#The Selection

[backtoaugust-ts]

I have realized that the perfect form of media must have a delicate balance between absolutely heart wrenching pure emotional devastation and the most ridiculous nonsense you have ever seen in your whole life

[pickinglilahs]

"Break my heart. Break it a thousand times. It was only ever yours to break."

*Me at literally every ship I come across

[corujalesbica]

The answer to a love triangle is always a polycule, idk why people refuse to see this

[my-life-my-stories-my-love]

So when I turned 18 I was watching a show and just stopped and realized shit I am either the same age or older than most protagonists. Like what do I do with that. And it’s only going to get worse the more I age. This is the weirdest way to think about aging like yeah my fav character is 16 in this made up story and I used to be the same age as them and then suddenly I was 2 years older. It’s just weird to think about how they helped me get through that age and now I’ve moved on and they’re just chilling eternally young (like Peter Pan but unaware)

[sleep-can-wait]

The only fictional relationships I'm interested in and obsess over have the character's s/o's nickname as either:

Love

My darling god/My sweet nemisis

Darling

My dear

My dark benevolent queen

OR something like:

Snob/Troll/Wifey/[Last name]

Seaweed brain/Wise girl

Sarge

OTHERWISE I DONT WANT IT

[queenofheartsdeservedbetter]

When Jacks said "I am a monster, but whether you remember it or not, I'm your monster, Evangeline." , and Cardan said, "Mock me all you like. Whatever I imagined then, now it is I who would beg and grovel for a kind word from your lips. By you I'm forever undone.", and Dante said, "You are my forever", and Aaron Warner said, "To the world she is formidable. To me? She is the world", and Maxton said, "Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break it anyway", and Oliver said, "You know why", and Kaz said, "I protect my investments"

[abbyreadsalot]

i love a small independent bookstore sm 🤍

featuring one of my fav ya novels, the selection by kiera cass, i highly recommend if you haven’t read it!

[reyreadersblog]

When they call you my dear, love, sweetheart, little fox and they're blonde>>>

[ultr8-v1olence]

"my child is fine" your child's favourite trope is found family

And ong I want found family like you know the way you see it in Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and dead poets society where we're all just different yet the same and just being so supportive more than the 'blood' families and where I don't have to question whether I'm being loved or not and no one has to be left out and you can also come to me i know your family is shit it's fine let me be there for you and pls be there for me

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I was running a show à la The Bachelor/The Selection except all the contestants were characters from my favorite books and tv shows.

[marlinspirkhall]

I watched the unaired Selection pilots so you don't have to

But, if you want to, you can do so here, and here (password: “selection”), credit to Media Garage on YouTube

Edit: links no longer active

The Selection (2012)

Strong Hunger Games vibes throughout, the plain-text opening screen isn't helping

Stock-footage of rolling hills gets replayed way too much

ETHAN PECK?

Unlike in the books, America only finds out she's been entered into The Selection after she gets selected, so the plot point about the photoshoot & her radiant smile being the thing which gets her selected no longer applies, I guess

Everyone in the YouTube comments was saying that Aspen and Maxon were miscast & the actors' roles should have been swapped (... No comment. I believe in you, Mr Peck)

This castle is looks too small to fit 24 TV show contestants in it

Fiona, unprompted: “Can you keep a secret, America?”

America: “I have been known to”

Fiona: “I play the violin”

Okay? (This is actually a very sweet moment and, again, Fiona may be the best actress in this)

This episode covered a significant portion of the first book, out of order, which makes me wonder if the intention was to cover all 3 books in one series.

This almost feels like half of a film, making me wonder if someone adapted a film spec script into a tv show spec script

Apparently, Fiona has a secret child and Celeste knows about it, causing Fiona to drop out on day one and tearfully warn America to “trust no one, there's no such thing as friends here”- which is a fucking wild thing to say when she's probably the only contestant who's been nice to America so far & Celeste didn't even need to get to know her to know her secrets because she has spies anyway 😭

It's worth reminding you that they have been at the palace for one entire day total

You think Queen Amberly is being fleshed out in this version but... Hmm

Amberly appears to be the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes (she confronts Celeste about extorting Fiona, tells her "she would have gone home in due time" and to "leave America to me. Anything we do to try and separate them [her and Maxom] will only make him want her more")

Again: IT HAS BEEN A DAY

America sees her servant gathering all her dresses (none of which she has used yet, bar the yellow and green ones) including the iconic blue one from the book cover. America asks what's happening and the servant replies: “Prince Maxom's orders”

Cut to America's family. They open a box with a glittering pair of high heels inside. I guess this is supposed to mirror the part of the book where Maxom cuts off the stipend for 2's and 3's who are in the selection?

If you think this version feels unfaithful to the book, just wait until you see The CW's pilot

IT HAS BEEN ONE DAY

Runtime: one day 45 minutes

Final rating: 5/10, kinda long and stiff in places and the set design was all over the place. Felt like a Hallmark movie (the set design didn't help). Probably would watch another episode of this if it was a full series or a limited series of 3-6 episodes. A little script-doctoring and a better set would work wonders.

The Selection (2013)

I cannot stress enough: this version begins with a sex scene between Maxom and a servant

Okay, I got ahead of myself; it actually begins with another hunger-games-esque black screen with text on it, text which reads “Someday, in the future”, which is read aloud by a woman's voice.

We zoom in on a much roomier-looking castle on a hill, as a random whip sound effect plays (leading into the sex scene, in which no whips are present)

All the female servants in the palace are dressed in sexy maid costumes and I wish I was kidding

The world map explaining the history of Illea is CONFUSING AS HELL, but maybe they hadn't nailed down all the details yet. I'm genuinely not sure

ANTONY HEAD?

Aspen is introduced tied to a St Andrew's cross and being watched over by a guard. America asks the guard to free him, he chases her through the streets, she circles back and cuts Aspen down

America's selection is similar to the 2012 pilot, except Aspen is present. America asks her mom why she'd enter her into the selection when “You know I'm with Aspen”, so uh, I guess they're not keeping it a secret here.

There's also no mention of Aspen being of a lower caste than her, nor of America having a job other than the vague title of "laboring class" which hangs over them all, vaguely

This is a masterclass in editing and pacing. The dialogue is okay, but the added geopolitics make no sense. Any issues with this are smoothed over by the fact that the plot keeps moving forwards at a breakneck pace to keep you distracted.

The lack of breathing room would probably be too confusing for an audience who wasn't already familiar with The Selection

The set here is absolutely beautiful but unfortunately it gives me Merlin vibes, and casting Antony Head as the king does not help with this.

Maxon attempts to pull a Mr Darcy. He then tells America that if she runs away with Aspen, the guards will beat him to a pulp and they'll both spend the rest of their lives in prison. America suggests that she make the monarchy look good so the working class don't side with the rebels. Looks like we're going full Hunger Games.

Celeste's handmaiden seems way too devoted to her; they turn out to be lovers

Just when you think Maxon might start redeeming himself, we see the palace guards swarm Aspen and kicking him. Maxom stands nearby on his horse overseeing this so there's no question of whether he did it or not

Final rating: 6/10, I would absolutely watch another episode of this. It was an absolute mess, but I've seen teen wolf, so I'm not gonna pretend I'm above it.

This feels like the kind of pilot which would get greenlit just to attract hateviewers.

Summary:

Neither protagonist had red hair and neither adaptation was trying particularly hard to give it to her (2012: dark red box dye. 2013: blonde!)

These actors are doing their best and some of them even seem to be having fun (good for them)

In the 2013 pilot, the writers lampshade America running around “like an action hero”, but she promptly forgets how to do that by the midpoint of the episode, so w/e

It feels like the 2013 pilot was a reworking of the 2012 pilot, because there were too many similarities carried over from one script to another which weren't present in the original book, like Fiona having a secret relationship.

I forgot to mention that Aspen has a brother in the 2013 pilot. He seems to be adapted from the palace guard who has a relationship with one of the contestants in a later book.

I can't get over how fucking weird of a decision it is to make the kind and likeable love interest into a power-corrupt despot, but it does feel more true to an actual monarchy. I assume they were trying to give Maxon a bad-boy vibe, which doesn't make much sense because that's supposed to be Aspen's whole deal.

There was a whole subplot in both pilots where an advisor character is revealed to be working with the rebels at the end of the episode

Extremely funny to me that the 2012 pilot makes a point of mentioning that sex before marriage is illegal and the 2013 pilot opens with premarital sex with the prince regent

[mellendraws]

Maxon and America own my pathetic heart 🥹

[lavendarneverlands]

I love the way that fandoms work (especially in books) how I can discover something that came out 10 years ago (but is brand new to me) & fall into an entire world, full of fans (from its first debut to brand new members like myself). I can enjoy years of content in minutes, or enjoy minutes of content for years. And even when the “new-ness” of a series ends I can always fall back into an old favorite again & again; still finding new & old friends to obsess over it with. — Fandoms develop a life of their own & the love of stories that exceeds time; I just think that’s pretty magical in itself to watch.

[yokyopeli]

@suomiplorpoturnaus innoittama tein kyselyn omista suomalaisista (mutta ei suomi-) blorboistani. Kaikki nämä hahmot ovat jotenkin suomalaisia ja minun lemppareita.

Satu Järvinen (Malin Buska) A Discovery of Witches (2018-2020); noita Suomesta. Malin Buska on tornionjokilaaksolainen ja osaa suomea ja meänkieltä./ Finnish witch. Malin Buska is tornedalian and knows Finnish and meänkieli.

Aikku Jokinen; New Avengers/ U.S. Avengers; supersankari POD/Enigma. Norjasta, kummatkin vanhemmat ovat suomalaisia. Naissuhteessa Toni Ho'n kanssa./ From Norway, both parents are Finnish. Superhero. In a sapphic relationship with Toni Ho.

Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) Haven (2010-2015); poliisi Stephen Kingin Mainesta. Ei tunne mitään fyysisesti. Wuornos on suomalainen sukunimi. Lucas Bryant on kanadalainen, jonka isä on amerikansuomalainen. Näytteli myös Tyttökuningas leffassa./ A cop in Stephen King's Maine. Incapable of feeling anything physically. Wuornos is a Finnish last name. Lucas Bryant is Canadian and his father is Finnish American.

Serafina Pekkala; Eva Green The Golden Compass leffa/ Ruta Gedmintas His Dark Materials tv-sarja. Noita Suomen tapaisesta maasta./ Either version of Serafina Pekkala. Witch from a Finnish-like country.

Henri Jaakoppi The Selection: The Heir/The Crown; maahanmuuttaja, ei osaa edes rallienglantia. Leipuri, lempparit on omenalörtsy ja korvapuustit. Asuu Sotassa./ Immigrant to Illeà, doesn't speak any English, not even with rallienglish accent. A baker, favorites are apple pastry and cinnamon bun. Lives in Sota.

Lotte Yanson Little Witch Academia; noita koululainen Suomesta. Mahdollisesti suomenruotsalainen ja/tai suomensaamelainen. Fanityttö. / Witch student from Finland. Possibly Fennoswedish and/or Saami from Finland. A fangirl.

Sophia 'Valmet' Velmer Jormungand; Suomalaisesta armeijaperheestä. Palkkasoturi. Lesbo. Puuttuu toinen silmä./ From a Finnish army family. A mercenary. Lesbian. Missing an eye.

Jukko Hämäläinen Wildstorm: Team Achilles/ Osasto Karhu; empaatti, joka tuntee ihmisten kivun kolmen kilsan sisällä (nukkuessa puolen kilsan sisällä). Kiroilee suomeksi./ Empath who can feel people's pain within about 2 miles (a quarter mile while sleeping). Swears in Finnish.

Veera 'MK' Suominen (Tatiana Maslany) Orphan Black: Helsinki/ Orphan Black s4-s5. Autistinen klooni Helsingistä, Suomesta. /Autistic clone from Helsinki, Finland.

Joseph Elo (Kris Kaiyala) Dirt an audio drama (2020--). Podcast amerikansuomalaisesta Joseph'ista, jonka aikoja sitten kuollut isoisä alkaa lähettää mysteerikirjeitä. Kolme kautta on ilmestynyt, neljäs/viimeinen alkaa myöhemmin 2024./ Finnish American Joseph Elo starts getting mystery letters from his long dead grandfather.

[emerald-sonu]

Book Couples Ive Read So Far