#Four More Shots Please Season 2 review

[theultimatenonbinarynerd]

April 2024 Reading Wrap Up

The Calendar

All hail April!!!! This has been a fabulous reading month. I'm now back on track and have almost completed some of my reading goals. I was really worried my health was gonna hold me back but it hasn't done. I've been ever the bookworm as the usual. Another month where I've read a lot of science fiction month but you can see towards the end of the month that we're dipping into other genres adding more diversity but I have a strong feeling that May is gonna be a very gay reading month for me. Spoilers for May but I have finished Pageboy and This Arab Is Queer and both were fantastic reads.

Finally got to more of my Readalongs for Palestine with This Arab Is Queer and Minor Detail and Minor Detail went really well but it wasn't an easy read at all. A nesscary but not an easy one, please be prepared if you want to learn more about Palestine. Look after yourself after picking it up and take your time, kind of wish I had done that but Adania Shibli deserves the whole world. It's a very clever story and it went ways I did not expect. Read it at least once. This Arab Is Queer is definitely one I'll be keeping as it helped me understand pink washing and scrub a lot of harmful stereotypes out of my head. Hearing queer Arab voices gave me a fresh perspective and a wake up call.

Only two Star Wars books this month which is definitely an improvement. Life Debt wasn't perfect but loads better than Aftermath and a huge improvement so I'm now excited for when I get to Empire Ends. Norra and Sloane are great and the og characters didn't overshadow the new ones. Highlight though was Brotherhood, like Claudia Gray gets Leia, Mike Chen understands Obi-Wan and Anakin, he needs to write more or at least a Mill solo novel. A wonderful Star Wars writer that needs more novels.

Funny how most of the covers I've read have been white. Guess I'm a cover colour reader too. Lallys Game stands out so much that it isn't even funny. My friend got me Lallys Game to keep and needless to say I'm only gonna re read it once then possibly discard it wasn't very good. Honestly it's a shame cos the Epilogue was the literal best part of the book. Based on the Epilogue I'm gonna give the others a shot though.

Highlight though was absolutely finishing S1 of the 8th Doctor Adventures. That season finale was mind spinning and super enjoyable. Review to come but that was definitely my second favourite story of the season and a really enjoyable listen. Part 1 mirrored Black Mirror which is like one of my favourite shows and Part 2 was an action packed battle against the Cybermen. The performances were great too and I'm now eager to explore every Big Finish I can.

2024 really is turning out to be more jam-packed. I'm hoping May will be more diverse in terms of genre but April was definitely a good start.

April Stats

These templates rule and I'm glad I'm sticking with them. Sorry January but my Stats are so much more tidy now. I did very well in April and I'm suprised there's no lighthearted mood in my Stats. May's Stats will also be very interesting. I'm blown away at the diversity and how different it is from January, February and March . It stands out from the other months in all the best way. That's being said let's review...

Again I'm on a 6 for 6 streak and have read 6 books this month but if you want to be more accurate. I've read four books and once again listened to two audios. Surprisingly I read less pages than I did last April as I read 1,137 pages which was 109 pages less than April 2023. I'm not disappointed though as I think I did very well considering how busy I've been with life. Next I listened 2.03 hours which is good bit definitely gonna shoot up as I listen to some of Big Finish's older main range audios. Done very well and I'm proud of myself.

Genres are a little bit more diverse this month I'm heavily impressed. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery, Literary, Horror, Historical And Contemporary. Of course though Science Fiction comes out on top with four reads/listens. Nice try fantasy. Yeah I'm not suprised, Big Finish is dominating my life to the point I'm really hyperfixated and heavily invested I'll never stop listening to it now the 8th Doctor Adventures have me hooked and eager to explore what else they have to offer. We'll see if another genre trumps it next month, we shall see.

Mainly reads is not budging or changing anytime soon. I do wanna read longer books in the future though as I'm getting really good with my reading speed and need a challenge.

Moods this month were a little more diverse. We had Adventurous (of course), Dark, Sad, Emotional, Mysterious, Tense And Funny. I'll honestly be suprised when Adventurous and Mysterious don't rule a month. I don't really like reading sad books and it's actually one of the lowest moods on my tbr but it was worth breaking that rule for Minor Detail. This month's mood has ironically fit with my mainly reads. I'm not particularly a mood reader but I'm glad I have more of a range this month.

Last April ended with an average star rating of 4.75 but in April 2024 I had an average of 4.46, not surprising though considering Lallys Game and the fact I'm reading/listening to more stuff. Two reads ended up being 4.5 Stars, whilst 2 listens ended up being 5 Stars. (Human Resources Part 1 + 2 absolutely earned that) One read ended up being 4.25 Stars (yes I'm abusing this rating more) and another ended up being 3.5 Stars. (You obviously know which) Let's see what May brings but so far February seems to be the best in terms of ratings.

What a good month of reading stats though, good luck May.

Read/Listens

As I mentioned 6 reads/listens and ones that were all very enjoyable.

Like I mentioned I did good with the Star Wars reads I had this month. Finishing Life Debt got me super excited due to how much more engaging it is but unfortunately Empires End is further down my tbr. Still never the less I'm still really excited now that Chuck Wending improved upon feedback and tried writing the Trilogy better. Man its darker and even more disturbing im suprised it wasn't listed as such. Like The Mandalorian it perfectly shows how corrupt the New Republic are. Brotherhood was just chefs kiss though, it was one that generally suprised. I'm not the biggest prequel fan neither am I the biggest Anakin fan but I still really enjoyed it. I don't want to spoil much about the business on Cato Neimoidia but let's just say that this book serves as the perfect sandwich between Attack Of The Clones and The Clone Wars Show + Movie. Manifesting Mike Chen gets to write another Star Wars book.

Man what a season finale. The 8th Doctor Adventures Series One ended with a literal banger it was absolutely perfect. Didn't beat Immortal Beloved for me but I still really enjoyed it. Chills literal chills. Part 1 felt like a f*** Black Mirror episode and Part 2 felt like a high stakes war battle but set in an office. It was fantastic and I'm now sold on sticking with Big Finish and potentially buying some sets. Didn't care for them at first but I've absolutely grown to care about Lucy and The 8th Doctor as a Tardis team. Human Resources wrapped up all the character arcs really well. One hundred percent a good starting point into Big Finish and a range I'd highly recommend checking out.

Minor Detail was apart of my Readalong for Palestine I'm doing in order to educate people who are still ignorant about the slaughter happening over there. It was a very hard hitting read but something that was nesscary to pick up. It got rid of my eternal biases and really hit hard that before Oct 7th stuff was still bad we all just turned a blind eye. I also found it super clever that the pov was split from a Soldier without making him sympathetic and a young woman whos a journalist wanting to discover the truth of the crime the soldier committed. A short but good read. It was definitely a good recommendation from people.

Then we of course have the Tales of the Pizzaplex series. I didn't know what to expect but I was terribly disappointed! (Don't hurt me fnaf fans)! After reading Step Closer I thought Tales would set itself to a higher standard but it literally doesn't and that's its problem. Lallys Game had lots of wasted potential and it's a shame that the best part of the book was the Epilogue. It earned its 3.5 Stars especially after reading Under Construction which harmfully used Cancer as a horror thing which I'd super creepy and off putting not in the ways you think. I hope Happs is better, really hope Happs is better.

Conclusion

A very good reading month where I got all my planned side reads done, listened and finished the 8th Doctor Adventures Season 1 and devoured some awesome Star Wars novels. Next month is definitely the Gay Month but this month in terms of reads is the Political Thriller month Between Life Debt, Brotherhood and Minor Detail. Very story Political stories I enjoyed. April was great and with my main course work done I'll be able to focus on my reading more. I'm very curious about how May will be.

If you are interested in checking out my full reviews of the novels/audios featured in this post then you can find my profiles on Storygraph and Goodreads

Good Reads: Melody Soundy

Storygraph: melsage1822

Well it has been an absolute pleasure exploring my reading stats with you, so until next time for May's stats.... 😉

-Melody-

They/Them

[newsaza]

Four More Shots Please! Season 2 Review: Amazon Series Refuses to Grow Up

Four More Shots Please! Season 2 Review: Amazon Series Refuses to Grow Up

In its first season, Four More Shots Please! — Amazon’s first original scripted Indian comedy series from first-time creator Rangita Pritish Nandy — was just a pretty shell. That’s how we summarised it in our review, having noted its many faults in the writing and technical departments, be it the pre-adult mentality that defined its approach, its limited success with the empowering ideas it chose…

[orionsangel86]

SPN Conspiracies - Applying Logic to Chaos

Its been over 2 months now since the Supernatural finale aired. I am still so angry, hurt, and confused by it and I don’t think I will ever get closure unless someone like Andrew Dabb, or Jensen Ackles, actually opens up and gives us an explanation that makes sense.

What annoys me most right now is people trying to gaslight fans into believing that we should accept the narrative we have been given at face value: That the finale was always planned to be that way, that Destiel was never on the cards, that there was no Network interference, that the only changes made were due to covid and were minor at best.

This harmful gaslighting is FALSE.

NO ONE KNOWS THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAPPENED.

Look, I don’t agree with some of the crazier conspiracy theories. I don’t believe that there was some huge campaign among the CW Network execs to remove anything remotely gay out of homophobia. I don’t believe that the finale was changed because of some desire to make it into a Walker promo. I don’t believe that the finale was really bad on purpose in protest by Dabb for not getting to do an ending he truly wanted. I don’t believe that Dabb left us smart fans a bunch of secret messages in the finale to hint that he was on our side all along and that everything was fake.

I do, however, believe that all of these conspiracy theories have some elements in them that are plausible. At least, more plausible than the bullshit narrative mentioned above that some people are pushing in some desperate attempt to defend the Network (which imo is really strange behaviour anyway - why would anyone care about a TV network with a history of terrible behaviour?!?)

We have facts, based on information provided before the covid lockdown, which for some reason, people like Misha have since backpeddled on. So let me try to outline some of the information that makes no sense.

Below the cut I go on a deep dive into the conspiracies and statements I have heard about the SPN finale and try to make some sense of this whole fucked up situation. It gets long.

1. “Cas was never gonna be in the finale”.

False: We have many fan accounts of Misha confirming that he was filming the finale. We have video evidence of Misha confirming he was going back to film the finale after the lockdown. We have confirmation from fans in Misha M&Gs from March that he had about 5 days of filming left.

We also had fan accounts of discussions with Alex Calvert (I think) where he confirmed the final shot of the final episode was all four of them though I would LOVE if someone can find a source for this.

2. Okay, Misha was gonna be in the finale, but only as Jimmy Novak

False: I heavily side eyed Misha when he said this. But I think I can come up with a plausible explanation for it. Per above, Misha was supposed to film for 5 days. This does not align with the half a day he described of filming as Jimmy Novak. My own belief is that after Cas was cut from the finale (for whatever reason we don’t know) someone (probably Jensen Ackles) put up a fight and complained that Misha should be there for the final episode. The writers probably tried to come up with a way to bring Misha back without having to deal with Cas, and pitched the idea of Jimmy Novak being in Heaven. Misha, obviously annoyed about this, turned this stupid pitch down.

3. Destiel was never a thing, never planned, never part of Dabb’s ending. Bobo and Misha pushing the confession was the part of the season that was Wrong.

False: We have a SPN writer on record saying that Castiel’s confession was the first thing written for Season 15 when the writers returned to the writers room. If it wasn’t planned, why was it the first thing written, why does it align so well with the rest of season 15? Look I know some people either a. hate destiel and refuse to see it even if it slaps them in the face, or b. have major heteronormative goggles on, or c. are just homophobes in denial, but 15x18 fits in perfectly with the narrative of season 15. Everything Cas says, everything that happened in that scene was so in character it just works. It fit. If you just rewatch the season whilst applying some critical thinking skills and pay attention to the narrative and character arcs, trust me, the confession fits in with pretty much every other plot point, and character story in the season.

Also: We have known for a while that the network did market research into Destiel, wanting to know if it would go down well or not. They were well aware of its popularity and considering it. Where would this have come from if not pitched by the showrunner? Dabb must have at least been considering it. If you take all of Dabb era into consideration, starting with mid season 11, all the way through the season 12 build up, season 13 grief arc, and then Bobo’s Destiel break up arc in late season 14, early season 15, it is clear that there was some toing and froing on the issue of Destiel, but ultimately, I still believe that Dabb was on board. He wrote 13x01 for christs sake. No way he wasn’t taking it seriously.

 4. It’s always been about the brothers. The finale just stays true to what Supernatural is all about.

*rubs temples* Fundamentally FALSE: The show has time and again reasserted the message of “Family don’t end with blood”, as well as the messages of AKF and YANA. Sam and Dean may be at the heart of the show, but a heart can’t exist without a body to support it. Without bones, and lungs, and blood, and muscles, and a BRAIN. The finale abandons the shows core messages. It forces the characters back into their season 1 characterisations and the whole thing becomes hollow and souless. But I’m not here to complain, I’m here to lay down the facts. Dean’s heaven was supposed to be surrounded by loved ones right? We know OG Charlie Bradbury was gonna be in his Heaven, we also know CAS was gonna be in there. So this idea that the finale as it currently stands was how it was meant to be is wrong. Dean was supposed to die and reunite with his found family and loved ones. This alone would have been a far better ending than the one given. Do I think this was solely a covid issue? Fuck no.

The randoms that WERE in the finale are proof alone that they could have got people in and quarantined. We also have several actors on record saying that they WOULD have quarantined for the finale had they been asked to return but they WEREN’T.

Lies have been told. Samantha Ferris and Chad Limberg have confirmed that we have been lied to about the original plans for the finale.

This alone is proof enough that there is more plausibility in some of the conspiracy theories than any bullshit narrative some people are pushing in defence of the barbaric mess of a finale we were given.

So lets address some of the conspiracy theories now:

Conspiracy No.1: The CW Network reviewed Supernatural during the covid break, and due to homophobia, refused any Destiel arc that wasn’t already filmed, shut down any potential reciprocation from Dean, and forced Dabb to change his finale.

I don’t think this is entirely what happened. But I do think it is very strange how there is a such a huge disconnect particularly in Dean’s characterisations between what had come before the lockdown, and what came after. The one fact we have here, and please someone provide a source if you can find it because I know there is one, the finale script was still going through changes up to only 2 weeks before it was filmed. We know that there was some weird editing in 15x18 (which was still in post and uncompleted before lockdown) and we know from Jensen’s own mouth that there was more to the confession scene on Dean’s side that was cut. We also know that this isn’t the first time that Destiel heavy moments have been changed in post - the prayer scene is another big scene that went through a lot of changes and Bobo fought to have his script play out the way he wanted it.

There are certain things that in my own opinions, are basically true of SPN which I have put together from years of keeping one eye on the writers room, the network, and all the various comments made. My opinion is this:

The writers room has always been split on Destiel. Some writers heavily supported making it canon, others did not care, or were against it.

The Network considered it over the course of several years, did market research, green lit it, then changed their minds, possibly several times over the course of Dabb’s era. Destiel was pitched to the Network early in Dabb era.

The crew on set were also split. Some people heavily supported it, and worked to assist the reading, whereas others did not care/did not support it. The same can be said for the editing room.

Bob Singer supported the subtextual homoeroticism, but never supported bringing it into text (this is an opinion, but I think it aligns with everything we know about him.) IMO Bob Singer also supported subtextual homoeroticism between Sam and Dean - the guy is gross is what I’m saying. He isn’t exactly a progressive person.

Fun fact - a while back our old enemy Sera Gamble went on a Twitter rant about writers rooms and the ways a script goes through changes. I don’t think this was in relation to the SPN finale wank but she basically inadvertantly confirmed that the Network can step in and make sweeping changes to a script if they want to and if they decide they don’t like the direction of a story. Sera Gamble confirmed this as a fact.

Now. I’m not saying that this is what the CW did with Destiel. I just think its very strange how pre lockdown, the last thing filmed is a heartfelt homosexual declaration of love between Dean and Cas, and we have a finale script that Misha had not seen, but knew that he was meant to film as Castiel for 5 days (5 days on set is over half of an episode as far as I know). Then all of a sudden, Covid happens, and Cas is cut from the finale completely, a desperate attempt to bring Misha back only as Jimmy Novak takes place, which Misha rightly refuses, leading to a finale which makes zero sense narratively and appears in every way completely and utterly butchered.

The only explanation provided by anyone involved is that Covid meant changes had to happen - but that covid didn’t change the actual story at all.

But this makes no sense because we know that Cas was cut from the finale. This is FACT. Do not let anyone gaslight you into thinking otherwise. Misha was preparing to quaranting to return to set as Cas post Covid, so whatever happened to cut Cas from the finale, it wasn’t Covid.

I’m gonna have to Occum’s Razor this and say that the most logical explanation here is the one that is most likely true. Someone got cold feet with the Destiel story, and to prevent any possible interpretation that included Dean reciprocating, any hints of Destiel were removed from the finale script, including Castiel’s whole appearance.

Now, this isn’t me saying I think that Dabb’s original finale was full of Destiel love confessions and a homosexual kiss or whatever, but I am asking you all to really think about it and ask yourselves WHY Cas would have been totally cut from an episode he was supposed to be in at LEAST half of? 

We will probably never know the real reason Cas was cut, but he WAS cut. I’m not saying it was all homophobia, but some fuckery went down.

Conspiracy No. 2: The CW Network changed the finale to make it into a Walker promo because they only cared about raising up Jared and not Jensen and Misha as they were losing them anyway.

I don’t agree with this in terms of the finale being butchered solely to make it into a Walker promo. There are however moments in the finale that are clearly supposed to be Walker Easter Eggs and added to excite fans of Jared/Sam in particular such as Sam’s gratuitous and unnecessary topless scene, as well as the call on the “case in Austin”.

I will take this moment to say something pretty damn controversial though.

*Deep breath*

The fact is, Dean Winchester has been the “lead” character of Supernatural’s narrative for years now, with Sam often being sidelined and not given great storylines himself. Even in Season 15, right up until the finale, I myself felt bad for Sam sometimes because so much of this show has become all about Dean. Jensen Ackles is clearly the better actor when it comes to emotional story arcs, so the emotional heart of the story has most often leant on him.

So you can understand my confusion, when this is turned on its head in the final episode, to make Sam carry all the emotional weight, and have the most lines/screentime, and story resolution (even if his story resolution was just as crappy as Dean’s).

If we pretend that Destiel is not a thing, and ignore Cas’s confession, the story change in the finale from Dean focus to Sam focus is still rather suspicious. Again, I’m not saying I completely approve of or agree to the conspiracy theory that Walker influenced the butchering of the script, but I can believe that perhaps a note went down from the CW to someone like Bob Singer, to emphasise Sam/Jared more than they perhaps would normally, because the CW wanted to shine the spotlight on Jared to raise excitement for Walker.

I can also believe this note might have said something like “we wanna cater to fans of Sam/Jared the most - don’t do anything to piss them off.” but now I am getting into my own conspiracy theories so by all means dismiss this as me being bitter.

Conspiracy No.3: Dabb purposely made it bad, as a secret message to Destiel fans that he had been silenced, by layering meta clues into the episode that he knew fans would notice.

I doubt this one is true. Though some of the theories are quite compelling. The old vampire silent movie theory for instance starts off quite well, but loses me the moment it brings up Urban Dictionary slang.

Sometimes I have just had to accept that Supernatural is a bad show that is sometimes accidentally a masterpiece. However, some writers really did go That Deep with their stories - anything by Ben Edlund or Steve Yockey for instance, their episodes are meta masterpieces with a hundred different layers of beautiful subtextual storytelling and are a joy to analyse. Bobo Berens has certainly done some A+++ work especially now we KNOW that he was working hard all this time to bring Destiel to canon text (so any analysis of Destiel in the subtext in his episodes is very accurate). There have been many other key elements analysed over the years which have been confirmed true. Cas’s death in Season 12, Dean’s time as a demon in season 10, Season 11 ending in unity of dark and light, these were all plot points predicted by meta writers just by analysing the narrative. Sometimes the writers really have been very smart and they do add things to the show to aid us in our meta.

Richard Speight Jr for instance, confirmed that SPN has a visual library that the production team use to give clues and hints in the narrative. Pizza, for example, always means a lie has been told. Whenever Pizza is being eaten or even just mentioned on screen, there is dishonesty in that particular moment.

The beers also have a very specific message and the one thing I can’t let go about the finale, was that Dean was drinking El Sol beer. The beer his dad gave him, that was terrible.

El Sol has been used in the show to indicate something being wrong, a fake reality, or another lie, for the longest time. It is the beer of deception.

The fact that in the final episode of this entire show, Dean is in Heaven, supposedly at peace, and then he gets handed an El Sol beer to drink? Thats a HUGE red flag for any meta writer watching who can read SPNs visual library.

If they had given him the Margiekugel beer of family then it would make sense. Dean is in Heaven, with Bobby, his family, at peace. Margiekugel should have been the beer of choice. But nope. El Sol. Something is wrong.

I don’t know if it was Dabb, or Singer, or some disgruntled ADs and crew members who added these elements into the finale, but their very presence confirms some message of Wrongness.

I could go into a huge rant about Vampire Mimes not making sense and the very glaringly obvious symbolism of cutting out peoples tongues too, but that is high school level film analysis. It’s obvious. It means to silence someone. There is validity in interpreting this as Dabb saying he was silenced. I don’t know how true it is, but i can’t 100% dismiss it, because as I said, this is high school analysis levels of obvious subtextual storytelling.

So in summary, whilst I don’t think that Dabb intentionally went out of his way to sabotage his own script, and leave a breadtrail of secret messages for savvy fans to put together to confirm that he was silenced by an evil network into not getting what he wanted... I do think that there is validity in questioning these odd choices for the finale. Cutting out tongues? Vampire Mimes? El Sol beer?

The evidence is somewhat compelling is all I’m saying. I don’t believe the full conspiracy theories, but as I have said many times before, some fuckery went down.

So What Do I Believe?

That some fuckery went down and whatever company line they are pushing is bullshit.

I believe that the original script included Cas (since thats fact). I believe that the original script probably always had Dean dying on a vampire hunt (due to Jensen’s issues with it and in particular, his sarcastic comments about vampires in the past year or so which in hindsight are hilarious and prove he never really came to terms with Dean’s idiotic death). I believe Dabb’s original script was some less crappy version of what we got, which potentially included showing Jack rescuing Cas from the Empty and resolving the outstanding Empty plot points (potentially this was actually a 15x19 plot since Mark P commented that his final scenes were supposed to be with Jack and Cas), had Cas reunite with Dean in Heaven and had them have a discussion about Cas’s confession. I believe that there was probably a lot of back and forth over how to handle that with some people wanting Dean to obviously reciprocate and others believing they should keep it ambiguous. I believe that Dean and Cas would have reunited with Charlie Bradbury, and Bobby Singer, and possibly others (though if this was the case it must have been very early on since no one ever looped in Sam Ferris, Chad Linberg or any other Roadhouse people).

I believe that Sam’s ending probably didn’t change much, but I do feel that initially they were planning on him ending up with Eileen, because it is the only thing that narratively makes sense. Cutting Eileen and giving him a blurry wife is something I won’t ever understand and Jared’s bullshit explanations are quite clearly pulled out of his ass to appease bronly types. I believe the reunion on the bridge would have included Cas and Jack, with a final shot of all four of them together, at peace (as this aligns with Alex’s comments from around a year or so ago that the final shot was all four of them). (I also am not sure it was always supposed to be on a bridge since the foreshadowing in an earlier episode showed Dean, Cas and Sam all in the Roadhouse together).

I believe that script went through countless changes and redrafts, and not even production people or the types that some fandom people claim as their “sources” would even have seen those early scripts, since even Misha never saw it. I believe that these rumours of Dabb never having Cas in his finale and ignoring all Destiel elements likely come from people who only saw later versions, weren’t party to network discussions and felt bitter about the final scripts they did see (being the crappy butchered one that was ultimately filmed). Those “sources” are now spreading rumours to discredit Dabb.

I obviously believe Dabb is a weak ass pushover who either didn’t care enough to fight back, or gave up since he’s been stuck with fucking Bob Singer on his back for years, but I will NEVER believe he didn’t care about the DeanCas love story, because he has been one of the few writers who has championed for it for years. You can’t look back at Dabb’s episodes in earlier seasons and claim he didn’t care. Dabb was a writer whose creative ideas were beaten out of him by an unforgiving Network only concerned about where their future money was coming from. Do I think he gave up too easily? Yes. But I also have one other huge reason for not believing the bullshit about Dabb being this anti-Destiel villain.

Bobo. Because if Bobo truly believed Dabb was gonna fuck that up at the end, I don’t think he would have given us Cas’s love confession to begin with. If he had known it was gonna end like that, I think he would have reconsidered, because had Cas not confessed his love, I don’t think he would have been cut from the finale. Bobo - a gay man, would not have wanted such a horrible message for queer fans being put across in the show he worked so hard on. He started writing that confession scene the day they returned to the writers room. Dabb would have been there, would have seen what he was writing, probably discussed it with him, after all, other episodes were written with the confession in mind. No way was Dabb planning to fuck up the ending knowing what Bobo was giving us. Nope.

Something went very wrong over lockdown. Someone, somewhere up the chain of power caught wind of the confession scene in 15x18, realised that it demanded a resolution which would make Dean Winchester, their protagonist, queer, and pulled the plug. I believe this did not come from a place of homophobia, but of bad business sense.

The CW is constantly trying to win the approval and attention of the one demo group that they seem to fail at getting the most: young straight men. Supernatural was one of their only remaining shows that appeals to young straight men, and Dean Winchester is more often than not the fave character of those young straight men who project onto him. Making Dean Winchester, established Han Solo of Supernatural, queer and in love with his best friend in the finale would have come across as a betrayal to those young straight men. The CW probably feared they would lose that demo group for good, and with a show like Walker starting soon with Jared at the helm, they couldn’t take the risk.

Hence there was probably a whole bunch of back and forth script redrafts with the Network, with Dabb and Singer fighting to make a finale that would appeal to everyone. There was most likely no way that they could bring Cas back without addressing what had already been filmed, because any resolution of that plot would either a. make Dean queer, or b. address it awkwardly by having Dean reject Cas (this storyline would probably have been slammed by critics worse than the finale because it meant addressing it. It might have got the attention of LGBTQ activist groups and caused a bigger shitstorm than what we got). The best option was therefore C. Bury it and Cas, pretend it never happened. Never address it again and distract Dean with other things. Hope that Destiel fans will accept no answer from Dean as ambiguous enough to imagine a future reunion rather than shutting it down with a rejection, and still keep hold of the blissfully ignorant heteronormative straight boys so they can carry over to Walker when it starts.

I also believe (controversially probably) that there was concern that any resolution of Dean and Cas would have overshadowed network darling Jared Padalecki. If Dean and Cas had come together in the finale, with a very clearly textual homosexual reunion, then that would have been all anyone talked about. The reviewers, the critics, the audience, everyone. It would have been nothing but Dean and Cas (and look, if they did think this, they were right, Destiel trending over the US ELECTION.)

So what is the network to do, when they are losing the two stars who would get the most attention from this storyline? The one star they were holding on to and getting his own show, relegated to third place in the finale of the show where he was first on the call sheet? Nope. That’s pretty unacceptable. Even without Walker I can imagine people at all levels side eyeing the Destiel thing over the years. This IS a show about two brothers, and their relationship should be the core relationship, we can’t have one brother pushed aside in the finale to make way for a queer relationship that will get all the attention instead. It was never gonna get approved for this reason ALONE.

At the end of the day, if I look at it from a business perspective, it makes far more sense that the CW shut down Destiel, rather than “oh Dabb never cared and ruined it because he’s an idiot.” The writers cared, and had built on that story over years. But their mistake was leaving any Destiel resolution to the finale. If they had instead gone and got Dean and Cas together in early season 15, then they could have ended it in a way that satisfied everyone. Destiel wouldn’t have threatened pulling focus away from Sam and Dean, and the show could have gone out on a high.

When I lay out all the conspiracy theories, and line them up next to the cold hard facts, the conspiracy theories in some way or another, make more sense. To believe the company line, the narrative we have been fed, is to ignore your own eyes, ears, and memories pre March 2020.

All I’m asking people to do is take a look at the show, the narrative presented in the show, and the information presented above. I’m not telling you to believe what I’ve written here, half of which is just my own opinion. I’m asking you to ask yourselves if it makes sense to you. Because it sure as hell doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied.

[weelectronicstudentreviewstuff]

Four More Shots Please! Season 2 Review: Amazon Series Refuses to Grow Up

In its first season, Four More Shots Please! — Amazon’s first original scripted Indian comedy series from first-time creator Rangita Pritish Nandy — was just a pretty shell. That’s how we summarised it in our review, having noted its many faults in the writing and technical departments, be it the pre-adult mentality that defined its approach, its limited success with the empowering ideas it…

[punderfulowl]

Top 10 Anime (That I've Seen) in 2020

Well now, it has certainly been awhile. I'm currently sitting at eight months too late for posting this, but, y'know, something something life happens. More accurately, I already made this list, but wanted to try out what response I'd get from Reddit. Turns out, they're not as cool as you guys!

Anyways, as the title states, this is not a list of my favorite anime that came out during 2020, but instead my favorite anime that I just so happen to see during that year. While it's fun to have an end of the year retrospective, I find that having a list in this format not only adds variety, but also helps bring attention to anime that might have been lost in the shuffle in previous years (I also don't have enough time to stay caught up in seasonal releases).

Honorable mentions:

Aggretsuko S3, My Hero Academia S4, Today's Menu For the Emiya Family, Interspecies Reviewers (yes, really), and I Couldn't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job

10. Maid-Sama (2010)

In hindsight, I find it a bit funny that I wanted to watch something wholesome to kick off 2020. Anyway, Maid-Sama is about a high school girl that is also a no nonsense Class President and she kind of has to be at a school where, until recently, was an all boys school. While she kills it in academics and is good at shutting down any shenanigans from the male student body, her financial situation isn't the greatest and has to balance a job at a maid cafe along with her school-related responsibilities. She does her best to hide her employment there to keep up appearances, but is one day found out by one of the boys who happens to be a big flirt and, yeah, hijinks ensue. While this anime doesn't have too many surprises, our main leads bounce off each other well enough to keep me entertained. Nothing I haven't seen already in other anime Rom-Coms, but I think it has more than earned its place at the start of this list.

9. Haganai NEXT (2013)

It's a personal rule of mine when making these lists that I don't include sequels of shows that were in previous lists. While I DID see the first season of Haganai a couple of years ago, it didn't quite make it into the top ten at that time. Because of that, it meets the criteria for this year's list. While I found the characters were just as charming here as I did during the first season, the development of their relationships really took off. It's a shame that it will most likely not get a third season, but I'm happy with what ride this show gave me. But hey! At least I can read the light novels/manga to continue the story! Wait, nevermind, the Haganai fans on Reddit are saying that's a bad idea.

8. Engaged to the Unidentified (2014)

Based off of a Four Panel joke manga, Engaged to the Unidentified tells the story of a girl in high school suddenly getting some life changing news. As it turns out, her grandfather made an arranged engagement with her and the son of a family he knew. Next thing she knows, the boy in question, as well as his little sister, moves into her family's house! While the boy is unassuming at first, there may be more to him and his family than he lets on. Plain and simple, this anime has charmed me. There's a decent amount of drama and mystery despite the source material and I applaud it! Even though this also doesn't have much new to offer, even to the point where I would compare this to Maid-Sama, what made me pick this at the 8th spot were the color choices and animation quality. Give this a shot if you can!

7. Grimoire of Zero (2017)

It's a fantasy/adventure story starring a loli sorcerer and a huge, anthropomorphic white tiger man. I honestly can't say anything else. I won't be able to do it justice. That first sentence should intrigue you a lease a little bit. Read it, again. Please check it out. It's an underrated gem that no one is talking about.

6. ID: Invaded (2020)

Hey, here's something recent! Unfortunately, this is also not something I can say much about. There may not be too many deep characters and the secret bad guy isn't hard to figure out, but BOY is this anime cool! The best way to describe this series is that it's like the movie Inception, but instead of brain heists, it's brain murder mysteries.

5. Carole and Tuesday (2019)

A runaway rich girl has a fated meeting with an orphan and they decide to make music together...oh, this also takes place Mars. Joking aside, this show was something special with its music (a new song almost every episode no less), interesting setting (freaking Mars, dude), and endearing main cast. Shoot, the music itself would be top 3, maybe number 1, but what bogs it down is the show's second half. I can easily see myself watching this again someday, and maybe my opinion will lighten up, but for now, 5 is a dang good spot.

4. Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia (2019)

Part of me hesitates placing this high up on list due to this show being animated, fan service spectacle for Fate fans. However, that hesitation is overshadowed by the fact that I am a Fate fan myself and I can do whatever I want with this list. Even if you're not a Fate fan or play FGO, if you enjoy some solid fight animation, this is worth a look.

3. K-On S1 (2009)

I'll admit it, I might regret not watching the second season then putting the series on the list as a whole, but this how I've been doing these lists and I'm such a creature of habit. There's not much I can say about K-On that hasn't already been said. By itself it's an anime classic and one of Kyo-ani's biggest properties. It's a sweet and wholesome watch, but be sure to have some insulin within reach.

2. Princess Principal (2017)

Imagine you're working with a team of programmers trying to make a mobile game then all of a sudden someone asks to make a show out of it. You know, a show with different character motivations, plot, twist and turns and all that? Most might say that's just a shameless, shallow cash grab, but it turns out okay for Princess Principal. Sure, most might summarize this anime as, "cute girls doing espionage things," but with its cast, visuals, and interesting alternative timeline, it works! Apparently there's a new season or movie in the works and I am all for it!

1. Beastars (2019)

I was not expecting this to be number one, but with much deliberation (with myself obviously) this feels right. It tells a pretty unique story while showing itself to be the exception to the rule when it comes to 3D anime.....it being that it's actually good. While I acknowledge that shows like K-On are classics and deserves to be number one on many different lists, it didn't line up with my personal criteria like Beastars did. My biggest deciding factor is: Now that I've watched this, do I want more? It's true that while I'm excited to start K-On S2, Beastars intrigues me more and ever since season two was announced, I'm looking forward to that more.

Sorry again for this list being so late, but at least the silver lining is that the next end of the year list is about four months away (in theory)!

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Makayla Part One

Sam Winchester x Reader

Words: 2767

Summary: Five years after abandoning your former hunting partners, you turn up at the bunker pleading for the Winchester’s help. Old wounds open for Sam and Dean goes into protective brother mode. Everything changes when you tell them why you’re there. 

Notes: I imagine this taking place in season 12. 1) because I think Sam is extremely attractive in this season and 2) I wanted to involve Mary. As always, reviews mean the world so don’t be shy! This is going to be another mini series, probably having three or four parts, so be sure to keep me updated on what you think. 

Special shout out to my amazing beta reader Sarah, @suckmysupernatural​ . I love her so much and honestly, she’s helped me so much in getting these imagines out for you and she has some absolutely killer writing of her own!

Want more Supernatural? Find it HERE

-

The violent rattling of the door was starting to scare her. She was crying, but you didn’t have time to comfort her. You grabbed her duffel bag, swept her up in your arms, and you ran like hell. You got to the car and rapidly buckled her into her car seat before feeling a hand yank you backwards. 

“Mommy!” Makayla cried. The vampire bared his fangs at you and you landed a punch his his nose, stunning him long enough for you to grab the machete from the front seat. 

“Kayla, baby, close your eyes.” You instructed before you lobbed off the vamp’s head with one clean swing. Blood splattered your clothes and the body landed with a thump. Your daughter’s tear filled green-blue eyes opened again and you quickly stood in between her and the gory mess. “Everything is going to be okay.” 

You jumped in the driver seat and practically floored it, ignoring the crunch and bump as you drove over the dead vampire. You drove for about an hour and pulled off into a motel parking lot. Makayla was still crying so you climbed back into the back seat and pulled her into your lap. It was quiet for a moment as her tears slowly stopped. 

“Mommy?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

“Can you tell me about him again? So I won’t be scared?” You brushed her brown hair back and kissed her forehead. God, she looked just like him.

“Kayla, you must have heard the story a thousand times.” Her innocent look morphed with enough sass to convince anyone. Now that, you were sure she got from her uncle. 

“I want to hear it again.” Adding a pout for good measure, she cuddled up closer to you. “Please?” You chuckled and let out a sigh of defeat. 

“Alright, alright.” Truth is, sometimes it just hurt too much to remember. But Makayla always wanted to hear more and more about her dad. “You’re dad and I had been friends for a long time. We traveled together, along with your uncle, for years and years, killing bad monsters and saving good people.”

“Dad was good at killing monsters, right mom?” A proud smile spread across her face. 

“The best.” You held her tighter, remembering how he used to smile at you when you’d defeat some evil spirit or demon. How you missed that smile.  “After a few years of traveling together, your dad and I fell in love. He protected me and I protected him. We were happy.” This was the part of the story you could never get through. “But one day, I had to go away.”

“Why?” Every time she asked you this and every time you just gave her the same answer. 

“I’ll explain one day. When you’re older.” You ran your fingers through her hair, looking at the stars through the sunroof. “But after I left, I had you.”

“And now we have each other’s backs.” Kayla beamed. You smiled. 

“That’s right.” 

“Mom, what was he like?” No matter how many times she’d heard it, she always wanted to hear more.

“Your dad was the kindest, bravest, and most caring person I’ve ever met. He was sweet and strong and he gave the absolute best hugs in the whole wide world. He had green-blue eyes that lit up when he smiled-”

“Just like me!”

“Just like you.” You pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. “Your dad showed me what love is. And when I had to go, somebody up there,” You pointed to the stars, “wanted to make sure I could pass that love onto someone else. So they gave me you.” You were both silent for a while, Kayla drinking in your words and you trying to keep your emotions in check. 

“Tell me something new, mom. Please?” She had heard all of this before, but she never could get enough. In her mind, her dad was a superhero. You thought for a moment. 

“Well, your dad had the best laugh. Even after an exhausting day of fighting bad, bad monsters, he could light up the room. His big brother meant the world to him. And me. We were a real family. He was from Kansas. And his name…” You took a deep breath. “Was Sam.” 

-

Five Years Ago

“Sam look out!” You shouted. He ducked and you shot the shape-shifting bitch in the heart. You watched as the false-Jessica crumpled to the ground. This particular freak had a vendetta against Sam for taking down one of its shape shifting buddies. To get revenge, it took the form of Sam’s dead girlfriend, Jessica. Even after seven years, the memory of her still hurt him more than you could ever know. 

For a while, you both just stood there. Sam was frozen, staring down at the shapeshifter’s body, the loss of what could have been lingering sadly in his eyes. You wanted to reach out to him. To hold him and comfort him so that the memories didn’t become nightmares tonight, even though you knew they would. But you knew that you weren’t what he needed. 

“It wasn’t her.” You said, trying not to look at her. Shape shifter or not, she was beautiful. She had been everything he ever wanted. She was normal. And you knew that he would always love her. 

“I know.” He sighed, finally tearing his eyes away from the body. He walked around it and pulled you into a hug without another word. Just holding you reminded him that he was okay. That even after everything he’d lost, he still had you. 

“Hello!” A voice shouted from the basement. “Could you cut the Nicholas Sparks crap and get me out of here!” You and Sam looked at each other. 

“Dean.” In the heat of the fight, you had honestly forgotten that he was caged up in the basement. 

After freeing Dean, you disposed of the body and headed back to the motel for a much needed shower. Sam let you have dibs, despite Dean’s protests. The boys opted to go grab some take out for dinner, telling you they’d be back soon. 

“You okay?” Dean asked, letting Sam drive since his head was still pounding from getting knocked out. Sam took a deep breath. 

“I will be.” He had you now. 

“Y/N kicked ass today.” Dean noted, giving his brother a look. 

“Yeah.” Sam chuckled. “Yeah she did.” Dean shook his head. 

“Uh oh.” 

“What?”

“That is a dangerous look, Sammy.” Dean turned on the radio and Sam quickly switched it off. 

“What look?” 

“You know what look.” When Sam still didn’t understand, Dean sighed. “You love her.” Sam shifted in his seat. 

“Dean, Y/N and I have been together for almost two years now. Maybe...” Sam kept his eyes on the road, but his mind was only thinking about you. “Maybe I do love her. What’s it to you?” Dean laughed. 

“Just buckle up, Sammy.” Deep down, Dean was afraid for his little brother. Y/N was a survivor. And he knew that she would do anything to keep herself from getting hurt, even if it meant hurting Sam in the process. 

-

Present Day

You wouldn’t have come if you had any other choice. You were so far in over your head that you had nearly gotten Makayla hurt and that couldn’t happen again. You needed the help of the best hunters that you knew. So there you stood, outside a worn down looking building in Lebanon, Kansas. Knocking didn’t work and you knew that you weren’t getting through that massive metal door, so your only option was to wait. Luckily, you had a family friend in Hastings who had chopped a few vampire heads in their hunting glory days watching over Kayla. 

You froze at the sound of a gun cocking. 

“Who are you?” It was a woman’s voice. Maybe you had the wrong hideout. 

“I’m looking for the Winchesters.” Still facing the door, you felt the rifle press against the back of your head. 

“Who. Are. You?” She asked again. 

“I’m an old friend.” 

“What do you want with Sam and Dean?” She pressed the rifle a little harder into your skull. 

“Who are you?” You challenged. “How do you know Sam and Dean?” You moved to turn around, but you were knocked out cold as she slammed the butt of the rifle into the back of your head. 

When you woke up, you were tied to a chair in what looked like a kitchen. 

“What the hell…” You groaned, your head aching. A woman was standing in front of you- presumably the one that gave you the concussion. 

“I got you in passed the wardings, so I’m assuming you’re human or some kind of creature.” 

“I’m a hunter.” 

“Even if that is true, what do you want with the Winchesters?”

“I need their help taking care of a nest of vampires.” The more you looked at her, the more familiar her face looked. “I’m sorry, do I know you?” She just narrowed her eyes. 

“Sam and Dean will be back any minute so they can figure this out.” She sighed and walked out of the kitchen. 

“Are you just going to leave me here?” You shouted in annoyance. You didn’t have time for this. You didn’t like being away from Makayla. She had grown up as one tough little girl, but you knew she got scared when you were gone for too long. Thinking of your daughter, you felt a sense of dread wash over you. You were going to have to tell him. But how could you? How do you tell Sam Winchester that he’s had a daughter for the past four years? 

The loud clanging sound of the bunker door opening pulled you out of your planning. You heard Dean’s voice echo down the hall. 

“Mom! We’re back!” Wait… Mom? “Well, I’m back, Sam went to get more coffee, but I think he’s secretly buying conditioner.” 

“Dean, we have a small problem.” You heard your captor tell him before her voice dropped to a whisper. 

“You tied up a girl in our kitchen!” Dean exclaimed and she told him to keep his voice down. He appeared in the doorway a few seconds later. He froze when he saw you, his face changing from worried to pissed. 

“Hey Dean.” You greeted, giving him an awkward smile. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” He growled. 

“Can we talk after you untie me?”

“I don’t think I want to.” 

“Dean!” With an aggravated huff, he moved behind you to undo your constraints. “That woman is your mother?”

“It’s a long story that I really don’t feel like explaining to you.” You wiggled your wrists free and stood up, swaying slightly from the dizziness. Dean crossed his arms. “You need to leave.”

“I need your help.” 

“I don’t care.” The last time he was this mad at you was the last time you saw him. You would never forget the look of disgust on his face before he got in the impala and drove away. “You can’t be here when Sam gets back.” 

“Dean, you know I wouldn’t be here if I had a choice.” You pleaded. You didn’t blame him for hating you. You broke his number one rule. You hurt his little brother. Before he could respond, you both heard the bunker door again. 

“Dean, why is there another car outside-” Sam started to ask, his words catching in his throat when he walked into the kitchen. “Y/N.” He gasped, his eyes going soft. 

“She was just leaving.” Dean gave you a hard stare. 

“Sam I-”

“What are you doing here?” Sam stood up straighter, pushing his emotions aside, his eyes turning hard like his brother’s. 

“I know that I have no right to be here.” 

“No. You don’t.” His jaw clenched as he resisted the urge to throw his arms around you. Five years since ditching him at a motel in Missouri, why show up now?

“But I need you.” You tried to keep calm, but so many thoughts were bombarding your already pounding head. “I need your help with a hunt.” 

“Why the hell would we help you?” Dean scoffed, getting angrier and angrier by the second. Sam just looked hurt. 

“This is just about a hunt?” He shook his head. He was stupid to think you would come for anything else. 

“Look, I wouldn’t have tracked you two down if I thought I could find anyone else. But everyone knows the Winchesters are the best hunters around.” You had to drop your pride and just say it. “I’m in over my head here, Sam.”

“I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but that sounds like a you problem. Not an us problem.” Dean motioned for you to leave, but you stood your ground. 

“Sam, please.” You were almost tempted to get on your knees and beg, but your phone started to ring. “Damn it.” You muttered, answering to a worried sounding Naomi. 

“You better get back here, Y/N.” She whispered into the receiver. You could hear Makayla singing along to the radio. 

“Are you driving?” 

“There was a group of men I don’t know at my house so I’m taking Kayla to a motel run by a friend of mine. You better hurry up with those hunting pals and come and get her. She’ll be safer with three of you than just me.” 

“They’re going to need a little more convincing, Naomi.” You hissed, feeling Sam and Dean’s eyes burning into you. She sighed. 

“Well one of them’s her daddy, isn’t he?” 

“Naomi-”

“You’ll have to tell him one way or another. Just get them up here.” She hung up without giving you a chance to argue. You turned back to the brothers. 

“I need you to come to Hastings.” 

“Like hell-” Dean started but Sam interrupted him. 

“Why?” The way he looked at you made you feel like something heavy was weighing on your chest. You couldn’t breathe, let alone tell him about Makayla. 

“I… I can’t tell you.” Before Dean could explode on you, you continued. “I have to show you.” 

“No, no way. I am not driving an hour just to-”

“Okay.” Sam agreed, earning a very irritated glare from his brother. Dean’s eyes darted between the two of you. He ran his hand down his face. 

“Fine. Fine! But I am driving.” 

-

You rode in silence. You offered to take your own car, but Dean insisted on you riding with them. He probably thought you would just cut and run again. So you were forced to endure an hour of agonizing, angry silence. They had told their mother- yeah, their dead mother who was now kicking your ass- that they would be back soon, so it was just the three of you. Dean wouldn’t even turn on the radio. Sam couldn’t look at you. 

You shouldn’t have come. You should have found another hunter- anyone else. The little voice in your head suggested maybe this was just an excuse. A reason to see him again. You had to remind yourself that you were here for Makayla. You would do anything if it meant keeping her safe. But how were you going to tell him?

You arrived at the motel before you could really think of a plan. Naomi said she was in room 6 and she met you outside, thankfully. 

“Is she okay?” You asked quietly. Naomi nodded, eyeing the two men getting out of the car behind you. 

“She��s inside now watching old Scooby-Doo reruns.” She pulled you aside. “So what did he say?” 

“I haven’t told him.” You gulped. Her eyes widened. 

“Well, honey, you better think of something fast.” She motioned to Dean and Sam, who were now walking towards the door. 

“So what is it? What do you have to show us?” Dean huffed. Sam just watched you with curious eyes. 

“Okay, there’s something I need to talk to you about before I open this door.” You took a deep breath, trying to come up with a plan. 

“Mommy!” And there goes the plan. Makayla ran out of the door and latched to your leg. Sam and Dean froze. You bit your lip, putting a hand on her head. 

“Guys, this is Makayla.” You picked her up. Dean’s confusion started to morph into understanding as he looked at her dark hair and bright eyes. You couldn’t read Sam’s face. “Makayla, this is Dean. And this...” You felt terrified tears spring to your eyes. “Is Sam.”

-

Continue to Part Two

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination;  @mylovegoesto;

Supernatural: @desimarie12; @deandreamernp; @vicmc624​; @halesandy​

Sam Winchester: @theamuz

[nyxravessnow]

Toumyu – Tokyo Kokoro Oboe First Day Stage Review

Again, as always, this is not a bias free review. It is heavily opinionated and not objective.

Thank you so much to Suke, Vivi and Koursed from the Touken Ranbu discord who helped me with the story and some of my vocal assessments.

 FREE OF SPOILERS

Overall rating: 9/10

Acting – 10/10

Music – 9/10 (average of all the song scores)

Ease of understanding – 2/10

Direction – 8/10 or 4/10 I honestly dunno. It depends on the next shows and the follow through for the storyline. If it is satisfying then I think this shows direction was excellent but if it falls flat then this show was kinda the beginning of that.

 Overall Summary: Honestly, I dunno what happened rly but the music, staging and acting were excellent. The idol portion was maybe my favourite out of all the myus, and I really enjoyed all the new songs. The first half was fascinating, enthralling and a spectacle but almost completely incomprehensible as so little was clarified, and we were left with so many questions. I really recommend watching the show for yourself as no review I can write will adequately explain or demonstrate what the show was like.

 Now I’ll have to get into spoilers to go any further into what the show was like

As I normally do, I am going to give my thoughts on story, acting, songs and directing, then mention some extra stuff that I might think of at the end.

 Story: Please keep in mind that this show is complex, and I didn’t manage to catch everything, and I might be wrong about some things, but this is the best I could do, trying to get it out asap. I will only describe the first half bc the 2nd half has no story.

 So, the entire show revolves around Suishinshi and he is trying to work out what Mikazuki is doing and what his goal is.

In the first scene he is in modern Tokyo and then a HRA person shows up and everything collapses. He says that his consciousness was stolen. Red threads are pulled all over the stage. Sand pours into a pile near the back of the stage and a girl in Noh mask and traditional clothes comes onto stage and dances at the back. It is unclear if Suishinshi recognises her. The music that she was dancing to suddenly disappears and she stares at Suishinshi and then she runs off. Kiyomaro quickly runs on and tells Suishinshi that there is a battle and then they go off together.

 In the 2nd scene Kiyomaro and Suishinshi arrived in the 10th century and find two soldiers fighting HRA members. They are about to step in but Taira no Masakado arrives defeats them. The two are surprised but as the discuss that Mikazuki speaks to Suishinshi and tells him Masakado’s name then Suishinshi has flashes of the future of Tokyo/Edo and sees figures that are important to the city, the humans in this show.

 But he is broken out of this by Buzen and Kuwana. Kiyomaro describes how Suishinshi said that he saw time moving like film unwinding like a movie. And it was so disorientating that he didn’t know where he was or when it was anymore. He says he’s been like that since their last mission.

 Then Oodenta comes on and sings about being a Tenka Goken with Sohayanotsurugi. (I am mostly not going to include songs but it is their first appearance so I will here)

 The two are in Tokugawa controlled Edo, at some point in the early 17th century, and they see Tenkai, one of Ieyasu’s advisors who is a monk, chanting and is repels the HRA. They mention that he sang a very old nursery rhyme, may be the one from Mihotose, and Suishinshi comes on and says that he has heard that song before. The film of the future of Edo plays again. But is a bit shorter.

 Then it fades out and is replaced by fire and the sound of a sword being crafted. Samidare arrives on stage and sings then leaves and Murakumo does the same thing then they duet.

 They are greeted by Kuwana and Buzen who tell them that Kotegiri and Matsui aren’t there at the moment. Then they take Murakumo and Samidare on a tour of the citadel.

 Kiyomaro and Suishinshi come back on stage and Kiyomaro says it’s a good thing to have more allies. Suishinshi describes how Nikkari told him that it can be a good and bad thing. Kiyomaro then says that must be why he left on a trip. Kiyomaro then asks Suishinshi if there is anything, he can do for him and Suishinshi doesn’t answer but Kiyomaro takes that as a no and leaves the stage. Some of the film plays again then Suishinshi leaves too.

 Kuwana comes out and is farming then Suishinshi comes back on and asks about the crops and so Kuwana tells him about a patch of grass as Buzen runs off stage chasing a mole. Kuwana tells Suishinshi that he is getting the fields ready for the rain and then Suishinshi says something about the world ending, I did not get this bit. Then the film plays again

Then it cuts to Saigo Takamori and Katsu Kaishuu talking. They talk about the future and some other stuff that I didn’t quite catch. Oodenta and Sohayanotsurugi come on and discuss the end of the Tokugawa government. Oodenta says if they had more spiritual power then they would have been able to last longer. And Suishinshi asks where he went after the end of Edo and the Tokugawa government.

 Kiyomaro then comes on and asks the Saniwa about abandoned timelines and is told not to think about it as there are some things it’s better not to know.

 Then we go to 1457 and see Ota Dokan supervising the building of Edo castle. Suishinshi wonders why Dokan decided to build a castle in that specific place. Dokan talks about enjoying the flowers and having a picnic there. Suishinshi then describes how as the seasons changed Edo went on to become the centre of Japan and his birthplace.

 During Dokan and Samidare’s duet the little girl comes out again and dances then hands a big leaf she was dancing with to Dokan and leaves the stage again. Then the film plays again.

 Sohayanotsurugi comes on fighting the HRA. He is joined by Oodenta, Murakumo and Samidare, Then Tenkai comes on stage again and repels the HRA. Suishinshi says he needs to make a boarder within himself between what is him and what isn’t him.

 Buzen comes on stage and says he believes anything that can think and remember is living. Suishinshi asks him if that means that if there is no memory of a specific living thing then does it mean it didn’t live at all and Buzen says that he’s not a person who can answer that. During their discussion, the little girl in the mask returns.

 Buzen leaves the stage and a full moon is visible in the back before it fades into the film playing backwards.

 In the next scenes we are back at the building of Edo castle and Buzen is helping the workers pull a big stone along. Buzen has clearly been helping the group before as Dokan welcomes him back from his trip and says he wishes he could go on a trip too, but he’s too surrounded by war. He asks Buzen where he went and Buzen told him he visited the sea and says it would be nice if they could go together sometime.

 Samidare comes to talk to Buzen and he asks him what Dokan is like and Buzen says he’s an amazing person and he would love to show him the future of Edo.

 Suishinshi, Kiyomaro and Oodenta come on the stage and Kiyomaro seems to be asking Oodenta about Mikazuki. Oodenta wonders when they were first called the Tenka Goken. Then Suishinshi and Kiyomaro start talking about curses, sorry this bit was incomprehensible to me.

 The curse may be in relation to Taira no Masakado who is believed to be a vengeful ghost who still plagues Tokyo today.

 The next scene shows Suishinshi watching as Masakado fights off four people and then is shot in the head, killing him. As he dies Suishinshi wonders why he has to die. If they’re meant to protect history then why aren’t they protecting him. Whose history are they protecting. Many figures with the same outfit as him but bands over their eyes and long grey hair come on and surround Masakado changing him into what resembles the painting of his vengeful spirit. He then stares at Suishinshi and leaves the stage.

 Suishinshi asks if this is also a curse. He says he has to make himself normal again. Saying his name is Suishinshi Masahide. However, his name that was written on the screen at the back melts away. It is replaced by Mikazuki’s name then lots of other Touken Danshi names play across the screen and disappear like they’re being erased. He calls out that his name is Suishinshi Masahide as the names fade into letters, the red lines cross across the stage again and the child with the Noh mask appears again.

 In the next scene Dokan is about to be executed when the HRA save him and run off. Buzen sees this and waves at him. Dokan smiles and walks towards him, going to say something but Buzen jumps towards him and stabs him in the heart. He says that that is because that is what the history is. He says that he didn’t want to have to kill him even as an order then walks to him, closing his eyes. He laments that he never got to take Dokan to the quiet ocean. (A reference to Paraiso) Samidare says that he should be doing the dirty jobs and the next time Buzen should let him do it instead. Buzen says that it’s fine and that he wants Samidare to be able to just sing and dance. He asks him to perform for Dokan. The child with the Noh mask appears again and lays the leaf that she handed to Dokan earlier, on his chest.

 The next scene has Kuwana farming again. He is approached by Murakumo who asks him what he’s doing. He explains that there is nothing there, so he has to prepare it for when the sun is bright, and the rain is beautiful. Murakumo reflects that rain is important for crops and Kuwana says that clouds are important too. Clouds and rain are in a circle where clouds will become rain, rain will fall then will trickle into the ocean. The water will then leave the sea and become clouds again. He says that they are all connected in this circle. Humans, history and all the swords. Kuwana tastes the earth and says that it is good earth. Murakumo says that he would like the make the field a field of Kerria but then goes back on this saying they should grow food as flowers aren’t useful as you can’t eat them. Kuwana says you may not be able to eat them, but they are needed, even in this world. Murakumo tries to eat some of the dirt and says that Kuwana is very weird for trying to eat the earth. Kuwana just laughs along and says that maybe he is.

 We go back to Tenkai who Oodenta and Sohayanotsurugi are with. Then Masakado appears and tries to attack them. Finally, with Samidare, Murakumo, Kuwana and Kiyomaro’s help as well, they manage to defeat Masakado but apparently there are 6 more. Tenkai creates a spiritual barrier in the place where they defeated Masakado and Tenkai tells them they have to go defeat the rest. Sohayanotsurugi, Murakumo and Kuwana leave but Oodenta asks Kiyomaro if Tokyo/Edo always had that many monsters. He remarks, I think, that if a person lives for 100 years then they will become a Tsukumogami. (this is what I think I heard but it doesn’t rly make sense as a Tsukumogami is an object that becomes sentient rather than being a person hence why I am confused)

 In the next scene Mikazuki is projected onto the screen and Suishinshi demands to know what he is doing. He takes out his sword and tries to fight Mikazuki, but the image ripples and he has to take some steps back, saying he knows Mikazuki isn’t the kinda of opponent he can fight against. He attacks it again and the image disappears, reappearing to the side. Suishinshi says that he is going against the river of history. He attacks that image, and it reappears on the other side. He says Mikazuki has taken on a very sad role in the flow of history then attacks the image again. The image appears on the back again and Suishinshi asks what on earth was Mikazuki trying to protect. He says that Mikazuki is doing something horrible and this time the image of Mikazuki blocks all of his attacks. Mikazuki brings his sword up and the instrumental of Hana no Utena can be heard then as he brings it down Suishinshi sees a flash of many of the humans who have been in Toumyu so far, including people like Yoshitsune, Sadachika and Souji. Then Suishinshi starts saying the names of flowers. I don’t rly know why. But as he is saying this the girl with the mask appears again behind the screen. Suishinshi asks if all the flowers were her doing and if she was making time move along. Then he seems to realise who she is and says ‘I see, you are-’ then it cuts off. The screen and sounds statics and Suishinshi falls to the ground.

 In the next scene Kiyomaro asks the Saniwa if he can look after Suishinshi, saying he will definitely come back, making it seem like he is gone for a while. Kiyomaro says that Suishinshi is really amazing and the Saniwa agrees. Suishinshi then comes in and asks for permission to go after Mikazuki saying that his eyes looked so sad ‘at that time’. He says that with even a little time he might be able to lighten his burden. He says that history is like a big river but the small rivers coming off it can still be beautiful. The Saniwa then says he will leave it to Suishinshi. Suishinshi asks Kiyomaro to come with him and they leave together.

 In the next scene Oodenta and Sohayanotsurugi are listening to gunfire and canons and talking about how Edo is ending (as it will soon be named Tokyo instead). Kiyomaro and Suishinshi walk on and Kiyomaro asks why they have come to the Bakumatsu time (the end of the Tokugawa government). Suishinshi says there is something that needs to be fixed in that time. Kiyomaro says that he will believe Suishinshi and follow him. Sohayanotsurugi and Oodenta come and join them and Suishinshi tells them about his plan. He takes out a map and indicates all the places in which Tenkai made kekkai and what the effect of those was, I couldn’t catch that bit. I couldn’t really understand the rest of the bit when it’s just the four swords.

 Then Katsu Kaishuu comes on and is surrounded by HRA. He keeps spitting at them for some reason. The swords defeat the HRA and Kaishuu thanks them. Suishinshi asks him if he is trying to protect the Tokugawa government and he seems insulted by that. He says that it isn’t anything that small. He is trying to protect the world and says that it is his dream to go on a trip somewhere. Even if everyone he wanted to go with is dead. Suishinshi gets incredibly excited and happy and says that Kaishuu is really an amazing person. He then runs off but quickly runs on again and says that Kaishuu has a wonderful sword. (which is probably him as he was one of Kaishuu’s swords)

 Kuwana and Murakumo come back on with Tenkai, fighting more HRA. Another Masakado comes on and they have to fight him. The four from the previous scene then join them as well. Tenkai then makes the final kekkai. Suishinshi asks him why he wanted to protect the land. He says that’s just his thing and he thanks them saying he was able to protect Edo because of them. Then he dies.

 The next scene has Dokan with Samidare and Buzen as they look at the newly completed Edo castle, obviously earlier in Dokan’s timeline. Dokan asks if Samidare knows why it’s beautiful and Buzen says because of the people. Dokan agrees. A place that is built by people and lived in by people is beautiful. Samidare then asks if he thinks that then does he not find nature beautiful. Dokan says that he does because of the heart of that thing. Samidare then barks at Dokan and apologises, saying it is because he was so moved. When Dokan laughs he hides his face in his scarf which is literally the cutest thing ever. Suishinshi then suddenly appears and says that he has something to ask Dokan. He asks him why he decided to build Edo castle. Was it as a home or for battle? Dokan says maybe a little bit of both then recites a poem about Kerria and says that Suishinshi will understand what he means one day. Suishinshi and Kiyomaro leave. Buzen asks Samidare if he understands the poem and Samidare explains it – I didn’t understand the explanation though.

 In the next scene Masakado is fighting off HRA and Suishinshi and Kiyomaro appear to help him. Suishinshi asks Masakado why he started the uprising and Masakado asks him why he’s asking him that. He then says there was another person who asked him that and a crescent moon is projected onto the back. He says Mikazuki called him a friend. Suishinshi tells him Mikazuki has taken a heart-breaking role upon himself and Masakado says that he knows. History is nothing but winners and losers. History is just things and people that are left over. Things like Suishinshi and Kiyomaro. The smell of flowers and the tone of songs. He wonders whether things that aren’t there anymore were ever there at all. He confirms with Suishinshi that he is going to lose the battle. He wants to leave behind the trace that he was there so no one can think that he wasn’t. He says Mikazuki is too kind. He then says some stuff I couldn’t get. He then goes to leave but Suishinshi asks him again why he started the uprising. He says it was all for a woman.

 He starts singing and all the other humans join him.

 In the next scene Suishinshi tells Kiyomaro that wherever he goes he can only see a crescent moon, never a full moon. He says history is just what the winners say happened, no one can ever know truly what happened, no matter how sad this may be. (As he says this the girl appears again, she is dancing in a circle of Kerria flowers). Even if his memories aren’t completely there, he knows that all of history is connected.

 Then all the Gous walk on and the crescent moon appears. Mikazuki says as expected of Suishinshi. Mikazuki says Suishinshi doesn’t have to say out loud what he has worked out, his feelings are enough. Suishinshi was able to lighten his load. Suishinshi shouldn’t be sad for him because this is Mikazuki’s role. But there are things he cannot do so he needs help. Suishinshi and Kiyomaro have to become the link between the past and the future. The Gous have to be the ones to connect to people. Buzen is about the asks Mikazuki something when all the Gous double over as if they have a flash of memory like the film that Suishinshi has been seeing. Buzen looks horrified and asks Mikazuki if it could mean- but he is cut off by Mikazuki. Mikazuki laughs and remarks how beautiful the moon is and then leaves. Suishinshi and Kiyomaro say they have to fulfil their role then leave. The Gous then start saying confusing things. Murakumo says ‘a little, just a little’, Samidare says ‘Yes, the memory’, And then Buzen says ‘It seems like we Gou are-g’ then he is cut off.

 The next scene begins the same as the first scene, with Suishinshi in modern Tokyo. And he says he finally knows who someone is, most probably the girl. The full moon is visible behind him and the dirt is falling from the ceiling again. He says, ‘So, you came here? But if this hadn’t happened and you could have chosen would you have come here at all? The curse, the kekkai. You must be frustrated. I don’t know why you did this, but I respect your determination. The people who were here and the people who weren’t, the people who came and the people who chose not to come, it’s not fun for them. Your feelings have reached me. Thank you. And I have a request, please don’t hurt this time, reality, or the things that you chose. It’s gotten across to me. It would be nice if it could be understood. Barriers aren’t just in people’s hearts. We will definitely meet again. So, don’t close off or hurt things. To achieve that goal, we will do everything’.

As he is speaking the HRA are pulling the red ribbons across the stage again and on his very last sentence all of the other swords join him.

 In the next scene different swords come on and just small talk a little.

Kiyomaro and Suishinshi come on. Suishinshi says his mission is to make sure everyone is smiling. Kiyomaro then asks him about the girl and Suishinshi says he doesn’t know her name. The wonder what type of person she could be. Suishinshi says he thinks she is a person doing her best.

 And that is the end of the first half.

 Acting: I am not going to go person by person because honestly, [I have 0 criticisms for any of the actors. I cannot believe that this was the first show. The singing and acting was amazing.] I am leaving what I initially wrote as it was my first impression but as I dove into the songs a little more I realise there is a lot of room for improvement in the singing department.

The standouts for me were Samidare, Dokan and Masakado. I loved all three actors and thought they were excellent even among this incredible cast. I will also give a shoutout to Nagata Seiichirou, Murakumo’s actor, as I have seen him a lot in Prince of tennis where personally I really did not enjoy his acting or singing and was so pleasantly surprised to see how much he has improved. He obviously practiced so hard for this show.

 Songs:

Obviously, I don’t know the song titles, so I am just gonna to refer to who is singing the song. (except for Touken Ranbu) I do have singing experience, but I do not know all the technical terms so please bear with me for what I am trying to express. This will be less in depth than my Kuromyu song review because I spent so much time on the story already and I really want to get this out soon.

 Touken Ranbu – 10/10

I love the new accompaniment. While personally I was not getting bored of the previous Touken Ranbu I know people who were but I also now that I would not have been happy if they changed the song, so I am really happy with what they did. It feels nostalgic but also fresh.

 Taira no Masakado solo – 7/10

I think the song is good and very well sung but Bishin wavers on the notes at the beginning a bit hence why it is only 7/10. It might change depending on the final performance. This song is really good but because of the way it is written it sounds pretty difficult to sing as it isn’t in lines that flow to get but more short phrases that, while being sung not spoken, sound pretty harsh to get out.

 Kiyomaro and Suishinshi duet – 10/10

This song is beautiful and so well sung. Nobunaga and Seiya’s voices really compliment each other well. The gentle music and gentle singing works, really well with emphasizing how worried Kiyomaro is for Suishinshi. When I was watching it with people it was fun to see literally everyone be like ‘Well I guess I stan Tenpou now’ immediately.

 Oodenta and Sohayanotsurugi duet – 9/10

This song is really amazing, and I like how different it is to the previous duet. It starts of with a beat that makes it sound like Oodenta is going to rap. Raita has one of the best voices in this show and he really showcases it in this song. He goes from singing higher to lower and nails both of them. The only reason why this is a 9 and not a 10 is that Masaki’s voice is definitely not as strong and he doesn’t sound great on some of the notes, hoping he can improve for the final show. The song is still 9 though because his solo bit is much shorter and his harmony with Raita sounds really good.

 Samidare and Murakumo duet – 8/10

I know I haven’t given it 10/10 but this is my favourite song in the show. (I am very biased towards Gous and Yamazaki Shogo) This song is again, hugely difficult. It goes from quite low to very high and honestly it is no surprise that Shogo and Seiichan didn’t nail every single note on the first night. I am so excited to hear this on the album and on the final night. Shogo has some tension in his voice, probably from nerves, and this is not his best performance, but I know he will improve as the show goes on. Honestly, this song isn’t sad at all, but I started to tear up during this song. I was not a fan of Seiichan in Prince of tennis. I did not think much of his acting and singing and I have not re-watched any of his casts shows more than once. So, I was so happy here to hear how much he has improved. Not only his acting but his singing is world’s apart from a few years ago. It is abundantly clear how hard he worked to improve his singing and it has obviously paid off as he nailed this song despite it being rather difficult. Can’t wait for this song to become a 10/10 when Shogo can nail all of his notes on final night.

 Kuwana solo – 8/10

This song is so adorable and sweet, and I love it but Tomoya sounds so nervous during the song. He misses quite a few notes and when he does sing it well his voice has a lot of tension in it. His high notes and transitions are a bit flat. I hope as the show goes on he can relax and sing this song to the best of his ability, taking it up to a 10.

 Ota Dokan solo – 7/10

This song is really fun and is about the workers moving the rocks for Edo castle around. The chorus is really fun. I don’t think Dokan’s actor has the best voice ever but the song is written in a more traditional style which I think compliments his voice and brings out the best from him. Very solid song that I liked.

 Samidare Dokan duet – 5/10

I honestly don’t know if it’s the song writer not exactly getting it for this song or if it’s the singers but for most of this song it really does not sound great. Their voices do not harmonise well for the most part, except one harmony that was quite nice. Dokan’s actor really doesn’t sound good in this song and I think the main reason it made it to even 5/10 was because Shogo managed to hit some of hit notes very well. I really really hope this song improves for the final show.

 Tenkai solo – 7/10

I really really enjoy the Buddhist chanting. I think it sounds really good with the song. Tenkai’s actor does not have a very good voice but he doesn’t sing too much in the song and the chanting covers for him a little.

 Buzen Dokan duet – 4/10

This is a reprise of Dokan’s solo but with Buzen singing the first half of the song. I really don’t think Yuta sounds good singing in this style. I didn’t hear much tension from either of their voices for this song so I honestly don’t know if this song will improve, the song style just doesn’t seem to fit Yuta’s voice. While I still really enjoy the chorus, I don’t think either actor sang this well at all and I am just glad there weren’t any harmonies in this song.

 Buzen solo – 8/10

Yuta really redeems himself in this song. His voice sounds really great and the emotion is definitely there. While not every note is perfect, it is worlds better than the previous song. He really nails the bits that require more projecting of his voice, mostly, and he has a nice contrast between rough and soft.

 Kuwana solo reprise – 9/10

This song is much shorter, so he basically gets +2 for every line that he nails. His voice wavers a little on the first line hence why it is a 9/10 but definitely getting there for this song.

 Kuwana Murakumo duet – 7/10

I do like this song, but it’s not terribly well sung by Tomoya and Seiichan has his moments as well. I really hope this is just due to it being the first night as I see a lot of promise in the song and am very excited to hear it with a little more hitting the notes.

 Taira no Masakado solo reprise – 6/10

I think they wrote this song as a little too aggressive as with the shouting he has to do as part of this song his voice suffers a lot. While I get it has to be aggressive because he is attacking them and is now cursed/vengeful spirit/HRA but I feel like they could have managed the aggressiveness with the song actually sounding good a bit better.

 Oodenta Sohayanotsurugi duet – 7/10

Pretty good song. Pretty solid singing from both of them. It’s very short so I don’t really have many notes.

 Sohayanotsurugi Oodenta duet – 7/10

This was pretty difficult to rate. Masaki’s voice is not amazing in this song, but he carries the emotion it is meant to have, really well. Raita is doing amazingly as always, and their harmonies are good I just didn’t feel like I could put it above 7 because of Masaki’s voice.

 Full cast song – 8/10

The song starts off with just Masakado and then the other humans join in then the swords too.

I think the beginning solo bit from Bishin is his best singing in the show, he manages to do the shouting but still sound really good and I love his voice in this song.

I think Tenkai and Dokan’s actors also sound incredible in this song for the most part.

There is a little bit in the middle where some of the humans and swords sing individually and like everyone missed their notes and harmonies which brought this song down from a 10 because it starts and ends beautifully with incredible singing and harmonies. They just need to tighten the bit in the middle and make sure everyone is nailing their parts.

At the very end of the song Suishinshi has a solo bit and I wasn’t quite sure if it was the same song or a different song, but I included it with this one for now. Seiya sounds really good and it ties up the song well with well sung solo parts at the beginning and end.

 Suishinshi solo – 10/10

Sung beautifully. Pretty short but there are not faults with it.

 All sword song/End of first half song – 7/10

This song is beautifully written. The vocals are very hit and miss though. When they hit the notes, they sound amazing, but when they don’t it is pretty dire. For the most part the harmonies are good and I hope they can just perfect the solo lines.

 INTERVAL

 (I’m guessing the song title) Revolution – 10/10

Very solid start to the idol section. The music and dancing slap so hard. This song is really fun and just so great.

 Sohaya Oodenta idol duet – 10/10

Masaki sounds so much better and way more confident here. This song is really really good and just sounds amazing.

 Kiyomaro and Suishinshi duet – 7/10

It kinda seems like Masaki and these two have reversed. Masaki sounds much better in the idol songs and these two sound worse. Their slightly off-pitch for a couple of notes. The chorus, which is so adorable, is absolutely perfect but some of their solo bits aren’t the best.

 Gou4 song – 8/10

The beginning doesn’t have the strongest vocals and I don’t really like the way it seems to be meant to sound at the beginning, but I quite like the rest of the song. Again, Yuta gets the wrong pitch occasionally when he sings but does seem like he’s working on it and getting better.

 1st 2nd layer song – 10/10

They have a dance break section at the beginning and the music slaps as does the music for the entire song. It has a very modern feel to it but then it adds some jazz instruments and then Raita, who is a professional beatboxer, does some beatboxing and it just sounds so good. This song is more spoken than sung but no complaints about the singing.

 2nd 2nd layer song – 10/10

Another really fun song. Pretty solid singing from everyone. I can’t really fault anything.

 3rd layer song – 9/10

I do really like this song and it is a really different 3rd layer song to most of the ones we’ve had before. For the dance thing in the performance. (previous shows have had like ribbons, blankets and spinning lights) They had all of the swords playing the taiko drums. I would have liked maybe something that he hadn’t seen before as we have taiko drums in every 3rd layer song normally, but it was very well done. Not every note was perfect, hence why it isn’t a 10 but once they can nail that it will be.

Touken Ranbu reprise – 10/10

Just as good as the first one. Still loving the new arrangement.

 Direction: All the blocking and choreography stuff was very well done. I am a bit nervous about that this show is indicating for the future of Toumyu and if the story doesn’t follow through this show is gonna seem much worse in retrospect so I think the director should be very careful as he continues with the next few shows.

 Other things:

 This really feels like the start of the Toumyu story arc. Of course, we had already got hints of it in shows like Tsuwamono and Kishou Hongi, but this has really kicked it off in a big way. I think what they have done is quite dangerous and may possibly alienate some people from Toumyu as this show was very complicated and a lot of Japanese fans were also extremely confused. I really hope people stick with Toumyu and that this arc is handled well and that confusing shows like this don’t become the norm. I am positively apprehensive.

 Honestly, I did really like this show and I thought it was interesting, but I wouldn’t like to see any other Toumyu shows quite as complicated as this. I think it was good as a once off but I think I would be a bit put off Toumyu if they kept doing shows like this.

 I will say I did not see the point in Oodenta and Sohayanotsurugi in this show. While both actors did very well, and their songs were for the most very enjoyable they played almost no part in the story. The only important role they had was one scene where Kiyomaro asks him about Mikazuki because they are both Tenka Goken but even if that he doesn’t really answer. I wouldn’t normally bring this up but since they had 8 people instead of 6, I felt like I should say this. I do think it was a bit of a mistake to go up to 8 for this show, especially as it was so complicated and so I think other things didn’t quite get the time they deserved because of Oodenta and Sohayanotsurugi being there.

 Overall: Very good but also depends on where Toumyu goes from here.

[paperclipninja]

Younger post-ep ramble 7x01

I joked in my finale ramble at the end of season 6 that the episode was called ‘Forever’ because that’s how long it would feel between seasons...well joke's on me because now, after 587 days, we are FINALLY here. The Younger drought has been a tough one, but we have been generously compensated by getting the first four episodes all at once, which is both exciting and also, turns out, incredibly overwhelming. As usual the thoughts and feelings are many, mostly feelings (read: I am NOT ok) but let’s start off with a delve into the premiere episode, ‘A Decent Proposal’.

The episode picks up within minutes of where the season 6 finale left off, with Diana and Enzo not wasting any time to hot foot it out of their wedding reception and into their happily ever after (Arrivederci bitches!). Of course I’m very happy for Diana and her happiness but there’s only one couple’s happiness that I am on tenterhooks about now that Diva is sorted and that is Charles and Liza, as they watch their sprinklers fizzle out in some sort of awkward, symbolic, anti-climax. 

You may recall that mere moments earlier, Charles had popped the question on the dancefloor before the two were separated by an obligatory conga line, and Charles quickly assumes that Liza’s lack of enthusiasm to shout her answer across the reception of another person’s wedding is an answer in itself. As anyone who has read my rambles before knows, I unapologetically fly the Team Charles flag, and let me tell you, despite her supreme stalling techniques (you’re not divorced yet, we should probably speak to the children blah blah), hearing Liza say, ‘my answer is, I love you’, my jaw hit the floor. I’m sorry, did Liza Miller just declare her feelings openly and directly and with absolute certainty??? We’re 33 seconds into the new season and I AM SHOOKETH DARREN. 

Speaking of declaring feelings openly and directly, I love absolutely everything about this opening scene. The music choice was perfect and really helped build the moment, as Charles told Liza he understands her hesitation before un-asking her to marry him (so that when the she’s made her mind she can pop the question - I kid you not, this has always been my dream...). The music cutting out and just hearing the crickets as Liza asks if he’s really withdrawing the proposal, his quip about her having to make the next move, assuming he’s still on the market (I love/hate this foreshadowing btw), it is Charles/Liza banter at its best and my sappy heart was soaking up every morsel. Throw in some CGI fireworks and the observation that they are sign (which may or may not play out at a later date) and you have yourself a pretty darn near perfect start to Younger’s final season.

Speaking of talking openly and directly, one of the staples of the Youngerverse, the Maggie morning debrief, is back as our way to gain insight into the thoughts, feelings and ponderings of Liza. Straight off the bat I am very pleased that Maggie has fully committed to ‘Chaz’ for Charles and I’m even happier that we actually hear these two talking about what’s going on because honestly, the last couple of seasons the Maggie/Liza convos, which we traditionally rely on heavily to know where Liza is at and to hear Maggie’s sage/sometimes terrible advice, have been skimmed over or felt rushed. We are also reminded that Liza has indeed seen Charles’ goods (the Empiriconda, she’s meaning the Empiriconda) and that the sex is hot, because we need to have all the information on top of the declarations of love to highlight how their relationship is pretty much perfect so that what transpires is even more painful.

Other things that are painful include the fact that Diana will be decidedly absent for most of the season (to be fair scheduling/covid are pretty legit reasons and in ep 1 we can chalk that up to her honeymoon, so more lamenting on that later), but early on it provides some pretty fab Lauren Diva-worshiping. Donning a baroque print Moschino suit that would’ve made Fran Fine jealous, Lauren is clearly distracted by the responsibility of her interim role at Empirical, as her mother frets about the theme for her 30th birthday party over face-time.

Keeping up the chaotic energy, we also discover that Kelsey has to go and let Quinn know she no longer needs her money (these characters’ ongoing relationship with the woman who has tried to ruin all of them at some point really needs unpacking with a good therapist at this stage) and Josh is in full frantic dad mode because he thinks Clare is trying to kidnap Gemma (lol that Lauren straight up calls her out on it later). Two quick points here:1) love seeing this side of Josh and 2) love Kelsey’s calm, measured reassurance that of course Clare would want her family to meet Gemma. I will say though, Josh meeting Rob for the first time when he’s about to go with Clare and Gemma to Ireland and hearing this guy he doesn’t know from a bar of soap exclaim, ‘I’m just in love with your daughter’ was super unfair. Not cool Clare, not cool. 

Kelsey keeps her cool as she breaks the news of her change of heart to our fave resident villain, who comes complete with a bowl of fortune cookies she ominously encourages Kelsey to consult while also enjoying her own fortune, ‘a new love will come into your life’. It’s all very OTT and ridiculous in it’s obvious foreshadowing and I am here for every minute of it because I sincerely love to hate Quinn very much.

My love of all things over the top is further fed by Lauren entering Diana’s office and making her way to the desk - the music, the way Lauren looks at the framed picture of Diana and Enzo before relegating it to the drawer, any moment I was expecting her to utter ‘my precious’ as she became more and more entranced by the power of the neckwear, before Liza abruptly broke the spell by asking what she was doing and warned her off her consideration of claiming Diana’s office as her own. Very much appreciated the continuity later in the episode when Liza is very distressed that Lauren has gone full-Trout with the chunky baubled ornament around her neck, though Lauren is less Invasion of the Body Snatchers and more Nancy Drew at this point, as she has caught wind of Charles’ proposal while reviewing video footage from Diana’s wedding which she decided, for some reason, to show Josh, who was ‘still not interested’ (we hear your words Josh but your face says otherwise). I am very on board the Liza/Lauren dynamic and their ‘circle of trust’ as Liza asks that Lauren keep the proposal to herself (we really haven’t seen the friendship between these two much) and Liza’s gratitude, ‘Thank you...Di-va’, is hilarious, as is the response, ‘my pleasure, Queen’.

We get many fine moments in the office this ep, the first meeting when there are formal announcements and speeches made welcoming Kelsey back...to a conference room of Charles, Liza, Lauren and a random guy we’ve never seen or heard from before and never will again it seems. It makes me laugh that every person in the room except the dude we’ll never know already knows everything but hey, formality is important I guess? The pitch for ‘Little Women in Space’ by an author played by an actress who is friends IRL with Sutton Foster and they were in the musical Little Women together is honestly too much but also just the right amount and this show does meta so well (not to mention Lauren’s excited outburst upon realising her party theme plus her making sure Liza knows that she knows about the proposal. Subtle as a sledgehammer is our Lauren). 

One not-so-fine moment is the extremely out of left field resignation of Zane followed by the completely douchey moment of him breaking up with Kelsey via face-time with the line, ‘I love you Kelsey, take care’. I’m sorry, what?? On the one hand, I get it that CMD wasn’t available for the season so in some respects better to deal with it swiftly and move on, but it was very abrupt and strange. I had zero investment in the pairing so it doesn’t overly affect my viewing, but any fans out there shipping those two, are you ok? Because that was a brutal way for a pairing to simply cease to exist.

So we have I love yous being thrown around by Kelsey and Zane as they break up because that makes sense (in retrospect I should’ve seen what was coming because these words clearly mean NOTHING *breathes deeply, exhales slowly*) but thank goodness Liza is there to comfort Kelsey, whose statement that she really doesn’t care would be a lot more convincing if she wasn’t crying inconsolably. We get a beautiful transition from Kelsey’s office to Charles’ with a sweeping aerial shot across the autumnal canopy of Central Park along with the gentle music adding to the relaxed pacing of the episode. Liza doesn’t want it to be weird between her and Charles now that the proposal is out there (well actually, its 100% in her court but yes), so he reassures her it’s not weird at all by planting a kiss on her that almost triggers the sprinklers because friends, it is HOTTT. Cue super cute exchange about pro and cons lists, lovingly looking into one another’s eyes and then, another ‘ I love you’ from Liza to Charles followed by Charles responding, ‘I love you too’, and despite my deceased status at this point, it was magical. But also WHAT. IS. HAPPENING. 

These two are so enamoured with one another and it’s as though it’s something they just say to each other all the time, but this is literally the first episode we’ve heard any kind of expression of feelings to one another since the season 6 premiere and even then it wasn’t this direct; Liza ran away and Charles told her he didn’t mind not being at the office because he did it for the woman he loves followed by a cute story about how he can do maths because he’s had feelings for her for 16 years. Don’t get me wrong, the entire scene this episode was perfect and it was SO well done in the way it captured the best parts of their dynamic (damn you Darren Star for being so good at what you do), but it also felt like we were being shown the dream version of what could have been before it’s all snatched away.

Not unlike Millennial, which is like naming a business Boomer Print according to the table of boomers at the investor meeting who blindside Kelsey and Charles by voting to restore the name Empirical (head boomer has clearly had it with millennials, indicated by his statement, ‘who gives a shit about millennials any more?’) and so it is done and Kelsey is officially having a very bad week. It is while enjoying a quiet bourbon in the bar that evening that Charles is joined by Quinn, who is allegedly on her apology tour to explain to investors why she dropped out of the Senate race, but also offers Charles what seems to be a sincere apology for treating his company like a toy (prediction: nothing is ever as it seems with Quinn). I have a confession to make and believe me, I don't like it any more than you do - they absolutely nailed the set up of tension and a little bit of a spark between Charles and Quinn in this scene IMO and I...I *whispers* I liked it.

What I liked even more was Lauren’s completely in character entrance to her own birthday party, omg it’s so ridiculous and perfectly her and Denise telling her daughter, ‘fix your crotch, good girl’ had me chuckling. I feel like we’re getting Kelsey’s set up for the season at this party too, as she’s feeling unsure of what defines her now, and the conversation about defining things carries over into Josh and Liza’s chat when he asks her if congratulations are in order. This exchange between the two of them is just lovely, with Liza clearly feeling a little awkward talking to Josh about Charles, but Josh reassures her that he does like him, for her, and that it brings him joy to know she’s happy. They agree that their relationship doesn’t need to be defined, and that they'll always be in each others’ lives no matter who they’re with. It feels very final for their romantic relationship and I would be celebrating the end of the triangle had I not clocked Josh’s fallen expression as Liza walks away. I really do hope that Josh finds someone he loves and who loves him the way he wants to be loved this season. Josh’s words gave Liza some clarity of her own and so we find ourselves at the magnificent Seaglass Carousel, home of Liza and Charles’ first proper date, once more.

Charles is clearly full of hope and expectation as he meets Liza and they remember the time he and the beard we try to forget about brought her there and it’s all amazing and beautiful and...*collects self*...Liza tells him that she just wants to keep riding the perfect ride. She once again tells him she loves him (we’re up to three times in one ep now for those of you playing at home), that all she wants is his heart and that she wants to be happily unmarried to him every day. To say this does not go down the way she is expecting is an understatement; we learn that Charles doesn’t want a ride, he wants to get off the carousel and not live in a fantasy. He believes in marriage whereas she believes they are now finally free and folks, this is why you talk about your stance on marriage in a relationship BEFORE you pop the question out of nowhere at someone’s wedding. 

You can see on his face, as Liza says she doesn’t want to define their relationship by the rules and obligations of marriage, that he’s hearing that she is not all in (whether that’s true or not) and he thanks her for letting him know what’s in her heart. You know the bit that actually plunges the knife into my heart? Charles shaking his head as Liza says his name, clearly overcome with emotion, before he kisses her on the head looking as though his world has just come crumbling down around him. That knife just gets twisted even further as Liza is left there in disbelief, (we are all Liza in that moment honestly), trying to process how her own declaration could be so easily rejected. You know, I knew it was coming, but it didn’t make it any less painful. I can see it from both perspectives and I have no doubt that these two characters have a lot they need to address and work through as a result of their own failed marriages if they’re going to have healthy relationships moving forward. 

I tell you what, after so long with no new episodes, this first episode of the season was concurrently beautiful and heart-breaking and one thing’s for certain - this final ride ain’t gonna be smooth. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m just going to go and regain some composure so we can start on ep 2...

Season 6 ramble collection can be found here

[vanishingpod]

Sunday Audio Drama Recs!

Happy Sunday from Team Vanishing Act! Here are four more shows we love that we think you will love too! 

1) Death By Dying: This show is an all time Hall of Fame favorite round these parts (these parts being our hearts? I guess, idk, lost the trail of that metaphor). Death By Dying is about the Obituary Writer in a small town, and every episode is centered around an obituary he is writing (or will write by the end of the episode). There is literally nothing we don’t love about this show, from it’s dark, wry tone to its hilarious worldbuilding to its genuine creepiness to its ability to turn on a dime from silly to genuinely melancholic and deeply touching. There are so many memorable characters (the Button-Eyed Raven, the Slapper, Pastor Jeff) and bits (the apricot battle in the town market, OW’s immaculate fashion sense, Gert, the line “he wasn’t the talk of the town, but he was the talker of the town”) Over the course of the five main-plot episodes it goes on a truly, insanely well-crafted journey with one of those tone shifts in the last act that feels at once like a huge twist but also inevitable and right. It reminds me so much of Over the Garden Wall in its final episode and I mean that in the best way possible--spooky and dark but also oddly comforting, existentially sad but also life affirming and hopeful. This show means a lot to us here and we hope you’ll give it a shot. Find them @deathbydyingpod​

2) Windfall: Alright it’s acton-adventure time, y’all! This show has it all: a full, sweeping instrumental score; a sprawling large-cast fantasy/sci-fi action adventure vibe; reluctant, flawed, morally grey heroes; saying “fuck capitalism”; intricate, lived-in worldbuilding; some of the best voice talent out there; etc etc etc. The show takes place in the nation of Windfall--ever since a castle appeared in the sky, the city has been built upward towards it rather than out, and in a sort of vertical Snowpiercer move, the wealthy live further up, with the poorer classes down below. Our protagonists are a series of “grounders” who get tangled up with the business going on upstairs when one of their own is recruited into the military police (the Wolfpac), creating ripples among our cast that force them to decide where they stand. It’s a grand adventure in every sense told incredibly well--the writing on this show is some of the best you’ll find out there in audio drama and it’s executed in a fantastically immersive way that I hope will sweep you away like it did to me. (Not on tumblr, but find them on twitter here.)

3) Palimpsest: Gothic, atmospheric, psychological anthology fiction fans, this one is 100% gonna be for you. The first season of Palimpsest tells the story of Anneliese, who records an audio diary as she moves into a new house after a breakup, still dealing with the death of her sister--the story is very much a slow burn tale of Anneliese being haunted by the memories of the house, but also bringing her own haunting to the house. Horror stories like this need to be threaded so carefully--they have to keep that slow simmer at just the right level to feel like it could bubble over at any moment, and they have to know when to let it loose. Palimpsest knows what its doing, and rest assured you’re in good hands--trust these fantastic creators. As mentioned, its an anthology series, with a different setting and protagonist each season (season two is set in the 19th century, season three during the Blitz in London), with a common thread connecting them all, so choose what appeals to you! (Not on tumblr but find them on Twitter here.)

4) The Magnus Archives: I almost definitely don’t need to sell this here, it’s fantastic and has deserved love and acclaim--but we do love it and want to shout out what we love about it! We started listening around Halloween of last year and shot through two seasons in a very short period of time. If you want that perfect marriage of horror anthology and overarching slow build narrative, this is really the perfect example. The first season eases you in to the general concept with one-off stories of various people’s experiences with the supernatural entities, which they report to The Magnus Institute--these reports are read aloud by the Archivist, who we get to know personally as time goes on and he becomes less and less skeptical and more and more entangled with said supernatural entities. You, the listener, start to slowly hear commonalities, you hear names come up that you’ve heard before and recognize similar experiences from subject to subject, and the show trusts you to piece these together yourself early on, to be an active part of the narrative alongside Jon. It makes it feel like such an interactive, immersive, addictive experience, and you want to keep listening because you don’t want to lose track of the threads you’re connecting. Even when you don’t know the characters who work for the Archives that well yet, the stories are genuinely scary (the cave diving episode in particular is true Nightmare Fuel and an excellent stand-alone horror story), and when you do get to know them, it’s even scarier because you care about them getting caught up in this terrifying world where there are no rules of fairness and true evil runs free. (Also there’s a whole meta-narrative about how it feels to be a millennial stuck in a job you hate that actively seems to be set out to kill you in horrible ways and it. is. RELATABLE.) (Don’t think they’re on tumblr, but find them on Twitter here.)

If you love these shows, please consider leaving them a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser so they can get the word out to more potential listeners!

Previous recommendation posts: one, two, three, four, five, six. 

[bobbyshaddoe80]

Liberated Audio Reviews

Blake's 7 - The Liberator Chronicles Vol. 6

RELEASED OCTOBER 2013

Recorded on: 2, 10 and 30 October and 13 December 2012

Recorded at: Moat Studios

Review By Robert L. Torres

Incentive by Peter Anghelides

'The Liberator crew are recovering from a Galactic War and searching for their lost members Blake and Jenna. But it’s a search that leads them into terrible danger…'

Because this story marks the return of Steven Pacey to the role of Del Tarrant, I think it is best that I get my views on the character out of my system before getting to the rest of the review.

Honestly.... Out of the main characters that have come and gone on the show during its four season run, there are two that I do not count as my favorites.

The first is Soolin, largely due to how bland and one note the character was compared to the character she was brought on to replace in Series D... Cally.

The other character is Del Tarrant, and I shall endeavor to explain why I dislike him despite Steven Pacey's fine performance.

From the first moment he appeared on the show, there was something about him that just rubbed me the wrong way. For years I knew it was the character himself that seemed like the problem... But I could never work out why.

This story finally brought to light why I disliked Tarrant's character. He was a young, cocky, hot shot with loyalties only to himself... Basically a less charming and less endearing version of Star Lord. He was impatient, brash, and only seemed to be throwing in his lot with the resistance for no other reason than for fame and glory.

In addition, Tarrant seemed to go out of his way to get under everyone's skin (or rather just Avon's), and always bristled under Avon's command.

I understand that with Gareth Thomas having left the series, they needed to create a new character to go up against Avon on the decision making, much in the same way Avon used to butt heads with Blake. Except the dynamic between Avon and Tarrant, from what I remember, was different and far more antagonistic than it was between Blake and Avon. Avon was an Alpha dog, but Tarrant was also an Alpha dog. This is probably why most of their disagreements, from what I remember, tended to come across like dick wagging contests.

It has been a while since I saw the series proper, but there are only two things of any significance regarding Tarrant that I remember. The first was the Series C episode 'Death Watch', which I think involved his twin brother Deeta. The other was the episode 'Sand' from Series D, which involved him and Servalan being trapped on a planet together... Having conjugal relations.

While the character of Del Tarrant isn't my favorite, Anghelides does a pretty good job of at least attempting to shed a bit of light on his character. This is accomplished by focusing on his desperate desire to stand out from the crowd and make a name for himself on par with the legendary Blake and Jenna.

The story begins not long after Tarrant and Dayna have officially joined the crew. During their latest attempt to locate Blake and Jenna, Tarrant and Avon are captured and interrogated while strapped to an electro-shock lie detector. This dual focused narrative split is in itself a pretty interesting dig at unreliable narratives, especially given that both Tarrant and Avon receive electro shocks whenever they aren't being completely truthful in their recollections.

By the way, kudos to Adrian Lukis for his exquisite portrayal of Interrogator Bracheeni. The scenes that featured him interacting with Tarrant and Avon were actually some of the best parts of the story. The revelation of who and what Bracheeni is added a great deal to the narrative, especially in providing an explanation as to why the Liberator crew had to abandon the search for Blake and Jenna.

All things considered, it is nice to get an actual in-universe explanation as opposed to what actually happened: the plot thread being dropped without explanation, forcing viewers to accept the fact that Blake and Jenna weren't coming back... Ever.

While there are some interesting ideas and set ups featured in the story, the narrated recollections are not really that engaging. In addition, my problem with this story is the same problem I had with Volume Three's 'Armageddon Storm'. Its a narrated story that should have been done as a full cast audio.

Final Score: 6 out of 10 Plasma Bolts

As it stands, this story does its job of filling an hour and retroactively provides answers to lingering questions, thus making it essential. However, this is marred by being an uneven story that is only half engaging.

Jenna's Story by Steve Lyons

'Jenna's story is finally told - from her escape from the Liberator during the Galactic War, to her determination to continue the fight against the Federation alone… with the odds stacked against her.'

When Big Finish Productions obtained the rights to produce new stories set within Series A through C of Blake's 7, this not only opened up story avenues to provide greater focus stories for many of its characters, but also an opportunity to fill in a couple of gaps in the narrative.

While 'Incentive' was an uneven story, it still managed to do what the show itself was unable or unwilling to do at the time: explain why the Liberator crew abandoned their search for Blake and Jenna.

Answering lingering questions seems to be this boxset's central theme as the next two stories are focused on what happened to the characters that literally jumped ship at the end of Series B, Jenna and Blake.

According to dialogue spoken by Cally in early Series C, it was always assumed that Jenna was with Blake when they abandoned ship during the Galactic War. It was also naturally assumed that Jenna had been with Blake the whole time during Series C and D.

Turns out that wasn't the case at all... Which actually works to the benefit of this story and the next.

Here, Jenna recounts how she spent her time surviving and fighting during the events of Series C and leading into Series D. It provides Sally Knyvette with great material and also serves as a reminder of what made me, personally, fall out of love with the series during Series D... Particularly with the way the series ended.

Let me be clear, as much I personally didn't like not having Blake and Jenna around on the show anymore, Steve Lyons managed to craft an exceptional Jenna-centric story that absolutely had to be told. This story, as well as the next one, managed to do a much better job implementing the central themes of what was meant to be on display during Series C and particularly during Series D: how the crusade that Blake started with hope and optimism slowly but surely devolved into cynicism, suspicion, self-interest and ultimately self-destruction.

This is highlighted well during Jenna's dealings with Correll, played by John Banks, and his disrespectfully dismissive attitude towards people with 'noble causes', his derogatory disbelief in 'heroes', as well as his overriding, self-serving self-interest.

Kudos to Banks for portraying someone that's basically an unlikeable, selfish jerk without becoming despicable.

The crux and climax of the story is based on a line of dialogue Blake tells Tarrant during the series finale regarding Jenna's ultimate fate. While the moment itself is thrilling and well executed, I had hoped that it was a lie as part of Blake's test or something. Still, what was crafted here is suitably tragic as it showcases the depths of Jenna's devotion, and even her love, for Blake.

The ultimate tragedy being that, in the end, she never did get to tell Blake how she felt about him... and how much he meant to her.

Final Score: 10 out of 10 Plasma Bolts

A superbly satisfying sendoff and sublime swansong for Sally's Stannis!

Blake's Story by Mark Wright and Cavan Scott

'Blake's story is finally told - from his escape from the Liberator during the Galactic War, to his new life as a troubled, scarred man on a distant rebel world…'

Before getting into the review, I have to state that while I understand the reasons why Gareth Thomas and Sally Knyvette left the show at the end of Series B, it is my opinion that the show lost quite a bit of its inherent identity once Blake and Jenna were gone.

While many contend that promoting the late Paul Darrow to lead actor was the creative booster shot the show needed, there is a reason the show was still called Blake's 7 and not Avon's 7.

No matter who is given the spotlight and focus, Blake's presence is still very embedded within the show's DNA. Despite his absence, Blake's influence is still keenly felt by those that inhabit this fictional universe... Both directly and indirectly.

While the storytelling avenues may have opened up for the rest of the cast, the audience would still inevitably wonder, 'Where the hell is Blake? When is he coming back?' Largely because the audience was still interested in seeing Blake's story continue.

Both Gareth Thomas and Chris Boucher no doubt understood this to be absolutely true. As long as the Roj Blake character remained alive, but missing from a show that bared his character's name, then Gareth Thomas would not have been able to truly move forward in his career.

Which is why its no surprise that the most memorable moment in the entire series came about at Thomas' insistence.

But this isn't about how Blake's story ends... Its about the circumstances Blake experienced during Series C and D that led to his ultimate fate on Gauda Prime. And I am pleased to say that Wright and Scott do an excellent job filling in the blanks of Blake's journey.

From landing on the planet Epheron in his escape pod, to attempting to reunite with the Liberator (which includes Blake visiting the planet Shorlan post-Armageddon Storm), to being captured, tortured and accused of treachery by the Resistance (thus explaining the scar over his eye he displayed in the series finale), its all presented here brilliantly. I also appreciate how engaging these moments are, and aren't treated as plot points to check off.

The late Gareth Thomas really did a great job with this material, displaying the same charisma and intensity he had shown throughout his tenure on the show, which is doubly unfortunate that he had opted out after Series B.

The framing device utilized for Blake recounting events is brilliant, and the twist reveal is actually rather clever... If a little unsurprising. However, it serves the narrative well as it goes to the heart of the tragic and ironic inevitability that lies ahead for Blake, particularly in his connection to Avon.

Despite their disagreements and opposing ideals... And no matter how often Avon secretly wished to be rid of Blake... They still needed each other.

It often reminds me of why the Doctor chooses to travel with companions, the companions keep the Doctor grounded and keep the Doctor from going too far for the sake of selfish self interest and so on.

While neither one would ever admit it, Blake and Avon had the ability to keep each other in check. And even though Blake said at the end of 'Star One' and even near the end of this story that he always trusted Avon... Its only with the benefit of hindsight do we question whether or not that trust was warranted.

Final Score: 10 out of 10 Plasma Bolts

A truly satisfying sendoff for the original star of the show.

Final score for Volume 6 of the Liberator Chronicles, in its entirety, is 8 out of 10 Plasma Bolts.

This is an essential set of stories for longtime fans. Even though there are six more boxsets of stories left in the range, if the Liberator Chronicles audio range ended here, it would have ended on a major high note.

As an aside, while the next six boxsets have produced some outstanding stories, I personally feel that both 'Jenna's Story' and 'Blake's Story' should have been the stories utilized as the finale for the Liberator Chronicles range overall.

-----------------------------------------------------

Questions or comments:

Email - bobbyshaddoe3004@yahoo.com

Bobby's Facebook Page

[esonetwork]

Timestamp: Torchwood Series Four Summary

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/timestamp-torchwood-series-four-summary/

Timestamp: Torchwood Series Four Summary

Torchwood: Miracle Day (Series Four) Summary

Torchwood‘s fourth series was a train wreck.

The concept was pretty interesting – a supernatural event that eliminates death, driven by shadow elements and political conspiracies, and an exploration of how it affects the world – but the execution cut the concept’s hamstrings.

One thread that ran throughout the discussions of these episodes was padding (or bloating). The series lacks a sense of forward motion, even in moments of action, which is something that the BBC knew how to do while balancing the drama that we’re used to in this property. Torchwood can be slow, but even those slow moments in previous series kept the audience ready for more. Miracle Day felt like it was chained to the deck.

Another thread that wove throughout the series centered on disturbing tropes. The first episode contains the Black Dude Dies First trope – which also extends in poorly-written media to pretty much any minority because of outdated assumptions that audiences wanted/needed white straight male protagonists to win the day – and only subverts it because of the Miracle. Then Rex experiences another terrible trope twice as the series progresses: Stuffed into the Fridge.

I pointed this out in The Blood Line, but it bears some further exploration in a series-wide analysis. Two major character deaths served to motivate Rex in the ten-episode arc. First was Vera Juarez in The Categories of Life, and while her death wasn’t motivated in universe as a strike against Rex – she was murdered by the manager of a death camp to keep things quiet – it did serve narratively as a motivator because Rex was present and filming as she was burned alive.

The second was far more obvious. Esther’s death in The Blood Line was purely intended to drive Rex’s actions, and it transformed her from a character that was timid and unsure at the start of the series to a bold woman who saved Jack’s magic blood and told Rex that she was (in no uncertain terms) accompanying him to the Blessing.

In The Blood Line‘s analysis, I stated that the wrong agent had died and suggested that Esther should have lived while Rex died. I said that with full understanding of the Black Dude Dies First trope, and my thought process regarding it is pretty clear: Miracle Day tried that trope and subverted it, and then the writers spent nine more episodes building Esther while keeping Rex exactly where he was at the start. I didn’t want Rex to die because he’s a minority, but rather because he wasn’t developed in the course of the story. If he had grown, that analysis would be different, but the writers chose to transform Esther into an object after investing so heavily into her as a character. They undid all of that good will with a single narrative choice.

And in a series of episodes like this, the writers and producers needed to preserve as much good will as possible.

Enough soap-boxing: It’s time to look at the numbers. We’ve been through this thrice now, so we’re familiar with the drill: We can’t make a direct comparison between Torchwood and Doctor Who, but we can look at the scores so far to get an idea of how it fits within the Timestamps Project’s scope.

Torchwood Series Four earned a 3.1 average. That’s way down in last place among Torchwood, and is equivalent to the classic Third, Nineteenth, and Twenty-First seasons. Out of thirty-three seasons of Doctor Who so far in the Timestamps Project, that’s a three-way tie for 28th place.

The New World – 5 Rendition – 4 Dead of Night – 4 Escape to L.A. – 2 The Categories of Life – 4 The Middle Men – 3 Immortal Sins – 3 End of the Road – 3 The Gathering – 2 The Blood Line – 2 Web of Lies – 2

Torchwood Series Four Average Rating: 3.1/5

Thus ends Torchwood. It’s the first of the spinoff series to end, so it’s the first opportunity to provide a whole series rating. Keep in mind that if Torchwood should return to screens, then this will change.

Series 1 – 3.8 Series 2 – 4.0 Children of Earth – 4.8 Miracle Day – 3.1

Torchwood Weighted Average Rating: 3.79/4.00

Would I recommend Torchwood as something to watch in the Doctor Who mythos? Absolutely, but the obvious caveat is that Miracle Day does not hold up to the series. As we’ve seen, it’s also darker, gritter, and far more adult than anything else in the overall franchise, so if the light and hopeful of the main series is more your style, this might be best avoided.

The Timestamps Project is proceeding in mostly chronological order. As such, the next block of episodes will cover what remains of Doctor Who‘s sixth series. After that, the final series of The Sarah Jane Adventures is on the docket before a straight shot through the seventh, eighth, and ninth series of Doctor Who takes us well into next year.

UP NEXT – Doctor Who: The Girl Who Waited

The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.

[hippychick006]

15.13: Destiny’s Child - Episode Review/Recap

[Image of episode missing, because out of 15 photos of the promo, only 1 photo was of Sam and Dean and it wasn’t that good.  Other 14 photos were a combination of Ruby, Jo, Castiel and Jack - I shit you not]

I think this episode highlights beautifully many of the issues I and I know a lot of other people are having with the show.

The highlights of the episode are undoubtedly the scenes where AU Sam and Dean interact with our Sam and Dean.  This is why I make a big deal of how much they are being paid per episode. Look at what happens when you write for the people earning the quarter of a million dollars in the episode.  Look what happens when you have it just be them, with no “fan favourite” side characters to pander to.  Chemistry happens, and watering that down or separating it entirely, adding someone into it or trying to force it between characters who just don’t have it, is one of the shows biggest issues in recent seasons and largest contributor to people not watching live or choosing not to watch at all because without that chemistry that made the show special, what are you left with?

Drabbernatural my friends, that’s what you’re left with.

The lowlights of the episode are all the scenes that have been written to pander to a small percentage of the watching audience, so pretty much the rest of the episode in all honesty.  

Under a cut because some people are in denial.

THEN

Flashback to Castiel watching porn about a pizza man.  All that’s in my head from this is Meg!  I think we’re getting Meg (let’s be real, I know we’re getting Meg as it’s already been on my dash, but I would have still thought this regardless of spoilers).  There it is, there’s the canon Megstiel kiss 😍. I’m amazed Dabb managed to keep his big mouth shut on this spoiler.  Anyway, skip this in the entirety to move onto...

NOW

Loved, loved, loved this opening scene. 🥰. Loved everything about it from start to finish.  No complaints whatsoever.

We start with Sam and Dean.  Just Sam and Dean like the good old days 😍. I can’t believe how happy that makes me and they haven’t done anything yet.  

Sam’s going through the books, Dean’s on the laptop, barely any space between them and they appear to be trying to find where Chuck is. They seem to be having no luck.

Sam: Any sign of him? Dean: Nah, nothing yet.  Chucks probably trashing a few dozen universes outside of CNN’s range.

They hear a noise and rush to investigate.  They see a bright light filtering through the bottom of the door of one the rooms. As they look at it, the light (as well as the noise) disappears.  Instantly in hunter mode, Dean indicates for Sam to open the door and they see…

A tiny car that I thought was a mini but have been reliably informed by someone much more knowledgeable than me (which isn’t too difficult tbh) is a Fiat 500. Thank you @alexa-alcantara​.  It’s a cute little car, and a beautiful colour but my own experience of owning a Fiat is not a good memory.  My garage telling me they call them the “Fix It Again Tony” of cars did not help me look any more favourably at them, but on the plus side, I built up a good relationship with my garage from the many hours I spent there.  The car is in front of a portal so it’s clear it’s just come through from one of the other worlds.

Emerging from that cute little car is 12’ 6” of muscle in the form of AU Winchesters.  The car practically groans in relief (I do see it lift up slightly) as they get out to the tune of “I want you” by Savage Garden.” Thank you once again Shazam as I’m as shit on music as I am at identifying cars.  

Did I say I love this scene?  I just…love this entire scene. AU Dean’s in the driving seat (of course), We see AU Sam’s foot emerge and he has no socks on – which I’m wondering is a shoutout to that photo shoot they had with no socks. Possibly it’s the fashion right now which I know even less about than cars or music. The entire scene, it’s just… perfection.  It’s just so well shot, I love that AU Sam and Dean could not be more different from our Sam and Dean from their clothes to the hair. I’ve fallen in love with both these new characters within a 10 second timeframe and they haven’t even spoken yet! That is the genius of Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles on screen, together, without extras, supported by the entire crew from special effects through to wardrobe.  They can all bring their A game which makes it all the more disappointing in the scenes and episodes where they don’t bother.

AU Dean looks back at the portal they came through.

AU SAM: Bro…We did it

AU Sam and Dean fist bump at their success and I’m in danger of losing it.  😂 Side note to size kinkers; that is not Jared and Jensen’s hands there 😂. Hey, no judging from this blog, but I personally don’t consider Jared “huge” and Jensen “tiny”, but you do you.

AU Sam and Dean are too flushed with their own success of getting through the portal to notice our Sam and Dean yet.  Meanwhile, our Sam and Dean are looking at the new arrivals with increasing horror.

AU Dean finally notices our Dean and we get the “Sam” “Dean” “Dean” “Sam” exchange between the four of them.

AU Sam and Dean: What the heck? Our Sam and Dean: What the hell?

Somewhere, I’m hoping that there’s an AU world where they say, “What the fuck?” because I think that would really please Jared.

Each look horrified at the other – I think AU!Sam may be on the point of tears seeing his doppelgänger dressed in plaid.

The portal starts making a loud ominous noise, AU Dean says “aw nuts” and AU Sam and Dean look at each other before the portal goes haywire, exploding in a bright white light, causing our versions to shield their eyes.  When they look back up, AU Winchesters, the car and the portal have all disappeared and the room is back to normal.

What the Heck?  You bring them back right now show!  Don’t be bringing in waste of space or “fan favourite” characters when all I want is these two.  

Sadly, the show does not listen, and we’re forced against our will onto the next scene.

Sam and Dean are explaining to waste of space that a rift opened in the armoury (is that right? I didn’t see any weapons in that room, but it sounded like he said armoury).  Sam says two guys stepped out that looked just like them. Dean: except not, and don’t even get me started about the car. Waste of space does not understand which is his standard operating procedure since his first episode tbh.  I’m not sure if this is still supposed to be funny; it’s been 11 years since season 4. 😴. 

Dean says welcome to the club.  

What?  The dumbass club?  Sam and Dean are such dumbasses that they need Billie to suddenly appear to confirm they’ve met an AU version of themselves running from their reality. Seriously?  😡. They know other worlds are being destroyed, they rescued Kaia from one in the process of being destroyed and that was only last week!  They don’t think that other Sam and Deans in other universes are going to be figuring out what’s happening and trying to do something to stop it?  It doesn’t make sense.  Sam and Dean do reckless things, but they aren’t dumb. 😡

As an aside, what I loved about the AU Sam and Dean we just met, is that they didn’t try to save their world, they were only interested in saving their own pretty asses by trying to jump worlds and I love how different they are from our Sam and Dean who would, and have, sacrificed themselves in a heartbeat to save their world.

I used to like Billie but all the monologuing over the last couple of episodes is 😴 which is not the actresses fault, but there are also some issues with delivery of the lines (because it’s boring). Key point from this entire boring scene is:

Billie: He’s almost done, wrapping up all those other worlds and when he is…Sam: it’s our turn

Billie agrees and says they need to be prepared.  She has the next step… for Jack.

Jack appears on cue, eating a sandwich.  He says he’s ready and feeling good about it.  I’m feeling I’m missing a scene somewhere. Did he already have a chat with Billie, so he knows what she’s about to say?  I’m not sure but don’t care enough to spend any time on it.

Billy monologues that the first quest (eating the hearts) was to strengthen Jack’s body. Step 2 is more spiritual in nature.

Waste of space: can you be more specific? Me: you’re that asshole that asks questions during presentations, aren’t you? Give her a chance to monologue ffs.  She was just about to tell us before your unnecessary interruption. I don’t even have a clue what your contribution to this scene is, other than pre-emptory meltdown avoidance of 200 accounts on twitter.  Death: Jack needs to find the occultum Sam: the occultum? Occultum, that’s Latin for… hidden. Where do we find it? Me: you’re so smart 😍 Death (sarcastic): I don’t know… It’s hidden

Ah yes, a side character making the Winchesters look stupid never gets old. 🙄

Anyway, more boring monologuing later, it’s been hidden for centuries, it’s sacred and potent.  It’s not a weapon per se but it’s powerful.

Dean(sarcastically): Okay, thanks, big help.

She asks Jack if he’s ready and he says he is. She says that’s good, that they have to be ready and vigilant and not stupid (looks at the Winchesters).  Dean’s eyeroll matches mine almost exactly.  Sick, fed up of the Winchesters being called stupid by side characters.  Oh, I said that already.  Well I am!

Avoiding this scene in future and moving on.

Sam and Dean are researching the occultum.  Or at least Sam’s researching and ranting about the occultum, but Deans playing with an elastic band and barely listening. Sam gets his attention and asks what he’s doing. Dean’s thinking about things and how if Jack kills god, that still leaves “you know who”. Sam says: Amara. Dean thinks that if Jack kills god, he’ll have to kill her too, because if you take Chuck off the board, that throws things out of balance and the world ends. If there’s no God or Darkness, nothing is out of balance.

Sam: Okay, Yeah, but who takes over, Jack?

Dean contemplates that and is about to answer when Jack walks in, blowing a bubblegum bubble and announcing he just learned how to do that.

Dean turns back to Sam: Probably not

I love little scenes like this, zero pandering, just classic Supernatural and classic Dean. 😍

Overall, it was another good brother scene (taking aside the boring plot which we can’t do anything about).

Parents Sam and Dean speak to Jack about how he’s going to take down Chuck because Billie hasn’t been clear on the plan.

Dean: Yeah, when you go up against Chuck, you’re gonna what? (makes boxing moves), duck and weave, or just go in for the full smite? 😂

My Dean is back with the one liners in this episode and I love him.  

Jack: Yeah, you know, something like that

Dean’s face. 😂

Unsurprisingly Sam and Dean are not reassured, they’re about to ask more questions when waste of space walks in and good news guys!  Unbelievably, He has information from fellow waste of space/plot device Sergei (does waste of space only have one contact?).  The show aren’t even trying anymore with this shit. Istg. 🙄 Ah what would we do without waste of space?  Definitely have a much more decent episode if I’m going to be perfectly honest.

Anyway, when waste of space announces who he has information from:

Dean: Him? Are we that desperate? 😂

Of course, Sergei knows about the occultum 🙄. He would have been extremely useful to have had around in the early seasons. Each episode would have been tied up in 30 seconds with one phonecall to the font of all knowledge.  I hate characters like this and the laziness of the writing to continue to fallback on him.

Supernatural writer: Hey boss, I’m stuck a little on the occultum storyline Dabb: Have you tried using waste of space and Sergei? Supernatural writer: I didn’t think of that! Great idea, thanks!  I guess that’s why you’re the boss! Me: 🙄 you lazy 🤬

Waste of space monologues about the occultum and what happened to it, he starts off that its divine in origin and was housed in a temple for hundreds of years before…

Dean: it was plundered by pirates! Waste of space: No Dean: it was dug up by tomb raiders! Waste of space: No Dean: it was seized by the king of the dead and his war lords.  Am I close? Waste of space: looted by invading mongol hoardes for trade on the black market Dean: on the black market (looks at Sam) That’s what I thought. I was going to say that next, that was the next one.

Sam indulges his hunter husband.  Oh wait, this is our Sam and Dean, not the AU version.  Rewinds to check.  No, Sam is indulging his hunter husband. He asks waste of space where it is now.

Long explanation later, the object was given to a faith healer in return for saving the owners life.  

Faith healer?  How convenient.  Now, who do we know that’s a faith healer? 🙄

Waste of space doesn’t have a name – are you kidding me? He must have had a name to go to the faith healer. He at least has a description.  She was attractive 🙄 and had glowing hands while healing.

It’s your wife, Jensen!  Erm I mean, Sister Jo.  

Imagine that entire scene with waste of space and Sergei plot device removed, Sam found the information from research and that entire conversation was between him and Dean.  Infinitely better and rewatchable.

Sam and Dean go off to visit Jensen’s wife Sister Jo who at this point of the show’s run has somehow been cast in 4 previous episodes and every single appearance has been completely forgettable.  This one is no different.

I’m going to rant for a second.  This stunt casting, bringing back of “fan favourites”, nepotism, lazy writing crap is really dragging the quality of the show down. We’ve had so many shit, boring, waste of time episodes this season.  You could have replaced a couple of them with the Winchesters trying to track down this elusive but needed item.  Make it hard for them, get rid of Sergei and Jensen’s wife Sister Jo and make the finding of this artefact interesting and more believable by introducing new characters for them to interact with.  This is just… really bleh.

Anyway, Sam and Dean go to see one of the most boring characters ever created, and that includes waste of space who was badass in season 4-5, a dick yes, but a badass none the less so he gets a pass.  This is not a good scene, it’s worth fast forwarding and forgetting it ever existed, not least because of bad dialogue and questionable acting. I am really, really not a wife hater, but neither will I give someone a free pass because of who they are married to.  You come on the show, you get judged on your own merits, same as any other guest actor. Long story short, they want the thingamajig I’ve forgotten the name of because I had a 6 hour watching break to work up to watching this scene and that was not nearly long enough. Jo doesn’t want to give it to them, and Sam and Dean pull angel blades on her.  She says she didn’t have it, Ruby does.

Where’s that gif.  Where the fuck is that gif?  Oh, found it…

This next scene, I just 😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬.  Okay, I can do this, woman’s up and presses play, weeping for what once was the entire time I’m watching.  

We get a pointless scene which as predicted, is nothing less than a gimmick, written only to have “the wives” on the show in the same episode and in the same scene.  I think this is the angriest I’ve ever been watching a show and we haven’t reached the point in the episode where Sam is reduced to a doorstopper.  Oh yes, that gem has still to come.  🤬😡🤬!!!

Somehow, even though Ruby is terrified of angels and Jo wasn’t on earth at the same time as Ruby, they somehow not only met, but worked together.  Jo says the vessel suits Ruby better than the blond.  Not in this household missy.  We stan the infinitely better Katie Cassidy (fine there might have been a childhood crush on watching reruns of her father that sways the debate in her favour slightly but that’s neither here nor there!).

Okay, no sorry.  I thought I could take one for the team, but I can’t. This entire scene would not ever have been made if the show was in the hands of a competent showrunner.  It’s just complete nonsense with absolutely no attempt by the writer to respect the audience or canon and not worth even documenting what happens as it’s all a crock of 💩. Do yourselves a favour and ignore it.  All you need to know is Ruby has the thingamajig they need. It was stashed somewhere in hell.

Back at the bunker, Jack has take out, lots and lots of take out; pizza (no pineapple), fried chicken, hot dogs, nachos, Chinese food… Waste of space joins him.  They talk about Jack not having a soul.  Jack says he understands why Sam and Dean were angered by what happened to Mary

Castiel: by what you did to Mary

He gets a pass for this line (and his name back briefly) because it needed to be said so he wasn’t a waste of space for once.

Jack sees things have changed, especially with Dean.  

I see a bit of chatter on this one.  I don’t understand the chatter.  Sam forgives people, this goes way back that he’s able to forgive people and not hold a grudge.  He’s had a darkness inside him his entire life, he’s had to fight against his nature to be who he is, so of course he’s going to be more forgiving, more understanding of someone he sees as being similar to him.  Add to the fact that Sam did not build a strong relationship with Mary - he’s sad she’s gone - but I think he’s more accepting of it than Dean. All of this has been shown in episodes, so when Jack asks, “Will he ever forgive me?”  He’s not asking about Sam because he knows through Sam’s words and actions that Sam has forgiven him, but he knows Dean hasn’t.  I don’t have an issue with this, and you know I’m a bitter Sam fan, I’ll reserve my anger for later in the episode.

So, for me, waste of space only talks about Dean for the same reason (and shockingly not because he’s gay for the human).  He says, “Dean, he feels things more acutely than any human I’ve ever known, so it’s possible he can work through this. One day he may explode, let it all out and breath deeply and move on.”

Jack asks how long that will take. waste of space says he doesn’t know.

I understand the point of the scene, it’s not the worst. I’d prefer if my boys were saving people, hunting things obviously, but this was an okay scene.  I do like Alex and what he brings to the table – though don’t like when too much focus is put on him or Sam’s relationship with him is sidelined.

Sam and Dean return to the bunker.  Dean asks if Sam’s sure they can swing this again.  Sam says they still have Rowena’s notes from the spell. Dean: Okay, Samwitch, lets do this.”  I love how Dean hates witches, he was still wary of Rowena though could see her uses, but the minute Sam is a witch, Dean’s all aboard the witch train. 😂

Waste of space appears, Dean tells him that they sorta know where the occultum is.  Waste of space looks worried and they know something is wrong. They follow him through the bunker to one of the rooms.  Their AU selves are projected on the wall.  I just… Why was the entire episode not their doppelgängers?  I love them. AU Dean screams (but we can’t hear him). AU Sam seems far more relaxed about the situation.  They can’t see or hear our Sam or Dean.  Sam asks waste of space where they are.

Waste of space thinks the blast trapped them between dimensions as the rift and their world was destroyed.  AU Dean tapping on the wall, and trying to get a cell phone signal, I just can’t… 😂

Dean: Are they in pain? Waste of space doesn’t think so.  Dean says “Good” goes to leave.  Sam tries to stop him.  Dean says they’ll deal with them, but first they have to go to hell. Waste of space: woah, you do?

Sam explains that’s where Jo said Ruby stashed the occultum

Waste of space: Ruby? The demon you were sexually intimate with?   Dean: Sexually intimate? Sam (strongly): Yes!

I’ve seen a lot of chatter on this one as well. Some claiming that Dean is questioning the choice of wording by waste of space.  I don’t see that.  I see this as another fail, that they are somehow trying to claim Dean doesn’t know Sam and Ruby had a sexual relationship, even though Sam went into it in explicit detail in “I know what you did last summer”, to the point Dean asked him to stop.  If they were going for the choice of wording, they failed in both facial expressions and dialogue.

They have a discussion, not worth repeating, too much focus on waste of space. Upshot is Sam and Dean are going to Hell.  

Sam and Dean arrive on the Charmed set in Hell.  I’m expecting them to meet Julian McMahon striding down the corridor.  They meet a demon who informs them that Rowena is hosting a reception for newly condemned souls.  The demon doesn’t seem happy about that. He starts taking them to Rowena.  This is a pretty pointless scene tbh.

Back in the bunker, waste of space says to Jack that he doesn’t trust Jo’s story, he wants to speak to Ruby who apparently is in the empty.  I’m losing it with where entities end up these days. I’m guessing if demons are exorcised, like Meg was, then they go back to Hell.  If they are killed permanently, like Alastair was by Sam, they end up in the Empty?   I guess it makes sense.

Anyway, waste of space needs Jack’s assistance to get to the empty. He needs Jack to kill him…

Damn, false alarm, it’s only an “almost kill”.  Yeah, I would probably be too thorough.  Okay Jack, carry on, you’re up.

I don’t understand how he’ll be able to do anything in the empty, won’t he be kept in a state of nothing?

Jack reminds waste of space that the empty doesn’t like him. Waste of space says he’s far from happy so he should be okay.

Jack: Cass, I, I may not have a soul, but I know killing you is wrong, what if I screw up? Waste of space: well then, I’ll be lost forever… but I think you’ll do fine.

Jack has to draw out most of waste of space’s life force into a flask, and keep an eye on him so he doesn’t die for real. He also has to tend the spell to ensure Sam and Dean are not lost in Hell forever either (but to me it seems really easy to get in and out of, not like the early days so don’t see them being stuck there as a problem).  Remember back in season 2 when hell was this...

Sam: Hell is like, um ... (punches Dean)... well, it's like hell, even for demons. (punches Dean again)... It's a prison, made of bone and flesh and blood and fear. 

Good times.  Now we have Barbie!Hell and anyone can just walk in and it isn’t scary.  But yeah, tell me again that I should stop being critical and the show hasn’t deteriorated beyond all recognition

Sam and Dean follow the lackey they met in Hell to where Rowena is hosting a meet and greet for the new arrivals to Hell.  Or at least that’s where they were supposed to be taken, turns out it’s a trap. Of course, it is, because dumchesters 🙄, but at least we get a decent fight out of it as they are set upon by three demons carrying angel blades.  Dean kills two, Sam holds the third hostage so they can find out who betrayed them. Unsurprisingly it was Jo 🙄 Sam then kills the demon (after Dean gives a nod to do so).

Dean: that bitch set us up!

We switch to sister Jo and see her packing up and leaving, so she must know her plan failed, and Sam and Dean will soon be after her.

We’re now in The Empty with waste of space and for sure as shit, this scene changing whiplash, disregard of canon, lack of continuity between other episodes, focus on side characters has to mean this is a suck-lemons episode. He’s shouting for Ruby.  He doesn’t get her, we hear, “Hello Clarence”

Waste of space spins around and it’s Meg!  He’s so happy to see her and disappointed that it’s the empty. No offence to Rachel, love her, she does great in the episode and Megstiel will always be canon, but just not interested in any of this.

Next scene is waste of space and Ruby.  Fast forwarding other than to say no sweetie, Sam didn’t kill you, but I don’t blame you, I blame the writers who are too lazy to do any research. Sam should have killed you, but it was Dean that did it.  

Another scene between Ruby and Jo, as forgettable as the first.   Lucifer and Michael weren’t circling their vessels when you were still breathing you morons.   Lucifer hadn’t yet been released, but what is canon on this show when you can blast it aside and have the wives in a scene together and isn’t it wonderful?  Eh, I’m gonna say hard no on that one.

Another scene between Ruby and waste of space. In true Ruby style, she’ll help him if he gets her out of the empty.  Oh, and the occultum is a place, not a thing, that’s all we need to know.

Fast forwarding all of this as it’s pandering trite, not worthy of my time, besides the dumbchesters are back from Hell and I think Jack might be in trouble with them.

Jack (guilty): Guys… you’re back Dean (looking between Jack and waste of space’s body): Jack? What the hell?

Severe whiplash alert!  We’re back with Ruby and waste of space. Ruby monologues that the Empty is a place where all you do is dream about your regrets over and over for eternity.  Well then, just as well I have no regrets in life, other than watching seasons 12-14 of Supernatural.  Wait, imagine that on repeat for eternity.  NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Waste of space says he knows.  In fairness to waste of space, at least he will have a vast range of playbacks on the amount of regrets he should have over the years, so he won’t get bored anytime soon.

Whiplash alert!  We’ve left the corned beef actors and are back with the porterhouse steak.  They advance on Jack.

Jack: He’s dead, kind of… for now Sam: What?!

Whiplash!  Get me back to the porterhouse damn it!   Waste of space agrees to try to get Ruby out, she whispers in waste of space’s ear, “the occultum, it’s…”

Whiplash!  I’m suing at this point in the episode tbh.  

Jack: Cass went to the empty, hopefully to find Ruby, hopefully to find out where this occultum thing is located, hopefully (puppy eyes)

Whiplash!  Ruby steps away and disappears.  Waste of space’s face is interesting, and I’m intrigued where it is.

Whiplash!  

Sam and Dean’s faces. 😂

Sam: that’s way too many hopefullys! Dean: Bring him back, now!

Okay Hellers, here’s a test.  If Sam had said that line, would you have interpreted it as Sam speaking as a parent or Sam concerned about waste of space because he’s secretly in love with him? Dean is obviously concerned, but he’s speaking to Jack as a parent.  

Jack opens the flask to release waste of space’s grace.  But The Empty (still in Meg’s form) is reluctant to let him go.  Turns out as she’s torturing waste of space that The Empty has a deal with Death, she helps Death and she can go back to sleep when Death’s plan works.  We alternate between waste of space being tortured and Jack trying to revive him.

Dean: come on, wake up pal. Dean: Come on Cass, come on Dean: Cass!

Pandering!  

Waste of space wakes up.  The Empty says, “see you soon”

I hope she does because yes, I love watching a show where my leads are made out to be dumbasses and the waste of space that should have been killed off years ago is the hero.  I’m losing count of how many episodes that’s happened this season. Sick of it. 🤬

Waste of space (looks at Dean): you made it back Dean: Yeah, and so did you!  You’re an idiot by the way! Sam chimes in: What if this hadn’t worked?

Waste of space says it did [work].  The occultum was never in Hell.  The occultum is the safest place in the world. Jo was never going to give that up. Waste of space knows where it is and asks, “Am I still an idiot?”

I’m actually so angry right now.  Who does this?  What shitty writer makes their lead cast look like idiots in order to big up a side character. What does he have on someone because I’m at a loss for any other logical explanation at this point for them willingly ruining the show.

Anyway, Dean says “well yeah”. Me: hell to the fuck yeah, you’re still an idiot and I hate you even more after this episode than I did before.

Sam wants to go to the place.

Jack reminds them if Chuck checks in on them and sees what they’re doing, they’ll lose.

Dean’s plan involves using their doppelgängers to pretend to be them.  They’ll open up a rift and he thinks waste of space’s grace will be enough to pull them through. Sam thinks it might also blast them to another world.

AU Sam and Dean are playing rock, paper, scissors.  AU Sam throws scissors and wins.  AU Dean’s reaction. 😂

Sam mixes up the spell for the portal and they place it at the wall where AU Sam and Dean are trapped.  Bright light later and…

… it obviously works because AU Sam and AU Dean are now sitting at the map table with a beer in front of each of them.  Our Sam and Dean are currently standing.  And I cannot do any justice to this scene.  It is perfect from start to finish.  Go watch the genius of Jared and Jensen at play with no one else cluttering up the scene.

Upshot of this scene is that AU John is (or was) alive, they got separated coming through the portal. He spoils them, (Dean: he spoils you?!) John has set up a very successful business called Huntercorp. They get paid (Dean: you get paid?!) for hunting monsters all over the world and have a private jet.  I would ask what they’re doing driving around in a Fiat 500 instead of a luxury car, but I’m having too much fun, so it gets a free pass and I won’t nitpick.  Let’s headcanon it’s all they could get a hold of to get through the rift and leave it at that.  They keep toasting their beers to their dad, “the best guy ever” but they don’t seem too cut up that he and their world have gone splody.  I love these versions, they seem to be fine they made it through and they have each other.  I’d like to see one without the other as I think they’d give our brothers a run for their money in the codependency stakes.  

AU Sam’s pinkie is raised while he drinks, and I can’t with the silent genius that is Jared Padalecki when he inhabits a character.

Our Sam and Dean during all of this. 😂.

Dean explains to the AU’s that they need them to pose as them for a while.   In order to do that, Sam tells his AU self he has to lose the man bun.  AU Sam’s reaction 😂.  He is not happy.  AU Dean closes his eyes and sits back, putting a hand over his mouth.  I thought at first he wasn’t happy at our Sam, but no, the reaction is because he knows how his Sam reacts about his hair (*whispers* I suspect AU Dean has suggested many times that AU Sam let his hair down… for reasons and AU Sam has refused, so its an old argument).  Sure enough, AU Sam says he will not.  Our boys ignore that and also tactfully suggest they will need to change their clothes.

Next, we see the impala at night, driving towards a church. All TFW 2.0 are in the car. 🙄

They walk up to the church doors and Jack says he knows he hasn’t been doing this as long as them, but doesn’t it seem too easy.

They agree and at that moment hear a growling.  

Jack: is that a bear?

Dean starts trying to get the church doors open by picking the lock

Sam: No, it’s more like uh… Waste of space: hellhounds Sam (as the hellhounds are approaching): Dean… Dean, you wanna hurry a little bit?

Dean gets the door open and they all get inside just in time. Sam and Dean get the door closed and Dean asks Sam if he’s got it.  I’ve seen a lot of chatter on this one. This scene alone highlights one of the many, many things wrong with the show and why it’s no longer enjoyable.  I think they were trying for ha ha comedy. Sam trying to keep the door closed while they are all standing around like idiots, but it isn’t funny and reduces Sam down to muscle rather than what he actually brings to the show, and both waste of space and Jack are stronger. 

Waste of space should have been holding the door (or not been there at all, which is preferable) and the scene should have been Sam, Dean and Jack.  No excuses for why it wasn’t done this way (other than pandering).  A line of pandering is annoying but acceptable, sidelining Jared to cater an entire scene to them is completely unncceptable. You’ve pissed off the Jared/Sam fans which are many more than Misha/Castiel (despite what they try to tell themselves), and you’ve pissed off the brother fans which are the majority of the audience.

Waste of space says the top of the cross points the way and they all look up at the cross high on the church wall.

As a side note, the Hellers are so cute, counting Sam and Dean standing in a church with their “son” as their wedding.  Refrains from slapping 8.23 down in front of them where Dean actually said some vows along the lines of “don’t you ever dare think there is anything past or present that I would put in front of you!” 😍

Sam (being paid $250k for this): Guys! Can you maybe move it along?

That’s not the cross they are looking for, because at that point, clouds miraculously clear outside, allowing moonlight to shine through a window and highlights an area on the church floor.  I mean I like that x marks the spot but I’m not sure about time of day/year and position in the sky etc. to know if this is realistic, like will it still be the exact same spot at 6pm in December as it is midnight in summer?

Jack points it out to them and Dean bends down to open the floorboard.  

Sam: Guys, I can’t hold them forever!

Dean lifts the floorboard which contains a velvet bag. He opens the bag and pulls out a golden snitch.  He hands it to waste of space and asks if it’s a map. Jack suggests it might be a key.   Waste of space reads the enochian passage on the golden snitch (which if he hadn’t been written into this scene, Sam could have done that).  

Golden Snitch: in order to be in the occultum, the occultum must be in you. Me (immediately): swallow it!

There’s a reason Sam’s holding the doors closed as he’d have got that within a second.  The others are just looking around dumbly. 🙄

Back with AU Winchesters and AU Sam, wearing plaid, man bun still in place, is watching “powderpuff princess and friends” channel on the laptop, which seems to be about kittens. 😂   AU Dean appears carrying two beers

Au!Dean: they said lose the man bun, Samuel (love that he goes by Samuel) Me: Wow, AU Dean really wants Sam to let his hair down…for reasons AU Sam: look, hillbilly clothes are bad enough, I have to draw the line somewhere and my hair… is sacred (Jared added this 😂)

AU!Dean rolls his eyes, denied once again.

AU Sam asks what they do now.  AU Dean says, drink beer and sit in front of a computer screen

AU Sam: that’s their lives?  He’s still drinking the beer with the pinkie out. 😂. Chuck would know straight away this wasn’t Sam and Dean. Sam’s face drinking the beer. 😂 He’s high maintenance for sure.  AU Dean is much less fussy and I think would adapt quite well to the new world.

AU!Dean has found our Dean’s bustyasianbeauty.com internet history. 😂  

AU Sam: Can you imagine if dad caught us with that kind of stuff?  Goodbye trust funds.

AU!Sam’s not interested in the ladies and I don’t think he’s happy that AU Dean is either.

AU!Dean: I gotta tell you Sammy, this Sam and Dean, you know, sure they’re simple, but they’ve got this place of their own, there’s no quarterly reports, there’s no investor calls, there’s nothing to do but hunt monsters, drink beer and watch porn. AU!Sam: Yeah AU!Dean: they’ve got it made

Switch to our Sam and he’s really struggling with keeping the hellhounds out, while waste of space and Dean are arguing is another pandering scene (which has already had at least four in the episode). It’s been written solely to please the 1%ers who no doubt will create thousands of tweets from their 200 accounts with “old married couple and their son.” 

These people are incapable of looking at characters and continuity, they don’t care if it’s likely a character will do something just as long as they get content for their ship.  But I care, the majority of the audience care.  The Dean we know and love would just not under any circumstances abandon Sam at the door on his own.  This is where the writing is failing.  If they are incapable of writing a scene that makes sense in the bigger scheme of things, that doesn’t change the standard operating procedure of one of the two leads, then it has no place in the show.  I could have written a scene between waste of space and Dean that would have given the 1%ers more than enough fodder (they get excited over lamps, it wouldn’t be that hard to do), while at the same time, not ruining Dean’s core character or sidelining Sam to be a doorstopper for an entire fucking scene. Besides, all the old married couples I know are old and still married because they never argue, they finish each other sentences and smile fondly at their idiot other half when they do something idiotic, because it’s their idiot.  Kind of like… Sam and Dean.

Jack ignores them as much as I do, he turns away while they are still arguing. When he turns back, Dean looks at him, 

Dean: “Where’s the thing?” Jack: I ate it Dean: You What?! Jack: well, he said it had to be in me… so… Dean (internally) Sammy’s going to fucking kill me. (Externally) No! spit it out! Jack (laughing): it’s fine, nothings happening

Something’s definitely happening as Jack doubles over in pain.  Sam can only watch helplessly from the door as a bright light erupts from within Jack and then he disappears.

Again, that scene would have been infinitely more watchable if waste of space hadn’t been shoved into the space Sam should have been, but no, he’s still holding a fucking door closed.  I shit you not. 😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬🤬😡🤬😡🤬🤬🤬!

Jack wakes up in what we find out is the garden of Eden.  The creepy little girl from Angel approaches him.  “You must not be human, humans may not enter here, are you an angel?”  Jack says it’s complicated but asks why humans can’t be here. She says they were banished, and god hid the garden away from them. Jack says he was told the place might change him somehow.  She responds that it might if he’s the chosen one. He’ll know soon enough.  She leaves him alone.  I’m speculating at this point that Jack isn’t the right person, but Sam is.

We whiplash briefly back to the church.  Yes, my fellow Sam fans, Sam is still a $250k doorstopper while waste of space and Dean continue to argue.  This isn’t good drama for anyone.  Dean is completely ooc in not helping Sam.

Harry Potter Jack meets the garden of Eden snake.  Luckily Jack can understand parcel-tongue as the snake talks to him. Who are you really? Who are you meant to be?

We get various flashbacks, none of which show Sam all that much, and I think that’s deliberate, though badly done.  The one person Jack has never had to question until the malac box was Sam.  I still maintain that Jack knows Sam forgives him and loves him unconditionally, but he knows Dean doesn’t, which is why the focus was on Dean.  The annoyance would have been much less if Sam hadn’t been a doorstopper in place of a significantly lesser character.

Anyway, Jack collapses on the ground and he’s crying by the end of it.  Same Jack, same tbh.

Back at the church, a bright ball of light comes through the cross window and floats down towards the church floor, right in front of Sam before moving to hover between Sam and Dean (again if waste of space hadn’t been there, this would have been a much better scene).

Sam’s thrown away from the doors and lands on the floor. Dean rushes forward to stand in front of his brother… oh wait, no, that’s in my version, the suck-lemons version has Dean actually take a step back, while the hellhounds advance on Sam who is closest to them.  Like he literally doesn’t move a fucking inch, and people are asking why we are unhappy?  Who the fuck was that, because it wasn’t Dean Winchester. 😡

The bright light gets brighter, I think it kills the hellhounds, rather than just repels them.  When the light clears, Sam sees Jack lying on the floor in front of him. He says “Jack” which draws the attention of Dean who shouts “Jack”.  Oh, that gets Dean’s feet moving 🙄.  They watch as Jack sits up and Dean asks him if he’s okay.  Jack doesn’t answer.

Back with Dean and AU!Winchesters.  Dean’s trying to herd them out the bunker, thanking them for their help.  AU!Dean suggests they could all live in the bunker together.

AU!Sam: like a club (AU!Dean points at Sam in agreement).

Our Dean doesn’t share his toys very well and thinks that would just be weird.

AU!Dean (he definitely wants our Sam, with the whole hair down thing he’s got going on): it wouldn’t be so weird

Dean knows what AU!Dean wants and tells them to go to Brazil

AU Dean asks if they can keep the flannel shirts, Dean says no, and tries to hurry them along.

AU Sam and Dean turn to go, but AU!Dean turns back and says that when they were looking around, they saw it

Dean: It? AU!Dean: the car Dean: You didn’t…. touch it AU!Sam: We “drove” in it 😉 Dean: You What?!

Awkward looks all around until AU!Dean says, “And we’re leaving…” smacking AU!Sam on the shoulder and pushing him up the bunker stairs.

AU!sam: oww, my arm, you’re hurting me!” AU!Dean: Sam! AU!Sam: Dean… Dean (angry): Have fun in Rio!

I like the scene so I’m trying not to nitpick the fact the car was with our Sam and Dean and the AU versions couldn’t possibly have found it, much less “drove” in it.

Dean goes to find Sam who is leaning on the wall outside I’m guessing Jack’s room.  He asks if the kid is okay.  Sam says he doesn’t know.  Waste of space comes out and says Jack seems to have recovered but there’s something different about him.  No one’s been to the garden since the exile, until Jack.

They all go in, yes, even waste of space, and it turns out it wasn’t Jack’s room, but the kitchen and I have to seriously question why Sam - who is unquestionably Jack’s main parent - was outside and not with him. *whispers Jared has obviously done something or not done something to bring the petty wrath of Dabb down upon his beautiful head, no other explanation at this point. Roll on Walker and Jared ensuring that show doesn’t get stolen out from under him by a backstabbing co-worker and petty showrunner.

They approach Jack and he says he is so sorry.  He is crying and says it was his fault.

Waste of space says Jack’s soul is back.

Jack looks up at Sam and Dean and asks them to forgive him but the camera focuses in only on Dean.  Pats my fellow Sam fans consolingly on their heartbroken backs.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Riverdale 5x02 Review.

So I’m really late with this review I know, to be honest I was undecided about whether I was even going to write it because well this wasn’t my favourite episode and I try to avoid being too negative and this review did feel like I was being very negative and repeating alot of the issues that I had brought up in other posts and reviews but ultimately I decided that I had said I was going to review Season 5 and despite it not being my favourite episode I thought there were still some really great moments in there which I would like to talk about but overall I do feel like there were some plotlines that were too rushed and just not fleshed out properly. Also I can’t watch episode 3 until tomorrow morning where I am it’s like 1 am at the moment so figured I’d kill the time by writing this. But anyway lets get into it and as always these are just my own opinions you are welcome to disagree but please be respectful and obviously there are spoilers. 

Archie

So first I want to talk about Archie’s storyline. So here’s the thing I kind of feel like Archie has had PTSD since the blackhood shot his dad all the way back in season 2. I think each new bad thing that happened only contributed to it, going to jail and being forced to fight in the underground ring, being attacked by the bear and nearly dying, the whole survive the night thing with penelope, then his dad being killed by a reckless kid. Just one of those things would be traumatising let alone all of them at once. I also feel like he has never really dealt with any of that trauma properly until this episode when it all just spills over. I think KJ did an amazing job with this storyline. I think alot of his pain this episode stems from his father’s death. Archie is having all these big milestones that he should be sharing with his father but can’t. I mean he’s just had prom without his dad there, graduation is coming up and so Archie who already misses his dad is probably missing him even more. Then on top of that he gets this video tape that takes him right back to when he felt the weakest and he has to confront all of the anger and pain that wells back up again. To start wth Archie tries to work through the feelings with physical excerise, punching his boxing bag or going for a run, working out in his gym but when that doesn’t help he starts to have angry outbursts. I mean Archie has alot on his plate at the moment, not only is he trying to work through his feelings about his dad not being there for these big moments , he doesn’t know yet if he’s even going to be able to graduate with his friends and then there’s the whole having feelings for betty and veronica and that mess plus his mum asking if he wants to write the letter for the guy who killed his dad. I think Archie said it best when Betty asked him if something was wrong and he replied what isn’t wrong. Also I’m sorry to say this but a really hated that scene. Not because of Archie snapping at Betty but because it made me a little irritated at Betty. I mean Betty at this point knows that Veronica found the song Archie wrote for Betty and that he doesn’t know if he’s going to graduation and she’s standing there with her arms wrapped around the guy she chose over Archie asking him if there is something wrong, I don’t know it just seemed like both an insenistive and kinda dumb thing for Betty to say. I want to make it clear that I’m not hating on Betty here we all have flaws and I think its more an issue with the writing than anything else but yeah that scene irritated me a bit. Also it did show us that whilst Veronica is still very much sticking to the lets pretend everything is fine plan Archie clearly is not comfortable with the plan and it does seem to me like he feels alot of guilt about lying. In my opinion Archie is the kind that whilst he makes mistakes he likes to own up to them and tell the truth so not telling Jughead the truth doesn’t feel right to him and I think this is frustrating him and the only reason he hasn’t come clean is because of Betty. Another issue I had with Archie’s storyline this episode is something that I’ve talked about before several times and it’s one of the shows biggest flaws in my opinion which is the storylines and characters not crossing over at all. I mean its pretty obvious in this scene that Archie is struggling at the moment and you’d think that having seen this his friends would reach out to him and try to support him and yet just like last episode there is practically no interaction between the core four in this episode. I mean even something as simple as one of them trying to ring Archie and him not picking up and then one them saying they are worried about him would do, something as little as a couple of lines of dialogue to show that his friends are concerned for him but instead it just came across as his friends either didn’t care about what he was going through or were too wrapped up in their own lives to notice that Archie needed them.

One of my favourite scenes was when Mr Augustine comes to see Archie and ask him to write the letter for his son instead and Archie makes that speech about how he understands that his son made a mistake when he hit his dad and that it was something Archie could have done himself but that the one thing Archie wouldn’t have done was keep driving. I do think this is true like I said before Archie is someone who will own up to and try to make his mistakes right. I think this scene also really showed how much pain Archie is in and how he is struggling with forgiving the son despite understanding that the son had made a mistake. I just think KJ’s acting in this scene was soo good and he hit the right balance between anger and pain. 

Another scene that I thought was really heartbreaking was when Archie comes home and finds his mum watching the tape. I just felt so bad for Mary seeing what Fred and Archie went through because of the Black Hood and her realising just how much trauma her son was keeping inside. My heart really broke for her when she said ‘I need to know what’s going on inside of you.’ This poor woman can see how much her son is struggling but he’s keeping it all inside and I know how scaring it is when you know someone is in pain but they are hiding it and you don’t know what’s going on inside their head. Also I find it so sad that Archie still feels like he was a coward and that he let his dad down. It’s after this conversation that Archie really goes over the edge though and smashes up the tv and then his uncle shows up and I think his uncle knew whated he needed, that he needed to get the anger out however I’m not so sure the method of letting Archie beat the living crap out of him was the best but I spose it seemed to work and again it really wrenched at my heart when Archie finally broke down crying hugging his uncle also I did get chills when the camera panned to the punching bag and you see that its covered in blood where Archie has been hitting it so much that his hands have bled. 

Ok so now I want to talk about my absolute favourite part of the episode, Archie’s letter to the judge. I full on teared up when I heard it like everything about it was perfect and I just know Fred would have been so proud of his son for writing it but the one line that really made me cry was the line ‘Fred Andrews believed in lifting up those around him and in second chances.’ If you could sum up Fred Andrews in one sentence it would be this one because Fred was always supporting those around him and trying to help them achieve their best. 

Charles and The Auteur Mystery

If Archie’s storyline was my favourite of the episode then this was my least favourite. My biggest issue with it was how rushed it was also the reveals were really underwhelming in my opinion. So this sotryline is kicked off with Betty and Jughead getting a call at 3am from Bret telling them he has information and asking to be moved to Solitary. But when Betty and Jughead go to visit him the next day and discover he’s been brutally murdered. At first they think it was David who killed him but then David himself shows up dead in what looks like an apparent suicide. But then the mystery thickens when Donna calls Betty afraid and on the run because someone is killing the Stonies and tells Betty that Joan is dead too and she thinks she is next and that it is connected to them trying to kill Jughead. Betty of course is having none of it and puts the phone down on her. But the next day she trys to get a hold of Joan and finds out that she really was killed by someone bashing her head in with a rock. So we reach the reveal of Charles being a serial killer. I full on rolled my eyes at this reveal. I hated it no other way to put it I just straight up hated and not just because I really like Charles’ character and seeing his relationship with Jughead and Betty grow but because it made little sense and wasn’t properly explored. To me it almost seemed like they got to this episode and then suddenly remembered that plot point where Charles visited Chic in prison and thought crap how do we explain that oh I know lets just have him murder some people in this episode and say he’s a serial killer that’s shocking right? Except it wasn’t shocking at all. Especially when by this point in the episode Hermosa had killed three people and Penelope had wiped out at least six people who happened to be her own family all because they weren’t letting her daughter get her own way. And then they expect me to be shocked that Charles killed two people and asked his boyfriend to kill a third. Also at least Charles had a fairly decent motive unlike Penelope, he killed the Stonies because they had tried to hurt his little brother and pin it on his little sister and most of them got away with it and he killed David because he was helping Bret but I also think that him letting Jelly Bean have access to those tapes could have played a part into it, I mean it is like Charles says he only kills horrible people who hurt the ones that he loves, and he does seem to be very protective of his siblings, it’s sweet in a very dark twisted kind of way. But like I said this plotline had no build up at all. I mean the whole Stonie’s murder mystery was started and ended in this episode they could have done it so much better just by moving things around a little. If they had revealed that Joan had been killed in an earlier epsiode for example. Maybe right after Jughead discovered the tape of masked Betty hitting masked Jughead over the head. How much creepier would have been for them to see that tape and then right after find out that Joan had been killed by a rock to the head? Not only would it have heighted the mystery of the tapes but it would have introduced the new mystery of who was killing the preppy’s sooner. Then they could have had Bret die 5x01 after Betty and Jughead went to see him they could have gotten that phone call they got in this episode and then found out he had been killed. Then have the final murder have David happen in this episode and the reveal that Charles was the one behind it. The mystery would only have been a few episodes longer but at least it woul dhave given us as an audience time to one get invested in the mystery and two actually wonder who could be behind it like we did with the video tapes. Also another thing that disappointed me was the lack of reaction from Charles’ family, like they hardly react at all, we don’t see Alice and FP’s reaction to the news either so again that was really underwhelming. But I think the thing that bothers me the most about this particular storyline is that if you took it out it would make no difference to the plot. Like this plot point of Charles being a serial killer changed nothing and was so unnecessary. But it’s ok I know a way they can fix this (just as a disclaimer they are not going to do this but its a fun idea so) I am chosing to believe that there is another twist to the story and that actually Charles is a victim and actually innocent in this, I’m choosing to believe that the Farmies, through Chic hypnotised Charles to kill the Stonies and David because Evelyn was working with them in the plot to kill Jughead and frame Betty and when they heard Bret was talking to Betty and Jughead they decided to tie up some loose ends and get rid of the Stonies. Also they wanted to get revenge on Betty and Alice for their roles in Edgar’s death and Evelyn’s imprisonment and so decided taking Charles away from them was the right price for them to pay. Yes I know it’s got some holes in it but I still think it’s a better storyline than the one we got so I’m sticking with it. In all seriousness though despite not likely how his character turned out I do hope we see Charles again. It is possible that maybe a little down the line they’ll give him a redemption arc I mean in Riverdale is murder really that terrible of a crime? I think the saddest part for me about this reveal is that I feel like Charles played a big part in helping Betty overcome her fears around having the serial killer genes because she knew her big brother had them too and he had his stuff together and was a respected FBI agent and if he could live a normal life and not go around killing everyone because he has these genes then she can too. Now they’ve taken that away from her which is probably going to make her doubt again and make her feel like a ticking timebomb. I just don’t think its necessary to make every person who comes into these characters lives evil. Also it is a rehash of the whole evil brother thing that they did with Chic and I said way back when Charles first started acting a little shady that I hoped they wouldn’t do a repeat of that storyline because that’s just boring and that’s exactly what they did. It would have just been so much more interesting to have him be morally grey but not a full out phsycho who kills people. Anyway I think I have ranted on long enough about this topic so lets move on to another underwhelming plot reveal. 

Jelly Bean is behind the tapes. See this is one that really should have been shocking. But again the way it was written just made it seem so underwhelming. Like the reason for her doing it was so weak, she didn’t want Jughead to go to college. Also I wasn’t hyped on the way the characters just shrugged it off like she full on terroised the whole town not just Jughead she brought Archie’s trauma back up causing him to pretty much have a break down this episode so she better march herself over to the Andrews house with a really good apology and start saving up to buy them a new TV because that’s the least she could do. Instead she just says she’s sorry to FP and gets a hug. I get the whole message they are saying here that Riverdale has created this situation were kids are doing really dark things but because of the amount of trauma they are put through they have got to the point when they themselves don’t even recognise when they are doing something really dark. I just think it could have been better written. Especially because other than Jelly Bean we didn’t know who any of the other people are in those videos. They mention that she had been hanging out with Ricky again and he was the one who started helping her with the tapes, they could have easily put a scene or two in where we saw them hanging out together even if it was just quick shots of them in the background of other scenes like we spot them sitting together in a booth at Pop’s. At least that would have given some build up to the reveal but again like Charles’ it kinda came out of nowhere. Also is it just me or are there a lot of people invested in what’s going on with Jughead I mean there’s Jelly Bean making the tapes, Charles murdering people for even daring to attempt to hurt a hair on his baby brother’s head and Veronica who pretending to still be with her ex to spare Jughead the pain of knowing his girlfriend cheated on him. Look I love Juggie too I’m just not sure he’s worth this much trouble especially as they are doing more to make his life more complicated than making things better for him as they are intending. Come on guys Juggie is a big boy you’ve got to let him deal with his own problems. Also as a side note I did find it kind of funny that when Jughead decided to tell FP about Jelly Bean he took his alcoholic Father for drinks, though it does look like whilst Jughead is drinking alcohol FP looks like he’s drinking water. 

Blossom and Lodge Family Drama     

 Ok these two plotlines I’ll be honest I didn’t care a whole lot about it was just kind of the same old stuff we’ve seen before. I did like the Lodge woman all banding together and standing up to Hiram and I love that Hermione finally grew a backbone and decided to divorce Hiram. But I must confess their plot to overthrow Hiram and the way they went about it was kind of dark I mean Hermosa literally arranged to have their own father beat up. I do think that maybe Hermosa has an ulterior motive to wanting to overthrow Hiram and if she sticks around in season 5 I could see her becoming an even worse villan than Hiram though it does seem like from some interviews with KJ that Hiram is going to be taking all that extra time to make Riverdale even more of a mess than it is already so we’ve got that to look forward to. 

As for the Blossom storyline again I didn’t care a great deal about it. I think it’s sweet that Cheryl is trying to right the wrongs her family has committed over the years by creating sanctuary land for the Uktena people. I also find it hilariuosly over the top that when they refuse and Cheryl tells her mother her mother’s respose is to just straight up kill them all. Especially as Penelope usually only does something if it benefits her and I’m not really sure how this will benefit Penelope unless it’s just an oppurtunity to revenge kill the family. Again I feel like there is probably more to this plotline and that it is somehow going to come back to bite Cheryl in the butt but only time will tell. Other than that I don’t really have much to say about these storylines. 

Theories for episode 3 

So my theories for 5x03 are 

1) FP will leave Riverdale with Jelly Bean to protect her from the town’s corruption and hopefully get her plenty of therapy. 

2) Betty will finally tell Jughead about her kiss with Archie. I really hope she is the one to tell him and that he doesn’t hear it from someone else. And I also really hope that he does find out because it’s starting to seem like he won’t and I don’t think that’s fair to Jughead and honestly will make me think less of Betty. 

3) Betty and Jughead will break up realising that with the distance they won’t make it especially as the trust between them has broken due to her kissing Archie again, if he can’t trust her when they are in the same town then how can they make it work when they are apart. 

4) Betty and Archie still won’t talk to each other and that’s gonna really annoy me. I mean they’ve only been friends since childhood so why would they need a one on one scene right. 

5) Kevin and Fangs might finally confirm their relationship. 

6) There are going to be lots of moments that are going to make me cry. 

7) There will be no mention of Charles or the effect him being a serial killer had on the family at all. 

8) Cheryl will be arrested for her uncle and maybe the rest of her family’s murders. 

9) There will be lots of references to Fred and maybe Archie saying goddbye at his grave before leaving for the army and that’s defo going to make me cry.

10) The last few minutes of the episode will be a flashforward of Betty with the gun and will set up the new mystery. 

So that’s it for now, I’m gonna be staying out of the Riverdale tag now as like I said earlier I’m not going to be able to watch the episode for hours yet where I am it doesn’t come on to Netflix til about 8-10am in the UK. 

[summylise]

His Secret Santa

Hi @ceryneiian !!! I was your (horribly untimely) Secret Santa!! I am SOOO sorry that this is late and thank you so much for understanding. This is part 1 of a 2 part one-shot (two-shot? but not really?) that I wanted to get out so I wouldn’t be COMPLETELY disappointing you. Anyway, here ya go!! (and @chatnoirinette​ I have NOT forgotten about your present. Once I finish this fic I will immediately binge your fic I legit can’t WAIT).

Summary: Adrien hadn’t had a real Christmas in years and his friends know it. Luckily, the trio has a plan for this. But will they be able to keep the secret from him?

Rating: K+ - T (they don’t swear but I usually do this just in case)

@mlsecretsanta​

            It had been about five years and his father had yet to acknowledge the existence of Christmas. He understood why, of course; it had been his mother’s favorite holiday, one that she wasn’t afraid to go all out for. But that didn’t lessen the sting he felt every time the season rolled around.

         Adrien Agreste stood leaning against his wall of windows staring out at the various Parisian houses littered with lights and decorations and laughter. And while a part of him longed for that sense of joy they felt, another ached at the memory of his mother standing on her tiptoes trying to hang one last ornament on their way too extravagant tree. He wished he could go outside and play in the powdery snow that blanketed the streets and his back garden but knew that the second he’d step outside; his father would scold him and degrade him for being so childish and dirtying himself.

         Going to school the following day just made it all the harder for him. He’d had to hear all about how Alix’s dad was taking their family to Egypt to see how they celebrated the holiday and how Chloe’s family was going on their first vacation into the Swiss Alps. He’d been happy for them, ecstatic even; Chloe hadn’t had a proper Christmas with her mom in years and they’d finally be a family again. But the thought of her huddling around a fire with hot chocolates and warm blankets while snow quietly fell outside made his gut sink. He’d been waiting for five years for his mother to come back, to finally celebrate Christmas like they used to. And the more days that passed in her absence, the less likely it was that he’d ever get that again.

His thoughts were interrupted by a buzz in his pocket.

Nino’s eyes widened at the message. With shaking fingers, he opened up a different conversation.

“Nino? Alya? Adrien?” piped up Madame Bustier from the head of the class. “Please put your phones away until the end of class. You may want to pay attention unless you plan on failing the final tomorrow.”

The trio almost slammed their phones on the table in unison with a force that had Marinette squeaking awake.

“And Marinette makes four. Perfect!” she added with a clap of her hands and a sweet smile on her lips. She turned her attention back to the chalkboard. “Now. Back to Shakespeare…”

                                                           ~~~

The second the bell rang, Adrien snatched his bag and turned to Nino. Or rather the spot where Nino was two seconds early. He tilted his head to see Alya missing as well, the ends of her hair slipping out the door leaving a stunned, and still slightly groggy, Marinette staring after her. 

“What’s up with them?” he said still staring at the door.

When he didn’t hear a response, he glanced back at the girl. And instantly regretted it.

His eyes caught on the way her long lashes flashed across her sky blue eyes. Despite being rimmed with red, the deep blue shimmered in the early afternoon beams. The way those beams caught on her dark locks made them look almost like the color of midnight that poured past her shoulders. He’d noticed that in the last few years, she’d decided to lose her signature pigtails instead choosing to let her hair fall freely. When questioned, she’d pouted in a way that had his heart lurching and said that she’d preferred coming to school on time as opposed to spending time on her appearance. 

Honestly, she could have fooled him. As each day passed, she’d seemed to shine just a little bit brighter and his heart was there for each and every second of that shimmer.

Except for the second she’d turned her attention onto him. Like she did now. Wait…

“I’m sorry what?” he said realizing she’d been talking to him for a little while.

Marinette sighed with a smile and repeated herself.

“It’s nothing. Just said that I didn’t know. That’s all,” she said with a shrug. He must have paused for a bit too long or had a weird look on his face because her eyes widened and she piped up again.

“Ohmygod that sounded so rude. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that-”

“No! No you didn’t you’re fine,” he said shaking his hands, a deep flush rising in his cheeks. “I didn’t take it like that at all no you’re fine. I’m...sorry if I gave you that um impression-”

“Oh! No, you, uh you didn’t I just didn’t want you to- I mean sound rude or—” Marinette shoved a  strand of hair behind her ear and snatched her bookbag. “Um nevermind I’ve got a study to test — I mean test to library—um I mean—”

“Yeah yeah me too,” Adrien added with a cough, grabbing his own bookbag. The room had suddenly gotten really hot. “The exam phys—I mean physics exam...thing…”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah...so um...I’ll see you tomor-” Marinette hit smacked into the corner of his desk with a wince. “I mean later? In class? For the um—”

“Exam.”

“Yeah! That guy...I better—”

“Yeah um me too.” He turned and smacked his head on the doorframe causing Marinette to let out a small snort.

“So..bye—” she let out, slipping through the doorway before she could finish.

“Y-yeah um bye...”

Adrien stared at the door for a second longer before finally breathing. 

And promptly facepalmed before racing to the men’s locker room. Study to test? Really, Adrien? 

Adrien smacked the back of his head against a locker and slid down to its base. Just a couple more days and you’ll be on break. A break you should be spending with your friends and not your father. 

He slid his phone out of his pocket.

Adrien let out a breath, Nino’s words rolling around his head. He was right; it was basically impossible for Marinette to think badly about one of her friends, let alone think they were weird. He knew Nino was right but that still didn’t make him feel much better. Knowing him, he’d say something stupid, mess up his words, and look like an idiot in front of her. It hadn’t been hard before; he’d been normal around her for years but for some reason, lately, he’d been unable to finish the simplest of sentences instead finding her mere presence distracting. 

The ringing of the class bell shook him from his thoughts.

Crap the exam!

                                                            ~~~

Marinette was already shaking by the time Adrien made it to her. Normally, she’d be fine talking with him...around other people. When it came to one-on-one? She’d rather take on Papillion, Mayura, and about twenty akumatized baddies all at once than face Adrien alone. 

She knew she should be used to the feeling she got around him by now seeing as it had been about five years since they first met. But there was just something about him that made her heart skip every time their eyes met. Maybe it was the way that puberty hit him like a freight train. Maybe it was the way that he’d gotten closer to her throughout the years. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the way she swore she’d noticed he’d gotten just a bit more clumsy, a bit more red-faced around her.

Now she stood at the front door of her high school, wishing she were anywhere but right in front of the man who’d had her heart.

“Hey, Mari,” he said with a casual wave of his hand. Her face broke into a smile at the nickname and waved back a greeting. “How’s it hang-going? How’s it uh going?”

Marinette slid her eyes to the floor and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She shrugged.

“I mean it’s uh it’s going,” she said with a nod at nothing in particular. “How’re you going? I mean how are you doing?”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. Deep breath, Adrien. You’re fine. “It’s, I mean it’s exam season so uh going as good-er-well as it can haha…” he trailed off.

They both stared at the patches of snow at their feet for a beat. 

What did he want to say to her? Was he going to ask her out? Nah, not likely. She’d been pining after him for years, what was one more day going to make? But he’s been acting weird for the past few months and now he wants to talk to her alone? It had to be about classes or exams or something.

What was he supposed to say?  How would he start it off? ‘So you doing anything over break and want to hang out’? No that sounded too much like a one-on-one date type thing. Did he want it to be a date thing? No? Yes?

Luckily, Marinette was the first to talk.

“So…” she trailed off after a moment. “How’d your exam go?”

Might as well start it off casual and try and at least pretend like she had herself together. 

“I’m not great-I mean I’m g-great but the exam...wasn’t really…” he trailed off. Marinette giggled, his own nerves putting hers at ease. Adrien’s heart skipped, forcing him to take a breath and finish his thought. “Wasn’t exactly expecting those elasticity questions so we’re just going to cross our fingers and hope for the best.”

“Yep same here. I thought I’d studied enough, but I guess I should have stayed up a bit later going over particle motion.”

“True but think of it this way,” Adrien said with a point of his finger. “If you’d stayed up late, you might have slept through that review session.”

Marinette guffawed. “Yeah like those review sessions really mattered. I swear she didn’t put any of those questions on the exam. I’m pretty sure she just did that to make us think we had a chance. Looks  like I’ll have to retake the class next year.”

Adrien chuckled, the sound spreading Marinette’s grin wider.

“Nah,” he said. “I think you’ll be fine. You’re a lot smarter than you think.”

Marinette’s grin dropped, instead parting into a soft O. She lifted her eyes to his and the look she gave him like she was looking for the joke, a lie, a hint of sarcasm. But he’d meant it and he hoped she could tell.

Oh god was that too forward?

“Th-thank you,” she said faintly. “Adrien.”

And the way she said his name gave him chills. Like it was the sweetest word she’d ever had on her tongue. Adrien blinked.

“Yeah, no uh no problem,” he said, heat rising in his cheeks. 

Another beat of staring at snow-covered boots and gently falling snow.

Now or never Adrien.

He took a breath.

“Hey, are you—”

“So I was thinking—”

They both froze. Stared at each other. Then burst into giggles.

“You first,” he said with an edge of laughter.

“No, you.”

Adrien stopped mid-laugh, his smile dropping. Here goes…

“Were you doing anything over break? Like do you have any...um...free time? Or something?”

Marinette’s laugh died out.

Did she hear that right? Was Adrien Agreste asking her if she was free? To hang out with him? Was it like just them? 

“What?” she asked.

Crap.

“Oh uh, I was just uh curious because Alya and Nino won’t be in town and my dad has me scheduled for the whole week or at least a majority of the week, and it’s break and Christmas and, I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to hang out with.” He paused, meeting her gaze before forcing out the final word. “A friend.”

There was the catch. A friend. Just as a friend. Her heart snagged. She knew she’d been looking too far into it. She shouldn’t have let herself overthink it or had Tikki convince her of what she’d thought was going on. She swallowed and forced a smile to her face.

“Y-yeah um...I-I mean I’m pretty busy the whole week too with the whole bakery and Christmas season and everything so…”

Even if he didn’t return her feelings, she still couldn’t stand that look he was trying so hard to hide. 

“But, I think we’re closed on Christmas Eve? Or we close early or something? My parents are trying to wrap up early so they can relax before Christmas morning,” she said. “W-would you like to come then maybe? I don’t think my family will mind, especially if it’s y-I mean a friend.”

His eyes lit up at the suggestion and her heart couldn’t help but do painful somersaults. She bit the inside of her cheek. Just a friend, Marinette.

A friend. The word hit him like a ton of bricks. His gut had told him this was the case, but he didn’t want it to actually be real. He knew what Plagg had been saying was too good to be true. 

He took a breath.

He could practically hear Plagg right now. ‘It’s better to at least enjoy the smell of sweet cheese than to not be around it at all.’

“Yeah! I’d love to. That sounds...nice,” he said through the same faked smile he’d perfected over the years. 

Even if he was only considered a friend, he’d still be hanging out with someone he cared about not only over break but for the holiday as well. Despite the bittersweet taste left in his mouth, he left that day a small shade brighter. His mother had always emphasized the need to surround yourself with loved ones this time of year. If he wasn’t allowed the tree or presents, at least he’d have that.

[pleasereadmeok]

Goode Things coming - update

[Updated version of January’s list]

Filming for A Discovery of Witches - filming Season 2 NOW.  Expect to see him around Cardiff maybe at a certain spa hotel.  ; )  

All Souls Con - For All Souls Trilogy fans.  2-3 August 2019, Cardiff, Wales.  It would be amazing if Matthew made an appearance again coz he might be still filming there.  Keep your fingers and toes crossed!

[Pic from 2017 - but let’s hope we get more this year.]

Official Secrets - premiered at the Sundance film festival on the 28th January and will have a limited release from 23rd August.  It stars Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, Ralph Fiennes and Matthew as journalist Peter Beaumont -

No trailer, no new pictures and very few reviews yet BUT we do know that Matthew and Matt Smith will be in the second main storyline of three in the movie.  That covers the journalist’s investigation and that they have a bit of a double act going on.

Downton Abbey movie - Matthew returns as Lady Mary’s handsome husband Henry Talbot.  Matthew said that he won’t be in it much because he had filming clashes when it was made.  Whatever - we will be savouring every morsel of the gorgeous Henry that we get.

Known release dates are shown below from IMDb -

Golf [ugh!] - In January’s list we included these golf tournaments because Matthew usually plays at these if he can. However because the filming schedule for A Discovery of Witches had to be delayed we don’t know if he will have the time to attend.  Check back here to see if he’s due to play at these:-

PGA Championships - Wednesday 18th September at Wentworth, Surrey (changed from May).  

Matthew normally plays golf in the Dunhill Links Championships at St Andrews in Scotland in October - it looks like it will take place at the end of September this year.  

Maybe the British Masters at Walton Heath as well???  

We’ll check if he’s due to play and let you know about tickets etc. nearer the time. Even if you are not a golf fan it is the best way to meet Matthew coz you get to follow him around for 4-5 hours, get selfies and see the golf twerk.  ; ) [He does a little bum wiggle before he takes some shots and it’s quite.. um.. distracting.]

The Wine Show [TV] - Season 3 - Matthew as a presenter with Matthew Rhys (and possibly James Purefoy) again.  They will be based in Portugal and are filming ‘later this year’.  Best to follow The Wine Show twitter account for updates.  No dates yet for when this will air.

Kingsman - The Great Game- Matthew plays Tristan [thanks to @adow-trash and IMDb for the update]  

Release dates so far - 

No pictures yet but here is Matthew Goode in a smart suit just to get you interested!  

Medieval - Movie - Matthew as King Sigismund of Hungary and Croatia, the brother of Czech King Wenceslaus.  He looks very regal and has red/ginger hair for this role.  That’s a first. No release date yet.

Four Kids and It - Movie - Matthew plays David.  It tells the story of a vacation that doubles as an opportunity for new couple Alice (Paula Patton) and David  to introduce their kids to each other — both have two children from previous relationships.  Also stars Russell Brand who just happens to be Teresa Palmer’s ex - so that wasn’t awkward at all.....  Due for UK release first.  No dates available yet.

As ever - if you have additional information please let us know.  

@pleasereadmeok/ Britgirl for matthew-goode.net  xxx

[frozenmiwa]

Review: Rise of the Turtles part 1 (TMNT 2012)

I know, I know I promised to post this during summer but instead I ended up editing my TMNT 2012 fanfiction. I ended up having some technical difficulties with this post. I did watch the episode but somehow all the screen shots I took just vanished. My guess is some form of Windows update happened and poof, all screen shots were gone.

I actually just got the first season on DVD yesterday – I finally ordered it online three or so weeks ago, I’ve been looking for Finnish release of the show ever since 2014 when it started to air in Finland but we got nothing. Not that I minded, the dub was decent but definitely lot worser than the dub 2003 series got from the group called Dubberman. So I’m more than happy to have the UK release of the first season.

Firstly I’d like to address one thing: I was hesitant to watch this show because I don’t like CGI that much anymore since it’s everywhere these days, but I was interested in it after scrolling some Turtlepedia especially after I saw one of my absolute favorite character from the 2003 show, April. When I read about Donnie’s crush on her, I recalled their relationship in the 2003 series – seeing Donatello and April interact was one of my favorite things about the show so naturally I was interested to see how well 2012 series pulled that off. Then I had this boring weekend and I decided to give it a try. I did and absolutely loved the show, I loved the turtles, I loved what they did with Splinter, I even loved this one character I thought I wouldn’t, what I didn’t love however was April – instead Karai became my favorite character.

But we get to that when we get to that. Let’s start this thing!

Like with the previous post I’m not going to do full plot summary here, instead I’m doing this brief summary. If you are interested in full summary please go to sites like Turtlepedia for that!

Now this episode starts similarly to the 2003 series. We are introduced to our main characters as they are in training session. It turns out the turtles are celebrating their fifteenth birthday today and wish to go top side for the first time even though Splinter is hesitant to let them go. Eventually he does and the turtles get to see the what the world looks like outside sewers. It seems to be full of wonder… and dangers. Turtles witness a family of two, father and daughter getting kidnapped by a group of identical men, but are unable to rescue them due to their inability to work as a team. And Mikey finds out those men weren’t exactly human… but no one believes him. The group returns to the lair and they get scolded by Splinter for letting the kidnappers getting away because they couldn’t work as a team – then again, he does admit it’s partially his fault as he never trained them to fight as a team. While Splinter suggest they have another year to wait until their next visit to the top side, Donnie isn’t having it as he wants to save the poor kidnapped girl, he fell in love with at the first sight. After some convincing Splinter agrees to let them go and save her. Before they go however Splinter makes Leonardo their leader – the group does need a leader in order to function correctly after all, but as to why he chose Leo, isn’t clear. So, to the back side we go, after some time they manage to find one of the kidnappers and chase him until his car falls over. When Raph opens up the back door to the car a mysterious cannister filled with green ooze rolls over – looking a lot like the one broken cannister the turtles have in their lair, the one that had something to do with their current forms. And with that the first episode ends.

What I liked about the episode

+ Turtles actually acting like teenagers. I don’t think we have seen that in any other incarnation despite the show being called “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”.

+ What they did with Leo’s personality. I was so used to Leo being this perfect serious leader who’d win any training session against Raph, seeing Leo actually losing against Raph not to mention having this kind of geeky awkward side to his character was refreshing to see.

+ Master Splinter. I liked how he looked nothing like his former counterparts, I loved how they brought up his personality and most of all now he actually felt like a caring father to the turtles instead of being just their teacher. Not to mention how cool his design looks in this show!

+ The plot in general. For a pilot episode it did good job at presenting our four main characters, showing they, each have different personalities without spending too much on that. It had this sense of wonder when we see the turtles discovering the world for the first time. And there was action included as well but not in a way that our heroes just swoop in and save the day, I liked the fact they messed it up on their first try. I also liked how the episode didn’t end with turtles saving the day but rather with a cliff hanger because that would get viewers to want to catch the next episode – unlike 2003 series where it just ended, personally I wouldn’t have waited to see the next episode, unlike with this 2012 show.

+ Interaction and comedy between the turtles was well done, I definitely did have some laughs here and there.

+ The way flashbacks and ending stills are done in this version. What can I say? I just love the comic book style they went with!

What I didn’t like about this episode

- Well in general I liked this episode fine; it really didn’t have much to complain about, characters were solid, their backstory was solid, story was solid and the action was solid. Over all I’d say it’s a good episode. But if I had to pick one thing I did not like; it would be the way April was presented. Unlike the turtles she didn’t seem like a character, just a pretty girl shown to our faces who needed to be saved. I know that’s how it was intended but if I’d have to pick one thing I didn’t like about the episode, this would be it.

And now let’s say few words about the dub my country eventually got...

When this series finally started to air in Finland you better believe I got up every Sunday to watch this show, not because I hadn’t seen it, it was January 2014, I had already seen the episodes couple of times in English but I wanted to check out the dubbed version especially after seeing the voice cast. Just by looking at the voices seemed like this dub would go either way. It could be good or really bad. Like with seasons 3-4 and 6-7 of TMNT 2003 a group called Dubberman. And I wasn’t completely trusting for the fact they would do the show justice. I mean they did skip over the season 5 in 2003 series – and later season 3 in 2012 series so…

The dub was decent, not great, not the worst we could have gotten but decent. There were some errors like they called Raphael “Rafaello” or “Rafa” for short like in the dubbed VHS/DVD release of 1980 series – luckily, they stopped doing that after few episodes because it bothered me a lot. Another thing was how those Japanese phases were pronounced – in this episode by Leo. They didn’t sound right at least when you compare to the original version.

The voice cast was okay. It consisted of some familiar and great voice actors like Jon-Jon Geitel as Leo who has also voiced characters like Jack Frost from the Rise of the guardians or Jake Long from American Dragon: Jake Long – I think this is where I first heard his voice acting. More recently he voiced Aladdin in the live action version from 2019. Another familiar voices we had were Aksu Palmén as Donatello who had voiced characters like Hiccup in How to train your dragon, and Markus Bäckman as Master Splinter – It’s better I won’t go in too much details on his voicing career because he has done a lot of good voice acting in TV and Disney movies. These two were probably the most suited for their roles. Especially Markus Bäckman as Splinter. He sounded just right for the part. Then there was Henri Piispanen who I hadn’t heard much voice acting from before TMNT. I think he was solid pick for Raph – not as good as Sean Astin but they could have gone for worse. Then there were couple unknown actors Miro Loopperi who voiced Mikey and Ella Jaakkola who voiced April.

Miro Looperi did fine job as Mikey but he didn’t really sound like him. This reminds me of 2003 series as Mikey had a voice actor in the Finnish dub that I liked, but one that didn’t sound like him when compared his original voice. This has the same feeling to it. And now Ella Jaakkola, she had this high-pitched kind of bitchy voice I found annoying but at the same time I thought it kind of worked for April’s character because I knew what would become of her character in season 2. I remember thinking: “I can’t wait to hear this voice in Mutation Situation!” – Too bad they changed her voice for season 2.

Now, don’t expect me to do this thing for all the episodes where I talk a little bit about the Finnish dub as I’ve only seen the first season dubbed – I don’t even know when season 2 aired. And I don’t have many notes about the dub. Nor do I remember much of it. I have notes for I think five or so episodes and very good memory for Karai’s debut episode but that’s about it. As I said earlier so far now DVD releases have been made in Finland so I would only have access through streaming services to seasons 4 and 5 – which I haven’t even watched completely yet. I can only hope Netflix or Viaplay would upload the dubbed versions of TMNT to their servers but as we lack DVD releases or reruns of seasons 1 and 2 and season 3 in general that’s very unlikely.

And now some screenshots!

Would you look at that? Leo actually lost to Raph.

Is that supposed to be Splinter? He looks kind of cool - were my first thoughts when he appeared on the screen.

Happy Mutation day! I just love their expressions here.

And it’s flashback time! I really love the way they did and animated the flashbacks in this version.

Splinter holding the broken mutagen canister.

...And Mikey giving it a hug.

They are finally able to go to the top side. Look at how happy they are - I mean even Raph is smiling.

Well I just like this shot of Splinter.

Leo and Space Heroes. I love how proud he looks here.

“Hai, sensei!” - This is probably one of my favorite scenes in this episode. It shows that over protective side of Splinter which is one of the many things I love about the show.

Turtles entering the top side for the first time.

Donnie geeking out at computer stuff while Raph is not interested. Personally being a geek myself, I see lot of myself in Donatello during this moment.

Turtles are about to find out what pizza is.

Oh, look at that it’s a love interest... I mean it’s my least favorite character... I mean it’s April.

And Donnie is in love with her. Just like that.

I know April is supposed to be scared here but I find her expression hilarious. It cracks me every time.

Fighting is not going too well here.

Or here.

Saving April.

I really like this shot of Donnie smiling. He looks kind of adorable. I mean who would scream after seeing that adorable face?

April of course!

I find Donnie’s reaction and posture here priceless, it’s like: “Oh my god, what did I just touch?”

April is being cornered by creepy men.

And Donnie’s offering to help her.

But that doesn’t really work out. Mikey looks adorable though!

I guess The Kraang didn’t fancy April’s screaming either.

And here’s Mikey, facing a suspicious man all by himself.

...That is not a man at all.

Okay what the hell is that thing?

You know what Mikey, I totally agree with you.

Turtles are having a conversation about the leader stuff. And they all can’t believe what they just heard.

Here is Leo facepalming. One of my favorite scenes in the episode.

“I thinking of something green. Green.” “Is it Raphael again?”

Cornering Snake.

Ending still.

Anyway, this was my review for the first episode of TMNT 2012. Next time I think I’m doing review for the second episode of 2003 series, so stay tuned for that. Or something.