#I KNOW MOST OF THE ANSWERS CAUSE ITS THE PLOT TO SEASON 1.

[ghostsfruit]

Note to self, never take a history class as an ex hetalia fan.

[raayllum]

Knowledge as a Burden / Subjective & Objective Truth :: A S5 Meta

Now, the concept of Knowledge being a burden is nothing new. It's quite literally baked into cultural consciousness (at least in the West; I don't know enough to speak for East cultural mythos) through both the story of Adam and Eve within the three Abrahamic religions, and its close sister story of Pandora's pithos (more commonly known as a box). We also see it in stories such as Bluebeard, in which a new wife is forbidden to inspect her husband's private chambers and deeply regrets her choice to do so, as well as phrases such as "the grass is always greener on the other side," "ignorance is a bliss," and "what you don't know can't hurt you" (all of which are debatable as phrases, of course).

However, it is one of the rare themes in TDP, I think, that wasn't really present in arc 1 and is introduced as an arc 2 (as compared to most that were already in arc 1, and have just been strengthened/matured) particularly as of S5, hence why I wanted to talk about it.

So let's talk about it (specifically Kpp'Ar, Akiyu, Viren, Rayla, Callum Ezran, Soren, and the Jailer, not at all in that order).

Thematic Origins

Like most things in terms of season four thematically, "Knowledge as a Burden" actually starts in Through The Moon, in a lot of ways. There's the other side of it as well - not knowing what happened to her family or Viren is causing Rayla to be increasingly irate and worried - but TTM closes out on Rayla at least being able to face the fact her family is gone. If that was the only big piece of information she'd learned by going through the portal, she probably wouldn't have left.

R: Right before you found me, he opened his eyes, and I knew... He may be caught between life and death somehow, but Viren is on this side of things. He's alive, Callum! C: I don't know, Rayla. I didn't understand half of what I saw in there. [...] I let you jump into the Nexus alone and I knew right away I'd made the biggest mistake of my life. I could have lost you.

However, she Knew - in her bones - that Viren was alive, and so she had to go after him. Even if it wasn't what she wanted (to leave or to hurt Callum) the knowledge itself felt like it was pressing down on her, that this was what she had to do. That she had no other choice.

That being said, TTM is at its core supplementary material. While it initiates the theme in this way (as does Callum's devotion), it may be worth turning to how S4 originates the theme and pursuit of Knowledge, which is not through Rayla directly, but is through Callum, instead.

(If you're interested in Amaya and Callum's parallels in 4x01 concerning partners and knowledge, you'll want to check out this meta here.)

In the beginning of S4, Callum is where Rayla used to be, left in limbo about the well-being and what's happened to his loved ones. And there is, of course, his frustration and quest to properly decipher the mirror, and anger at Soren, when he believes the man is keeping something from him.

This anchoring in Callum's plot line and curiosity indeed informs the true thematic basis of knowledge in Arc 2 in comparison in Arc 1. In the first three seasons, we always knew where we were going — to the Dragon Queen to notify her of Zym's safety/existence, with Viren's initial Aaravos plotline in S2 being a divergence from this level of certainty — but in arc 2, we're purposefully floundering a bit more. Because in a lot of ways

Arc 2 is About the Pursuit of Knowledge

This isn't particularly a surprise, given the seasons have the official title of "The Mystery of Aaravos," and mysteries involve clues that are in the inherent pursuit of trying to gain answers (i.e. knowledge), but it does mark a structural departure from Arc 1, as mentioned earlier, and informs S4-S5 (and most likely S6) more than we might've initially realized.

A perfect example is that, from 4x05 onwards, the main characters (including Claudia and co. until the of 4x09) up until approximately the end of 5x05 (a full 10 episodes) are simply travelling around trying to find the pieces to Aaravos' prison. To decipher its location, its material, and its very nature. But put a pin in it for later, cause I want to draw attention to another quest for knowledge that runs concurrently in season 5 in particular, AKA:

Knowledge as Power

I've talked before about Finnegrin's parallels to Aaravos, but thus far haven't touched too much on Callum's parallels to Finnegrin, even though they're uh

There, for sure. And of course, both Finnegrin and Callum (and Rayla, with her "We're going to need to know one thing: how do we kill a Startouch elf" + Finnegrin's "I just want one thing") have their own similar reasonings, ultimately, for wanting to kill their chosen targets: to maintain their own control and freedom.

(This isn't to say this is Callum's exclusive motivation regarding Aaravos — it isn't — but I do think we're meant to see the blatant parallels as well.)

Control, freedom, and power are all undeniably, understandably linked, then. But knowledge is the undercurrent (pun intended) of all of it. Finnegrin's awareness of his confines is what's driving him mad; Callum knowing that Aaravos can possess him and what the mirror entailed, things he lived in ignorant bliss of for 2+ years, are what worries him in S4. Knowledge and power are inextricably linked, as Viren's character makes particular apparent, which in the case of Kpp'Ar demonstrates a strong Knowledge of his student (with caveats) as well as Aaravos' assessment of Viren. If you have knowledge, you have power — and if you have power, you have agency and/or worth.

Which I think is the subtextual cue to Viren only having clarity ("This is nonsense!") once he casts down his crown (power) in the dream sequences, as well as his end of season "I finally see the truth" epiphany that also comes with relinquishing power and agency over his own life, while ironically exerting it more than ever. But more on Viren and all that later, so pin in it for now.

We also see this element of Knowledge as power come into play with other characters, most notably Claudia in her utilization of dark magic and the creativity she expresses with it, Callum's knowledge of spells, and even Ezran in S5:

However, knowledge in the 'traditional' sense in show isn't solely about magic or spells or prisons, or even overtly negative. There are far more positive sides as well (even if, like most things, it's a double edged sword). So let's talk about

Knowledge as Self Actualization

Have talked about self actualization in regards to Callum and Rayla's individual development in Arc 1 a few times in overlapping ways, so not going to repeat too much here (each of them examining themselves but also one another's worldview - of the cycle and magic/the war - in order to reach the people they were meant to be in many ways, etc), although I am going to touch on them later as per S4 and S5 again.

For a fresher example, I want to talk about Soren.

Dictionaries define self actualization as the process of becoming your fullest self — often times conflated with the best version of yourself — where you become more You than you ever were before. This is especially true for both Soren and Rayla in arc 1, where although they have dips and bends, they are both ultimately selfless protectors secure in the duties they've finally been able to fully choose (and to make up, to themselves, for prior failures). For Callum and Ezran, their self actualization is more transformative into someone entirely new — more confident, more assertive, more compassionate and with the power to express it — than restorative, but again: put a pin in Callum's arc for a bit, cause we're getting to it.

For now, let's talk about self actualization through recognition of yourself through the other (aka in this case, how Callum and Rayla view themselves through the other's eyes in S4 and S5) as well as love being both a subjective and objective truth (with some moon arcanum stuff for spice).

So objective truth is things that are undeniably real — magic exists in Xadia, Aaravos has been imprisoned. Subjective truth is whether Aaravos was imprisoned for a good reason, or that humans can't access primal magic; these can change depending on viewpoint or access to new/old information. For example, while Aaravos likely isn't lying about what he believes will happen ("The sun will rise and you will not") that doesn't make it objective reality; just because someone is telling their truth and perception of events does not make it unilaterally The truth.

But for a more interpersonal view...

In season four, just like Callum doesn't know if Rayla is alive, he doesn't know how to feel about her coming back. Rayla hopes that they can reconcile, but she also knows that her leaving hurt him — even if Callum won't admit it. She had her reasons for leaving and he has his reasons for being hurt, and although somewhat opposed, they can both exist. This follows what Lujanne and Ezran cite, i.e.:

Lujanne: Sometimes real trust is accepting even the dark parts we will never know. [..] Was it wrong? Or was it just differently true?

with notions of subjective truth, and Ezran's assertion of his truth that

But I think I left something out. I ignored something that was true. I denied something that is undeniable. We are angry! I am angry. I have been hurt. [...] But… It’s not that easy or simple. Because people are still hurting and they are still angry. We can’t ignore that, or pretend it will go away. Somehow, we have to hold it all in our hearts at the same time. We have to acknowledge the weight of the pain and loss, but open up our eyes and allow ourselves to hope and maybe forgive and love again.

Whether one has hope or not that the world can be different often times indicates whether they will be breaking the cycle or perpetuating it. We see these conflicting realities once again with Soren and his inability to get through to Claudia ("You're on the wrong side. I know because... I was too")

versus being able to successfully get through to Elmer:

When you can empathize and relate to others — which is a cornerstone of Amaya's growth as well across season three through to season five — you can lend understanding and self-actualization not only to yourself, but also to them: "You know who you sound like?" "Who?" "Me" much in the same way Soren is able to offer it to Elmer, and Elmer reasserts his own identity — his understanding and knowledge of himself, down to his name — accordingly in addition to becoming an ally.

Knowledge is also the foundation of consistency; how well we know someone is predicated on how well we can predict their behaviour and subsequently rely on them, not only in action but also in reaction and responses. There's few things more disconcerting than someone reacting poorly to something you thought they would take rather well. Moreover, if knowledge of ourselves can lead to self-actualization, then our knowledge of each other can also lead to mutual self-actualization. We see this first hand in Rayla and Callum's Arc 2 dynamic thus far, so let's talk about it:

Mutual Love as Self Actualization: Part 1 — Uncertainty to Certainty (S4)

As previously noted, Callum starts out S4 at both a loss with the mirror, and still coping with the uncertainty and stagnation of his loss of Rayla. When Ezran reaffirms that Callum still loves her, all Callum can helplessly rely that he doesn't "even know if she's alive." Things don't really improve once Rayla shows up, either, even if we see the persistent thread of not knowing vs knowing being knit throughout their arc with one another.

We see this knit through, lightly, in Janai's arc regarding her people and place as queen ("Elves and humans [moving too fast]? ... I don't know" "At least Karim would lead with some kind of certainty") as though uncertainty is nothing but doubt, rather than a journey involving doubt as well as the opportunity for growth just as much as any venture (as Callum and Rayla will soon find out).

After all, Callum soon finds a shred of comfort in said uncertainty, and offers it to Rayla accordingly in an attempt to comfort her:

Rayla: This is all my fault [that Soren is dead/missing]. I left him alone! I shouldn't have— Callum: Rayla. Don't. We can't know what happened for sure. I mean, this is the path to Rex Igneous, right? So maybe he couldn’t climb out of the pit, so he had to keep going. You know him. He’s brave. He’s gotta be down there looking for Rex.

And this is also built upon a foundation Ezran has set earlier with his friends. When he is trying to get Callum and Rayla to work together, he doesn't tell them to set everything aside, or even harkens back to their good old days. He asserts their identities and says, "Don't you remember who you are?" because to him — and evidently to Callum and Rayla, because it works — working together and helping each other has become a fundamental, core part of who they are as individuals. They are that interwoven with each other, and Rayla reflects that in 4x07 with, "Callum, you're the 'destiny is a book you write yourself' guy. No one can control you or make your choices for you" as well as what Callum offers up to her in 4x09 where we see the turning point in their prior uncertainty. Although they've both changed, they are fundamentally still the same people they were when they fell in love, and there is both comfort, sadness, and acceptance in that realization, where Callum says:

Which is the tipping point into season 5, and where they stay for the bulk of season five, so let's talk about that next stage.

Mutual Love as Self Actualization: Part 2 — Certainty and Discovery (S5)

Upon reconciling once Callum has said what we knew all along — "I'm so glad you come back" — Callum and Rayla return to the castle, and their searches for knowledge become arguably more explicitly stated by the text. Their first scene together in 5x01 establishes that Callum wants to know the Ocean arcanum ("I thought it would be about controlling the tides or fighting the currents" thereby exerting control, which he desperately wants over himself post-S4) as well as Aaravos, whereas Rayla is seeking answers about her family: "If I can figure out how he put you into the cursed coins, maybe I can find a way to get you out."

This is, of course, something we know she doesn't trust Callum with yet, not wanting to burden him with her problems especially before she's reached her own conclusion of what to do about it (to delay it for the good of the world) and we see that the certainty and forgiveness Callum found in 4x09 has more than carried over.

Opeli: Don't you want to know what she was up to? Why she did all this? Callum: If she didn't tell me, she has a good reason. I know this: the tides are true as the ocean is deep. [...] It means I trust her. Unconditionally. Let her go. Now.

This scene harkens back not only to the love poetry he quoted and then paraphrases ("To love is simply to know this") where loving and knowing someone is deemed synonyms, but also by his reassertion of Rayla's identity in the wake of her transgressions and her silence: "She's not the elf. She's Rayla" because Callum's love for (and trust in) her has always been rooted in the essence of who she is: "That's what makes her a hero. That's what makes her Rayla."

And we see Rayla's own knowledge of certainty challenged and reformed by Amaya in 5x04:

When I was growing up, my big sister Sarai was the smartest, strongest, bravest person I knew. When she died, I felt lost and weak without her. I hated feeling that way, so I learned to be strong alone. Stoic, strong, and lonely. [That does sound like me sometimes.] But the last two years have changed everything. Meeting Janai, falling in love, I am stronger than I ever was — because we are stronger together. And I realized that was the real truth of me and Sarai too. Love and trust grow a kind of strength that is much bigger than we each possess. To have that kind of strength, it is not enough to love someone. You have to trust them to share the burdens you carry.

And although very uncertain about opening up, Rayla still expresses certainty that she knows Callum could and can be there for her, if he wants to be — if he's ready to be.

Rayla: But I think — I know that I trust you to help me carry this. If you're okay with that?

This is, after all, with both Amaya's encouragement and Callum's reassurance that 1) "You can tell me when you're ready" and that 2) he does want to know from 5x01. Then, we see both their arcs in this way largely — or at least they would, in a perfect world — be resolved in many ways by their interaction later in 5x04:

But that's not where their season 5 arc ends, because 5x08 happens. To talk about that, though, we have to talk about a few other things, namely

Oedipus Rex

Bear with me, because I promise this relates. "Oedipus Rex" is a 5th century BCE Greek tragedy written by Sophocles, detailing the life of a man who's name is mostly (ironically) known for lending itself to Sigmund Freud's Oedipus complex theory. The play and myth itself, however, indicate very much the opposite. Prophesied to murder his father and marry his mother, both Oedipus and his parents are accordingly horrified by his apparent fate, and do everything they can to remove it as a possibility, including abandoning their baby to die on a mountainside, as well as Oedipus leaving the home of the family who saved and subsequently raised him, never realizing he was adopted.

He then goes on to discover the truth of the prophesy when a plague wracks his city that the seers say will not leave until the murderer of their king is found, and Oedipus unknowingly pushes until the point of revelation that it was himself, and that his wife for many years is actually his mother. Even when other characters, such as his mother turned wife, Jocasta, begin to suspect the truth and urge him to stop chasing down the mystery so they can have plausible deniability, Oedipus remains oblivious until the horrifying truth is staring him in the face. Jocasta hangs herself, and he gouges his eyes out and runs off into the woods to die.

The reason I bring this all up is because, in the Western literary canon at least, "Oedipus Rex" is considered the "ur-text," otherwise known as the text that all others are modelled after. Not necessarily in the incest or the tragedy, but the fact that most if not many Western stories (TDP included) are continually propelled towards the point of Revelation or epiphany, and that this revelation is inevitable, whether it is positive or negative.

While Viren and Harrow give an excellent display of a relationship that breaks down due to a lack of understanding and compassion, as well as self-doubt on both sides...

Harrow: Call it what it is. Dark magic [...] I've spent years going along with these creative solutions, and where has it gotten me? Viren: I don't understand. Harrow: I know you don't. Leave me. Viren: They will find you and they will kill you. Harrow: I know this. Viren: But know this: anyone of these men and women would gladly trade their lives to save yours.

Likewise, we see Viren through his dreams seek the form of acceptance ("I hope you know--" "I know") that Rayla has offered Callum, except from Harrow, as well as going further into what Viren has deeply wanted for most of his life and from Harrow in particular; to be listened to, to be valued. (How pure that is in practice is debatable given their dynamic outside of Viren's dreams, i.e. Harrow listening to you does not always mean agreeing with you, but I digress.)

Harrow: You are a brother. You're my family. Viren: I've always thought of you as my family, and you know, I would do anything for my family. However dangerous. However vile. Harrow: [Still hugging him] I know. Viren: It is everything to me, to know that I mean something to you, to know that I matter. It's all I ever wanted.

But what should be a scene of comfort and reassurance turns into a literal nightmare. Into entrapment. Into imprisonment.

Knowledge as a Burden / How Knowledge Can Imprison You

I've said before that Arc 2 is about the pursuit of knowledge, specifically because more than the mystery of Aaravos himself, the bulk of the main characters are trying to unravel the mystery of his prison. Season five, by virtue of offering more clues (the nature of the prison, its appearance, and its location) also reveals more of the layers in both the construction of the prison and the dispersion of the clues. Even the mighty Domina Profundis states, "I do not know where it is," but that "I do know what it is."

Previously, we've mostly talked about knowledge, especially within the text of the show, as a positive thing. It is the foundational rock of a strong relationship, it can lead to positive self actualization, and it helps the heroes keep Aaravos from being unleashed. When you do not have enough knowledge or perceived understanding of someone (Claudia assumes Soren could never understand her, and Viren and Harrow's relationship breakdown), your relationship accordingly deteriorates. When you share knowledge, and share experiences (Rayla to Callum about the coins, Soren to Elmer about abusive cycles), you can become stronger together.

But knowledge is not exclusively a good thing. It can also be harmful, or unwanted, or unwanted precisely because it's harmful. It can bind you to deals or bonds you don't really want, and once you know something, you cannot un-know it, whether about yourself or about others. And we see this most plainly in the story Archmage Akiyu shares about the prison.

Because Aaravos was a master manipulator, the Jailer knew all knowledge of the prison had to be protected... its location, its material, its very nature. She carefully divided information about the prison so that not even the Archdragons had the complete picture. Each knew only a piece. "The puzzle is the real prison," she told me with a proud smile. But I made a fatal mistake.

Akiyu didn't mean to look. She didn't mean to discover, to know. What should've been a noteworthy accomplishment of being trusted to keep the world safe, so it would be a better place for her and others to live in, nearly spelled her doom.

I begged her to let me live. I swore to keep the secret safe, but she said it was too important. "The archdragons will have to kill you," she told me, "to protect the puzzle, to secure the prison."

There's a few interesting things here. We can see, from the severity that Akiyu holds regarding her oath, that the Jailer was genuinely concerned about making sure the prison would hold Aaravos, in addition to the fact that Jailer would be condemning Akiyu to death without having to bloody her hands herself. But the intensity here does make sense; as she just said, "the prison is the real puzzle," and now that's been potentially compromised.

We even get a bit of bonus foreshadowing, as Callum turns to look at Rayla, indicating he hasn't forgotten what he asked her to do in 4x07, and that him gaining more knowledge about Aaravos (or the key?) may not necessarily be a Good thing.

Rayla: [About the cube] It's a toy. A piece from a children's game. I hope it was worth it to you, putting everyone's lives in danger (1x04).

If you have knowledge, you have the capacity to share knowledge, either for a common good with people you trust, or to potentially have it twisted out of you under duress, both of which could've posed a danger if Akiyu had trusted the wrong person...

or if someone (much the same way Ezran put it together) went after her to get information but with less favourable intentions...

And we see that Akiyu was likely aware of this as well:

So I proposed a pact. I made a solemn promise I would die before revealing the location of the prison to anyone. And she spared me.

She ends her history lesson by reaffirming a sentiment she already expressed earlier, citing, "I didn't want to kill you, but you left me no choice. I swore an oath, and I intend to keep it" and reaffirming it here with, "So you see, when you came looking for information about Aaravos, I had no choice. If I didn't deter you, I had to kill you." At best, Akiyu's acquisition of knowledge made her prepared to put blood on her hands (if it isn't there already from previous knowledge seekers) and provides her justification in doing so.

If she could just un-know something, her life and the information would've been much safer for everyone involved, and yet that wasn't really possible. Once you know something, you cannot un-know it. (What is done cannot be undone.) Although what happened was a genuine accident, and Akiyu wanted to live, she still understood the importance of what was transpiring and why the Jailer reluctantly wanted to remove her from the equation ("The archdragons will have to kill you" / "You have to kill me. I need you to promise") to be safe rather than sorry.

And then on the flipside we have Finnegrin, who is punished for 'genuine' crimes (we can assume based on his actions that his prior ones weren't much better, but we also don't totally know for sure), spared without begging for it, and is deeply resentful of the restrictions placed upon him.

So while to get out of her predicament, Akiyu is an Tidebound elf who holds onto knowledge, Finnegrin is a Tidebound elf who wants to get out of his predicament by gaining knowledge — by any means necessary. Because knowledge is power, knowledge is agency, and knowledge is imprisonment. Which means it's finally time to talk about:

Knowledge and the Ocean Arcanum

So if S4 is about beginning to navigate both in spite of and within uncertainty, S5 is about having the safety of that uncertainty stripped away, both in creating more of it, and in removing some of it. Namely, the Ocean arcanum:

Finnegrin: What did you think you could do, boy? I control everyone on this ship. Everyone.

Callum: [Internally] Do not ask how the ocean's blue... or why their time the tides do keep. To love is simply to know this. The tides are true as the Ocean is deep.

Now I've talked more about the specific symbolism embedded in the scene where Callum internally unlocks the Ocean arcanum — the closing of his hand mimicking what he must've done to crush the slug (as well as the importance of hands and consistent gestures throughout the episode), the sea and storm and darkness receding because the arcanum is, ultimately, enlightenment, etc.

And in some ways, Callum unlocking the Ocean arcanum should be outright enlightenment with all the positive connotations that comes with. It's him achieving the goal he wanted from his first scene this season ("I'm trying to get into a place where I can connect with the Ocean arcanum"), it has all the positive light and lack of storm associations, and it allows Callum to triumphantly break free from Finnegrin's blood ice grip, for lack of a better term.

Callum: But then, you already knew that, didn't you? Because it's the secret of the Ocean itself. The arcanum. Finnegrin: Impossible. Callum: You helped me figure it out. I thought it would be about controlling the tides, or fighting the currents. But it's the opposite. The Ocean arcanum is about accepting there are depths you can't see, parts of yourself you can't understand, and things you can't control. You know what I'm saying is true because you were born knowing it. No matter how much you try, you'll never control everything. And that terrifies you.

I'm afraid, Rayla. What if I'm on a path of darkness?

Callum does not frame him unlocking the Ocean arcanum, nor the arcana itself, as a victory. Not to say that either of those things are bad, but that they have layers, and complications, that largely were not present (at least at the time) with the Sky arcanum. While Callum learned in S4 the dark side of potential and how consequences can catch up to you, in many ways, S5 is about deepening that understanding to the fact that no matter how much power you have, you can still not control everything. There will always be moments you feel powerless. There will always be moments you are found desperate.

He chased the Ocean arcanum because he thought, if Sky granted him potential and freedom, then Ocean would grant him control, but the truth was more complicated than that. While it did grant him control (the ability to break free from Finnegrin's spell), it also granted him a rather hard truth he'd rather not know.

The first time he cites his poem about true tides and untold deaths, he is talking about his faith and trust in Rayla — the way he views her: "If she didn't tell me, she has a good reason. [...] I trust her. Unconditionally."

The second time he recites the poem, it is about himself. The untold depths are within himself, are parts he is still trying to understand in full because they are uncomfortable truths. In many ways, Callum unlocking the Ocean arcanum is his version of Ezran's 4x03 speech (see how we looped all the way back? 'Totally' intentional I swear), that multiple things can be, and sort of have to be, true in order to gain new ground, even if there's a part of you that wishes it could be simple.

I had a speech planned for today. It was about peace and love and hope. But I think I left something out. I ignored something that was true. I denied something that is undeniable.  [I'm not a dark mage. I will never help you. -> That's the dark magic you want. Just... just let her go.]

And just like his brother, Callum can no longer deny the truth.

Callum had to accept parts of himself that he was previously denying — where they could lead and what they could do, and how he could be manipulated/coerced/controlled — in order to access the Ocean arcanum. Love both makes him stronger, by his own assessment, and weaker, per Finnegrin's. Losing control made him realize what he'll do in order to have control again, even if it's temporary, even if it might not work, even if it might have disastrous consequences, because what he gains in the process — in this case, Rayla's life and safety - is worth it to him, even if all that knowledge is also scary to him and something he's going to continue to learn how to cope with.

Callum's knowledge of himself then becomes a burden, both a metaphorical and literal chain (undoing his chains so that he can free Rayla, while knowing he's chaining himself further to Aaravos in the process).

With this in mind, the ocean arcanum thereby embodies all the facets of Knowledge we've largely been looking at across S4 and S5 in particular. It is Love ("To love is simply to know this") and self actualization/discovery ("parts of yourself you can't understand"). It is power ("The secret of the Ocean itself - the arcanum" "Impossible!") and it is a burden ("there are depths you can't see" with his hands clasped like chains not for the first or last time this episode). It is freedom, yes, but the Knowledge Callum now holds is also imprisonment.

Conclusion

If you made it all this way, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. While there were other elements this season (Viren's atonement and self actualization arc which begins and ends with him becoming aware of the Truth, or knowledge, of his actions, for example) I felt they were better suited to other core themes or motifs — a general theme of self actualization or the way TDP discusses truth and sight, for example, than being tethered directly to Knowledge in this way.

I expect we'll see this be continued further as the cast chases more knowledge about Aaravos and his past / power in future seasons, in addition to the potential knowledge he and other Startouch elves such as Leola passed down to humanity that had a variety of consequences.

For now, I will see you in the next meta.

—Dragons out

[bemusedlybespectacled]

re: Jenkins' tweets about how Buttons is a witch and there's no show without Izzy, IMO there are three possible ways to interpret that:

He's being cryptic because he in fact has no intention of resurrecting Izzy (outside of maybe being a guilt ghost, like Nigel) and is trying to mollify the fans.

He's being cryptic because he wants to keep his options open in the event that he does resurrect Izzy somehow.

He does actually plan to resurrect Izzy, via Buttons' sea witch magic or something similar.

I think it's #1, at best #2, because I think him resurrecting Izzy would cause more narrative problems than it solves.

Longer explanation under the cut:

So, okay, Buttons being kinda magic was hinted at throughout season 1 but, importantly, it was never actually confirmed one way or the other.

The fact that he can identify ships on the horizon as Spanish with his naked eye when Izzy needs a telescope could be proof of sea witch powers, or he could just have good eyesight and/or guessing ability.

His ability to talk to birds could be a legitimate skill, or it could be a figment of his imagination, like ghost!Nigel is for Stede.

The hex he puts on Calico Jack could be real, especially since Calico Jack gets hit by the cannonball after Olivia has her standoff with him... or it's a complete coincidence.

Even in season 2, we never actually see him transform: he walks off into the woods, the bowl falls on the ground, and we hear a seagull, but we don't actually KNOW he's turned into a seagull. There's no Swan Princess-esque transformation scene here.

The same ambiguity is present in the curse episode. It's never confirmed one way or the other whether the curse is real, because that ambiguity is part of the point (i.e. "it doesn't matter how you feel about it, Stede, you need to validate your crew's experiences and not be a selfish ass").

So say Jenkins ends up leaning hard into the magic thing, makes it explicit and unambiguous, and ressurects Izzy. That opens up a whole host of new problems for him, like:

If magic is real, what are the rules? How does it work? What can it do? What are its limits?

Who else in this world knows about it? Obviously Auntie does, but it doesn't seem like Zheng or anyone else does: why?

If it is known by other people, how well known is it? Why do so many people (like Stede and Izzy) not believe in it?

Who else in this world is magic? It can't just be Buttons, since he needed the scroll to turn into a bird and that presumably came from some other magic user.

How much of what we've seen is magic and not plot convenience/rule of funny? Are the Loony Toons physics magic? Is the ship staying afloat despite no one knowing how to sail magic? Is the characters' ability to row anywhere they want, including places they do not know or even have a reason to try to find in the first place, magic?

And, the most important one: if magic exists in this universe, and people know about it and believe in it, and if it's been underpinning the story this entire time, why does Izzy need to be resurrected at all?

I'm not saying these are insurmountable questions Jenkins has no way of answering. But they are questions he would start having to answer, which is not only a lot more work but also very easily verging into the ridiculous if not handled well. It's an incredibly difficult needle to thread. Like, even if he's not slapped with (honestly, valid) accusations of trying to do a do-over because of fan pressure, he's going to be veering off in a direction that is way more difficult to write in a way that feels authentic and satisfying and not forced.

And I currently don't trust him to handle it well! Since we just saw how well he handled killing off a main character and navigating the cast's romantic relationships, which are both way less complex in terms of world-building!

Fanfiction can absolutely handle this. The OFMD fandom has already picked up the magical realism ball and ran with it, which is one of the things I like about the show: a lot of tropes that are often kind of jarring to me in certain fandoms (not just magic in a world with no magic, but certain whump and angst tropes that sometimes feel a little overwrought) aren't jarring here, because there's some basis for it in the canon. Like, the fandom has already written a lot of stuff more complex and better understanding of the universe's rules than the S2 finale (even, dare I say, much of the second season in general).

But Jenkins and the writers team right now? Nah.

[veronicalodgefaghag]

"THOUGHT EXERCISE TIME you have to script one (1) hiram/archie kiss into the existing show somewhere. no plot impact at all, it's never going to be brought up again onscreen it just becomes part of the overall texture of everything that's already going on in canon between them. where does it go, for maximum high camp and/or dramatic impact (double spaced on lined paper by whenever)"

Well?

Didn’t answer this ask back when it was going around cause I wasn’t into Riverdale enough at the time to feel prepared to answer it. I’m on a riverblogging kick tonight and it’s been weighing on me so here goes:

My personal favorite answer is @normiewizard ’s post about Archie going for it earlyish in the grand scheme of things and Hiram just Knowing That about him and Having That Over him for the rest of the show, that was a stroke of genius on their part that makes me fucking insane.

As to answering the question for myself, so much has already been covered by more adept hirarchie scholars than I, so I’m gonna go with my gut feeling from the very beginning and say my answer from the very beginning of this question going around has been the possibly very basic scenario of “Archie kisses Hiram during the stabbing dream in No Exit.” As a first half of season 3 scholar before any other area with this show, and an Archie scholar this is just the obvious answer to me. I love Hiram as much as the next guy and am very interested in him because I’m obsessed with Archie and Veronica, but I don’t feel I know him quite well enough as a character. Whereas, I know Archie very well. Hirarchie is most interesting to me as the result of Archie’s relationship with Grundy and its/her shaping of him, so Archie’s desire for him which Hiram is quite aware of, finds amusing, plays into (and don’t get me wrong, Hiram is attracted to Archie of course, and as many have said, there was a sexual relationship there in the show on our screens if you’re watching one way. To think there are some people to whom Archie being forced to fight in a secret underground prison fight club is not forced sexual violence… we live in different worlds.) is most interestingly explored from the Archie’s character side of things in a situation like this where we are not seeing Hiram’s true reaction to anything, but Archie’s mind’s Hiram. To actually answer the question, I think that Archie comes into the room, picks up the knife and kisses Hiram as he holds it between them. Hiram’s sly smile in this scene is then a reflection of the knowing way he plays Archie wrt his desire for him and his vulnerability resulting from the Grundy relationship. We go to the shot of their shadows on the wall now, and shots of their faces and the knife stabbing in. Yes, Joaquin parallels but also season 6 Archiereggie stabbing to death/gay sex parallels. I also think that Hiram should be awful about it (Archie’s desire for him) in some way in Archie’s imagination, because Archie’s dreams in that episode are all cruel to him because he is cruel to himself, but specifically because the kiss alone (despite the stabbing) could convey the wrong idea about what Archie thinks of Hiram kind of? If that makes sense?

I think No Exit is perfect if we’re talking about it never being mentioned in the show like you’ve prompted because so much of that episode is never mentioned again. Archie’s dream sequences in No Exit lay bare so much of his subtextual conflict that is never brought up again and doesn’t really add to anything because it all already underlies his whole story—his having to kill his “soft” self most importantly, but also, like the other core three showing up in their first episode outfits, “are you working on any new music, Arch?” pushing the show to finally acknowledge that he does. not. do that anymore after so much of his story revolves around music for the first season. This is of course another thing Hiram is responsible for in large part. So then this sojourn of his from Riverdale, spurred by an event which involved his being kissed by Joaquin, during which he runs away with Jughead (acknowledged by the show as making then look queer), ending with his subconscious instigating a Hiram/Archie kiss that never gets mentioned again but sets the final tone for his return to Riverdale as a man revived from death works so beautifully to me.

I’m really torn on whether I think that, in this hypothetical version of the show, they have kissed outside of that offscreen, or they eventually do or what. Like is this Archie taking his own control of something Hiram already physically uses against him as he kills him? Is this him acknowledging not only his homosexual desire but the homoerotic capacity/side of the relationship with Hiram only in his near-death subconscious? Tangentially relatedly, what if Grundy is the game master who hands him the “kill the Man in Black” card instead of the warden who’s another of his dead sexual abusers anyway?

[aro-geo-turtle]

TMA’s narrative structure and its reflection in character dynamics

With the end of @a-mag-a-day, I though it would be a perfect time to post this meta-analysis I’ve been thinking about for ages! Its always fun when a story’s ending wraps back around to its beginning in some way, and TMA dips into this a tiny bit via the “can I have a cigarette” moment, but I think the wider narrative structure and parallels in TMA actually get way more interesting than that. Long rambly analysis below cause I’m a writing nerd, and also remember this is purely my own personal interpretation.

I have three main points to make here.

A: season 4 is a twisted mirror of seasons 1 and 2, which act as a singular narrative unit, while season 5 is just like season 3 but more so in every way.

B: these parallels and mirrors between seasons are symbolized through Jon and Martin’s ever changing relationship.

C: the grand finale of Last Words feels like such an abrupt ending because it breaks the pattern established for how season finales are meant to work.

So let’s look at this chronologically:

Seasons 1 and 2 can be viewed a single unit in the overall narrative structure. They follow the same basic premise: Jon in his office at the Institute, alienated from his 3 assistants, trying to find out the truth about the supernatural. They both have a very slow pace, with only a handful of plot-furthering episodes among mostly world-building statement episodes. Then we have a cliffhanger leading into an action-packed climax, and then a calmer epilogue episode to clarify exactly what just happened and set up the new status quo for the next season. There are obviously differences (added supplementals, the paranoia, Gertrude’s murder, you know), but they follow the same general format. We also see the classic Jon/Martin dynamic established and shared between these two seasons: Martin reaching out to care for Jon, Jon rejecting and pushing him away. 

Season 3: Status quo? Out the window! Jon’s out of the Institute, traveling the world, we’re gone from the traditional 3 assistants to 4. The goal is no longer vaguely learning about the supernatural, we got most of those answers from Leitner. Instead we’re building towards the Unknowing from the very beginning. And the pacing here speeds up dramatically. So much happens, plot moving forward most episodes. This is where Jon and Martin’s dynamic first changes, too, finally becoming a lot more friendly. Some parts of the format stay the same, though. The ending is still made up of high-action climax episodes followed by an epilogue episode to set up the next status quo.

Season 4 is a return to the format of 1 and 2, but all twisted and reversed. Jon is in his office at the Institute, alienated from his 3 assistants, but it’s a totally different set of assistants (Tim, Sasha, Martin to Melanie, Basira, Daisy). We’re back to the slower pace, but after the mile-a-minute speed of S3, it feels agonizingly slow, a waiting game. The characters spend a lot of time sitting around. We know how the supernatural works, and now Jon’s looking for answers on what he’s meant to do about it. Of course, S4 also sees the reversal of Jon and Martin’s early season roles. Now it’s Jon reaching out and Martin rejecting him. And then we hit the finale and the tension that’s built up all season suddenly snaps. Once again, it’s a high-action climax followed by a slower epilogue that sets up season 5.

Season 5 is obviously the biggest status quo change of all. Literally all the rules of the normal world are shattered. It’s season 3 but even more so. We’re not at the Institute (there is no Institute), we don’t have the typical 3 assistants (that role doesn’t really seem to exist anymore). Like with the Unknowing, we have a clear goal from the very start: get to the Panopticon, kill Jonah, bring the world back. While the pace of 3 is rapid-fire, 5 is a steady march forward, episode by episode. Jon and Martin are once again friendly, and even more so, have finally connected and realized their feelings. And then we get to the grand finale. I think the reason the ending feels so abrupt to me and many others is because it finally breaks the format of season finales. Last Words is the action-packed climax episode but it has no epilogue episode. It just ends.

So, yeah! Those are my points. I just find looking at this all very cool.

[eggsaladstain]

elaborate on the wasted potential? What parts would you have liked to explore?

Hi anon, I could go on and on about the wasted potential of Gyeongseong Creature but I will keep it relatively brief for both our sakes.

For the record, I did like the show, particularly the way it combined history with fiction to tell a story about dehumanized Koreans fighting back against their oppressors during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The titular creature is a physical manifestation of the atrocities committed by the Japanese soldiers against the Korean people and seeing the monster going on a violent rampage against those soldiers feels like an extreme version of the Korean people fighting for their country's freedom. But despite its best efforts, the show never really finds a way to tie the central theme of resistance and freedom to the rest of the plot. The resistance is more or less used as set dressing as neither of the two main characters, Tae-Sang and Chae-Ok, are members of the resistance movement, and the central plot of the season is a heist/horror story about uncovering the mysteries at Ongseong Hospital. The character who actually is a member of the resistance, Jun-Taek, has no real impact on the plot at all and his only noticeable contribution is the explosives used in the finale.

Think about how much more compelling a character Tae-Sang could've been if we'd gotten to see him transform from a selfish man who only cared about his own interests to a proud member of the resistance, finally finding a cause worth putting his life on the line for. By the end of episode 7, I thought the show had mostly achieved this, albeit clumsily, because we never really see why Tae-Sang had a change of heart and decided to be a hero, and if we're supposed to believe it's because of his feelings for Chae-Ok, I don't buy that for one second because the romance was half-baked at best. But then by the end of episode 10, he's once again shrugging off the title of patriot, and this is not a man who is humble, so what gives? Is he meant to be a charming rogue with a heart of gold or a selfish man who will be a hero only if it aligns with his personal interests? I still can't tell and I don't know if the writers themselves even know the answer - they kept trying to tell us he was the former but most of his actions pointed at him being the latter.

Even the horrific creature could've had a genuinely compelling arc if the show had bothered at all to humanize Seong-Sim prior to her transformation. I wanted desperately to root for mother monster to get her revenge against everyone who wronged her, but the show didn't give us any time to get to know her as a human, so it was hard for me to see her as anything but the monster she became. I wanted to believe that she still had some humanity, but the scenes of her protecting Chae-Ok ultimately fell flat because we never got to know the loving mother she had once been. Consider the flashback where Chae-Ok discovers the message her mother left for her on the wall. Now consider how much more impactful that scene would've been if we'd gotten to see it from Seong-Sim's perspective in real time in episode 1. It would've gone a long way in showing Seong-Sim's humanity and it would've made us believe in the love she had for her daughter, a love she would continue to hold onto even when she had lost everything else.

Towards the end of the show, it's revealed that multiple people close to Tae-Sang have all betrayed him at one point or another. But we barely know any of these characters or how they all became a part of each other's lives, and that emotional beat is once again lacking. This is what I mean by wasted potential. The show is full of moments like this, moments that should have been compelling and emotional, and could have been, if they've been tied together with a stronger, more cohesive script.

I don't know if you've watched Kingdom, anon, but it executes a similar concept to absolute perfection (in just 12 episodes and 1 movie) by using the supernatural element, zombies, as a vehicle to discuss its broader theme of hunger, both literal and metaphorical (which I've previously written about here and here). If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend it because it's a fantastic show on its own, and if you liked Gyeongseong Creature, I recommend Kingdom even more as an example of how this show could've been so much better than it was.

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Link Click Season 2

It's a bit strange, I know, to write a full review for a show's second season without having done the same for its first. Though I suppose I did the same with Jujutsu Kaisen as well, so maybe this just helps me process my thoughts better. Sometimes it takes until I've really spent a lot of time with a show to fully unpack how I feel about it. And while I enjoyed Link Click's first season a lot, it left a lot of questions in the air that left my feelings fairly inconclusive. Not just plot questions, but questions of theme, message, meaning, what it was trying to say with all its time-twisting stories. The ride itself was fun, but this felt like a case where I really needed to see the destination as well. Only then would I really be able to nail down my thoughts on Link Click as a whole.

Well, now I've reached that destination. Mostly; there's a third season on the way eventually, but enough of those big questions are answered by the end of season 2 that I'm able to sort out my thoughts a little better. And man, what a fascinating, frustrating, singular experience this turned out to be.

In case you need a recap, Link Click is the story of Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, two young men with the power to travel into the past through photographs and help resolve their clients' lingering regrets. Maybe they need to find some long-forgotten secret, or pass on a final message the client never got the chance to. But whatever the case, the most important rule remains the same: do not change the past. No matter how tragic or unfair a person's life as been, meddling with the timeline to try and make things better will only result in further tragedy. At least that's how it seems until the end of season 1, when it's revealed that someone- or perhaps, a larger group- has been wreaking havoc with their own photo-based superpowers to ensure these tragic fates are brought to their inevitable conclusion. Thus, season 2 is all about tracking down the people responsible, unraveling one big conspiracy to stop the criminals before they cause any more damage.

So already that's a pretty big change from season 1. Instead of spending time with a bunch of episodic small-scale mysteries that freely bounce between various tones, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang are now focused on this singular case in a season-long ongoing supernatural crime drama. Thankfully, there's enough excuses to jump into the past that we still get a decent chunk of that genre-mixing experience that I loved about season 1. We may not have as much variety as before- there's no love stories or sports anime subplots here- but the mechanics of time-leaping are still pretty essential to how the story unfolds and how the characters come to understand their place in it. What is missing, though- arguably one of season 1's most important qualities that pretty much vanishes in season 2- is the exploration of the morality of messing with time itself.

See, one of the first season's thorniest conflicts was whether or not is was right, or safe, for Cheng Xiaoshi to change the pasts of the people he jumped back into. So many of his and Lu Guang's clients had truly miserable lives, and there were many times he felt like he had a chance- no, a responsibility- to take action in their past that would send their present down a better path. But it was never as easy as that, and often times, his attempts to make things better would just end up making them worse. And I'm really unsure how to feel about Link Click's handling of this concept. Sure, I know the reason they can't just use time travel to fix everything: once you give your characters the power to rewrite any mistake, the stakes pretty much become nonexistent. For the sake of a good story, Cheng kind of has to be doomed to not be able to make a difference in the past. But there's a point at which the world starts to feel actively unfair with how it twists every single attempt he makes to force a tragic result regardless. Is changing the past bad because you can't predict how it will shape the future, or has the universe just cosmically ordained that certain people will suffer and die no matter what? Because only one of those answers is compelling to me, and I'm not convinced it's the answer Link Click has decided to go with.

And that was one of the answers I was most hoping to get in season 2. What, exactly, does this story have to say about messing with time? Is it actually engaging with that question honestly, or is it simply forcing the answer it prefers with cheap moralizing and forced plot turns? Unfortunately, that question remains basically unaddressed throughout season 2. In fact, most of those broader questions and philosophy and character journeys from season 1 take a backseat to the mechanics of the plot in season 2. Season 1's greatest strength was how well it balanced its sci-fi and thriller elements with the humanity at the core of its cast, using its time-leaping to explore not just Cheng's character but the countless ways people choose to move on from the past or remain stuck in it, or draw power from it. With season 2's narrowed focus, though, it really only does that for its central antagonists, and basically every other character is pure plot machinery. Compared to how lush and lived-in the countless snapshots of memory we visited in season 1 felt, the world of season 2 barely feels like it exists outside the confines of the plot.

My guess is, the intention here was to choose quality over quantity. Instead of getting lots of brief insights into the lives of various different people, we spend the whole season digging into just the central antagonists' past and fleshing it out in as much detail as possible. And to its credit, this seasons' villains, a pair of psychic siblings who parallel Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang's brotherly relationship. Their past is easily Link Click's darkest tale yet, a story of abuse, neglect, trauma and social toxicity that at times feels like a darkest-possible-timeline mirror to that question of using your powers to fix a bad situation only to make it a million times worse. And it's not subtle about connecting that darkness with the worst of China's familial culture, which I do not know enough about to discuss with any authority, but let's just say that basically any man in this season who tries to exercise his authority over a woman ends up paying the price for it. More than anything, it reminds me of the way Gen Urobuchi tackles misogyny in his work, exploring how attitudes of patriarchal domination twist people into monsters while everyone in close proximity suffers for it- even when you think you're doing it with noble intentions.

Sadly, as compelling as that central hook is, the rest of the season really suffers around it. The problem with Link Click introducing new superpowered characters is it kind of forces itself to get trapped in the mechanics of it all. Season 1 got away with using time jumps mostly just as the backbone for its various character studies, but now the show has to actually deal with how all these various powers work and interact, and considering how many of these powers involve messing with time, it doesn't take long for this shit to get real convoluted real fast. It's a headache trying to keep track of the rules behind the antagonists' powers, and it feels like no matter what the answer is, there's at least one scenario in the show that completely breaks those rules. And don't get me started on how many head-smacking contrivances this season pulls to force its plot into the shape it wants. You're telling me you've got this person imprisoned who you know has some unknown power you're unprepared to deal with, and you let her just waltz out of security camera sight without a ten-man gun squad keeping an eye on her at all times? Are you high???

Overall, Link Click season 2 is just messy. It's a big swing that takes big chances with the foundation season 1 established, but it doesn't hit every pitch and you really feel the disjoint where it strikes out. It's a good thing the art and animation are still as superb as they were in season 1; turns out, an expertly-choreographed hand-to-hand fight scene can help even the dumbest plot points go down easier. But the series overall feels on much shakier ground than it did at the end of season 1, and I hope season 3 will be able to right that ship. I'd hate for a series this promising to become just another disappointing failure to establish Chinese donghua as a true artistic powerhouse. Until then, though, season 2 gets a score of:

6/10

And on that note, I think I have another poll to make. See you in a few hours...

[7deadlycinderellas]

Lost season 1x07-08

Today, we have two more episodes of season 1- The Moth and Confidence Man.

Each of these episodes are two things: the former is a Charlie episode as well an an episode continuing the "survival on an island/getting rescued" plot, the latter a Sawyer episode as well as presenting the first seriously life threatening health crisis on the island (should more have occurred? That seems to be another sign of the Island's magical nature).

Charlie's character archetype choice of the "addicted rock star" is in retrospect an interesting one- because the writers both do and don't invoke it heavily. I mostly am grateful that they didn't utilize him for random musical numbers. I will admit I don't know a great deal about opioid addiction, but in perhaps a bit of foreshadowing. it seems like his withdrawal could have been milked for a more dramatic health crisis, and I find it interesting that these chose not to.

The Moth also introduces the "beach vs caves" conflict, and the early mystery of Adam and Eve's identities (this is probably the mystery that caused the most dissent among the answer we got- I've got opinions on it and all of Across the Sea, that will be addressed when we get to Across the Sea). It's definitely well-placed- confirms not only that other people are/have been on the island, but they have been for ages, not just recently. It also gave more ammunition to the theorizers who thought the Smoke Monster was a dinosaur.

Confidence Man handily adds depth to Sawyer's callous, bigoted redneck conman character: namely, questioning how much of his behavior is sincere and how much is due to his own self-loathing. Shannon's asthma attack story is also suitably tense- its a common enough ailment that it really drives home the potential danger of the situation even for the common people (anyone looking to write something and wanting a similarly high-stakes and potentially deadlier option? Have a character with diabetes. Their insulin runs out, they die. Simple as that). I do have a couple of very specific issues with the plot, noted in Stray Observations below.

And the end, where Sayid decides to leave the survivors and strike out on his own, is great for many reasons, but mostly for what it meant. It's hard to describe just how shackled network TV used to be to "the status quo is God", where every episode would return the characters would be back where they started. Breaks in this convention in this happened of course, but weren't common, and showing that Lost wasn't going to stay tied to these shackles was a great sign.

Stray observations:

*The early theories for the identities of Adam and Eve included basically everyone we'd met. I'm not sure why people assumed we'd met them before.

*OK seriously, you guys, you have Sawyer restrained on one side of the island. Why go immediately to the torture instead of, oh, I don't know, FIRST RANSACKING HIS STUFF? You've been on the island a week! How secretly could he have hid things?

*I also find it rather interesting that Jack, the doctor, didn't take any longer to resort to force, than Sayid did.

*While I adore Sun getting to be the hero at the end of episode 8, I seem to recall the correct low tech treatment for an asthma attack is actually a cup of coffee.

TWoP thread for the Moth

TWoP thread for Confidence Man

[stewyhosseini-bf]

do u think it’s strange that there was almost no mention of kendalls drug addiction/him using in this season? we got that one line in the first episode which implies he might be clean? maybe? and its never brought up again. i just cant help but find it weird bc kendalls drug use and addiction was such a big part of his character and really used to reflect what hes going through. but then again this season wasn’t very long in-universe and he was focused on a lot of other things so maybe there wasnt any necessity for him to do drugs? i might have answered my own question.

Okay that's a really good question. So in terms of why they didn't bring it up again, I literally just listened to a podcast ep where Jesse essentially answered this exact question so I'll just write down his answer here real quick:

Podcast Host #1: I don't think I've ever seen an addict on television without relapse being part of the story.

Jesse Armstrong: Yeah, yeah, and it was part of our story, but I wasn't especially intrigued by that dynamic.

Podcast Host #2: Why did you do it if you weren't that intrigued by it?

JA: It just felt right. It's that episode in the desert, it came after episode 6 of the first season. And it just felt like he was in a tough place and so we did it cause it felt right. But the episode isn't really about that. I don't want to be glib about addiction, but I think it's quite heavily covered in the culture. It's well covered in the culture. We've got some stuff to say about power and also I guess about the way that money can insulate you from some of the worst things that can happen to you if you don't have money and find yourself addicted.

I don't necessarily think the show (or Jesse for that matter) is saying he didn't relapse, but that, as with many things in this show, they just don't bring it back up again because there's no plot-related reason to. Like you know how there's a lot of those jokes about how 'x was true, it just wasn't relevant to [characters]'s journey so we never saw it' - I feel like if there's any show that this joke really works well on it's Succession lmao. Stuff will come up and then be dropped quite easily again later on, and they're not necessarily trying to make a statement by doing that. So them not mentioning it doesn't imply anything about whether Kendall is using again, it really just tells you that whatever the case may be, it's not really relevant to the plot and/or doesn't reveal anything we don't already know about the character, so there's no reason to mention it.

With Kendall, drugs are also mostly brought up either by Logan or Kendall's siblings, to point out his 'weaknesses' (just revisited this post on how the show conflates Kendall's drug abuse, him performing in a business-sense and his sexuality). I don't think there was necessarily anything new to be said about that. Kendall's also flying pretty high for most of the season, and those topics and Kendall's drug use mostly comes up when he's depressed and more hopeless, which he simply didn't really have time to be, with everything that was going on this season and with how little time passed.

This doesn't mean, though, that I think they don't put thought into whether he is sober or not or don't put in certain 'clues' (for lack of a better word) that point to that. At the start of the season Kendall kind of implies that The Hundred is keeping him occupied enough to keep him from drugs ('I need something super fucking absorbing in my life', which tells me he is trying to stay away from drugs and is asking them straight up to tell him if it's not gonna be this, so he can look for a different substitute). And I'm pretty sure the drink he orders in 4x2 is non-alcoholic (though I could be wrong, I'm going off what I've seen others say here) but as the season progresses we do see him drink, like in Norway and then also at the Tailgate Party and in the finale. Whether that means that he's using drugs again as well, I don't know, but he's clearly not staying sober. We also know he uses drugs when he's under a lot of pressure to perform, in the business-sense, which he obviously is this season, so there is that as well

[vinegar-on-main]

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR OC. INFO I NEED RIGHT THIS INSTANT

1. Full name, age, gender, height, etc. Just bio info really.

2. What kind of world do they live in?

3. Are they good or evil? Protag? Side character? Villain? Hero?

4. Magic powers of any kind? Skills they have?

5. Favorite fact about them

6. Character arc?

7. Any other info you desperately want to tell someone

WOOOO YEAH OKAY

Putting this under a cut cause this is Loooooong

THIS ISNT PROOFREAD AT ALL HAVE FUNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Also tagging @meme-boys-blog cause he’s heard me brainrot about her :p

1. Okay so that’s a bit complicated cause she uses three of em, depending on form. If she’s a human person, that’s Kuze, if shes humanoid, that’s Kuma, and if shes Shadow Creature, that’s Kurokami. It’s all the same person, just presenting as different aspects, you know?

Also she frequently uses bynames so watch out :p

Beat answer for age is Yes. She’s older than literally everyone and anything due to being a creature that is made out of the stuff that exists between realities.

Her gender is whatever you want it to be, but she generally prefers she/they. But she can manifest as any gendered human person as Kuze. The only exception is pronouns of it/it’s, mostly because of some Hollow Knight Stuff.

Also!!! Kuze fun facts: there’s some Rules that Kuze has to follow when manifested, it’s not a lot, but it’s just enough to tip off observant persons that they’re not exactly the Most Human. For example: all forms have to follow the basic template of white hair, pale skin, black eyes, black clothes. Of course, the black can be any dark shade of gray, so there’s some variation in the outfits. Eyes do not reflect light, skin doesn’t get cut like flesh and instead cracks like porcelain, bleeds Void, body temp is always room temp, etc.

Here’s a drawing I did of each one, from right to left, it’s Kuze, Kuma, and Kurokami

2. Yes? Yes. She’s kinda my proxy into fandoms. An op SI oc. But she has her own personality sorta??? It’s A Lot.

3. Lawful neutral. She has her own personal values and sticks to them like glue, but overall she enjoys the concepts of freedom. She has the potential to be the scariest thing ever with eldritch horror shenanigans, or the wine aunt with weird eyes. She tends to make the worst kind of friends (See: Michael Distortion from TMA) because of her loose morals.

She’s not really on the side of destroying worlds, instead going for the cosmic horror angle of “not yet”. And even then, the Void doesn’t really need her direction.

She also travels to diff universes cause she likes the connection, and also she fears becoming a true monster. I mean, wouldn’t everyone?

4. She’s basically the God of Shadow in all its forms, but she doesn’t control it directly. All forms can stop time with ease due to a visit to jojo and stealing DIO’s stand for herself, Names have Power and she can stop it for an infinite duration. Also she can invoke someone’s true name to tell them what to do, this can manifest in different forms, but she tries to make it subtle :p. All forms are also skilled in every instrument type because music is kinda a huge deal for her, and also can create constructs that fall under the same restrictions as Kuze’s form. They can be pretty much anything. But she usually abuses it to make musical instruments on the fly. Almost forgot about the child in the room, during certain plot parts of Transformers Prime season 3, she made a trade with Rafael to repaint Bumblebee in exchange for his knowledge of computers. And given that this kid can hack The Pentagon… yeah.

Kurokami has the power to change her size to be as large as she wants, but the low end is 7 feet, plus horns. Power to dwell/hide in things/peoples shadows, only consequence being that the shadow itself is darker than normal.

ALSO!!! Soul shit, it’s a lot, but it’s a called direct interfacing. She dislikes the process cause it’s Very Invasive (think of it like forcibly issuing commands to someone)

Also also dream shit, she has a major influence over it cause when Radiance died, they left a power vacuum.

Kuze and Kuma have the previously stated abilities, as well as being overall weaker than Kurokami. The time it takes to get from either of these back to Kurokami is quite literally nothing, as the form can either melt or straight up explode, but going from Kurokami to Kuze/Kuma takes longer, even longer if it’s Kuze.

5. When as Kurokami, there’s some Special Voice Quirks!!! She can speak as any person that she has met or knows the Name of, and usually speaks with more than one voice. Her default is usually some kind of femme fatale, but they could also be a confident businesswoman type beat. Also, she speaks in plurals, using we/us/our instead of I/me/my. I just think it’s neat!!!

Also whenever she arrives in a new place that she’s gonna Chill in, she makes a card that automatically charges a random bank account that’s on an internal list. She mostly picks billionaires. She also can eat but she doesn’t need to but food is good.

Coffee addiction. Lots of coffee.

6. Okay so it’s a bit hard to pinpoint her timeline, but I’m gonna try my best.

- In the Before times, before Kurokami was Kurokami, she was something else, think of it like a Guardian Angel on crack and also omni-dimensional.

- She basically was that before she started looking after the cast for Persona 5, 4, and 3 in that order. When she was done with Persona 3’s main plot, something… spoilery happened that made her have an epiphany and was basically the catalyst for her to begin her search

- the search being, of course, to become her own functioning person. She eventually found her way to HK universe post Dream No More, and traveled down to The Abyss to dunk herself in Void.

- the most recent adventures were, in this order:

- TMA, where she made friends with Michael distortion and also became a menace to Elias. She rearranged his books and moved his shit semi-weekly

- Octopath 2, where she had huuuuge beef with the final boss for kinda encroaching on her domain cause she’s petty. Also she asked the gods pretty please for her to say hi to their chosen and give ‘em a boost

- A revisit to personas 3, 4, and 5 Royal, where she revisited the place and could do what she actually wanted with Joker and Co. also fucked with Kasumi a little because she wanted to know Her Deal early.

- SMT IV, kinda visited it while passing through, but ended up making friends with Hikaru, so there’s that. So now she’s here to play music and kick ass. Also probably provide moral support for Neutral route via fun music times

-Pokemon X/Y: Yeah this was meant as a bit of a one time thing but here we are. She’s here to hang out with Sycamore (who highkey thinks she’s a Zorarark but doesn’t leave her because science!!!! Breakthroughs in Zorarark behavior!!!) and also spend an entire day working on her new holo caster because SOMEBODY decided to listen in on them. Also she’s there for the main events of the plot and I’m trying to justify Sycamore having fully evolved Kanto starters.

-SMT IV: Apocalypse. She’s gonna go hang out with Hikaru and also hang out with a different traumatized kid. But this one has a knife and is a gremlin. Nanashi gives her wicked flashbacks to TMA and ends up alerting Dagda when she tries to figure out the kids deal. Either way, Nanashi has a new stalker and Dagda has a new nuisance.

7. I have some documents saved on my laptop that are literally just Shit I Wrote for discord friends but I can post em here if you want. They’re kinda mismatched and scattered, but they give the sense of “shit happening in the background.”

[quietwingsinthesky]

genuine question: if you were transported into the world of supernatural w all its bad writing and nonsensical plot points, and it started looking a little too much like the universe is gunning for you to be this season’s quirky side character slash reluctant winchester ally, what would you do?

The thing is, I don’t think there’s any way to escape that. The minute you come in contact with the Winchesters, if you’re a little too interesting or helpful, you’re trapped in their orbit forever. Doesn’t matter if you escape for decade or so, even, cause maybe some demon read about you kissing Sam in a book and decides it would be funny to kill you in front of him. (rip Sarah)

Answer is obviously going to be highly dependent on what season I’m being dropped in but you know, fuck it. Now my life will just have to run on horror movie logic: follow the rules or get killed. (Rule 1: don’t sleep with Sam, rule 2: do not disagree with dean if you don’t want to be marked as a villain, rule 3: try to put on an fun show for god before he erases you from the story…) Foresight of future season events will be helpful, but I’m keeping that shit close to the chest, like most things. If I’m mysterious, I’ve got more backstory for the Winchesters to slowly find out (and I just hope this doesn’t end up being a Bela situation where I’m killed off too quick to reveal that much.)

Then, of course, when I do die, I now have a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven or Hell. Faith’s (or lack thereof) a small factor in a world where you know these things are real, and it’s much more likely wherever I go gets decided by whoever wants to hold me hostage more, if I’m important enough. (Other option: be a ghost. this option sucks. no thank you.) Heaven is boring but bearable. Hell is. Well, it’s Hell. I think the only benefit I have there is my moral backbone being a slinky and that I have no actual opposition to becoming a demon to survive endless torture and escape.

I’d be a really good demon, actually.

Life expectancy a lot shorter, then, but hey, the Empty seems like a cozy place for a nap. Could even cuddle with an angel there if I get lucky.

[musicallad]

some questions from the big DCLA ask game 💜

24. The best DCLA villain?

103. Worst kiss scene

174. The worst D+LA parent?

188. How would you rank the seasons of Violetta? Why?

209. Any popular DCLA-related headcanon that you disagree with?

24. Ahhh this is so hard! Like, what would we classify as a "best villian"? I adore Ludmila but she wasn't a villain for the whole show, although when she was... Crimes were committed, a slay queen girlboss criminal. Priscilla was a fantastically written villain and I don't like her but I shouldn't that's the whole point so would she count as the best? Also Gregorio because he's so funny and mean but also lovable? So they would probably be my answers! (Violetta focussed cause I don't know the ithers really well)

103. The non-consensual Diego/Violetta kiss. Absolutely disgusting.

174. I might have to skip this one I'm not gonna lie, I haven't caught up with them all. But it certainly is not my Papas por encargo dads! I know that for sure.

188. I love all the seasons for different reasons, But season 1 has a hold over me. I think it is the actually the worse, but because of my love and nostalgia I love it the most. Then 2 then 3, I HATED the roxy plot and it just took up to many episodes. Although S3 has some of my fave moments. Idk its hard haha.

209. Ohh I haven't come across many that I am like absolutely not, yknow. I'll defintely have a look around tho, and update this!

[fruity-fangirl]

As per one of my new year's resolutions, I said that I'll be posting more on here, so here we go. This post will be a teen wolf the movie review, but instead of rating it I'll just be sharing my thoughts

!!!TEEN WOLF THE MOVIE SPOILERS!!!

I'll start off with the parts that I enjoyed

so it doesn't seem like I hated the movie. I really enjoyed Scott's character in the movie. It felt like the writers and directors recognized the key elements of Scott's character and stayed true to it. the way that scott was willing to sacrifice himself just so that his friends and family can live was the same type of selfless deed he has done in the series. Scott's motivations have always been about protected his family and friends, so its refreshing to see that they stay true to his original character.

I also really enjoyed derek and eli's relationship, like it meant have felt like your typical teenage and parent relationship but there's just something special about the way that they are. Like all derek wanted to do is keep his son safe and to keep being apart of eli's life. Like you can tell that even tho they are both as stubborn as an ox, they still love each other to pieces.

(Also who is eli's mother cause I don't think its braedon. I'm not staying that there's anything wrong with him not having a mother. I'm just curious since Derek still had a love interest when the series ended)

I also enjoyed the fact that Malia stayed the same, she was fun and so unserious that it works for when for her. Its also nice to see that she mad something out of her life. (I wonder if stiles was the one to inspire her in cars and mechanics)

I loved the fact that the nogitsune's role started the same. the nogitsune's job was to just find someone that had deep enough connections in the pack that the pack couldn't killed them themselves.

While I am still bawling, I loved that Derek's character arc was completed. Derek came into the series and was really closed off and just wanted answers about his family. He ended up finding a new family and still getting closer about his old one. Derek also went out the same way most of the hales went out, by a flame, which is a whole new level of traumatic for everyone, but anyway. Why is derek and eli soo heavily mufasa and simba coded??

I also loved eli and malia's relationship, they really felt like (2nd) cousins and they had really good interactions.

I am glad to see that scott got his wish of having his own little family to raise and love.

Eli's also seems like a really good fit to eventually replace scott as the protector of Beacon hills

Below is the things that I'm pretty neutral about:

1. The whole plot twist of the chemistry teacher from season 1-3 really surprised me, like it makes perfect sense for him to take revenge scott and the pack but also not really since it was Jennifer's doing and Scott and the pack killed Jennifer. Harris also did not really add much to the story. For some reason I was expecting a bigger plot twist.

2. The way that the battle ended felt really half done like in theory sure that was one way to probably defeat the Nogitsune but how did they know that it was going to work. Parrish was only introduced later on in the series so they had no way of that he could defeat the Nogitsune.

3. Scott and Allison's relationship to me felt the same way Stiles and Lydia's felt. There was so much build up in the relationship only for the chemistry to not be enough for them to work as an endgame couple. They tried to force they two of them together so intensely that it just felt rushed and sloppy. While they kinda work together, scott and Allison are not the best pairings for each other same with stiles and lydia.

4. Allison's comeback to me was veryyy overhyped like she wasn't even a void allison or something. Allison just seemed like the same young influenciable girl that took everything her mom, aunt and grandad took to heart. Also the "loses her memory and gets it back through love" trope is very overdone and always gives me a weird feeling.

Next is things that I really disliked about the movie:

1. There was little to no consistency from the series, like what happened to Braeden, Corey and Theo. They were key players throughout the series and now its like POOF! they're gone. Two you can not make new relationship of the blue I get that you "needed" to shove malia into a relationship but with parrish of all people, eww. Also I thought that Melissa and Chris were going to stay together, but I guess they had to break they up for Scallison(?) to work.

2. Majority of the characters were underdeveloped, like i get that you don't have time for all of them, but at least try to make an effort. Like they had so much potential with another kitsune but they blew it. Even the returning characters felt like they were barely there.

3. I HATED (and I mean hated) the fact Jackson was so present in to story, he had no reason to even be there in the first place.

4. Also why was there so much nudity, like ??!

If I remember anything else I'll add on later but yeah. Let me know about your thoughts.

Note 1: I forgot to mention, the writers never should have tried to do stiles and kira's story without them

Note 2: The writers are absolute cowards for doing the same queerbaiting with stiles that they did in the series. I personally don't ship sterek (because of the age gap, and that they meant when stiles was a minor), but they could have done without the whole "jeep symbolizing their relationship" thing. The they were cowards not just making stiles bi in the first place, since stiles was clearly bi.

-AB

[thotbugatti]

The Audra Diaries

Hi. So recently, I had a silly and goofy idea. Before I even talk about it, let me hit you with a recommendation. If you haven’t already, watch Jenny Nicholson’s video about the Vampire Diaries. I was watching/listening to that video today for the umpteenth time despite never actually watching the show myself, and I figured I should go ahead and watch it for the first time. I don’t want to just watch it though because that’s lame, that’s boring. Instead, I’m going to sit down and review every single episode of the show. So here’s the plan: I’m going to share the bullet point notes that I take while watching the episode, then afterward I’m going to write an actual review for the episode. That’s it. (The notes themself are often out of context comments, which is something that I personally enjoy looking at because I think that kind of thing is funny). Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. :3

Season 1 Episode 1

��� why was he just standing in the road and why did he land on his back so perfectly

•so if vampires turn people by biting them, why did it kill that guy

•the thing that CW shows do where they have to make every plot element super obvious through exposition is amazing

•I PREDICTED OBAMA!

• “I predict that we’ll get into a fatal car crash just like your parents huh *nudge*”

• TRANNY MESS??? HELLO????

• why is Jeremy just watching them make out walk away bro

• you’re STONED

• chill myself? What is that, stoner talk?

• give him a break damn your parents are dead girl

• she said hubba hubba

• hawt-e. staring (@) u

• CAW!

• why does the gravestone only have the death date and no birth dates

• she’s going to fist fight the crow

• why are you in a graveyard FREAK?! is he not allowed to be there why are YOU here

• there is a bloody gash in your leg and somehow you don’t feel a thing

• he stole her diary he’s a pervert

• “when’s the last time you hooked up with a puppy?”

• “you keep a journal too omg fuck me now pls”

• Matt looks like an anemic Heath Ledger

• running up that hill instrumental? Ope nope just a cover

• “cute becomes dumb in an instant” what teacher is talking like this to their students

• WHAT TEACHER HER PARENTS ARE DEAD BRO

• why does he have a confederate flag on his desk

• I’M DRUNKKKK 😭

• his smolder is so dreamy

• so if Jeremy didn’t show up would that guy have just r*ped her???

• fog monster FOG MONSTER

• so she was almost r*ped then she was murdered. If I didn’t know any better I’d say that TY killed her

• she’s not into you bro

• OMG my brother is drunk at the party where everyone is drunk what the FUCK

• omg secret brother

• the crow is my fav character

• Damon looks kinda like Glinner if Glinner looked normal

• so is Vicki alive or dead cause they took her away in the ambulance covered

• can vampires teleport in this universe what’s up

• I love the way that people drink beer in movies and tv. It’s always so animated

• she basically told him to get over the death of their parents. CHILL, it’s been 5 months, you’re not over it either

• Vicki: “vampire…” Matt: 😯

• mid 2000s shows all using Fray songs is so on the nose

Review: I actually kind of liked this pilot. I think it’s compelling enough on its own and establishes most of the characters well (with the exception of Jeremy). It’s certainly not without its, uh, dicey moments. Tranny mess? The confederate imagery? From what I can tell, there is 1 (one) black character in the show. Also, the way they transition between scenes can be a little jarring, but that’s not even exclusive to this show. It’s a very CW thing. I think the actor they got for Stefan is a pretty rock solid choice as well. The mysterious, hot boy vampire that serves as their answer to Edward Cullen, that doesn’t sound insanely awkward when he speaks. I’ve had my reservations about this show for a while now, but after the pilot, I’m at least a little interested to see how it goes, and that’s how a pilot should be.

(I’m also posting these on substack if you’re interested in that: https://open.substack.com/pub/thotbugatti/p/the-vampire-diaries?r=302je1&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post :) )

[uncouth-the-fifth]

you're the only person i follow who mainly posts about kripke era spn so i just gotta ask, is it just me or does season 2 already feel vastly different from season 1? like obviously they went through a lot of crap in the span of a year but i just restarted the series and something about the way Sam talks to Lenore (the vampire lady in bloodlust) is so different from how he used to be in season 1. (i also hated that that was the beginning of his style change but whatevs no more silly tees and hoodies for Sammy cause he's a big serious hunter now i get it). and Dean, i can't really put my finger on it but he's also changed so much from the guy who whacked his brother on the arm and called him a control freak after literally not seeing him for two years. like i get that trauma changes you but going straight into s2 from s1 it just feels slightly off, even the vibes of the episodes. i talk a lot about how the first five seasons are superior to the rest of the show but i think i'll just forever be a s1 supremacist. honestly idk if this is something other people are aware of too or if i'm just crazy. maybe it's because supernatural first starts becoming very comical in season 2, like introducing casa erotica, that stupid p*rn website dean is obsessed with, and probably more, all this making the series less realistic (i mean it's a show about monsters but still) than it was in s1. in my opinion, spn was a lot better before it was trying to be all self-aware. genuinely would like to know what you think about this tho cause i know you're amazing with your words :)

WOO BOY, have i been stewing on this ask for a bit. i didn't want to rush to answer because i wanted my response to be thorough, but i have SO many feelings about this. i never make spn meta posts (if this could even be considered that) cause I'm not the greatest at articulating my thoughts on the show, so bear with me. i could also be throwing stuff at u that u already know, and in that case ignore me lol

there is a pretty big gap between the first and second seasons, but it's not something i immediately thought about reading this ask because, technically, they're the closest plotwise. the hunt for yellow-eyes begins in season 1 and ends at the devil's gate with season 2. we have the overarching apocalypse arc that has its feet in the first five seasons, sure, but s1 and s2 specifically share the same villain and the same cross-season motivator: kill the thing that killed mom.

but i thought on it a little more and i agree with you!! there's a clear tonal shift from devil's trap to in my time of dying, and i think that's born mainly from factors outside the show's plot. supernatural moved from being a potential one-and-done to a whole multi-season show, and the showrunners had audience reactions to reference when writing too! the monster-of-the-week cycle was interesting, but people watched the show to see, y'know. sam and dean drinking beers and crying on the hood of the impala. the plot was the most fascinating part, so naturally, the show became more involved. while season 1 was clearly a monster-of-the-week type beat, season 2 keeps that rhythm while weaving plot-heavier episodes throughout. i also think that killing off john is as clean and concise a shift as the writers could manage: if the entire first season hinged upon finding dad, and dad dies s2e1, well. any step away from the waters the show was born in, that endless hunt for john, is going to feel foreign. and john's death is a huge hit to both boys, so automatically their characterization shifts for that season too. sam loses the boyish haircut and dean irons out into an even grizzlier hunter. i don't trust kripke or anyone at the CW to make writing choices this purposefully, but you COULD say that the effect you're talking about is supposed to reflect the boy's lives when john dies. off-kilter and standing up on shaky legs. but i refuse to give them credit for that <3

if i'm telling the truth i really like when the show gets more involved. but i think why others might feel the opposite is because, after 14 seasons layered thick with plot that only gets messier and messier as times goes on, the disconnected adventure from season one feels more special!! they don't have heaven to worry about yet!! or an apocalypse!! things were simple, and the show was just about two brothers on the road trying to rebuild their family. it's uncomplicated. s1 is also the landing strip we hit every time we return to the show as a whole, so it's more familiar, and therefore more intimate than any other season!! (for those who watch in order at least lol).

[willel]

I'm not sure what other people are thinking when they say they want/don't want Will to be the 'Will' of season 5, but to me, it means him being the driving force behind the supernatural and emotional plot like he was in season 1. One of the reasons I love that season so much is that there was not one episode where you forgot how much everyone cared about him and that love drove most (not all, but most) of the characters' motivations. That's what I want to see in the last season, and I think they can do that without Will simply being absent.

I worry that Max will become the core of the show in that way, though, where it will be love for her that drives everyone (and not to say that that's bad or she doesn't deserve it, because everyone should love her yes, it's just... /Will/ needs so much love right now). And I could see her getting the kind of scenes I want for Will, memory/mindwalk scenes in whatever void she's in, getting to explore her own strength etc.

I just want Will to be not only relevant to the plot again but the emotional focus as well. Wanna see not just his brother loving him but all of his friends and just everyone so he knows he's not a mistake bb.

I think you're misunderstanding Will's role. Or maybe, haven't noticed that's it's evolving. He's no longer the completely defenseless damsel, Max is. He's like, half damsel/half superhero in training.

Sure, in season 1, Will was the "normal" kid who all these people loved and they went forward and back to get him home safely. The plot was a lot smaller. He was the beating heart of the story and everyone was clinging on the edge of their seats for its conclusion. Same can be said of season 2.

But we've graduated since then. Will isn't just the normal kid who got kidnapped in season 1. He was targeted by the biggest bad of the entire show all along. He's a vital piece to a puzzle we didn't realize was all around us (ok some of us did. But still). It's not a "this poor boy got lost and kidnapped". It's "this boy was taken hostage by the enemy cause he might be special".

He's not the damsel in distress everyone is working to save. He's potentially one of the heroes who is also in extreme danger himself. The entire team has to get together to not only save Max but ALSO to protect Will from whatever Vecna is planning.

I even mentioned earlier how alert El is gonna be about Vecna targeting her friends. ESPECIALLY Will. She's so attached to Will, he's her brother. Can you imagine scenes where she's trying to protect him? Joyce freaking out over the situation? Jonathan ready to crack some skulls? It's glorious.

Like I said in a previous answer somewhere, Max's whereabouts are supposed to be mysterious. Just like Will in season 1, we're probably not gonna see a bunch of Max this season. Her fate is supposed to be up in the air. That's why she got a ton of screen time this season. The team will be drawing conclusions about where she might be because of the small glimpses we get.

I really don't think you need to be worrying so much about Will sharing a little bit of an emotional focus with Max. He's gonna be sharing it with El too you know? The three of them are gonna be majorly important (admittedly, Will and El moreso). The three of them are attached to every piece of the Hawkins pie.

Think of it this way. While Will obviously has a major target on his back, this is gonna be his chance to be the hero too. His chance to save someone (Max) just like he's been saved. A chance to address all the baggage he's been carrying these last few years and knowing exactly how Max must feel (minus all the physical damage, Venca/The Upside Down has yet to hurt him for whatever reason). It's almost like saving himself a little bit.

Is that not an exciting possibility?