#The Agency 1x03

[kindaskimpy]

Michael Fassbender in The Agency S01E03 - "Hawk from a Handsaw"

[missysumbrellauploads]

Night Nurse Episode 3 Screencaps Part 2

under the cut there are 25 unedited screencaps of the night nurse in dead boy detectives episode 3: the case of the devlin house! mostly just compiling these for myself for layout making purposes.

free to use, just like & reblog pls!

part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

[raayllum]

Something I’ve been noticing a lot in my current rewatch is how Rayla and Soren are foils…Soren being the failed crownguard (“failed” in large part bc of his father’s choices) who ends up on a quest to kill his little king… Rayla trying to make up for her parents’ failures as dragonguards and going every extra mile to protect Zym but taking Ezran under her protection as well (sometimes FROM Soren)…, Soren runs Viren through for trying to kill Ez but he’s just an illusion, the real Viren is trying to kill Zym, and Rayla is prepared to die to stop that…then Rayla goes but Soren stays, and when she comes back he’s taken up her role as the moral center of the show, arguing points that she used to make

I tried to see if you’d written anything about these two being foils specifically but tumblr search is… you know lol. I would love it if you could point me to a relevant meta if there is one! If there isn’t, I hope my thoughts were interesting lol they make me emotional

Y'know funnily enough I don't think there ever was a dedicated Soren&Rayla from almost anyone (of course I could've missed it, but at least not from me) precisely cause from what I remember of early post-s3 arc 1 days, their foil relationship was just... a general fandom consensus of everyone going "Oh yeah that checks out" and kinda left at that.

After all, Soren is the princes' sworn protector who tries to kill them, makes his way back onto the right side, and then 'kills' Viren (his father) in order to protect them... whereas Rayla is their sworn killer who defects from her father in order to protect those same princes, and then she actually kills Viren (if Aaravos and Claudia hadn't intervened) in the same episode. More than that, they both leave behind their previous "hey kill these kids" roles in favour of being a Protector of their respective princes (Soren with Ezran, Rayla with Zym) respectively likewise in 3x09.

You're absolutely right that Soren and Rayla both rely a lot on their physical fighting skills, and this parallel in regards to failure always stands out to me in S3:

Soren: As crownguard, it was my job to make sure that nothing happened to him. No matter what. So when the Moonshadow elves came I did everything I could to protect him. But it wasn't enough. I just... don't want to fail you, too. Rayla: It's me, and it's all my fault. I failed them. I let them all down. They're right to reject me. I'm not good enough, and I never will be.

as does this one for Runaan-Viren, because Runaan may have brought his teenage daughter on an assassination mission, but she's never seemingly scared of him the way Soren is of Viren

even if both fathers take issues with 'fear born' weakness at least in theory

And of course there's some other parallels scattered throughout, which makes sense: 1x01-1x03 is basically Rayla speedrunning Soren's S1-S3 arc of perpetuating the cycle of violence to actively trying to stop it by joining forces with your previous 'enemy'.

I think in a lot of ways Soren was exactly the sort of human Rayla had prepared her whole life to kill -- he's proud, he lies, he's not a 'good' person (at first) -- but of course, now they're good friends and it's very sweet to see. Arc 2 has less direct foils, but it's still there, y'know? Just more quietly in the background.

For example, enough has changed since 2x07 that now in 4x05 their roles have virtually switched, since Soren is the one campaigning to save the dragon while Rayla, although not the aggressor, is saying to walk away. I expect S6 Rayla to take some of Soren's 'protector' quality on further in regards to "doing everything you can" when Callum gets possessed. Possible 5x08 parallels also stand out to me with the concepts of identities (names), ownership vs agency, and compassion against the enemy currently wailing on you through future possessed!Callum and Elmer parallels.

The two are also in for a real pickle since they're the most "these people are the bad guys, we're the good guys" in the show... and it's like sir your sister is evil and ma'am your boyfriend is going through a corruption arc, you're in for some rude awakenings. That said they do have their unbreakable bonds of love with Claudia and Callum respectively, so who knows. It'll all work out. (Eventually.)

On that note we can also see some parallels between 2x02 and 3x03 perhaps... Rayla accuses Soren of trying to kill Ezran but explains it poorly, so Callum gives her as much as he can but doesn't side with her in the moment (which to be fair it is Quite a leap so like Callum you're so valid) VS Soren poorly explaining Viren asking him to kill the princes and Claudia not siding with him. The difference is that in the face of more evidence in favour of Claudia + Soren, Callum still sides with Rayla, and in the face of more evidence against Viren ("You'll understand when you see the first to change" -> "Claudia, you're changing too"), Claudia still sides with Viren, but I digress.

I'd also argue that Ezran is the moral centre of the show (at least to me) simply because he's the only one in the main cast who hasn't entered the 1) you did terrible things in the name of love/protective relay and 2) he's pretty measured and compassionate 99% of the time (but I do love the 1% when he's not let me tell you).

I talked about it in this meta (which is 2+ years old jc) about how like a good moral line event horizon measuring stick is "how does this character treat Ezran" and if they're treating him poorly they're not doing the right thing, and if they're treating him well then they Are, but it doesn't go into S4 or S5 so like. Mileage may vary

Last but not least: I do have a Sorayla tag for headcanons edits brotp content in general so if you want more of them, that's what I'd recommend, with fics such as "flower crowns" (oneshot) and "if heaven and hell decide" (completed multichap, 60k) for their dynamic

[delicatebluebirdruins]

'Is that it?' Lockwood asked quietly. Is that really what this is all about?' I looked at him, sitting there beside me. 'It's enough,' I said. 'I put all your lives at risk, not once but several times. One way and another, I'm becoming a liability to the company, and I care too much about you all to let that happen again' It was super-hard to smile then, and it wasn't going to get any easier. So I just got on with it. 'And that's why i've made up my mind the way I have,' I said, 'and why I'm resigining at once from Lockwood and Co.' There was silence in the room... Lockwood and Co. Book Three: the Hollow Boy

1x02 "You're Lucy Carlyle. We can't let you go." and "We're Lockwood and Co. You, me and George... Please Stay"

1x03 "it's my agency. You belong here"

1x06 "Portland Row is my home. You and George"

1x07 "Everything ends and Everyone Leaves"

bonus quote I was planning on adding but decided not to because it didn't quite fit from episode 8 "I just wanted to say, don't give up on us please... don't give up on me"

[whumpystuffy]

Whump list -Burn Notice (2007-2013)

Main character Michael Weston portrayed by Jeffrey Donovan.

Trailer for the series.

Some of the whump are inflicted on purpose, meaning he could’ve prevented it with his skills but is often undercover so has to withstand the pain. I’ve chosen to include it with cursive writing since you sometimes can see him “faking it” and that kinda ruins the whump for me.

Season 1

1x01 Gunpoint, manhandled. Kicked multiple times, grunting in pain, bloody bruised face, fight, limping, passes out. Aftermath, bruised body/ribs, grunting by movement. Pain inflicted on bruised ribs.

1x02 Inside burning house, coughing.

1x03 Chased, jumps off building, twists ankle, limping, ice on ankle. Outnumbered, fight.

1x04 Attacked, struggle, slammed against wall. Gunfire, hit with ricochet bullet in shoulder, bleeding. Field medicine, bullet removed, grunts in pain, needs help getting dressed.

1x05 Gun to chest, manhandled, pushed to the ground, fear. Blindfolded.

1x06 Fight, outnumbered, threatened. Under gunpoint, under gunfire. Slammed against car twice.

1x07 Under gunpoint, punched multiple times, bloody mouth, manhandled, grunts in pain. Punched, kicked, arm twisted in pain, strangled.

1x08 Fight, hand grabbed, twisted in pain, punched, strangled, heavy breathing.

1x09 Punched, under gunpoint. Strangled by wire, coughing, gasping for air, wound on neck.

1x11 Crying, emotional. Under gunpoint, punched.

1x12 Wanted, gunpoint. Fight, multiple punches, slammed against wall, beaten up, grunts in pain, strangled, bruised face. (Plus major Sam’s whumps)

Season 2

2x04 Beaten up for cover, punched multiple times in face, bloody cut on face, bloody mouth & nose. Handcuffed. Fight, punched, slammed into wall.

2x06 Under gunpoint. Attacked, punched multiple times.

2x07 Chased, outnumbered, thrown into wall, manhandled, gun to chest. Punched, head slammed into table, all an act though. Hit with bat, pain, strangled, interrogated, punched.

2x08 Bruised back shown from previous episode, worried mom. Car crash, pain, limping.

2x09 Pushed against fence, gun point, pinned against wall, pistol wippped, fear. Field medicine, head wound, stitched up.

2x10 Hit by explosion, unconscious, needs help walking, pain, injured arm. Tied to chair, hooded, interrogated. Homemade arm sling. Pain/grunts caused by movement of shoulder. Fight, punched, bruised face.

2x11 Under gunfire. Emotional, manhandled, angry, held back.

2x13 Hostage in bank robbery, gunpoint, threatened, punched, bloody face cut, field medicine.

2x14 Attacked, knife cut on arm, bleeding.

2x15 Fight, punched multiple times, slammed against wall.

2x16 Fight. Wanted by agency, on the run.

Season 3

3x01 On the run, surrenders, handcuffed, arrested, in jail. Painfully gets arm twisted, interrogated, shoulder dislocated, grunts in pain, begging, painfully set back, ice pack on shoulder. Shoulder twisted again, shot at, fear. Tied up, punched, cuts wrist by freeing himself, fight.

3x02 Tied up, interrogated, multiple punches, knife play in face, cut, fear, bloody mouth.

3x03 Cuts himself on glass. Brother shot in front of him.

3x04 Hit’s himself, bloody cut, bruised eye.

3x06 Attacked, outnumbered, fight, tasered, unconscious, manhandled, captive, tied up. Fight, escapes. Rough fight, grabbed by throat.

3x09 Shot with rubber bullet, coughing, pistol whipped.

3x15 Threatened, inside burning warehouse, coughing.

3x16 On the run, wanted. Hit by explosion, bloody head wound, kicked, foot on neck, pinned down, suffocating, jumps off building. Car crash, dizzy, fight, slammed against car multiple times, bruised face, hooded, handcuffed.

Season 4

4x01 Bruises from previous episode. Rough fight, under gunfire. Crying, emotional whump.

4x02 (Plus Jesse’s whumps)

4x03 Slammed into table twice, gunpoint. Punched, interrogated, manhandled, grabbed by throat.

4x05 Fight, knife cut, bleeding.

4x09 Walks into trap, gunpoint, hostage, tied up, punched, threatened. Attacked, fight.

4x10 Attacked, thrown through window, pinned down, cut, bleeding chest wound. Field medicine, stitched up. Handcuffed, prison undercover, threatened, power play. Multiple small fights.

4x12 Walks into trap, outnumbered, gunpoint, pistol whipped, bleeding head wound. Manhandled, shot in shoulder, bleeding out, interrogated, in pain, car crash, unconscious.

4x13 Coma, life support, head wound. Discharges himself, arm in a cast, refuses painkillers. Lots of pain throughout the episode by moving injured shoulder.

4x14 Still pain from bullet wound in previous episodes.

4x18 Car crash, on the run, rough fight, emotional, crying. (Plus Jessie’s whump)

Season 5

5x03 Paranoid, night terrors, punched.

5x04 Drugged, unconscious, tied up, interrogated, plastic bag over head, choking, gun point. Hostage, tied up, explosion blast.

5x08 Pistol whipped, bleeding head wound, threatened, gunpoint, tied up, kneeling, interrogated.

5x10 Inside burning building, burns arm, field medicine. Cuts himself, bloody head wound, manhandled, gun point, punched, pinned down, grunts.

5x11 Rough fight, gunpoint, tied up.

5x12 Hostage, forced to do job, punched, threatened, head slammed into disk, pinned down, bloody head wound, threatened, kicked.

5x16 Mind games, emotional, talks about dark past.

Season 6

6x01 Crying. Fight, hit with metal bar. (Plus Jessie whump)

6x04 Emotional, hit by explosion blast. (Plus Sam’s whump)

6x06 Major emotional whump episode, crying, brother dies in front of him..

6x07 Shot in vest, grunts in pain.

6x10 Attacked, punched, bruised ribs, pain when moving throughout episode. Jumps through window, bleeding face wound.

6x11 Bruises from previous episode. Fight, captured, gunpoint, handcuffed, interrogated, kicked multiple times, electrocuted, in pain, bloody mouth.

6x12 Emotional, wanted, on the run. (Plus Jessie’s whump)

6x14 Hit by flash grenade, ringing ears, dizzy, gunpoint. Tied to chair, burned with curling iron, hooded, manhandled.

6x17 Attacked, gunpoint. (Plus major Sam and Jessie whump)

6x18 Emotional, blood donated by syringe. (Plus major Sam whump)

Season 7

7x01 Bloody knuckles, rough fight, punched multiple times, bloody face, strangled, lip cut.

7x04 Cut on arm, bleeding, bandage, manhandled, punched. Waterboarding, handcuffed, interrogated, coughing.

7x06 Breaks down crying.

7x07 Tasered, unconscious, blinded, manhandled, interrogated, sleep deprived, worn out. Dragged, weak, drugged, hallucinating, breaking down, crying. Needs help walking, limping.

7x08 Hit by explosion blast, limping, field medicine, bandages. (Plus Jessie’s whump)

7x10 Tied up, gagged, punched, kneeling.

7x11 Attacked, rough fight, knife cut on arm, bleeding, field medicine. Cover blown, slapped, punched, bleeding face wound, interrogated, gunpoint, pain inflicted in arm wound, begging.

7x12 Bruises from previous episode. Fight with best friend, not himself.

7x13 Shot in the shoulder. And lowkey suicidal.

Phew! What a show I must say. Enjoyed every minute of it. There’s a lot of good whump here and I think this list speaks for itself! It’s lowkey reminding me of MacGyver but with a twist of The Mentalist?

[mewmckenna]

Last night I was rewatching 1x03 and I noticed a parallel with another part of the series. In 1x03, which is the episode that focuses on the suffragists, the scene that takes place directly after Eliza slaps PC Honeychurch (slay) is her and William arguing over his treatment of her. William asks Eliza “are you a woman or a detective?” to which she replies that there should not be a distinction, as there is not one for William as a man.

This conversation is super interesting for me because later on in the show, at the end of 4x04, Patrick tells Eliza that she is “an exceptional detective, and a remarkable woman.” While he is mentioning her gender here, it is not to belittle her or her achievements. Unlike William, he understands that this is a part of her identity, and an important part. Patrick sees this and regularly acknowledges. She’s good at her job and she’s also a woman, full stop. I don’t know if William is ever able to recognize these two aspects of Eliza’s identity as being cohesive.

Patrick’s acceptance of this part of her identity is referenced in the next episode. It’s after she has accused their client of murder and Patrick goes to do damage control. He tells her that she has to be a businesswoman if she wants their agency to succeed. This was during a time when being a businesswoman was not really a thing. Most women did not own any property or have any position of power, and they definitely did not run a detective agency with a staff of twenty men. That’s why his offer to run Nash & Sons was so attractive to her. He understands how this is a big deal for her and doesn’t try to diminish that. He calls her what she is and even though he’s mad at her during this part of the episode, he’s not using her gender to insult her.

Basically, Felix Scott called Patrick Nash a Victorian feminist and he was right. William reflects the ideas of the time, and though he certainly gets less aggressive about it over time, he still doesn’t ever get over his distaste for Eliza’s job. Patrick, while certainly not a perfect feminist (lol), is lightyears ahead of where William is on that front. Because of this, Patrick’s relationship with Eliza is fundamentally different from William’s as it comes from a place of respect without any of the reservations that William has.

[isagrimorie]

[initial reactions] Agatha All Along 1x03 - Through Many Miles/ Of Tricks and Trials

I love how this show is living up to its spooky vibes, and its quest trials.

But also, the writing remains really good because it efficiently told us everything we need to know about each character - starting with Agatha stating each of the Witch’s ‘I want’ motivation and then continuing on with the House revealing each person’s motivations.

Also, it’s really apparent that Agatha getting trapped in her own mind has left a mark on her too. It reminds me of Dream in The Sandman, Dream was imprisoned for a century and he liked to pretend that his incarceration did not change him but it did.

And I feel that’s the same way with Agatha. Agatha would like to continue with how she used to operate but she’s not the witch she used to be, and she has to rely on people more and in turn they’re gonna start relying on her.

This story is going to bring Agatha kicking and screaming into giving a damn.

There’s more movement on the Teen storyline and they’re having fun throwing a lot of things in front of us to confuse the audience which truth matched the Teen’s truth.

Alice has a glimpse of her mother and the pain she was under, we got to see more of what’s bound Jen and it’s terrible, I love it’s a story of getting her agency back beyond just magic. And Lilia has some interesting premonitions and visions.

We get to see more of Agatha and her trauma about her child — everyone seemed to think that Agatha sacrificed her own child to get the Darkhold.

This makes me think that’s not really the case and my theory that Rio was the one who sacrificed Agatha’s child — because he was dying anyway, and she might have wanted Nick’s death to be meaningful. And this is why Agatha hates Rio but also hates that she can’t truly hate Rio.

I need to rewatch this episode again. Poor Sharon! There’s consequences for mortals being on the Road!

[cintasfics]

Masterlist

Psych

OC profile - Marley Williams

Relationships and dynamics

Misc. ideas and headcanons

One-shots/Drabbles

The People You Meet at Happy Hour - Carlton Lassiter x oc during a night out with some friends from work, marley runs into lassiter, who is at the same bar under similar circumstances. growing tired and her social battery draining, she excuses herself from her group to hang back with the detective at his table.

Hear Santa Barbara, I swear it's calling me - Carlton Lassiter x oc a private case leads the three members of psych detective agency to a nightclub, where marley goes undercover as a dancer to find out more information. the head detective at sbpd enters the same club one night following a tip called into the station and is taken aback by what he sees.

Nothing some (eye) candy can't fix - Juliet O'Hara x oc (platonic) while visiting the sbpd, marley stops in to check on juliet, and finding her friend overworked and under stress, resolves to do something about it

Blue eyes and the tie to match - Carlton Lassiter x oc a case involving models and a fashion designer causes some changes to occur within the group style-wise, and marley can’t help but voice her appreciation

Soft Spot - Carlton Lassiter x oc needing a favour from lassiter to make progress in their case, shawn and gus decide to take advantage of the man’s feelings for their friend, encouraging her to be the one to ask for his help

One of you is going to have to change - Shawn, Gus and Henry x oc (platonic) waiting outside a restaurant for the rest of their party to arrive, shawn wishes he never came up with the idea of going out to eat after being met with a horrific sight

Leave It On - Carlton Lassiter x oc while things are getting heated between the couple, lassiter finds out that marley has a certain appreciation for an aspect of his uniform

Series - First Meetings

A match made in the emergency room (and again in a cafe) - Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster x oc (platonic) when shawn ends up in the emergency department after being run off the road while investigating the murder of the regional spelling bee spellmaster, he finds a new friend in the nurse that looks after him, even if she doesn’t know it yet

Another thorn in Lassiter's side - Carlton Lassiter x oc shortly after becoming friends with shawn and gus, marley attends (read: is dragged along to) her first crime scene and her presence gets a mixed reaction from the two detectives on the scene

When Marley Met Henry - Henry Spencer x oc (platonic) marley's car breaks down on the way home from work, and unable to respond to her request for help personally, shawn sends his dad in his place

Episode outlines

Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece - 1x03 Woman Seeking Dead Husband: Smokers Okay, No Pets - 1x04 9 Lives - 1x05 Weekend Warriors - 1x06 Shawn vs. The Red Phantom - 1x08

Marvel

Kneel - Erik Lehnsherr x reader It’s Halloween at the school for gifted youngsters, and Erik is more than happy to indulge you in a certain interest of yours

[fluffypotatey]

*kicks down door*

ANY HEADCANONS AND/OR THOUGHTS ABOUT OUR LADY AND SAVIOR MEI DRAGON!?  👀 👀 👀

so

i had a whole fucking list. i was on fire. AND THEN MY PAGE REFRESHED AND NOW ITS GONE T^T

let’s do this one more time:

Mei has a complicated relationship with her family

not that she hates them. no she loves them. truly

but sometimes she wishes she did hate them because maybe she’d be able to stomach their disappointment and disapproval better than she currently does

because while her love for them feels unconditional and on instinct, her parents’ feel like an indefinite list of conditions that Mei will never complete perfectly at the expense of their acceptance of how she lives her life

and it’s not like she’s dependent on their approval, but living in a house that acts more like a museum does a lot on a kid’s psyche when all they want to do is roughhouse and stick their hands in the dirt and paint on the walls

so she learned very quick that her definition of herself did not coincide with her parents. though the unsolicited advice and backhanded comments did enough to cement that

and she did her best to tell herself that her worth does not need to rely on her parents’ approval but the self talk didn’t really improve until she moved out

(personal hc that she moved out of the house after high school because of her feeling stifled at home. she lives in a studio apartment probably. somewhere close where she can work on her bike. mostly bc idk the vibes i got from 1x03 was that she only ever visited home when her parents ask her to house sit now. like they’re all avoiding the huge issue and the parents maybe realize that Mei needs her space, so think that asking her to house sit helps keep that distance and gives Mei her agency. idk that’s what i personally gathered)

also her social media fame can be pointed to her posting updates and trio videos of her working on her bike and implementing ways to incorporate her own magic into it

(there are so many trial videos of her trying to find a way to make her magic compatible with the bike. every new trial is Mei being like “ok so THIS time we won’t mess with the engine but what about the wheels :3”

eventually, the trial videos are just her live streaming and you can see a scrawl of comments of unsolicited advice, people being like “Mei’s at it again”, or just bets on the trial’s success)

with her claim to fame, Mei used to to help give her some interest in being selected for races (which she excels at)

she also branches out from just showing her workshopping on her bike. she does gameplays, react videos, and fashion videos

she meets MK at a Monkey Mech tournament

they play against each other in the semi-finals and Mei ends up winning the tournament but the two clicked so well that MK invited her over to Pigsy’s Noodles to celebrate and they have been inseparable since

also, last one:

Mei had admirable the dragon sword king before it ever chose her

it held so much history for her clan. it was held by heroic ancestors that Mei has looked up to since she was little. and she had longed to hold it since the first day her parents showed it to her

and then it chose her. it found her worthy to be the next wielder. it thought she was deserving enough to be someone the clan could depend on to protect them. that her distaste in the sterile walls and floors was not a dealbreaker, or her passion for things on the opposite side of what her parents wanted from her was okay enough

and that all i have rn off the top of my head. i love her <3333

[kindaskimpy]

"Hawk from a Handsaw"

[missysumbrellauploads]

Night Nurse Episode 3 Screencaps Part 3

under the cut there are 25 unedited screencaps of the night nurse in dead boy detectives episode 3: the case of the devlin house! mostly just compiling these for myself for layout making purposes.

free to use, just like & reblog pls!

part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

[dwreader]

So I'm a new viewer and just finished season two! What I wanted to talk about is how people are referring to what armand did to Louis as a lynching which I agree with but I often seen push back from those same people when someone says that Lestat also participated in the lynching? I don't understand is that not what he did by lying at the "trial"

some people have convinced themselves that lestat was being mind controlled at the trial despite zero indication on the show that was the case. hell its not even what happened in the book lol. he was simply much weaker in the book after the murder attempt and was bribed with healing blood. in the show, he is clearly completely fine. he's at the rehearsals looking like nothing ever happened. he's strong enough to mind control ~100 humans, which is more than what he did in 1x03. you can't give him credit for the part where he saved louis and then say he can't be blamed for everything else. he either has agency or he doesn't lmao

[raayllum]

How Terry and Claudia Compare / Contrast Rayllum in S4

So Terry/Claudia and Rayla/Callum parallel each other as couples. Let’s talk about it.

Intro

The first is their set up, after all:

Rayla and Claudia have been foils ever since the first season. Both failing their fathers in 1x03, with Claudia letting the egg slip through her fingers and Rayla taking a hard stance against Runaan. Them being pushed into their fathers��� death seeking paths of dark mage and assassin, and being pushed further into those roles in S4, somewhat or downright reluctantly. Wandering Xadia for two years on a quest regarding Viren — one to save him, one to kill him. 

Then you have Terry and Callum’s parallels. Both are concerned with their names in 4x01, agency in 4x07, and feelings, well, throughout. In some ways their differences are more pronounced in S4 because of what Callum has been through and their differing trauma; for Callum, he chose to shut down. For Terry, he decided that he would be “strong enough to do whatever [he] needs to do and still have feelings — to feel all the feelings” (4x07). But I’d wager if we put Arc 1 Callum next to S4 Terry, their goofier, sweeter natures would stand out even more — even with their “trees to meet you” notwithstanding. 

Not that this is how the parallels always go. Callum and Claudia are both mages and Aaravos’ pawns with Rayla and Terry along for the ride. Rayla and Terry also have parallels (“I think too much, get confused about the right thing to do” —1x08 / “Claudia says I think too much about everything, and that it makes me weird, and wonderful, so” —4x07). 

However, we’ll return more specifically to the Claudia-Rayla, Terry-Callum parallels later in regards to S5 speculation, so put a pin in that. For now, let’s just look at episode set up and contrast, beginning sparingly in 

4x01 — Partnership VS Isolation 

On Callum’s birthday, and Viren’s re-birthday, the final two scenes of the episode both feature couples, introducing where each currently are in ways the episode hadn’t previously prioritized establishing. 

In Claudia’s final scene in 4x01, we meet Terry and learn that they began dating during the timeskip. In Callum’s final scene in 4x01, we learn that Rayla’s been gone for at least a year if not longer, and that Callum’s worried sick / still madly in love with her. The contrast is immediate and apparent, amplified by Janai and Amaya’s engagement earlier on in the episode; two couples are happy together — hell, even Claudia is happy and with an elf no less, but Callum’s previously rock solid partnership has broken apart. He’s alone. [If you’re interested in a more thorough breakdown of this aspect and indeed 4x01 in general, please check out this meta regarding 4x01 and this one about 4x02.]

Where one couple came together during the timeskip, another fell apart, both featuring a human mage with abandonment issues and an elf with too good a heart and one too many thoughts (but again, more on that later).

We of course have the parallels already demonstrated above of Callum and Terry meeting their girlfriend’s father, respectively. Terry, by virtue of having a season sharing screentime with Viren, gets to develop a much more fleshed out relationship with him than Callum does with Ethari. What’s interesting, however, is that Terry is concerned (somewhat) with Viren’s approval, and he doesn’t comment often on Claudia and Viren’s actual dynamic, even if he does nudge at it:

This is a direct contrast to Callum, who does vehemently challenge the assigned role and treatment Rayla receives upon her homecoming and reunion with Ethari:

Claudia has also suffered greatly to bring her father back to the dead, Terry seemingly witnessing most of that, a tantamount of trauma being the reason Terry probably does step back and let her steer the ship (even more so than Viren does in S4, but getting off topic again). I think it speaks to Rayllum vs Clauderry’s roots - one was formed on the basis of a shared goal (returning Zym) vs supporting a singular goal primarily driven by one of them (resurrecting Claudia’s father), and then tag teaming their way through. 

However, Ethari does take to Callum quickly when all is said and done, however brief, whereas the first time Viren seems to really consider Terry is in 4x04, but we’ll get there when we get there. For now, let’s talk about the episode that probably has some of the biggest and most overt parallels between these two couples in the season, which is

4x03 - Mornings and Murder

We cut from Rayllum at nighttime, despondent and salvaging something of a reunion that didn’t go the way either of them actually want, to Claudia and Terry, flirting and talking happily even and bathed in the rising sunlight even if they’re about to attempt something dangerous. 

Then we get an exchange from Claudia and Terry that should feel eerily familiar, in both dialogue and in action:

Rayla: Just one more thing. I go into the portal alone. Callum: Rayla—

Rayla: No. You said it was dangerous. I’m not going to risk both of us. Callum: Fine. But the second it seems like you’re in danger, I’m jumping in after you. 

Terry: But since you’re going in alone, you need to promise me you’ll signal if you need help. 

A bag is handed over, a deal is made, and we see Rayla and Claudia offer more of their independent streaks (“It’s down to me, isn’t it? Of course it is” —Rayla, 1x05 / “It’s up to me again, she thought. It’s always up to me” —Claudia, Lost Child short story) in the face of boyfriends who would really prefer they don’t risk themselves like this. Now for Terry, this does make more sense — his plant powers are useful when he has the element of surprise, but he doesn’t seem like a particularly combative elf or that he has much of a background in fighting — whereas Callum is perfectly capable of both of those things as a mage. However, Terry is still the one to bail Claudia out, much like how Callum ends up saving Rayla and helping them both escape in Through the Moon, and we see Rayla’s duality — Callum is allowed to risk his life for the things he believes in, and she’ll even encourage and offer to fight by his side, when those things aren’t her.

Rayllum do get a sweet morning scene in 4x03, though, with Terry tending to Claudia’s hair, and Rayla taking care of well, her prince’s less than dignified drool, but the softness remains largely the same (even if, like Claudia, she departs at the end of the scene).

The bulk and perhaps most immediate parallel, though, is how much Rayla and Callum are tied to Claudia and Terry through Ezran’s speech. While it is about many things and a reiteration of the show’s overall themes of breaking the cycle of violence and vengeance, it is also applying more literally to both Claudia’s ongoing fight with Ibis in the first half of his speech, and Callum’s feelings about Rayla throughout the season in the second half of his speech.

Ezran: It hurts! I feel pain about this and I am angry! We all want peace and we all want love. But violence tests us. In a twisted way, it converts us to its cause. Because pain and loss feel so terrible inside, you want to hate. You want to hurt someone else. So what do we do? How can we stop this cycle? Violence, loss, pain. Violence, loss, pain. More violence. Stop! Stop. I just want to yell stop. But that’s not enough. It won’t work. 

Ezran: But… It’s not that easy or simple. Because people are still hurting and they are still angry. We can’t ignore that, or pretend it will go away. Somehow, we have to hold it all in our hearts at the same time. We have to acknowledge the weight of the pain and loss, but open up our eyes and allow ourselves to hope and maybe forgive and love again.

Callum: You’re right, though. It feels silly with everything that’s going on, but... I don’t know how to feel about Rayla either.  Ezran: She’s been trying hard to get things back like they were. Callum: But things aren’t like they were. And she messed them up! And when she came back, I was so happy but so mad at the same time. I wish I could just forgive her, but it—it—it’s so hard. 

The most worrisome thing, however, even if we don’t know which side of Rayllum (or possibly both) it may parallel in the future is what Terry infamously does for Claudia. 

Now, there’s the obvious takeaways here: the parallels between this scene and Soren stabbing Viren in 3x09; the fact that Claudia’s path will continue to perpetuate the cycle and hurt the people she loves by proxy; the way the Dragon Prince rarely portrays murder in a less than devastating note; to further Terry’s character and his unique role to play; to offer up parallels to Viren that are explored next episode and even Callum later on in the season; and last but not least to harken back to Runaan’s words that Claudia definitely hasn’t lived by—“Life is valuable. Life is precious. We take it, but we do not take it lightly.” 

But Ibis’ murder and Terry’s subsequent breakdown over taking a life does raise certain questions about Callum and Rayla going forward in two key ways, respectively. Rayla’s is the most straight forward so I’ll start there.

One of the ways that Terry and Rayla are most bound, currently, is their relationship to killing. For the first three seasons, Rayla is primarily an assassin who has never taken a life, something that is a source of shame, transformation, and occasional pride for her (although not often). It is in fact her level of doubt / belief in her own inevitability of failure that pressures into her concluding that Viren is secretly, somehow alive, propelling her to leave in Through the Moon. Then 4x03 gives us Terry, a similarly good hearted elf, who flat out breaks down sobbing after taking an innocent life - and admittedly one that was about to take Claudia’s. Then you have Callum later on in the season, for a variety of complicated reasons and muddled emotionally processing on all ends, asking Rayla to do the same thing. To take his life before he can hurt someone else - the people he cares about, as the camera pans right to showing her in the shot. Ouch. 

It’s pretty clear that Rayla will not successfully and/or permanently murder Callum, if she’s even willing to attempt it at all, even in self defense. However, through Terry, the show explores the heaviness of doing something terrible largely against your will, under the burden of desperation or threat of coercion, something that both Callum and Rayla are going to have to wrestle with. For Callum, he’s already grappling with it (“I’m afraid he’ll force me to do awful things”), and for Rayla, she’ll be forced to wrestle with it at the same time as him if Aaravos does take him over again. 

This is also where Callum’s parallels to Terry gets particularly interesting as well. The Dragon Prince repeatedly frames murder in the face of self defense (specifically in defense of someone else) as something that removes agency: 

This is exactly what Callum is worried about - having no choice because of Aaravos’ ability to possess him - even if there could be other forms of coercion and manipulation at play. Viren did plenty of terrible things to protect his family and says as much outright in 4x04; Soren did something awful to protect Ezran in 3x09; and Viren was prepared to do something awful but “necessary” in murdering a baby, even if he didn’t go through with it, pulled in by the allure of power. 

Which is to say: Rayla’s test of love will probably be refusing to kill Callum, and working to save him from possession. Thus, that begs the question of what Callum’s test will be, specifically: What will he do to protect his loved ones, perhaps Rayla in particular?

Only time can tell, but I think S5 is setting up to see the lengths Callum and Terry will be willing to go to, and what their respective girlfriends are willing, or not willing, to ask of them, in order to save their girlfriends’ parents, and/or to free/stop Aaravos in the first place. 

But that’s all speculative. For now I want to talk about one of the smaller but still sweet parallels in the season, as well as one of the more interesting tradeoffs. 

4x04 - Watching Your Lover Sleep / The Middle of the Night

There are four scenes this season where Character A watches Character B, with whom they have/had a romantic entanglement, sleep, which isn’t a ton but is still funny that it happened four times. I’ve already talked about one of them in 4x03 with Rayla watching Callum sleep. 4x04 boasts the second one (and the only one that doesn’t involve Callum at all) with Terry watching Claudia sleep, and is also one of my favourite scenes for their dynamic.

Then Callum and Rayla have another one, in 4x06 (which is also one of my favourite pining Rayla looks, ever). 

Last but not least we have Claudia also overlooking a sleeping Callum in 4x09, but with a decidedly different reaction compared to the previous three scenes.

Then of course, you have the parallels in 4x04 of Terry and Rayla both sobbing in the middle of the night, accidentally waking Viren and Callum respectively. Again, their similarities and differences between all four are highlighted in a quite clear contrast. Terry is apologetic but opens up without hesitation, while Viren mostly silently listens, sympathizes somewhat, and then offers his “Get a grip” and goes back to sleep. Meanwhile upon being caught, Rayla attempts to shut Callum out four times (“Get away from me” + pushing him away, running away, pushing him away again + “Please leave me alone, I don’t want you to see me like this,” and walking away when he attempts to put a hand on her shoulder). Callum, however, persists, and says all the right things, leading to a much better resolution, even if the weight of Rayla’s failure and exile hasn’t entirely left her.

Now for the last episode specific focus, which is:

4x09 - Hand over Heart 

The season finale brings both couples, somewhat, to a crossroads of sorts. Rayla, for her part, sees Viren again, and has her own two cakes moment: can she chase what she feels she has to do, her self-proclaimed duty, without risking the loss of Callum - whether as a person to death, or as a partner? And Callum, for a variety of complex reasons, says “Yes,” she can. 

Rayla’s drive causes her to clash directly with Claudia, as she takes Terry hostage and Claudia turns the tables on her, flaunting the coins. But where Callum gives a complicated ‘approval’ and show of unconditional love, Terry rightfully pulls Claudia back to herself through his disapproval. 

T: But what you just did, the way you tricked that Moonshadow elf? It was just... cruel. 

On a surface level, we can read Callum’s “I know” as him finally believing in Rayla’s reason (even if I don’t think that’s quite right), but I do think it’s interesting, then, that Claudia giving back the coins is what allowed each girl to ‘come back’ in a way. For Rayla, it was a literal return (as who knows if she would’ve left the cave, or not gone after the mage fam further, without the need/desire to protect the coins) and for Claudia, an emotional/metaphorical one. 

With some final, heartbreaking 4x09 specific parallels to boot:

Honourary Mentions

Other fun parallels that didn’t fit an episode focus:

Callum and Terry’s first scenes in episode 4x01, in some ways largely opening and closing their respective plot lines (A plot in Katolis, B plot in the cave) are focused on their names. Callum stumbles through his different titles while Terry emphasizes his own name, amid trying to figure out which title, if any, he should use for Viren.

This is then impressed upon further with the emphasis on agency in 4x07.

The fact that Terry and Callum are both recipients of canonical panic attacks.

Worry over their girls not being back yet, although for Terry it is of course a much, much briefer separation. (Terry, interestingly enough, also waltzes in and saves Claudia from Soren’s impromptu ‘kidnapping’ / restraining, for lack of a better word.)

Last but not least, I want to talk a little bit more about the Rayla-Claudia parallels this season. It’s a little tricky, as most of their big parallels have to do more with Viren-Callum and Claudia-Rayla, respectively, with the bulk of the Clauderry-Rayllum ones listed up above. However, there are still some worth mentioning.

Rayla and Claudia are both defined by the parents who chose to leave (and to not come back, for forever if not years). They are both acting more and more like their fathers (Rayla with Runaan, and Claudia with Viren) as they also work to one day free/save them in S5. Rayla is far more jaded than she used to be, and Claudia is likewise increasingly unstable, even if both girl fronts decently well at being ‘fine’ most of the time. I am deeply curious to see where they will go as individuals and where their relationships with Terry and Callum will go, as well - whether each one will get better, worse, or something in between. Luckily, just a little over one more month to find out!

In Conclusion

Rayla and Callum have always been the pairing in the show the most prone to having parallels with the show’s other main couples. From a kiss-embrace-forehead touch like the Queens of Duren, holding hands while vowing to protect Azymondias like Lain and Tiadrin, sadly watching your loved one disappear onto the horizon to save someone like Harrow and Sarai, or a bittersweet goodbye kiss initiated by an elf who’s too self sacrificial for their own good like Runaan and Ethari, it seems Rayllum’s parallels to Claudia/Terry are no exception.

It makes me wonder if beyond S5, and if Claudia and Terry to have a physical-ideological split, if Callum and Rayla will also factor into what helps Claudia and Terry repair their dynamic. Forgiveness and being able to move forward, together, are tenets that Callum and Rayla still very much have to learn  - but maybe they could pass it onto someone else, someday, too. 

[sinnersandsapphics-edits]

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

1x03 - Rogue Wall Enthusiasts

[geminihurt]