#I feel like simon has plenty of emotion though | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

moomeecore · 8 months ago

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hey, i hope this isnt rude, but i value your thoughts on betty (and simon!) and i think about your various analytical pieces often.

so i hope this isnt too vague, but. ive been thinking about the ways betty and simon might differ from each other, specifically in the way they view...everything. do you think one of them has a 'sees the big picture but misses the small details' view and the other has a 'gets lost in the details, cant see the big picture' view? im not sure if they differ here, or if they are both the 'gets lost in the details' but going opposite ways...?

FINALLY getting around to awnsering this. i got sick so it took me even longer than i thought it would (had to wait until i could retain coherent thoughts)!!

Ok So, a lot of this is extrapolating (esp for betty) and goes very into more of a headcanons and Personal Interpretations area than a, like, canon analysis. in part bc the show dosen’t give us a ton of content of these characters (i mean, there’s plenty of simon content as ice king but im talking about pre and post ice king simon here). but yea im just gonna ramble. dont take this super seriously btw guys. again a lot of this is just personal Interpretation yknow

SO i think simon is definitely a “gets lost in the details guy”. at least like, overall. that man overanalyzes things until he goes into a state of paralysis and then he just passes out. in some ways he might better about this post being-freed-from-the-curse, on the basis of "had to survive the apocalypse by thinking on his feet", but also worse about it bc of the lasting impacts of having been ice king. because one of the Big Things about ice king is that he almost never thought anything through and just did things as soon as he thought of them. i think simon probably really wants to be Not Like Ice King and so might be scared of making choices too fast or acting too impulsive. i imagine he’s very worried about behaving like ice king and thats something thats in the back of his mind most of the time, impacting his confidence in his own choices & actions. but also f&c sorta shows that he has that issue of trauma responses causing him to have emotional outbursts and make quick decisions. so thats something to keep in mind.

i think he's, like stuck in a state of being scared to do things without thinking really hard abt them but then sometimes he does that and then he usually regrets it and feels really awful afterwards. not always guilty-awful even. f&c seems to show him feeling angry a lot. to me simon deals not just with guilt over being ice king or recovering from being ice king or Having strong reactions to things or making choices he regrets… but also with Anger At The Situation - a lot of feeling confused and not sure what to do and overwhelmed, i think . (i like that they let him be angry and frustrated, not just sad and depressed. i think this is very realistic to trauma related emotional responses)

the other thing abt simon is he tends to follow other people's lead on a lot of things. i think he just likes not having to deal with the pressure of making decisions. he seems more inclined to lead around f&c than around, like, finn, though. and betty. but i think that’s in part because he was taking on a protector role w them. but yeah. he does a lot of crazy shit in f&c but very noticeably does not really act as a lead decision maker. until they get to the vampire world and they get attacked for a second that man is yelling orders and breaking a chair over his knee and pulling out a pocket knife to carve it into a stake lighting fast. which i loved that. i loved that he gained so much confidence from being in Panic Mode when confronted w vampires Because those where something he had to deal with in the apocalypse when raising marcy. he had to know what to do for marcys sake. other than that tho he's usually making suggestions at most. and agreeing to do scary crazy shit lmao . EXCEPT he decides on his own in secret to try and contact golb . hehe (motivated by wants to see his wife)

(it also seems like when he feels more confident in something he's much more capable of making choices. (makes sense) he wasnt paralyzed by anxiety when going on that research expedition with betty, probably because he was literally getting a phd (or had a phd, the show was so weird abt that) in that subject. makes sense he knows what he's doing. and also is interesting bc in ep2 of fionna and cake when he goes on an Adventure with finn he's very scared and nervous, but then talks about how he "used to be quite the adventurer in [his] day", which fits into the theme f&c had w his character where he feels out of place and less confident bc his whole ass profession isn't really relevant anymore, and everything is so different from how it used to be. so yeah. current simon has even less self confidence and confidence in his own decision making than Back In The Day simon bc of that)

id like to say that…. i think that the fact that it took betty only a few years to summon and eldritch god to free simon from his curse meanwhile it took simon 12 years to get to the point where he kidnapped a guy to use in a summoning ritual to talk to betty is interesting. bc i really do think they both love each other, and are both obsessive and co dependent. but betty went off the deep end so fast, meanwhile simon took a lot longer to do something comparatively Less Evil for betty. i think that a lot of this is because simon is just less confident in his choices, more nervous about making decisions, and *slower* at making decisions. in part because of a obsessive focus on details (i also think a buncha other stuff contributed to the difference in how long it took betty vs simon to do differing levels of fucked up shit for eachother but Yeah that’s the relevant part.)

i wouldn't say betty is a "think about the big picture, ignore the details" person though, necessarily. maybe compared to simon she is, but she's still a huge fucking nerd. she's an academic! to me she's someone who takes issues and situations that are more subjective and translates them into concretely structured language in order to guide herself through what actions she should take (my friend responded to this with “so what youre saying is betty took a philosophy class and was like ‘aw yes! Math!’” and yeah that is exactly what im saying)

i feel like canon sort of implies this, and definitely doesn't Not Imply It, but i also think canon didn't flesh out her character very well, so in a lot of ways im making my own assertions. but i think she's the type of person who likes to view things in ways that are ....not necessarily less complicated, but more concrete? like she can handle an uber complicated math problem with ease, but the way a math problem is complicated is entirely different from the way a social interaction is complicated, you know. and she's way better equipped for the first one.

so, basically, i think betty would be like: Dosent see the bigger picture.... but in a different way from simon, where instead of getting caught up on and overwhelmed by all the little details, she picks a specific angle to view the situation and then focuses on That, often to the detriment of viewing things from a wider, more complex and nuanced perspective. so better at seeing the bigger picture than simon, but still can miss a Lot…

i also feel like she leans towards viewing things as "identify a problem/issue, then find away to eliminate it" and "identify a goal, and find a way to reach it" . like i feel like she'd tackle social and personal situations in this way. it's not like she can't do things for fun or anything, but like, if she upset simon she'd go into Solving A Problem Mode and be like: “The issue is Simon Is Upset. The goal is Make Simon Not Upset. First i have to identify Why simon is Upset, and then how to make him Not Upset. This is The Current Goal I Must Complete.” like, not in an abstract sense. like shes literally narrating that to herself. i think she likes to focus in on "what's wrong here and how do i fix it" as opposed to dwelling on emotions and exploring nuance. (which may be a contributor to how she ended up in that “there’s so little me left anymore” state by temple of mars: she was so focused on Fixing the Problem that she didn’t allow herself to really process her feelings too deeply and that took a toll on her mental health.)

simon is maybe more aware of nuance, which could be part of why he gets caught up on details because he's like "this CANT be properly categorized into something more straightforward, there's actually a billion TRILLION little details and that is stressful". like simon desperately wishes things could be simplified down more but is usually like "actually no, a million things are happening actually". he's like me he would get upset if asked to rate his pain or feelings on a number scale at the doctor (i can’t do that shit for the life of me. Those things are far too complicated to put on a number scale in my eyes). meanwhile betty just will force things into concrete categories and steps and factors that Make Sense To Her with intense fervor and if she starts to have a "this is too complicated to address" moment she feels threatened and then tries very hard to reprocess things in a way that is easier, or just does her best to ignore the things that make stuff too complicated to address

i think betty tends to view things in medium-sized chunks that incorporate some but Not All details in a situation, and that she cares about small details and being thorough but feels like accomplishing the goal is the most important thing, so is willing and able to make a quick decision if she feels it's the only choice. like. she had a limited time before the portal closed, and she chose to jump through it, because she thought "the problem is that im not with simon. simon is on the other side of the portal. ill go there" it's not that she doesn't like to think things through. she loves to think things through! its just that OVERALL she is a Doer who wants to solve the problem and thinks taking action and doing something is way better than sitting there and missing an opportunity. betty will think through the details if she has time, but if she doesnt, she just breaks things down into whatever is most easy to digest and process, and then takes the option that seems.like it will get the most desired outcome based on the available info. and also shes just very confident and headstrong. and THATS. why she punched bella noche

In my eyes betty likes having rules and defined, structured processes about what to do or how to deal with stuff. and she dosen’t really like changing those. she's very autistic. she hates change i think. so does simon. but i think that simon would be more likely to be like: the change in situation is so upsetting that it's making it harder to think and process things, so he just gets overwhelmed and has an even harder time addressing whatever is happening or comprehending it. meanwhile betty is quick to try and find the easiest way to rerout her thinking to fit the new change, she's just really fucking pissed off and stressed out about it (part of this to me is she hates feeling powerless & hates feeling like she might fail). she copes with changes in her surroundings by finding a way to connect the changed situation as well and as fast as possible with her pre existing methods of tackling situations. i think bettys also worse at handling changes in people than changes in situation. to quote my friend when we where texting about this “Situations dont have feelings”.

Like. Betty has so many skills. so much knowledge. but isn’t great with people. And she gets to know people and figures out how to understand them and then THEY CHANGE??? ILLEGAL. and so… like…this is literally her whole thing with simon!! elements seems to imply that betty originally views things as "simon is cursed, i have to fix the curse". but when she makes an attempt to meet simon where he’s at and try to interact with him as ice king, she is unable to handle it. she is upset that he is different, so much so that she concludes the only way to view things is to see them as separate people, even though it was implied that she wasn't doing that before! she was approaching it like he was Simon With Memory Loss…..but then she does her villain betrayal scene and now she's all "things will be back to just me and simon, and you won't exist" . meaning before she directly started interacting with him, she was able to view him as simon, but when she did interact with him for an extended period of time and found out how different he had become, she felt so threatened by this that the only way she could handle it was by switching her view in order to not have to confront the idea that simon could have changed that much. it also meant switching her view to a place where she would be okay hurting simon. but when he starts to protest, get upset, ask what's wrong, and worst of all, insist that he's worthy of respect, that starts to stress her out and she has to talk out loud to herself to reassure herself that she's doing the right thing

and in that scene simon goes "i don't know who this simon guy is, im ice king", which i think is a Big line - he's responded to simon in the past, but doesnt always. Like. he's inconsistent in whether or not he's aware that's a way of referring to him, which makes sense bc he seems to have memory lapses where he remembers things fine one minute and forgets them the next, them remembers about them way later. anyway having him say that simultaneously provides a Confirmation of bettys new perspective, but it also… isn’t meant to. i feel like, to the audience, its saying that "simon has changed so much, he's entirely different now. and this is the way things are, and betty should accept this, but she cant" . to betty its telling her she’s right, but that kind of sucks, because she’s not totally sure how much she wants to be right (she dosen’t want this to be simon, but she also dosen’t want simon to be gone)

(i think the idea of betty Swapping her perspective abt simon during elements as a coping strategy to deal w the panic of What If Simon Is Different + the moral dilemma of potentially hurting him fits nicely into the "betty has bpd" interpretation . my girl is splitting)

(also ik many people interpret simon and ice king as Literally being entirely different people but tbh i think that is way less interesting and doesn't make a lot of sense with the canon. but also ik this is partially because what people consider to be "different people" is subjective. like it depends somewhat on ur perception of identity and stuff. also having different interpretations is valid and fair and all that - and adventure time is often very loose in its text and there’s lots of ways to interpret it. but whatever man im just saying my feelings and That is and Always Will Be the Same guy to me and i think that perspective is waay more interesting to explore than simon getting possessed by an alternate personality or whatever. so im just going under that interpretation….. i think some ppl would perceive the "im ice king" line as being a conformation of them as separate people but to me it's a more abstract representation of the idea that a Drastic Change has taken place that Cannot be reversed!!.... which. Ok eventually it is but tbh i doubt they even knew how they'd end the show by this point and i still think in the context of elements it still works very well as a way driving home both how betty is Not Handling the Situation Well while also making you empathize with her bc u also know how hard that must have been for her to hear)

i think betty is very person-oriented in a unique way!!she's codependent while also being low empathy, introverted, and in many ways socially inept, which is an interesting combo! i really get the vibe that she has always struggled socially and had trouble fitting in, so attaches really heavily to people who she does feel a connection to, and works really, really hard to maintain the relationships she has. i like to think she’s scared of rejection…

i think simon is much more empathetic, emotion-driven, and in tune with others than betty, but i also think he can be Very bad at actually understanding other people on many levels - like with his obliviousness to betty being interested in him romantically until she spelled it out for him, or to the impact of bettys earlier sacrifices. simon also, with the mission to get the crown in f&c, despite his empathetic nature and love for his friends, does not seem to consider that putting the crown on would upset his friends. This shows a "focusing on one thing and missing something else" scenario, and perhaps more of a "thinking abt the big picture" (saving f&c's world) over the details (friends would be sad) thing. so that's interesting. (although i think part of this example in particular stems from his self hatred preventing him from really thinking that his friends would be upset if he did that. but in a sense it is focusing on big picture over details). So theres some nuance there i think

BUT Anyway, i think this issue probably is mainly with him struggling to read people, or fully understand others perspectives, despite caring deeply about people and feeling Upset when he can tell other people are Upset. he cares and he feels very emotionally connected to people, especially people he cares about…. he just isn't that great at picking up on things sometimes. (also. Worth noting, i think its def shown that while simon may be very caring towards his friends and is a generally nice and approachable, well meaning person who wants whats best for other people. He still is very capable of Hating People and Doing Bad Things On Purpose. Don’t want to ignore that. also hes very desensitized to bad things happening in many respects lmao. So its not like hes just always super nice and caring and amazing. He still murdered choose goose to death and That is via the power of choose goose being annoying and Simon Loving Betty)

Betty also struggles to understand other people but instead of being downright oblivious to certain things or being unsure and nervous she finds relating to people and understanding their actions and emotions to be actively difficult and makes an active effort to understand people in a bit of a scientist-looking-at-a-subject way. Which can be helpful sometimes and less helpful other times. like. it's good that she has a way to navigate social interactions . but also that way of addressing things isn't always conductive to a healthy relationship, especially when she doesn't really let simon in on the fact that she's making these sort of analyses where she's like "what will maximize Simon Being Happy and how do i accomplish this" sometimes to her own detriment. simon is just like "wow betty is so confident and good at knowing what she wants" meanwhile betty is like "i will make the best choice For Simon" betty i think is better than simon at reading people but not good at Empathizing With Others Emotions or really Understanding or relating to the emotions behind their actions .

she also is shown to, despite caring So much about simon, not be very considerate or caring towards others (not the same as being low empathy & etc dw im not equating them. Its just on the topic of How She Views Others!!!). To be fair, we don’t see nearly enough of her interacting with people besides simon, but i like to think that she just sorta struggles to really care about and have compassion for Random People but deeply cares about those she is Really close too (but as far as we know, thats just simon)

OVERALLi think they see the world very similarly in some ways and very differently in others and it's an interesting balance. also they are both Autistic. In cconclusion !!

betty

likes to break things down into concrete concepts because she struggles to comprehend more subjective and nuanced experiences, especially in social situations + Feels more comfortable approaching things from a “scientific” perspective because it is familiar and easy for her to navigate; threatened by uncertainty and comforted by things that are more straightforward and well-defined

doesn't dwell on things a ton (esp not as much as simon) because she's very goal-oriented and focused on the Now. she wants to get to the next step. that often then means ignoring Her Own Feelings Or Needs if she deems Other Things to be more relevant or important than them (not good for your mental health) + this also means she’s better at making quick decisions! she cares about details and prefers to have All The Relevant Info but is willing and able to cut things down to a “wider-picture” that helps her make whatever choices will help her achieve her goal - that wider picture just may not always be the Full Actual wider picture.

struggles to put herself in other people's shoes - finds it easier to view herself as an outside party with the goal of achieving the ideal outcome in a social situation. In general has low empathy and struggles to understand/relate to others feelings, which impacts her perspective on things and how she handles/views situations.

(not really mentioned earlier but idk where else to put it:) i also think she has that Autism Trait where you focus in on a specific goal you want to achieve and struggle to focus on anything else until it's accomplished (and that that sort of thinking pattern happened with curing simons curse). where you put off doing anything, even things you could do, until something that you Need to happen (according to your brain, not the real world) happens. Betty put off being person until simon was saved. she put Everything on hold until she accomplished her mission. and this is in a way a form of not seeing the bigger picture, because its overly focusing on a specific thing at the expense of others

(bettys better at balancing seeing the details & the big picture in a sense, but more like. she picks a medium sized chunk of what is going on and focuses on that and acknowledges details when able to but is willing and able to make split second decisions based on little info and is confident in doing so. but whereas i think simon might have more of a "sees the whole big picture but then gets caught up on the details" thing going on, i think betty just straight up focuses on One Portion of something, of varying sizes, which could or could not he considered a "detail", but then almost completely ignores everything else, viewing things as individual challenges or events that need to be addressed before anything else can be)

simon

is someone who really likes to think things through, and can easily get hung up on details and can easily get overwhelmed by those details and sent into a state of anxiety-fueled-spiraling or decision making paralysis

this is worse probably for Current simon because he’s also Trying To DIstance Himself from his identity as ice king, and as ice king he had no impulse control and thought things through very little. so simon likely puts even more pressure on himself to think things through! unfortunately hes also Going Through A Lot Emotionally and sometimes that’s too much and he Dosen’t think things through and just acts on how he’s feeling. And that makes him feel Worse about himself and just Everything in general

he is more confident with his decision making skills if he feels more prepared/knowledgeable on the subject at hand or is taking on a caretaker role (like with marcy, or f&c). but currently he dosen’t have a lot of that going on so that kinda sucks for his self confidence.

simon is better at empathizing with people than betty & at creating connections with others & is more caring towards people he dosen’t know that well - and so may consider Other People more in his perspectives on things. But on the other hand hes not always the best at reading people or understanding their perspectives, even if he feels emotional connections and cares about people, so he can easily overlook other people’s struggles or perspectives within an issue - even if he cares deeply about their wellbeing (very relevant to his relationship with betty)

he’s generally more emotion driven than betty, and dwells on & ruminates about his feelings, sometimes to the point of obscuring his understanding of a situation or his ability to engage with it. On The Other Hand this means he at least acknowledges how he’s feeling meanwhile betty is like “im classifying that as irrelevant information until further notice” lmao.

he’s better at understanding nuance & subjectivity than betty but this contributes to his habit of getting-overwhelmed by everything & Overthinking

(simon focuses on details over the big picture overall. he easily gets caught up in details and panics. he traps himself in cycles of worrying about details that can paralyze him when making decisions, and so prefers to not have to make choices. BUT simons "paralyzed with fear of making decisions" state can often be overturned by the power of Having Strong Emotions and his decisions may be Less Good because of the power of not being great and understanding other people. he's very emotion-driven and currently suffering from a billion mental health issues so sometimes all that gets in the way of his natural over-thinking. hes got a better understanding of nuance than betty & is better at Empathizing with others and more considerate but not all too great at reading them or recognizing others Feelings or Behaviors)

I THINK I REPEATED A LOT IN THIS. AGAIN, KIND OF JUST RAMBLING. HOPEFULLY IT WAS SOMEWHAT COHERENT

#text #asks

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heyho-simonrussellbeale · 7 days ago

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Simon Russell Beale is one of our greatest classical actors but he never lets it look like hard work. He can turn anyone from King Lear to Prospero, from Hamlet to Falstaff, into a guy it’s a delight to spend an evening with. And when he’s not been tackling Shakespeare over the past 40 years he’s often also been making the verbal gyrations of Tom Stoppard feel like a doddle.

He got his first Tony award nomination in 2004 for playing a moral philosopher with marriage problems in a revival of Stoppard’s Jumpers. But his new role in The Invention of Love is a different level of challenge. Stoppard’s much-loved 1997 play puts the Oxford academic and poet AE Housman in the afterlife, then bombards its audience with wit, wisdom and enough classical allusions to sink a trireme.

You’d have thought that, aged 63, a knight of the realm since 2019 and a Tony winner in 2022 (for The Lehman Trilogy), this critics’ darling would be far beyond suffering from impostor syndrome. Meet him, though, and while his intelligence is as tangible as his affability, so is his self-questioning. I ask him if he had any qualms about playing Housman after two years off stage — the longest fallow period in his 40-year career. “Of course,” he says, sitting on a huge sofa in the offices of the Hampstead Theatre during a break from rehearsals. “I saw a very great actor do it. And you wonder if it is too soon for a revival … and if tastes have changed …”

What’s more, the play is brilliant but undeniably dense. When its original director, Richard Eyre, first read it he admitted: “I can’t see the wood for the wood or the trees for the trees.” Here, gloriously, is an unabashedly clever play about unabashedly clever people, and about the glories and the limits of that cleverness. Housman was gay, as is Beale, and much of the play is about Housman’s unrequited love for an undergraduate, Moses Jackson.

Beale gurgles appealingly at the thought of Eyre’s initial bamboozlement. “Tom quite likes doing that, doesn’t he? Yes, there are some sentences in this where you do go, ‘I wish there were something slightly simpler here.’ But he loves to amuse and he writes good, funny lines. And actually it’s all about love. I think Tom’s plays are always like that. It’s about love and loneliness and solitude and defining your isolation. Tom doesn’t hide that sort of passion in his plays but he deflects our attention.”

There is, Housman suggests in the play, a real emotional payoff to the pursuit of knowledge. Beale says something similar in his hugely readable memoir A Piece of Work, which was published in September and follows his life through his Shakespeare roles. “I don’t think it’s a substitute for other types of emotional satisfaction but I think it’s true.”

Beale has described acting as “three-dimensional literary criticism”. For Stoppard as for Shakespeare, he says, “it’s important you get the thoughts as good as possible before you start exploring the emotional life. You can be a little vague on the emotional life if you start there.” So he is a worker, not a chancer: he finds it useful to learn all his lines before rehearsals begin. “I know that, if the worst came to the worst, I could at least do the words.”

And there are plenty of them. In her biography of Stoppard Hermione Lee questions whether the heterosexual Stoppard would write a troubled gay protagonist these days. Beale looks unconvinced. “God knows. I don’t think Tom would care, do you? I did a talk with Alan Hollinghurst recently and in his latest novel [Our Evenings] he writes about a chap who is half-Burmese, half-British. So that’s brave to go down that route, not using your lived experience.”

I suggest that plays driven by flights of fancy like this are harder to put on these days. So many are either classics, film adaptations or based on real events. “I think, give me lots of plays about things I don’t know. Not just flights of fancy but … tell me things about AE Housman, a man who was recognised as the greatest scholar of his time. And I know nothing of classical scholarship.”

It’s been two years since Beale’s previous theatre job, playing the title role in Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman at Nicholas Hytner’s Bridge Theatre. It wasn’t a voluntary absence but it had its uses. “People didn’t seem to want me in theatre for a bit so I did quite a bit of film stuff.”

He will appear with Rebecca Ferguson and Nicola Coughlan in a film of Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree and has a role in the third Downton Abbey film, which will be released next year. There was also a role in a Marvel film, Thor: Love and Thunder, “but I was mostly cut out of it”. He played Ser Simon Strong in the second series of the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon. He loved being the only character thoroughly uninterested in warfare. “It would be lovely if I was back for the third series. But one of my nephews said, ‘You’re playing a really good person. So you’re sure to die horribly.’”

He won a best leading actor Bafta for his role in Dance to the Music of Time in 1998 and a best supporting actor Bafta for his Falstaff in The Hollow Crown in 2013. He was excellent in Armando Iannucci’s film The Death of Stalin in 2017. Yet it has always seemed odd that his screen work was nowhere near as frequent or celebrated as his stage work. “Well, I wasn’t very confident on film. And there is a difference between screen acting and stage acting, though I don’t know what it is. I think it’s to do with clarity of thought. People can sense what is going on behind your eyes. I just know I’m better now at feeling more at ease.”

Does he feel more castable nowadays? “Maybe I am. I was never going to be the beautiful young man but maybe I am more useful as an older man. It happens in the theatre too.” So after Stoppard he is playing Shakespeare’s blood-caked warrior Titus Andronicus for the RSC. “I kept thinking about these big American generals after the Gulf War and I sort of extended that idea of the older brute into Titus Andronicus.”

This summer he shot The Choral, a film directed by Hytner and written by Alan Bennett about a choral society in the First World War putting on Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. He plays Edward Elgar. “I loved doing that. It sort of feeds into my musical background.”

Beale lives on his own in Marlborough, Wiltshire, having moved out of London to be nearer to his 90-year-old father, Peter. He asked his father, who was an army surgeon but always sang, if he had a copy of The Dream of Gerontius. “So I stole his copy. And it turns out it’s the one I used to play at the piano so I knew it well.”

Beale’s parents were doctors — his mother, Julia, died of pancreatic cancer while he was playing Hamlet in 2000. Born in Malaysia, he is the oldest of six — although, as he explains touchingly in A Piece of Work, his sister Lucy died when he was 11 and she was four. She had a missing chamber in her heart. He was sent back to England to board at the age of eight: first as a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral School in London, then at Clifton College in Bristol.

“I mean, mixed feelings about that. When I think of my nephews I don’t like the idea. But I understand why it was done. My parents were in Singapore and, you know, the musical education in particular, absolutely brilliant, such a gift.”

He got a first-class degree in English at Cambridge but music was his great passion until he went on to study it at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. “My voice was fine but it was light and I never really dug deep.” Within a term he had switched to acting. He ended up leaving the course early because work came along. It kept on coming.

He is self-deprecating about his looks. Playing Konstantin in the RSC’s production of Chekhov’s The Seagull in 1990 was a breakthrough after a series of larger-than-life comical roles. “It was the first time anybody said I didn’t have to be grotesque or funny. I could just be … ordinary. It was a major, major moment in my life. I am the beneficiary of the great widening of expectations of what actors look like in certain parts. I’m not saying I am the first Konstantin who looked like me or the first Hamlet who looked like me but I am probably one of them.”

He has been nominated for ten Olivier awards and won three of them (for Volpone, Candide and Uncle Vanya). He was thrilled to win a Tony award at the second time of asking in 2022, even if it meant beating Adam Godley and Adrian Lester, the other members of the cast in The Lehman Trilogy. “Yes, that was unfortunate.”

Sir Simon Russell Beale could scarcely be more established. But the feeling that you are bluffing your way through never entirely vanishes. “I had it last week, I thought, I’m really not good.” Today I did something, I thought, oh, that’s better. I don’t think you ever get past that. But in terms of what I have achieved … I could stop now and it would be fine. I’d miss it but it would be fine.”

Fine financially? “Oh no, I’d have to get a job in Marlborough High Street. But I’d be fine emotionally. I mean I’d love to do more, of course, but if somebody said, ‘You can’t do it any more,’ it would be fine. In terms of do I need status? No, not really. I think I’m being honest about that.”

He admits he might get bored, though. “Because this job is the greatest job in the world when it is going well. And it’s nothing to do with fame. It’s to do with the fact that here I am, playing a classical scholar from 1880, who’d have thought it? Somebody says: go and do Elgar. Go and do Housman. The Death of Stalin.The Lehman Trilogy. Who’d have thought? You become an expert, for about five minutes, then completely forget about it. That’s the excitement every single time. A new world to explore. And you get paid too.”

With Dickie Beau as Oscar Wilde in The Invention of Love at the Hampstead Theatre

#simon russell beale #the invention of love #interview #times #stage #2024 #!!!#Titus

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hide-in-imagination · 9 months ago

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Ok you've written various versions of thIs so I just have to ask... What do you think is Simon and Ambar sexual experience before each other?

Oof, that's a hard question.

If we consider which countries they're both from and the average age in which people usually lose their virginities in those countries, then both of them shouldn't have been virgins by the start of the series (usually those first experiences are around 15 or 16)

BUT we have to consider their personalities too and their backgrounds, because they might not be the average teen.

If we only considered Season 3, then we'd have to say that they were not virgins because there's no fucking way with the sexual tension oozing out of them both. HOWEVER, I feel like a lot of the actors was slipping into the characters during that season, both of them 20-something adults with obvious previous sexual experience, so I feel like judging on Season 3 events would be an statistical mistake.

So, we'd have to judge based on Season 1 and Season 2 alone. In season 1, Ámbar has her 17th birthday, and it is mentioned many times, I believe, that she and Matteo had been dating for a long while previous to the start of the series, so, basing ourselves on that and, like I said, the average age in Argentina, we'd have to assume that Ámbar and Matteo had sex at some point (or, if not p-in-v sex, they at least did a lot of the other stuff that also count as sex)

The only thing that makes me question it is that, you know, Ámbar and Matteo didn't have the closest relationship from what we see in Season 1? Matteo seemed very dismissive of Ámbar and Ámbar looked like she was with him because he was cool and on the same level as her so they made sense as a couple and she loved the idea of them together more than Matteo himself. However, as many of you might know, you don't exactly need to have deeper feelings for someone to have sex with them 😂 And they were hormonal teenagers, so all they really needed was some mutual attraction and the opportunity to be alone (which I assume both of them would have plenty of considering they're portrayed as rich kids who their parents usually leave alone as long as they do well in school and stuff.) Now, would Ámbar want to be that vulnerable with Matteo? You know, the whole letting someone else see you naked and/or literally inside you. I would have to say no, she wouldn't. BUT, again, maybe she just didn't see it that way and it was just sex, just an activity that regular teenagers do with their partners, and I know that the Ámbar back then would want to 'be cool' and look cool in front of her peers, so she would definitely want to have sexual experience because, otherwise, she could look lame, especially if she'd been dating her boyfriend for a long time. It would be 'expected' of them to have sex, and Ámbar would want to meet those expectations.

So, going for that logic, I assume Ámbar did have sexual experience prior to the series. Definitely not an emotionally-based one though.

Now, let's go for Simón.

Simón is older than most characters in the show when it starts (we know because he already finished high school.) Now, it is never stated how old exactly he is (I've seen some magazines give him some age or another but, as I've been informed, those were not official), but we can assume he was either just turned 18 (Like, he turned 18 right before the start of the show) or he turned 19 at some point of season 1 that they didn't show.

If we based ourselves on the average age at which teenagers lose their virginity, and especially MALES, then there's no freaking way he would still be a virgen unless he was considered ugly or incredibly unpopular due to his personality, but I think we can agree he's neither of those things.

HOWEVER, the opposite thing to Ámbar happens here in which I think Simón would only do sexual things with someone he had an emotional connection with. He's shown as this very sensitive, golden retriever guy from the very start of the show, so while I know that that can totally co-exist with a rowdy, extensive sexual history in real life, I just can not believe that it would be the case for him. I just can't picture it.

So it all would come down to, Did Simón have a long-term girlfriend before the show? I gotta say it seems unlikely, because the only ex we're shown is Daniela, which, I believe, is mentioned they only had one summer together?? Or a summer thing that wasn't really a relationship?? You'll have to excuse me if I don't remember that right, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't think Simón would go all the way with a girl he'd only been seeing for the summer. Sure, it could look 'romantic' in his head, but no way. I think it would seem too fast for him, and he also wouldn't want to get too deeply invested in a relationship that he knew was not going to last beyond the summer.

In addiction to this, we're also led to believe that Simón has been in love with Luna for a looong time and he just hadn't realized it yet. (Whether that's true or if it was everyone's insistence that made him start looking at his feeling for Luna that way, is up to you to decide.) If that's true, maybe that would make it a little difficult for him to have girlfriends ?? Like, maybe that's why he only had short flings during the summer with girls because deep down his heart already belonged to another ???? I have no idea honestly. I do imagine he had crushes and, like I said, short relationships with girls throughout his life (because he's too much of a romantic and too cute for him to NOT have had dates during school and stuff) but I don't think he ever dated one for like a year or something, unless it was like from 14 to 15, or from 15 to 16, I guess that could be possible, and then he had his fling with Daniela in the summer of his 17 year and that would be all.

So. Considering all this. Did Simón have sexual experience before the show? ....A little, maybe. Like I said, p-in-v sex is not the only way to have sex with someone else. Simón could have, I don't know, done some dry-humping with a girlfriend before?? Again, because they're hormonal teenagers and the age at which MALES, specifically, do those things is usually even lower than girls. I think some petting over the clothes during a makeout session is more likely. At much he touched a boob. And at much he received a hand job if he happened to have an experienced older girlfriend, but I think that's it.

Maybe I'm not being realistic enough and I'm picturing him too innocently. (I've received comments in Wattpad from south american readers who are firm believers both Simón and Ámbar had sex before the show because there's no way they wouldn't have at their age.) You'll have to excuse me if you believe that's the case, but I just can't see Simón having sex with someone before the show. Like, with the way his character is portrayed, I just can't see it. And, you know, I'm a 26-year-old girl with a lot of outside knowledge but personally I didn't even kiss anyone during my teenage years, so it's easy for me to imagine others also not doing it 😂 I think the answer to this question you asked me, anon, can differ a lot depending on the personal experience of the person receiving it.

IN SUMMARY. What do I think Simón and Ámbar's sexual experience was before each other? For Ámbar, I think she had sex before. Maybe not all the way but most probably yes. For Simón, I think he was a virgin.

(Again, all of this is not taking season 3 into account because if we did, both of them would obviously not be virgins anymore.)

I don't know what everyone else thinks. Do you agree with me or do you have your reservations? To be clear, it's not like I'm 100% sure of this assessment either. I like to play with all possibilities of this in my fics and I'm not married with an specific headcanon. The analysis I made in this post is only me using logic and trying to be as unbiased as possible, but I'm a human being and I can totally fail.

Thank you for your question, anon. I hope you have a good day 🌷

#simbar #soy luna meta #ámbar smith #simón álvarez #anon #answered #c speaks

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the-bar-sinister · 9 months ago

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In Justice We Trust (95196 words) by thesavagesabretooth

With Simon Blackquill and Athena Cykes assigned as their psychologists, the Phantom and Fulbright must grapple with their identity, their deeds, their future, and their love for the twisted samurai whom they betrayed.

All the while, Edgeworth and Wright find their relationship tested as they walk the narrow path between pursuing real justice, and the dark age of the law.

December 25, 7:45 am

Gumshoe followed miserably along with the furious Apollo Justice as the lawyer slammed his way through the hotel, looking for Mr. Edgeworth.

“Hey, pal..” Gumshoe slumped along at top speed after Apollo, as fast as his worn out old boots could carry him. “I know you ain’t happy, but let’s try to breathe huh?”

"I'm breathing," Apollo said– despite sounding quite breathless, and his face being quite red. "I'm very aware that I'm breathing right now, Detective Gumshoe. Where can I find the chief prosecutor?"

“I’m gonna be honest with you, pal. You lookin’ the way you do right now? I ain’t sure it’s the best idea to tell ya. You look like you’re two steps from a Third Degree Murder.”

Gumshoe didn’t like seeing the man this way. Apollo was a good kid, but worked up the way he was now, he was likely to hurt someone. Lash out, like that Aura woman had back at the space center with her hostages. Or like too many crimes he’d seen in the past.

“Would you want Trucy to see you like this, kid?” Sometimes you had to make an emotional bid to calm someone down. Remind them of something important, friends, family, loved ones.

Apollo paused in his stride for a moment– but then kept marching. "No. Not that she hasn't seen me angry. But sometimes anger is important, Gumshoe. I'm not going to hurt anyone. I would never do that– unlike some people."

Maybe Gumshoe had gotten through to him at least a little bit– because his steps had slowed, and while the snap in his voice was still there, it was a bit less sharp.

“I get it, pal. Trust me. I’ve seen plenty done in anger…” He hurried up to put his hand on his shoulder with a sigh. “Just try not to say nothin’ you’ll regret in the mornin’.”

Apollo stopped again, and he rubbed his shoulders as he stood there, rolling them under his hand. "Gumshoe– thanks for trying to look out for me. But… you really have no idea what I'm going through right now."

“Yeah, that’s true pal. I mean, I dunno the specifics…and I dunno much, I ain’t a bright guy…but I can tell you’re still hurtin’ from losin’ someone.” He rubbed his neck. “I felt the same way when I thought Mr. Edgeworth had gone off an’ killed himself.”

That seemed to throw Apollo for a loop. "What?"

Gumshoe’s rugged face flushed under the scruff of his beard, and he rubbed his chin with a sigh “...back after he an’ Phoenix Wright had their first clashes in court, and the truth came out about his mentor Manfred Von Karma…Mr. Edgeworth and I were…are…real close. Always have been since I was assigned to him and since. He’s…”

He trailed off… important to me. A lot like Maggey is. She knew how much him and Mr. Edgeworth had shared together. “He and I worked close together. But after that, he vanished. Left a suicide note or somethin’ that sounded just like it, and vanished into the night for long enough we almost declared him dead. Broke my fuckin’ heart, kid. I was fallin’ to pieces. Woulda, if it weren’t for Maggey.”

Apollo was quiet for a moment. "Gumshoe– I'm sorry. I never knew about that. It uh, well I guess it explains some of the comments Phoenix has made about Miles before…"

He rubbed his chin. "But he wasn't really gone though… how long did you think?"

“Too damn long.” Gumshoe murmured. “he wasn’t really gone, but for those months of searching, he may as well have been. I didn’t think I’d see him again. So…yeah. I dunno how you feel, kid. Not exactly. But I got some idea, okay?”

"Maybe, but…" he rubbed the back of his neck. "Even when you thought Mr. Edgeworth was gone, you didn't think he'd been murdered. You weren't– you weren't being asked to go to work with his killer, Gumshoe, and pretend nothing was wrong. Don't you feel like that's a bridge too far?"

“I dunno, pal.” Detective Gumshoe set his jaw.

“I’ve seen some things over the years. Every time I think ‘maybe this is a bridge too far’, I think to myself ‘but what’s on the other side’. I dunno why Mr. Edgeworth invited you on this knowin’ you’d have to face the guy…maybe he thought you’d be even angrier if you found out, and weren’t invited at all.”

"I don't know what the hell he was thinking," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Which is exactly why I want to find out. But– you're a dependable kind of guy, Gumshoe. If you think I should wait to ask until later, I'll do that."

Gumshoe patted his shoulder “...If you wanna talk to him now, I can tell ya where he is. Just…try not to lose your cool. You ain’t gonna get answers if you barge in there seein’ red.”

"You're right." He set his jaw. "You'll see him today, right?"

“Of course. He’s supposed ta check in with me before heading out to give me instructions.”

"Alright. Tell him I want to talk to him tonight. Tell him to come see me. You can tell him what it's about, too."

Gumshoe nodded.

“you got it pal, I’ll pass it along to him nice an’ proper. Alright?” He patted his shoulder again, and Apollo put his hand on his for a moment. “Take care of yourself till then, alright?”

"Yeah Gumshoe. I'm gonna try to do that." He took a deep breath. "Thanks. Really."

Gumshoe gave him his best chummy smile. “Any time, kid. You ever need anything, feel free to hit up your friendly neighborhood Gumshoe, eh?”

December 25, 9:00 am

Simon stood back and assessed the scene after they'd finished their initial tour of the crime scene.

Two cars, the first of which had– apparently, according to the tire marks– swerved in front of the second car which then hit it. There was a second streak of tire marks from the second car where it had attempted, futilely, to brake at the last second. Both cars had burned so hot, and so long that they were destroyed and almost unrecognizable. There was a body in the front driver's seat of each car, both of which were heavily destroyed by the same fire.

Ema's analysis had not turned up any finger prints– unsurprising, given the fire– but she had discovered traces of unburned gasoline leading up to the scene of the two cars. And an assessment with luminol had turned up the most surprising feature of the case yet– a few drops of blood on the pavement between the two cars, which someone had attempted to wipe away.

And now that they were certain there were no fingerprints to miss, Ema was assisting in opening the cars, and examining what was left of the bodies.

Athena had been logging the entire investigation into Widget’s note function, drawing lines and notes between photographs taken with the small device in a rather interesting expose on how she conducted her investigations for the defense. She’d seemed most interested in the blood, writing out theories on exactly what it might mean while Ema worked with Agent Kelso.

Ema wrenched the door open with the agent’s help, with Ema holding her arm out to stop Kelso from moving the body until she took a picture.

“There. Lay them out on the ground. I’ll begin the examination.”

Halblicht stood to the side as Kelso moved the body out of the car under Ema's instructions, and Simon noticed him watching the agent carefully. He'd noticed, in fact, that Halblicht had been watching both interpol agents carefully since the investigation had begun. He wondered what was on his mind– perhaps he was concerned that the agents might recognize him?

Whatever it was, it was of little consequence now, while they were investigating. Frankly as long as Halblicht didn't try to flee, or to tamper with the evidence– both of which were seeming less and less likely– Simon didn't care what he did.

He was loath to admit it, but he was almost enjoying the opportunity to work the case with the man, and with Athena.

Halblicht's gaze flicked from Kelso to the burned remains, which were, admittedly, difficult to look at for Simon. The monstrous things that fire did to the human body.

"Uuuh, is anyone seeing what I'm seeing?" Bobby asked after a moment.

Kelso looked up as Ema began her examination, starting from the head and going down with a magnifying glass and tweezers to peel away what little remained of clothing and charred flesh when she needed to.

“Seeing what, Detective Halblicht? The dead man? Yeah, I do.” she’d taken to flipping the bullet again, the clicking of metal on metal ringing out adding a sort of background track to the proceedings.

“Mm…if you’re talking about the bullet wound to the face, yes. I’ll work on extracting the bullet when I’m done with my preliminary examination of the rest of the body, “ Ema murmured from her work.

Athena looked a bit sick to her stomach as she glanced at Halblicht. “I haven’t gotten close, what is it?”

Halblicht snapped into his ridiculous Bobby Fulbright salute at Athena. "Ms. Cykes– there's what appears to be a large bullet hole in the front of this man's skull."

"Not what one usually expects from a car wreck, admittedly," Simon drawled.

“Not unless it was an execution.” Ema said casually. “You sometimes see it, someone gets close and fires through the windshield to eliminate the incapacitated target…except.”

She pointed with her tweezers to the bullet wound, “it’s not a close range shot. This was from a distance.”

Athena frowned. “...now that’s interesting, isn’t it? I wonder if we can find any other bullet holes? And I wonder if it ties into the blood that was wiped up.”

Kelso whistled low, and adjusted the sunglasses in her hair again. “yikes. I guess we knew it wasn’t gonna be a cut and dry crash, but…”

"Yikes is right!" Bobby agreed. "It's too bad that all the windows were destroyed– they would have had something to say."

"Wouldn't they just?" Simon agreed. "The entry wound is in the front of the skull, yes?"

"Sure is, Prosecutor Blackquill!"

He touched his chin thoughtfully. "That tells us something in itself, doesn't it. If he was shot while he was driving– perhaps that's why the car swerved."

“Yeah..” Kelso nodded as she knelt down to look at the body with Ema. “I think you’re right, Prosecutor Blackquill. The sudden shot to the head probably caused him to slump, turning the wheel sharply to the side and colliding with the barrier.”

Athena bit her lip.

“So someone was in front of them? And fired the gun from the distance to kill him.” She looked back at the other car “then what about the second car? It collided with the first, right?”

Ema had gone quiet again, working with the tweezers and her small medical kit to extract the bullet from the dead agent’s skull.

Halblicht crossed his arms, and narrowed his eyes with a very cold expression in his face suddenly. "If that's the case, then it's likely the second car is unrelated to the case. A bystander casualty incurred due to the sudden wreck of the agents car."

"An interesting theory, detective," Simon said, considering it. "And a decent one– if not for one problem."

"Sir?"

"If this car belongs to an unrelated bystander– where's the second agent? There were two agents, and two agents are missing."

"Ah. Then perhaps the agents were in two cars after all?

“They could have decided that going separately somehow lowered suspicion?” Kelso suggested, the bullet reappearing and flipping through her fingers once more. “and give the opportunity for, if one was shaken, the other to continue to monitor unsuspected?”

Athena’s nose wrinkled.

“...I don’t know, Agent. I think I’d like to examine the second body and car first. Agent Ash says that it’s almost certain that they took one car. I can’t imagine they’d have the time or inclination to grab a second car if the target was already heading out…right?” She suddenly looked unsure “then again, I’m no espionage expert.”

“I’ve got the bullet.” Ema announced.

"Espionage tactics aside, what can we observe about the bullet, Skye-dono?" Simon asked. He noticed that Halblicht had crossed his arms, and gone quiet again.

Ema held up the ruined slug in her tweezers. “It's a pistol round. Typical handgun 9mm. Damaged from the heat and entry, but we might be able to make out rifling if we sent it in for testing.”

"A pistol round, shot from a distance, in the front of the skull," Simon nodded. "Interesting. Is there anything else significant about the remains at this time?"

“Not really. Fire did its job admirably,” Ema huffed with a frown as she stood. “he was shot by a pistol from the distance in the front of the skull, and then the body was all but destroyed in the fire.”

“Brutal.” Kelso murmured with a shake of her head.

“I think we should get looking at the second body..” Athena said “...especially given the blood on the scene. It’s outside, between the cars…which is interesting.”

"It's very interesting," Simon agreed. "Let's have a look at the second body, and see what conclusions we can draw from it."

Halblicht turned, quietly, suddenly snapping into action again. "I'll be happy to take the body out of the car then, if you'd like, Prosecutor Blackquill."

Simon raised his eyebrows. Why was he offering that?

"I don't see why not. Agent Kelso should only be required to get her shirt so dirty," he drawled. He resolved to watch Halblicht carefully. Surely he wasn't going to tamper with the evidence.

“Well I’m not gonna say no.” Kelso smiled. “...this shirt’s got enough tragedy smeared on it from the first one. If you want a hand, lemme know, sir.”

Athena’s head tilted up, and she seemed to listen very carefully as Halblicht spoke…she even paused in her note taking.

Halblicht slipped his black gloves from his pocket, and onto his hands. "At least I'm in the appropriate color for being covered in ash, hm? Ms. Ema– would you please open the car?"

“You got it, Rob,” Ema nodded as she tightened her own gloves and grabbed the door handle. “On three. One…two…”

She wrenched the door open with the groan of charred and melted metal scraping together.

Halblicht held back as the photo was taken of the car, and then he very carefully looked the body over.

"There seems to be another gunshot wound in this one," he said. "Possibly two. I'll move it now."

“Good, once you get it on the ground I’ll give it the in depth examination.” Ema said, seeming more alive than ever now that she was in her element.

Kelso stood back, flipping the bullet between her fingers again as she asked. “Want me to investigate the interior of the car while you work on that, ma’am?”

As Halblicht gently removed the body, he looked over his shoulder and caught Simon's eye. To his surprise, he noticed Halblicht shake his head very slightly, as if in answer to a question.

Simon frowned, not knowing quite if he was making the right assumption, but–

"Why don't we look together, Agent Kelso? Two heads, as they say, are better than one." He stepped around toward the other side of the car.

“They say that!” Kelso laughed cheerfully, before waving her hand, the bullet vanishing down her sleeve. “If you asked Agent Ash, she’d probably say it’s at least better than just mine, anyway.” she lightly rapped her knuckles on the side of her head. “let’s take a peek.”

Athena tilted her head, and her brow furrowed as she listened to the conversation. She glanced back. “Actually, there was something I wanted to ask Agent Ash about the cars…”

"What was that, Ms. Cykes?" Halblicht asked as he lay the body down on the pavement next to the other.

“I wanted to ask Agent Ash something about the cars.” She spoke up “...their procurement , specifically. And if there’s any way to track and ID cars used by Interpol agents. I think we can solve the ‘two bodies, two cars’ discrepancy that way.”

As Simon busied himself looking in the car's passenger seat, he thought that that was a very interesting question indeed.

December 25, 8:20 am

When Phoenix, Miles and Kay met up with Gumshoe and with the girls in the hotel dining room, the first thing that happened was a minor change of plans. Trucy invited Kay to go see Klavier and his commercial with them.

Miles looked at Kay with a raised eyebrow. "Well, Ms. Faraday– it's up to you. Admittedly, I think I have enough backup for this investigation if you'd rather."

Indeed, Miles had rarely felt as well backed up as he did with both Phoenix and Gumshoe there.

“If you’re sure, boss.” Kay had said, glancing between them. In the end, the siren call of bothering a rock star all day won out, and she’d agreed to go along with Trucy and Pearl…leaving the trio to do their work.

“I won’t lie, sir.” Gumshoe said, “I kinda appreciate havin’ something to do today.”

"And I'll appreciate having your… unique skills and way of looking at the world, Detective," Miles drawled with amusement. "Enjoy the day, Kay. Make sure to get some pictures."

“You got it, sir!” Kay snapped a salute. “I’ll steal you one of his guitars, alright?”

“Don’t…Don’t say that to us, Miss Kay.” Gumshoe pleaded “I don’t wanna have to testify in court.”

With the pleasantries out of the way, and Phoenix securing multiple promises from Trucy and Pearl that they'd check in throughout the day, the prosecutor, the attorney, and the detective headed out toward the parking lot.

"Nostalgic, in a way, isn't it?" Miles mused.

“Sure is, sir. Reminds me of all them times you and I solved mysteries overseas.” he chuckled richly. “Guess ya still get the itch now and again eh?”

"Can't keep Edgeworth away from a good mystery," Phoenix chuckled.

"Or a bad one." Miles smirked and shook his head. "You know, I'm not sure the three of us have all been on one investigation together like this."

“Nah , every time we managed to get on one of these, Phoenix was off fuckin’ around, sir.”

"Hey, that's not true!" Phoenix complained. "I was not the one 'fucking around' off solving mysteries over seas. Besides, the three of us have been on plenty of investigations together– just not exactly on the same side."

"And thus, not in the same room at the same time, Wright," Miles tutted. "So this is a fairly novel experience."

They strolled outside into the cold air where their breath came out in puffs, and Miles headed toward where he'd been told his rental car for the day would be parked.

Gumshoe laughed, clapping his hands together. “Two she, Phoenix. Ya got a good point.”

He had probably meant to say touche…but the word was very much lost in translation.

Miles was about to speak up to correct him, when he gave pause, looking at the car next to his own. The driver's side window was wide open, and he immediately noticed that it wasn't merely rolled down, but that there were specs of glass littered in the space where it would have rolled into.

"Oh dear. I think someone's car's been robbed."

Gumshoe’s brow furrowed.

“...That ain’t good. That ain’t good at all.” He leaned forward to inspect it with a rub of his chin. ‘We should report it, yeah? “

"Of course we should," Miles said. And they should– but his curiosity was piqued.

Phoenix caught up. "Uh-oh, I know that tone."

“Oh ho ho!” Gumshoe rubbed his hands together. “is it time to meddle, Mr. Edgeworth, sir??”

Edgeworth flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well– as curious as I am to do so, we have more pressing business today. Let's take down the license plate and give the information to the front desk. If something hasn't been done about it by the time we get back…"

Phoenix slapped Edgeworth companionably on the shoulder. "Then we'll indulge your meddling, Edgeworth."

He made a noise and adjusted his cravat. "Quite."

#dick gumshoe #apollo justice #miles edgeworth #phoenix wright #athena cykes #bobby fulbright #simon blackquill #ema skye #trucy wright #pearl fey #blackbright #phantomquill #ace attorney #fanfiction #fanfic #fan fiction #archive of our own #ao3 #fic: in justice we trust

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lycanlovingvampyre · 2 years ago

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MAG 151 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: apple cutting.

Haha, Big picture! On one hand the idiom of getting an overall view and then on the other hand it’s a bit more literal, since after all Simon was a painter, and he worked on big pictures!

MARTIN: „Um, excuse me sir – uh, sorry, you – can’t actually be here?“ UNKNOWN: „Oh, not to worry! I seem to be doing all right so far.“ Simon is such an icon! I love/hate that old guy!

UNKNOWN: „Ah! You must be Martin. Goodness, he was not exaggerating.“ MARTIN: „What’s that supposed to mean?“ UNKNOWN: „Oh, come now, don’t be like that.“ Yeah, what was that supposed to mean? Does Martin really look so lonely? Any other guesses?

SIMON: "…They have been in, haven’t they? I’d hate to think I’m underrepresented in here – not when Peter tells me that that (derisive) bone fellow has at least half a dozen –" Hm, is Simon perhaps a bit bothered by the possibility of his own insignificance?^^ Seriously though, the way he talks this whole episode, the dismissiveness towards any value of our lives.

MARTIN: „And you do it? Why?“ SIMON: „Is that your first question?“ MARTIN: (tense) „…is there a limit?“ SIMON: „Only until I get bored. And that does tend to come more quickly these days.“ MARTIN: „O…okay, okay then, sure, sure. First question, then. Why are you helping Peter? Don’t you serve different, you know, fears?“ SIMON: „Well, now… See, that’s actually two questions.“ This dialogue is just hilarious! xD

The One Alone and the Falling Titan are such good names. A strong yet mysterious tone.

MARTIN: „How are new powers born?“ SIMON: „Hmm… Don’t know.“ MARTIN: „How soon could it attempt this ritual?“ SIMON: (cheerily) „No clue.“ MARTIN: „How do we stop it?“ SIMON: „Can’t help you.“ MARTIN: (teeth gritted) „Could you at least try?“ I can’t possibly highlight every funny dialogue in this episode, can I?

SIMON: „The thing you have to remember is that no one actually knows how these things work – not really.“ Not-really counter of S4: 19!

SIMON: „There’s always been plenty of theories, of course, and over a century or two you do start to get an intuitive feel for it, but… there’s really no hard-and-fast rules. The powers, or entities, or fears, or whatever you want to call them, are bound up in emotion. In feeling. How they exist, what they can do, how they interact with the world… it all makes about as much logical sense as a nightmare. Which is to say, there is a certain sort of emotional logic to it all: things feel like they flow together in a way that makes sense, but if you try to stop and do the maths, then it all comes apart. At least, in my experience.“ I love this explanation! Soft magic system, soft magic system!!!

SIMON: „Because it wasn’t a very good idea…? The fear wasn’t out there – not like I hoped it was. It all sort of… fizzled. Also, a Hunter broke in and destroyed the mechanism.“ So what did happen to various rituals, which they didn’t work (without Gertrude’s or Jon’s interference). Was that in Alexandria a ritual or just a stronghold like the Institute? Either way, it was destroyed by the Dark iirc. Then the Stranger ritual in Budapest, stopped by the Slaughter. And now the Vast, sabotaged by the Hunt.

SIMON: „It’s all been getting a bit much over the last few decades. I blame the number of people. From a raw numbers point of view, it’s getting very busy. More minds equals more fear, after all.“ So is he kind of saying, the Fear business shifted into a capitalistic model? xD

SIMON: "Erm… imagine you are deaf. But every night you hear the most beautiful music in your dreams, and your every waking thought is consumed by trying to reproduce that music. – oh, you’re mute, as well, in this analogy, or at least, you can’t sing. And you need to invent the idea of a musical instrument from scratch. Everyone else is also deaf and mute, and, um –" Also, very good explanation!

MARTIN: "And – and how did you get started with it all? Did you – did – did you just look up at the sky one day and fall head-over-heels in love?" It's funny how Martin's thoughtless guesses actually come quite close to the truth. Happens in MAG 154 as well.

SIMON: (laughs) "Well, this has been fun. Now, if we’re about done –" [CHAIR SCRAPES] MARTIN: We’re not. Sit back down." SIMON: "Bold!" (chuckles) [CHAIR SCRAPES] SIMON: "I like it." I'd like to say that Martin really got bold in S4, but actually, he always had it in him and he certainly was no scaredy cat. He grabbed a few worms on the way out of his flat. He stood up to Jon several times and even snaps at him in MAG 39. He snaps at Tim in MAG 79. He decided to provoke Elias and went through with it. I'd say his fuse got shorter in S4, but he's never been a pushover and one of his advantages actually was people underestimating him.

SIMON: "I’d say, 'any time,' but honestly, if you see me again… I may just throw you off something for a joke. How do you feel about – roller coasters?" Sassy bitch! [affectionate] I do like Simon very much as a character, but in rl I would stay away as far as possible to people like this xD (tbh, there are a lot of characters I really like and appreciate, but who I would avoid at any cost irl.)

BASIRA: “I don’t think so. Three weeks I’ve been waiting to catch sight of you, and now I find you chatting with Simon Fairchild.” How did Basira recognize Simon on sight but Martin did not? Am I forgetting something?

BASIRA: "Yeah, Jon found the tapes you made for him –" MARTIN: (frantically) "Shh, shh!" This is such a huge indicator that Martin isn't actually buying into Peter's bullshit that much and still is very invested in Jon. But he needs to keep up his facade and play the long game. Very Web-y of him.

BASIRA: "And you don’t see anything suspicious about that –" MARTIN: (overlapping) "Of course I do, but it – might be the only way, and…" Oh man, the parallels to MAG 194... Except the roles are switched here and Martin didn't go through with it when the time came and he finally got the big picture.

MARTIN: "Yeah. Don’t… tell Jon. Please." BASIRA: "Fine. I can’t promise you he won’t just Know it, though." MARTIN: "… How is he?" He's still so attached! T_T

@a-mag-a-day

#a-mag-a-day #mag 151 #tma #tma spoilers

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baratrongirl · 1 year ago

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B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

B - I don't have a lot for Ace Attorney because most of its ships are very obvious. I did however discover a fondness for the very rarepair Maya Fey/Simon Blackquill after reading a fic about them. She is a spirit medium who is going to become the leader of her village, and is also obsessed with the TV series The Steel Samurai. He is a raging weeaboo and/or British man with Japanese ancestry who wields a spirit katana and wants to be a samurai. They are even the same age! They are absolutely perfect together!

K - Urgh, see, this is the thing that Ace Attorney is very bad at. The games are good at showing 50-75% of a character development arc and then giving up. Like, AA4 is all about Klavier Gavin receiving trauma after trauma, and you'd expect him to need some time to process everything that's happened to him - yet he pops up in AA5 as if nothing has happened at all. Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth both have development, but even then you don't see the trauma being processed. In fact, the way Phoenix flips back to his old self in AA5 ignores all of the changes that happened to him in AA4, and seems false.

I actually think one of the best development arcs I've ever seen in a game/game series is Martin Septim in TES IV: Oblivion. He goes from being the priest of a town attacked by Daedra (TES version of demons) to the Emperor of Tamriel, willing to give his life to stop the Daedric invasion. Each time you return to Cloud Ruler Temple on the main quest, he's a little more resigned to his fate. He goes from giving an awkward speech to the Blades where he says, "I know you all want me to be Emperor, but this is very new to me" to leading a major battle dressed in the Emperor's heavy armor. When did he learn to fight in heavy armor? Before that, he's only worn priest's robes. A lot is happening to him behind the player's back, and it gives him life.

W - I agree with you about hating soulmates and Hanahaki Disease, unless those tropes are subverted. I am quite fond of the idea of "soulmates" which simply means that the person will be very important to you - not necessarily your one and only partner, but perhaps your best friend forever. And I find it interesting when people write Hanahaki Disease as a chronic illness which affects people who love too easily and deeply. I've often felt that I'm a person who does that, and it's brought me emotional pain. Why not have physical pain to go with it?

The tropes I REALLY hate though are "Pair the Spares" and "Everyone is Gay".

Ace Attorney has a juggernaut F/F ship of FranMaya which is Miles Edgeworth's adoptive/foster sister Franziska Von Karma paired with Phoenix Wright's best friend Maya Fey. But there are plenty of other options for both of those women, both F/F and M/F. I feel they get paired together despite their wildly different personalities and interests simply because Phoenix and Miles do, and I really dislike that. I don't even hate the ship! But I LOATHE the idea that they are together BECAUSE of their brother/best friend's relationship.

When the trope is subverted, and FranMaya get together years before WrightWorth, then I like the ship much more. Though I still feel that both characters have plenty of other interesting ships available to them.

"Everyone is Gay" bothers me when it's literally everyone being GAY as in exclusively same-sex relationships. Especially as three characters are about as close to canon bisexual as it's possible to be! Others have strongly headcanoned sexualities which are part of fanon (e.g. Miles Edgeworth being homoromantic demisexual and Kristoph Gavin being aromantic homosexual). But other characters are more flexible, e.g. I've seen Ema Skye written as lesbian, bi, straight, asexual, aromantic and acearo!

By all means, make everyone queer. But recognise that a trans woman might date a man, that a lot of bisexuals end up in relationships with people of different gender, that heteroromantic asexuals are still queer, and that acearo people likely don't want partners at all. And all of that is okay.

#character development #fic tropes #tropes i hate #rarepair #ace attorney #tes iv: oblivion #martin septim #maya fey #simon blackquill #ema skye

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moviemunchies · 2 years ago

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With Dungeons & Dragons becoming more mainstream in the last few years, through things like Critical Role and that one episode of Community, it was only a matter of time before they tried to make a mainstream movie adaptation. And so we got this: Honor Among Thieves.

Good times.

Our story’s main characters are Edgin and Holga, a bard and barbarian warrior trapped in jail after their last attempted burglary went wrong and the rest of their crew escaped. When they escape, they find out their former companion Forge set them up to be captured, became lord of Neverwinter, and turned Edgin’s daughter against him. Oh no! So they get a crew together to steal all of Forge’s shiny new treasure and get Edgin’s daughter back.

So it’s a heist movie! Except in a fantasy setting. Which is quite fitting for a DnD film, because so many of those quests are team efforts for treasure or to stop a villain. I don’t know precisely how well this film maps onto the expectations of what a DnD sessions tend to go, but I imagine they’re often unpredictable (for the players) and fun adventures, much as this story turns out to be.

What I enjoy about this story is how out there it is? It embraces the fantastical. There are plenty of nonhumans who are just there in the population (often with practical effects!) without anyone questioning it or sitting and explaining it to you. You don’t have the rules of magic explained, but they’re alluded to and they clearly exist. Any asides of “Hey, what IS that?” is for the audience to understand what’s going on. And even then, there are some things which the movie doesn’t tell you, just reveals through context–that panther thing in the maze comes to mind. It’s not a fantasy epic like Lord of the Rings but it is a unabashedly fantasy film that revels in its genre.

Our emotional centers for the movie are Edgin and Holga, the bard and the barbarian, played by Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez. Yes, there are other group members and they have development, but these two are very much our leads. Edgin because he’s a fallen hero and he’s trying to get back to his daughter, and Holga who feels she has to prove herself. Their relationship is fantastic, because it’s NOT romantic. They’re best friends! And that’s okay with the story. Their relationship is obvious from their first scene together and it only gets more fun to watch from there.

[The bard doesn’t actually show many bard abilities in the movie other than singing and playing the lute though. Don’t know if that will bother you.]

I was going to happily say that this is a fantasy film without any sort of romance arc, but that’s not quite true, is it? Simon, the group’s sorcerer, previously tried dating the druid, Doric, and he would desperately like to try doing that again. I don’t know if the story really needed this angle, as it really adds very little to the story. But with that in mind, it’s not intrusive–it’s not as if the Plot derails to try to make this into an all-consuming love story. Still, it also barely matters to the characters or their quest, it’s only a way to introduce Doric to the group because Simon already knows her. I appreciate it doesn’t overtake the film, but it makes me wonder if it had to be in the movie at all.

Doric is kind of underdeveloped, and that’s a shame. TV Tropes tells me that supplementary materials gives her much more backstory. I suppose it makes sense that in a movie with this much going on, some material’s going to end up on the cutting room floor. I still think that it should have ended up in the movie–after all, most audience members might not know what a tiefling even is!

Also, I only noticed that Doric had a tail towards the end of the film. Was it always there? Did I just miss it? I need to rewatch.

I had fun watching this film! I’m very happy to be watching a movie that’s not a reboot, remake, or revival of another movie. I suppose there already has been a Dungeons & Dragons movie and television series, and being based off of the game it’s not a completely original film, but it’s still fresh and new. The makers of the film even admitted that they didn’t plan to build a franchise around the movie (though they’re open to making sequels), so it’s nice to see a self-contained story without the expectation of getting invested in a series.

It’s good. See it if you can.

[Though it’s worth noting the paladin isn’t in as much of the book as you’d guess from the advertising campaign.]

#DnD: HAT #Dungeons & Dragons #DnD #Movie Munchies #DnD: Honor Among Thieves #reviews

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heclosescases · 2 years ago

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Watched Blaze 2022

Read my thoughts below that I posted on Letterboxd (please check https://doesthedogdie.com/media/960725 for TWs that I've added first).

It was Simon Baker who drew me to watching Blaze as I am a big fan of his, and although it is a fantastic film, with brilliant performances from both him and Julia Savage, I want to warn that it isn’t an easy watch.

The story is well written and the direction is extraordinary. It is like nothing I have ever seen before. The graphics and the artistry are beautiful. Actually breathtaking. The small details really make this film. The visuals are stunning, with great use of colours and light.

It is a film with very important messaging highlighting the horrifying reality that violence (both physical and sexual) against women is rife in today’s society yet not enough is being done to tackle it.

Julia Savage is a very talented young actress whose performance had me engrossed, along with Simon Baker who played the part of an emotional and troubled father very well. It was top casting. Their relationship felt authentic.

It is a film that illustrates trauma well. It is raw, painful, confusing. The therapist saying that what she experienced will echo through her life is so honest but not in a cruel way. Sometimes honesty is much better than just pretending that things will improve. The bravery of Blaze throughout is really quite something. A young girl who was forced to grow up too fast in a moment. It is no wonder that she couldn’t handle it.

It also shows the side of trauma that many know so well, having to deal with a loved one who has been through something so terrible but having to stay strong for them. Even though the pain is eating them up inside too.

Nothing makes sense after trauma and I think for that reason, this film makes a lot of sense, and that’s not me being negative. It isn’t supposed to make perfect sense, it is supposed to make you think and feel.

There are plenty of beautiful moments amongst the difficult ones, little things that really tie the film together. It isn’t just a sad film with tough themes, it also gives a glimmer of hope for justice in the world. I think when the going gets tough we all try to escape to a world of our own - I know I do - and that’s what Blaze does. Just a bit more vividly.

#blaze #film review #simon baker #julia savage

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simoneashleydaily · 3 years ago

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Simone Ashley Interview For shondaland.com

“It’s Fun to Be Brave” — Simone Ashley Talks Playing Kate Sharma on ‘Bridgerton’

As season two’s co-starring lead, Ashley takes the pressures in stride and leans on her fellow actors for support.

By Valentina Valentini

MAR 23, 2022

When it came to getting cast as the female lead in Bridgerton’s second season, what could have been a long, arduous process for an actor actually happened faster than any other acting job for Simone Ashley. In under two weeks in February 2021, Ashley got the scripts, put herself on tape, had a few Zoom meetings and a chemistry read with star Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton), and then was chosen to portray Kate Sharma. Since Kate is the new, complicated love interest for Anthony in season two, Ashley was then thrust into horseback training, wig fittings, makeup tests, and rehearsals.

That kind of fast-paced life of a TV actor isn’t new to Ashley even though her career is young, comparatively speaking. Ashley attended the Redroofs School for the Performing Arts in Maidenhead, England, before going on to study musical theater at ArtsEd (which counts Julie Andrews, also known as the voice of Lady Whistledown, as an alumna). From 2016, she cut her teeth in British television with small roles in shows like Broadchurch, Guilt, Casualty, and Doctors. And after only three years doing so, she landed a role on Netflix’s Sex Education — a move that arguably might have propelled her to becoming Kate Sharma.

The Sharmas are the latest aristocratic family to enter the world of Bridgerton, bringing along with them plenty of gossip, gallantry, and — because this is Bridgerton — beguiling drama. Kate, along with her younger sister, Edwina (Charithra Chandran), catches the eye of Lord Anthony Bridgerton, who, after his heartbreak last season, is begrudgingly looking for a wife this marriage season. There is an immediate connection between Anthony and the two Sharma siblings, but Kate declares that her sole aim is to find Edwina a husband, as Kate — at the ripe old age of 24 — believes herself already a spinster not needing and not worthy of love. Of course, it’s all a bit more complicated than that.

“There were lots of aspects to Kate that I related to and empathized with,” says Ashley. “She is quite strong-minded and strong-willed and a little stubborn. And she keeps herself to herself. Throughout the series, as she opens up more and is more vulnerable, [it’s] endearing because of the values that she holds and the priorities that she fights for, and that’s her family. So, everything that she does, no matter how stern that might come across — actually, I don’t like to use the word stern; I’m going to use the word fierce — no matter how fierce she might come across, you can’t help but find her endearing because, at the end of the day, she’s doing it out of the love to her sister and her family.”

And while it’s hard — even for Ashley — to not spoil the emotional roller coaster that is season two of Bridgerton, we talk to the actor about rooting for Kate, how she really feels about the Kanthony ship name, and not giving in to the pressures of coming into such a popular TV show.

VALENTINA VALENTINI: Kate seems very clear about what she wants from life. But there’s a lot for her to understand internally first, right?

SIMONE ASHLEY: Kate comes in very strong-minded. The Sharma family have just returned to London from India, and she’s on a mission. We discover there are some very high stakes about her intentions, but we understand that she’s on a quest to help Edwina find a true love match and to protect her family. Kate is incredibly reserved but very observant because she’s always got to be switched on to know what’s happening around her in order to protect Edwina. But then, obviously, Anthony comes along, and I think Kate starts to surrender to this idea of falling in love and letting someone in. Anthony and Kate really resemble each other in that they understand each other more so than anyone else ever has. And at first, she doesn’t like him because she’s never met someone that kind of gets to her in that way or encourages her to be vulnerable in that way, whether she wants to or not. We see her soften and play, and we earn her trust more.

VV: Freedom and independence are core to Kate’s beliefs for herself as a woman. What were your conversations like with creator Chris Van Dusen about how to portray this forward-thinking woman amongst a period story, regardless of its fantastical elements?

SA: It was so liberating and so much fun to play a character like that. Because you’re listening to your heart, you’re speaking your instincts, you’re sharing your opinion, and no matter what controversy that might spark, she’s brave. And it’s fun to be brave. She really flies in that sense. I like that she’s a bit of a rule breaker, and I’m excited for viewers to see that kind of character in this world. And with Chris, I would send him voice messages all the time. We used it like a walkie-talkie, really. We had very open communication, and for that I’m very grateful. He answered all my questions, shared ideas, and allowed me to share ideas. Because I was so enthusiastic to do this incredible character justice and to make her as believable as possible, that open communication is such an important part of a creative process. I want everyone to root for her as much as I root for her.

VV: Let’s back up a bit and talk about Kanthony! How do you feel about that nickname?

SA: I love it! I never thought of that, to be honest. But me and Jonny say it to each other all the time — we’re like [puts on an endearing baby voice], “Kanthony. Kanthy-pants.” It’s so sweet. It’s a ship name — which, I think, that’s like an Instagram term I’ve recently learned. But I mean, it wouldn’t really work the other way around — it would be “Ate,” and that’s not cute. Kanthony is cuter.

VV: When I spoke to Jonathan Bailey, he made an interesting point: that Kate and Anthony are so different from Daphne and Simon because Simon was in this position of know-how and sexual power, and he could help teach Daphne this stuff. But with Kanthony, there’s a much more level playing field. Do you agree with him?

SA: I think so. They definitely pass the hot potato — let’s put it that way. I think she learns a lot from him, but actually I think he learns a lot from her as well. They both teach each other to surrender to the thought of falling in love. They both calm each other down too and can kind of hold the reins in — pun intended, because we ride horses quite a lot in this show! But, yeah, I think what makes this one so special is that they truly meet each other’s match.

VV: Not to pit one season against another — we love all the Bridgerton stories — but did it cross your mind at any point that you were coming into this juggernaut of a love-story anthology to play the romantic lead and that you might need to live up to some expectations there?

SA: I fell in love with the relationship between Kate and Anthony, with Chris’ ideas and this world that he’d created, with the beautiful writing, and with the fact that it was centered around the love of family. I was just so ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work, so enthusiastic to bring this story to life, that I put my energy into the work in that sense. Any nerves that I experienced, I would just acknowledge them, and then let them go and get lost in this love story. It’s natural to feel pressures, but there was something about Kate where I just rooted for her and empathized with her so much that it made it easy to get lost in her story and switch off from the pressures surrounding it.

VV: Speaking of that familial love, there’s another important love story going on this season — that of Edwina and Kate’s sisterly love. What was it like diving into two at once?

SA: With Bridgerton, it’s all about family. We’re introduced to and follow the lives of many families in the ton — the Bridgertons, the Featheringtons, the Sharmas, the Cowpers. We can all find things in them to relate to or root for. It was very important for us to explore the love between Edwina and Kate, and I always thought that from the beginning that, yes, there’s the love story between Anthony and Kate, but then there’s the love story between Edwina and Kate. Charithra truly is a diamond in real life. She brought such a warm energy to set every day. She was so much fun, always positive, always in a good mood, always bringing it. I really appreciated that from her, and I’m just honored that I got to work with her and bring this sister relationship to life.

"Yes, there’s the love story between Anthony and Kate, but then there’s the love story between Edwina and Kate."

VV: Do you have any sisters?

SA: No, I don’t. I have a brother.

VV: Oh, that’s interesting because Charithra doesn’t have sisters either.

SA: Right! She’s an only child.

VV: Tell me then about playing that together, especially since you two are both Tamil women. What was it like to come together and incorporate bits of Indian culture into this season?

SA: I think Chris did it so gracefully and so thoughtfully. The Haldi ceremony in episode six is so much fun, and it’s so beautiful. We filmed it with [director] Tom Verica. The set was amazing — it had very warm tones of red, orange, yellow, and it had real, delicate Indian flower decorations. It was really authentic, and I love that we got to have conversations with Tom about our own personal experiences of these ceremonies or things added within that scene. Filming with Shelley [Conn] and Charithra felt like family to me, for sure.

I also love this scene in episode three where Kate is applying coconut oil to Edwina’s hair. It’s just this moment that so many sisters from so many different cultures can relate to — what it is to have that kind of routine between sisters. [Pauses.] Oh, it makes me emotional even thinking about it. It’s just so sweet. And it’s not performative; it’s not commented on the scene. Chris did an amazing job of really sewing in this beautiful heritage throughout the season, a heritage that I’m so proud of.

VV: How about all the sports this season? Did you bring your A-game to the pall-mall course?

SA: I’m super-sporty! I’m all in when it comes to sports and games. I can be a bit overenthusiastic and combative, for sure. We got to ride, to go hunting, to dance, and to play pall-mall. There’s a montage scene in episode three where we’re all playing pall-mall, and there’s a shot where Kate gets the ball in the wicket. I actually did do that — we were playing for real. So, those reactions of Kate jumping up and down and Anthony kind of laughing, that was all quite real.

VV: Jonathan told me how competitive he is too — which is funny because so are your characters!

SA: We’re both very driven, very ambitious. We both like to get it done. And we both don’t like hearing the word no, I think. We like a challenge, and that was definitely evident on set. Our energies kind of kept each other going in that sense. I’ve said this in other interviews, but we had each other’s back throughout that whole series. We were both very focused on our own work separately as two actors doing their craft in private, focusing on our characters and our work. But when we came to set together, it was spontaneous, and we acted in the moment and reacted to each other. I’m grateful for that.

VV: Have you learned anything about yourself or the world at large from playing Kate?

SA: I think these are things that I’ve always felt, but I’ve learned more to not doubt myself, to listen to my instincts, to speak up, to not people-please. This show and this whole experience have given me the confidence to do all those things and to love myself more, as cheesy as that sounds. It’s also helped to just relate to people more and to let people in more, to play more, to get out of my head more. This is a hard job, you know? Filming it was hard, just as any other shoot would be, but representing the show is hard too. It takes work to get to know yourself, and to want to share something positive, and to sit with yourself as to why you’re doing this job. I hope to continue working and telling amazing stories that I’m enthusiastic about and to make people feel just as happy as I do when I’m doing it all. So, yes, that’s one thing I’ve learned.

VV: One thing?! That sounds like a lot of things.

SA: [Laughs.] Yeah. I guess this role has changed my life in a way. I find it hard to actually admit that to myself.

#simone ashley #kate sharma #bridgerton #bridgerton netfix #kate sheffield #kathony #edwina sharma #shondaland #valentina valentini #interview #bridgerton season two

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margoshansons · 3 years ago

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In response to the last ask you answered, this part particularly got me: “But because they never touched on Kate's trauma or the hefty expectations placed upon Edwina, both Edwina's breakdown and Kate's actions felt not only hollow, but contrived.”

This is the crux of the issue. I too love Anthony he’s my baby boy but because they focused so much on his trauma and not Kate’s it makes it easier to forgive him of his actions because we understand them more. We don’t have that for Kate and we got no exploration of the pressures Edwina felt as the diamond.

I personally did not like show! Edwina (not her fault simply the writing that tried to say she was fleshed out when she was actually a plot device for more drama) but every reaction she has in the show is completely justified in the way they wrote her.

So many people were culpable in letting the Anthony/edwina engagement get as far as it did, and to do that the writers to mess with several characters to get there. Personally, I understand Kate and Anthony’s actions leading up to the wedding, like they’re both emotionally stunted clowns who’s hearts are in the right place but actions are misguided. Despite this, I think the many viewers who don’t look deeper into Kate are angry at her because they don’t understand her motivations (much like people hated Anthony’s in season 1: obviously he was wrong but he thought he was acting with the best intentions for his family).

But violet and Lady Danbury both knew Anthony was not in love with edwina and that edwina saw more to their courtship and both of them actively encouraged it, despite last season them being all in for a true love match. I would go in on Mary but she was so absent it’s hard to like Mary I’m so sorry what CVD did to you.

I completely agree that post episode 6 we needed groveling Anthony apologizing for his mistakes. We got plenty of Kate feeling guilty but barely any of Anthony. I also think it’s apparent in what edwina says to Kate in episode 6 and beyond that the writers simply do not understand sisterly bonds because I think a lot of what edwina said to Kate was just sorta random and didn’t totally fit with what happened (I agree with the emotion behind it just not the writing).

Anyways tldr; I think the writers simply wanted drama for the sake of drama which is why things got as far as they did and the resolution between Kate/edwina, edwina/Anthony, Anthony/Kate, and Anthony/sharmas was seen as not important because they were FINALLY ready for Anthony to realize he’s obsessed with Kate.

Ps. Love your posts I literally love analyzing this show even though the writing leaves a lot to be desired Jonny and simone gave us so much!

First of all: (PS. Thank you for your kind words! I do love the show regardless of my many many criticisms of it, but it's because I love it that I want to see it get better. And Yes! I love analyzing the show too!)

And Second:

Jonny and Simone understood the assignment. Hell, even Charithra and Shelley did the best they could with the absolute shit they were given.

I honestly think you summed up the whole issue with the problem perfectly which is: Anthony Bridgerton got plenty of time devoted to his motivations and trauma while Kate, Edwina, and Mary got none.

Violet and Lady Danbury were....weird to say the least this season. I think Violet was just desperate to see Anthony actually settle down for once in his life and Lady Danbury wanted to protect the Sharmas not only from scandal but from the inevitable fallout that would occur once Edwina realized what was happening. But then their characters kept switching back and forth between whether or not they really wanted Anthony and Edwina to get married and it was just very poor writing overall. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit.

Something had to have happened behind the scenes after Rege left, because this season was so awkwardly paced and badly characterized they felt the need to distract the audience from it with a nonexistent love triangle. People rag on Julia Quinn for not developing interpersonal conflict outside of love interests or finishing up plot lines, but CVD is just as bad.

I think Edwina had every right to feel the way she did after the wedding and I can never truly hate her because of how dirty she was done by the writers, but I maintain that her breakdown should've been directed at Anthony, not Kate. It also doesn't make sense that they wouldn't explore the expectations angle with Edwina because they literally did that last season with Daphne?? It's just recycling plot lines, which they've shown they're perfectly comfortable doing (i.e, love triangle, having the female lead hate the male lead at first, the sixth episode always being the one where a betrayal happens)

But it's pretty much proven that CVD doesn't know how to write sisterly bonds (Eloise and Daphne, Francesca being non-existent, Penelope and her sisters practically hating each other, etc.) so I'm pissed but not surprised.

But it does make me worry for Sophie if we ever get her, because the show is now developing a pattern where they tend to forgive the Bridgerton sibling whose story it is in favor of ignoring their love interest's trauma (Simon & Daphne, Kate & Anthony) and Sophie has the worst life of any Bridgerton love interest and Benedict (while I adore him) acts like an ass to her because of it until he gets his act together. So yeah, I don't have a lot of confidence rn.

In short, if the rumors are true, I'll be very glad to see CVD go.

#bridgerton #kathony #kanthony #Kate sharma #Anthony bridgerton #edwina sharma #your analysis is great btw

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caramelcuniculus · 1 year ago

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Des couldn't say he was surprised; Simon mentioned over and over again how this entire place was a work in progress. Still, he couldn't help but feel a pinch saddened by the realization that this small tour was already over, right when it seemed to be starting. The golem did his best to not look saddened, however. There was no point in feeling disappointed over something that needed time to preserve the element of it. More melancholy shined on his face. "Pity," the thespian sighed, showing another one of his neutral frowns. "That is alright, though. What you have here has already made my day tenfold. I could lose myself in this room alone and I wouldn't be upset by it. You and the other staff here have their work cut out. My compliments to the chef." The final statement held a snark that the antiquarian wasn't used to. Then again, was his new tone of voice really any different? If he wishes to keep up this song and dance, he better get used to what he was and what he is now; the best of both worlds.

Masked eyes returned to looking over the other portraits in the exhibit, picking out small details that both did and didn't match up to the originals. It wasn't like they expected every one of these to be perfectly intact. Really, expecting more than this was malicious in its own right. From what was here, though, Des couldn't help but be impressed. They really did have their work cut out for them… They didn't lie in saying they could lose themself to the colors and artistry, either. All of them were relics of the past, their and Simon's past. The thespian recalled a time when the two of them visited one of the Earth's finest museums, basking in the true works. Fabrications, recreations; they're different now, but so aren't the two historians? That alone made Des remember that they didn't even know when, how, why Simon was back. Then again, did Simon know their story? No, and for as long as they could manage it, it'd stay that way. To Simon Petrikov, Jean Descole does and never did exist.

That is, until the antiquarian presented a request that Jean Descole would've denied in a heartbeat. That is, if her heart still beat after these thousand years. Des's head almost spun backwards, fully facing the antiquarian once more. She was taken aback; he wanted her help? Of course he did. Of course he wished for the help of his best friend and not the person whose archaeological research almost lead to the end of the world. What would it have been like, her world's equivalent to the Mushroom War? Something that she helped in bringing about? How she now walked as one of them, the righteous vessels fueled by ancient rage? It would be fine, she kept telling herself, but how long would the facade hold itself? How long until the mask slipped off?

They realized that they'd been staring at Simon for a good minute or two now, potentially looking out of their own mind. Even his poke couldn't help the resurgence of memories that came from standing besides a person of the past. Des visibly gulped. "What an- What an enticing offer!" There was a nervous expression on their face, indicated by the unsure grin forcing itself to be known. "You're right; I've got plenty things going on." It was a damn lie. Des was free from all schedules and all responsibility. Still, they couldn't admit that they felt scared to work alongside Simon again. Not because it was him, never him, but because of themself. If they stayed around, he'd find out. He'd be able to bring about the tale of their numerous crimes dating back millennium. Jean Descole, Jean Descole, the mask… "But if I do ever find anything scattered around Ooo, I'll be sure to--"

Ah. Simon missed him. Right. Yes.

The worry died in his system then and there. Really, all emotion did. Those words alone were enough to put Des into a trance. Three words, the ones he didn't know he needed, now had a grip on the remains of a heart his mortal being once had. He didn't have it anymore, but the tense feeling somehow still existed in his chest and stomach. His face was still, unreadable. Des turned his body fully towards Simon and simply stared at him. They stayed like that for a few moments before the golem silently took Simon's hands into his own. Something was festering inside him; he forgot he programmed the vessel to blush whenever overrun with feelings such as these. It was very faint, but it was there. Simon could see it clearly.

And for that moment only, the dead man's voice returned. "And I missed you. I missed all of this. Your presence is unrivaled; I could never ask for a moment like this from anyone else." Desmond's voice was that of a whisper, but he leaned in only slightly. "I want to help with your rediscovery of the past; this world's and… mine. Yet I must be honest: I'm scared. That isn't something I'd admit lightly to anyone, not anymore, but you're… you. Simon, I…"

They took a step closer and pulled him into a tight hug, tighter than the one before. Far more desperate, far more depressing. Simon could hear her hick around his shoulder. "I missed you so much. I missed you, I missed you…"

Number. Phone number. Des looked at Simon with such disbelief that it was sharp yet subtle like a knife. Kind of like the antiquarian's own statement, in a way. This wasn't the first time someone tried to reach out to them to such a degree; they've passed through a few one-night stands in their thousands years of walking and longing. And yet, there was something about Simon being the one saying it that caught the golem like a deer in the headlights. They stared at him for a time, deciphering whether or not the flirt was really a flirt. Given the neutral, minuscule expression Simon gave them, Des was able to relieve some of the tension out of their shoulders. They couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed, however. "We'll just have to see on that. Now, where were we?"

Simon started taking the two of them through the miniature museum. The lack of some elements while presenting plenty of information gave the place the right feel. Enough was here to keep you stranded for the rest of your day, but it didn't overwhelm with information, either. Despite what she remembers from both of their lifestyles way back then, she knew that Simon was a mixed bag whether or not something was organized. Des let out a happy sigh as the antiquarian continued directing her forward. Just right.

The golem did feel relaxed, or rather, more at ease than he was before. It was hard to not be worked up seeing the best friend you have to hide everything from after so many years of seeing him just insane as you are only to be reverted back to sanity. Somewhat sane; Des couldn't possibly imagine what all was going inside Simon's head. Still, even he could tell that something was lingering under the surface, and that started to put a detriment on the thespian's mood. Be calm, be relaxed, be happy. Another fit of joy was displayed on Des's features, but this time, it only lasted for a few moments.

"You'd keep it a secret? How awfully kind of you. Unfortunately, I have no intent to touch or misplace anything here. Viewing from afar is plentiful for me." Des's head moved to fully face the antiquarian. "Why, thank you for the devious offer, though. If I plan to cause any trouble, I'll be the first one lining up to your door. Perhaps taking that number of yours wouldn't be such a bad idea after all." Des couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't like they did anything bad enough to keep secret… anymore. He could keep a secret, couldn't he? Too bad for him, the deepest darkest secrets of them all were locked away behind chains that didn't have a key.

Both of them eventually entered the artwork room. Des let out a small, yet very present gasp at the remarkable view. So many portraits that he did in fact recognize; they were all key aspects to his life at some point too. Simon couldn't see, but his eyes were wide and expressed such a raw emotion that hadn't been seen in awhile. Or, felt, anyways. Nobody ever saw anything, but Des knew Simon would be able to catch up on some of his hints. He also knew he would be delighted to know that the whole exhibit had the thespian starstruck. Speaking of… one particular painting of a night sky beckoned Des closer, and this was a calling he couldn't ignore. Moving away from Simon for the first time they'd reunited, he stepped up to the living representation and recreation of one of van Gogh's finest masterpieces.

"I always had a soft spot for The Starry Night. A wordless story that promises both everything and nothing. It can really be whatever you want it to be, Simon. Just like all artworks if you think about it." One of the golem's hands reached out to the portrait, but didn't go far enough to touch it. She couldn't. It felt blasphemous, like somebody or something would rip her apart right then and there if she touched this world's one and only. And just after seeing Simon again too… Des didn't; she forced both arms and hands to her sides, but her gaze was ever-apparent, the concealed ruby reds getting lost in the swirls of sapphires. "To me, it represents The Before, a period right before The New Day."

Des turned back to face Simon, a melancholic look forming on the visible half of their features. "There's always tomorrow, isn't there?"

A gentle quiet echoed and bounced off the rest of the relics in the room. "I'm quite entranced by this place. Thank you for bringing me here. I wouldn't have wished to share this with anyone else. Well, except for…" His voice died in his throat. Simon would remember Aurora, wouldn't he? Or would he? Des coughed into his hand. "Anyways, are there other exhibits such as this one? You simply must show me them if there are."

#dismalice #ic; des #lol

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iamthenightcolormeblack · 3 years ago

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My Thoughts on Pride & Prejudice 2005: Style over Substance

Kicking off my Pride and Prejudice adaptation review series with the most popular of all the adaptations: the 2005 movie. This film stars Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy.

1. GENERAL THINGS I LIKED

The cinematography and the soundtrack. Every shot is a painting, especially with the gorgeous landscape scenery. The music is beautiful and dreamy; I have listened to the soundtrack more times than I've watched the film. Both the cinematography and the soundtrack effectively transport the viewer back to the film's romanticized version of "the past," when life was simpler and people lived slower lives, waiting for their Mr. Darcy to sweep them off their feet.

Originality. The film takes a unique approach to the story by focusing mainly on the romance between Darcy and Elizabeth and emphasizing how the natural surroundings reflect the characters' mental state/emotions (pouring rain during the first proposal and stormy skies when Elizabeth hurries home after Lydia runs away). Though one can disagree with the creative changes made, I like how this film isn't just a remake of what came before it.

Elizabeth's walks through the countryside. The film expresses her desire for freedom through her countryside walks. For instance, the Netherfield walk is shocking to Caroline Bingley because it demonstrates Elizabeth's independence.

The comedic parts are great thanks to the creative additions made. For example, the "excellent boiled potatoes" joke isn't in the book, but it perfectly exemplifies Mr. Collins' poor social skills and pretentiousness, as he tries to make an overly formal comment about an otherwise mundane dish.

2. THE CASTING

The acting is good, although I don't always agree with how the characters are portrayed.

Keira Knightley. I like how she's the right age for Elizabeth, who is around 20-21 years old; Knightley was around 19-20 when she played Elizabeth, plus she has gorgeous eyes. She perfectly conveys the pride, confidence, and biting wit of Elizabeth, as she holds her head high in an imperious manner and has a direct, piercing gaze. However, I don't like how this version chooses to simplify Elizabeth's character into that of "free-spirited nonconformist tomboy," who is a nature-lover and runs to the countryside to console herself when things get tough (ex. running to the lake after rejecting Mr. Collins). This is a contrast to the Elizabeth Bennet as presented to us in the book, who acts like a typical "lady" for the sake of her social reputation; she mostly keeps her thoughts to herself except when talking to Jane or Darcy. Elizabeth is powerful not because she rejects society outright; it is because she does not submit to societal pressure to marry and makes her own choices (ex. rejecting Mr. Collins).

Matthew Macfadyen. His Darcy is cold, aloof, and remote, yet shows signs of a rich inner life and unrequited yearning for Elizabeth as a soulmate. I like how this version shows Elizabeth peeling away his cold exterior like the layers of an onion, until his heart of gold is revealed. While I think Macfadyen is a good actor, I disagree with the interpretation of Darcy solely being a lonely introvert, as it neglects his primary character flaw of pride.

Tom Hollander's Mr. Collins. Probably the best casting, as he perfectly portrays the bumbling awkwardness of the character and is more sympathetic than the gross Mr. Collins in the 1995 BBC miniseries. He is short, has a nasally voice and officious manner that makes him annoying yet fun to watch.

Simon Woods as Mr. Bingley. He's so friendly and eager to please, like the character is in the book.

Rosamund Pike's Jane Bennet. Utterly angelic and motherly, need I say more? The perfect antidote to Elizabeth's savagery.

Rupert Friend's Mr. Wickham. Handsome and dashing in a red soldier's uniform. It's easy to see how a girl would fall for him and ignore his debauchery, but also obvious that he is deceptive. For instance, he keeps claiming that he is insignificant and unnoticed, when he basks in the attention of Elizabeth, Kitty and Lydia.

3. OVERALL CHARACTER AND PLOT DEVELOPMENT

Since this is a movie, character development is a challenge, and the film relies on changes of outward appearance/dialogue to show character growth. For instance, we get to see Darcy's change from cold and remote into warm and loving, while Elizabeth admits that "she was wrong" about Darcy and slowly comes to respect him.

The first half (beginning to Darcy's proposal) is great because it effectively introduces the audience to the cast of characters (the family, Darcy, Bingley, Caroline, Wickham, and Mr. Collins). It also contains all the comedic parts and sets up the conflicts that drive the story. Overall, this half is more faithful to the novel because it has the social satire aspects of the story and sticks to the key plot points while developing the characters.

The second half is rather lackluster compared to the first because it focuses solely on resolving the plot points introduced in the first half. This part of the book contains important events for Elizabeth's character development (getting the letter, visiting Pemberley, dealing with the fallout from Lydia's elopement), but the film rushes through them to get Elizabeth and Darcy married. Instead of focusing on how Elizabeth overcomes her prejudice of Darcy and starts to love him, the film relies on aesthetic shots of flickering candles/landscapes to serve as quick transitions between the scenes. Though we have plenty of evidence that Darcy loves Elizabeth, we don't see much evidence that the love is mutual until the second proposal, only that Elizabeth starts to see him as a friend.

Another reason I don't like the second half of the film as much as the first half is the reduced dialogue. This second half has a lot of quiet moments devoted to nature scenery/Elizabeth staring in the mirror. Reducing the dialogue, with the exception of the letter scene, doesn't make sense because the plot/action of Pride and Prejudice is furthered through the conversations the characters have (after all, wealthy Regency women likely spent much time indoors/making social calls). While one can argue that the reduced dialogue is meant to show that Elizabeth is reflecting on her mistaken prejudice, without access to Elizabeth's interior thoughts, the audience doesn't get to see Elizabeth actively confronting her false assumptions about Darcy, unlike in the book, where she says out loud to herself: "Until this moment, I never knew myself."

Notable Scenes From the First Half of the Film:

The opening scene. It sets the tone for the whole movie with the beginning shot of a field at dawn, which ties in nicely with the second proposal scene near the end. By presenting Elizabeth by herself reading a book, it communicates to the audience that Elizabeth is "not like other girls," and it shows the imperfect, yet loving family dynamics of the Bennet household.

Elizabeth roasting Darcy after he dismisses her as "tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me." During a conversation the Bennet family has with Darcy and Bingley, Mrs. Bennet commits a social gaffe when talking about Jane's many admirers and how one sent her poetry. Elizabeth saves the situation by commenting that bad poetry can kill love, and Darcy comments that he regards poetry as "the food of love" and asks how to "encourage affection." I like that the film included this little exchange from the book (although it takes place while Elizabeth is visiting a sick Jane at Netherfield, and not during the first ball), since it was skipped over in the 1995 miniseries. The best part is Elizabeth's sick burn: "Dancing. Even if one's partner is barely tolerable," which is made even better when she walks away from him with a triumphant smile on her face.

The famous Hand Flex. After Darcy helps Elizabeth into the carriage (by holding her hand) so she and Jane can head back home, he glances longingly at her before wringing the hand with which he touched hers. It's an important hint of his growing love for her, as well as his struggle to repress those feelings. This is a wonderful bit of character development as it reveals that Darcy has a heart.

Mr. Collins having a meal with the Bennet family. The awkwardness is palpable as Mr. Collins tries to show off his social skills and give pro tips on charming ladies. This is all topped off with this amazing comedic joke: "These are excellent boiled potatoes. Many years since I've had such an exemplary vegetable." Another brilliant bit: after Lydia cannot contain her laughter, Lizzy, after giving her father a mischievous side-eye, slaps Lydia on the back to hide her laughter. Best line besides the excellent boiled potatoes: "Believe me, no one would suspect your manners to be rehearsed."

The Netherfield Ball dance between Darcy and Elizabeth. It is staged like a clash of personalities in the beginning, while the creative filming technique of separating the couple apart from the crowd of dancers foreshadows the budding relationship between them. I also like how sarcastic the dialogue is--Elizabeth is trying to win a battle of wits with Darcy but he successfully avoids her traps while reminding her that she doesn't truly know him and cannot make judgements about his personality.

Mr. Collins trying to introduce himself to Darcy. It's so comical because of the significant height difference between Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy (Collins is dwarfed by Darcy). The height difference effectively represents the significant difference in social status between the two men and makes Collins, with his pomposity, look ridiculous as he fancies himself part of the nobility but cannot properly introduce himself.

Mr. Collins' proposal--one of the funniest scenes in the movie. Mr. Collins clumsily tries to flatter Elizabeth with a tiny flower, and it gets even funnier when he so obviously misreads Elizabeth's disinterest and outright exasperation (he doesn't understand that no means no!). After Mr. Collins bends down on one knee to propose to Elizabeth, the film emphasizes Elizabeth's towering presence over Collins to show that the two are a mismatch. The fact that the proposal takes place in the messy dining room reflects Collins' view of marriage as a business matter that he wants to get done with quickly, since the location of the proposal is not very romantic.

Elizabeth roasting Darcy yet again at Rosings Park. Elizabeth eagerly recounts to Colonel Fitzwilliam Darcy's impolite manners at the first ball; Darcy confesses that "I do not have the talent of conversing easily with people I have never met before." I like how the nervous and quiet delivery of that line shows to the audience that Darcy is an introvert, and it shows that he's an honest person, since he abhors "disguise of every sort." The scene effectively highlights Elizabeth's prejudice towards Darcy as the audience feels pity for him when Elizabeth tells him to practice.

"This is a charming house." During this scene, Darcy visits Elizabeth while she is alone and awkwardly attempts to make conversation with her. Macfadyen is a master of body language; Darcy says little but expresses a lot (ex. the nervous fiddling with his gloves). He tries to express his feelings for Elizabeth but gives up and abruptly walks out of the room.

The first proposal. What a climactic scene (but not very faithful to the book)! The music, thunder, and rain perfectly complement the volcano of emotions that erupts when Darcy cannot repress his feelings any longer. This scene has some of the best sexual tension ever; the two get closer to each other until they almost kiss. While this scene is great to an objective viewer, I don't like that the modified dialogue changes the original meaning of this scene (more about this later).

The letter. Elizabeth has a moment of introspection when she is forced to question her judgment, and Darcy delivers his letter. I like the shot of Darcy riding farther and farther away from Elizabeth, signaling that he is becoming increasingly out of her reach.

Notable Scenes from the Second Half of the Film:

Aunt and Uncle Gardiner arrive right after Elizabeth comes back from Rosings and they take her away to a vacation. I didn't like how they were introduced too quickly; I was thinking to myself "how did they get there and where did they come from?" Luckily we are treated to more glorious shots of the English countryside (the one with them under a large oak tree is my favorite).

Visiting Pemberley. I was puzzled by why Elizabeth laughs as soon as she sees Pemberley for the first time because in the book she was in complete awe of it. Also it doesn't make sense why she would touch his expensive stuff it's not her house...or is it? The good thing is that the embarrassment the two have upon meeting each other again is definitely palpable. Georgiana is sweet, but a little less shy than she was in the book.

Darcy smiles! After introducing Georgiana to Elizabeth, he smiles for a brief time at Elizabeth, and she smiles back. It's a great moment showing how Elizabeth has drawn out his goodness, and indicates that Darcy has transformed for Elizabeth. She also starts seeing him as a friend and her prejudice against him seems to have reversed in this moment of mutual recognition.

Lydia's elopement. Keira Knightley's fake cry was off-putting. Then Darcy only talks to her for a little bit and doesn't help her much (unlike in the book, where he asked her to sit down and got her some wine to make her feel better). I don't know why the aunt and uncle are in this scene because it's very important in developing Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship. In the book, the two are alone, and Elizabeth choosing to tell Darcy about Lydia's elopement is a sign that she trusts him, while Darcy's concern for Elizabeth further confirms that he still loves her. This extremely brief scene flickers quickly, and it takes only a few seconds before Elizabeth is crying in her carriage, while the sky is dark and ominous.

Bingley rehearsing his proposal with Darcy. This added scene, which is not in the book, is so funny because of how Darcy roleplays Jane, while Bingley has so much anxiety about her not accepting him. It's a nice glimpse into their friendship and it's also funny because Bingley is getting proposal advice from someone who failed very miserably at proposing.

Sunrise on the Moors. Another objectively beautiful and romantic scene that is definitely not faithful to the book. The two meet each other in a field in their nightgowns and profess their love to each other while blessed by the rising sun.

4. MAJOR FLAWS; OR, HOW THE FILM DIVERGES FROM THE BOOK

In earlier book adaptation reviews, I stated that I welcomed creative changes as long as they reflected what was already in the book (ex. literary elements and character development) or the author's intent, since film and books are different mediums and some storytelling techniques that work in books may not work on film. This movie is undoubtedly well-known for its creative changes, especially in terms of historical setting and dialogue. While these creative changes entertain the audience, I feel that they change the meaning of the story as presented by the book.

Here's the biggest issue I have with the movie: Darcy has no pride. The film interprets his "pride" as a misconception strangers get from Darcy's cold manner and inconsiderate remarks, but in the book he is an arrogant person who views his social inferiors as beneath him and treats them poorly. In the movie, his whole character is fashioned in the modern image of the "sensitive man," who is kind and considerate if only the outside world would appreciate his uniqueness. Thus, Elizabeth's prejudice against him is entirely without merit. While making Darcy a more sympathetic person highlights how wrong Elizabeth's prejudice is, the fact is that both of them have "pride and prejudice." Some fans have commented that Darcy is like a sad puppy at times. It's hard to see how he's a good match for this Elizabeth's fiery spirit, only that he wouldn't infringe upon her freedom to roam. A lot of YouTube comments I read were people expressing their desire to "hug Darcy" or console him after Elizabeth rejects him; this doesn't make sense because Darcy is an unsympathetic character until he is forced to change in order to earn Elizabeth's love. Apart from becoming kinder to Elizabeth and the Gardiners, Darcy never really changes in the movie; he still remains a socially awkward introvert.

The re-interpretation of Pride and Prejudice as purely a romantic novel: The emphasis on romance means that the other elements of the book--the social criticism, secondary characters and the dialogue--are de-emphasized for the sake of the romance between Elizabeth and Darcy.

The film's approach to the story echoes Charlotte Bronte's criticism of the novel: "And what did I find [in Pride and Prejudice]? ... a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers; but no glance of a bright, vivid physiognomy, no open country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no bonny beck. I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen, in their elegant but confined homes." This version of Pride and Prejudice utilizes Romantic elements not in the book (ex. the storms, the landscapes) to increase the passion that the characters feel but cannot express.

Pride and Prejudice is perceived as a "boring" book because much of the drama takes place indoors (ex. Darcy's first proposal is in Mr. Collin's home), whereas in the film, there is greater emphasis on the natural scenery in keeping with its Romantic interpretation (lots of the "open country" that Charlotte Bronte desired). While the landscape scenes are beautiful, locating the action indoors, in the grand houses of the nobility, emphasizes the repressive, tradition-based nature of Regency Era society that Austen criticized (in a subtle way). These houses reinforce social hierarchy, for instance; the interior of Rosings Park is showy and stifling because it it represents Lady Catherine De Bourgh's wealth and power over those around her. Locating most of the scenes indoors visually represents the "confined and unvarying" lives of Regency era women and makes Elizabeth Bennet's independent streak much more significant.

Some of the social constraints that Elizabeth and Darcy face are removed. For example, Elizabeth is much more direct in her criticisms of others (ex. the "barely tolerable" insult), whereas in the book she largely confines these criticisms to her intimate friends such as Jane and Charlotte Lucas. While this effectively shows how badass she is, Elizabeth likely would not have taunted Darcy in such a direct way, as it would have been considered impolite and likely harmed her social reputation in a society governed by rigid adherence to social etiquette. And of course, Darcy likely would not have been walking around the English countryside in an open-chested shirt although we may have Colin Firth's wet shirt to blame for that. The importance of following etiquette rules is shown when Darcy offends the whole village by refusing to dance with anyone during the first ball. As a woman in a patriarchal society, it would have been even more important for Elizabeth to follow the rules, as her social reputation was important to her chances of making a good marriage. By de-emphasizing the rigid social norms that govern the characters, the obstacles to Elizabeth and Darcy's marriage are less significant, and it seems that the only thing standing in the way of their being together is Elizabeth's unreasonable hatred of Darcy.

Also, in many of Austen's novels, the hometowns of her heroines and its inhabitants are their own characters; the power of gossip in determining one's social reputation for the "marriage market" is de-emphasized in the film. In Pride and Prejudice, a major reason Elizabeth doesn't discover Wickham's bad character at first is because of the "general approbation of the neighborhood" and social popularity he has in Hertfordshire. After Lydia elopes, the family is in a bad situation with regards to marriage prospects because the village had "generally proved [the Bennets] to be marked out for misfortune." In the film, the role of the village is relegated to that of a place for entertainment and nothing more.

Others have noted that the film also exaggerates the social divide between Elizabeth and Darcy by turning the Bennet family into peasant farm-owners who have messy hair and wear plain, homespun clothing. This justifies Darcy's social prejudice against the Bennets, which undercuts Austen's message of morals, actions, and treatment of others being a better indicator of character than class rank (the rich people in this book, with the exception of Darcy, Georgiana and Bingley, are shown to be lazy or plain ridiculous). While Darcy may be richer than Elizabeth, and have better connections, they are both members of the gentry--after all, they do not have to work to maintain their lifestyles. Instead, we are presented with a conventional rags-to-riches story, where our poor but virtuous heroine is rewarded with a rich Prince Charming who takes her away from the squalor of her home to his great big palace.

Ultimately, the story is changed into an argument for love, specifically the passionate kind, triumphing over all; Elizabeth overcomes her hatred of men as "humorless poppycocks" to be with Darcy. Near the end, Mary reads out of a book claiming that a lady should give in to her passions and surrender to love, which doesn't make sense as the marriage based entirely on passion (Lydia and Wickham) is shown to be less than ideal.

While Austen does believe in following one's heart (ex. Persuasion, where Anne Elliot regrets rejecting Captain Wentworth because of his lower social status), others have commented that she presents the ideal relationship as a balance between mind and heart. Charlotte's practical marriage to Mr. Collins represents the traditional view of marriage as an "economic proposition," it is entirely logical and calculated, whereas Lydia and Wickham's marriage is the other emotional extreme, motivated entirely by sexual infatuation. Before Elizabeth acknowledges her love for Darcy, she must respect him as her intellectual equal. Here's the passage from the book where Elizabeth realizes she loves Darcy: "She now began to comprehend that he was exactly the man, who in disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes. It was an union that must have been to the advantage of both; by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been softened, his manners improved, and from his judgment, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received benefit of greater importance." Elizabeth's decision to marry Darcy is not only a result of her heart's desire, but it comes after she does some thinking and concludes they are compatible and would be able to live with each other on a day-to-day basis.

Something else I find ironic is the director's (Joe Wright's) claim that he aimed for realism in the film, given that Austen already depicted Regency era life realistically by focusing on social norms, class, and wealth:

The director, in his quest for "realism," features the messy environment of the Bennet household, which doesn't make sense given that they are still relatively wealthy (when defending herself, Elizabeth tells Lady Catherine that she is "a gentleman's daughter"). Also, they have servants to clean things up, so why would the house be in a constant state of disarray?

Lastly, how is the second proposal scene is "realistic?" It is a moment of "psychic communication" between Darcy and Elizabeth which is out of character for the book. They both "can't sleep" and walked, in the words of Wikipedia, "across the moors" to see each other ok this seriously reminds me of Wuthering Heights. The scene is powerful because every woman wants to be told that "you have bewitched me body and soul" but "realistically," this doesn't happen (and this line isn't in the book either).

"REALISM" IS THE REASON WHY WE FUSS OVER HISTORICAL ACCURACY!!! HISTORICAL ACCURACY ALLOWS PERIOD DRAMAS TO BE REALISTIC!!!!

If the characters wore historically accurate clothing (different from the loosely inspired, modernized dresses/hair in the film), it would have emphasized the lack of freedom women had in Regency Era society and reinforced the importance of following social norms to succeed in a patriarchal society.

Bad Script Changes:

This film is known for its modernized script, which makes it easier for a mainstream audience to watch the movie. However, it also changes depictions of the characters in ways that undercut the meaning of the book.

Elizabeth Bennet, man-hater:

"Oh, they [men] are far too easy to judge. Humorless poppycocks, in my limited experience."

"And which of the painted peacocks is Mr. Bingley?"

"Men are either eaten up with arrogance or stupidity. And if they're amiable they're so easily led that they have no minds of their own whatsoever...No, they bring nothing but heartache."

I know these snarky comments are fun and reinforce the modern perception of Elizabeth Bennet as a feminist heroine. However, book Elizabeth doesn't rail against men as a whole; she just wants to find love rather than be forced into an advantageous marriage. Her idea that marriage should be based on love and respect, along with her unwillingness to compromise on that ideal, is what makes her revolutionary, not her complete apathy towards the opposite sex.

"Don't you dare judge me!" While it foreshadows Elizabeth's flawed judgment, this outburst is out of character for Charlotte Lucas, who in the book is level-headed and makes practical decisions. As with the majority of the bad script changes, it is too modern and doesn't fit with the 19th century style language used elsewhere in the script.

Darcy's lack of pride is shown in the modified lines of the first proposal (which were hard to catch because they were spoken super fast):

"I can bear it no longer. The past months have been a torment. I came to Rosings with the single object of seeing you. I had to see you. I've fought against my better judgment, my family's expectation, the inferiority of your birth, my rank and circumstance, all those things, but I'm willing to put them aside and ask you to end my agony. I love you. Most ardently."

These lines completely change the meaning of the first proposal. Apart from the famous opening lines ("In vain I have struggled. It will not do. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you"), Austen makes clear that Darcy still regards his higher social position and Elizabeth's inferior connections as obstacles to their marriage. His first proposal to Elizabeth is a means of getting rid of the suffering that his unrequited love has forced upon him; he still does not accept Elizabeth as his equal, which is why she rejects him in the first place. Clearly he is not "willing to put [social norms] aside" when it comes to "his sense of her inferiority." The modified lines also make Darcy much more romantic by having him state that he came to Rosings to see Elizabeth; the book does not specify that this is the case; he just came on a routine visit to see his aunt and Elizabeth happened to be there. As I said earlier, Elizabeth in the book rejects Darcy because of his lack of respect for her, but in the film, he seems to show nothing but respect for her. They even have an almost-kiss, which doesn't make sense given that she hates him so intensely at this point in the novel.

"He's so, he's so...rich." Elizabeth utters these when trying and failing to find a reason not to visit Pemberley. This declaration does not make sense because Elizabeth has formed in the very least a grudging respect for Mr. Darcy; without access to her internal thoughts, one might take this line as evidence that she still hates Mr. Darcy.

“Just leave me alone!!!” After confronting Lady Catherine, Elizabeth flees to her room to find some alone time. This doesn’t suit Elizabeth’s character because 1) she acts like a temperamental teenager and 2) she is estranged from her family. In the book she gets closer to her family after Darcy’s first proposal, not the other way round. In some JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) articles I read about Pride and Prejudice, the authors observed that Elizabeth isn’t concerned about her family early in the novel; her motivations are largely self-centered, she keeps her head above their foolishness and doesn’t have intimate relationships with anyone in her family with the exception of her father and Jane. Only after she receives the criticisms of her family’s behavior from Mr. Darcy does she look out for her family; for example, by advising her father not to let Lydia go to Brighton (and she becomes right about it harming her family’s reputation). The film also makes Elizabeth even more isolated from her family by omitting the fact that she tells Jane about what happened between her and Darcy. Elizabeth learning to care for her family is an important part of her growth which the film omits.

5. CONCLUSION

I still think this film is worth watching, even though as a purist I disagree with the creative changes made, namely the emphasis on the romance over the social comedy. It is obvious that the screenwriter/director didn't strive to replicate the book exactly and aimed for a romantic re-interpretation.

The film has had a positive impact since it introduced a lot of people to Jane Austen, including me.

Here’s my story: when the movie aired on TV, my mother, who is a 1995 die-hard, started ranting about her hate for this version, so I picked up the book so that I could watch and compare.

As a romance movie it is excellent, because it has plenty of sexual tension and quotable romantic lines, along with a couple we can root for. The set design, music, and set design also make watching the movie an experience. It's very easy to love this movie just for the cottage core aesthetics (although aesthetics cannot cover up the flaws of this film).

On a side note, I find it funny that the Wikipedia article for this film states that it "failed to have the cultural influence" of the 1995 BBC miniseries. In fact, many people my age (17 or 18 years old) who have read the book consider this movie the definitive version of Pride and Prejudice and some don't even know that the 1995 miniseries exists!

Whether you love or hate this film, all I ask is that you don't call it Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

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