#7x07: It's About Time | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

raayllum · 7 months ago

Text

Anyway I did my 2nd watch of the season after sleeping / with the end in mind and it totally worked for me, especially with the understanding that there is 30% of the story left (and thereby Callum and Rayla's arcs aren't Over and room for more growth/plot had to be left open) and watching with the ending in mind.

I'm not upset that this is where Arc 2 ends, in some ways because it's sort of like season 2 of Avatar where Zuko doesn't join the Gaang in their 2nd arc (book two) because from a character basis he really wasn't Ready to do that / they had more story to tell, so I don't think with what they're doing it would've made sense to rush it in TDP. Nor do I think any of the previous set up for other outcomes (i.e. possession fight, salvation, etc) were wasted. Merely that TDP likes to do layer upon layer, and also have foreshadowing come back once (so you think you're safe) and then twice. I also don't think that Arc 2 resolved all the threads (i.e. Rayllum and greater good conflict / Aaravos & Callum) and ended them, and instead nudged them forwards in interesting ways for continued future exploration. I'll probably write more about the specifics later if this post doesn't get unwieldy or condensed with them for now.

In the meantime, these were things that I found really clicked for me on my 2nd watch through for S7 and with Arc 2 in general:

1) Arc 2's overarching focus on the Archdragons / the finale resolution with it.

We had a focus every season on at least one of the archdragons, with Zubeia (S4-S7), Luna Tenebris mentions (S4-S6), Rex Igenous (S4), Domina Profundis (S5), Sol Regem (S5-S6), and Avizandum mentions (S4-S5).

With that in mind, while I'm sure Aaravos' intentions was for no one to know of his plans ahead of time (7x01)... his actions also led to Callum and co. making connections to all the other Archdragons that they could pull on to bring everyone back to Lux Aurea, and Aaravos could destroy them (with no real consequence to himself, as his spirit was now free and his body could reform), taking a massive swing at the Cosmic Council's grand order that'd been enforced by the archdragons. He said the elves and dragons would fall hard... and now the dragons have, with the Cosmic Council being next (and thinking that the real focus on the Cosmic Council would be predominantly in arc 3 was, I believe, the general fandom consensus anyway).

AARAVOS: Now this is familiar, isn't it? Hasn't this all happened before? Arrogant fools. Again and again you make the same mistakes. (7x09)

Suitably, though, the Archdragons sacrifice themselves to protect all of Xadia, making amends for past / previous actions in their own way (narratively). They upheld the Cosmic Order, and then chose to break it.

Now, Aaravos will be returning to a world where there are no archdragons, and the only thing that can destroy his mortal form again would be the Nova Blade or some dark magic spell to take his spirit (but more on that later).

This also caps off S7 being about the destruction caused by one Archdragon (Sol Regem) and then the salvation through sacrifice from the other four as the finale. It comes full circle, but without repeating the cycle.

It also seems like the Nova Blade hasn't actually ever been used, as Aaravos states in 7x07:

She could have used the blade to destroy me, but chose instead to help imprison me. To spare me.

Or if it has, it still has a massive consequence that Zubeia is familiar with (the wielderdies if it's used to kill someone?), given that she is worried when Zym (and Ez wielding the sword) appears, intending to use it:

I'll also talk a bit more about why I think Aaravos designed 7x09 to be a win-win scenario for him no matter what when I get to Callum's section, but in the meantime...

2) Rayla's arc

Listen, y'all know I wanted Rayla to save Callum, like a lot, and thought there was a good chance she would if he was possessed again. However, neither of those things happened (also circumstances were crazy) and it was built up throughout the seasons, as well as in S7:

RAYLA: We can't save everyone, Soren. There's too much at stake. (4x05) RAYLA: But I can't help you yet... because right now, the world needs me. Callum and Ezran need me. There's a great evil returning to Xadia and we have to stop it, at any cost. (5x01) RAYLA: It hurts me to know they're trapped like this. It's agonizing. But our mission comes first. The world is in danger, and you can trust me to stay focused. (5x04) RAYLA: No, Callum. I want to help my parents, but I won't let it bias me. (6x01)

The season 7 setup is most prominently seen in S7 during Rayla's trial, in which she emphasizes that the assassins' deaths were not in vain due to the subsequent impact on the world as a whole, and in how their assassin pledges were upheld in their own way:

Life is precious. life is valuable. We take it, but we do not take it lightly. All of your lives were taken. But your sacrifices, they weren't for nothing. Callisto, you pledged your breath for freedom and we freed ourselves from an awful, pointless war. Andromeda, you pledged your eyes for truth. And we found the truth, a truth that changed the world. Skor, you pledged your strength for honour, and now humans and elves have finally begun to treat each other with honour again. And... Ram. You pledged your blood for justice. But what is justice? The king died that night. A life for a life. Is that justice? How much suffering is enough to paid for the mistakes we've made? I don't have the answers. But I'll carry you with me, all of you, forever.

So it made sense for her assassin oath to come back in some manner ("My heart for Xadia"). She had to honour her team's sacrifices by being willing to make her own (killing Callum and herself by symbolic extension), partially because her and Callum's "ride or die" dynamic had become a "ride and die" dynamic": this was his plan and his choice, and the alternative was to let him succumb to a fate worse than death AND to let Aaravos destroy the world through his hands.

And I get why this feels kind of backwards, because on the one hand, it seems like Rayla made a lot of progress, even questioning the validity of her own suffering for mistakes she / choices others have made, which is Huge!

And yet she's willing to suffer, and sacrifice Callum. The paying the price motif is even brought back in Aaravos' dialogue with the archdragons ("And what will your sacrifices buy?"). So what gives?

Well, I think in a lot of ways Arc 2 was Rayla learning to accept and ask for help (S5-S6), that she wasn't alone (S4, S7), and working to come back every time she leaves (S4) but... still being prepared to leave:

and still with sharing or acknowledging her own burdens not being her instinct.

There's a reason we all went "Rayla refusing to sacrifice Callum would be Character Development" after all. I also think it's quasi-similar to Rayla leaving after S3. She had a lot of opportunities to learn that she didn't have to do everything alone in arc 1, but those lessons didn't stick; in a similar fashion, Rayla had opportunities throughout arc 2 to learn that she doesn't always have to sacrifice something, but with Callum being increasingly sacrificial... Those lessons were there, but didn't stick. The other side of her sacrifice arc is not resolved.

With that in mind, I wanna talk about our favourite dorky mage, and then maybe arc 3.

3) Aaravos' Grand Plan & Callum's Corruption

This is a little hard to parse out just because we don't know what Aaravos' next step / goal was in bringing about Eternal Night (presumably to get the attention of the Cosmic Council, but who knows). That said, a few things I'm chewing on:

Aaravos, as previously discussed, found the most effective way to rid the world of (presumably) every Archdragon other than Zym

Aaravos, for whatever reason, wanted Ezran to have the Nova Blade, which Aanya even sets up for us in 7x09

Aaravos knew all along that Callum would turn to dark magic to take him down.

AARAVOS: Very soon, your brother will embrace dark magic to save those he loves. EZRAN: I suppose you've seen that written in the stars? AARAVOS: I have seen it written in his eyes. (7x07)

Furthermore, he wanted to have Callum be corrupted again, gave him the apple in 7x01 as the first attempt. The apple corruption was lampshaded with "Is there anything I can do to help?" + identity/name motif. Aaravos was actively goading him into dark magic in 7x09, even when he knew there was an assassin ready to kill Callum (Runaan), and smiling even when Callum began the spell (once Rayla had stepped in).

As of S7, Callum has been called (and not disputed being at least partially) a dark mage, used Viren's staff and now has it in his possession (and we still don't know why it was never supposed to be used again), and has a white streak. The willingness to go that far "has always been a part of" him and is now permanently reflected in his character design.

Secondly, we know that Aaravos' game with his pawns is not over, due to the secrets of the cube being ongoing (but confirmation in 7x09 that it indeed points towards Elarion) and due to framing with Claudia.

While I did consider that maybe Callum's pawn intro imagery had come back around in the conversation in 7x06 featuring the cube so heavily (!!) and then Callum choosing to do dark magic to stop Aaravos and save everyone as his destiny ("The one I write myself")... He's still corrupted, Aaravos is still going to come back in 7 years with Callum as a vessel, and the Key to the Book (metaphorically to literally the Book of Destiny) is still unresolved.

TLDR; think about how much it'd Hurt in a Good Way for Callum and Rayla to both know she would've sacrificed him for the greater good (fulfilling her end of foreshadowing from 6x03) only to be smacked in the face that Callum refuses to sacrifice her in Arc 3 with the other side of his ("if you ever have to choose between me and the greater good...").

The fact that the Cube canonically points towards Elarion, which feature stories about "a fair exchange of beloved for beloved" after a season in which Aaravos mandates "Your beloved is an assassin who cannot kill" is just the cherry on top. It also means that both Callum and Rayla have accordingly hit the 50-75% wavelength of their arc(s), with us now having a definitive basis for her being willing to that sets up more clearly her being not willing to in the future, the circumstances we'd need for a possession fight re-established, and the cube beat still on the table because the cube itself is still waiting to be plot relevant.

Rayla always follows Callum's lead ("Say the word and I'll go back into that tower with you") and reflects him ("Who told you that?" "You did") and the lessons he teaches her about love. He'll pave the way, and she'll follow, and then their arcs will come to a close.

We just had to get here first.

Conclusion??

Anyway I hope you enjoyed, I want to do a bigger Arc 3 predictions post (the ruby project, Evrkynd, Claudia, Harrow, etc.) sometime soon, but I hope in the meantime this brought some potentially needed assurance, excitement, or another perspective to consider.

#the dragon prince #tdp #rayllum #tdp rayla #tdp callum #tdp spoilers #tdp meta #s7 spoilers #s7 #arc 2 #post season seven #tdp theory #analysis series #analysis #cube hostage exchange theory #predictions

174 notes · View notes

madlori · 1 year ago

Text

Tevan Timeline

This is a work in progress for figuring out how long these two have been dating. Please feel free to contribute.

Cruise ship disaster was said to have been "last March." 7x03 aired on March 28, so let's use that for lack of a better alternative.

Time between the rescue and the events of 7x04? Has to be long enough for Tommy and Eddie to have done kind of a lot of stuff together. Then the events OF 7x04 seem to cover about a week? They fly to Vegas, the sewer rescue, the Wednesday night karaoke trivia, then the basketball game. So that puts us like...third week of April.

Time between the kiss and the first date, probably no more than a few days (Tommy says "what are you doing Saturday" not "NEXT Saturday")

Time between the first date and the coffee date? Again probably not long. A few more days, maybe a week.

Let's say for the sake of argument that after 7x05 we're at the end of April. And let's start the clock on the relationship then.

Time between 7x05 and the wedding? I've gone with three weeks, the actual time between episodes. So that puts us third week of May.

Time between 7x06 and 7x07? I'm gonna say a month. Chimney is back and healed and they said three weeks for that. That puts us in the third week of June.

Time between 7x07 and 7x08? Maybe a week? Time for Amir to find Bobby's meeting and then for there to be another one for him to attend. Events of the episode seem to take a day or two. So now we're at the end of June.

Then it's gotta be at least a month until 7x09. Bobby's sunburn is all healed, and Amir also seems healed from his gunshot wound. So now we're at the end of July (this tracks better with the Chief saying "last march" which you wouldn't say if it was only like...April)

And 7x10 follows right on its heels and takes only a couple of days in itself. So we can surmise that it's now the end of July.

That means that in 7x10, Buck and Tommy have been dating for 3 months.

#9-1-1 #bucktommy #evan buckley #tommy kinard #tevan #timelines? in MY weewoos?

393 notes · View notes

bronx-bomber87 · 4 months ago

Text

Hello amazing fandom :) Ooh man this episode. I think it is my fav of the season so far. Which I know sounds insane considering what we got last week. But if you know me and been following me last couple years with my reviews, you know how much I LOVE me some Tim growth and depth. This is chock full of it so buckle in for the analysis and joy of that.

Other than our beautiful ship which I adore as you know. This is the other thing that makes my heart so happy. Plus it's pretty intertwined with their future as a couple this ep. Which excites me to no end. The episode as a whole was incredibly good too. The writers have really tapped back into the ensemble cast of it all. I adore it. I love this show as a whole and s7 is crushing it with that. Let us get started.

7x07 The Mickey

We hit the ground running with Tim at group therapy. Not only that but thinking about Lucy and their night together. Excuse me while I freak out 30 seconds into this episode. Oh my word the raw cut of his memory has me fanning myself. The look on her face and hearing his belt buckle being undone. Holy hell. A whole week later and this scene is still ruining me in the best way lol

Look at my boy in group therapy. Not only that but one for veterans. This is the perfect setting for him. I’m so proud I could cry. I damn near do this entire episode. We see Tim just jumping right in when prompted. Definitely has been going a long time because he looks very comfortable. ALSO they know about Lucy.

This is huge. I can’t get over this. In my heart of hearts I knew he would keep going to therapy. Keep working on himself. But seeing the results on screen.*happy sigh* It brings my soul a happiness I can't quite put into words. He’s taking care of his mental health. Bettering himself by putting the work in. I could have an entire impressions just on this cause it excites me so much. Other than Chenford, Tim growth is my show crack. It excites me like no other.

Tim sharing how far he’s come with Lucy. That he felt he had earned his way back in. Both professionally and personally. How hard he’s worked to get there. Now he's worried he's ruined it. I love his group leader nodding along and understanding him. It's so important to have that support. Just look at him so mad he gave in before he finished doing the work. Tim being so self aware is amazing to witness.

Saying he was being selfish. That he had't finished fixing what he broke with her yet. Is this a dream? This is what I’ve been WAITING for. Holy cow. Tim owning what he did to Lucy, knowing he had done it and most importantly knowing he broke them. What they had. That it's on him alone to fix it. I'm delirious with the continued growth shown in this scene.

What's that Lizzie McGuire song? ‘Hey now, hey now. This is what dreams are made of?’ My millennial is showing and I’m ok with it LOL How I feel about this opening sequence though. Encapsulates it perfectly. Cathartic and satisfying to watch after s6. After analyzing what he had done and what he needed to do in order to move forward. It's the best feeling to watch it unfold on screen.

‘I couldn’t help myself....’ Oh my Timothy. Neither could she. That inexplicable bond wasn't to be ignored last ep. It was too magnetic in that moment. He's being SO vulnerable with his group. It's making my head spin with happiness. Telling them his first shot at being with her again broke his own boundary; That he went for it anyways. This is so good. Well done writers. I’m giddy. Love the person running this and their reply. My god it’s good. So spot on. Stating Tim’s using a lot of ‘I’ language.

Saying Lucy was a willing participant. As she always is with you my love. No one ever forces her to make the decisions she does about you. It's all her. Telling him he’s taking away her agency when he does this. *mic drop* Hot damn this is fantastic. That they made the mistake together. Not just him. It's true. She wanted him as just as badly. She too couldn't help herself. Lucy is the one who grabbed his face for that kiss. She's the one who went for his belt asking him to take this further. They did this TOGETHER. No coercion.

Takes two to tango as they say. He needed to hear this. This wasn't something he did to her. They chose it together. I love how receptive he is to this advice. Just look at his face above. Eric killing it like he always does with his expressions. He is absorbing it and internalizing what he is learning. I mean he's clearly doing this meeting before work. To get his head right before he goes in. My god how he’s evolved and the strides he's taken. I can’t even you guys. I’m feeling high off this opening section in the best way.

Ooooh yes Lucy thinking about it too. Of course she is. Ooof love these raw shots and noises we’re getting in their thoughts. Reminds me of when Lucy was dreaming about kissing Tim in 5x01. She tries to shake it off and it comes right back to it like a boomerang. Can't keep her mind off the carnal delights she gave into with TIm. Gah I love this.

Saucy thoughts just keep rushing back to her. The first 90 seconds of this episode have me reeling in the best way. Sweet baby James. Also kudos to Melissa and her ability to convey so much with just her eyes. Her and Eric have this glorious ability to convey so much with so little.

Lucy is trapped in her thoughts and I'm here for it. I mean I can't say I wasn't in a loop watching that scene over and over the last week. heh. Celina scares the shit out of me and Lucy. Snapping Lucy out of her heated revere. God damn little lady lol She gave me a heart attack. Lucy messes up her lipstick and I’m cackling.

Celina pointing out she put on new lipstick….Dressing up more than usual. I wonder who that’s for? hehe. Girl you could wear a paper bag and you would have Tim panting after you. But I do love her wanting to put in extra effort post 7x06. Those actions proving it was more than just 'Ex-Sex.' for her.

I mean we all know why she put it in that box. She isn't ready to handle that and I don't blame her. As I've stated before. Tim is going to have to put the work in to get her there. Until then, it's going to remain complicated af for her as she muddles through her complicated feelings for Tim. Our girl is doing her best out here everyone.

I loved this scene with Nolan and Tim so much. Tim saying cops gossip more than middle schoolers. lmao accurate. Also ugh I remember this with post 6x06. I am LOVING post-therapy Tim helping Nolan out. Legit adoring it. Giving him some solid advice. "Feel like you don't believe yourself.' Nailed it.

Then of course turns back into being Cop Tim with how to handle it with some action. Not really John's style babe. Reminding me of s1 Tim looking for fights. With a biker gang…One the future love of your life had to wake you up from Timothy. But I do love them having a bonding moment over this.

It's cute how excited Tim is when Nolan agrees to his idea. I adored this scene so much more than I expected tbh. Pretty great watching them bond. I don’t always dislike Nolan lol I do tend to like him better when he’s with Tim LOL Or Lucy. But with Tim it’s extra good cause they don’t often share scenes. This one was gold.

Hot damn this episode has it all for me. We get to have some protective Tim with Seth as well. *grabs ice water.* Protective with hint of feral. Yum. Gimme gimme. Always happy to have a slice of that pie. Don’t put his girl in jeopardy with your stupidity Ridley. You will answer to him if you do anything to put her at risk.

Also If this cancer ends up being a lie and Tim finds out? Phew boy he will legit end you. You think he's scary now? There will be no safe place for you to hide if that happens. That is a guarantee good sir. He will destroy you. And I will sit there with popcorn enjoying it.

The tension inside the shop with Lucy and Seth is unreal. Palpable to say the least. It seems to only escalate and not cool off. Even with his time off for his 'treatments.' Lucy not so subtly rooting around to see if he’s lying about that. I love it. The timing was fishy af and he knows it. So he deserves this. His face when she says she might do that about his medical records. Oh my lord. Called her bluff and she rose to the occasion. I wonder if she will?

Yay Tamara is back! My girl. I missed her. I can't believe the flirty nature between her and Seth. Last thing Lucy needs with this kid....Don’t look at her that way Seth. Lucy will strangle you to death. That is not the way to get back into her good graces you turd. Blatantly flirting with her pseudo daughter.

Appears she's reached out due to drugs on campus. Not great…..But hey UC time. Lucy says she can look like a college student for the buyer. Tamara isn’t sure and Lucy is so offended lmao I’m dying. I’ve missed their banter.

Sadly Ridley has to be used instead of Lucy. Tamara suggesting that Seth be her fake BF..... Lucy's protective mama alarm bells are going off so hard. Lucy's face when Tamara wraps her arm around him. This is gold. Well done Melissa. I'm laughing so hard. This would be cute if Seth wasn't sus af.

Oooh teacher Tim always makes me happy to see. Ok that came out dirtier than I meant it to lol I just love to see him in his element. He observes Miles is riled up and asks why. Knowing it's more complicated than just not liking their suspect. You know Tim is far more emotionally intelligent than people give him credit for. This scene right here is proof of that.

The way he spots Miles having an issue. Handling it right then and there. Does a good dose of logic with empathy. It’s fantastic. He doesn’t eviscerate Texas for his outburst. But wants him to understand the consequences of his actions. I love watching him in T.O. mode for this reason. Man is so perfect for the job. This right here is exactly why he's such an exceptional T.O.

It's exciting that Lucy gets the go-ahead from Grey. The not so great part is she won't have stellar backup. Poor Lucy it’s Smitty or no one. LOL Already has to deal with the flirt fest and now she has the worst backup ever. Cool beans. Just what she wanted. The day continues to get better for her....

Lucy in UC mode is always a delight to see. Reeling Smitty in while prepping Seth. 'Tam? eww. ' Lmao Of course Smitty thinks it’s cute. Eating his damn licorice while he pops off lol Lucy's reply has me laughing so hard. 'No, it’s not.' haha Smitty is being the complete antithesis to everything she is feeling right now. She is SO unsettled and I don't blame her.

'You’re together we get is geez.' 'Mama bear Lucy is none too pleased with this scenario. Not holding her cards to her chest at all with this. But that's our girl. Said this many times before. She's a ten but terrible at hiding her feelings. I can’t believe Smitty giving Lucy parenting advice. I’m dying. 'Do you have kids? ‘Do I.? Oh I love him. Always the comic relief. Lucy's reaction has me laughing so much. I loved this scene of levity.

Of course Seth pushed it… He’s just lucky it worked out. Well For the the moment. Friggin Smitty praising him when Lucy is far from thrilled about all this. She is channeling Tim in this scene. The way she scolds him and asks for the product. Her gesture signaling how over his bravado she is.

Hot damn Tim in streets with his gun/badge on display with tight jeans? Excuse me while I drool a bit. This ep gonna kill me in the best way. I'll always take Tim in non field clothes anytime. Tim and Nolan standing side by side isn’t fair to John lmao

Tim is just exuding sex appeal and authority. While Nolan exudes midwestern dad scolding his kids. LOL I'm sorry John really I am. I actually like you in this episode. So my apologies sir. That is just my fav Tim pose and no one does it better than him. Forearm porn when he does that stance too. *phew lord.* Mmmm.

As I stated earlier I'm really enjoying Nolan in this episode. He is more human. More realistic in his failures. If they wrote him like this more I wouldn't be so hard on the guy. I used to love Nolan. Back in s1-2 he was written really well. I did start this show partly for Nathan. Eric being the other. They've been writing him better this season. With some humility and consequences for his mistakes. I'm digging it.

This scene was hilarious. John had no idea about the ring. That’s so funny. Also a friggin trip The Hammer is a softie for love. I didn't see that one coming at all. Just shows you the right person is worth fighting for or you live with the regret of it. That is the theme going forward for sure. Tim being so nonchalant about fighting The Hammer for the ring has me rolling. What makes Nolan's reaction so friggin funny.

I’m all for Tim leaning on stuff every episode looking like a damn snack. Feral Caitlin is here for it. Cause hot damn show me those forearms all day. I'll be a happy girl I'll tell you that. Tim suggests John actually sleep if he needs it. Since he looks like a damn wreck. Ugh Tim’s face when he says ‘Hard to sleep when she’s not there.’

Rip my heart right out there Eric. Tim understands far more than you can ever know John…. *sad sigh* The pain train continues to roll through this season. With a side helping of 'hurts so good' to go with it. I'm sure Tim has had many a night where he couldn't sleep without Lucy since they broke up.

I mean they scarcely had a night apart when they dated. Only times they did was 5x21 and the fight at the end of 6x01. Other than that he lived with Lucy at his side nightly. That man feels the loss of Lucy by his side in more ways than one. You can see how it haunts him as he agrees with his statement. Gah this episode is just so damn good. I can't get over it. This scene of theirs is my favorite of the episode.

John asking if he can ask a personal question? 'Usually I'd say no, but I've been working on being more emotionally available.' Be still my damn heart. Knowing pre-therapy Tim would've said no. But wanting to continue to put the work in he says yes to Nolan. This ep has me floating on cloud 9 you guys. Oh my Timothy, how you have grown so damn much. I'm misty and squeeing.

John eagerly pulls up a chair next to Tim. I do love Tim helping Nolan sort this mess out. I really do. It's creating a bond I never expected to love this much. The advice he is giving. Holy hell. Color me impressed. Look at how this man has emotionally evolved. How he can speak of his ex-wife with such emotional maturity and clarity.

That had he tried sooner he would've seen the broken mess of his marriage. Telling Nolan he can't just ignore this and hope it goes away. Because if he does he will end up same way his marriage did. That if he doesn't try now he's only going to fracture their relationship beyond repair. This is such SOLID advice he is giving John. It's insane.

I am blown away by his emotional depth in this scene. His clarity sharper than it's ever been. Tim continually sees and is reminded of what he did to Lucy. Using it as a cautionary tale for Nolan. Giving a piece of himself to drive home his point. Telling him not to make the same mistakes he did with Lucy. Side note, look at how soft his eyes are when he speaks about her btw. Eric killing the game as always. I love that Isabel is what is brought up but Tim ends with Lucy. This is where the growth is momental.

And if you can't get excited about this. About how huge this is for his character. For their future as a couple. Then I'm doing a bad job of explaining why. Because this is HUGE step in the right direction. Tim is telling John he gave up long before he should’ve. That he left mid-battle. Left Lucy holding the emotional bag of it all in that battlefield. Basically telling John he regrets how he handled it all. How he handled his treatment of Lucy and their relationship. The way he went about their breakup. Regretting the breakup all together really. That he gave up and retreated before he should've.

Fandom. I’ve had dreams about him saying this kind of stuff. To hear him acknowledge what he did to her. That he still has work to do. And why he still does. The next battle is getting him to relay those things to Lucy. It would un-muddy those waters so quickly if he did. Give her the clarity she’s been yearning for since he left her in that parking lot in 6x06. Clarity we’ve all been waiting for her to have. But as they say patience is a virtue. Tim even tells Nolan one step at a time. We gotta heed that same advice. This is no small fix Tim is undergoing here.

Tim is tormented by the decision he made in 6x06. It's written all over his face at the end of this scene. Telling John that he is gonna spend the rest of his life wondering if he could’ve done more. Been better. I adore the writers taking their time with this all. With Tim, their relationship, and Lucy. Because as forever grateful I am for s6. For getting a shortened season win on the heels of the writer strike reconciliation.

It didn’t have the time to flesh out everything and let it breathe the way this season is doing. Honestly I am grateful the heartbreak was in a shortened season. Or we would be dealing with that now instead of a s7 if we didn't get it. It would’ve hurt even more in a longer season. S7 is taking what couldn’t be fleshed out and delved into with s6 this season. I am personally loving the delayed gratification. It’s lending to wonderful scenes of growth like this.

Also like to say how proud I am of how far Tim and Nolan’s relationship has come. This a massive far cry from the s1 pair up they had watching a convict. Tim has grown so so much for this scene to take place. I keep saying how I could cry at how happy this makes me. But it's because this is what I hoped for with this season. This level of depth and growth before a reconciliation. It's going to make when they do that much sweeter. I guarantee you it will. The writers are crushing this season. It's a legit a joy to see come to life.

Oooh I love Lucy calling Tim needing his help. Her go to. Shows he's still her person. *le sigh* Tim was clearly was giving himself some time to decompress after that heavy convo, but he immediately picks up knowing it's his girl. Her reaching out will always make me happy. Tim tells her he will get himself replaced to go help her. God I love these two so much. Always have each others back when they need them. Never change you two.

I love Lucy Chen so much. BAMF level of bad assery in this scene. Doesn't turn around for most of this scene. Wants him to understand the gravity of this situation. To know he is VERY lucky this worked out the way that it did. That it had nothing to do with his skill in this case. She is cold as ice with his mentioning of Tamara. I love it. She has learned that hard edge from her man. Once again embodying Tim. Especially with telling him she had no keys LOL Classic.

The scene with Tamara and Lucy made me so bummed. Seth is infecting her world in more ways than one. I legit had zero idea the writers would go this route. I love that they've surprised me so much with this kid though. Lucy going into mama mode saying she can't date him. When teenager 101 says you do that they'll go running toward that choice. *sigh*

Tim coming in while Tamara shuts her down made me giddy. Asking right away what that was about? Going into protective dad mode himself when he hears why. Mmm. Asking ‘Want me to put the fear of Bradford in him?’ Heh I was all for it. Lucy too. She honestly considers it by saying 'Yeah.' I love the look he gives her following that. Knowing that isn't actually what she wants. Because the man knows her so damn well.

That it's just a gut reaction to knock some fear into this guy. Lucy responds to his knowing look saying no.... That it'll just make things worse....That it will. Sadly. This is not going to end well. But's Tamara's mistake to make. Look at them co-parenting Tamara like the good ole days though. my heart

Oh my word that episode was SOOO good. The growth alone had me buzzing. I an enjoying this season so very much. I can't wait to see what next week has in store for them. Thank you as always to those who support these. Without fail means so much to me. Every like, Comment ( come chat with me I love it) and reblog are noticed and appreciated by me. Shall see you all in 7x08 :)

Side notes

Of course Smitty has been divorced three times lmao

Damn look at James pulling one over on Nyla to talk. Loving the realness of this season. He just laid down the gauntlet with her whew lord.

Holy crap that shelter lady was a bad ass. She didn’t win but gave him a good fight. Run for his damn money that's for sure. Loving the empowered women in this season.

Celina you cannot flirt with the bad guy omg lol The hammer is back. Loving this call back.

‘Tough woman often come with dark stories.’ I felt that deep in my soul.

Nolan getting actual consequences this season. I’m digging it. Like a lot. Grey reminding him how many times his shop been stolen before. Yikes John...

What a bad ass Celina Juarez has turned out to be holy cow. I love her. Just sprayed his ass she closed the door lmao Don't got time for that macho fight.

Man never thought relate to Bailey on something. But that hospital scene I did. Her saying emotional isn't the same as physical. I hate that for her. Because I know what that is like. Some people do treat it like it’s not as bad when it is.

Emotional abuses is just as scarring as physical. If not more because it’s harder for people to see your scars. To see what you’ve lived through mentally and survived. Writers are doing a very good job this season. You got me to empathize and relate to a character never had a connection with. Well done.

'He cannot help you heal if he’s doesn’t know what’s still alive inside you.’ Damn if that isn’t true for Tim as well with Lucy.

The Hammer helping them oh my lord that was amazing. Because he wanted a clean slate and new chance at love.

Texas my word. What a man offering up his services to her shelter. Loving this kid more each week.

I love Harper’s new group this is awesome. Look at her listening to James. Also Wopez got her there. That was really good. Working together to making policing better. I love it sfm. Very them. They have the same common goal just had to tweak how they handled it. Yay they have good depth this season. Excited to see where they go.

#Caitlin's First Impressions #chenford #7x07 The Mickey #the rookie 7x07 #tim bradford #lucy chen #tim x lucy #the rookie #s7 #lucy x tim

87 notes · View notes

peanutbutterandbananasandwichs · 4 months ago

Text

A tale of two wrecked Impalas . . . .

2x01 vs 7x01

So, I want to talk about two superficially similar scenes that are actually very different in terms of what they say about Sam and Dean's relative agency and autonomy.

Let's start with how they are, on the surface, similar. Both scenes occur during season openers in which the Impala had been heavily damaged to the point of being almost beyond repair in the season finale of the proceeding season. In parallel with the Impala in both cases, one of the brothers has suffered some kind of life threatening situation. Both scenes feature a conversation between one of the boys and Bobby about the state of the car. In both cases, the state of the car is explicitly being used as a means of talking about the state of the other brother and a desire for them to recover.

The scene in 2x01 is particularly interesting to me because it is one of the only times in which the Impala acts as a mirror/stand in for Dean. As is pretty well discussed on Samblr at this point, often throughout the series, the Impala serves as a mirror to Sam and to his place within The Roles (x, x).

"Looks like Dean's taken care of this old beast. Seems like he's taken good care of you too." As Lucifer (as John) says, calling back to John's S1 line "I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it."

These lines reflect the idea of the Impala, and by implication, Sam being passed down from John to Dean as a possession. The possession aspect is amplified in these lines in particular to me because of the notable lack of female pronouns used in reference to it "the damn thing" "ruin it" "the old beast", all of these serve to strip Sam of his personhood, dehumanising him.

Dean's place in the position of power within his and Sam's relationship is reflected here.

Whilst the scene in 7x07 does use female pronouns (and that they are female pronouns is important) for the Impala, it still tacity treats Sam as an extension of the Impala (an extension of Dean) - "we'll glue him back together too" - both the Impala and Sam are objects, with the illusion of personhood, but who ultimately belong to Dean. The scene demonstrates Dean's sense of entitlement and ownership over Sam's agency, his body, his autonomy. "No matter what shape he's in. . ." It doesn't matter what is done to Sam as long as "Sammy" is preserved in some form.

By contrast, the scene in 2x01 begins with "[Dean] is gonna wanna fix this" - immediately, this embodies the agency with Dean, if the Impala in this scene is acting as a mirror to Dean then it is saying that the ultimate agency over his own body here belongs to Dean.

"If there's only one working part, that's enough" whilst, again, similar sounding to "No matter what shape he's in", I think does have fundamental underlying differences in intension and tone.

Sam's line, especially in combination with the first line, suggests that he will look for a working piece, and if he can find it they can help to rebuild the Impala (Dean) around it, and ultimately, Dean will be the one to conduct the final repair. Despite the comparison to the object of the Imapala, I find Sam's approach here to be humanising of Dean. "Working" is I think, especially relevant here when drawing a comparison to 7x01.

Dean's line doesn't care whether the parts of Sam they "glue back together" are "working" or not, and there is certainly no indication here that Sam would be involved in the process. Dean will shove parts of Sam back together whether he likes it or not. The 2x01 scene also reflects the relative balance of power in their relationship, Sam as neither the intention, or the power to claim ownership of the Impala and by proxy Dean, the way Dean does over the Impala and Sam in 7x01.

Ultimately, whilst these scenes may appear similar, they are profoundly affected by the relative positions of power Sam and Dean inhabit within the bounds of The Roles, and the effect this has on their relative agencies.

#had this in my drafts for literal MONTHS cause I wrote most of this when we were recording Ep1 S2 of the podcast #but I've worked on it a bit since then #anyways I'm pretty happy with this now #as I said on the pod I *think* this is a take/comparison I've not explicitly seen made before so that's fun #sam winchester #spn #winchester family dynamics #sam agency #sam bodily autonomy #The Roles #s2 #s7 #my meta #we'll glue him back together too

129 notes · View notes

lover-of-mine · 2 months ago

Note

not to mention that I think there is a subsection of buddie fans who have been around for it for a LONG time and probably arent too happy about having to wait all summer again + maybe longer again for buddie canon. its been 22 episodes, 24 by the end of the season, since bi buck. If that is what their goal is theres no reason why they need to drag it out this long. especially with several very long breaks between significant developments (7x07-> 8x04ish, and now 8x12->8x16). tim is really banking on our patience too

I mean, literally. Buck's feeling realization started in 808. They introduced the concept that Buck is in love with Eddie with all the words in 811 and nothing came from it, not because they are delaying it with some interesting drama, but by pretending Eddie isn't a main character and not letting him be there. 911 had a window to get buddie together, they introduced a lot of pieces after the shooting, but fox didn't let them and that window closed, so much so that all hope seemed lost at the end of s6. But the show somehow manufactured the circumstances for them to get together again. But they opened that window in 704. 2 seasons without making something real is the most any slowburn can take before it becomes annoying and dragged out for the sake of drama (it's why a lot of procedurals have a Moment happen end of s2 mid s3 at most), so their window closes in 9a before it gets ridiculous. Because of the way they built buddie's friendship, you can't drag it out in the ways other slowburns do. Especially because like it or not they have been dancing around this since the tsunami. Eddie coming out might buy them a little extra time, but their whole thing is that they can't hide stuff from each other so you can't realistically write Eddie figuring it out and not saying anything for long. So they would have to do what they did this season just not acknowledge it, which sucks. If Bobby is dead and buddie is gonna keep dancing around this until Tim gets the show canceled, then what's the fucking point?

#911 #911 spoilers #i really need a tag for asks #buddie #anon 😌

69 notes · View notes

theotherbuckley · 1 year ago

Text

7x07 coda

Eddie knows that what he’s doing isn’t right. He knows that. That’s why he lies to his best friend. That’s why he lies to his son.

I mean, what is he going to say? “I saw someone who looks like your dead mum and now I’m going on a date with her.” He knows Chris would call him out. But he can’t not do this. She looks so much like her. Sounds so much like her. He gets the same feeling, the connection, the longing he had for her.

He knows shes not her. He does. He tells himself one hundred times in front of the mirror after he sees her for the first time. She’s not Shannon. The hair’s all wrong. What he’s doing is wrong, he’s using her to fix some broken part of him that’s stuck in the middle of the street, lying on the road of the pedestrian crossing. So he knows it’s wrong, but he can’t make himself stop. When she asks him out for dinner he doesn’t say no. In fact, he says yes faster than he can even process her question. She smiles at him, her eyes crinkle at the edges exactly like Shannon. She tells him she can’t wait. He nods, smiles back. He can’t wait either. He ignores the way his insides squirm, begging him to think about his actions. He’s done thinking. This is his wife! How could he ever say no?

He wears the cologne that Shannon bought for Christmas. The last Christmas. She enters the restaurant and sits down in front of him. He tells her she looks beautiful, because she does, she always did. She’s wearing clothes that he knows Shannon would never pick herself but this isn’t Shannon, this is Kim. She’s close enough.

She talks about her job, about her favourite things, and how much she likes the beach. Shannon always did like the beach. Eddie tells her about Chris. He cracks jokes he hopes will make her laugh and they do. He tries not to focus on the way her laugh is just slightly off in a way he can’t explain.

Eddie pays for dinner, he pays as though he’s trying to make up for all the times that he let Shannon down. He walks her to her car. Lets her take his arm as though she belongs there. He kisses her good night. Ignores the way her perfume smells all wrong, smells too strong, almost pungent. Shannon always preferred muted scents, a floral hint. He kisses her anyway. Kisses her hard, like he’s trying to consume her, consume any piece of his dead wife that he can.

She tells him she had a great time. She’d love to do it again. He nods and smiles as she leaves. Ignores the way his heart beats a little too fast. He watches her walk away.

His phone buzzes in his pocket and it startles him, his attention quickly turning from her. He wonders if it’s Buck. If maybe something happened to Chris. He can’t stop his mind from going there.

It’s not him.

Marisol asks him if they’re still on for tomorrow. They had plans to try out the same restaurant he just left. Maybe that’s why that place had been on his mind. Eddie inhales. He ignores the tightening in his chest. It was his wife, he didn’t cheat. He’s already married.

He’s sends his girlfriend a thumbs up. He bites his lip, wills the ringing in his ears to quiet. Tries to think of jello.

There’s jello in his veins, smoothly flowing. His legs are jello, arms are jello. Breathe breathe breathe.

He can’t breathe.

He closes his eyes shut tight. Clenches his fist until the nails dig into his skin. He inhales. Holds for four. Exhale.

Opens his eyes. He can see the parking lot, the black jacket he’s wearing, his hands, knuckles white. He can see the dark night sky, a couple walking down the street.

He can feel the label of his shirt itching at his neck. Feel the cold air on his fingertips and the wind running through his hair. He can feel the weight pressed firmly on his shoulders.

He can hear his heart beating loud in his chest. The sound of someone laughing softly in the distance. A car beeping its horn.

He smells his own cologne. He smells hers too.

Tastes the regret on his tongue

He takes out his phone with shaky hands. The phone rings not even three times before Buck’s unmistakable voice sounds through the screen. “Buck, I—I think I’ve made a mistake.”

#911 abc #911 fandom #911 spoilers #eddie diaz #911 spec fic #911 coda #911 7x07 #911 7x07 coda #purple writes #911 fic #911 fanfic #911 ficlet

237 notes · View notes

extasiswings · 1 year ago

Text

Okay, SO! In the category of "I think it's possible that Eddie has a brain tumor/is sick in some way":

Eddie is acting weird. Eddie has been acting weird from the beginning of the season, and I know there has been discourse about "it's just that we haven't seen him so happy before" but I respectfully submit that multiple things can be true at the same time. Eddie can be happy AND it can be out of character for him to impulsively drop everything to take a helicopter ride with his new friend he met two seconds ago to see a fight in Vegas (the last time we saw Eddie be truly impulsive I'd argue was S3, buying a truck while in the midst of a serious crisis). Eddie can be happy AND it can be out of character for him to ask his girlfriend of five minutes to move in (and I recognize that we were given an explanation from Eddie in the episode, but Eddie is an unreliable narrator and his explanation also doesn't totally square with what we've seen previously - him rushing introducing her to Christopher tracks, him jumping into moving her into his house without knowing basic information about her life does not).

Then there are the Eddie-coded calls. The guy with the alien hand who is all about rigid self control and being the master of yourself - his body turning against him not because the control failed but because of a blood clot in his brain. And now the guy with encephalitis (the same condition that ultimately caused Chim to hallucinate dead people), who has amnesia and has forgotten the marriage that ended in divorce but recalls the happy time before that when his wife was just his fiancee, the guy who was experiencing chest pains that he thought was a heart attack only for Chim to say he was having a panic attack. They had Eddie be so open about his own experiences with panic attacks and coping mechanisms in 7x01 for a reason - he's genuinely doing better with his own mental health and isn't ashamed or afraid of talking about his mental health struggles. But looking at these two calls, the underlying reason for the call (alien hand, amnesiac/presumed stalker in vent) theoretically could have had mental health explanations, but instead both resulted from physical ailments in the brain. [Tangent: I also think there's something really interesting in the potential callback to S5 and the way Eddie and Maddie were sort of mirrors - Eddie with a seemingly physical problem that was caused by a mental health issue, Maddie with a seemingly mental health issue that turned out to at least in part be the result of a physical problem]

Then there is whatever they're doing with ghosts. Shannon's ghost has lingered over the narrative and was actively put on screen in 7x01. For Chim in 7x06, the ghosts were hallucinations because there was something wrong with his brain. For Bobby, I'm guessing his arc with the burn unit nurse from his past will be more of a metaphorical haunting, bringing up any number of old ghosts (but I'm also going to guess his wife will be one). For Eddie...unclear. Ryan was filming with Devin (ostensibly for 7x09 but if they're doing anything with Shanon's ghost I'd be shocked if it wasn't introduced in 7x07, "Ghost of a Second Chance"), but she didn't exactly look like Shannon. Is she supposed to be Shannon? A dream or hallucination of a different or older her? Is she a real woman who just happens to look like her? If Eddie is hallucinating, then something is clearly very wrong. If it's a random woman and he's, idk, pursuing her in some way because he's drawn to her/the fact that she looks like his dead wife, that's still another point in the "Eddie is acting weird" column (because Eddie is a bad boyfriend and wasn't the greatest husband, but what he has never been is a cheater, even when he and Shannon were separated).

And then of course there's the will of it all. The will that Buck and Eddie haven't talked about since the shooting. Now, it's no secret I love the potential of a trapped dads experience circling back to the will, but I also think there is an argument to be made for a callback to "You're the guy who likes to fix things, maybe this isn't something you can fix." Because usually, when Eddie is in danger, Buck can do something about it, take some actionable step even if a futile one - he can dig through mud, he can drag Eddie's body out of the line of fire and into an ambulance and keep him alive. And for someone who, I would guess, still thinks of himself and the will as a backup plan/contingency, who if put in a trapped dads situation may not be able to stop himself from trying to save Eddie or, if necessary, sacrificing himself to do so, because in his mind, Eddie is Christopher's dad/who Christopher needs most, it is deeply compelling to imagine what happens if Eddie is in danger from something Buck can't fix, can't fight, can't save him from. And Eddie being sick in some capacity does that.

Anyway...I just think it would be Neat.

#chapel for ts #eddie diaz #911 spoilers #911 speculation

258 notes · View notes

sevensoulmates · 1 year ago

Text

Buddie 7x07 "Ghost of a Second Chance" Meta

So sorry for the delay! This one took me a minute due to life/work stuff happening, but here it is! A doozy! This episode had a lot of parallels with the other characters storylines happening so bear with me here! This is mostly going to be about Eddie.

This episode deals a lot with past trauma, specifically bringing up stuff that some of the characters haven't dealt with in a while or seemingly had already dealt with in the past. Maddie with Doug's abduction, Bobby and the apartment fire, Eddie and Shannon. All of these are re-introduced in this episode, but it's important to note that they are NOT resolved, mostly Bobby and Eddie, and will likely continue into the rest of the season. Maddie reacts the most noticeably to her trauma being triggered, and of the three, she's the only one who has actually managed to work through that trauma from the past, so while it does affect her, it does not cause her to self-destruct like Eddie and most likely Bobby will.

As many of us predicted, we theorized that it was going to get much worse for Eddie before it would get better. And this episode has put Eddie on that path that will likely take him towards rock bottom if Ryan and Tim's interviews and teasers for his 7b arc are to be believed.

The first big parallel to Eddie's storyline is the woman and her baby being abducted by a man with mental health problems who allowed a past trauma with his ex-wife/child to reach a dangerous point. While Eddie's actions in this episode are not placing a woman's life in danger, it does parallel how in pursuit of soothing his own pain, Eddie and this man, are prioritizing their own feelings, over the feelings of a woman stranger (Kim) and an innocent kid.

I was already anticipating many many Shannon call-backs in this episode, but the writers dive in immediately by having Chimney intubate Catherine. This is the same heavy choice Chimeny had to make when Shannon was hit by a car, and Chimney was interim Captain. He had to make a choice to either intubate Shannon, effectively taking away her last chance to say dying words or to not intubate and allow Eddie and Shannon to exchange final words. With Shannon, Chimney does not intubate, but with Catherine, he does. This could possibly indicate the need for Eddie to make different decisions this time around if he wants to survive this new catastrophic plotline.

This was an interesting way for the writers to give us a kind of "speedrun" of introducing us to Marisol a bit more. I know that the ENTIRE fandom has been bugging over the fact that we "hardly know anything about Marisol other than DIY and Nunnery", and now they're giving us more information, but notably it's all very surface-level information. It makes the scene feel like Eddie's trying to get to know her for the first time instead of this being a woman he's been seeing for about six months at this point.

While 7x05 did indicate to us that Eddie is trying to get to know her all over again, it really does drive home how little effort Eddie has put into trying to build a relationship with her, which is then further proved by the rest of the episode. All of this demonstrated very clearly just how little investment Eddie has had in ANY of his relationships after Shannon's death. It's probably supposed to make us think "Oh, that's because he only ever truly loved Shannon!" but in reality, the Eddie-Shannon onscreen relationship was very tumultuous, and they spent most of their relationship (even during their time pre-military) away from each other. All in all, the topic of how well Eddie knows the women he's with, and how much effort/investment he puts into his relationships (including Shannon) are being pulled into question here. And I think it's being done to show the audience that Eddie has only ever dated and married women as a duty and not something he actually does because he wants to be with the women as people. Once again, this includes Shannon.

Before Marisol can even finish her two truths and a lie, Eddie interrupts, starting to dictate the conversation again, and Chris is the one who has to step in, reminding Eddie that this moment is about Marisol. Eddie has been the one to lead his relationships with both Ana and Marisol, almost to the point of steamrolling over them. A similar thing happened in his relationship with Shannon, where Shannon notes that Eddie is always making decisions for them without consulting her, including going to the military, or moving Chris to a new school, etc. and how that was always a giant issue in their relationship. While this moment is not Eddie purposely steamrolling over Marisol, it does show that again, Eddie has a myopic view of relationships with women, where he's constantly trying to steer them towards something that he wants without really letting the woman have any agency. Shannon had to physically leave him in order to get any agency of her own.

Additionally, the choice to have the get to know you game be "two truths and a lie", inherently implies dishonesty, or at least makes us think of lying. And considering that becomes a theme for Eddie this episode and likely in upcoming episodes, it's also indicative of the general theme of not knowing someone and not being honest with them. It could've been "twenty questions" or something not involving purposely lying, but instead it's two truths and lie, and Eddie is now about to be involved in a whole bunch of lies.

I've seen others point out that this line is clearly meant to compare Marisol and Shannon. Shannon, Chris and Eddie had a tradition involving smores, one that Chris and Eddie were trying to keep alive only last season when they visited Shannon's grave. This line is meant to show us that Marisol is not Shannon, and as Eddie actually gets to know her, this is more and more evident. It's no fault of Marisol's, but it's likely what is sticking in Eddie's head, right before he ends up meeting Kim. Eddie, once again dictating what he wants Marisol to be rather than accepting the truth of who Marisol is, exclaims that obviously Marisol has had smores because Shannon loved smores. But Marisol is not Shannon, and Eddie is always comparing his partners to Shannon in unhealthy ways.

While this line is clearly a joke, nothing is done without purpose in TVland, and this is another one of those times where even though Eddie's joking, it's actually telling of how he actually feels. He's already had one foot out the door with Marisol for the last 3-4 episodes, and now it's the smores that makes him say "we can still leave her" because who Marisol is, does not align with who Shannon was. But the thing is, I have a hard time believing that Shannon was even who Eddie truly wanted, at least not without expectation or pressure. Shannon is an Ideal, and no one, not even Shannon herself, can live up to it. No woman is supposed to or can reach this Ideal, because (in my opinion) a woman is not really what Eddie wants deep down in his most hidden of unconscious desires.

"You two aren't going anywhere". Oh, the dramatic irony is killing me here. Because not even a couple of minutes later, Marisol has lost Eddie for good when he sees Kim. The death bells have already been ringing from the very beginning, but this is the final death knell that has been rung. Even if Eddie stays with Marisol through most of this arc, their relationship will end, as will his relationship with Kim.

Eddie and Kim lock eyes and he's reminded of Shannon instantly. Because of that, this relationship is dead before it even begins. A moment later, Christopher calls out "Dad!" just like he did when Shannon and Eddie were on the beach, interrupting Eddie's thoughts.

Marisol notices Eddie acting weird, asks if he's alright, he says he's fine, and she calls him out, asking "is that the truth or a lie?" He promises he's fine, but we as an audience know that's a big ole lie. This has been the case for years, and it's interesting that it's coming at this point in the season. The early half of the season we saw Eddie the "happiest" he's ever been. And I can't help but wonder how much of that was true happiness, and how much of that was just putting off thinking about it. It's easier to lie and say he's fine, that his relationships are fine, that his relationship with Shannon was fine. It's harder to admit the truth, that he's not okay, that his relationships with Marisol and Ana were unhealthy and his relationship with Shannon was the unhealthiest of all. It's easier to place the blame on his unhappiness on missing Shannon, instead of admitting that it's his own choices that are making him unhappy.

Another theme of this episode is internalized biases and misunderstanding the current situation due to being blinded by the past. Maddie misses crucial details of her call with Catherine because she was looking at it with too much bias about her own situation with Doug. Eddie also misremembers his past with Shannon, but instead of recognizing his mistake like Maddie, and trying to look at it objectively, Eddie lets that bias from the past effect his current decisions, which is already resulting in a mistake by cheating with Kim and will likely result in more mistakes the rest of this season.

Maddie heard what she expected to hear. Eddie is seeing in Kim what he expects to see from Shannon. Both lead to really bad outcomes.

Eddie goes back to find Kim/Shannon, and they meet. She looks similar but not really the same (btw, kudos to the makeup team, wow). She has similar facial expressions (nose scrunches, giggles, etc.) and she asks him if he's looking for something specific. And the answer is yes, he's looking for Shannon in Kim, just as he was looking for Shannon in Marisol and Ana.

This is very obviously a sexual innuendo, which is interesting because their first real interaction is showing more of a "sexual" chemistry, than anything really romantic, or soul-connecting. It's a clear harkening back to how Eddie would use sex as a way to stop fights between himself and Shannon. It's also one of Eddie's biggest distancing tools. He used sex to distance himself from Shannon and from Marisol, as an excuse to not address problems, or just simply to not get to know them. And given that Eddie was having sexual dysfunction issues in his last major episode, this is meant to provide a juxtaposition to that. Sort of a "Hey look Eddie couldn't get it up for Marisol the Nun but he can get it up for the Shannon look-alike". On the surface, this might be to show us that Eddie really only has sexual chemistry with Shannon, but if you look below the surface even a little bit, you'll realize that his sexual relationship with Shannon was also deeply dysfunctional, but in its own way.

The answer is no. Eddie does not trust Kim because she's a stranger, but this line is meant to remind us that Eddie very much DID NOT trust Shannon for most of her arc in season 2 and even up until her death. It's a callback to the line in season 2 Merry Ex-Mas where Eddie says he "forgives Shannon but doesn't trust her" and Shannon says something along the lines of "Eddie trusting her enough to have sex with her, but not enough to let her see her own son". Kim is hitting all the lines that are meant to remind Eddie of rose colored "Good times" but are meant to remind us, the audience, of all the issues he had with Shannon.

This moment of Eddie and Shannon on the beach is meant to represent Eddie's "happiest" moment on-screen with Shannon when she was alive. Eddie remembers it that way, as kissing Shannon and finally having his family back together. But in actuality, it was the start of the end for them. Shannon thought she was pregnant, paralleling the time when they accidentally got pregnant as teens and both of them had to put their lives on hold and commit to a marriage that might not have been the ultimate right choice for them. If any of you remember, this is also the moment where Eddie and "signs" and the "universe" are connected for the first time. Eddie asks for a sign, and Shannon says she's pregnant. In my personal opinion, this was supposed to be a sign for Eddie to not get back together with her, given how traumatic it was the first time around, but he ignores it and tries to push down his feelings. "Life is like a vat of chocolate, it pulls you down but it's comfortable". And when Shannon very clearly stated she wanted a divorce, Eddie did not really seem to accept it...and the universe took Shannon away permanently. (Again, I want to reiterate this is all about fiction I'm talking about here not irl, okay? This does not apply to real life) The universe tried to warn Eddie, to bring him a sign, and when he ignored it, as he always does, the universe decided it needed to take Shannon away permanently.

And now here we are again, 6 years later, with Eddie ignoring ALL the signs over and over and over, and setting about down this path with Marisol that literally everyone knows will not make Eddie happy, and what does the universe do? It throws him the biggest wrench it could by bringing someone who looks/acts like Shannon back into his life. Kim was brought in by the universe (the writers) to show Eddie that his relationship with Shannon was not as wonderful and amazing as he remembers it....and he ignores all of the signs yet a-fucking-gain. I get the feeling that this arc with Kim is going to end VERY. VERY. badly for Eddie. I think we should all be preparing ourselves for that.

Eddie is making active duplicitous choices here. He's lying about being in a relationship with someone else, lying about being a single dad. And it's not the first time he's said something like this (see the "taken for now" line in 7x04), further demonstrating how he's always had one foot out the door with Marisol.

I also want to point out that Eddie lying and deceiving Kim and cheating on Marisol is not meant to be the show saying "this is good! this is who Eddie's supposed to end up with!" The writers know how most people feel about cheating. Most people are 100% aware that cheating is morally wrong, and by Eddie making these decisions, they're not supposed to show that Eddie is inherently a cheater or a bad guy. He's acting OOC on purpose. The writers want us to see Eddie lying and cheating and want us to clock that Something is Very Very Very Wrong and that has to do with Eddie's romantic relationships, Shannon, his perception of Shannon, his perception of his past marriage, and his expectations of himself.

We, as an audience, are not supposed to be enjoying this. We're meant to be uncomfortable.

911 is doing something really interesting lately with their pointed use of Full First Names vs. Nicknames. When I heard this my first thought was actually of Ana and how cringe it was to hear her calling Eddie Edmundo all the time. Shannon actually never once called Eddie by his full name. If anything, Eddie calling himself Edmundo here, introducing himself by it, is once again supposed to trigger the audience's "Something Is Wrong Here" mode. I was also going to mention how this is also something a lot of people have felt with Tommy's constant use of "Evan" instead of Buck. Some people like it, some people don't, but everyone can acknowledge that it's odd and unusual.

Even as he's flirting with Kim, talking more about "stimulation", Eddie is holding an "S" for Shannon. I think when Kim told Eddie her name, a sharp K, very far away from the soft S of Shannon, it was a slight shock to him. If her name was something similar like Sherri or Sheila or something, Eddie could've lived in the fantasy more. Her name being Kim momentarily broke the illusion, hence him looking down at the S for Shannon.

Eddie is remembering the first time he slept with Shannon after she came back into his life while he's sitting at the table with Marisol, completely ignoring her. But not only that, as many people have pointed out, he's misremembering. The walls in the background are recent, with the new teal color and his new bed. Shannon's hair is a cross between dark and light, almost like a mix of Kim and Shannon, and--and this one rocked my world--they had sex right side up.

Many have pointed out how it's odd that Eddie and Marisol's sex scene harkened so similarly back to his one sex scene with Shannon, where they both ended up at the tail end of the bed, upside down. People have often discussed Eddie and his upside-down sex as a metaphor for unhealthy sexual connection, for misconnection, and right side up sex to be healthy sex. To find that he is thinking of him and Shannon in his memory of being right side up has been pointed out by others to be yet another example of Eddie's rose-colored memories of his past with Shannon. In his memory, he views his relationship and sexual relationship with Shannon as this Amazing and One of a Kind thing, hence the right-side-up sex, but in reality, it was upside down, it wasn't healthy.

He's looking at his relationship with Shannon through a veil of the present, chock full of regrets, would've/could've/should've's, and two almost-failed relationships. Not to mention that he literally was just having extreme sexual dysfunction with Marisol not even two episodes ago it's very likely that his remembering this passionate, voracious, unquenchable thirst for Shannon is also brought on by the fact that he's having sexual issues with Marisol. It might also be him wanting to remember that he does and did have desire for sex with women...as long as they're Shannon or reminding him of Shannon. This is not at all supposed to be something that is represented as healthy for Eddie, and I don't believe the show is trying to put across that message.

Eddie remembers his sex with Shannon, and when he decided to "bring Shannon home for Christmas". Even in this scene, the focus is not on the two of them as a couple. He doesn't talk about how much he missed her, or how it feels good to be close to her again. He talks about how he wants to reunite her and Christopher. "Santa" in this present day and age is bringing "Shannon" home for Christmas, by bringing Kim into Eddie's life.

Bringing it back to Maddie's storyline, with the Big Bad Kidnapper of this episode. He was encouraged by his sister to move across the country for a fresh start after his wife and baby left him due to his own abusive actions (assumed, but the sister did say they were "afraid of him"). We don't know too much of the details of this man's story, but it does show a clear parallel to Eddie too, with his wife leaving him to move across the country too (though she left their son with Eddie because obviously, Eddie's not abusive like this man). But the man's sister was hoping that this move would mean he would "stop looking for them". Eddie ends up doing the same thing with Shannon metaphorically. He never stops looking for her in all of his romantic relationships, hurting other women like Ana and Marisol, in the process.

The man is so clearly a parallel to Eddie but in the worst most devolved way. Eddie has been seeking out a Mom for Chris for years, even when Shannon was alive. It was never about Shannon, wanting her, loving her, needing her because he's so deeply in love with her. No, it was, and still is, always about the mother she could be for Chris. It's the same thing he did with Ana, and with Marisol. I'm not sure if this thing he's doing with Kim will eventually lead there too, or if it won't make it that far before it gets blown up in his face. But Kim cannot be a new mother for Chris, even if she wants to be. Christopher would clock that she looks like Shannon, and might feel betrayed, like Eddie is actively trying to replace Shannon, which I doubt Christopher would take well. So what is Eddie's endgame here? In my honest opinion, I don't think he has one. I think he's acting on pure emotional hurt, and desperately seeking out a balm, and not considering the consequences of his actions.

Just like that man was hit dead on with the literal consequences with the police, I think Eddie's gonna be hit HARD as a result of these mistakes. I feel like it might be something really bad, possibly involving Christopher. If "isolation" is going to become the thing he might have to contend with Christopher being really really angry with him in whatever way that takes form, and the rest of the firefam not being happy with him either. I think Eddie's going to be going through another arc similar to where he was emotionally in season 3a with the streetfighting arc.

Just how like the man who abducted her was a parallel to Eddie, Catherine herself is also a parallel to Eddie. She's clearly in pain, but she refuses drugs that will make her feel better. She feels she has to stay awake and endure the pain as a comeuppance, similar to how Eddie felt he had to endure his pain like a man because he deserved it. She feels her husband will hate her, just like how Eddie feared Shannon would hate him for what he did. He fears Shannon would never forgive him, but just like Catherine, even worse is the fact that Eddie has yet to ever forgive himself. No matter how many times people tell her it's not her fault, no matter how many times people tell Eddie he's a good father or a good person, they will never believe it. That guilt still rocks them, and for Eddie, it's been the monkey on his back every day LOONNGGG before Shannon even passed. Likely he's been dealing with it from the second he found out he got her pregnant. Even though Catherine's daughter was returned to her, she will still likely feel guilty, just as Eddie's guilt has lingered and festered and turned to rot the longer it's gone unchecked.

It'll only be once Eddie can let go of that guilt, let go of Shannon, and forgive himself, will he ever be able to actually start healing, and making the right choices for himself.

Many people have pointed out how this parallels the scene in 3x03 with Christopher and Eddie coming to Buck's house after the tsunami. That was a moment where Buck was feeling "lost at sea" and Eddie and Chris came in to be his "life raft that gets you home." And now Eddie's the one lost at sea. He thinks he has to find Shannon when really all he really needs is here with Buck and Chris. Eddie and Chris are "late", but eventually, they will find their way home to Buck.

Have y'all ever heard the phrase "where there's smoke, there's fire"? It means that if there's a rumor or something being said about a topic, there must be some back story/truth in it. It's what I point out every time the show "jokes" about Eddie's sexuality or lack thereof to women, Eddie ready to leave Marisol, etc. They're in the script because there's a kernel of truth to them, even if it's still nebulous (or smoky) at the moment.

Additionally, Buck is making a new lasagna recipe (a metaphor for his new found bisexuality and MM relationship with Tommy) and something about it is not working. In the same way that I've been theorizing that there is misalingment in his relationship with Tommy, we're now seeing that lasagna (like in 6x01 where the couch theory was introduced) is yet another metaphor for Buck's relationships. He had 3 at that point in time (as well as 3 failed attempts at lasagna) and now he's here in a new relationship, and something about it isn't working, he just doesn't know what. I'll reiterate, it's not the bisexuality, but rather the person he's in a relationship with. This being told once again to Eddie, in Buck's kitchen, with Chris present, is driving home the point once again.

Eddie, on the other hand, is aligned with Buck. He knew ahead of time to order a pizza for them. This isn't usual, given that Buck's a good cook, and has cooked for Chris and Eddie many times. Eddie being attuned to Buck right now is meant to show that he can sense these things about Buck, even when it's not conscious.

"To be seen… to be found… isn't that what we're all searching for?"

Buck assumes Eddie's meeting with Marisol, and Eddie does not correct him. I've seen other people mention how this feels like Eddie is cheating on Buck, and not really on Marisol, and in my opinion, that all comes down to who is Eddie more emotionally intimate with. He already feels super disconnected to Marisol, even more so in this episode, but we've spent the first half of this season establishing how Buck and Eddie are closer than ever. So Eddie lying to Buck feels like the real cheating here, because Eddie has only ever given himself fully to Buck, in all his messed up glory. He's never given that to Marisol, or Ana. And he most definitely never gave that to Shannon.

Side note, I loved the cologne line because it implies that Buck knows how Eddie smells, and that smelling him now is something Buck is enjoying. Him saying they won't wait up for Eddie further cements the domesticity of the scene. Buck has a full relationship with Chris outside of Eddie, but they also have a strongly established bond all three of them. In an episode where Eddie assumes Marisol must love smores despite her never having tried one, Eddie inherently knows that Buck's struggling with lasagna and needs to order a pizza.

Eddie and Buck's flirting--because that's what it is-- feels natural. More so than the flirting with Marisol in the beginning of the episode, and more so than with Kim-Not-Shannon that was moored down by the reality that Eddie is severely projecting all of his major issues onto her. Buck and Eddie have an easy rapport filled with mutual support, inside jokes, gentle ribbing, synchronicity and above all, friendship and trust. THAT is why the betrayal of Eddie with Kim only a few moments later feels so stark and like a huge blow to the audience.

Eddie sees Kim, and all he sees is Shannon's face, but I have to give MASSIVE kudos to the hair, costume, and makeup department here because they couldn't make Kim look ANY more starkly different from Shannon. In the scenes at the store, Kim is dressed more professionally, in lighter more inviting colors. And then here, when Kim can take off the customer service mask, and be fully herself, we see that she dresses in darker clothing, pants, and jackets with her hair up in almost an alternative-punk style. It's a MASSIVE contrast to Shannon who was almost always dressed in lighter, warmer colors, in shades of orange, yellow, and warm pinks, with minimal makeup and long flowy dresses or soft sweaters. Shannon's hair was almost always down and flowing around her face with her bangs. Kim's hair is completely up, totally out of her face in a severe bun look, without any bangs. She could not look father from Shannon if she tried. And yet, Eddie is not seeing Kim, he's not seeing the individual woman who's probably really lovely, the woman he's inherently hurting by using her to be reminded of his dead wife. No, all he sees is Shannon, and he's 100% willing to tank his whole life just to get a bit of that feeling back.

Eddie is on his way towards rock bottom, and this episode is only getting started. The glass is going to shatter extremely hard, and I worry for what the consequences will be for Eddie for all this, because there's no way he's escaping this without deep cuts. He will likely lose Marisol and Kim in one fell swoop. As for Buck, Chris and the rest of the 118, that's yet to be seen. But we know Eddie's parents show back up later on, so they could be coming in with the steel chair, likely to hit Eddie harder when he's already down. After all, the originator of "Don't drag him down with you, Eddie" is none other than Helena Diaz. This season is giving very strong season 3/4 vibes, and if that's the case, it's possible Helena and Ramon are going to pose a problem by the end of the season like they might've done in season 4 if things had gone as originally planned.

I'm worried, scared and excited to see how this ends up for Eddie. But I'm also hopeful. I see a light at the end of this tunnel. After all, it's always darkest just before dawn.

Thanks for reading my meta!

#911 abc #911 meta #buddie #buddie meta #eddie diaz #eddie diaz meta #season 7 #buck x eddie #meta

227 notes · View notes

keen-eye · 7 months ago

Text

SICKENING

if i had to rank the spn episodes on a “get him out of there!!” scale 7x07 the mentalists would be near the top

summary ⬇️

Ellen communicates through the museum guide that Dean needs to tell Sam what he’s been going through (his many issues) and that he needs to be able to find trust again. So Dean does, in his special way, by turning the blame around on Sam with an expertly crafted speech by taking credit for fulfiling his familial duty by “helping” Sam, not just because Sam has always been too empathetic to do what needs to be done (it’s not his fault, just how he is), but also because Dean couldn’t trust Sam’s judgement (so Sam shouldn’t either) because he’s been acting bat-shit crazy lately, and Dean would have told Sam what he had to do only when he decided Sam was mentally stable enough. Dean tosses in that when Sam was “waving a gun at Satan” he could have gotten Dean hurt too (Sam & Dean tell each other off all the time about the other putting themself at risk, but never about doing it to the other person, so, very purposeful timing there) because he knows what makes Sam feel the most guilty, and he finishes it off by telling Sam that he can be mad if he wants but to stop whining about it (being upset Dean murdered his friend and lied about it). Then Dean immediately walks away to have the final word and leaves Sam to convince himself of his “stone number one’s” rationale (Dean will not apologize therefore he is in the right) because he knows Sam will come around, he always does. So Sam, who has been standing there silently during his reprimanding, is left to watch Dean walk away from him just like how Sam last did to Dean. And then it perfectly, immediately cuts to Dean looking down at Sam, watching him as he digs a grave. Amazing

(and then at the end of the episode sam is like “i understand why you did it. but you’ve been kind of worrying me lately and you’ve been drinking a lot more” and dean is like “maybe it’s because i don’t like having to lie to you” lol)

(more thoughts)

#back to back scenes that fill me with rage #bite him sammy kill him #killing him with hammers #and all the rest #sam winchester #and this is just one scene of many from this episode #spn 7x07 #dean critical #even though it’s literally what happened

67 notes · View notes

mostowa · 4 months ago

Text

7x07 Corner of Random Thoughts

This is my favorite ep of the whole season so far. We finally got emotional episode, which, I think some people forgot (writers especially), Rookie is good at. I love the weight to the storylines they bring and I missed that in the beginning of S7. This is why Corner of Random Thoughts will be long and sectioned (not so random) for some clarity.

TIM IN THERAPY/FLASHBACKS

When we got sneak peek with Lucy's flashbacks @theflyindutchwoman wondered if we get Tim's perspective, cause in 5x01 we didn't. And I'm so really glad we did. It feels so much more mutual than 5x01, it feels so much more vulnerable. And I'm here for it.

I don't necessarily agree with the fact that thing's been "solid" between them recently. But this supports my idea (which I don't really like) that "small doses" was at least some part of The Talk we've been waiting for and that with it they checked boxes of kindness and appreciation without showing them to us afterwards. This is also what I think is happening with an ensemble cast shows and writing whole arcs weirdly, when you have to divide screentime.

I love how you can see Tim's gears changin when the terapist calls him on I language. I love how therapist says "IF it was a mistake" and then makes a small head shake after. Those small things give me much more hope than I'm willing to admit.

I really think Tim might've been… hopeful (???) morning after, but Lucy's bolting scared him so much he is now convinced he made a mistake. He is doubting his judgment because of how she reacts. I think this dynamics is really perfectly depicted in @cfr749's "Beneath Your Beautiful" and they are both in this dance now.

Lucy's Flashbacks are a direct parallel to 5x01 but they also show how she is determined to compartmentalise this. There is no emotional comentary here other than her denying this. We're back to "ex-sex" thinking. AT THE SAFE HOUSE

Tim/Nolan might be my favorite new dynamics in this series. Like, seriously, they are both clueless about emotions and letting go of control but in a completely different ways. Tim closes up and toughens up and Nolan treats everyone as they are little kids. Seeing this mushed together is joy.

"Hard to sleep when she's not there" and shot to Tim is pure emotional gold mine. Makes me want to write a fanfic about those sleepless nights…

I love how reluctant Tim is towards being "emotionally unavailable" like it's still some crap he'll distance himself from. :D It's giving me a heavy reformed!Tim vibes and I'm here for that.

I also love how the talk starts with Nolan asking Tim about Isabel and ends with Tim reflecting on Lucy. This means that he thinks about her all the time and that she is more important to him than Isabel. I mean, this is obvious, but it's also nice to note that in a full-circle moment like that.

Eric kills the talk. The pain is there. The vulnerability is there. The "small doses" are there. It's the same pain that was in 6x10 and I'm here for him and Lucy to cure this pain BY GETTING BACK TOGETHER ALREADY. Lol.

IT'S ALSO THE FIRST TIME THAT WE SEE PROGRESS TIM'S MADE. He reflects on how he gave up, how he didn't fight. He's obviously not there yet with reasoning behind it. But he'll get there.

In the meantime Lucy's still in denial and we haven't gotten any one scene this episode on her doing any reflection about her situation with Tim at all. xd

The simple fact that Lucy called for Tim with Seth situation is huge for me. I mean, we all know that they trust each other professionally 100%. I just think in any universe it would be normal for them to have any kind of doubt whether they should bother another one in such situation. The way they showed there wasn't any doubt at all is huge for me. It's like I love it. Even though it's nonevent.

I think it's also the fact of how close they remain despite everything they have been through in their relationship. It's absolutely amazing and I feel this strongly this season (for some reason). Maybe it's written that way to divide their personal and professional spheres, but maybe it's just my perception of this. OTHER STUFF

James and Nyla are the most adult relationship in The Rookie. Change my mind after watching this scene in interrogation room, because James is the wise man proposing for them to face the truth and to deal with consequences regardless of the outcome.

I love Celina this season so much. I'm waiting for more storylines and more depth in her.

I love how much depth Bailey got this episode. It's amazing how well they shifted perspective from badass-almighty Bailey to badass-broken-protective Bailey. I love it so much more.

Like, Miles has a really big, texan heart. And I missed this kind of heart in The Rookie. PROMO I am pretty confident that we are getting Tim and Lucy in trouble because of Seth. There is no other reason they would veil this with "putting a two of their own at risk" in the synopsis.

#chenford #the rookie #tim bradford #lucy chen #the rookie season 7 #corner of random thoughts

45 notes · View notes

raayllum · 4 months ago

Note

Is there like‚ some kind of symbolism of Claudia fixing Callum's hair VS Rayla lovely touching it?

There's probably a whole mini meta just waiting in TDP about hair (how Soren parts his hair switching post-timeskip to reflect how he's literally switched sides; Claudia's moon symbolism hair, which I do have a meta for in my drafts rn) so to put it simply: yes, I think so!

Claudia cares a lot about appearances. This ties into how much she hates feeling judged ("you're doing it again prince judy-face!" / "here to judge me, captain true heart?"). She values things looking put together, largely because she puts more emphasis on things being Physically okay rather than considering someone's emotional state (i.e. overruling Viren and Soren in S2 and S4 respectively). We see this overtly in "Lost Child":

“You’re still here. Even though I’m…” She gestured at herself, to something beyond the soil-soaked boots and tearstained face: a total mess. [...] A moment later, she blinked into the pond; her reflection beamed up at her. Her eyes brighter, her face fuller, more color in her cheeks. Small changes, but still—There I am, she thought.

We also see this in show canon. She checks with the little leaf-cub creature in 6x04 that her new haircut suits her. She also reflects that maybe seeing the creature as parts is bad, implicitly, because the creature is so cute/adorable. (This is in stark contrast to Ezran who reflects a season earlier in 5x06 that sea slugs may look gross, but they have a rich inner life and he's regularly made friends with them. Post with that comparison here)

Another consistent facet of Claudia is that her compliments are sometimes not entirely compliments. This happens just once with Terry ("Claudia says that makes me weird, and wonderful, so...") as she more readily compliments him ("you saved the day!" / "goofy and glorious just like you!"), but it happens basically any of the few times she compliments/offers praise etc. to Callum in any manner.

It was completely ridiculous. Adorable. Did you just say adorable? Did I? (1x02)

That was very confident Callum. Oh, thanks. Even if your hair's a little messy. (2x02)

You didn't open it? Why would I do that? [The letter] is for you. Though I could've easily opened it and then resealed it with magic. Did you? Did I? We may never know. But no. No.

Yeah, you always were a very clever human, weren't you, Callum? (4x08)

Impressive, Callum. Somehow you learned primal magic. But dark magic will always have the edge. (7x07)

(AKA she giveth and she taketh away.)

So Claudia fixes Callum's hair. She compliments him, but also makes him more nervous. She adjusts his appearance to something she thinks is 'better' (cleaner). Absolutely none of it is malicious, but it does reaffirm that when crushing on her Callum never felt entirely comfortable around her despite being longtime friends, whereas even though Rayla can be much gruffer, Callum feels a lot more comfortable around her (even once he develops feelings) in general.

So there's the obvious level of comfort (Rayla) vs non-comfort (Claudia), as well as a longstanding childhood crush vs what has blossomed into more mature, enduring love of 3+ years as of the end of 7x09.

Claudia sees that his hair is messy and points it out; Rayla sees that his hair is messy and quietly fixes it herself, doing so simply and leaving Callum looking more relaxed than before, rather than less like in 2x02.

Rayla, as we know, doesn't really care about appearances. She routinely doesn't care about titles, she goes with what her gut tells her, and anytime she expresses distress over her appearance ("I'm a mess") it's scaffolded under "I'm showing weakness" rather "I look bad". There's a similar fear of judgement lurking underneath as Claudia's, but I don't think Rayla sees herself as a Good Person the same Claudia does, and therefore doesn't have the need to keep seeing herself that way in the same manner.

Either way, Callum is always Callum to her ("You're so gross" with a fond smile on her face; his scarf is smelly and he knows it and just smirks at her over it; "you're a good person, Callum, maybe the goodest," etc), and always her Callum — her heart, her home, her best friend and partner — and that's what the 7x09 scene is ultimately about, I think.

Do me the honour of letting me talk a bit about hair-touching and white streaks, though, for a second, when it comes to Claudia, Terry, Callum, and Rayla.

Because despite Claudia and Terry being very touchy-feely for 3.5/4 seasons, Terry never once touches Claudia's hair in quite the same manner or framing that we see in 7x09. He touches her hair, sure — he braids it for her and then later cuts it — but this is the closest we get to an adjustment, which is when he's bathing her and cleaning her up in 6x03.

Now, pushing the white hair and all its associations to get to Claudia, flesh and blood and very much still alive, underneath would be ripe enough as a symbolic examination, honestly. The reason why this feels so different to me than 7x09, I think then, is that there are two scenes 7x09 mirrors when it comes to someone touching Claudia's hair in the "facing the camera, strands on the face/cheek" directly shot.

And it's herself.

SOREN: You saw what Dad turned Kasef into. What Dad turned into. Claudia, you're changing too. (3x07)

CLAUDIA: But... I'm still nice. I'm still me. (7x09)

In both instances, she's not willing to admit that Soren is right / that she's changed (or, arguably, that she needs to change just in the opposite direction). She touches it first as a sign of shame in the face of her brother's words, the first white streak in her dark hair. Then she touches one of the few dark streaks that remain, reassuring herself (because nobody else will or can at this point) that she's still the person she thinks of herself as, someone who's still nice ('good').

Callum, meanwhile, never touches his white streak. He wakes Rayla up in the middle of the night (which she takes much better than I would, I can say that much) and offers his scarf, asking if she trusts him. But Rayla notices his hair is a little askew, so she tidies it for him. And the whole time, his expression is completely open, smiling and trusting her in turn... even when she hasn't actually answered his question yet, and his expression softens even before she has too.

She doesn't tuck or hide it away. It's a part of him, and therefore a part she loves ("Everything"). And he knows it.

#rayllum #thanks for asking #tategaminu #requests #the dragon prince #tdp claudia #tdp rayla #tdp #characterization #where can i put it down?#callum x claudia #2x02 #arc 1 #arc 2 #7x09 #analysis series #analysis #parallels #i am excited that his white streak symbolism/association can presumably change and evolve throughout arc 3 though

72 notes · View notes