#I know lot of people are going to hate on him now because sophie hasn't arrived yet or whatever(I haven't seen the last episode) but

[androgynous-bhajipav]

WE GOT BI BENEDICT YOU GUYS I'M ACTUALLY SCREAMING AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[gnar-slabdash]

I know some otherwise intelligent people that can't seem to appreciate "Leverage". How can this be?

I mean I feel like mostly the answer is "because different intelligent people naturally have different tastes" and also "one does not control the special interest." But here's a few possible answers just for kicks: 1. If you can't get them to START watching, are you sure you're meeting them on their level? I've been telling my bff about Leverage for years and he's never been interested. Then I remembered that he was never interested in MCR either until I showed him the Danger Days music videos, because what he IS into is apocalypse stories and comics and classic anime. BAM, he was obsessed. So I told him about all the people from STAR TREK who work on Leverage and he was like "WHY did you never tell me this before???" He still hasn't actually WATCHED it because he's just become a full-fledged Ivy League professor and also has ADHD up the wazoo, but now it's actually on his radar because I started where he's at.

2. If they've started watching and aren't getting into it, make sure they're watching in the CORRECT ORDER. As with a certain other halcyon 2000s show, the episodes were originally aired in the wrong order, and that's the order that streaming services usually retain (I believe the DVDs have the intended order). You can just google to find the right order, I usually find it in imdb's trivia section. How big a difference the change makes will vary by person, but for me watching int he wrong order made the emotional storylines make a lot less sense. Episode 3, for example, was SUPPOSED to be the Wedding Job, not the Two Horse Job. So it feels like she's really jumping the gun when Eliot's ex tells him he has a new family now -- really, he's known these people for like a month?? Well, that was supposed to come later. And likewise, this was supposed to be the point where Sophie freaks out because she doesn't know where her relationship with Nate was going. But because they moved THAT to later, it feels like she's happily settled into the status quo and then blows up out of nowhere. I legitimately didn't like Sophie at all when I first watched the first season, and it's NOT HER FAULT -- it's because they fucked up her emotional storyline by putting the episodes in the wrong places.

3. A lot of people fucking hate that the main character is a white male tortured asshole genius trope. Yeah there are lots of other characters they can focus on, but Nate is kind of a lot if that's not what you're into. I will never in my life UNDERSTAND not being into it because that trope is literally what got me into the show, but I realize I'm in the minority there.

4. Gotta get a little more serious now. One thing I appreciate about the Leverage fandom is we usually don't get hung up in arguments about what's problematic about the show and what issues people "should be talking about." We realize it's a show from the late 2000s created by a couple of white guys and it's not perfect, and then we focus on all the great stuff it was able to accomplish anyway. I LIKE that. BUT. It means when we go to recommend it to people, we sometimes oversell it. "It's a queer poly band of thieves trying to take down capitalism!" Well, no, it actually isn't. Just because JR likes to talk about how the OT3 is so totally canon actually doesn't make it true. He says he did everything the network allowed him to do, but now that he's making Redemption the way it is, we can guess that's not entirely true either. I think there are actually no canon gays except that one lady cop. And speaking of cops, there are a lot of those, and they're sometimes corrupt but they're very often good guys and sending the bad guys to jail is very often written as a major win, and that is understandably a problem for a lot of people. And finally, they are not actually trying to take down capitalism. I think it was Latimer who told them that they were actually just trying to REGULATE the system, not take it down -- and HE WAS RIGHT. They're trying to fix the system by taking down the Bad CEOS and replacing them with Good CEOS, which is an easier sell on 2000s network TV than it is to a new watcher today. There are other issues that might be more problematic to some people, I'm just using these ones to make my point that some of the most commonly mentioned selling points of Leverage aren't entirely accurate. So just be realistic when recommending it to avoid some serious sticker shock.

[petalsmooth]

Actually everyone CAN believe a Benophie fan (who tries to blackmail Sophie into being his mistress at least in the books) would defend a misogynist over Penelope.

Putting aside I HATED that final ball room scene, the fact IS IT HAPPENED. Completely bowed before that room of hypocritical vipers that had bullied and ignored her for years and begged their forgiveness and acceptance and YOU think she did nothing? Wrote Violet an apology letter. Wrote the Queen an apology letter. Eloise didn't talk to her for 6-8 months and befriended her worst enemy and YOU think there was no consequence? She had a huge fight with Colin and they didn't sleep in same bed for a week and there was no consequence? She got blackmailed by Cressida proving Colin right actually in that keeping this all secret was a bad idea. And if you actually had watched the damn show NO one forgave her that WE saw except Colin and Eloise. From Colin we get Violet is proud of her and we know she and her mother and sisters reconciled. Lady Danbury apparently never had a problem with her. But NO ONE ELSE APPROACHED HER. She even says to Colin will accept an annulment because a lot of people may not be kind to her. NO ONE in that ball room clapped at her speech, the way they do with Colin in the book. It's her sister releasing butterflies that distracts them. If you count the FW then Benedict seems ok with her too but we have NO evidence indicating forgiven by the ton at all and the Jess has even indicated wants to do a subplot on it so really....just shut up.

The person who hasn't suffered and apologized or had a redemption arc and gotten off scott free for being a misogynist is Anthony. Daphne almost has to marry that despicable man because of HIM and he just waltzes into Violet saying thank you for saving my butt and will strive to be better. HE didn't save Daphene from HIS actions, PEN AND VIOLET DID.

He dragged Sienna back and forth through a toxic relationship and SHE was the end to put end to it for HER well being.

He basically starts season 2 treating women like stock to be inspected for breeding.

He has a thing for Kate but pursues her sister and upon realizing in loves PROPOSES TO THE SISTER HE DOESN'T love.

HE doesn't end the ceremony, HE tries to convince Edwina to go through with it despite telling her sister he's likely have an affair with her if married Edwina.

He sleeps with Kate in the garden with nothing resolved between them and while both families still under scandel, same night his sister ran to her room crying proving he's a lousy brother too. More important to get laid than deal with Eloise.

Benedict basically gave up painting because of Anthony and Anthony doesn't seem to care.

Colin changed his personality in part to seek Anthony's approval, and Anthony tells him job well done!

The Queen interrupts his brother's wedding and makes a threat to the family ,and Anthony apparently waltzes off to India uncaring of that or even staying to see his sister wed. Same Anthony who was going to interrupt his brother's engagement dinner and make about him.

Now I love Anthony because Jonny is so likeable, but on paper? Don't you even DARE insinuate W.D. has caused more damage to their family than Anthony "Viscount" Bridgerton. He is directly responsible for Daphne's almost marriage to Berbrooke and very much a part of why Benedict and Colin are riddled with insecurities. Colin's resolved mostly because he has Pen by his side now. Benedict is still a mess.

[flurry-of-beaus-pop-pop]

Why is Sophie keep choosing Renee's side over and over? I know a lot of people love her character but I don't she might be an awesome character in the comics but for me I haven't seen an adaptation of her who I liked now the actress is awesome. Also Ryan probably feels alone now do you know if Marquis ever cared about her deep done or was using it? I'm asking because I can feel 100% where she's coming from.

Sophie hasn't chosen Renee's side "over and over again". She's literally taken Renee's side ONCE and in my opinion, had a pretty good reason to do so.

Yes, Sophie slept with Renee, and yes, because of the fact that Ryan is being blackmailed by Renee, Ryan has every right to be upset about that, but it was definitely not a situation of "Sophie choosing Renee's side over Ryan's". Sophie was mad and upset that someone she cares about deeply seemingly doesn't trust her, got drunk, and made a decision, a bad one, yes, but not one that had any malicious intent behind it.

As for Sophie (AND LUKE, because you keep sending around this same message conveniently leaving out that Luke also took Renee's side) siding with Renee, what else were they supposed to do? The simple, obviously, is to take Ryan's side, but in that moment, Ryan didn't have a plan and she didn't know how to stop Mary. Renee on the other hand, has some pretty compelling first hand experience with this exact situation so I can understand why in this situation Sophie and Luke were more compelled to side with the person that actually has a plan.

I also don't think that Ryan feels alone AT ALL. For one, she still has Luke, and for two she definitely still has Sophie. Like, I don't know how old you are, but people don't just stop being there for you because you're mad at each other. Yes, Ryan and Sophie are riding the struggle bus right now, but they're also very much still there for each other and we saw that on several occasions in last night's episode whether it was Sophie offering to talk things out with Ryan even though they were both mad at each other or the moment they shared before Ryan went to handle Mary.

As for Marquis, yes, I think that at some point, in some way, Marquis cared for Ryan. He seemed to be... relatively stable up until the point where he killed Pyg, and then that incident triggered something within him which has lead to the Marquis we're seeing now. But I do think that pre-dinner party Marquis did genuinely care for Ryan on some level.

Ultimately though, if you dislike a character so much that you have to go around to every blog that regularly engages in the batwoman/wildmoore tag to talk about how much you dislike Sophie, someone who is arguably extremely likeable and justified in everything she has done (yes, even sleeping with Renee as much as I hated it), it might be time to find another show to watch.

[fraks]

LEVERAGE REDEMPTION 1x16 THE HARRY WILSON JOB

- yep, still a wreck, thanks for asking.

- "how long have you been standing here?" - "i just got here." i don't believe you, eliot, and neither does sophie. god eliot is so, so angry. :(

- sophie hasn't heard from harry. sadface. but also, eliot specifically asks HER if she's heard from him, implying that if he called anyone, it would be soph. not-so sadface.

- "i wanna kill a lot of people all the time, i just don't." WOW. there's a lot to unpack here, parker.

- this scene is super intense and sad and all, but all i can think is how gorgeous everyone is. sophie always, ofc, but parker, too, and breanna. and eliot's hair is like... on a whole other LEVEL. 🔥

- TWO MONTHS LATER. [bites nails]

- uh oh, things are not going well. fjsjfbje parker running into the glass door. "smells bulletproof." fhskfbks i love her.

- "getting my free taser." FGTJSJRHKA PARKERRRR

- oh shit bligh is there. OH SHIT HARRY IS THERE!!!!!!

- "he wasn't sad, he was just going back to being evil harry." umm NO. NO FUCKING WAY. NOPE. I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS. NOT MY BABY THIEF.

- "he recognised me! we were" [gestures] "this close together, and he let me walk away." oh, how close was that, sophie? 😏

- THERE'S NO WAY HARRY IS A BAD GUY AGAIN. NO FUCKING WAY. i hate that they basically said he was only trying to be good to get his ex back. but even if that was his motivation, he's STILL GOOD NOW. after she's made it clear she doesn't want him back. but look ghsjfjskkf sophie is the only one who still believes in him. SOPHIE DARLING, YOU'RE ALREADY IN LOVE, BUT YOU CAN'T ADMIT IT YET. that's okay though. there's time.

- "we're not having this conversation again. he lied to us before and we let it slide because he was your project." first of all, OUCH. second of all, there is nothing these crazy kids wouldn't do for their mum lbr. ♥️

- i stg though if sophie leaves, i will CRY FOREVER. i only watched 2.0 FOR SOPHIE in the first place. and now they've gone and made me fall in love with harry, so i can't STOP watching. which means i'd just miss her forever. so no. that's not happening. and gina loves being back with her leverage family, right? RIGHT?

- "LET'S GO STEAL OUR MR. WILSON." THIS IS MY FAVOURITE ONE YET!!! AND PERHAPS EVER!!!

- "bring him back in one piece." - "i'm not gonna promise that, man. maybe two, three large pieces at the most." ELIOT PLS. don't be like that.

- wait the hacking thing isn't working the way it should. I THINK HARDISON IS THERE. I THINK HARRY CALLED HARDISON FOR HELP.

- "it says 112 days without an accident. they're due." i am laughing harder than i should be.

- "i just spent the last eight months working with a crew that take people like you apart for breakfast. i'm not just a lawyer anymore." harry i SWEAR TO GOD if you're evil again, i will KILL YOU MYSELF. but that was a pretty impressive line, ngl.

- yeaaah that's definitely hardison's handiwork. which means harry is NOT evil.

- "how did you— oh right. you're... you." I HAVE MISSED THIS MORON and i haven't even been away from him for two months.

- "i know this code." called it!!! awww everyone is so happy to see him! eliot's face just... LIGHTS UP. tptb might try to deny the ot3 is real, but the actors sure don't.

- "so we're not killing harry?" - "that was a discussion point??" a) lmao, and b) well dude what did you expect???

- "it's not cool to keep us out of the loop." - "i'm guessing that was someone else's doing." oh going right for the jugular, miss devereaux, aren't we?

- i know i'm just quoting at this point but i am overwhelmed. OVERWHELMED! /wedding job reference

- "and yes, it WAS a cover!" MY BABY IS BAAACK.

- LMFAO PONY FANS. "that one was not what we thought it was." 😂 "you did that on purpose?" - "maybe." LISTEN I AM 100% HERE FOR HARRY+HARDISON FRIENDSHIP.

- ok i know this is not gonna happen, but it's 7am and I haven't slept so imma take a minute to pretend "mr. wilson, a word" means sophie is getting harry alone for a sec so they can make out after not having seen each other for two+ months.

- oh god. the way his voice breaks when he says he almost got breanna killed. THIS MAN.

- oh FUCK "guilt destroyed my family. i'm not gonna let it destroy yours." oh JESUS. okay first things first: IF SOPHIE'S NOT GONNA PUT A RING ON IT, I WILL. LET ME WED HARRY WILSON. but also, jfc he's SUCH A GOOD MAN. and such an IDIOT because DUDE YOU'RE PART OF HER FAMILY TOO NOW. and sophie oh my god. i can't even imagine all the things she must be feeling. she's been angry at him for being reckless and disappointed that he left them and yet hopeful that he can't have gone back to the dark side, and it all comes crashing down right now, but not because harry acted selfishly. he realised he HAD been acting selfishly and decided to do the opposite and PROTECT the people she loves most in the world.

- aaaah fuck and "we can't go it alone" PLEASE LET THE CATCH IN HER VOICE BE SOPHIE REALISING THAT LEAVING ISN'T THE RIGHT THING FOR HER. i mean they really can't. as a reason for her leaving, she gave that she needs to find herself. and we've DONE that. she already went off to find herself, and she did. and she came back. and maybe she needs to find herself again now, but the difference is that while she had to do it alone the first time, she needs to do it WITH her family this time. i am not accepting other interpretations.

- I AM SOBBING. "HELP ME FINISH THIS, PLEASE." OH MY GOD. AND HER "OF COURSE" IS BOTH RELIEVED THAT HE DOES WANT TO BE WITH ALL OF THEM AND TO BE PART OF HER / THEIR FAMILY, AND ECSTATIC THAT HE ASKED. GOOD GOD HOW. WHAT IS THIS SHOW DOING TO ME????

- "you should probably apologise to eliot, though. he's been very upset." awww babieeeees. :')

- "i'm assuming hardison has apologised to eliot by now." lmao this entire team knows that eliot is the softie. like in 1x01 when parker tells sophie eliot was very worried about her. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

- i'm very distracted by harry's massive new ring. what's that about, dude?

- "this is my grand finale." ugh she still plans on leaving. WHY. i mean, i can guess why. she first considered leaving to run from her feelings. she didn't want to get hurt again. and then harry went and DID hurt her. so she thinks she's got even less of a reason to stay, and more of a reason to go because she realised the extent of her feelings for harry WHEN he hurt her. ugh gdi show. (but also, what if she did leave for like, a month or two and in that time, harry got seriously hurt and idk, eliot called her to let her know and she rushed to harry's side? 👀)

- ahahahahaha oh my god taggert and mcsweeten. they did it. tptb did what they / john rogers always said they would: they made taggert and mcsweeten more or less the LEADERS OF THE FBI.

- jfc eliot really can't catch a break can he?

- it's interesting how the marshall has a similar dilemma to harry re: the law and what's right and what's wrong. she believes eliot and the team are doing good. that they're helping people. but she can't look past the fact that they are (/were) criminals. which makes the conclusion different from harry's—she goes the other way. she DOESN'T redefine her thinking about morality.

- that desk is ugly af, harry...

- "we trust him." THAT'S RIGHT. 🥰

- "i just got used to being alone. i let my guard down." uh dude, you haven't been alone in 13 YEARS. awwwwMAAAAAAAAN "i know it's not the same thing, but hardison and i are gonna be here for you... forever." - "ya." - "we'll always be together." - "til our dying day?" - "no. past that. even after we get the robot bodies." oh my goddddd. i LOVE this so much. i just really, REALLY wish they hadn't led with that qualifying statement of "it's not the same thing". because it IS. and even if it's not, it feels like a slap in the face to all the ot3 fans everywhere to explicitly say that eliot's relationship with h+p is in some way less than the relationship he had with the marshall. if anything, it's MORE, even if you don't headcanon them as poly. (i have a very specific headcanon for the ot3 that most active ot3 shippers probably don't share, but even MY headcanon is being destroyed by tptb. i can't even imagine how all those fans feel whose MAIN SHIP is the ot3.) they've known each other and worked together for THIRTEEN FUCKING YEARS. and with the work they do, even if they had no other interaction outside of it (which they clearly do, with eliot cooking for them and movie marathon time and all that), that would still mean a lot more than a, what, a six-month relationship with someone he barely even sees? i am NOT AMUSED.

- anyway. "i don't want a robot body." - "well that's too bad, we already measured your head while you were asleep." now THAT'S what i'm talking about. THIS is the kind of thing that allows all interpretations of this ship. did they sneak into eliot's room one night just to measure his head? or did they not have to sneak anywhere because he sleeps right next to them anyway? MORE 🙌🏻 OF 🙌🏻 THIS. 🙌🏻

- "alright, if you already measured my head." YESSSSSSSSSSSS. HIS LITTLE SMILE. HE LOVES THESE TWO SO MUCH. ROMANTICALLY, PLATONICALLY, IT DOESN'T EVEN MATTER. THESE ARE HIS PEOPLE. TIL THEIR DYING DAY.

- uh ooooh.

- "THEIR WEAKNESS IS YOU." FUCK YEAH IT IS. BECAUSE THEY LOVE THEIR MR. WILSON.

- holy shit. "i'm here to make you an offer." HOLY SHIT. sophie devereaux has never been more attractive to me. NEVER. NOT ONCE. cool control and power look SO good on her. i love when she plays weird and loud characters, too, but this is her at her best. just. sophie devereaux, pissed off.

- also, i very VERY much appreciate that she's in all white whereas riz lady is in all black. alexandra bligh was never ELIOT's nemesis in this show / season, despite what 1x01 might have tried to make us think. she was always sophie's.

- "i think you're a distraction. i'm meant to be looking at you and missing the fact (...)" did it just get really gay in here? i already got those vibes at the christmas party in bucket job. @cminerva and i joked that riz lady definitely wants to bang sophie. but maybe it wasn't a joke at all. 👀

- "what if you miscounted?" JESUS THIS IS THE HOTTEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE.

- AHAHAHAHHA OH MY GOD THE RING!!!!!! THE DESK!!!!!!!!! HARRY WILSON YOU BRILLIANT MAN.

- "never tell them the 'or'." - "if you say it'll work, it'll work." - "i believe in you." I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS NOT-SO SECURE BUILDING. well, everyone on our team, that is.

- PARKER GOT TO PUSH HARDISON OUT THE WINDOW AGAIN. :') and then she and breanna jump out together fhakfhejwn lmao.

- "that was a very long minute. but have you forgotten how this conversation began?" jeeeesussssssssss. i'm so gay. I'M SO GAY.

- "did you really think it was a good idea to give eliot spencer sixty seconds of darkness?" just. leave me here to die. it's fine. i've been slain by sophie devereaux's sheer HOTNESS. the best death i could have imagined.

- "as your legal counsel, i would have advised you to take that deal." YASSSSSSSSSS HARRY!!!! god everyone is so hot in this.

- THE GLOAT. :') but listen there's no way riz lady won't be back. 👀 GRABBYHANDS

- "you blackmailing 'em?" - "uh huh." - "we're gonna double-cross 'em, too." FJAJFJWIDJFJWKFJ hardison is so proud of his girls.

- "we can't cover it up because we confessed!" fhskfjskfjkwjdkwjfj I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH

- awwww harry finally getting a chance to be a full-time dad. :')

- "it's just the start, man." - "not for me." NO. NOOOO. HE CAN'T. HARRY YOU CAN'T.

- "i think i'm done." oh god. no they can't. they can't do this to me.

- "i'm like a little pinch-hitter/hacker and like a little taste-grifter/thief; i'm half a lawyer now at best, but maybe if i mix that all together, i can still be something and do some good." god i just. i GET it. i get what he's doing. but it's NOT THE RIGHT THING. "i'm gonna become terribly poor." oh god.

- but he LOVES THEM ALL SO MUCH AND THEY LOVE HIM. HE CAN'T GO.

- god listen. what if noah was never a permanent fixture? what if he was there to INTRODUCE redemption, both as a show and as a concept? WHAT IF HARRY ISN'T COMING BACK? i feel physically ill thinking about it. it HURTS me. i NEED him to be there.

- "sophie." oh god. i take it back. i don't want him to say her name. not if it's a goodbye.

- and jfc that h/s scene. I DON'T UNDERSTAND. SHE FUCKING KISSED HIS CHEEK. AND THEY TALK SO OPENLY ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS. THEY WERE BOTH GRIEVING WHEN THEY MET AND THEY FUCKING HELPED EACH OTHER. AND SHE KNOWS WHERE TO FIND HIM IF SHE NEEDS HIM (that's gotta be code for him coming back right??? RIGHT????). and then she fucking WENT AND TOOK OFF HER RINGS. JFC. SHE'S READY FOR A NEW LIFE. AND SO IS HE. BUT HE'S LEAVING. AND HE HAS PLANS. PLANS THAT ARE REALISTIC. HE PLANS ON BEING POOR BECAUSE HE PLANS ON HELPING PEOPLE. HE COULD EASILY TAKE CASES THAT NO ONE ELSE WILL AND HELP PEOPLE THAT WAY. PROBABLY FAR MORE EASILY THAN HE COULD GRIFT OR STEAL OR THROW PUNCHES OR HACK. HE SAID IT HIMSELF, HE'S ONLY A FRACTION OF ALL OF THEM.

- .

- i'm trying to finish the episode. i'm a little bummed now that she did call him harry once before because that takes away from this moment.

- and god eliot's checking in on soph with just this one look to make sure she's okay now that HARRY IS GONE OH GOD.

- "that was a hell of a final performance, miss devereaux." 🥰

- "i don't think that was my final performance." oh my fuCKING GOD

- jfc i had forgotten about this speech of sophie's. i knew that there was SOMETHING yet to come that @cminerva and i talked about, with soph talking to the team while wearing that animal print thing. i remembered that much from sophie's "the team is back" promo, but i couldn't remember the CONTENT of the speech. "THIS is my stage." sophie, darling, EVERYONE has been trying to tell you this cause they've all known since victor fucking dubenich (the FIRST time). so she's staying, at least. AND SHE'S GOING TO BE THE MASTERMIND. OFFICIALLY. IT'S EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED FOR HER. she's BRILLIANT and god this is perfect. except.

- "YOU SEE ME AS I COULD BE." THIS IS SO STUPIDLY ROMANTIC AND INTIMATE AND RIGHT UP THERE WITH "I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO LOOK AT ME AND KNOW THAT". BECAUSE THEY FUCKING SEE EACH OTHER. THROUGH ALL THE LIES AND ROLES AND OMISSIONS. THEY SEE EACH OTHER. THEY CAN'T GIVE THAT UP. and FUCK I JUST REALISED HOW MUCH THIS MIRRORS PARKER'S LITTLE SPEECH ABOUT HOW HARDISON WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO REALLY SEE HER AND THAT'S WHY THEY WORK SO WELL AS A COUPLE. OH MY GOD.

- I'M SO SAD. I DON'T WANT TO BE SAD.

[bookwyrminspiration]

how do you think dex reacted to sophie letting alvar go? the guy assisted in their abduction, sophie’s torture, and the harm they went through while escaping. i don’t know what his feelings on alvar are, but i’d be pissed if i were him.

sorry if that was addressed in unlocked. i haven’t read that book yet.

No need to apologize, nonsie! More than happy to serve as a resource for anyone who hasn't read all the books: no, it's not addressed in Unlocked, but you came to the right person if you want a verbose and unnecessarily long explanation/theory on how Dex would react had it been addressed!

I think for Dex, he'd be more...frustrated with Sophie's decision. But not with Sophie or anything. He's a lot more capable of approaching a situation with Alvar logically than Fitz is, so he'd be upset that those were the two options she was presented with and that there wasn't something better where everything would work out for them. He'd be pissed that they had to let him go, but understand the necessity of it. though given his ego at times, he might grumble a bit about how if he was there he could've made a third option and avoided the trade off entirely. Does the distinction I'm trying to make make sense? he'd be mad that letting Alvar go was the decision they had to make, not mad that Sophie made it.

because you're right! he has a lot of justification to hate Alvar! He was very likely one of the people kidnapping Sophie and Dex, and that was a permanently scarring event (physically and emotionally) for the two of them when they were 12 and 11, respectively. that's a big deal, and Dex has held a grudge much longer for a lot less. He holds grudges against people very close to him, so there's no doubt that he has one against Alvar. But there's also the matter of the event being very terrifying, especially as it's remembered from his 11 year old memory. So that makes the situation even more complicated, as Alvar isn't just someone he hates but someone he might fear or remind him of things that make it hard to concentrate.

I will say that I do think that if a situation like this had happened pre-Neverseen (the book), Dex would've also responded closer to how you're saying you would have: being absolutely pissed. Dex has matured a lot over the course of the series, which was really kickstarted when Fitz got bug impaled (like a loser /j). Prior to that, he was more temperamental and emotionally reactive, and I have no doubt that him finding out Sophie let Alvar go would've been met with anger and hurt. He'd struggle to understand why Sophie would pick anything else, because "he helped kidnap and torture us! he's an awful person! you had him!" Something along those lines, just frustrated at how close she was to getting vengeance and payback for what he put them through. He's always been more motivated by revenge than Sophie. Sophie explaining her reason about needing information and not thinking he's a threat anymore would be met with frustration because "c'mon Sophie, he was right there." He wouldn't want to hear the reasoning and would instead want to be angry for a while about it and not talk to Sophie for a little bit before they brushed past it or he found something new to get past it and they started talking again.

Now, with the understanding that things are multifaceted and that you can't always come out on top (a lesson learned through the bug impaling incident) he'd understand why Sophie made the decision she did. he's not happy she had to make it and would've loved the opportunity to get him. But he'd admit that he thinks Sophie's choice was the smarter one of the two options she was presented with. he might even be a little light with it and make jokes about the situation in a similar fashion to how he did about the awkwardness between him and Sophie. I don't remember the joke he made off the top of my head but Sophie's response was essentially "when had they gotten to a place where they could joke about that?" Which I think is a similar energy, just make it a little angrier. He's not happy that Sophie let Alvar go, but as frustrated as he is he knows Sophie made the smartest choice she could with the situation she had, and he can acknowledge that she isn't the person he's mad at.

He's mad at Alvar, he's mad that they have to make choices like that, and he's mad that he wasn't there to do anything. But Sophie doesn't deserve his anger. And ultimately his friendship with her matters more than Alvar.

it's an interesting distinction, so thank you for the question! He's upset but not with Sophie, to summarize. Which is curious as it's such a complete 180 from his responses to things in the earlier books. Shout out to Dex for the character development!

[delemenko]

Okay, listen up. My Warriors Sims have gotten into a lot of shit. I can't even tell about everything they've gotten into on this blog for various reasons, but it's very funny to me and until I can get back to post updated pictures, I can't give any sort of heavy rundown, but here's some safe for work highlights:

• Mercy (and her and Swan's adopted daughter) beating the shit out of this one Sim that refuses to stay off the property. She just... Walks up to her, kicks ass and goes back inside without a word. Legend.

• Ajax literally dying from anger because he saw Cochise. The basic gist is that he saw Cochise with his Enemy With Benefits™, Sophie Jane, and for some reason he reacted like they were in a relationship, so he's mad at her and he's mad at Cochise for making moves on her. So he was just enraged, then he had a cardiac explosion.

• Literally anything Fox does make me fucking cackle. But him having a shitty day and then, getting immediately flirty because his girlfriend is in a 1 mile radius. "I know I'm sick, exhausted, on fire, and I was struck by lightning but like, Catherine's over there! 😍"

• Swan is a dance master, but he hates dancing. So he does the logical thing and go all the way up to the third floor of his house to dance to the radio, even though he has literally no reason to go up there except, maybe to tell his kids to stop making out in the closets, I guess.

• Rembrandt is a fucking SLACKER. Everytime I try to get him to do school work, he's tense or sad or uncomfortable. He has D's in all his classes now and he's like, "Who cares? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have an emotional meltdown in the kitchen."

• Cochise hasn't really done much of anything, but he seems to really like Ajax's Enemy With Benefits. Also, I doubt this is related, but he and Ajax got into two fights and Cochise won both of them. Proud of him.

• Cleon goes to work and Lincoln is fucking jealous because where is he? Cleon comes home from work and Lincoln is still jealous, for some reason. These two don't do anything ever.

• Vermin getting sad because somebody (Probably Snow) was flirting with his girlfriend. "Is she losing interest?" Sir, your girlfriend is literally telling people that she's so in love with you; Relax.

• Cowboy is... A person. A girl that he doesn't like tried to confess to him, and he turned her down with, "I have a girlfriend. We're not friends. Actually, I don't even like you. You are unattractive." Like, was he waiting for this to happen or something?

• Snow behaves for the most part. I mean, aside from him saying that he finds Vermin's girlfriend attractive, he doesn't do anything bad. He just spends his time vibin', you know?

[buddha-in-disguise]

Discourse, Supergirl and fans.

The Supergirl situation with William Dey, is far more than about William Dey per se.

I touched on this when I first posted about David Harewood.

What I have seen, and I am still seeing is while some SuperCorp fans were annoyed about the preview for episode 12, this was also coming from a diverse section of the fandom. That David (and others) have singled out the SuperCorp fandom is both unfair, and unhelpful. But that is a different discussion altogether.

So - I am going to repeat and expand on some of what I wrote at the time to try and explain why I, (and others) have found Supergirl to be really problematic at the moment.

First of all: There is no doubt Supergirl currently has a diverse cast, inc. LGBTQ representation. 

However, all the diversity in the world means absolutely nothing if a program is seemingly only playing lip service to the characters. 

Compare and contrast with Legends of tomorrow. They have 6 women. 2 Muslim superheroes (a TV first). 5 characters are LGBTQ, including Charlie; who is recognised as gender fluid. 4 people of colour. The lead is a woman, who is bisexual, in a canon relationship with a lesbian, and is a superhero. 

They do this without it being made a big deal of, enjoyed by LGBTQ and heterosexual audience alike. But it is a huge deal for many because of that diversity, and just as importantly they haven't overloaded the cast numbers, so they all get good solid storylines through a season. A season that is also shorter than Supergirl. 

Legends are an example of how you can put in a diverse minority cast, without it becoming forced or cumbersome. It isn't without fault sure, but no program is. 

So where is Supergirl going wrong at the moment? 

Let's use William, as the crux of the problems are best shown with his character, but it isn't limited to him. I will put first - this is absolutely *not* a criticism towards Staz Nair, who I respect (& like, as far as one can from limited SM interaction). All too often the accusations are made that if you don't like a character, you hate the actor. That is categorically not true for me, nor others I've seen posting about this. Of course if anyone does hate on the actor, that is not okay.

So, back to William. I get the reason he came along in regards to Russell and so the Andrea connection. That story made sense.  What hasn't made sense - William being used as a journalist, when Nia is right there! Nia has barely had any screen time, and virtually none as a journalist; you know - her actual job. I'm not sure what the minutes on screen ratio has been this season between the two, but it has felt completely slanted towards William as a viewer, at least until now. 

First instead of Kara and Nia investigating Leviathan after William was 'exposed' in the earlier episodes, now Nia is sidelined again, because they want Kara to team up with William to investigate Lex.

Why? Why do they need that journalistic pairing, when Nia - who as a Superhero, is better placed if danger from Lex occurs. But no, they're making it about Kara having to work with William because Lex threatened to kill him. Plus Nia was being mentored by Kara. Is she no longer being mentored by Kara? Are they a team? Even if the mentoring has ended, Nia is still not being utilised as a journalist.

I am utterly baffled as to why they feel this arc makes any sense. Moreso when an already established character gets sidelined. 

I'm also getting tired of seeing anyone who sees these valid opinions about current storyline as being trolls (or the comments all SuperCorp fans are just outright haters. No - SuperCorp fans are a large diverse group, that have incredible artists, fanfic writers, and social media users. Many also multi-ship. To place a blanket statement about a whole fandom as large as SC, is hateful. All fandoms have some who are problematic, but to single out an entire group is not right). 

So back to my thoughts. An episode can have some great aspects to it, but it can also be highly problematic to some fans, & receive valid criticism or valid opinions for it. For example, the latest episode of Batwoman. The Alice/Beth story was great. The acting superb. What I found worrying was the way they made Sophie feel guilty for legitimate reasons why she had led a closeted lifestyle. That lifestyle is valid, for Sophie and many LGBTQ people, and for good reason, including keeping some people safe from harm. I felt it was a clumsy attempt for Alice to get into Sophie's mind; it could've been tackled other ways, so it felt wrong they used her sexuality as a way to achieve that. Being closeted for many literally keeps them alive. So that was one hell of a poor choice in my opinion. Yet others have made perfectly credible counter arguments that it showed the difficulties faced by many LGBTQ people. So, great episode, valid criticism/opinion from both points of view. It also highlights you can have excellent episodes, but they can have legitimate issues.

Nor does differences of opinion, as long as it is respectful, makes those voicing them a bully, no matter how much you disagree. 

At the end of this, if you don’t agree, and your opinion makes you say something that is intentionally hurtful (directly or indirectly to a person or group of people), it's a bad thing. The key word being intentionally. We all make mistakes, and responses that could've been better, & we all need to be aware of that, but if it is an intended attack, don't be surprised if others call you out for your behaviour. 

So now what in regards Supergirl?  

I know ultimately that this show is about Supergirl, but it is also about those around her as family & friends. I understand there are only so many minutes in one episode. What I don't understand is why those precious minutes are going to a character, when they have one perfectly placed to do the same role. Why they have to potentially explore another relationship, when we have one canon relationship, one canon on/off again relationship & one relationship that while isn't canon in terms of romantic, it is a big story in terms of best friends, all seemingly sidelined. Which brings me to the Kara fighting for Lena's soul aspect. Again, I am not seeing a lot of fighting for anything, except more and more fans fighting themselves and cast. 

Then you just need to look at the dislikes that teaser was given on YouTube, and compare them to previous ones. I've attached screenshots to show this.

A serious misjudgment was made by someone on how that teaser would be received, and again I will stress, this dislike hasn't just been from one area of fandom, but multiple areas. For many it wasn't just about William, but the culmination of unease that has built for a few episodes. A prime example of the straw that broke the camel's back. If you are solely focused on one area of fandom for this discourse (as many blame SuperCorp fans), you need to step back and recognise you are not allowing yourself to see the whole picture. To focus solely on one thing, rather than acknowledging the wider audience are saying this, does not make you the better fan. To dismiss it as trolls, is being dismissive of good, regular fans with legitimate questions or concerns. It is insulting to many of us.

I will be honest, I had high hopes for this season. I also knew it was likely going to be pretty confusing at times since it was given as 'our Black mirror season' and 'nothing is as it seems.' I accepted that.

However, all it seems at the moment is a jumbled mess from pre and post Crisis. They just doesn't appear to be any cohesion at all, which is making it really difficult as a viewer. Add in the changes post Crisis and it feels even more of a mess.

Of course, they could bring in more cohesive elements soon, but considering that we know episode 13 is 'It's a wonderful life,' and Alex Danvers in a later episode is wearing a Super suit - I just sense this whole 'nothing is as it seems' side we appear to be getting isn't changing any time soon, & with episodes running out, with so many strings running through at the moment, it feels really discombomulated. If by seasons end, they pull it off and you can look back and see how it's played out as a whole, I will be the first to say well done for that part. 

I do though think right now Supergirl feels chaotic beyond expectation, and no end in sight. I feel there have been too many character additions this season (particularly Andrea & William) that is taking screen time away from Kara, Alex, Nia, Lena, Kelly et al.

It feels like a mess of unnecessary pairings and the crux of the story seems to have been lost in the midst.

That is causing confusion for fans, that is also beginning to become frustration. That frustration is spilling over. Add in the genuine and extremely legitimate concerns over the LGBTQ issues that have arisen (again from far more than just SuperCorp fans), and the frustration has built even more. 

I can only hope the next couple of episodes address some of this and not complicate the mess further. 

Whatever happens, Supergirl is not doing well in terms of a storyline that is gripping for fans, that is now top heavy with regulars, taking screen time from established characters, and a social media blunder that has so far only exacerbated the simmering uncertainty being felt by many.

It might improve, and I sincerely hope it does, but they are edging into the potential for the anger felt by fans to become an all out riot if they don't stop and see where valid criticism is being given. If this season continues on in this vein, then there is going to be huge swathes of fans drifting away. The concerns are legitimate. I wish it could be seen as that.

[bookwyrminspiration]

The post you made about the second hand embarrasment from the kidnapping scene is. Very relatable. Everything about it just seemed a bit too invasive and... icky? Idk how to describe it well.

Exactly!! You get it! It's not just the kidnapping scene that gives me this kind of reaction, but it is one of the most prominent ones in the series and it is. So visceral. I have absolutely no control over the all consuming cringe that washes through my body

It's not even that it's abhorrent to watch these people invade their privacy and physically hurt them, that it's awful and hard to read about these bad people doing awful things. It's that it's embarrassing to read about it happening to Sophie and Dex! How completely vulnerable and defenseless they are against something like that when in real life we've been taught to be strong and resilient and that we should be able to endure things. Being kidnapped feels like it shows that you weren't strong enough, and that not being strong enough is embarrassing or something. We've gotten it into our heads that we're supposed to find a way through anything, and that anything less then is bad and should be avoided and is humiliating.

So reading about it through Sophie's perspective and putting myself in her position, my mind doesn't think of the absolute terror she's experiencing, or the pain, or the homesickness, or the uncertainty, or any of the other much more pressing things. I'm just like "I should be better than this." Which is so irrational??? But also involuntary. how invasive it is shows how vulnerable and defenseless they are against that kind of thing, which again goes back to the not being strong thing.

Being kidnapped just sounds so humiliating. Like you go through all these awful experiences and now everyone associates them with you, and people know it happened to you and it's so icky. Maybe that's part of it, the amount of personal information people now have about your life.

Then there's the vulnerability of being kidnapped. People seeing you in that condition with so little control, especially if it's friends...this is where some of the other scenes come in as well.

The scene in Flashback when Lady Gisela is kidnapping Tam and she knocks him unconscious...I hate it. I always pretend that he was taken awake because the idea of being knocked out in front of your friends also feels so embarrassing.

Another one that hasn't happened in kotlc yet as far as I can remember is nosebleeds? I see people mention them and be like "yea! using a lot of power and having a dramatic nosebleed! during battle! the power!!" and I'm just like god that is so embarrassing.

You know I think the problem is just being perceived. And them being perceived in a moment like this where they're actively out of control and were unable to fight back against it is uncomfortable because it's worse case scenario for a lot/some of us. People seeing them in a situation where they fought back and lost...that is so embarrassing. They were fighting but the enemy fought better and everyone witnessed them loosing. Awful.

[buddha-in-disguise]

Will this ever end?

Well I woke up to a shitstorm on Twitter and the Supergirl fandom, with David Harewood.

I can't say exactly what was said to cause David to post what he did as I haven't seen posts he might have done - but his subsequent reactions have unfortunately merely seemed to have exacerbated the issue and inflamed it.

My thoughts though before I go further into this. Also remember these are my own thoughts, I don't expect everyone to agree with me. However I hope I can make some kind of sense with what I'm trying to write down here.

Supergirl this season has one character I'm finding hard to relate to. This has absolutely nothing to do with potential storylines and relationship possibilty, but everything to do with what they have tried to do with William Dey as a whole.

I get the reason he came along in regards Russell and so the Andrea connection. That story made some sense.

What hasn't made sense - William being used as a journalist, when Nia is right there! Nia has barely had any screen time, and virtually none as a journalist; you know - her actual job. I'm not sure what the minutes on screen ratio has been this season between the two, but it has felt completely slanted towards William as a viewer.

First instead of Kara and Nia investigating Leviathan after William was 'exposed' in the earlier episodes, now Nia is sidelined again, because they want Kara to team up with William to investigate Lex.

Why? Why do they need that journalistic pairing, when Nia - who as a Superhero, is better placed if danger from Lex occurs. But no, they're making it about Kara having to work with William because Lex threatened to kill him.

They have a Superhero who is also a journalist right there!

Right. There.

Personally this simply makes no sense to me. Plus if I am being honest, William as a character is bringing nothing to the table for me. He feels more like a token male character because James has left.

That brings me to Dansen. While we had some scenes before Crisis, considering at SDCC we were being told how Dansen would strengthen after those events, again we have seen seconds worth of screen time of Kelly, let alone the lack of Dansen.

We accept it isn't the Dansen show and this isn't about that, but again it feels as if it is being pushed way into the background & Kelly is being underutilised. She works for Obsidian North, yet was nowhere to be seen at the launch of the new tech. Sure, it isn't her area of expertise within the company, but you would expect senior employees to have been at such an important launch.

Plus, she is ex-military, but again nothing has been utilised about that part of her character.

The problems with both these issues is these characters are LGBTQ rep on the show. Representation that is already severely underrepresented on TV. Even allowing for the LGBTQ rep on SG (which is above average), it is still well below the ratio percentages that GLAAD show as being the main demographic of viewers.

So LGBTQ fans also look at non-canon representation as well. They have to, because LGBTQ on screen numbers simply don't reflect what the viewer numbers are. I made a post about it to try & highlight this, which I will link to.

But needless to say, LGBTQ fans also generally have difficulties that a lot of people don't have to face.

This brings me back to David and his lack of understanding that many fans were (looking through the comments), trying to explain to him. That criticism wasn't aimed at him per se (at least that I saw), or his directing or acting of that episode. If criticism was aimed at him, that was and is wrong.

The main criticism I saw was being aimed about elements that the writers and producers had done (Winn's wife being another aspect that was problematic). It was unfortunate that it has coincided with David's directorial episode.

Look, David can direct an episode wonderfully, it can have some great aspects to it, but it can also be highly problematic to some fans, & receive valid criticism for it.

For example, the latest episode of Batwoman. The Alice/Beth story was great. The acting superb. What I found worrying was the way they made Sophie feel guilty for legitimate reasons why she had led a closeted lifestyle. That lifestyle is valid, for Sophie and many LGBTQ people, and for good reason, including keeping some people safe from harm. I felt it was a clumsy attempt for Alice to get into Sophie's mind; it could've been tackled other ways, so it felt wrong they used her sexuality as a way to achieve that. Being closeted for many literally keeps them alive. So that was one hell of a poor choice in my opinion. So, great episode, valid criticism.

I personally find it sad that David hasn't seemed to understand this. Especially considering he only recently tweeted about the lack of diversity on TV for black actors. His argument there applies to what the LGBTQ audience have been trying to explain so many times, both with Supergirl and beyond that.

Except for LGBTQ it goes further, as not only are there LGBTQ, there is further intersectionality that runs through us as a group.

So for example, Kelly is LGBTQ, but Black. She is also a woman. All areas that struggle in their own sphere and marginalised in their own right. Added together, and it makes her representation even more important.

Nia Nal is Transgender. And a woman. Also two areas of intersectionality. If we don't listen to all marginalised people, especially when that intersectionality comes into play, we fail.

David is Black.

But also heterosexual, and male, and honestly, seeing his reaction I felt the heterosexual male with no understanding what the LGBTQ audience was trying to explain come through far more than I imagined I would.

Now of course, it could be David had no intention of coming across in that way. Yet the way he liked certain posts also felt as a complete dismissal of the LGBTQ community as a whole. It felt like the reactions from SDCC 2017 all over again.

Without a doubt some fans were taking it too far. I get that. I don't know how often I have written about fandoms and the way some can behave. However, if David is putting everyone in a fandom as all being problematic (as his liking of Tweets seem to suggest), then that is a very poor take indeed by him, and one I hope he considers.

By taking those steps, he has angered some fans more than was necessary in my view. Like Staz the other day, I know we are all human and sometimes react emotionally. Unlike Staz, who tried to clarify his words and apologised for any upset he might've caused, David seems to have gone the other way and doubled down against fans, blocking even respectful tweets to him that were trying to explain a point of view.

Now before anyone thinks I am hating on David, I'm not. I have supported much of his work.

I am though disappointed that for someone who is marginalised himself, has had mental health struggles, he has seemingly failed to understand that LGBTQ are just as marginalised (if not more so) than he is, & that because of the issues LGBTQ people face, mental health problems are extremely high versus the general population. That some of his wording and liking of tweets have felt like a complete slap in the face for many, who have legitimate concerns about Supergirl at the moment.

As I say, I get some fans take it too far, in all areas of the Supergirl fandom. Outright hate towards anyone is absolutely unacceptable. I also understand that we all react at times that is instinctual because we feel hurt, and that reaction is not as good as it could be.

I just hope that rather than it implode more on us, that everyone takes a step back to try and calm down.

As for the issues of queerbaiting that has risen as a result of the teaser for the next episode of SG. Supergirl in earlier episodes of the season, used parallels to show Lena and Kara alongside canon relationships on the show. To then have other people call fans delusional for seeing those scenes as romantically formulated is not okay! It really isn't. That's hateful, because like it or not, those elements are there.

When I have people who don't watch the show asking if Lena and Kara are together because of clips they might see (straight people at that), that isn't delusional.

But, that isn't an issue the cast should address or make judgement on, or fans to insist they do.

It should though be something asked of the producers and showrunners, because if they have no plans to go through with it - it has been outright queerbaiting this season. Up until this year, they've not done things with notable intent to parallel other relationships. This season they have. The shift felt deliberate.

I know ultimately that this show is about Supergirl, but it is also about those around her as family & friends. I understand there are only so many minutes in one episode. What I don't understand is why those precious minutes are going to a character, when they have one perfectly placed to do the same role. Why they have to potentially explore another relationship, when we have one canon relationship & one relationship that while isn't canon in terms of romantic, it is a big story in terms of best friends, both seemingly sidelined. Which brings me to the Kara fighting for Lena's soul aspect. Again, I am not seeing a lot of fighting for anything, except more and more fans fighting themselves and cast.

I will be honest, I had high hopes for this season. I also knew it was likely going to be pretty confusing at times since it was given as 'our Black mirror season' and 'nothing is as it seems.' I accepted that.

However, all it seems at the moment is a jumbled mess from pre and post Crisis. They just doesn't appear to be any cohesion at all, which is making it really difficult as a viewer. Add in the changes post Crisis and it feels even more of a mess.

Of course, they could bring in more cohesive elements soon, but considering that we know episode 13 is 'It's a wonderful life,' and Alex Danvers in a later episode is wearing a Super suit - I just sense this whole 'nothing is as it seems' side we appear to be getting isn't changing any time soon, & with episodes running out, with so many strings running through at the moment, it feels really discombomulated. If by seasons end, they pull it off and you can look back and see how it's played out as a whole, I will be the first to say well done for that part.

I get that as more characters are added to a show, it can make shuffling screen time for those already established characters harder to achieve that will please everyone, especially when we get invested in those characters.

I do though think right now Supergirl feels chaotic beyond expectation, and no end in sight. I feel there have been too many character additions this season (particularly Andrea & William) that is taking screen time away from Kara, Alex, Nia, Lena, Kelly et al.

That is causing confusion for fans, that is also beginning to become frustration. That frustration is spilling over. Add in the genuine and legitimate concerns over the LGBTQ issues that have arisen, and the frustration has built even more.

Again though, that is something we need to be asking of the producers and show runners, and not pulling the cast into it.

Let's all try less to score points against each other, or make generalisations, as none of that is helpful.

If you can't do that, you will get other fans calling you out.

Let's all learn to step away a bit more when it is obviously getting to the point rational discussion isn't working, to let things calm down.

We all need to try and do better.