#S1E13 Disappointment

[thevibraniumveterans]

REBELS REWATCH

S1E13 — CALL TO ACTION

It is evening. Ezra and Kanan are each on speeder bikes, out in Lothal’s expansive countryside, Ezra looks over to Kanan, and asks, “Aren’t we headed the wrong way?” Kanan instructs the teenager, “Don’t want to lead ‘em back to the ship. Follow me.” Ezra agrees, and looks behind him for a second, where Sabine is operating a stolen hover bike nearby. She momentarily splits away from Ezra and Kanan, intent on leading her pursuers away from her crew. She loses the Imperials on her tail, both crashing into walls she avoids with ease. Ezra follows Kanan as instructed, even as they are being shot at by the Imperial troopers chasing them. Sabine races out from an alleyway perpendicular to the main road that Ezra and Kanan are speeding down. Dodging blaster fire, they bank right and make their escape.

Moments later, it is revealed the trio have placed themselves on a high platform overlooking the street below. Ezra takes aim with his blaster/saber combo, and lets loose a single electric stun bolt, disabling the trooper tailing them on foot. He casually tells Kanan, “Told you that would work.” From behind him, Sabine puts a hand on Ezra’s shoulder, and offers him a congratulatory, “You’re finally getting the hang of this. There’s hope for you yet.” Ezra grins, and jumps down after her.

Sabine, Ezra, and Kanan make their way back to the Ghost, where Sabine brakes, and pushes her hover bike up the ramp. Kanan brings his bike to a rest, and Ezra skids his bike to a stop next to Kanan.

Back in the Ghost, the trio make their way into the main hold, where a broadcast plays. The grin immediately leaves Ezra’s face. The broadcast tells of Trayvis’ allegiance to the Empire. The broadcast switches to a shot of the Spectres, whom Trayvis labels as “insurgents” and more or less wanted criminals. Nearby, Sabine and Kanan stand watch. Sabine, like the others, have a frown on her face, disappointed by how easily they’d all been duped. Ezra is understandably upset: “Every time we win, we lose.” Kanan reassures him: “Well, I have a plan that might just even the score. If Trayvis can do it, we can do it too.” Zeb isn’t too sure about this, and asks, “What, we’re gonna send out some kind of inspirational type messages?” Kanan and Hera agrees, but Sabine and Ezra are confused. Ezra says, “Yeah, Kanan. What are you thinking? We can’t just send a signal. The Empire would track it in half a second.” However, Kanan tells him, “Not if the signal comes from one of its own towers.” Ezra takes a second to figure this out, something Kanan hopes Ezra would catch onto. Sabine catches on first and snaps her fingers. “Now I get it,” she says. Ezra, however, is incredulous: “You want to take control of an Imperial communications tower, which is pretty much impossible, and then you want to use it to send a message to the people of Lothal?” Kanan remains cryptic: “not just Lothal. One of those big towers can reach a few big systems.” Ezra thinks “that’s a crazy plan”, but Kanan notes, “That’s why you like it.” Sabine grins. Ezra turns around and wonders, “And what would we say in this message?” Kanan proposes they tell the truth, saying, “We have to let people know what it’s really like out here.” Sabine nods in agreement. Kanan asks, “Now, are you in?” Ezra says that yes, he is.

The next morning, Sabine, Ezra, and Kanan lie atop an overpass, out off sight. Kanan points out the obvious: “There it is. The Empire’s main communications tower on Lothal.” It stands at the end of a two-lane highway. Ezra is silent, contemplating. Kanan continues: “It routes comm from every Imperial operation on the planet, including the Empire’s HoloNet broadcasts.” Sabine sits up, and lowers her rangefinder, and reports: “I’ve got bucketheads on the perimeter, and at least three anti-ship batteries around the base. Not an easy trip to the front door.” Kanan offers her advice: “Don’t underestimate yourself.” Ezra agrees: “Sabine, lets be optimistic. Say we get to the front door, What then?” Sabine scoffs, then: “I could upload a data spike into the central computer, and have that transmitter operational in, I don’t know, five minutes?” Ezra says, “I said, be optimistic.” Sabine tells him, “Five minutes is optimistic.” Kanan thinks three minutes might be what Sabine should be aiming for, but she disagrees, prioritizing getting the job well done instead of with haste. Kanan understands this rebuttal, and instructs her to “scan us a holomap and lets get out of here.”

Unfortunately for them, an Imperial probe droid makes itself known. Kanan notices it, and Sabine points it out. Ezra asks if the droid has seen them yet, and Sabine says, “Not yet.” Ezra wonders how she knows this, and she tells him, “Because we’re not dead.” Obviously. As the probe droid continues on its way, the trio duck as far as their elevated positions would allow. The droid passes under the overpass, and, matching its movements, Ezra, Kanan, and Sabine head to the other side of the overhead. Ezra wonders where the bikes are, and Kanan notes that those are “next to the road”. Ezra points out that the bikes are “right where that thing will see them.” The shot reveals said bikes by the road; the green and white one that Kanan uses and that both Sabine and Ezra were checking out two episodes ago, the blue and grey hover bike Sabine was riding earlier, and the orange and green one belonging to Ezra.

Up on the flyover, Sabine says, “Hope somebody’s got an idea, or this whole plan is shot.” Kanan and Sabine notice the following silence, then turn to Ezra, who has closed his eyes and an arm stretched out in concentration, attempting to connect with the local fauna. In the long grasses, a Loth-cat stirs, then uses the bike as a springboard to leap at the probe droid. Note that Ezra is telepathically instructing the creature to mess with the droid, which spins out of control and crashes. The Loth-cat hisses, and leaves. Droid downed, the trio stand up. Surprised, Sabine crosses her arms, and notes, “I could have blasted it and gotten that result.” Fair point, “but then the Empire would suspect something was up,” says Ezra. Kanan approves: “Good thinking, Padawan.” Sabine admits, “Okay. It’s touching when you two bond, but I’m betting that probe has friends, so lets move it.” They slide down the archway, run to their bikes, and speed off, unaware that the droid is recording their escape.

Back on the Ghost, Ezra tinkers with what looks like the old transmitter that used to belong to his parents, while Sabine prepares a data spike. Hera, Zeb, and Chopper keep watch. Ezra says, “If it works, we should be able to use this—” He taps the side of the old machine. “—to transmit directly through the tower.” Kanan walks in and wonders how things are progressing, and Sabine, putting the final touches on the data spike she was referring to earlier, taps the resident droid and says, “Well, Chopper has the spike.” She gives Chopper the spike for safe keeping, then continues, “We get him into the tower and he can upload it right into the computer core from any terminal.” She crosses her arms, proud of her plan. Chopper doesn’t like this plan, but Zeb thinks Chopper will have it easy. Kanan wonders what the spike’s range is. Sabine, evidently knowledgeable about electrical transmission systems in a way no other 15-year-old would know, says, “As long as the tower is transmitting, we’re good to go. Everyone will hear what we say. Well, anyone who’s listening.” Aware of the dangers this presents, her voice drops on that last sentence, and she looks off to the side. Having been watching Sabine when she was talking, Ezra looks back at the machine, and presses a few buttons. Kanan and Hera confirm that she would pick the crew up once the spike has done its job. Sabine injects a little sarcasm into her comment: “And things always go according to plan, right?” Knowing full well they don’t. Interestingly enough, Ezra frowns, and agrees: “She’s right about that.” Kanan, thinking this odd, asks Ezra: “What’s with you?” The teenager brushes him off, so Kanan suggests they “take a walk” to hash out some issues. Sabine, puzzled, watches Ezra leave the room. Hera and Kanan shrug.

Ezra stands at the entrance of the Ghost’s loading ramp, arms crossed, lost in thought. He exhales defeatedly, and Kanan asks, “What’s on your mind?” (It’s also an important moment that tells the audience of Ezra’s willingness to open up about his thoughts, something he took to heart a few episodes back.) Ezra says, “I’m not sure we should go through with this.” Kanan knows otherwise, because why else would Ezra have followed through with the earlier stages of this mission? Ezra, however, tells Kanan: “I know that’s what you want to think, but look. As much as I wish I was like my parents, I’m not.” (For reference, his parents were brave enough to openly speak out against the Empire, rallying people to their cause) Ezra, downtrodden, turns away to face the horizon again. Kanan knows Ezra is hiding something, so Ezra has to confront his past, even though he’s clearly unhappy. Guilt-ridden, Ezra admits, “My parents spoke out and I lost them, and I don’t…” He’s frustrated. “…I don’t want to lose you guys, okay? Not over this.” Kanan tries to sympathize by saying “All of us have lost things.” He warns, “And we will take more losses before this is over. But we can’t let that stop us from taking risks. We have to move forward.” Ezra looks away again. Kanan continues, “And when the time comes, we have to be ready to sacrifice for something bigger.” Acknowledging the sheer weight of that statement, Ezra furrows his brows, and says, “That sounds good, but it’s not so easy.” Kanan says it wasn’t easy for him either, and that he didn’t truly understand it until he tries to teach it to Ezra. The teenager in question looks up, and nods.

Night falls. Sabine races down the highway to the comm tower, a large canister of rhydonium in tow. She expertly dodges heavy fire, swerves, and uses the speed of her hover bike to jump into a running start. She intentionally allows the hoverbike and its cargo to crash into a turbo laser battery and explode. Tumbling forward and blasters out, she downs two troopers in quick succession. (The skill needed to carry out such a series of maneuvers is pretty high,) Zeb helps her take out another battery, and just as the chaos begins to die down, Ezra and Kanan arrive on their speeder bikes, with Chopper in tow. Having sighted Sabine upon arrival at the scene, they skid to a halt in front of her, and dismount. Sabine looks up at the tower, then watches as the trio approach. Raising her blasters back up, she leads the way into the tower, followed by Kanan. Behind him, Ezra unclips his saber/blaster combo from his belt, and cautiously scans for any further threats.

Inside, Sabine shoots two troopers in their chests, killing them. Of course. Kanan rushes inside, vaults the control panel, and tells Sabine she has only three minutes to carry out her task. She instructs Chopper to “install the spike”. Kanan is alerted to Imperial presence; Sabine, alarmed, gets to her feet. Once Kanan goes outside to deal with the issue, Sabine runs in the opposite direction, and into the space Kanan just left. The spike plugs in. Outside, Ezra holds up his saber/blaster combo, and says “Time’s up,” as Kanan joins him. TIEs and Imperial transports are on their way.

Kanan comms Sabine: “We got targets incoming. Let’s move!” At that, Ezra’s expression goes from one of concern to determination. Inside, Sabine notes, “You said I’d get three minutes.” Kanan tells her she’s only got one minute, “so hurry up!” Chopper voices displeasure, and Sabine agrees. Close by, Zeb is manning the gun turrets, and Kanan instructs Ezra to “get Zeb”, but Ezra counters: “I’m staying right here.” Kanan overrides Ezra’s disagreement: “No, you’re getting Zeb then coming back here. Now go!” Ezra reluctantly turns away, hops on his bike, and speeds away. Kanan tells Hera that plans have changed. Inside, the spike fully uploads, and Chopper removes it. Sabine tells Chopper that she’s “got a signal. It worked. Let’s go.” She runs out, Chopper close behind. Ezra skids his bike near Zeb’s gun turret, and relays Kanan’s orders; Zeb, being Zeb, complains. It isn’t until the turret gets shot that Zeb relents, and Ezra brings him back to Kanan. However, upon their arrival back at the entrance, Sabine steps out, and Kanan warns her, “Not this way. Back inside.” Sabine, incredulous, asks: “Are you crazy?!” Ezra and Zeb dismount the bike, and Kanan instructs them and Sabine to “Take the lift. Hera will meet you at the top.” Ezra asks Kanan, “What about you?” Kanan tells him he’ll take the next lift. Zeb pushes Ezra further into the tower. Kanan, outside, ignites his saber, and reassures Ezra he’ll be right behind him. Though worried, Ezra understands, and nods solemnly. Kanan clicks the door shut.

Ezra, Chopper, Sabine, and Zeb reach the top of the communications tower, and Ezra rushes to the railing: “Where’s Kanan?” Unfortunately for him and and his companions, an LAAT/le patrol gunship makes itself known, with troopers inside shooting at the Spectres. A shot hits the railing, and Ezra dives to the floor. Sabine is momentarily shielded by Zeb, who runs after a second. While Kanan is cornered at ground level, the Spectres (save Hera, incoming on the Phantom) have their hands up, a spotlight shining at them. Sabine is the first to move; grabbing an explosive off her utility belt, she lobs it at the gunship in front of them. Ezra watches from beside her. The explosive, well, explodes, taking the gunship out with it.

Ezra, looking over the railing, spots Kanan get cornered by the Inquisitor down at ground level, and starts panicking. Lucky for him, Sabine, Chopper, and Zeb, Hera swings by with the Phantom. The Spectres, save Ezra, board the Phantom. The Imperials are shooting at the Phantom from below, and Ezra is the last to board it. Kanan orders Hera to “get out of here”, but Hera refuses. Ezra makes his way to pilot’s seat beside Hera, bypassing Sabine. She allows this. Kanan insists there is “No time! Go!” Ezra is adamant that “We can’t!” Nevertheless, Kanan insists that Hera get the Spectres away from the Tower. She closes the Phantom’s bay door before Ezra can have second thoughts.

The next morning, the Inquisitor presents Tarkin with Kanan, whose fellow Spectres are revealed to have “gained control of the tower’s transmitter.” From inside the Ghost, Ezra remotely broadcasts the following message: “We have been called criminals, but we are not. We are rebels, fighting for the people, fighting for you.” Sabine sits next to him on the lounge seat. He continues, “I’m not that old, but I remember a time when things were better on Lothal. Maybe not great, but never like this.” The message is broadcast far and wide. The messages goes on, “See what the Empire has done to your lives, your families and your freedom? It’s only gonna get worse, unless we stand up and fight back. It won’t be easy. There will be loss and sacrifice. But we can’t back down just because we’re afraid. That’s when we need to stand the tallest. That’s what my parents taught me. That’s what my new family helped me remember. Stand up together. Because that’s when we’re the strongest, as one.”

The tower collapses in flames. On board the Ghost, Ezra finishes the broadcast, only to hear garbled static. Sabine looks up from the transmitter at Ezra. He too, looks at her, but addresses the Spectres and asks, “Was it worth it?” He turns to Hera. “You think anybody heard?” Hera thinks so. Ezra notes, “This isn’t over.” Hera agrees. Sabine shifts her line of sight from Hera to Ezra, who looks away.

[ontheropesss]

House M.D. S1E13 is giving me major vibes:

"I left your mother, I didn’t leave you" – Rowan Chase to Robert Chase

"I loved him until I realized that it hurts a lot less to just not care … I’ve given him enough hugs. He’s given me enough disappointments" – Robert Chase to Gregory House

"... Nothing you can do about it. He's your dad. It doesn't matter what he does, you're gonna love him." - Robert Chase to patient

Rowan, offering his son a handshake when he leaves. Robert, giving him a hug. Rowan, smiling.

[vynxwave]

When I first got onto Tumblr to see what people were saying about Season 2a, I was shocked! Everyone keeps saying (even now) "I was disappointed by Season 2 by the lower animation quality, worse writing, they ruined Starscream by making him suddenly evil, and how could the Decepticons return to being evil after they were freed from GHOST?"

I wonder if this subplot from S1E16 Warzone wasn't cut for time if more people would understand Starscream better for its characterization of him before S1E21 What Dwells Within, from how blatant it is? Although, it's not exactly unknown to the fandom, so I suppose it's wishful thinking. Some neat details could've been gleaned from it (his scheming/Soundwave's imprisonment paying off, his perspective on Megatron, Ravage being implied to have sneaked around GHOST multiple times since S1E08 Decoy).

Most of the interpretations I saw about Starscream and the Decepticons I honestly couldn't agree with because it felt like people were ignoring who each of the Decepticons were as individuals in favor of "Decepticons aren't all bad" because teaming up to save themselves from someone who wants all Cybertronians to perish somehow nullifies their hatred of humanity/Autobots and years spent evading GHOST/the Autobots or time being imprisoned by GHOST aided by the Autobots?

Also, I feel like Dot's words on Decepticons (in S1E04 [after Swindle leaves the Maltos' and then after Dot and Bee chase him off for attacking Thrash and Mo] and S1E13 [when Nightshade seeks Dot's input then disappears before Dot could ask if they had met a Decepticon, making her later share her worries about Nightshade with Alex]) shouldn't be divorced from their contexts nor from how the Decepticons actually acted and thought. It'd feel strange if the faction they had all pledged themselves to meant nothing about any of their beliefs?

S2E1 "The Decepticons helped us for a minute since, y'know, we freed them from GHOST jail and saved their lives" isn't an accurate description of how the Decepticons themselves saw it, it's the kids' perspective. Humans and Autobots were their captors in the first place on Earth after the war 'ended', how could they ever be grateful to them?

Starscream's definitely one of my favorite characters in TFE, it's a shame people don't want to accept him for who he actually is in this series. Is Starscream, a Transformers character known for his many negative traits, pursuing his evil goals above all else really that much of a shock?

I do feel like people missed that his obsession with power in S2E09 is shown to be detrimental to himself along with everything/everyone else he had. I never felt that his line "Hashtag, my advice was: remember to take care of yourself. Which is exactly what I am doing" was a retcon of his initial advice like I've seen people say it was; to me it felt like a purposeful choice for him to go back on the meaning -- to show that he's willing to throw away everything in pursuit of coming out on top. The implication of him believing taking care of himself means having power is interesting; it shows the only way Starscream knows how to live is by having/seeking power. And now, he has nothing.

I think it's neat how the ending message directly contrasts with what Starscream has done: "But! We fought so hard for so long, like you said." "I know. But look at all we've done without it. The power's in us. I don't think we need the Emberstone anymore, honest. It already gave us the only thing we actually do need: each other."

I feel you on not looking at the EarthSpark tag on here. I love analyzing things and seeing the care that creatives put into their work; I wish the fandom stopped acting as if S2a is the worst thing ever when they're taking it in bad faith. So much of the negative analyses/reviews I've seen on S2a just feels like they didn't try to understand it; it's hard to find anybody talking lovingly about it without reservations about what they misunderstood about it. Of course, everybody's entitled to their opinion/thoughts on S2a, but I just feel like the fandom has largely misconstrued it which had led to their dislike of it. It feels like people believe the crew doesn't care about the characters or stories. But they do care! [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6] I'm also, honestly, really confused at people's apparent lack of understanding about the animation industry in regards to EarthSpark?

@vynxluvzsoundwave You left the tags on this post but I hope it's okay to respond in a separate one because I actually really like Starscream in Earthspark as well! I think he's really interesting and there's a lot I could say about him. You're so right to point out he was planning his scheme from season 2 basically the entire time we've seen him in the show, even when he was barely in the first season, there was foreshadowing all along! It was so cool! I actually like this Starscream enough that sometimes I picture him and not the G1 version when I think of Starscream!

I really loved Starscream's leadership style in Earthspark. I liked how, as Aftermath explained, the Decepticons really didn't speak unless spoken to and everything's was kind of cold and detached and work-oriented. Starscream comes across as a competent planner until the very end of season 2. I also noticed that he didn't treat Skywarp, Nova Storm, or anyone else under his command as cruelly as back in season 1... which suggests he took Hashtag's criticism, and also shows that I think Starscream in Earthspark really shows that day-to-day, Starscream can treat people totally fine. But when he finally has the chance to make a grab for ultimate power, he'll go for that and start going on a rampage and his other priorities fall to the wayside, and I think that's really interesting.

This contrasts with Megatron, who's given advice throughout the series to just terrorize people into listening to you, and who thought Twitch and Spitfire should fight to the death in season 2. Megatron is really authoritarian, and it seems like as a leader, he would just beat anyone spreading dissent into submission. However, he seemed to have had some kind of an actual plan and vision for the Decepticon faction in general. Starscream kind of seems like the opposite of this, where when his plans come close to succeeding, he becomes focused on his own glory to his own detriment. Starscream comes across as much cooler than Megatron IMO, much more in-control while Megatron has kind of been floundering and pathetic. I thought that was fun.

Also, I liked how Starscream kind of had a very calm persona for most of the season, but there was that moment early on when Shockwave let him squawk a little before Shockwave revealed he got what Starscream wanted XD It was a nice look behind the veil lol

[belowthedot]

[kosemsultanim]

Hatice Sultan + Costumes (Part 2)

[martianbugsbunny]

OUAT Thoughts Pt.5--Episode 12

I have watched through S1E13; spoilers DNI. Also, spoiler warning for those further behind than I am.

So, @abovethemists, I hope this review satisfies your curiosity, I do my best! Your slightly ominous reply had me really anticipating this episode, and I must say I was not disappointed.

—First of all, how many times can I say “sexy” in one post?

—Rumplestiltskin’s saunter is just heavenly. I know I’ve already devoted entirely too much time to agonizing over the beauty of his body language, but that is absolutely the walk of a man who knows he owns whatever room he’s in. Also, that saunter just looks so gosh-darn good on him.

—Bit weird of Rump to always be spinning his web of deals when he could probably just smite everybody. Maybe he just thinks this is more fun? (It is, btw.)

—I love his clothes. Other characters’ costumes, particularly in the fairytale world, are generally mid-tier, with an occasional foray into either excellence or disgusting, but Rump’s clothes are always gorgeous. The leather pants, not everyone could pull off (but he does, trust me). The vests, whether they’re leather, crocodiley, and/or embroidered, have outstanding collars and cuts. Actually, the vests are the highlight of Rump’s wardrobe. And those satiny-type blouses are exactly the kind of blouse I dream of wearing.

—Mr. Gold looks great wearing sunglasses. I love the Rump content; that and coffee power my life at this point, but Mr. Gold has got it going too. So I guess my motivation in life at the moment is about 67% Rumplestiltskin, 12% coffee, and 21% Mr. Gold.

—Mr. Gold’s house is gorgeous. I would love to live there. The stained glass, the green-and-salmon paint on the outside…it’s just exquisite.

—Okay, so we got to see more of Mr. Gold’s mean streak in this episode, which to be honest is the main draw for me. Rump gets to be cutthroat all the time, but this is the first time Mr. Gold has really been ruthless.

—Actually, he’s a bit frightening. I think “menacing” describes him best; he’s surely more subtle than Rump—most of the time—but he’s still scary. I would not double-cross that man.

—Mr. Gold using his cane as a weapon was pretty cool.

—Rump’s house in the fairytale world is even more gorgeous than his “real” world house. I mean, it’s on a snowy mountain, and it’s huge, and very elegantly-decorated. The rugs are beautiful, and I love the sheer size of the rooms. And his furniture, what we’ve seen of it, is highly tasteful. Oh, and the curtains are stunning.

—I have no choice but to stan Belle, as I, too, would fall in love with Rump.

—I appreciate that we’re getting to see a little bit more of Rump and the Evil Queen’s deal in the fairytale world showing through. Although, if all he has to do is say “please” and she does whatever he likes, he could get so much more than he’s currently using that for.

—I’m sorry, but I just can’t take the Evil Queen seriously when Rump is in the same room or vicinity. He’s so much more powerful, and frankly more clever.

—While Mr. Gold became a bit more vicious, Rump got some new feelings. I love a good anguish-of-love storyline (even if I’m not entirely convinced yet that I like the romance angle for Rump). Him being the Beast in Belle’s story is pretty fine, though. I didn’t see that one coming.

—Speaking of pretty fine….

—Just kidding! To hear me talk, you’d think nothing but Rump happened in episode 12 (though he was the most important part) but I’m very happy for Ashley and her guy. They deserve to get married and have their happily-ever-after.

—I have nearly given up on remembering which spelling of Shawn/Sean/Shaun, or if that’s even his name in the “real” world.

—Almost forgot—what the heck is up with the Evil Queen locking Belle in the hospital basement?!! That’s insanely creepy!

—At least now I know for sure that both Mr. Gold and the Evil Queen are aware of who they really are.

—Rump covering all of the mirrors in his house so the Evil Queen can’t spy on him is top-tier brain usage. Although, one might wonder why he keeps mirrors in his house at all.

—Referring to my earlier side note, I have rather complicated feelings on romance being part of Rump’s motivation. On one hand, romance is a wildly cliche motivator for villains. Now, of course I have to acknowledge at this point that I have put Rump on a pretty high pedestal, but he deserves to be there. He’s much better-written, charismatic, and convincing than most villains I’ve seen. However, I’m pleased that romance is not what started him on his villainous path; in fact, having it be a secondary motivator is a somewhat fresh take on the cliche. I also have to add that it adds another dimension to his character, and that having his anger renewed at a point I’m assuming is years after his original turn to villainy is a clever idea. The problem is that when a love story enters the chat, it usually takes over, for any variety of character. If Rump escapes without being depicted as little more than a lovesick weakling, I predict that I will be, in the end, most pleased with the turn his backstory has taken.

[biscottibitch]

“Disappoint anyone. Hell, disappoint everyone, but don’t ever disappoint yourself.”

- Benny Severide, Chicago Fire S1E13

[lao-pendragon]

(1/3) different anon, i have to agree about that arwen ask. imo season 1 was peak arwen because the writers then weren't rushing to make a romance. arthur & gwen actually had a lowkey but believable friendship. remember that scene in s1e10 where arthur hates the food hunith gives him & as soon as she looks away, he pretty much throws it at gwen while gwen looks at him like a disappointed babysitter? that was good, it's similar to how real friends act. they had a good foundation, too, because

(2/3) arthur's character arc was changing from spoiled arrogant prince to respectable & dignified king-to-be. getting close to merlin has made arthur treat servants better, a tiny bit more like equals. at the beginning of s1, gwen thought arthur was this shallow bully, but thanks to merlin's influence, we see gwen being able to talk some sense into arthur too & occasionally knock him down a peg. by s1e13 it's clear she's genuinely respects + cares for him. even most of s2e02 was good because

3/3) of that scene where gwen just fucking snaps. she 100% stops giving a damn about social protocol & gives arthur a piece of her mind. it's satisfying to watch since he deserves it. that confrontation feels like two REAL friends from vastly different backgrounds trying to settle their differences, the less privileged friend informing her spoiled friend of his behavior which he doesn't even notice. the writers ruined that painstakingly built dynamic by jumping too hard too fast into romance.

Your thoughts are interesting because I think of it pretty differently :) We both seem to interpret the scenes different but either way, get the idea that these two aren’t working together. I write you a whole encyclopedia about why Merthur is amazing but I just don’t care enough about Arwen to get into details xDD

[ladywynneoutlander]

They so hate to disappoint each other. 

Have you ever imagined how it would be if Jamie and Claire had stayed at Lallybroch? Jamie would have been so happy and proud when Claire told him she was with child. They could have enjoyed the pregnancy together. He could have spoiled her, and they could have spent hours discussing baby names. When Claire’s time came Jamie would be a total mess, but there for her. *sigh*

Outlander Countdown to Season 4: Favorite Jamie and Claire Moments: S1E13 The Watch

[madscientistutm]

Countdown to the New TMNT Series: “New Girl in Town” Look Back

TMNT 2012 S1E13 (#13): “New Girl in Town” Analysis

Character can really make up for a lot of shortcomings. Karai never posed a physical threat in this series and she ultimately would live up to that. Her character is salvaged thanks to a sharp (if limited) performance by Kelly Hu, as well as a sharp tongue in the first two seasons that led to some good lines and some good back and forths, particularly with Leonardo and Tiger Claw (she even fits in a retort for Shredder here). The only times she did pose a threat is when the protagonists held back in battle against her or when she worked behind the scenes like she did in the latter half of the third season. Leonardo is in fact onto something when she describes Karai as “fun” to April since it’s a joy seeing her outsmart or out sass either one of the turtles or any of the other Foot mutants (most of all Tiger Claw of course) and she also becomes a bit more compelling once the full details of her past emerge. However, the former is unfortunately lost more and more when the latter occurs and the creators began to take her character and her situation far too seriously after “The Wrath of Tiger Claw”. By that point, she practically becomes reduced to a carrot on a stick to dangle in front of our main protagonists--Leonardo and Splinter most of all.

Of course there’s also a chance for character that is lost in “New Girl in Town” as well. This entry finally answers a question that most fans, I’m sure, have had on their minds a lot: If Raphael can win in a fight against any of his brothers, why can’t he be the leader? Obviously he’s referred to that in the 1990 film and will reclaim that title in the upcoming ‘Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ series, but that title is absent throughout all the other versions of the TMNT that are out there. Keep in mind that Leonardo, at several points, declares how he doesn’t want the burden of leadership. It makes one wonder how naive Leonardo was when he raised his hand and asked to be the leader back in the pilot episode. Obviously, Leonardo is bound to take steps that will, for better and worse, clue him into the harsh realities and the consequences of making choices as a leader and the effects it will have on his character, but the creators never really make it clear that Leonardo is truly fed up with the role of being a leader or that he is just fed up with Raphael holding himself on a higher pedestal than him. Is this really just a kind of subconscious revenge against Raphael? Is he really just tired of Raph pushing his buttons or does he want to see Raph fail? Either way, especially since a leader is someone who’s supposed to let things roll off his/her back (as Leo did a pretty good job of back in “Never Say Xever”), both of them make the plot of Raph taking leadership seem forced since Leonardo, as mentioned, was so eager to take on the role. 

Obviously we find out by the end why Raph is not leader, and the episode does end up making its point fairly decently (Raph abuses his comrades, puts himself first, and thus can’t think of proper strategy that would allow his comrades to win while putting them in the least possible jeopardy), but it still misses another big chance by not having Leonardo present during the battle against Snakeweed. Obviously, the script tries to excuse that by juggling more than one storyline. The ‘main’ storyline, that being of Karai’s presence and the need to draw Leonardo into her life (as is common in this franchise), is used to keep Leo out of the ‘secondary’ storyline of letting Raphael try his hand at leadership. But this robs us of a chance to see Leonardo subjugated to Raph’s rule and how Raphael would try (and fail) to utilize Leonardo in the fight against Snakeweed in his lair. This also denies us a chance to see Leonardo react to Raph’s ultimate failure to lead the team and if Raph himself can both recover and learn from his mistakes. There’s some clever lines and some fun scattered throughout this entry, so that even with the trouble that the creators had in reconciling these two storylines, we almost feel tempted to follow Raph’s rushed words of “...All’s forgiven...” if we can just move on.

PERSONAL NOTES

Leonardo has it right when he says that relationships are complicated. It’s true not only because of the truth about Karai that’s revealed ahead, but how the creators are going to handle that relationship. Again, note how I described Karai as a carrot on a stick.

Splinter perhaps should’ve added after his line about leadership and responsibility, “Maybe you should’ve considered that when you asked to become leader.” As stated, a leader has to let things roll off his back and Leo’s obviously going to see how harsh the role of leadership truly is with the more calls he has to make, but it would’ve given Leo a better chance to reflect on his actions right then and there.

This series has very few human designs which is why you’ll see so few New York residents outside the two that end up being rescued by the turtles. This is very disappointing since the best animated shows don't reduce themselves to being that limited. 

You’ve heard from me, The Mad Scientist. Now it’s your turn. 

[remembermemorablememories]

Sunday, August 12, 2018

post #216

main points

- chill at home for the early afternoon

- watch antman 2 with milan at 4:35pm

- eat dinner at a pizza place in san mateo

- uber back home and chill at home 

today i:

- woke up around 10:30am. man i’m so tired from the weekend. lazed around until like 11:30-12pm again

- made a pb&j sandwich with my newly bought bread. watched an episode of the office. then made pasta with my newly given alfredo sauce from jwoos from last night (since he’s moving out after next week). watched another episode of the office S8E9 and S8E10

- went to my room and did some logistical stuff. ordered gifts for my two mentors. did a coding interview question (mentally in my head for like 10 minutes)

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/find-the-longest-substring-with-k-unique-characters-in-a-given-string/

i got an nlogn solution in my head by sorting the string but it can actually be done in O(n) time with two pointers. wrote up the blog posts for friday. chilled on youtube 

- ubered to the san mateo movie theater around 4pm. met up with milan there and went into the theater for the 4:35pm movie. we thought we’d be late but we had way more than enough time cause of the trailers in the front of the movie. we were supposed to go mini-golfing with alexa but she had to cancel cause she said she thought she’d recover by today but apparently she’s been sick for a while :/ i was fine with a chill movie day tbh, i was so tired :p 

- watched antman 2 from 4:35-7pm ish. it was a pretty good movie. lots of comedy and pretty entertaining. it wasn’t like mindblowingly good though (imo). the post credits scene gave me goosebumps though. god damn

- milan and i found a place called north beach pizza nearby the theater and walked over and ate there. i had a salad and lasagna and he had ravioli. we just caught up about how work is going and plans for the rest of the summer/going back to school. i don’t think i’ve ever hung out with milan one on one but it was cool and nice seeing how he was doing

- ubered back home around 8pm. my uber driver was SO cool. another express poooler started talking to him about the music he was playing and he said he made the playlist from guardians of the galaxy. he looked like he was in his 50s or 60s or so and he went on to tell us that he collected marvel comics. like thousands of them when he was a kid in the 60s and 70s. after the woman got off, i talked to him more about marvel movies. i told him how i just came from seeing antman 2. he talked about spiderman, how it was his favorite character and was so excited to see it when it first came out (with toby maguire). that must’ve been so cool, following the comic books to them becoming a reality in the 2000s. he also talked a bit about his comic book collection, how he should’ve maintained them in better condition but was still able to sell some of them for like $800. hot damn. he was also really friendly, he said he worked at a non-profit and a church. he was just all around a wholesome guy and probably the nicest/coolest uber driver i’ve ever met

- got home around 8:35pm. chilled and watched some youtube videos. watched the season finale of megalo box S1E13. i was kind of thrown off by it. i honestly thought it was kind of disappointing. it jumped from yuri and joe fighting in the ring to like a year ahead in time. i looked it up on reddit and i guess since megalobox is supposed to be an adaptation from a previous anime, people thought joe was going to die. but he didn’t. idk, the ending was kind of meh

- took a long shower. flossed, brushed my teeth. catching up on friday’s, saturday’s and today’s blog posts

now it’s 11:25pm. i’m ready to pass out

good night

[nvr0fen]

Jessica Jones S1E13 spoilers

Finally. Finally a hero who kills the villain. For a brief moment, while she was holding him, I thought that she would have let him live and gave him to the “justice” and I was ready to get disappointed like in quite every other superhero’ s series/film. But then I saw the light in her eyes and that little smile and I felt so relived. Seeing her snapping that asshole’s neck was one of the best things ever. Yes violence only leads to more violence, but he deserved it, he would’ve never changed or learnd from his mistakes and with all probability he would have soon escaped. So I’m just very happy with an hero who has the guts to do what’s right.

[belowthedot]