. "Let us be cleansed of Him."

So that's exactly what happens. Minutes feel like hours as you keep him afloat atop the water and help him wash his body of the war you have left behind. Even though Celebrimbor struggles, he does the same to you, cradling you with such a tenderness that it makes your heart ache.

When you are both cleansed, you stop him from returning to the shore with a kiss that takes his breath away. He is only just able to return the kiss with equal fervor when he manages to get your feet out from beneath you and topples you into the water.

Laughter echoes in the air as you sink below the water before you pull yourself back up, flabbergasted that he'd pulled such a move.

Then you see why.

Celebrimbor is smiling.

He may not be as whole as he once was, oh no, but he's still the most beautiful person you know. That soul is so gentle despite all he has endured.

Precious.

"You're staring."

You snap to attention at his remark and grin. You can't help it. "I love you." You reply. His response is immediate: That smile you love so much as he slowly chases you through the water with all the strength you both can muster before you both collapse on the boulder where your clothes are drying.

It is there in the light of the sun with you wrapped in his embrace that he finds the courage to ask the question.

Sauron has no influence here. Not anymore.

"Will you marry me?"

[ebro-devoo]

After having some time to reflect on 2x07, I think Siuan’s actions were justified and somewhat sympathetic given the information she knew. First off, Lan came to Siuan and told her that moraine have been deliberately withholding essential information from her (the fact that she was stilled ) and was threatening to pass Lans bond which both indicated that Moraine was not in a good place mentally or physically to complete their mission (train and protect Rand/the world from Ran).

Now cut to when she meets with Ran. While we as viewers know that Ran is not evil or mad yet, from her perspective he is a nuclear bomb that could either become evil or go mad in the process of saving the world. The last dragon literally killed a ton of people and destroyed the world, and as the head of the “servants of all” it’s Siuan’s job to protect the world from Rand, and so when she sees that Moraine has no power to control him if he starts to go insane and has failed to teach him anything, she makes the decision to shield/control him, which in her mind is what’s best for the safety of the world. While we know it’s the wrong choice, I don’t think this is anything like the Seanchan who literally enslave an entire group of people while I think of the dragon more as the trolley problem (sacrifice the one to save the many).

Then in the final confrontation with Moraine and Lanfear, I think her confusion and perceived betrayal from Moraine dictates most of her actions. First she finds out that Moraine and Verrin tricked Leanne into letting them escape, then arrives at the way gate to see that Moraine has channeled, meaning that she lied about being stilled making Siuan think that she could be a darkfriend. While the using of the oath was awful and definitely violating, I don’t think Siuan felt as if she had any choice because she wasn’t going to let a suspected dark friend walk away with the dragon reborn. You could also see on her face afterwords how broken she felt in that moment.

Anyways, I think both Siuan and Moraine were trying to do what they thought was right and neither of them are villains and that’s what made this episode so hard to watch.

[mswyrr]

after receiving the prophecy together, moiraine and suian both chose to prepare for the dragon reborn by playing to their own strengths - siuan is clearly more talented at delicate Tower politics, so she went for the Amyrlin Seat. now, i don't doubt moiraine's path has been challenging - but she got to be out on the road a lot of the time, with her bestie platonic soulmate, riding horses and breathing fresh air. she can be wholly herself for a significant portion of her life, let down her guard, and her bestie, even with magical levels of insight into her, loves and accepts her.

meanwhile, siuan has been living in a fish bowl???? e n d l e s s meetings and functions and bullshit. surrounded by a lot of people she cannot trust or let down her guard around. she's living bullshit levels of intense stress while separated from her wife. where does she find safety? does she have a warder she can trust? a best friend? i'm thinking about the level of pressure she's had to deal with and no wonder--after the trauma of having to exile moiraine and then finding out her wife has been stilled and lied-by-omission to her about it for six months--she looks exhausted and weary in 2x07 and feels she has no other choice but to wrong moiraine, given the information she's working from, the seriousness of the situation, and how sketchy and reckless moiraine's recent deceptions and choices seem.

[amuseoffyre]

I did a thread on the bird site last night about Ed's world being so tied up in sea/water analogies and connections but realised I didn't put together a full list of the references I can remember off the top of my head. Now, I will attempt to do so.

Before I get into the details, there's also recurring symbolism of Ed standing between two worlds and this is reflected in the above/below of the sea but also the tidelines/shore/docks as a place where land and sea meet and overlap.

There's a lot happening.

"treading water, waiting to drown" (1x03)

"Be a lighthouse" / "cracking up on the rocks" (1x04)

throwing unwanted people/hopes/dreams/fears into the sea (1x05, 1x10, 2x02, 2x03, 2x07)

the dock and lighthouse in his flashback to his father's death - the first sea versus land metaphor, where the horror rises from beneath the surface (1x06)

"something stirring in the brine" (1x06)

"plumb the depths" / sirens and krakens (1x06) being the thing to trigger a breakdown

"Edward Teach, born on a beach" (1x09)

the kiss happening on the shoreline (1x09)

the abandonment happening on a dock (1x09)

marooning the crew on a sandbar - a temporary island, which is what Stede and his crew were for him (1x10)

"sunshine one moment, cataracts the next" (2x02)

his purgatory begins with him waking at the high tideline - a symbolic meeting point between the land and the sea (2x03)

collecting paua on the beach with ties back to his mother (2x03)

"Jeff's Inn by the Sea" - another place on the edge of land and sea (2x03)

reveal about the Gravy Basket while standing on the shore (2x03)

becoming the cataract - the chaotic surge falling over a cliff and full submersion in the sea as a way to end his life (2x03)

mer!Stede - a creature of both land and sea who can be there with him when he's in his dark watery doom (2x03)

"caught in his whirlpool" (2x04)

"hanging out on this ladder" - again somewhere between the sea and the safety of the safe space ship (2x05)

"Man against beast - I'm the man and the beast was beneath the sea" (2x05)

"we're the fish, I think" (2x05)

"storm's coming but I just can't see it" tied in with flashbacks and a shot with a 50-50 split of sky and sea (2x06)

another abandonment that is planned on the dock by the water's edge (2x07)

"pirates and fishermen are nothing alike" - subtext of the entire conversation ties to "you can't catch the fish unless the fish chooses to be caught" (2x05) and Ed is choosing not to be caught and fleeing (2x07)

the opening of 2x08 on the water's edge, away from the sea

reclaiming an identity cast into the sea (2x08)

rising from the waves on the shoreline, a place where he becomes himself instead of trying to split himself into different sides (2x08)

finding one another on a beach - Ed Teach, reborn on a beach (2x08)

choosing to leave the sea and make a home on the line where the land meets the sea (2x08)

I love the symbolism of a man who has spent his life trying to be this *or* that realising that he can become this *and* that. Blurring the lines, moving away from the binary rules.

He can be both land and sea. He can be both Ed and Blackbeard. He can have leather and silk. He can be strong and soft. He can be the big spoon and the little spoon. He can have it all :)

[michelleelizabethtanner]

Could you breakdown 2x07 a lil? Like what do you think went through Rio’s mind when he went back and got the baby blanket? Yes, he was worried but I need some more specifics 😂

Bless us with your wise words pls

Hi Anon! TY for the ask 😘 Okay, here’s all my headcanon:

I think actually that trip to the drug den was fueled by both pragmatism and Rio’s soft spot for Beth. She was so upset and afraid. It all happened so coincidentally around her new job as a drug dealer. And it was her child. So I think he went and double checked. Because he’s also a parent and he’s got his code of honor that he operates by, and screwing around with kid’s safety isn’t something he takes lightly. I think he would have checked if it was any child. But because he also is obsessed with Beth in particular and has this fixation on saving her and making her his (getting her in the dirt and all that), I think he specifically remembered why exactly she took the risk in the first place, and figured what the hell. He was already there anyway, presumably with many of his crew, and his gun already out and all…

So he probably strong-armed either one of the dealers he was threatening, or one of his own guys to go find that pink knit blanket in the car. I’d like to imagine it was one of the dealers who threatened SA to Beth and her crew. Rio could have easily played the whole thing off as an emasculation tactic to punish them for threatening “his” women. That way he wouldn’t look completely unhinged, waving his gun around for a blanket. It would have been an understandable lesson. Call them a pussy for taking a lady’s blanket and whatnot, then snatch it back from whomever he’d sent looking for it, looking all disgusted with him. 😂 Play it off that way.

But then, afterwards, is when the real self-questioning would have set in. Because okay, he deluded himself and fooled everybody into thinking he made the dudes bring him the blanket to humiliate them and teach them that they can’t mess with his people. But then when he was left to his own thoughts he would have had that freaking blanket riding shotgun in his front seat, just mocking him and all his motivations. Making him admit to himself that he actually did it for her. Because he gives a damn. So maybe a few drinks in he would have pulled out one of his yellow envelopes and crammed the thing inside and written BELIZABERTH on it and had someone – someone low-ranking who wouldn’t have asked any questions about what was inside – shove it in her mailbox at some point the next day or whenever it was that Dean found it.

[bronx-bomber87]

The Rookie Reviews Season's 1-6 Master List. Will be Pinned To Blog for Easy Access. S6 in a seperate link at bottom of list. S7 coming Summer of 25’

Top Eps Listed Season's-1-4 Made a ranking list my fave eps for an ask. Wanted to include in this list.

Started: 5/13/23

Last Updated : 10/05/24

Works: 108

Season 1

1x01-Pilot

1x02-Crash Course

1x03-The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

1x04-The Switch

1x05-The Roundup

1x06-The Hawke

1x07-The Ride Along

1x08-Time Of Death

1x09-Standoff

1x10-Flesh and Blood

1x11-Redwood

1x12-Heartbreak

1x13-Caught Stealing

1x14-Plain Clothes Day

1x15-Manhunt

1x16-Greenlight

1x17-The Shakeup

1x18-Homefront

1x19-Checklist

1x20-Freefall

Season 2

2x01-Impact

2x02-The Night General

2x03-The Bet

2x04-Warriors and Guardians

2x05-Tough Love

2x06-Fallout

2x07-Safety

2x08-Clean Cut

2x09-Breaking Point

2x10-The Dark Side

2x11-Day Of Death

2x12 Now and Then

2x13-Follow Up Day

2x14-Casualties

2x15-Hand Off

2x16-The Overnight

2x17-Control

2x18-Under The Gun

2x19-The Q Word

2x20-The Hunt

Season 3

3x01-Consequences

3x02-In-Justice

3x03-La-Fiera

3x04-Sabotage

3x05-Lockdown

3x06-Revelations

3x07-True Crime

3x08-Bad Blood

3x09-Amber

3x10-Man Of Honor

3x11-New Blood

3x12-Brave Heart

3x13-Triple Duty

3x14-Threshold

Season 4

4x01-Life and Death

4x02-Five Minutes

4x03-In the Line Of Fire

4x04-Red Hot

4x05-A.C.H

4x06-Poetic Justice

4x07-Fire Fight

4x08-Hit and Run

4x09-Breakdown

4x10-Heart Beat

4x11-End Game

4x12-The Knock

4x13-Fight or Flight

4x14-Long Shot

4x15-Hit List

4x16-Real Crime

4x17-Coding

4x18-Backstabbers

4x19/4x20-Simone/Envervo

4x21-Mother's Day

4x22-Day In The Hole

Season 5

5x01-Double Down

5x02-Labor Day

5x03-Dye Hard

5x04-The Choice

5x05-The Fugitive

5x06-The Reckoning

5x07-Crossfire

5x08-The Collar

5x09-Take Back

5x10-The List

5x11-The Naked and The Dead

5x12-Death Notice

5x13-Daddy Cop

5x14-Death Sentence

5x15-The Con

5x16-Exposure

5x17-The Enemy Within

5x18-Double Trouble

5x19-A Hole in the World

5x20-S.T.R

5x21-Going Under

5x22-Under Siege

Season 6 Separate Post

[edsbacktattoo]

dare i ask what is the gravy basket theory..........

oh my god 😭 oh my god strap in and strap on my friend because it’s a good one. almost as good as the izzy is jesus post.

okay, so the theory is that all of episode 2x08 is Stede’s gravy basket fantasy because he’s dying. the main hook for this theory, and why it appeals to so many folks, is that it means that izzy is still alive. stede dies, izzy lives. yahoo

the evidence to support this theory is as follows:

there is a shot of a cannonball rushing toward the camera at the end of episode 7. this suggests that someone (stede bartholomew bonnet) was killed by it.

he and zheng also argue about who dragged who to safety.

everything works out too nicely for ed and stede in the end

there as a big tonal shift (??)

ed and stede’s romance was ‘speedrushed’

the fights are ‘nonsensical’ even for OFMD standards.

stede screams “oh my god” at the end of 2x07 the same way he screamed “oh my god i don’t want to die” in 1x09

the op didn’t find the mirror to stede’s pirate fantasy satisfying :(

ed calls stede “babe.” ~just like he did in the dream in the first episode~

the reactions to izzy’s death from the crew make no sense and the grave marker seems like a very stede idea.

op also mentioned something about a “domestic violence thread” that made me immediately stop reading because i decided it was a big fat waste of my beautiful time <333

if you’d like to read more about the theory, the link to the original post is here.

hope this helps! :D 🖤

[raayllum]

me reading a post i made like 3 days before S6 came out and quaking because

Sometimes I think about the gap between the thematic perception of a theme/character versus how they themselves perceive the same thing. I think about it in regards to Rayllum a lot. For example, in their actual relationship, they’re pretty healthy. However, thematically — identity wise — they are codependent to a super intense degree, wrapped up and incredibly dependent on the other person’s construction of their sense of self

Callum doesn’t see his relationship with Rayla as anything negative, ultimately; she’s loving and brave and she saves people, she saved him, and he saves her right back. He’d do anything not to lose her, because that’s the Right Thing to do to him, even if it’s not automatically ‘the right thing’ for the rest of the world’s safety.

We also know that Rayla fundamentally doesn’t see anything wrong with Callum, either. “It doesn’t matter” that he did dark magic before (2x07) and it likely won’t ultimately matter to her again. She has so much faith and trust in him and his ability to do the impossible that the idea of Aaravos possessing him again in an awful way is downright hard for her to fathom. 

[princeescaluswords]

Ever notice that Scott and Allison are just the worst for what they did to Derek and his pack in Season 2, but Stiles isn’t, even though he supported and enabled Scott and Allison that whole season / That's funny. Because I don't remember Stiles enabling Scott to stay with Allison while Erica was dying a few tweets away from him. In fact, in the actual show both Stiles and Allison had to tell Scott to get a move and help bring Erica to Derek to save her, because Scott wanted to stay with Allison

I love it when anti-Scott racists bring up this scene from Restraint (2x07) as if it's some sort of Supreme Gotcha! This is what happens when fandom pays too much attention to BNF nitpickers who try to isolate scenes from the entire narrative in order to make the heroic protagonist look bad. In this scene, immediately after the kanima attacks Scott, Allison, Stiles and Erica in the school library (Matt, too, but as he is the kanima's controller, this is his doing). Scott and Stiles discover that Erica is having an adverse reaction to the kanima venom. They want to get her to a hospital, but she insists on being taken to Derek. Scott hesitates for a little under one minute of screen time, not wanting to leave Allison, but Allison doesn't want to leave Matt alone (not knowing his identity) and Stiles can't carry Erica to the hospital or to Derek by himself.

To them, this hesitation -- less than one minute of hesitation! -- proves both Scott's unsuitability as lead protagonist and his obsession with Allison.

My first response is pretty aggressive: why should Scott put Erica first? Contrary to the OP's statement that Erica is dying, they don't know that. But, even so, why should he put protecting Derek's murder-beta ahead of protecting his best friend and his girlfriend? Especially since

four episodes before this one, Ice Pick (2x03), Erica had attacked Scott on Derek's orders in the ice rink but only after knocking Stiles unconscious with a car part.

three episodes before this one, Abomination (2x04), Erica had placed Stiles in danger again by kidnapping him on Derek's orders while Scott was busy protecting her ally Boyd from the consequences of his own actions.

two episodes before this one, Venomous (2x05), Scott had to fight a running battle with Erica and Isaac to prevent them from murdering a totally innocent girl, Lydia, the final battle taking place in Scott's own freaking bedroom.

Erica was not Scott's friend. Erica was not Scott's ally. Erica was guilty of attempted murder. This is relevant because Allison, who IS Scott's friend and ally, is in immediate danger as well, since

this very same episode a Matt-controlled kanima had physically assaulted Allison with significant sexual overtones.

a few minutes before, Alllison's scary mother had threatened him about having sexual relations with her daughter out of concern for her daughter's safety.

a few moments before, the same Matt-controlled kanima had threatened to kill all of them if they got in his way. He wrote it on the chalkboard, if OP forgot.

And yet, and yet, even after hesitating only a minute, Scott didn't call an ambulance and let Derek work it out, he carried Erica to their fugitive hideout knowing he was being recording on video. What if she had died? What would the police have done to the teenager who carried the victim to a dirty train station rather than hospital? He chose, even while there is a murderous kanima on the loose, to leave Allison alone, not coincidentally with the villain controlling that very same kanima!

This is exactly what my earlier post was talking about! Anti-scott fandom -- and it's not just the anon -- hate on Scott because 'perfect heroes are boring' and pretend that the show never had Scott fail or mess up and then shriek about people who like the heroic protagonist of the show can't see that he's not perfect, but then turn around and consider him a terrible monster because he hesitates for a minute before helping an enemy who has physically attacked him and his friends more than once!

And, yet strangely enough, this same condemnation vanishes when Stiles chooses to protect his father and Scott just five episodes later in Master Plan (2x12) when he doesn't just hesitate to tell anyone about seeing Erica and Boyd in the Argent basement, he chooses to never tell anyone about seeing Erica and Boyd in the Argent basement. But, for some reason, that's understandable.

BUT IT'S NOT RACISM.

[petrifiedcrange]

New headcanon after I thought some things over: Spanish Jackie gives Ed a cold shoulder when he and Stede come to her bar in 2x07 until she sees Izzy, but even then she is less friendlier than she is in the show

Because, considering the last time she saw Izzy he was plotting with her help to sell Bonnet to the English, she logically assumed Ed killed him for it, and while she understands it because Izzy did betray him, it doesn't mean she has to be friendly with him, not when:

1) she likes Izzy, like really likes him (I mean, she considers him husband material of high quality + calls him "Handsome")

1) she's seen enough of the two to know how loyal and devoted Izzy is to Ed, how much he would give and did give of himself for him, how he is ready to kill and die for Ed both, and that's in her book, much like it is in Jim's, is the show of love of highest quality, so she very much do not apprecaites the idea of Ed killing the man who loved him so

When she sees Izzy, she relaxes a bit because he is alive, but she doesn't miss his new leg and it's not that hard for her to put two and two together (and, among other reasons why she doesn't like the fact that Ed took his leg, she knows how Izzy prides himself on being one of the best swordsman, how important it is both for him and his safety, and the loss of leg must have impacted his ability to swordfight a great deal)

[craybii]

Hot take but these two aren’t and never were friends. THIS IS NOT WHAT A FRIENDSHIP looks like!!!

So to explain myself, I’ve read many takes on their relationship but I’ve only ever seen very few people point out how shallow this so-called friendship/queer attraction/whatever was. Not only shallow but also extremely one-sided.

Francesca never gave two shits about Fringilla. She used her to bring all her people to safety at Cintra and then tried to turn her against Cahir at every turn. She was literally manipulating her in most scenes by pointing out Fringilla’s weaknesses and indirectly causing drama between her and the Nilfgaardian generals, Cahir included.

Finally, when she has the baby, this chick has the audacity to tell Fringilla the deal is off while chilling in bed in the apartments in the PALACE!!! provided to her by Fringilla in return for the elves’ help in the Nilfgaardian war. So the moment she has what she wanted, the first elven baby in decades, she tells Fringilla to go screw herself while expecting to still continue living in Nilfgaard’s luxury....

FURTHERMORE, she knows perfectly well Fringilla is in some deep shit with the generals (she literally asks “trouble with your men” in 2x03) and could easily be punished by Emhyr if she screws up even more after Sodden? So what does Francesca Findabair, gracious queen of the elves do? She twists Fringilla’s accusatory words in 2x07 by saying they’re not hers but Cahir’s (YET AGAIN manipulating her) and then she sells Fringilla down the bloody river, knowing she could end up killed (and the generals were planning to throw her under the bus once Emhyr gets there) since the elven pact just fell through, thanks again to Francesca. 

And Fringilla? Well, it’s exactly Francesca’s sudden decision to end their deal that makes her even more desperate and forces her into massacring the generals before they could talk shit about her to Emhyr. Still too late cause he already knew and has her arrested anyways. And Francesca actively contributed to that downfall.

So how can people look at this and say they cared for each other at all?? If that’s what friendships look like, I’ve been living a lie my whole life. 

[amuseoffyre]

After finishing my full rewatch, I've expanded the number of times Ed uses sea/water based analogies and metaphors to refer to himself and all the moments involving sea/shorelines and the liminality they represent.

“treading water, waiting to drown” (1x04)

“Be a lighthouse” / “cracking up on the rocks” (1x04)

throwing unwanted people/hopes/dreams/fears into the sea (1x05, 1x10, 2x02, 2x03, 2x07)

the dock and lighthouse in his flashback to his father’s death - the first sea versus land metaphor, where the horror rises from beneath the surface (1x06)

“something stirring in the brine” (1x06)

“plumb the depths” / sirens and krakens (1x06) being the thing to trigger a breakdown

extensive beach scenes as a division point between Stede and Ed thanks to Calico Jack (1x08)

“Edward Teach, born on a beach” (1x09)

the kiss happening on the shoreline (1x09)

the abandonment happening on a dock (1x09)

marooning the crew on a sandbar - a temporary island, which is what Stede and his crew were for him (1x10)

“sunshine one moment, cataracts the next” (2x02)

his purgatory begins with him waking at the high tideline - a symbolic meeting point between the land and the sea (2x03)

collecting paua on the beach with food and baskets with ties back to his mother (2x03)

“Jeff’s Inn by the Sea” - another place on the edge of land and sea (2x03)

reveal about the Gravy Basket while standing on the shore (2x03)

becoming the cataract - the chaotic surge falling over a cliff and full submersion in the sea as a way to end his life (2x03)

mer!Stede - a creature of both land and sea who can be there with him when he’s in his dark watery doom (2x03)

“caught in his whirlpool” (2x04)

“hanging out on this ladder” - again somewhere between the sea and the safety of the safe space ship (2x05)

“Man against beast - I’m the man and the beast was beneath the sea” (2x05)

“we’re the fish, I think” (2x05)

“storm’s coming but I just can’t see it” tied in with flashbacks and a shot with a 50-50 split of sky and sea (2x06)

another abandonment that is planned on the dock by the water’s edge (2x07)

“pirates and fishermen are nothing alike” - subtext of the entire conversation ties to “you can’t catch the fish unless the fish chooses to be caught” (2x05) and Ed is choosing not to be caught and fleeing (2x07)

the opening of 2x08 on the water’s edge, away from the sea

"I used to view the sea as a battlefield but now I can appreciate the bounty it has to offer" (2x08)

"no better than a heron, or a blade of grass, or sand or... like a wave or something" (2x08)

reclaiming an identity cast into the sea (2x08)

rising from the waves on the shoreline, a place where he becomes himself instead of trying to split himself into different sides - Edward Teach, reborn on a beach (2x08)

finding one another on a beach (2x08)

choosing to leave the sea and make a home on the line where the land meets the sea (2x08)