#I’d be overjoyed for someone to tell me what they think - either about my analysis or his character in general

[ssidebloggg]

Why is Jax so upset at the end of Episode 2?

He’s disappointed for the lack of violence, sure, but in the end he looks truly down. I wonder if he feels disconnected from the group? He was the only one not present at Kaufmo’s funeral and he doesn’t seem to really value anyone else in the cast - he moreso just uses them for his own entertainment and ends. While this is at least partially his own fault for being such an asshole man-baby, it can’t help with the feeling of isolation and rejection, feeling like he’s the only one worth his salt on the team, and that he has nobody to relate to or connect with, even in a situation where it’s natural to grow closer as a result of shared traumatic experience and living quarters. Essentially - he might feel like he’s the only one truly alone while everyone else seems to become dearer to each other, even if that feeling is because he views himself as superior.

His lack of ability to connect could also be because he feels like he doesn’t deserve it, of course. He clearly has issues with his ego; this could be because he thinks so highly of himself that the real him can’t compare, causing him to defend his status as “better than the rest” in order to protect himself from recognizing the difference between his perceived status and the reality of who he is. This could also be because he’s self aware that he’s an asshole and doesn’t know how to change or cope more healthily, so he just pushes everyone away and continues hurting them instead of improving. In the first case, he seems to struggle with some real narcissistic traits and clearly needs help - he also needs help in the second case, but it seems like his behaviors there stem less from blatantly narcissistic beliefs and more from his response to the trauma of the circus. Both cases could exist within the same character as well, even if only at different times.

Either way, he clearly needs a lot of support, a better outlet for his feelings, and some sort of reality check that actually gets through to him. He’s very young still, only being in his early 20s, so I think it’s a real possibility that his more cruel behaviors stem from lack of experience and knowledge about other people/social relations rather than from pure malice. We also don’t know how long he’s been trapped in the circus - if he already had some of these ego problems before he entered, it can’t have helped his mentality. I hope he realizes he needs to change and improve himself to improve his life and that he gets the support he needs throughout the show! I can’t wait to see more of him and his character development.

Anyways, I loved episode 2 and I want to see Zooble’s figurine collection

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Let’s talk about The Twist of Good Omens (Pt. 1 of 2).

This is HALF a meta / scene analysis and praise for the actors, and HALF an Ineffable headcanon following the meta, so I hope you’ll bare with me as my brain spews out this shit that’s been going through it all week. It’s gotten really long, so I’m going to split up the meta / analysis and the headcanon into two separate posts because as I was writing this, it was getting long, and I know some people are here for either/or.

Spoilers follow, obviously.

A little known fact about me (or perhaps well known if you’ve been here for a long time) is that I LOVE the body swap / face swap trope. OBSESSED ABOUT IT. Loved it since I was a kid. I think it’s more the psychology of it that interests me (like I also consider “plopping a brain into a robot” part of this trope too, and the ensuing crisis intrigues me... a lot of my old Sonic fanfiction dealt with this type of thing). That and my innate desire to not be me, but I digress. One of my favourite movies ever is Face/Off... not a fantastic movie by any means, but damn if I didn’t obsess about it because of the psychology of it all. I LOVE watching actors pretend they’re the other actor playing their role. It’s amazing to me.

And AS someone who has consumed this trope like life since as long as I’ve consumed media, it probably took me less than a couple minutes to spot the twist ending in Good Omens. I immediately sensed something was off, mainly in their discussion in the park and  the mannerisms of the characters when they went to their respective places. 

When Aziraphale hesitated on saying “ineffable”  before death showed up, THEN Crowley’s hesitation on what Death’s appearance was, and THEN the “tickety-boo” from Crowley, is when something was niggling at me upon first watch of the scene. I wasn’t REALLY certain about my suspicions until C!Aziraphale and Gabriel were talking in the scene immediately following. Azzie was VERY subdued in Heaven, more like he was just trying to buy time or he was bored, when in the past he would... well, essentially not shut up and try to make small talk when he was confronted by the Gabriel or the other Angels. 

Instead he looked like a man who was lowkey annoyed and bored of being there, like he’s seen it all before. He didn’t question the demon bringing up the Hellfire. Just placid indifference.

It threw me for a loop, and that’s when I said, “Oh, they switched bodies, didn’t they??”. And it’s upon rewatches that I really REALLY became obsessed with this entire ending scene, because that’s when everything sort of falls into place, and you begin to see the minutiae of Sheen’s and Tennant’s acting in these scenes, and ALL the previous mannerisms from their characters are absorbed into each other’s portrayal of, well, each other. Essentially: “David, play this scene the way Michael would play this scene as if he were pretending to be you shamming the demons.” It’s amazing.

Here’s where I need to fucking praise Sheen and Tennant on their acting, because GODDAMN did they ever get each other’s mannerisms down pat, because upon subsequent rewatches, this is where I’m seeing all the clues about the twist ending that are GLARING, and I AM LIVING FOR IT.

So let’s jump back to the beginning of the scene, where they each return to their respective favourite material things: Upon returning, each character, if they were themselves, would have been OVERJOYED by their material items being back in tact. Azzie loves his books, and Crowley LOVES his car. Instead we just see... indifferent satisfaction that everything was restored? It was odd, but not alarming. You could stock it up to them being tired from the events of the day. It was still red flag one, for me.

Now, I’m not going to point this one out as “red flag two” because I can’t recall at all a time BEFORE this scene if this next thing ever happened, and perhaps someone can let me know if they recall before I get a chance to do my fourth run-through of the series: The flavours of ice cream they each end up eating; it would be a tell if they’re each eating what the other normally does. It would be a neat little clue that they each don’t realize they’re really doing that’s out of character. So... red flag 1.5 I will say until confirmation. 

The “tickety boo”, I’m going to label as a Red Flag 2: rewatching the series, we see Azzie uses the phrase when shit’s going tits up. Crowley mocked him for it, but never ever said it other than that one time. On first watch, you just write it off as Crowley picking up Azzie’s phrases, since Crowley says a lot of silly phrases, but upon second watch, you’re like, OH SHIT, wow, it’s totally Azzie, should have seen that.

Then there’s each of them in Heaven and Hell. I already talked about my tip-offs for Azzie, so let’s talk Crowley. A!Crowley was stammering on his speech, in that way that Azzie does when he’s nervous and unsure of himself and he’s trying to formulate his thoughts and understand what is happening. He was SURPRISED about Michael working with the demons, because – even though he saw Beelzebub and Gabriel interact, he had no idea how twisted in their own schemes both sides were. This is uncharacteristic behaviour for Crowley, I think anyway, because he would know that some of the Angels get away with all kinds of shit and STILL never Fall. Azzie... ahh, I love him, but I don’t think he would.

And A!Crowley STOOD like Azzie would... Crowley has this... way he sort of stands still (ie. trying to be cool but he’s really not). He wasn’t doing that at all in this scene. And the fact he was concerned about his clothes getting ruined? Yeah, when has that ever stopped Crowley? It was sort of a sweet thing that  this Lovely here pointed out and I only remembered about it when I read this post. Azzie didn’t want Crowley’s brand new coat to get ruined, aww. 

Jumping back to C!Aziraphale, still super quiet and indifferent and almost ANNOYED at the proceedings, and not once does he stammer at all. Azzie always stammers (a little more than his usual speech patterns, anyway) when facing the Angels, especially Gabriel, but this is legit the first time he doesn’t. Just smart-arse remarks and a “devil may care” (hur dur) attitude about the proceedings. 

I think I was 90% sure about my theory about the twist when the the bathtub scene that follows appears, because it didn’t really make sense to me in my head that the Holy Water WASN’T doing anything. The demons later surmise it’s because they’ve “gone native”, but are they really sure? Hmm. Anyway, this whole scene is HILARIOUS to me upon rewatch, because it’s now Azzie CERTAIN that he can’t be harmed here from the punishment even if he’s wearing Crowley’s face, and he FINALLY lets himself BE his own person. Funny how him seeing through a demon’s eyes is WHY he finally lets go (which, you know, is kind of what happened with Crowley 6000 years before... realized the world wasn’t fair and it wasn’t going to treat him with kindness). He finally understands Crowley, I think, in a way, because of this incident. 

Azzie is FINALLY certain and unafraid of being himself. He no longer stammers, and literally strikes fear into the demons in the dorkiest of ways and THEN secures Crowley’s future of being left alone. That tiny little thing there is really sweet and so Azzie. 

As for C!Aziraphale, he’s a dramatic bitch in the Hellfire to scare away the Angels. And though it’s not seen, I’m certain Crowley would have guaranteed Azzie’s safety in the same way that Azzie did his... I’m just assuming since it’s alluded to in their final park-bench conversation.

And – segue! – as we switch back to the park bench scene, I think this was when I was, on my first watch, all “yep, they switched”. Look at even just the camera pan-in: they’re sitting on the wrong sides (Crowley has ALWAYS sat to Azzie’s left-hand side), and Azzie is slouching. Azzie NEVER slouches, just as Crowley is never straight-backed and proper when he sits. I absolutely adore Tennant playing a reassuring-Azzie so beautifully, and then the uptick in the intonation of “Anyone looking?” is SO Aziraphale, that if you hadn’t picked up the clues by now, that should have set you off, as well as... why would Aziraphale know if “anyone is looking”? Crowley has ALWAYS been the one who’s able to sense other beings around, and I feel like it’s BECAUSE of his status as a demon that he can do this (as a former angel, it might be a “skill” he retained when he fell, and then gained the skill to sense other demons, so then he would be able to tell if either-or are around, whereas Azzie would only be able to sense love, happiness, and other angels, is my theory).

AHHH And then. AND THEN, Sheen’s impersonation of Tennant’s speech patterns when he says “Right. Swap back then?” and then with the face he makes. It’s ALL Crowley right there. GAWD, perfection.

I love their little interaction after the switch... Azzie is just SO DAMNED PROUD OF HIMSELF, WHAT A PRECIOUS CINNAMON ROLL. And Crowley is enamoured by it all. He VISIBLY sees the change in Azzie, what seeing the world through Crowley’s eyes has done to him. So much so he chances to ask Azzie out, and he FINALLY accepts, no hesitation.

AH. That’s a WHOLE other meta in-of itself.

Next, Part 2, is my head canon for the lead up to this scene. It’s more of a musing than anything else, spawned by a thought I had about why are they able to switch so easily... and how did they know that they could? It won’t be nearly as long as this so I should have it up in a few days when I have a free moment :)

Anyway, I’d love for y’all to add your own thoughts or expand upon mine here if you’ve anything to say!

Cheers everyone, and welcome new people to my blog that my other GO meta may have enticed you to here <3 We’ll see how many meta this show squeezes out of my brain, probably not nearly as much as Johnlock does, but there we are, LOL <3

[kawai-kettu]

We need to talk about TDC

Randomely as per two viewings (spoilers! duh!) :

About the movie in general

- if someone has been analyzing this movie frame by frame and has been giving sense to every shot, feel free to tell me! I’d love to read this kind of analysis!! I’ve tried to, but I failed, I’m sooo bad at this ç___ç But I’m sure there’s a lot to say. A French critic, Durendal, pointed out, for exemple, the way the scenery shows Newt’s changing, when he’s sitting alone on a roof, with two buildings shaped very differently, separated by a void, and Newt being on the edge of one. It’s clever and subtle and I’m sad not to be able to pick up on this on my own.

- I reaaaally tried to analyse the way Wes Ball uses music and sound effects as a character, and I did started to notice how music gives way to important sound effects. For example at the very beginning, with this heartbeat like rhythm, symbolizing the way this whole operation has been very precisely timed, and it’s a matter of seconds separating success from failure. I also adore the whole music during Brenda’s running and aftermath of Newt’s death, with absolutely no dialogues, the music and acting being enough to convey what the characters are feeling. I also loved how there’s so few dialogues at the end, which fits how broken one would feel in Thomas place. From my experience, in this kind of moments, there’s nothing to say, really.

- I'm a fan of Star Wars, so I'm used to baddies aiming like stormtroopers (i.e. very badly) but still, I would have wanted some of them to shoot some of the good guys and succeed, iwounding them or killing them.

- I don’t like either when writers are clumsily messing with the viewer. Like…. don’t make it sound like Jorge is fleeing when you’ve made it clear that he wouldn’t go anywhere without Brenda. It makes his “magical” return look like a Deus Ex ; furthermore, it would have been far more emotionnaly touching, for me, to see Brenda doubt and fear when he doesn’t show up straight away, and then to see him come rescue them just in time, looking tense then madly overjoyed at having reached them on time… (and it would have made being too late for Newt even more cruel.)

- On the opposite, I love clever writing. For example regarding Newt. You see two different meetings during TDC. In the first one, Newt stays silent, grave and composed, he observes and evaluates, doubting but calculating their chances, almost refusing to hastily voice his opinion. In the second one, we have him suddenly exploding, letting his jealousy take the best of him and impulsively provoking Thomas, even yelling ; everyone's reaction makes it clear this is OOC for him and very very strange. But we're not told that. We're shown that. And it's awesome.

- so I read about the filming of the first scene in between my two viewings, and I must say 1° I still haven't identified the moment in which Dylan got hurt (which they kept, apparently??)  2° it's really well done, I only picked up on details betraying that this was special effects after having read how it had been shot, really.

- I loved the way they used the color of the light to symbolise both sides. Each time we're shown the Gladers, either it's daylight or the characters are surrounded in yellow-gold-orange light, warm tones that often comes from natural sources like fire or candles. Each time we're in WCKD's side, either we're in darkness or the light is blue and cold, coming from artificial sources, neons or other modern technologies. The scenes in Ava's office are amazing, in this respect. In one, you've got Teresa standing in this dark room, staring at the outside sky, her skin warmed by the rich colors of sunset, and it seemed to symbolize her missing Thomas and the Gladers as a whole. In another, you have Ava, defeated, looking at this city full of blue light, drinking alone with none of her previous stiff and composed attitude, like she's contemplating the things she struggled for and knows she's about to lose. For another example, see the beginning, during the Right Arm meeting, interrupted by WCKD's bergs and Jorge turning off lights to hide the camp in darkness, showing how close WCKD is getting.... But also, when Thomas is taking his leave, Newt and Fry appearing successively, each revealed by a light being turned on. But seriously, this use of light and colors is consistent throughout the movie so there are many examples of that.

- at the very end, there's a shift, slightly, as the Last City Falls. The blue lights are turned off, destroyed, while the warm, orange tones overpower them, explode, winning but also litteraly getting out of control, destroying the world. At this point, with Lawrence bathed in red light, I wondered if red was also the color of the Flare, in this symbolic reading of the lights/colors (….after all, Newt had been sporting orange then red in his outfits, right?).

- After this, the scene with Janson having captured Thomas seemed to be in a whiter light : something different, still cold and unatural, but devoid of the ideals that WCKD had symbolised, but also carrying the idea of a rebirth, too, of a new order that Janson depicts aloud, and the white light in this respect seems fitting, like there's a whole new page about to be written. But then, it goes to hell annd they end up in the laboratory, where we still find the blue-darkness VS red lights, which seemed to me like the symbol of the last of WCKD's dream standing, symbolizing, I think, Teresa still fighting for what she thinks is good.  …....I need to rewatch it on DVD to make sure this theory is correct XD

- I liked that they didn't sexualize the girls (or the boys). Everyone looks roughed up, not necessarily at their advantage. If I'm not mistaken, Brenda doesn't have a bra, for example (…..she doesn't, right?). It looked like it, anyway, and it would make sense, given the circumstances and all, but still, so many franchises sexualize the female characters, like.... armors with boobs, for example. It was refreshing to see them dressed so functionnal and normal. Actually, only Ava and Teresa looked like they were wearing bras and make up, as well as nice clothes, which also made sense.  (…....not that I.... …....give thoughts to this during movies. Right. *coughs, looking away* )

- first time I saw it, I was in a big cinema room, in the middle of the afternoon, and the room was awesome, very qualitative. The audience was very quiet given that the room was ¼ full, and I loved it, because I focused on the emotion far more easily when I'm not in a crowded cinema. The second time I watched it, I was in a smaller room, 150 seats, 60% full, with mainly fans being gathered, I think. And.... okay the audience responded far more audibly this time, and after some time, I decided to write down the crowd's loudest reactions, which were to the following scenes : Newt going at Thomas in jealousy (okay, I was with fangirls XD), Gally interrogating Teresa, the elevator scene with Janson, giving Janson the finger v.2, Minho's disbelief at Gally being alive, the bus fall, “Nobody's perfect” …. …..and people crying-chucklingbecausetheyrecrying at the end.

- I love the gorgeous scenery we always get in Maze Runner. Even if I'll always prefer the Glade, I loved the deserted harbour, the plains, as well as the abandonned check point and the suburbs of the Last City. At first, I felt like the Last City was too ordinary, too close to our current reality... …..but it actually not only makes sense (okay, it's in the future, but they've spent their resources on something other than architectural trends), but this city  also works great in its opposition to the Right Arm's and Rebels' worlds.

- I loved the design of Ava's office, and especially the design of the Maze on the wall, like.... it was their core experiment, and having it on the whole is a reminder of how much they've worked, but also of how terrible they've acted. It’s like no matter how much the audience will sympathize with Ava, we’re silently told “don’t forget this is the woman who built this Maze and put all this kids to die there”…...plus, depending on the light, it looks very differently, and in a way, it can symbolize how you can see WCKD's actions very differently depending on your values and points of view

- I absolutely loved the little throwbacks to the first movies. It's done very cleverly, not explained but clear enough if you've seen the movies and loved them. I love that in a movie, that we're not babysat, like we currently are in Marvel or Star Wars movies. We have brains, thank you very much, and Maze Runner, thankfully, seems to remember that. Anyway, so.... in no particular order, I loved “Hey Greenie” (*melts*), “We're a long way from the Glade” (*sobs*), “I've known you longer than you can remember” (which made me snicker but was crual and a subtle jab trying to push Thomas into making a mistake, it was brilliant from Janson), “You should have run” (aha XD)... But it's also done in more subtle ways. For the third time, Thomas sees a maternal figure getting shot (Ava twice, Mary once..... made me wonder if we were supposed to see his real mother getting shot in the first movie). For the third time, he wakes up to Teresa being next to him while he was passed out. And for the third time, Thomas and Newt share a moment by a fire, with Newt reassuring Thomas (*gross sobbing*).