#Robin physically cannot think about his death and him being a victim because to admit he was a victim was to admit defeat

[nympippi]

warning for unnecessarily long ask ahead but 100% yes on the "robin trying to find dignity in dying" thing he does not want to accept that his death was that far out of his control. we wants to believe that he had some influence in the matter, like that he could have survived but just made some kind of stupid preventable misstep somewhere

i've also always entertained the idea that maybe later down the line, after the events of the movie, he might try to find some false reassurance in his fate by being like "well, i had to be down there to give finn the nudge he needed. if i hadn't been taken in the first place, he'd be dead, and the grabber would keep killing. it just had to end that way. it had to." <- desperately trying to deny that it could've gone any other way because if so then he suffered for no reason and had no agency or choice and nothing can be done to fix it and he'll never get to grow up and make his dad proud and-

nope. he can't let himself think about that. it's... too much.

my friend tommy and i were once talking abt robin and they said "he wanted to be more than just a tragedy but now that's all he'll ever get the chance to be" and i immediately wanted to strangle them that line has STUCK with me it's so accurate and it makes me so sad

but i can imagine having been given a chance to actually live, that mindset wouldn't stick quite as hard, since now that he's alive and can feel more willing to entertain certain scenarios, he'd think about how finn was able to kill the grabber and he'd think Fuck... Why couldn't that have been me. Why couldn't i have done that instead. If he could do it why shouldn't i have been able to. WHICH leads him into hardcore blaming himself for his own death and finney being kidnapped in the first place

he doesn't want to delve too far into self pity and just... dwell on that, because he's alive! he's fucking alive! he needs to get his shit together and move on, right? he can't waste this second chance. not now that he has it, when he thought he'd never have a shot at it!

but... god. he just can't help it sometimes. just zoning out and imagining alternate scenarios where he gets the upper hand and bludgeons the grabber's head with that fucking phone so hard that his face doesn't even look like a face anymore. he gets wrapped up in the violence of it a lot. wishing a million times worse his own fate on the man who's already received his comeuppance. although, to robin, it really didn't seem harsh enough.

he wishes they could've gotten knives involved. kill the fucker with his own axe, actually. no- chainsaws. How could he have possibly accessed a chainsaw in those circumstances? it doesn't fucking matter because imagining that monster under the whirring blade is cathartic as hell and robin loves it. if you asked him, (and he'd be lying,) that's the only "coping mechanism" he'll ever need.

...i didn't actually mean to go off on that tangent about the grabber dying brutally and sometimes whenever i do that i feel like i got possessed by the spirit of robin for a second but like yeah do ya get me

I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, I want to pick apart your brain because your Robin takes and headcannons are so frickin good!!!

Like yes, I get it. Robin would have those moments of fantasies of what if he was the one to never die, what if he was the one to kill the grabber and not Finn. He would get swept up in the violence of it all because that’s his own fucking abuser, a man who canonically sexually assaulted him why wouldn’t he want to turn his face into a puddle of brains and blood. He will never get that chance of revenge both dying and coming back, and I think sometimes those thoughts scare him because of how violent they actually are.

Just this. I’m taking this and shaking it by the neck like a goose my god.

Also how dare your friend say that, expect my therapy bill by the end of next month, how dare, how dare!!

[capitainerowen]

I have an issue with Billy’s death

I really like Stranger Things and especially the season 2. However, as much as watching the season 3 was a pleasure at the moment, it feels like a joke, every time I think of it again.

The season had a lot and a lot of things that I loved but I will not talk about it here because I really, really want to talk about Billy.

Billy is a real jerk, I know it. He made a lot of bad stuffs, towards Max, towards Steve, towards Lucas, … but for some reasons I really liked him? I cannot explain it because I’m not the type to like assholes but him? I like him, and because of that, I really wanted him to improve. I really was hoping it, and at the end of the season 2, it felt like he could maybe improve, because of what happened with Max. Maybe it is because I’m too focused on possible character’s development and because I just knew at the end of season 2 that he was meant to die (The B-name tragedy, you know it, I know it, we all know it) and I hated that so much with all my heart.

During the season 2, Billy was really bad and dangerous and murderous against the Party and apparently, it was because he is racist. I’m not victim of racism so I can understand that it is a possibility, but to be true I still think that there was so many others reasons for him to hate the four of them, like: the fact that they were searching in the trash can (Dustin), the only one to cosplay in middle school (the four of them), insulting Max (Mike), confessing their love and made a marriage proposal (Lucas to Mike), literally had a freaking funeral because everyone thought they were dead (Will), … and the fact that they are boys and Max is a girl. Because of his father (that piece of shit), these were all pretty good reasons for him to hate them.

I am not excusing what he did, of course not. I mean, he tried to kill them twice in season two, he threatened Max, beat up Steve multiples times… These are not good things, of course, but I really understood it as a reaction to what was happening to him. His relationship with his dad was really atrocious and horrible and it really was bad, he was victim of physical and psychological tortures and I do not want to think about how bad it was, but it was bad enough for him to still cry. It does not excuse his behavior, but it was an explanation. In season 1, Steve became an asshole to Jonathan and Nancy and while it was still a bad thing, he was not the only responsible and he had the opportunity to redeem himself, so I really hoped Billy could too, and his death makes me feels nauseous. Actually, I may do a whole post to explain why every death of the B-name characters are terrible.

I wanted Billy to redeem himself because I felt like it was important for him to understand how his behavior was bad as an example for the public to understand how harassment works in every little things, like his behavior with Max or with Steve that are at first “little” or “almost nothing” (which we know, isn’t nothing, obviously), because a lot of people doesn’t get that their behavior is toxic towards some persons and hurtful, since a lot of people (such as myself) internalize their pain like if it wasn’t really a problem. Even if I knew he would not survive, I still think that somehow it would have been important. It would have been really important because it is rarely, if it’s not never, talked in the show how the characters have hurtful and/or toxic behaviors to each other.

For example, Mike’s behavior with his friends, he rarely shows regrets of his mistakes (pushing Lucas, lying to, and screaming at El, stealing Nancy, insulting Will’s sexuality, disrespecting Max for being the first girl bold enough to talk to him after El disappearance, …), and he’s not the only one! They all have toxic behaviors (except for Dustin who is perfect somehow?) and with Billy who is obviously one of the worst characters for that point would have been a perfect occasion for everyone to rethink their behavior. Obviously, I am not saying that all the relationships are absolutely awful, they’re good, but still! Sometimes, even to our friends or family, we made some bad stuffs, and admitting it and saying sorry for that is okay and it is important.

I really, really felt that it could have been important, and the show is about these kinds of stuffs sometimes (like when Steve really tried to make himself forgiven or when Dustin helped Mike and Lucas to talk about their feelings) but apparently, Billy didn’t deserve that? And it hurts me a lot because Billy dying without having the possibilities to become a better person while his father, who was beating him and using his sexual orientation as an excuse to that, will end the show alive and okay makes me sick. It’s like Will and Jonathan father who is still very much okay when he manipulated Joyce for money and rejected Will’s passions because he thought it was too “gay”, and I’m really not okay with that. It’s really bad because it feels like homophobia is forgivable in the show and that is not a good thing? And yeah, I know, there is Robin who is a lesbian, but Will is clearly queer-coded, and it’s never said clearly or only as a judgement or a bad thing (like the conversation between Joyce and Hopper in the season 1 after he’s missing or Mike insulting him and judging him in season 3) and that’s a huge problem! However, I’ll stay on my Billy’s issue.

To talk about Billy’s family again, letting Billy having a redemption arc would have been really important! Now, with him being dead, Max is all alone with an abusive stepfather and a mother who let it all pass, and it’s absolutely sure that her stepfather will be violent on her and/or her mother since Billy isn’t here anymore and let’s be real, it will either end with blood and trauma or be completely forgotten which is not okay!

Also, except for being another trauma for El, what was Billy’s death useful for? Because clearly, Max is already over it at the end and El has already a lot to deal with Hopper’s death. It is clearly a bad written death and once again, if Billy has gotten a development, a redemption arc instead of just dying, it could have been so important. Billy is a horrible character, but he clearly had the opportunity to become better and to help the other characters and for a lot of things! His relationship with Max could have become so much better for the two of them. At the end of the season two, their relationship was really bad but was still really interesting! It could have led to something in which they both started to try and understand each other and have a real fight in which Max explains to Billy why she is happy with the boys and El and in which Billy could finally tells Max why he’s acting like that, except for El to discover it by entering his mind and reading his memories without him agreeing to that. Yes, it was important for her to literally survive but still! It could have led to a conversation so El understands that it’s not okay to read people memories, and that even if it was important at the moment but that, after a conversation in which El reveal Billy’s most intimate memories, or after El reading someone’s mind to prove they lied to her, Billy and her could have a conversation to talk about it, and it could have been really interesting because with Max, they played with that power a lot.

Like I really hoped he could have become someone really important, and better. For the show, it would have been really important, and a great way to explain to El why, even if she has the right to use her powers like she wants, they are still some rules to respect (and a better way than how Mike says it, saying it just because he’s jealous of her relationship with Max…).

So… yeah, I’m not feeling quite okay with Billy’s death, and not just because I like him but because there is a real issue that I see in his writing and, as a writer myself and a fan of the show (and yes, the character), I really hoped he could have become better even if, like I said previously, it was really obvious that he was about to die, since his name starts with the letter B (I really hate that pattern so much, you have no idea), and to be honest, the season 3 is really the one I hate the most, maybe because of how good the two firsts seasons were and because I was so scared for Dustin’s life that I wasn’t prepare for the writing of that season.

[neverwatchedonepiece]

596-597: "On the Verge of Annihilation! A Deadly Monster Comes Flying In!" and "An Intense Battle! Caesar Exercises His True Power!"

so i herd u were gonna kick my ass?

I have said this a lot lately... but what just happened?

Did Caesar just clean house?

Did he actually just systematically destroy the opposition BY HIMSELF? Luffy, Robin, Franky, Tashigi and Smoker one after the other?

Damn. I did not expect that at all. Right up until the final twist, I was convinced Luffy was going to take him and it would have been mission accomplished (then, after that, defeat Smiley and escape Punk Hazard without letting Caesar wriggle out of their clutches).

Caesar is much stronger than I thought. 

The man said it himself at the end of 597: “Don’t underestimate me.” I regret to admit that I did, Caesar. I totally did. I thought he’d live up to the usual Mad Scientist Trope Manifestation: a non-fighter who is very clever but a bit cowardly and useless when the fight turns physical.

Instead, Oda has gifted us with an Absolute Madman with more tricks up his sleeve than a pub magician.

Let’s Set That Thing Full of Poison Gas on Fire! What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

The action picked up where 595 left off. Luffy announced to the world that he would kick the Master’s ass and kidnap him!

Needless to say, this announcement did not go down well with Caesar’s centaur minions. Did that rubbery whippersnapper say he’d kick our beloved Master’s ass and kidnap him? TAKE HIM DOWN!

Once the steam from impact had cleared, Smoker also realised the Strawhats had fallen right into his lap again and gave the order to capture them. For about two seconds *everyone* was after them. And it did not phase Luffy, Franky or Robin in the slightest. While Luffy searched for Caesar, Robin and Franky dealt with the Fodders. Must say Robin and Franky have excellent Volume Fodder Clearance techniques.

There was comedy gold moment when Luffy didn’t realise he wasn’t fighting Smoker. “Hey, Smokey! Glad you’re okay. Was worried the way Law beat you up earlier. What’s up, though? Do you have a stomachache? Are you constipated? Why are you weaker all of a sudden? And you sound weird today.”

Smoker came charging up, all like, “Come on, Tashigi! Don’t get your ass kicked by Strawhat!” And suddenly this glasses girl whose name Luffy could not remember was much stronger all of a sudden! Hmmm... what was her name?

Smoker yelled, “IT’S ME. I AM SMOKER!” And Luffy fell about laughing when the penny finally dropped that they’d been shambled by Law. Luffy said there was no point fighting when they were not at full strength. (Luffy’s a good guy, really. If he was a terrible person, he could’ve just kicked their asses and walked. But he gave them a literal fighting chance.)

Just as Franky got fed up clearing Fodder and was about to melt a huge hole in Caesar’s front door, something large and pink flew through the sky towards them.

Awww... I thought. Smiley has come home to see Caesar. Isn’t that cute? It landed and oozed over Caesar’s ship. Smoker just stood there and looked at it, like, wtf am I looking at here?

Oda used the Fodders who had clambered on board to reveal some of Smiley’s tricks. If you try to shoot it, Smiley releases toxic gas, and all the little Smileys that break off reconverge into one bigger Smiley. A dumb Fodder tried to push it into the river, got stuck in Smiley and ended up with all over poison burns. The biggest idiot decided that burning Smiley would work.

Just think about that for a second because Fodder guy didn’t.

He thought that setting fire to a substance filled with poison gas would be a good idea.

What happened?

Yes, the Inevitable

R.I.P., dumb Fodder Marines. We hardly knew ye. The large kaboom you made was beautiful, though.

There was a quiet moment of misplaced optimism when a fodder centaur said, “Hey, at least it’s gone, right?”

Nope. Turns out that Smiley was only a fragment of Original Smiley who is firing out tiny blobs of itself from the lake where Zoro, Sanji, Brook and Samurai are. 

Why was Smiley doing that?

We were about to find out, as a familiar cackle from above announced Caesar’s arrival.

He’d been standing on the roof all along, watching the carnage unfold. How could he resist recording the results of his creation’s rampage?

“Good boy, Smiley!” he cried. “I’m sorry I locked you up for three years!” (No you’re not, Caesar. Let’s not pretend.)

Smoker and Luffy both had an “Aha, it’s you!” moment. “You’re Caesar Clown, aren’t you?” “Are you the Master?”

Like all Mad Scientists, Caesar has an ego the size of Laboon.

“Yes, indeed! Everyone from the Strawhat Pirates and the Marine G-5, behold the greatest scientist in the world: Master Caesar Clown!” 

He told them to wait a few moments for Smiley, as he is weak to water and is flinging himself over piece by piece to cross the lake. Apparently, when all his pieces reconverge on this side of the island, everyone is up shit creek because Smiley is capable of recreating the chemical explosion that levelled Punk Hazard four years ago.

“You will all experience it! A world of death in which no one can survive. And you will learn just how powerful my weapon is. It can destroy an entire island! And the greatness of the world’s best scientist who created that weapon? It’s me, MASTER CAESAR---”

Yeah.... Caesar did not get to finish that sentence.

That is because two rubbery hands appeared, grabbed him round the waist and the next thing he knew, a smiling face was propelled towards him at speed.

WTF, Human Contact? IN MY LABORATORY??

Caesar’s reaction when Luffy attacked him with an aggressive kidnap hug was freaking glorious. He was all, “Ew ew ew, get it off me, what is this thing?” xD 

Franky was impressed at how easily Luffy could grab a Logia user with his newly honed haki. He was convinced Luffy would walk the fight, kick Caesar’s ass and it would be job done! Robin was not convinced it would be that easy. After the easy ride through Fishman Island, I figured Luffy would dispatch this highly-strung scientist with ease. Maybe a bit of peril. Then they’d pack up Caesar, figure out how to destroy Smiley and GTFO off the island with the kids and the stolen drug research in tow. [Note to self: always listen to Robin. She is always right.]

I loved this fight so much I watched it back again. Even though the tables turned a few times, I was still so sure I knew where it was going.

Caesar decided to get rid of the rubbery menace clinging to him by turning to gas. Luffy countered with an armoured headbutt, which was dodged. Caesar used his Gas Robe move, which envelops a victim in poison gas. They can last as long as they can hold their breath. 

Caesar totally hammed it up. He finds such glee watching people suffer. (I bet he was one of those kids at school who even the bullies wouldn’t touch.) “How long can you hold your breath, Strawhat? Just breathe deeply and drop dead! I have discovered the deadliest gas. Now, suffer and die! I have a front row seat.”

But now I know what you guys hinted at when I asked how Luffy would deal with the poison. Instead of dying from poison inhalation, Luffy snorted up every particle of gas and let it harmlessly steam out his ears. After his big fight with Magellan, poisons no longer work against Luffy. Nice one! Thanks, Magellan, you absolute diamond.

Caesar’s ego seethed to the surface after being outwitted. “Magellan? That venomous fool from Impel Down? I’m not like that pathetic paramecia eater!” (Caesar is such a fruit snob. I bet he’s a wine snob too.)

But Luffy wasn’t listening. He’d already wound up a move and - SLAM! - smacked Caesar right in the chops.

Here’s Caesar Suffering More Human Contact

Ooooooooh, Caesar was mad. After he hit the ground like a sack of spuds, he struggled to his feet and the mask came off.

“Stay out of it, weaklings!” he snarled at his minions. (Who were like, “Did our beloved Master and Saviour just call us weaklings? Did we hear that right?”)

And I have to say Caesar does not mess about when he wants rid of someone. When Luffy leapt at him, the Absolute Madman said, “BRING IT!” and whipped out one of his best moves. That Gastanet explosion was awesome. He also did not give Luffy a second to recover. Those Smilies? Yeah, he ordered them to cling to Luffy, whereupon Caesar used them to cause an even bigger boom.

He Likes Big Booms and He Cannot Lie...

Ahhhhhh... this was the peril I missed from Fishman Island, I thought at the time. Caesar had surprised me by not being a total pushover. I mean, of course Luffy would still win, but Caesar was doing pretty damned well.

His minions surrounded him, cheering for him, “Master! Master!” feeding his enormous ego. Strawhat was never strong enough to fight Master in the first place! Caesar, convinced Luffy was down, indulged in a spot of Mad Scientist gloating. “I am the greatest scientist in the world: eater of the Gas Gas Fruit. You didn’t know who you were messing with!”

Then Luffy dusted himself off and said, “OH, THAT WAS CLOSE!” and jet-stamp kicked Caesar right square in the ass. I cheered! Sure this time? (Technically Luffy did fulfil half his goal. He literally kicked Caesar’s ass there, right?)

Caesar was slumped in a bundle of massive coat and jumpsuit (btw, I only just noticed this episode that Caesar is wearing a sartorially interesting jumpsuit. I wonder what possessed him to go shopping, pause by a rack and declare, “Yes. This is the one for me.”) Luffy grabbed him by the lapels and asked Franky if there was anything he could put Caesar in, as he was a Logia and he didn’t want him escaping.

Then Oda threw his curveball.

Remember that Knife-Wielding Tentacle No One Could Turn Off? Caesar Has That Same Energy

I really liked how Toei played this scene. As Luffy was looking around for a barrel, cheerful in his victory, the music suddenly cut out. Then Luffy’s eyes went wide. His hands flew to his throat. He began to choke. His grip on Caesar’s lapels loosened. Violin harmonics kicked in. All Luffy could see was a dark, swimming, nasty red and an image of Caesar, who I could tell was beyond fury because his voice was barely raised above a whisper.

“Ahhhhhhhh, you shouldn’t underestimate me.”

Then Luffy folded like an old glove.

My jaw dropped. Had Caesar just done that? How???

Franky and Robin rushed to help. Franky tried to fry Caesar with a radical beam, but Caesar just turned to gas and disappeared. The next thing, Robin was down. Franky followed. Bam, bam, bam, Caesar was taking them all out one by one!

Smoker realised this was going Very Badly Wrong, tried to order the remnants of his crew to GTFO. But Caesar wasn’t having it. He was obviously done playing.

Tashigi was next to fall. Smoker was the only one left. He whirled round, Caesar’s mocking laugh whispering into his ears. But it was no good. Whatever trick Caesar pulled was too strong. He passed out and Caesar was left standing there, holding Smoker by the arm, victorious among a pile of unconscious bodies.

He just freaking blitzed almost the entire arc cast! By himself!

What the hell? Have I been wrong about Caesar and he is in actual fact pretty strong? I suppose he is their first opponent in the New World. He can’t be a total scrub. Still, that was a proper pasting he gave the Strawhats *and* Smoker’s crew.

And that’s not all. Caesar has pulled a few more dirty tricks by the looks of things, as Law ain’t doing too well, either.

In Other News...

While Caesar was battling with Luffy on his front lawn, Law had sneaked round the back with Chopper. The plan was to distract Caesar and Monet, lead them into another room while Chopper stole a sample, or whatever.

It didn’t quite work out that way. Only Monet was indoors. When Law asked where Caesar was, Monet said, “He’s such a hideous person he’s probably gone out to watch the carnage.” (True.) Law must’ve thought, “Yeah, Caesar would do that,” and decided to put his plan into action.

He convinced Monet to follow him through to another room to give Chopper space, but halfway there, he collapsed in a corridor.

I was like, “Wait... why is Law clutching at his chest? What happened? Why don’t I understand a single thing that is going on? Why do I love this so much??”

Then a white-suited, pale-shoed guy walked up and told Law it had been years and that Law had grown up a lot.

PLOT TWIST: A NEW SHADY CHARACTER ENTERS.

Can’t even begin to speculate who it is, so I’ll just have to be patient and wait.

Chopper may be the Alliance’s Last Hope (Sorry, Obi-Wan. You can sit this one out.)

Unless Sanji finds the samurai’s torso in that damned lake and they finally regroup with Nami and Usopp to rescue Luffy and the others.

But my money’s on Chopper.

Why?

Because Chopper.

This aggressive kidnap hug is probably the most human contact Caesar’s ever had that didn’t involve scalpels.

[thisisevenharderthannamingablog]

6.18 Where Bluebirds Fly

I’m having a difficult time writing an intro this week, because every time I think about the second scene my brain shorts out for a minute. I know a bunch of stuff happened other than this, but what?

In the past: On her way to the Emerald City, young Zelena befriends a woodcutter named Stanum, an unusual youth who does not fear her magic and who is impressed by her kindness and her use of magic to help others. Many years later, when she rules Oz, Stanum returns to ask his old friend for help. He is under a curse that will turn his body to tin unless someone helps him retrieve a magical heart guarded by a terrible monster.

Slightly terrible anyway.

At first inclined to dismiss his plea, Zelena is goaded into accompanying him in order to prove that she is indeed the most powerful witch around. Although she defeats the monster and retrieves the heart, she scoffs at the idea that having a friend would be worth the price the artifact demands: giving up her magic. She abandons Stanum to his fate.

In the present: The Black Fairy approaches Zelena and suggests that an alliance would be best for her and her daughter’s well-being. Hook and Emma’s morning plans are interrupted by Snow, who is determined to get this wedding in motion, but they are sidetracked by the news about the Black Fairy. Zelena is minded to take her on by herself, and stalks off. Regina is supposed to investigate the wand piece Tiger Lily sent to Emma but does not get around to it.

Rumple tells Belle about Gideon’s heart. The Blue Fairy remains in her coma, unable to be wakened until her magic is restored; Rumple has played into his mother’s hands by removing the one person who ever knew the Black Fairy from the conflict.

Zelena asks Belle to babysit while she goes off to the mines to hunt down the Black Fairy by herself. Charming discovers that Henry has tried to force the Final Battle to a good end using the magic pen, but it’s not working; Emma must fight. Henry, too, is drafted into the planning activities.

Regina finds Zelena and attempts to stop her. The argument escalates into a physical fight, causing a partial rockfall that blocks the way back.  

Snow and Charming argue about the suitability of different venues and eventually of doing this at all with the Final Battle looming; Emma at last intervenes and says they ought to wait. They love each other, they’re comfortable, and there’s no need to get married at high speed just in case they all die.

In the mines, there is more arguing until the sisters stumble across a vein of fairy crystal. The Black Fairy and Gideon arrive. Assigning her minion to delay Regina, the Black Fairy leads Zelena down to her lair and baits her into doing magical battle -- which turns all of the crystal dark, meaning that they can now be used to fuel her evil, um, whatever it is she plans to do that will be the Final Battle. She then poofs the sisters away. Regina tells Zelena that she may as well go back to Oz while the rest of them clean up her mess.

Zelena summons a twister from Oz to bring her the Crimson Heart, and use it to destroy her magic, returning the crystals to their normal state and thwarting whatever the Black Fairy wanted. It was probably bad.

From Zelena, the others learn about Blue’s condition and that she is being kept on ice in Gold’s shop. Emma uses a piece of the crystal to restore her magic, meaning that she can now be wakened.

The Black Fairy appears unperturbed by the crystal setback; the really important thing is that Rumple doesn’t learn (presumably from Blue) why she gave him up as an infant.

Parallels: The very heavy-handed Oz flashback talked about how what Zelena really needs is friends, and if she wasn’t so messed up she would value their lives more than her magic, more than this idea that she needs to be the strongest witch around. In the present-day timeline, she makes that sacrifice even though other people are not necessarily behaving a friendly fashion to her.

The line “who’s ready to put their hearts into some wedding planning” feeds into “the Black Fairy has Gideon’s heart?” in one of their odder transitions to date.

Snow draws the parallel between her wedding to Charming under threat from Regina and her desire to plan Emma and Hook’s; “it gave people hope.”

Wardrobe Department:

In Hindsight: I’m gonna have to assume that Dorothy came along and rescued this guy later, and also that once Glinda got banished, all of the other witch positions went evil, because what the hell else do I make of the “wicked witch of the North”?

I don’t particularly like the way they’re writing Snow, but I do feel that it’s consistent. She’s talking about her daughter’s wedding as if it’s a political stage event, not so much taking the lead on as entirely taking over the planning process in a way that makes Emma’s participation appear an afterthought, and this is, unfortunately, the way Snow seems to work. She talks a good game, but she never seems to be on quite the same wavelength as her daughter.

On to bigger issues. I have a problem with the writing on the show this season, at least as far as the Mills sisters are concerned. Maybe this is inevitable when you try to redeem a major villain, but it’s making me very uncomfortable. I feel like they’re crossing the line between explaining and excusing villainy these days. I posted this bit separately while I was writing this review, but I’m going to include it here and expand on it a little.

The show has not been all that big on showcasing acts of direct restitution. There have been a handful for Hook, there was Rumple’s death in 3a, and Ingrid’s death. But where they have done that, I always felt like the emphasis was where it ought to be, on the damage that was done to the other character. We know a lot about Baelfire, for instance, so Hook handing him over to Pan and Rumple letting him go through the portal are very meaningful events for all of the characters; the impact is clear. Ursula’s story was swiftly but fully sketched in “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”

With “Page 23″ and “Where Bluebirds Fly,” the emphasis is on the perpetrator’s emotional pain. We never learn anything at all about Stanum, about who he is or why he got cursed or why he’s so keen to befriend Zelena. He exists in the flashback purely to provide psychological analysis that is mirrored in the present day by the Black Fairy. In “Page 23” the focus is 100% on Regina -- not the fairy who destroyed her own life trying to save her, not the father she would later murder in cold blood, and not the villagers she terrorized for years.

With these two episodes, it seems like we are supposed to feel sympathy for Regina and Zelena while they are committing some of their most terrible acts of villainy, because the story has now gone to lengths to explain that they were sad the whole time. We ignore both the suffering they cause in others and the fact that they were sad due to situations they largely created themselves. The disposability of characters in this show has always been a problem, but it seems even worse than usual to me in these episodes. Ingrid became more sympathetic to us over the course of the season, but there was never a point where the show seemed to say “well, that’s all right then” about anything that she did.

(I can talk about “Swan Song” if anyone wants, but I feel the emphasis was very different there.)

When you provide a sympathetic focus to how the villain feels *while they are engaged in acts of villainy*, that’s… well, that kinda skeeves me out. It approaches if doesn’t downright become excuse-making; the audience is led to prioritize one character’s emotional state over others’ actual lives. The victims become invisible in this scheme. Given that we’ve already replaced Robin with a new version who was never Zelena’s victim -- a novel form of erasure I must admit -- I really cannot enjoy any of this storylne.

The Mills’ sisters relationship in this episode, in this whole season, has been one dose of high-octane weird after another. They start the season on a high note, but it quickly sours; even at her nicest, with all of the darkness(™) sucked out of her heart, Regina can’t forgive Zelena for her role in Robin’s death. The evil side of Regina, meanwhile, courts Zelena on the strength of their grotesque similarities, only to betray her and eventually try to kill her. Since the two Regina halves made up and split their evil difference, Zelena has barely been in the story at all, but it seems that Regina has extended no olive branches. In this episode, Regina -- who certainly doesn’t seem any nicer to me than she ever has in the past -- is quick to take on a self-righteous tone, quick to take offense and to dismiss her sister’s losses, quick to attack when Zelena fails to cooperate. She can be magnanimous at the end of the episode, of course, secure now in being the more powerful of the Mills sisters, but I am at a loss to figure how we’re supposed to take all of this.

It seems to me that they decided against Regina as the final villain at some point, but also that they forgot to write Regina as even marginally likeable after making that choice.

As much as I enjoy looking at her, the Black Fairy continues to be the worst villain in the history of the show, on a par with Hades. There’s no THERE there, no history, no connection, no motives -- a void where there should be a story element. Literally all she has done at this point is talk (and kill that one guy in the flashback). I could not care less about whatever additional bit of sad backstory they’re going to saddle Rumple with this weekend.