#S2E4 The Great and the Good

[fanficrocks]

When a toerag got into the boss's head...

Complete with the purple socks for Pride month.

DS Hathaway: I'm not going watch you doing this to yourself, you know I'm not. There is nothing here about your wife. Let it go.

DI Lewis: How can I? It's in my head now.

And so, of course Hathaway stays back and helps Lewis look for what is not there.

Screencaps courtesy kissthemgoodbye.net.

[theladyfae]

i need to have Words with whoever translated the script into hindi for good omens 2 and decided on. “nightingale nahin gungunayenge” for that one line cause that shit wrecked me what do you MEAN the nightingale WON’T sing ????? implying it’s there and it could but it Won’t and they could so easily have said “the nightingale isn’t singing” but they didn’t, and the “won’t” adds a sort of weird air to it where it could possibly be encouraged to sing again (if aziraphale stays), but crowley can tell it’s already a lost cause, and somehow that feels worse than the idea that there aren’t any nightingales at all, and. :(

[unhingedpirates]

And then he went and said, "it's a very rare thing. To find someone who understand you."

he said he's looking for a "new best friend" what you dont understand is that more than the romance he misses being understood, he misses the back and forth, the drinks in the evening, the special breakfast laid out for just him every morning. He misses stede's friendship 🥲

[optimisticrunawayspider]

Legiterally the only good thing about msm is Miles and also Otto

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Always just wrecks me how good Stede is at breaking down Ed's insecurities. He just gets him SO WELL and he knows exactly what will make him feel better.

"I'm not a good person, Stede, that's why I don't have any friends!" It might've been so tempting to address the first part of that, that Ed's not a good person, because we know that's not true and Stede knows it, too. But Ed is clearly not in the right space to be changing fundamental worldviews about himself right now. So Stede just gives him a simple "hey! I'm your friend." Efficient, to the point, absolutely no way to argue against it. Ed has a friend. He can be sure of it, because Stede's his friend.

And then their conversation in s2e4, where Ed is still so very vulnerable and hurt. Ed is trying so hard to choose to live, but it's been tough in this episode, and it feels like everyone's angry with him and he's getting sole blame for everything. And Ed's just not ready to hear Stede tell him he loves him. It's true and they both know it, and Ed doesn't deny it ("you don't get to say that to me," he says, not "that's not true"), but Stede is able to pivot so so smoothly to really tell Ed exactly what he needs to know without making him uncomfortable.

It would've been so easy for Ed to read almost anything Stede told him as geniune. He doesn't believe he's a good person, and any positive character traits Stede points out right now could either be used as evidence that he's just Blackbeard (things like being a great pirate, being a good sailor, even being smart), and if Stede started talking about how lovely and sweet and kind Ed is, he's not in the right space to believe that. Worse, these things could confirm for Ed that if he doesn't live up to certain character traits Stede likes, Stede might leave him again. But Stede hits him with "I love everything about you! Just being near you!" And instantly Ed knows that there are no expectations here, there's nothing he has to do other than be Ed, and Stede will love him. Because Stede's favorite thing in the world is just being near him.

Stede Bonnet. Romantic hero of all time.

[thesunsethour]

Tumblr in Westeros (S2E4)

🔗 maesterofsex follow

daemon targaryen summer

🔆 duskendalerebels follow

what does this mean

🔗 maesterofsex follow

rotting in my room and forgetting to brush my hair. perhaps being haunted by ghosts

467 notes

🐍 divinerightofkingaegon follow

May the Seven bless the soul of King Aegon II Targaryen! Slain in battle protecting his kingdom! Slain by the forces of Rhaenyra the Cruel!

🗺️ 420blazewaterbay follow

🦀🦀🦀

18,589 notes

⚓️ lordlannisterpleasepaymydebts follow

king viserys is dead prince lucerys is dead and me l feel also not so good

⚓️ lordlannisterpleasepaymydebts follow

prince jaehaerys is dead erryk and arryk cargyll are dead and me i feel also not so good

⚓️ lordlannisterpleasepaymydebts follow

princess rhaenys is dead king aegon is dead and me i feel also not so good

🌼 tyrellrosetintedglasses follow

Just Another Day On Normal Island

12,774 notes

🏰 thebutchandthemaidenfemme follow

Aegon: The haters said I couldn’t do it. And they were correct. Honestly great call from the haters

56,563 notes

🪝winteriscummingwhosaysno follow

yooooooo FINALLY a proper DRAGON BATTLE 🐉🐦‍🔥 EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

🏵️ vivathesmallfolk follow

yeah epic. three of my brothers died and my family are now refugees

🍺 tavernwench follow

how about we don’t trauma dump on other people’s posts

47 notes

🥮 mothermaidencrone follow

what if your dad DIED and you were PREGNANT and your husband was GAY and then you GOT YOUR RIGHTFUL CROWN STOLEN

🥮 mothermaidencrone follow

this happened to my good friend queen rhaenyra targaryen

89,312 notes

🌽 sweetestsummerchild follow

(most normal voice ever) oh the other death of a royal on dragonback? yeah that was also an accident

🔰 cristoncolebabygirl follow

hashtag i support prince aemond’s wrongs

339 notes

🟢 alerieflowers13653729 follow

Pray tell does any man have history book recommendations? I would prefer some books centring around the glory days of King Aegon the Conquerer. Should any man have any knowledge on the subject, do not hesitate to seek contact.

♟️anothericebrickinthewall follow

does op firstnamebunchofnumbers know that this site is for the SMALLFOLK. take your highborn ass elsewhere, your (dis)grace

57,579 notes

[feministsouthpark]

South Park Filler Guide - Season 2

Link for Part 1

I find the existence of filler guides quite amusing, since for some shows it makes sense (like Naruto), but for others (like Pokemon) it absolutely doesn't and they still exist. So here is an attempt to do an absolutely unnecessary one just for fun. 😅

The classifications are CANON (an episode with major storylines present), LORE (in which we get significant backstory or world building, but could be skippable)  and FILLER (completely skippable episodic storytelling, not connected to overarching story arcs)

PLS my analysis will have spoilers, if you're a first time viewer, just scroll to the bottom and read the list and only read full text if you are familiar with the content of the show already!

S2E1 Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus is FILLER

This is the definition of filler, and not even a good filler, but the one that drags. The whole episode is a waste of time, and a horrible season opener if you ask me. I don't even care if Saddam Hussein dies in this one, skip it anyway, all you need to know for his next appearance is that he is already dead, which will be obvious and TBH since the movie gives a different story about his death, this one might as well take place in an alternate continuity. S2E2 Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut is CANON

We're back with the conclusion of the season 1 mystery. For now. S2E3 Ike's Wee Wee is CANON

Kyle learns the secret of his brother and he also gets a great deal of character development that makes this episode a must-watch. S2E4 Chickenlover is FILLER

A great character episode for Officer Barbrady, nontheless a filler half hour of the show. S2E5 Conjoined Fetus Lady is FILLER

One might enjoy this one for Pip. Or for Nurse Gollum. But not for its long-lasting consequences, that one is for sure. S2E6 The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka is LORE

This one is debatable, and the one that I would think most people would actually debate on, since most of it is a one off story, however there is a single scene at the end with Satan and Saddam, which acts as foreshadowing for the movie, so that one scene provides context, however the movie is enjoyable without this little introduction. S2E7 City on the Edge of Forever (Flashbacks) is FILLER

Again, you can't make more specific filler content than a whole episode that is just a dream. Stan dreams that Eric dreams that Ms. Crabtree falls in love. S2E8 Summer Sucks is FILLER

I was thinking about the Mr. Twig storyline. It does build up Herbert's identity as a gay man. However looking at it, this doesn't seem like manga original content, rather, this hits every usual beat of an anime-exclusive filler arc. Edit: I know South Park is not based on a manga, it's an elaborate joke. S2E9 Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls is FILLER

Anything that gets brought up later from this episode is counted as filler content, so in the long run it doesn't matter. S2E10 Chickenpox is FILLER

Stuart and Gerald get some backstory, but otherwise the whole story is a one-off. S2E11 Roger Ebert Should Lay off the Fatty Foods is FILLER

I believe this one was expected. Nothing in this episode matters by the next. S2E12 Clubhouses is FILLER

Randy and Sharon divorce. They get back together by the end. Bebe likes Kyle. She doesn't by the end of the episode. Typical filler stuff. S2E13 Cow Days is FILLER

The Terrance and Phillip dolls never appear again. Neither does Eric believing himself to be a Vietnamese prostitute called Ming Lee have any consequences. S2E14 Chef Aid is FILLER

Herbert Garrison's filler arc with Mr. Twig comes to an end. Chef sleeps with a lot of women. End of episode. S2E15 Spookyfish is FILLER

I love this episode, but Sharon being crazy and all the paralell universe stuff are solely for this one. S2E16 Merry Christmas Charlie Manson! is FILLER

Eric now has a bunch of family members, none of which we ever see again. S2E17 Gnomes is CANON

It may come as a surprise after such a long string of fillers, but since the gnomes return and Tweek becomes a major player later, it only makes sense for this episode to be seen as fairly plot-heavy. S2E18 Prehistoric Ice Man is FILLER

Stan and Kyle get into a fight and then make up. The iceman never returns.

… SPOILER-FREE RUNDOWN

Again, CANON means you should watch it, FILLER means you can skip it, LORE is somewhere in-between, any episode with the LORE label will have an explanation that helps you decide if you should include it or not.

S2E1 Terrance and Phillip in Not Without My Anus is FILLER S2E2 Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut is CANON S2E3 Ike's Wee Wee is CANON S2E4 Chickenlover is FILLER S2E5 Conjoined Fetus Lady is FILLER S2E6 The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka is LORE* S2E7 City on the Edge of Forever (Flashbacks) is FILLER S2E8 Summer Sucks is FILLER S2E9 Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls is FILLER S2E10 Chickenpox is FILLER S2E11 Roger Ebert Should Lay off the Fatty Foods is FILLER S2E12 Clubhouses is FILLER S2E13 Cow Days is FILLER S2E14 Chef Aid is FILLER S2E15 Spookyfish is FILLER S2E16 Merry Christmas Charlie Manson! is FILLER S2E17 Gnomes is CANON S2E18 Prehistoric Ice Man is FILLER *Only for its last scene if you want a tease for the movie. Personal notes: You may notice that this season is a lot less plot-heavy than the previous one, with only 3 canon episodes out of 18 compared to the 9 out of 13 in the first.

[casually-slips-into-coma]

spoilers for iwtv s2e4

my thoughts after a rewatch:

i know claudia hates the baby loves window play but she ate up that little song

the lulu role really is so humiliating :(

louis’ expressions whenever he watches these plays always kills me lmao he hates theater kids

louis and armand talking over each other to daniel

armands theater notes lol

claudia no eyebrow big eyeliner look is kinda cunty ngl

im a fan of sam the irish vampire

making claudia be lulu all the time oooh armand i hate u so bad

almost threw up watching louis and armand give different answers to the companion question IN FRONT OF THE COVEN that shit was so embarrassing

i wouldve kms if i was armand

vamp catfight

armand stuck in this situationship dont worry king we’ve all been there😔

literally telling each other i love you and still having the what are we conversation

“do you notice how hot the room gets when you two talk about the secret” plsssss

louis only able to use the fire gift when hes angry👀👀 gee i wonder if thats gonna come back👀👀👀👀👀

louis going🤨🤨 to the schizophrenia question like it came out of nowhere

armands face while louis talked about dreamstat why not just shoot me in the head

loving these dutch angles whenever daniel dissociates and gets an armand memory

santiago looks so good in the gold suit? robe thing??

claudia santiago friendship is killing me santiago i know what u are

claudia killing the guy singing baby lu

i like that you can tell claudias french has gotten better. nice small detail

i love scenes of louis and claudia just talking about non vampire things

santiago mimicking louis was pretty cool

buffoon sighting!!!

whole dinner scene bangs

the guy saying theres smth “fragile” about armand in the photo louis took and louis saying “no he’s anything but” and then the guy saying “you’ve captured the soul he hides” 🤌🤌

louis would never survive a 4 hour art school critique

daniel telling a girl he’d only do her if she had a paper bag over her head??????

claudeline truthers how are we feeling

context for the eating paper clip in the trailer

romeo!!

armand is so down bad its sick

madeline tailoring a yellow dress for claudia😟😟

the whole claudeline interaction was great

amadeo☹️🔫

MARIUS KILL YOURSELF!!!!!!!

the way armand talks about marius

MARIUS KILL YOURSELF x2!!!!!!

“no one has painted me in 400 years” fuck

madeline period blood moment. theres so much here about femininity and maturing might make a separate post about this scene

armand pinning claudia against a wall armand i hate you so bad

we already know that armand is powerful but seeing him choke and manhandle santiago really solidified that i think

picked another one over me!!

delainey is ACTINGGGGG

louis not believing claudia about armand ooooh louis i hate you so bad

love makes you stupid clock it

louis still referring to claudia as his daughter in his head (thru dreamstat)

louis just actively talking to himself girl do that in your head

park bench moment <3

“wanker” i giggled sorry

that suit is his favorite on him :(

“im a little wet” and armand instantly pulling out an umbrella, armand lighting his cigarette, armand calling him maitre

louis calling him arun and armand calling him maitre and then louis throwing away the lighter this fucking scene is cinematic art

the other coven members calling santiago maitre

i kinda like that daniel can hear them arguing from another room. i feel like its a very human experience? really domestic? even given the circumstances

armands eyes were never brown!!!

san francisco flashback episode might kill me im not kidding

insane way to end the episode

ok this was much longer than i thought it would be but this episode has a lot in it. each episode gets better and better and this is definitely my favorite of the season so far.

i am LOVING louis and armands relationship and also both of their story arcs and characterizations. their dynamic is kind of the opposite of what i, and i think a lot of other people, expected but it still makes total sense and im enjoying it a lot

god i love this show

[lallilalia]

Spoilers for hotd s2e4

Honestly I cried.

I was just enjoying the ladder that chaos is: Aemond underminding his brother's authority in front of the council cause why not, Alicent being unbothered, Alys being the original gaslight gatekeep girlboss that she is, Matt Smith with an eye patch.

But when I realised, in the black's council, that they were talking about THE Rook's Rest, I just started balling my eyes out. I read the books so I knew that Rhaenys was not gonna make it and she's one of my favourites on the show. I just cried in front of my screen and when she told Nyra to send her to battle, I knew it would be the last time we would see her with the family and I just cried cause to me, she's the true MVP of team black. I had hope that they would make the battle longer so we would have a bit of Eve's performance in episode 5 but she was incredible in that battle and I will miss her on the show.

Now, Aemond.

I just want to see him and Alys in the same room, I can't wait, he's unhinged, she's the baddest bitch to have ever walked the earth, it's gonna be great. I mean we all knew he was a twisted deranged man who needs therapy (like the entirety of team green to be fair (I am in no way shaming people who need therapy, I am one of them, please take care of your mental health it's very important)) but bestie, that's treason. And he is so good at it, like we knew he was pressed about Aegon being the king and not him but dude. You just kindslayed for the 2nd time, do you really need a third? And you're brother at that, like I know he's a nuisance but still don't push it my dude.

He's gonna take a page from Alys' book next episode and gaslight gatekeep girlboss like he never has in his life. Can't wait for those 2 to meet.

Burning his brother was an other level of horrid and in true neurodivergent fashion I was covering my ears during the entire dragons dancing situation cause I didn't want Rhaenys to die.

I think next week is probs gonna be depressing can't wait 。゜゜(´Ｏ`) ゜゜。

[123ohwell]

LEVERAGE SEASON 2 GRIFT TRACKER

I have learned how to edit a draft post! So this was much easier not having to do it all at once lol

No new jobs just clarifications added on the jobs list. I didn't attach the parameters/rules/notes I used to judge this cause Tara's graph put me at the 10 photo max. If you want to see the parameters they are on my Season 1 Grift Tracker post (idk how to link a post in yet)

Enjoy!

Fun Facts:

- Eliot won the most grifts

- the crew did 2 grifts where everyone played the same role this season

- Parker and Hardison grifted together a lot in the first half and Hardison and Eliot grifted a lot together in the second half

- grifting was calmer than first season people were trusting their character

- shit ton of Damsel grifts

S2E1 : Very few grifts. Nate did the whole con with just using his connection as Jimmy's kid and shockingly not doing anything wild

S2E2 : one of my fav episodes! I find Sophie's distrust and disgust of chicken fried steak hilarious 😂 I make it homemade like every month or so lol. Parker and Hardison have now done 3 grifts in a pair in a row

S2E3: This episode fucked me up when I first watched it. Crazed Maniac doesn't apply in this episode because they are going for faking an epidemic. Sophie broke her One Grift Per Episode Streak!

S2E4: one of my fave episodes. Nate's hair kills me. Parker and Hardison do 2 grifts together

S2E5: does it count as Hardison breaking his no Crazed Maniac grift streak for the season if he's playing a full blown tinfoil hat and not doing forthedrama? Also I am now thinking I should have been tracking faked deaths separately than Damsel

S2E6: Magicians fall under Actress. Love everyone trying to trade jobs and Eliot complaining that no one wants his

S2E7: I put the crew at "Sophie's" funeral as Actresses bc Sophie was being Katherine who was her alias for he Sound of Music actress and they were playing her friends. Just got to the end of the episode- why does it say Sophie on the headstone when the funeral was for Katherine?!?!

S2E8: well y'all we hit the point where my mom saw my excel on my laptop and asked what I was doing. It's official Hardison is back on his DraMA with The Iceman plus him taking credit for Parker's reputation

S2E9: well now I forgot to update this as I went 😅 oh well now we get this by memory. Tara has joined the crew and has gotten a page on my excel workbook. I love her intro

S2E10: it was awful trying to pay attention to the wildness on this one plus I fell asleep. Lol rewatched it and it went well 👍

S2E11: and Nate pretends to be his dad. This is the most notable Dopple grift this season, but there has been several

S2E12: Eliot and Tara making a man cave with no words lmao I put it down as Mob bc idk

S2E13: Tara is a good grifter and tends to keep with the character, also I agree with Parker that dude is awful

S2E14: Eliot plays baseball! Hardison has calmed down the word vomit grifts slightly but he definitely still has chaos as default tho

S2E15: great season finale! Parker hanging Tara off the building. Eliot counting down. Sophie coming back. Hardison committing to the grift

[sometipsygnostalgic]

still only 4 minutes into s2e4 but...

i refuse to say arcane s2 is "bad" because queer animation is being shot behind the shed right now, we're not going to see anything like this again in a very long time. but of the three and a bit eps ive seen so far, it's all been... Things Happen, instead of characters driving events.

the jinx scenes have been incredible, she's definitely the highlight, i love the warmer approach they've taken with her and the other lady working together, it feels natural, but everything involving the other characters feels so rushed and hollow.

specifically it seems every cait and vi scene has a budget of nothing. half of it is fairly cheap montages and everything seems to be exposited instead of naturally shown. like yeah they did a good job of showing why cait so desperately wants to shoot jinx. and i thought the reveal that the previously shown poison gas was the cops was great! but since then it just seems like we're not allowed to get into their heads.

like, why does vi NOT want to be an enforcer? why is it then enough for a couple of nice cops to talk to her? though i can infer she feels responsibility for the attack that ambessa the other underground gang performed on the event later. also who the fuck is the cop with the shield? what is his deal? but we don't get time in vi's head. we don't see her revolving all these thoughts around, she changes her mind about stuff in split second moments because there's no time.

and cait. she is the worst offender by far. her reactions seem very extreme because they need to be, not because being extreme is any sort of established part of her character. I am constantly comparing Cait to Glimmer from She-ra, but that's because everything Cait's doing here is exactly how Glimmer reacted after the Horde got her mum killed, except Glimmer had all that darkness as a pre-established part of her, and they spent a long time showing it being encouraged by Shadow Weaver. Meanwhile with Cait, a good hearted cop who has shown NO desire for corruption or power thirst... she's turning on her friends immediately, and we are TOLD that Ambessa is leading her astray, we are never SHOWN this. It's very clear this is because there needs to be a plot, not because any care is being given to Cait as a character. It's very disappointing.

i do love that scene in s2e1 with jayce carrying viktor to the room to save him. the way that was shot, with us watching present and immediate future jayce react to viktor's body, it was amazing. that is a great example of cinematography and storytelling without dialogue - he was so terrified!!!

i have no idea what's going on in viktor's head now though. we've spent very little time with him. to me it seems like he's being brainwashed with an image of the assistant who was killed, a lot like the one guy from Scavenger's Reign who was brainwashed by the fat alien with a hallucination of his dead wife. but we only get a 3 second glimpse of this whereas Scavenger's Reign spends many episodes on it.

Ekko may as well not exist at the moment.

[unlikelyjapan]

s2e4 rewatch notes

I'm a bit tired, please forgive the typos:

At the intro, we get a montage of the permits and files and drills, the sense of urgency - the furiousness of the work and notes begging Carmy for something (that was probably already set on his list in the last episode). I guess I stopped paying attention to the timelines - they're now 7 weeks out with no walls and we haven't really gotten into the meat of the series yet - meaning we don't really see Carmy flake the fuck out until 1 month from opening.

Sugar's "don't tell anyone - this is my problem" bit is so sad, watching her castigate herself for bringing another her/carmy/mikey/donna/their dad into the world. I also hate the way such a heavy moment was turned into such a "womp womp - wall fell" moment, as the situation (and Sugar) deserved a lot more gravitas.

But this is a show through the male lens. Richie feels vindicated that he "guessed it". Carmy doesn't know how to show his concern (and to be fair, she'd probably pummel him if he expressed anything in that moment), but the fact that he still lets his sister shoulder so much of the restaurants burdens alone through the rest of the series shows the level he disassociates from his family (even his only caring/loving family member) at every turn.

Marcus is such a good son - I hope in season 3 we get a (posthumous, I presume) look at who his mother was, what shaped his character, how his brother/father play a role (if any) in his current family dynamic etc.

The Chester + Marcus pairing is a magical talisman that protects the show from a deluge of male-on-male emotional evasion, jousting and toxic co-dependency. I don't care that Chester is about as believable as Claire as a character, mainline that shit into my veins.

I love that Carmy ensured that Marcus would have the identical experience he had when he staged in Copenhagen (as described in Fishes to Mikey) - this is in no way coincidental, he would have had to make plenty of arrangements/requests to Marie for things to play out that way. He wanted Marcus to see Copenhagen through the same magical lens he did, knowing Marcus needed the inspiration and a break from his own version of family strife.

The invisible cat (Coco), the looming presence of Marcus' mom on the viewers minds, and the bike scene are three great examples of things that feel foreboding (like the other shoe is going to drop on Marcus) but never actually amount to anything. Whether existential or hopeful, I like it.

"Do you know how to make Shisho Gelee?" - this is such a gentle test to see how insecure Marcus is in this environment. Passing him the recipe as he's googling was an awesome act of amnesty. It immediately brings out Marcus' curiosity in the next scenes - he's asking all the right questions and looks so joyful when Luca gives him concise answers.

The scenes played out to Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long", starting with "You're tired - and you want to be free" playing as Marcus walks home. Temporarily free from the impending death of his mother at home after a long illness. Free from the constraints of the (up until now) low-level jobs Marcus' has held down in kitchens with minimal inspiration and nowhere to go. Free from loneliness? The next cut is Sydney interviewing staff, as if on cue.

The quenelle - the heavy-lovin' part of the song as Marcus' is immersed in his work with Luca, falling in love with the ritualization of his craft. Things in Marcus' life haven't exactly been going right, but this is a place of solace. He follows this up by calling his Mom - professing his love for his craft, as well as for her.

Sidebar: The minty snickers bar is almost a sexual release scene during the ballad. I get why so many folks were led down the road to hell that is Marcus x Luca fanfic, as weird as I think that is (no hate! do you!)

The song ends with the pastry dissection on the boat. This man found love/spiritual release in Copenhagen, just like Carmy. "Mission accomplished, I guess."

Fak saying "Dude! We're best friends, we don't tell secrets!" re: the alliance stuff. So....every dude at The Beef/Bear is his best friend, Sugar is Mommy, and Sydney (and Tina, for that matter) are ????

I feel like Fak may be the thing that continues to insulate The Beef/The Bear as a Berzatto clubhouse for wayward boys at this juncture, but I'm originally from Canada (and thus have been force-fed Matty Matheson a.k.a Fak-Light since the mid-aughts) so there's probably some bias creeping in here.

Luca started as a chef 14 years ago. If he entered the profession and competed against Carmy at the same level/experience as a high-school graduate, that makes him and Carmy in the rough age range of 29-32, adjusting for education sans A-levels in the UK. We can put away that screenrant article and die in peace now.

Mikey was "Really tight, but also really out of his fucking mind, and he wanted to open a bakery". Something something Berzatto parallels.

Luca says "I've got a younger sister, somewhere, yeah" after asking about Marcus' family. Luca's got a case of the family damage, the trouble in school, a past-tense case of the ferocious mopes - all the same watermarks as Carmy. Meanwhile, Marcus was just sharing his mothers prognosis, and speaks of his brother with no ill will (even though he doesn't appear to be in the caretaking position with his mom) - are they foreshadowing that Marcus' doesn't have the damage that makes a truly great/ritualized/masochistic chef in the long run?

Luca's may have learned more lessons in life than Carmy has (in part by being thwarted by Carmy) but the habits borne out of family evasion/searching for something else are so engrained with that backstory. Or maybe Marcus' represents the happier/new way of doing things, breaking the toxic cycle (more thoughts on this down the line).

Luca worked to keep up with Carmy after he came to a place of acceptance that he'd never be the best, and that ended up being enough for him. Maybe a blessing is that Marcus' gets to sidestep the whole toxic cycle and just absorb knowledge (from Luca, from Carmy, from Syd) - he's not in a running position, just like Tina.

But of course, we never worry about Tina - she's too self-possessed. Marcus is emotional and easily influenced, so I have a feeling his narrative could turn on a dime.

Luca says "At a certain stage, it becomes less about skill and more about being open....." In summary:

Marcus - Open, but I fear could easily become closed in the wrong environment/trauma.

Carmy - Closed, doesn't really understand how to open when not hiding behind the guise of the restaurant/Syd/emotional fabrications

Sydney - Wants open, but always closes instinctively for self-protection.

Natalie - Open, with the limited emotional tools she has at her disposal.

Richie - *learning* to open, but that's a long fucking road.

Tina - Open

"It helps to have good people around you, too" - see above. The Bear represents the inherent goodness of people, with familial history run roughshod over it.

Marcus asking "Was It worth it? The time you put in" quickly followed by Luca saying "I dunno....ask me tomorrow"

Isn't this the feeling of fecklessness that almost everyone has with their creative craft being converted to labor? There's been a lot of theories floating around that Carmy doesn't like cooking anymore/never liked cooking - could it just be the long-standing feeling of irrelevance when you've taken a deep-dive into your craft for so long that you can't see the forest (inspiration, caring for people) through the trees (red tape, skill level, trauma etc.)?

The man on the bike could also represent saving someone the way that Marcus can't save his mom - it alleviates some of the feelings of powerlessness, and the exchange of comfort in the hug a reciprocity he can no longer experience with her.

"Are you sure you want to get back on the bike?"

A bad thing happened, but the man feels compelled to keep moving - as Marcus said to Syd in S1 "just keep moving" - there are a bunch of metaphors for just proceeding with the restaurant here.

Syd is literally just being goofy and talking to Marcus like a friend when he first calls - I guess I imagined there being a little more heat/aloofness there on her behalf, but it's giving friend-zone. She wouldn't act so familiar if there was a crush, I don't feel its in her DNA....

Marcus sharing the nightmare about his mom's impending death with Sydney is huge (again, the other shoe dropping) - Sydney tries to give an empathetic response (she's not great at anything with a whiff of mortality to it, but she approaches the topic with optimism) and caps it off with a "ugghh - I miss you man" as a reassuring gesture - he's her friend and a great source of comfort.

He nods quietly, waits a beat, and says "I miss you too" - and you can tell the pregnant pause has let Syd know that there's gravity/consequences to her words. She diffuses with the freeze humor because what the hell else are you going to do once a guy tells you about his dying mom nightmare, you spurt out a casual "I miss you bro" and he responds back tenderly that he misses you too. Unenviable.

"Okay, goodnight dude" - Syd hangs up immediately. Oof. Everyone talks about Syd getting a love interest in season 3 to level the stakes with Carmy, but I want Marcus' to bag a hot expediter or something just so there's a bit of joy in his life without a crazy dramatic subplot ensuing.

The mild smile on Marcus' face is so peaceful when he masters the dessert. It's such a quiet satisfaction you can only get when you create things. What a nice way to end the episode.

Holy crap, this was far too long. If you stuck it out, thank you!

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 25th February ✨

I worked an insane number of hours this week and didn’t have the brain power for much AD. Here’s what I managed to squeeze in - Happy Audio Drama Sunday! 🫶

👻 @tellnotalespod (S2E4) The sound design on this episode was so good! I hope this experience has been a bit of an eye-opener for Leo regarding their morals vs Frank’s….

���� Travelling Light @monstrousproductions (13) Every episode of TL gives me something new to ponder - whether that’s related to a new revelation about the characters or the dazzling world building. My brain is buzzing trying to navigate how the contract system would work for humans in the current age! 

🤴I found time to catch a little more InCo! I love Chell having to grudgingly admit that Nova is great, actually. 

🏛 @the-mistholme-museum (PEACEFUL) I loved the exhibits this week! I’m trying to work out what I would use that mask for, there must be a sweet spot of being able to get away with something you usually wouldn’t but not too high stakes that people wouldn’t just look past it when you took it off…. Also, Diana, Diana, Diana…. You know if you keep saying that everyone is safe around the Beast, something awful is going to happen, right? Right.

🌨️ @thewhitevault (8) I FUCJKSOFNSDING KNEW IT. What the HELL, MAN. How am I supposed to wait for another episode?? I need to know what happens and I need to know NOW.

🖥️ The Magnus Protocol (7) Nothing but absolute bombshells this week!!! I love the feeling of being toyed with as a listener and I’m SO hooked. 

So looking forward to more @camlannpod, The Grotto and finding time to listen to the @hellofromthehallowoods recap before it returns this week! 

[scooby-review]

Every The New Scooby Doo Movies Episode Ranked

Individual rankings can be found on my profile :)

Perfect!; Great!; Good!; Okay!; Meh!; Bad!

24. Ghastly Ghost Town (S1E1)

23. The Mystery of Haunted Island (S2E1)

22. The Ghost of Bigfoot (S1E10)

21. Mystery in Persia (S2E3)

20. The Frickert Fracas (S1E4)

19. The Haunted Carnival (S2E8)

18. The Phantom of the Country Music Hall (S1E14)

17. The Spooky Fog of Juneberry (S1E9)

16. Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner (S1E5)

15. The Ghostly Creep from the Deep (S1E12)

14. The Loch Ness Mess (S1E12)

13. The Haunted Candy Factory (S2E7)

12. The Ghost of the Red Baron (S1E11)

11. The Exterminator (S2E5)

10. Weird Winds of Winona (S2E6)

9. The Spirited Spooked Sports Show (S2E4)

8. The Haunted Showboat (S2E2)

7. The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair (S1E2)

6. The Caped Crusader Caper (S1E15)

5. Sandy Duncan's Jekyll and Hyde (S1E7)

4. The Secret of Shark Island (S1E8)

3. Wednesday is Missing (S1E3)

2. A Good Medium is Rare (S1E6)

1. The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall (S1E13)

The New Scooby Doo Movies is pretty evidently not my favourite iteration of the Scooby franchise. Having read others opinions online, most people appear to enjoy the series. In fact, looking on IMDB any negative reviews are heavily disliked which just feels silly to me.

For me personally, the series just doesn't capture what I love about Scooby, the horror aesthetic is ditched for the most part, the mysteries often feel unimportant (or non existent in many cases), the villains are fairly unmemorable and the gang aren't characterised deep enough to fill out the runtime.

Of course, this final complaint is where the guest stars come in, but they too are often not enough to save an episode, with celebrity casts frequently repeating the same joke about themselves for forty minutes before calling it a day. I think I would have a better time if this were released in the modern day, I think the longer run time would be filled out better and there would be a clearer vision of what Scooby Doo is. For the second series in the franchise, it breaks beyond the mould crafted by Where are You, yet never enough to truly craft its own identity and to guide the series forwards. The subsequent series The Scooby Doo Show has a far darker tone, returning to the horror/mystery genre with certainty. Even when this series aired, it was swiftly replaced by reruns of Where are You for several years as apposed to airing this new show.

I think, for me, the episode length and lack of direction is what strikes me. Forty minutes is fine, but even in my favourite episodes, I felt that runtime, it plagued so many of these stories. Every episode feels padded, jokes run too long and very rarely do they use this extra runtime to craft a more extravagant mystery. If these were twenty minutes, even thirty, I would enjoy all of this so much more.

Despite my favourite episodes coming from Season One, I think Season Two is stronger as a whole. There's no evident change, but the episodes feel more sure of what they're doing - they're mysteries that the gang are either working with the guests to solve, or working for the guests. It's more consistent at least.

This is not to say that the series doesn't have its merits, I do enjoy the guest star aspect, especially when we see fictional characters brought into the world, or when they use the guest in an interesting way, for example Sandy Duncan's episode takes place on a film set, which is so great!

This isn't the last time we will see this concept used, in 2019, Scooby Doo and Guess Who was released, and it acts as an homage to early Scooby, taking great inspiration from this series in particular. It's one that I am particularly excited to properly watch.

All of this is to say that, while I appreciate a lot of what this series does, it doesn't work for me. I'm glad I've watched all of these episodes, it's been fun being able to see where the intro clips came from which was a question that I always had as a child. And there are some good and even great episodes in here!

Next: The Scooby Doo Show S1 E1-4 (Coming Soon!)

Previous: The New Scooby Doo Movies Villains Ranked

[rachelbethhines]

Speed-running Doctor Who - 1st Doctor

A quick and dirty guide for those who want to get into the show, but don't want to watch everything from the beginning.

For Those Who Just Wanna Get An Idea of the Era

The Romans - S2E4

If you just want to get your toes wet and watch only one story from the era to get a feel for things, then The Romans is fairly continuity lite and offers a good look at what defines the First Doctor's era. Plus it's only four parts and all of the episodes exist.

Plot Important Episodes

Entrances, Exits, Enemies, Lore Drops, and Character Development (missing episodes will have a * next to it. You will have to find recons and animated versions to watch instead)

An Unearthly Child - S1E1 (Very First Episode, Introduces The First Doctor, Susan, the Tardis, Ian, and Barbara)

The Daleks - S1E2 (First appearance of the Doctor's arch enemies)

The Edge of Destruction - S1E3 (character development for the tardis team and first hints that the Tardis is alive)

The Aztecs - S1E6 (character development for Barbara and the rules of time travel are defined... which the Doctor continues to break form here on after. Also introduces the Doctor's first onscreen love interest)

The Sensorites - S1E7 (character development for Susan and lore drops regarding the Doctor's home planet and people)

The Dalek Invasion of Earth - S2E2 (Return of the Daleks and Susan's last episode)

The Rescue - S2E3 (introduces Vicki)

The Web Planet - S2E5 (the Animus is the Great Intelligence, Change My Mind!)

The Chase - S2E8 (Barbara and Ian leave, and we meet Steven)

The Time Meddler - S2E9 (We meet another of the Doctor's race for the first time, and he may or may not be The Master)

Mission to the Unknown - S3E2 * (first Doctor lite episode and a prologue to The Dalek Masterplan)

The Myth Makers - S3E3 * (Vicki leaves and Katarina comes aboard)

The Daleks' Master Plan - S3E4 * (Katarina's only full story. The Doctor also meets Bret Von and his sister Sara Kingdom. One of whom may or may not be a reincarnation of a future companion. The return of both the Daleks and the Meddler)

The Massacre - S3E5 * (Character Development for Steven and Dodo is introduced at the end)

The Ark - S3E6 (Dodo's first full story... plus it actually exists)

The Celestial Toymaker - S3E7 * (the first appearance of the Toymaker)

The Savages - S3E9 * (Steven leaves)

The War Machines - S3E10 (Dodo's last story, and we meet Ben and Polly. The first time the Doctor works with the military)

The Smugglers - S4E1 * (the conclusion of One's character arc)

The Tenth Planet - S4E2 * (the first appearance of the Cybermen and the First Doctor's last story)

Personal Favorite and Least Favorite Stories

Because one man's trash is another man's treasure and vice versa

Favorite: Marco Polo - S1E4*

Least Favorite: The Gunfighters - S3E8

(disclaimer: no spin-offs or extended universe stuff was considered when making this list)

Up next: The Second Doctor

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I think the thing that would've made season 3 so interesting, and still makes it so much fun to write and read about Ed and Stede settling into a steady, comfortable, loving relationship, is they have such a great foundation in the show for how they behave when they're upset with each other.

We get two moments of conflict with them in season 2, and they may not be perfect at communicating, but they're really good with each other. Their first argument in s2e4, obviously, is coming out of a very, very high-stress situation and Ed's in an extremely emotionally vulnerable space. Their argument in s2e7, too, is an argument that Ed goes into it absolutely determined to walk away over because he's terrified Stede is going to choose piracy over him.

These are both set in very rough, scary circumstances, but it gives us a good framework here for how they treat each other during arguments.

Ed especially can be a bit catty and petty, and and they will both say things that are a bit harsh, but never overly so. Ed says earlier in s2e4 that he "regretted" shaving his beard, by which he really meant "I shouldn't have trusted you, Stede." Stede calls Ed a coward in s2e7 (which, in his defense, Ed kind of is being a coward in that moment because he's too scared to just ask Stede to stay with him).

Neither of them really raise their voices at all. Ed shouts a bit in s2e4, but quickly brings his voice back down, and for the most part they do a commendable job of talking calmly with each other even when emotions are high.

There is potential for Stede to leave things out and for Ed to phrase things in ways that come across as overly harsh or might lead Stede to miss the point. Stede is entirely unwilling in s2e4 to explain why he left Ed other than "panicking," when elaborating that he was held at gunpoint would probably in fact make Ed feel better about the whole thing because Stede was suddenly put into a situation where thinking rationally was very difficult. Ed, too, told Stede that he thought "last night was a mistake," which could make Stede worry about about the sex they had specifically when Ed was aiming for a more general "everything is moving very fast and I'm scared."

They're both actually really very good at communicating even in arguments. In s2e4 they both clearly tell each other what they're feeling without stooping to personal attacks. In s2e7, Ed is determined for the argument to escalate, but Stede is always trying to meet him calmly and talk it through reasonably even though he doesn't really understand what's going on. When Ed sets a boundary that he's not ready to hear Stede tell him he loves him yet, Stede pivots smoothly and easily.

They very clearly do not want to hurt each other, and they don't believe the other will hurt them. Ed never once reacts to Stede's compliments like he thinks they might be disingenuous, despite the circumstances, and he explicitly doesn't want the argument to escalate to a point where they "say things we can't take back" in s2e7.

Altogether, I think Ed and Stede definitely do have the potential to hurt each other in arguments and say hurtful things that come across differently than they intended, but they have such a strong foundation here for excellent communication. They're never overy harsh with each other, and there are opportunities for miscommunication, but on the whole they're both really good at listening to each other calmly and communicating their feelings even in high-stress situations. Their worst argument is definitely the one in s2e7, and even then it's more of a "stomp out of your boyfriend's house in a huff then apologize the next day" kind of argument.