#5x01 was a perfect opportunity. they Did Not do that and i think it's so funny

[raayllum]

don't get me wrong callum is undeniably a prince and it plays into his family dynamics and his initial sense of unworthiness when the story starts a lot, but i'll never fully understand the hang up that it's a Big part of his ongoing story when his own brother, the king, says "remember who you are" and just refers and reiterates his mage identity (4x06), and that's the only one that callum seems to significantly care about either (5x07)

[black-coffee-and-sugar]

Fair warning: it's a long post. Let's examine some of the reasons that Kara has cited why she didn't tell Lena the super secret:

1. She wanted to protect her

Now, this one has some legs on it as Kara specifically mentions it in S3 during a conversation with James and Mon-El. And there's definitely some truth to it. But it's also bullshit. Lena was in constant danger and put herself at risk to save/protect Kara who didn't actually need it. In fact, the first time Lena's mentioned (not shown just mentioned) it's in regards to the venture explosion - something that happened because Lex was trying to kill her. People have been trying to kill, kidnap, manipulate, threaten Lena since minute one. Knowing Kara = SG would not have severely worsened any of that. In fact, it might've helped ease Lena's anxieties and resulted in her taking less risks with her life. In fact, I'm surprised Lena didn't think that Kara's association with her was putting Kara at risk (a far more likely thing).

The 100th episode addresses this to some degree in one of the AUs. Lena tells Kara that she wouldn't have had to risk her life dealing with Sam/Reign alone if she'd known the truth and she's absolutely right. And sure, Lena could've told SG and the DEO when she pieced Reign = Sam together but ask yourself, why would she? What assurance did she have that the DEO would not have treated her BEST FRIEND like a hostile instead of someone in need of help? The DEO is guilty of this and they have a history of locking up aliens indefinitely and on occassion straight up murder. After Reign nearly killed their biggest asset (i.e. SG) why in the hell would Lena trust them with helping Sam? She wouldn't nor should she have. She didn't know that she could go to SG because remember, Lena doesn't think of her the same way she does of Kara. SG is not her best friend. She doesn't have a personal, humanized relationship with her (at least not that she knows of). And obviously she's not going to tell Kara the human reporter with the DEO agent sister about it either. And the kryptonite? SG lost her shit over it even though she's been working with the DEO who stockpiled the stuff until SM left with it (a dumbass move that would've bit them so hard in the ass with the WK situation if it weren't for Lena's kryptonite!). Plus, Kara didn't have an issue with Oliver having a kryptonite arrow, J'onn having a sword. But Lena? How dare she!

So yea no. I get that "I kept my secret to protect you" is a popular thing in the hero world but in the case of Kara and Lena, it doesn't make sense and it did make situations unnecessarily harder.

2. She didn't trust Lena

This is mentioned by Kara to William in a deleted scene from S5 but I think it's worth exploring. I'm not sure to what extent Kara means with this but it could be referring to the moments as SG where she did display a distrust of Lena's intentions and she used Lena's personal relationships against her (i.e. asking James to break into Lena's lab). I mentioned the S3 shitshow with the kryptonite which is where a lot of this started but there's also other scenes in that same season where SG pretty much calls into question the so-called trust she has in Lena despite claiming otherwise. The switch was so abrupt the minute she learned Lena not only had but knew how to make kryptonite. Did anyone ever consider why Lena would bother learning how to make kryptonite? I'd hazard a guess that it was something she was looking into even before Sam/Reign. I think she happened to find Lex's stock and she decided to learn how it works and why it affects the Supers like it does. That would explain how Lena seems to be the ONLY ONE able to make an anti-kryptonite suit and other viable forms of the rock (i.e. Harun el). But no, SG and others immediately jump to the worst conclusions and associate the endeavour with Lena's last name, something SG KNOWS Lena is sensitive about it. And then the harun el. SG was suddenly fine with Lena making it when it was to split Sam from Reign and save Argo from extinction. But when it was used for something else that Lena didn't clue her in on (and what do you know, Alex, Brainy and James didn't either and they KNEW what Lena was doing with it) she got back on her high horse and the distrust became front and centre. You can't trust Lena as Kara and then immediately distrust her as SG and expect her to be accepting of this dichotomy. I'm surprised the woman managed to retain her sanity.

And still, this reasoning doesn't quite hit the mark in comparison to every other insistence of Kara believing in Lena (from day one she even told Clark that she believed Lena after meeting her for the first time). But the contrasting opinions and actions must have given Lena pause. I don't blame her to call into question which version of the truth was real and choosing to believe the worst. It's what SG and the SFs have been doing to her.

3. She was wary of Lena

This isn't an explicitly given reason but I do think it's how the secret keeping started in S2. Frankly, I don't even blame Kara for not showing her full deck in the beginning because she (and even us as an audience) didn't know much about Lena beyond wanting to do good and not be like her family. So no, Kara not telling Lena in the beginning actually makes sense to me (though she told Nia in a split second but that's neither here nor there). For me, I started to seriously take Lena at her word after the Medusa episode. That would've been the perfect opportunity for her to show the true "xenophobic" colours some parts of the fandom accuse her of having and she didn't do it. I don't think she even got so much as a thank you for it. People praise SM for getting Lex arrested but ultimately it was Lena's testimony that got him thrown behind bars. Same thing with Lillian! And yes, the daxamite invasion was facilitated by Lena unwittingly working with Rhea but she fixed it with the lead dispersal bomb, a device she allowed SG the privilege of using or not. So Kara and the SFs being cautious about Lena really should've evaporated halfway through S2 (and it did for Kara at least). In fact, the daxamite invasion may not have happened if Lena knew exactly who Rhea was and her relation to Mon-El because they would've warned Lena about it. Lena did want Kara's advice on Rhea and she would've waited for it if she knew what was going on (i.e. Alex being held hostage) and hell, might've been able to fix it in typical Lena ex machina fashion.

4. She didn't want to lose her

This is probably as close to the truth as we've gotten and it's actually part of her confession in 5x01 (something her outburst in 5x19 tries to undo). But the thing is, Kara KNEW this was a possibility and yet, continued walking towards the deadly cliff with her eyes wide open. The probability of losing Lena got higher and higher as time went on and it was always inevitable. There was always this spotlight placed on Kara telling Lena or Lena finding out on her own but there was always a HUGE chance that Lillian would've told her. Or Lex, which is exactly what happened. And Kara knew that they knew and yet she did nothing about it. The minute kara found out Lillian knew she should've taken action, what guarantee did she have that Lillian wouldn't have gotten bored of waiting for Lena to piece it together? How can they just leave Lillian with dangerous knowledge like that is beyond me. When Alex in particular has made such a big deal about people knowing, didn't want Kara telling Lena, only allowed Kara to tell Lucy to save J'onn and yet, letting Lillian amble about with this info is okay??? Nothing was stopping her from telling Lena or it slipping during one their chess games and definitely nothing stopping Lex from dropping that bomb.

The 100th episode AUs showed us that each time it was Kara telling the truth, no matter how hurt and upset Lena rightfully was, she was ultimately fine with it. And Kara ends up losing her to death, not because Lena walked away. How this wasn't the takeaway message for Kara after that adventure, idk. It was Kara's hesitatancy in telling Lena that allowed Lex to weaponize this secret and twist it into something it never was. And yes, Kara doesn't owe a damn soul her secret and has rarely ever been given the chance to tell anyone on her own terms (James - told by SM, Alex, J'onn, Brainy, Mon-El, the Legion - always knew, Lex & Lillian, Lord & Cat - found out somehow). She only ever got to tell Winn, Lucy and Nia and I'm sorry but none of those people have ever proven themselves trustworthy at the time of the reveal the way Lena has.

So while Kara is every right to keep her secrets, she was wrong to insert herself in Lena's life if she never had any intention of telling her and let's be honest, it really didn't seem like Kara had any timeline on that front.

5. She was selfish

Similar to the above and also mentioned during the confession but this is even deeper. Lena was something of an outlet for Kara, a way to feel completely normal, something she hasn't been able to experience with anyone, even Mon-El. Can you imagine being a cub reporter who knows powerful CEO Lena Luthor and having said CEO choose to spend time with you? Choose to let you interview her when she's wary of the press (remember her interactions with Clark in 2x01 and her family history)? Choose to treat your problems as important and valid and human? I don't blame Kara at all for being selfish with Lena, for wanting to keep Lena all to herself like that. But to not share the other aspects of herself was seriously wrong too and resulted in this imbalance in their relationship. To Lena, it looks like she was giving all of herself when Kara was not. It looks like she put all her trust and vulnerabilities out there when Kara didn't. It looks like Kara was using her (which let's be real, she kinda did a few times in S2 with the fight club and bs article to get info on Lillian and then ofc the CatCo-Edge problem she visited Lena for after ignoring her and proceeding to continue the rejection after Lena said she'd look into it).

You think post-reveal Lena didn't think back to all those moments and have those kinda thoughts? Even called into question what might've been the real reason James dated her and Kara was so insistent on befriending her? Were there perhaps times were she figured it out and can't remember and what's why she chose not to see it? Why do we think she still showed up game night in 4x22 instead of confronting Kara? Because these thoughts amongst others must've been swarming her mind and the only way to keep the upper hand is to continue playing dumb. So yes, Kara made the conscious decision to be selfish with Lena because of the unexpected connection they forged and I get it totally. But Lena has never been selfish and she's always made hard efforts to be a damn good friend (and she was idc what others might think on that) and open herself up to Kara despite how difficult and frankly foreign that is for her.

So are Kara's reasons valid? To a point, I would say yes but their validity waned over the seasons to the point where the secret keeping didn't even make sense anymore.

So was Lena's anger valid? Yes! 100% it was and honestly, I'm surprised she managed to keep it together for so long. I couldn't. But her anger doesn't justify her actions (mind control, manipulating Kara, threatening Russell, holding J'onn's bro captive, putting Hope inside Eve) and how she went out of her way to hurt Kara back. However, I get why she did it though it's worth pointing out that this is the only instances of a betrayal in her life where Lena has gone this far. Bitch straight up spiralled where previously she would cut ties and move the fuck on with life. But with Kara, that doesn't even seem to manifest itself to Lena as an option. Will the show ever address the obvious WHY for this and for Kara being so so terrified of losing Lena (like honestly I have never seen Kara look more distressed).

Maybe, maybe not but regardless I'm not buying this platonic friends nonsense because no one is that devastated over a friendship. Many of us (myself included) have experienced falling outs with very close friends and breakups. Which one do you think the Kara/Lena rift in S5 felt like? It was full on heartbreak, loving someone in complete torment and not being able to stop despite wanting to because even though it's painful, the alternative is infinitely worse.

MB and KM's acting choices aside, these idiot showrunners have brought us to this point with their own narrative and the only logical next step is to make them canon.

Lol okay I'm done.

[benka79]

Insanity

911 Meta/ Buddie Meta / Eddie Meta (5x01)

Hi! I finally was able to watch 5x01 : 'Panic'.

The beginning of the episode showed us chaos, remember that word means also OPPORTUNITY/CHANGE. (Side-eying Eddie).

So have some thoughts and specs about the episode. Hope you enjoy.

Imagine we are inside of Eddie's head...

Because this is what literally was about this episode.

It opens like this...

Gif credit @buckspooked

When I saw this I went immediately THIS IS EDDIE'S HEAD RIGHT NOW.

Look at the mess, the city is upside down because a hacker. But the hacker is symbolizing something very deep related to Eddid: IT'S THE INCEPTION OF THE NEW IDEA THAT BRINGS CHAOS, PANIC AND AVOIDANCE. The new idea is... Eddie needs to follow his heart.

And in the middle of that chaos, Bobby, the leader, the father figure, orders: KEEP MOVING. Emulating Eddie's father words, that commands in his head.

Move, as if nothing had happened, as if the chaos is not surrounding us. Just keep moving.

We jump one week ago and we have Maddie, having side effects because her medication. She's lethargic, and Chimney tries to explain to her why the effects. (It takes a time to adjust) but she doesn't want to talk about it. Avoiding the topic. (Mirroring Eddie).

I will talk later about the buddie subtext, (loud) but I just wanna keep the 'Inside Eddie's head' concept by naming them scene by scene.

When the hacker makes his appearance (remember he's symbolizing the inception of the new idea to force a change of heart in Eddie) he does it bringing to each one's phone calamities related with his fears. Because every deep change brings fears.

When the 911 center fall in chaos too, the words "Don't panic" appear for the first time in the episode, and it will be a quote that will be present several times.

The Lady In the Car and the broken GPS

Okay, another huge symbolism of Eddie's head here. The car represents the body, or life (based on dream representation) The GPS should show the lady the right path, but it's broken due to the hacker (the new idea/repressed feelings). So she thinks she know where she's going, but she's mad at the GPS bc is not working and it's also driving her crazy. The lady says SHE DOESN'T NEED HELP to 911 at first. But then, when she fell to the water and got STUCK , she finally calls 911.

"The pressure outside is highers than inside." The lady needs to open the door and get out and swim to survive.

"Don't panic" again the quote and the woman repeating herself "SHE CAN DO IT" (alone) she sees a light but then she's hit and that's when she got rescued

This is so perfect, because it's exactly what we will see next with Eddie, the pressure of his own life, of giving Chris a mother is so high (against his will, literally), that will make him collapse. He needs to go out and swim to survive. (Also, this was a call out to Tsunami episode.)

But another important fact that will be showed again in this episode two more times is the sensation that everything will be okay, the danger is gone. The woman sees the light, and she thinks she will be safe, but she's suddenly hit in the head. This can be related to Eddie's shot, and when he thought everything came back to normal, he got panic attack but also could be related with the end of this episode and tha bad guy "winning" while Athena says "It's over. "

And speaking about spec here, based on these evidences, we could talk about Eddie's panic attacks being more than 1.

Finally Buddie rescues the woman. And it's interesting they did it, because is talking about Eddie's mental health and how he will be able to survive to it and get out (of the car/closet). We will see Buddie appears again in another interesting scene linked to the change of heart.

Judging the toxic masculinity

That was another interesting scene, and the way it could be related to what's happening in Eddie's head too. Jeffrey, the toxic man has fans, and this is very symbolic. Means the idea of the macho man in Eddie's head has fans, it means he stans it because it's inside of him. It was placed by his father, the voice that Eddie has internalized and he assumes like his way to live. His commands. His functions.

It looks like the good people that wants to hunt this toxic man are loosing (Eddie's new feelings) and THEY LITERALLY ARE GOING AGAINST JEFFREY'S WILL. Just like those new ideas and feelings inside of Eddie.

And then the HACKER again, and the outlaws step inside the court. Guilty people representing Eddie's GUILT. Because Eddie feels literally GUILT about Shannon and Christopher. And it's gonna be one of the causes of his panic attack.

Because Eddie feels guilty Christopher doesn't have his mom, he will try anything to give him one. But that doesn't mean that's what his heart wants.

The Air Traffic Tower, another reference to Eddie's mental health

At first we see everything it's under control, calm and completely organized at the tower. Until the hacker strikes again.

The quotes "Don't panic" and "Keep moving" Are here again, said by the Boss in charge of the Tower, as a repetitive reference to Eddie's program in his head.

But the fear to death once they discover a plain is about to crush the tower assaults everyone. They run under the tables and wait for the crush... but the crash doesn't comes, it's a false alarm. They remain relieved, and they are happy. It's a false alarm... but then Nick, one of the centric characters in that tower, collapses with a real "heart attack" (another reference to hearts, we will see this later).

How can we read this linked to Eddie's head and condition? The thought about an imminent death is related to episodes 4x13 and 4x14 and the relief that followed it when he comes back with his family and friends. And now we have the panic attack, mirrored by this heart attack, 3 months after the recovery of his shooting.

And because it only were 3 months, we will have three panic attacks at the tower.

But number 3 can also be related with the amount of episodes Eddie will show these symptoms.

When our team arrived to the place, Eddie is specially concerned and affected by Nick's condition. His mind is automatically relating it to his own trauma of being shot.

When Nick is okay, he is the one noticing another panic attack and he even diagnosed it. And then another, and another. Bobby always following Eddie's behavior, as a good dad.

At this point, with three panic attacks on going in the tower, everyone is focused on them. That's why Hen and Bobby noticed this and they ask themselves if those people shouldn't be controlling air traffic instead of watching with horrorized eyes their partners.

This is another interesting take, because it shows us how Eddie's focus is now on his own disease, even when he tries to avoid it and keep moving.

Explosions, Mess, and the loss of time.

"Running after schedule" It's a phrase Maddie says in this episode, and it's exactly what happens with mental health.

When Athena Grant goes after Jeffrey once they discover he ran away, she witnessed with her own eyes the beginning of the complete chaos in the city. Again, related to Eddie's head.

"When the pression is higher outside than inside" THINGS BEGIN TO EXPLODE AS WE SAW IN THE STREETS.

The loss of time and days passing by is related to mental health too, that's why the clock in the street goes crazy.

Change of Heart

Now it's time to talk about Buddie scenes. I won't stop in the body language and the parallel between Eddie/Anna and Buck/Taylor and their reactions, because @matan4il did a great job in their meta and you can read it here.

I will relate buddie with the whole "change of heart/heart transplant " thing.

I'm just gonna mention a few things before:

- The pool scene: Eddie repeating himself and repeating BUCK specially, Anna is not something serious but then going to meet her family and doing things against his will like buying suits, even when Christopher hates it, is not a good sign. Is not a good sign he keeps saying they're not in a serious relationship (parallel with Buck and Taylor season 4) and it will lead to an imminent break up.

- The scene was like a confusing dancing between the characters. Looks flicking from one to another, bodies changing positions. And I had to re-watch it again to conclude the longing/checking out Eddie's stare was for Buck, after all his jealousy exposed. Eddie was delighted by it. Eddie doesn't stare like that to Anna. At all. Buck is what Eddie wants, but his heart and mind must act according to it, win the war against toxic macho.

Gif set credit @cinematicnomad

- Buck and Taylor are not in the same synchrony. Just like every women dating with Buck, they put Buck in a second level.

Eddie's Panic Attack or Eddie's Hacked Mind

Let's make a brief mention about this because it was already broadly spoken in the fandom, but... why Eddie had the symptoms immediately after Anna was called Christopher's mom?

Because it's absolutely against Eddie's heart. We need to understand Eddie's head here, and after watching this first episode and the whole symbolism related to his psyche issues, we can infer this:

The voice of Eddie's father keeps commanding his way to face problems. The toxic masculinity was forced inside his head and it has deep roots. So, things, feelings, behaviors that go against that VOICE or DUTY, or WHAT A MAN SHOULD BE must be erased, repressed AND YOU HAVE TO KEEP MOVING.

And he repeats this toxic behavior, avoiding his own problems, his fears, his traumas, even in front of the doctor. And Ana there is willing to flow his game (that's why she is not what he needs) and Christopher is the only adult in this scene.

He repeats the quote that rules his life "Keep Moving" and then...

Gif credit @deareddie

First step to heal: RECOGNIZE THE PROBLEM AND ASK FOR HELP.

As we know in Oli's interview, Eddie will open to him when time comes.

Buddie's heart

The husband's quarrel after Buck discovers there's something wrong with Eddie and he is not talking about it, it's very meaningful for what is about to happen.

I don't have a gif for this one but, when Chim and Hen come to switch places, and Buck throws the last bickering, they go into different ways. But at the same time they come out from the frame, the nurse appears and says: 3-0-5 and then 'Heart is on the roof.'

305: the episode in which Eddie outbursts so badly at the supermarket engaging against Buck.

This scene was pivotal for Buddie relationship and led us to the kitchen scene because the way Eddie exploded caught Buck's attention. So this scene speaks loudly about what's inside of Eddie's heart when it comes to Buck.

"The Heart is on the roof" and it's ready to transplantation (Eddie needs to be ready to receive a new life after the chaos, the opportunity to change and follow his heart) but this won't be easy. The helicopter finds a hard situation and before arriving the black out comes and we will see if it makes it, and if love wins at the end.

Making Buck and Eddie walking away in different direction immediately before the nurse appears naming 305 and the heart, it's directly related with Buddie endgame. Not just here, but if you pay attention, the whole episode they name NUMBER 3 AND 5 several times. And also 5 means CHANGE and 3 means MOVEMENT. Time to move on into a hange of heart.

To Conclude:

As always, the first 3 episodes mark the whole season mood. And Athena said it INSANITY. We just watched the first one and it's pointing at mental diseases, change of heart, hopes in getting better and, of course, buddie endgame.

Let's see what happen next.

[cozyforjate]

MacGyver 5x01

After the long wait MacGyver has returned with a kickass premiere. And because the wait was too long, my review will be long too! So you are warned.

The episode was great. Loved the John Wick references, the storyline was solid, pacing was good, action scenes were brilliant and the fight choreographies are getting better and better each season so this episode also did not that dissapoint on that front. And bcoz i missed all the characters so freaking much, having them back felt so good.

Vincent is probably one of my favorite guest stars ever on this show. Loved the humor he brought to the scenes and i think he had great chemistry with both Russ and Mac. I wasn’t even sorry that he double crossed them coz he did it so smoothly! LOL

In another life Mac and Vincent could have been best buddies!

Girls Team & Boys Team

One of the things i loved about this episode was the “tension” between the characters. I was glad to see that the whole Codex mess wasn’t glossed over.

It was nice to see Mac-Russ and Riley-Desi trying to save the day while dealing with their “trust issues”.

I really loved the paralel storytelling between Boys Team and Girls Team.

Last time it was MacRiley vs RussDesi… And now Matty mixes the teams so that they could regain some of the trust that was lost between them. I love you BOSS LADY!

Now this episode might have been “perfect” if it could have handled the Riley-Desi resolution better. I enjoyed how Mac-Russ made things work in the end. Russ already apologized Mac in 4x13 but in this episode we saw that his trust issues and paranoia were still going on. And Mac was having a hard time working with a guy that tried to “kill” him. DUH!

It was so good to see Mac saying everything that is needed to be said and in the end Russ finally realized the wrong in his behaviour and let Mac know that he has his trust from now on.

Riley&Desi

But IMO things didn’t end in a satisfying way for the Girls Team. The writers trying to “soften” Desi’s behaviour in 4x12 by throwing some of the guilt on Riley, left a bad taste in my mouth.

Desi says she could have joined Riley if she would have let her in on her plan.

And this is 100% NOT TRUE.

Lets remember 4x12 very quickly…

Mac’s gone rogue. Russ tells the team Mac is now an enemy of the state. Desi sides with Russ. Matty and Bozer are neutral. Riley tries to reason with everyone on the team.

“Guys, is this really neccessary?”

“Mac does everything for a reason.”

“Mac doesn’t have an evil bone in his body.”

While Riley tries to make Desi & the team change their minds about Mac, what does Desi do?: 

That’s not my interpretation guys, that’s canon. That is what happened in 4x12.

So we all know that Riley letting Desi in on her plan could only end with Desi stopping her. Desi’s mind was set, she didn’t trust Mac and she wanted nothing but to stop him. Let’s not change history!

Besides, why did Desi need Riley’s plan, couldn’t she come up with her own to save Mac if that’s what she really wanted to do?

So as you see, Riley apologizing to Desi was total BS. Desi was the only one who needed to say sorry and unfortunately the best she could do was to say “she regretted her choices”…  I think once again writers missed the opportunity for some character development for Desi. Desi needs to OWN her mistakes alone without other characters’ HELP.

The triangle

Because i’m an obssesed fan who likes to delve more deeply into the characters, i rewatched this episode and here’s the conclusion i’ve come:

Desi is angry and resentful. But not just angry at Riley but herself too. She says she regrets not being there for Mac and Riley. She knows she should have trusted Mac and messed up!

But i also sensed some jealously there. By the end of 4x13 Desi’s anger towards Mac seemed to dissapear. So why was Desi angry at Riley in 5x01?

Because as Mac’s girlfriend she should have been the one by his side when it really mattered.

Because as Mac’s partner, she should have been the one risking it all to protect him.

But it was Riley who did all that.

That’s why she’s projecting all her anger on Riley. Because she is jealous. And i think Riley noticed that too. Our queen is very perceptive especially when it comes to reading people’s emotions.

Throughout the episode she tried to make things work with Desi. But Desi blocked all her attempts. And when Desi opened up, Riley realized that there is a much deeper wound under all that anger. That’s probably why she apologized. It was Riley’s way of making things work. Riley was the bigger person here. She wanted peace, she needed a solution. So she said sorry

Back to Desi’s “jealousy”… When she asked Riley why she followed Mac, she was totally fishing for another answer.

Desi is not stupid she already knows the obvious answer. Riley followed Mac bcoz she trusted him. But that’s not what she was searching for. She asked the question to read Riley’s expressions and body language. And Riley felt that too… But bcoz our queen is a true queen she delivered the best line of the episode:

“Because i trust Mac. Question is why didn’t you?”

This line is heavy people! Riley counterattacks Desi. She is basically saying “Instead of interrogating me about my feelings how about you question yours?”

This episode might have resolved the Codex tension, but the triangle is still a reality. Both girls have feelings for Mac, so there’ll be more tension/awkwardness between them. Better get ready!

Timejump

10 months and a pandemic since Codex, huh?

We all know that the writers added that line and the information about Phoenix being shut down to fit the new episodes to a pandemic world. But for die-hard fans like us, it’s not working. The characters are acting like Codex happened yesterday, Riley recently moved to a new place which she was looking for in 4x11…

So i’m gonna ignore the 10 month time jump coz i know that the additional episodes weren’t designed that way.

Honourable mention

1 to 10, how hot was the opening scene? *cough 11 cough*

It was literally and figuratively HOT.

I really wanted and expected Mac’s towel to drop at some point. Obviously dissapointed when it didn’t! LMAO 

Untill next week

To end my weekly MacGyver ramblings; i can say that i’m ok with the team resolving the tension. The episodes we are watching now were actually written as a continuation of season 4. Probably back in the day the writers didn’t want to keep the dark-tense episodes going forever so they needed to put an end to that and move to lighter and more fun dynamic.

[desperationandgin]

Outlander 5x01: Top Five

If you’ve been following me since before my Outlander days, then you maybe know that I used to host this podcast called Once Upon a Podcast, and our format was to discuss 5 things we loved and 5 things we didn’t. The goal was this: Not everyone likes or dislikes the same things, so let's make a list and compare, then discuss. And we did! I found myself missing that so I went for it on twitter for this episode.

Here’s the link to the original thread of tweets (feel free to follow me there!) and I’ll put them under a read more, here. I can also elaborate a little bit better, so everything is going under a Read More. So, the tl;dr version is on twitter, here’s the longer version. OBVIOUSLY, spoilers for the first episode of season 5!

TOP FIVE FAVORITE THINGS:

5. Fergus and Marsali, which obviously encompasses both of them individually as well. I love that they got drunk at their sister’s wedding. I love that Marsali is pregnant. I love that they chose to ignore Fergus being unable to join the militia due to disability. Jamie specifically calling out to him, son of my heart made me absolutely lose my mind. I love Fergus and Marsali Fraser. I’m excited to see more of both of them, especially Marsali and Claire if things go the way I suspect they will.

4. Bree. I know for some reason not a lot of people like Sophie as Brianna, but I thought her choice to play Bree happy yet muted was correct. Amplifying it after being trigged of course, made it more obvious. I've always loved Bree, so I know this is a hot take. I have more to elaborate on though, that’s not my favorite regarding Bree, so I’ll do that part there. Here, I just wanted to celebrate that I enjoy Sophie Skelton and where there are shortcomings, I see opportunities for her to keep growing as an actress.

3. The music. Oh my God, Bear McCreary, just. First of all, I love the new intro. A good a capella choir will give me goosebumps every time. The 'Fraser's Ridge' remix was DELIGHTFUL and of course, so was 'Je Suis Prest.' I teared up, I'm in love.

2. Sam Heughan. UHHHHHHH why doesn't he have awards? I'm specifically talking about the end, of course. Sam's so great at getting that tone inflection just right, at casting his eyes down, clenching his jaw - all at the exact perfect moment. THEN THE CRYING was the gut punch. And earlier, when he was staring at the chest with those things inside that meant so much, I could very much imagine every single thought going through Jamie’s man. Sam played that out using only his face and I’m just. I’M OVERWHELMED.

1. The montage. Look, I know it was over Roger singing, and I know at the end we were punished with having to watch our children have sex, but using 'L-O-V-E' was SO CUTE and I'm so glad 'try to have sex with a sleeping infant in the house' is something J/C didn't miss out on, lol. To elaborate on my limited tweet it works because there are fans of all 3 ships and it was a way to get all 3 in without having to do extended scenes for all of them. THAT SAID, there were parts of it that didn’t work and I’ll get to that here in a little bit. But over-all, I didn’t mind it. I think if I were making this list from scratch today I would probably swap my 1 and 2, but IT IS WHAT IT IS.

TOP 5 LEAST FAVORITE THINGS:

5. Roger. I didn’t elaborate well on this on twitter so here we go:

He has done NOTHING to earn the respect the writers are trying to get me to give him. Jamie’s thoughts are my thoughts but dial mine up to an aggressive 100. That STUPID line about ‘some of us like to think before we act’ or whatever, was RIDICULOUS. You had to think so long and so hard about whether or not you wanted to love Bree regardless of her situation that you were DAYS behind Jamie and Claire? Okay, sure Jan.

And already talking about ‘when we go back.’ WHY DIDN’T YOU TALK ABOUT THIS BEFORE GETTING MARRIED? She didn’t ask you to come to begin with, Roger. In fact, she EXPRESSLY ASKED YOU TO STAY AWAY. But the real icing on the cake is issue #1 with the montage even though fundamentally I enjoyed the montage: When your wife is VISIBLY shaken, when she consistently looks like she’s holding back tears, MAYBE read the room? It’s just aggressively frustrating because Jamie Fraser would never, and it makes me feel like Roger doesn’t KNOW Bree at all.

4. Jocasta and Murtagh. The second part of the montage that didn’t work. I'll actually reserve a lot of my judgment for a few episodes from now, but I don't care enough? I feel for them individually, but their relationship hasn't been built up enough for me to be emotional. We'll see what happens. Them being included in the montage felt unearned; who are the people so deeply invested already that they needed to be included? Here’s the last thing I’ll say about what that montage could have been: Jamie and Claire having a full love scene juxtaposed with Roger realizing his wife is having a hard time and simply comforting her. Jocasta and Murtagh not needed. When they go their separate ways, when she realizes Murtagh can’t marry her, I felt bad for HER but...the relationship didn’t do anything for me. Don’t need it.

3. That fake baby standing in for Jem looked DEAD you know what shot I'm talking about. Took me right the hell out of it for a second lmao. BUT WHILE WE’RE HERE, let’s talk about how convenient it was for Jem to look SUPER BLONDE LIKE BONNET directly before and after Brianna being triggered, and then going back to a darker hair color the rest of the episode. LMAO.

2. Could have used more J/C kisses. This is more something that didn’t happen that I do WISH happened. I loved the Jamie in a kilt scene but if we could have gotten a Prestonpans-esque scorching kiss, it would have been the CHERRY ON TOP. Missed opportunities. On twitter people only saw ‘Jamie in a kilt’ and didn’t read the rest so LET’S AVOID THAT HERE. I LOVED the kilt scene, just so we’re all clear and on the same page. I just wanted some tongue action. I’m greedy.

1. The pacing. I know there was a lot to get in and GOD BLESS THEM for being able to condense what DG could not, but it still felt patched together. It felt rushed at times and the cuts were sometimes odd choices. The dialogue felt sloppy, especially the pre-wedding bits. The whole episode semi-felt like a montage of ‘conversations that must happen along with things we HAVE to allude to for future plot.’ It was pretty jarring, and I can’t remember a premiere that felt this....jam-packed with content. It felt the way Once Upon a Time forced info down our throats rather than showing ANY of it, and it super sucked, so. Let’s not make that a trend, Outlander.

There! All my thoughts that no one asked for :)

[benditlikepress]

Ziva David Week Day 2: Favourite Episode(s) 

Out of the Darkness / Into the Light

@zivaweek

Now I of all people can't believe I'm quoting episodes from the most recent season of NCIS as my favourite Ziva episodes

I'm not visually creative but I did write a fic set after these episodes and also had Some Thoughts tm on my way to work this morning

I think what made these episodes so special for me was how Ziva took centre stage. Now of course Ziva has had so many amazing centric episodes before (Recoil, TorC, Shiva, etc) but what's unique about these two is that we access them via Ziva and Ziva alone. In pretty much every other Ziva-centric episode, we access Ziva's story through Tony's eyes. Usually a staple of Ziva-centric episodes is her shutting down and refusing to acknowledge her feelings. While I think Tony definitely served his purpose over the years as a vehicle to access what Ziva was thinking, I'm so grateful that the writers finally found a way that they could stay true to who Ziva is while being able to tell her story solely through her eyes. It's also reflective of the ways she's changed over the years - as we learnt from her diaries in She, there is this whole other intensely emotional side of her that we so rarely got to see on screen before and I'm glad we're getting more of an understanding of it now.

More rambling thoughts below the cut >>

In staying true to Ziva's character, I also think they did a good job of revisiting the storylines and conflicts that were at the heart of her time on the show. Her ties to her family and Ari, her relationship with Gibbs, her ideas of morality, questions of motive and whether Ziva can be trusted, her relationship with Tony and her desire for a home and a family. I think the only thing they didn't touch on was her divided loyalties between the US/NCIS and Israel/Mossad, although there's only 1 hour 20 minutes to work with!

While I loved Truth or Consequences and Reunion as episodes, I had a big issue with the resolution of that storyline in that we got so little in terms of the after-effects of what Ziva went through when she was held captive. Aside from (to an extent) Good Cop Bad Cop and that tiny conversation with Tony in Masquerade, it was a huge missed opportunity. Ziva's trauma is never something the show took the time to explore in depth and it is weirdly satisfying to see her now - to see her openly struggling with mental illness, talking about it with people, trying to get better. After everything she has gone through Ziva needs time to heal and I'm so glad the show has acknowledged that.

Another element of how Ziva's emotions are vocalised in the episodes - it seems surreal but these episodes are pretty much the first time we hear first-hand from Ziva what Tony means to her. When you think about the sort of significant emotional conversations the two of them had, it was almost always Tony who was baring his feelings ("couldn't live without you", "in your life", "contents priceless", "post elevator us", "i'm fighting for you", etc). With the exception of the last words she ever said on-screen to Tony, Ziva was always about the unspoken. Think about all the people who have spoken more on Ziva's feelings for Tony than she has over the years - Ducky, Abby, McGee reading from her diary, Dina Bashan, even EJ to an extent. To hear directly from Ziva that she considers Tony her family in the same way as we have seen Tony fighting for her over the years is so special.

On the topic of family, Ziva spent much of her later years on the show pondering her future and her ideas of permanence. 7x07 "I came to NCIS to settle down, to make a home for myself" / 8x14 "I want something permanent. Something that can't be taken away." and talking about how she thought the prospect of kids and a family was far out of her reach. To see her now, knowing exactly what she wants, recognising that she has a family and fighting to get back to them is such valuable growth. I really hope her next episodes can end with her reunited with them and ready to move onto the next chapter of her life.

Getting to see mum!Ziva fighting with everything she has for Tali, seeing how many years she has spent protecting her and Tony from the people trying to hurt her, seeing how much it's killing her being away from them, all good stuff. I can't wait to see Ziva reunited with her little girl.

I don't think the episodes are perfect by any means but I think they did well at paying tribute to who Ziva is as a character and echoing back to her previous time on the show. There are so many incredible parallels in these episodes to past scenes:

Ziva remembering Tony in the bullpen, paralleling Tony remembering Ziva in the bullpen in 13x24. I've spoken about this before but I think Ziva seeing a young Tony rather than the Tony that she 'knew' can actually have meaning beyond just "he looks up like Ziva did in Tony's scene". It reminded me of when Tony was looking for Ziva in WTF/PPF and he's at Ziva's old apartment block from her childhood with Adam and he sees teenage Ziva. It also made me think of how Ziva was in PPF, how she believed that she brought all this misery onto people. Almost as if she was remembering Tony from a time before she met him and everything that went wrong between them happened.

(Bonus:) The way Ziva looks at Tony's desk with a little grin when she walks in before looking at her own desk is the exact same thing she does when she first appears in 3x01

Ziva holding her necklace, paralleling Tony holding Ziva's necklace in 13x24. This one is my favourite. The way the two of them both grasp for the necklace - their connection to their family, when they are worried and want support. Tony is watching the house fire on screen clutching Ziva's necklace like a rosary praying she's safe. Ziva is having a panic attack from missing their daughter and she clutches her necklace as a way to ground herself. The way both of them seek comfort in the same way just ughh my heart

Ziva's "no, I will not be convinced", paralleling Tony's "no, I can't" in 13x24. They're both arguing and fighting for each other, the way they both desperately say "no" is so sad. I wouldn't say Gibbs wasn't aware of the lengths each of them would go to for the other, and that arguing with them was useless, but (especially in the case of Ziva) he still wanted to protect them.

Ziva coming down into Gibbs basement, paralleling when she killed Ari in 3x02. I have a LOT of mixed feelings about the retconning of why Ziva killed Ari and I still see it as her having a genuine desire to protect and show loyalty to Gibbs. In a way that is exactly what she's doing in 17x01, she's resurfaced after all these years because someone knows they can get to her through him. Her loyalty to Gibbs is a constant even as everything else changes.

Ziva telling Ducky "it's complicated" when he asks about Tony, paralleling Ziva saying to Tony "Complicated, complicated, complicated. You know in America, I have noticed they use that word as a code for 'if I explain it you would not agree, therefore I will use the word complicated and hope you stop asking.'" in 4x22

McGee telling Ziva it's a "miracle" to see her back from the dead, paralleling McGee asking Ziva "do you believe in miracles?" when they think Tony has died in 5x01. I watched 5x01 the other day and I just thought this was a cute throwback

[kurtstinypurse]

it was definitely impulsive in a way kurt usually isnt, but I see why he did it.

one of the best parts of the show is seeing his relationship with his dad grow and solidify into something most people can only dream of having lol, but it’s clear he really trusts and values burt’s opinion. in 5x01, I think burt’s talk in the car was what made kurt finally decide yes, he wants to accept blaine’s proposal - it was honest and loving and about his mom, and it was the perfect recipe to be influential. same with burt & carole’s talk at the wedding.

of course, I totally agree walter’s talk influenced kurt too, and he learned all too well what it was like to lose blaine and truly think he’d never get him back. although we see a lot of blaine being conflicted and repressing the feelings that are so obviously there, I do think kurt is really, really trying to get over blaine in the first arc of s6 - it’s probably not until the kiss at rachel’s party that he realizes he still has a fighting chance, something he never thought he’d have again.

after getting back together, I assume (and really hope) he and blaine have a big heart to heart before they go to the wedding. but still, it’s so soon after, and kurt probably is still riding a bit of a relief/love/excitement-induced adrenaline high. burt & carole’s talk is the last piece of the puzzle to put that idea in the back of his mind, and then when the opportunity comes up, especially seeing blaine not immediately shoot it down, I think he’s pretty damn powerless to resist. he knows what it’s like to lose blaine, and he knows what life is like without him, and he doesn’t want to risk anything like that happening again.

but yeah, it’s pretty fucking crazy and impulsive and I hope to god they continued therapy separately and together too to transition into being a functional adult couple. apparently it all worked out in the end and they’re lucky for it :’)

unpopular opinion: kurt agreeing to marry blaine in the brittana wedding was out of character 👀

Thanks for the ask!!

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

I have NO IDEAAAAA lmao I’m not good at like character meta and stuff lol

I guess I can kind of see where you’re coming from but also there was Walter’s speech to Kurt about running after love and Burt and Carole’s speech to them at the wedding that kinda were both telling him to just go for it and in the end he loves Blaine and has always wanted to marry Blaine even when he wasn’t ready and like they’re both ready now so,,, why not

Send me unpopular opinions :D