#We deserved better

[vertiska]

Kaz or how i like to call him 'Kazik'

my art insta: sparks.street

[writerownstory]

and now to end this juke jeudi (at least in my timezone) I’m thinking about how feral we all would’ve gone had JATP ever gone on tour. and then they played Edge of Great live. and Charlie would play the guitar solo (you know the one). and he and Madison would’ve made heart eyes at each other in character. because Juke are soulmates.

yeah 🫠

[lowquailityphotos]

The reason we've never seen an on page wedding or mating ceremony in Sarah's book is because she lacks the ability to write the emotional intamcy or creativity needed to make a scene like that truly meaningful without relying on long sob stories about a characters past and massive amounts of monologue.

Argue with a brick.

[queerfandomtrifecta]

How Izzy’s Death Could’ve Made Basic Storytelling Sense

Just to be clear, Izzy is my favorite and I wanted him to live more than anything. This isn’t about that, and that is NOT why I hated his death. Had it served the narrative in a way that made even the most basic storytelling sense, while I’d admittedly have been devastated in a different way (i.e. the character whose queerness was relegated to the subtext in s1 and as soon as it’s textual and his whole arc is that he’s killed, but that’s a whole separate post…), but at least there would’ve been a correctly crafted arc from a surface level narrative standpoint that ended in the death of my favorite character. But that’s not what this is about. It’s is about how the show could’ve actually made the death actually make sense and work effectively. (Also, if you want my unasked for thoughts on how most of the existing plot of s2 (minus 7-8) could’ve easily been adjusted to fix the narrative as a whole and keep Izzy alive, I wrote this)

But. For those in the fandom insisting that Izzy HAD to die, including DJenks who has said as such in interviews (for reasons I do not understand), from an objective developmental editor standpoint, this is what I think needed to change to make Izzy’s death serve the narrative, character arcs and dynamics, pacing, structure, and thematic elements correctly.

It’s about 2K words just so you know what you’re gonna get into. Spoilers under the cut.

Issue 1. Izzy’s relationship with the crew and how they truly became his family this season totally vanished during his death scene. The same crew who he protected from Ed during the later, worse parts of the Kraken phase. The crew who banded together to save his life by hiding him from/lying to Ed about it, and amputating his leg to save him. The crew he saved by crawling up those stairs during the storm, hobbling out into the rain with one leg and shooting Ed before he could shoot a cannon ball through the mast and kill them all. The crew who called him “our dick”. The crew that then banded together with Stede’s half of the crew to him the leg and the new unicorn (aka the figurehead of the ship). That crew didn’t cry a SINGLE tear when he died. What?? Fang sobbed most of episode one and really lost it when Izzy got shot. Where was that when he died?? Izzy’s last speech to Ricky had something along the lines of: piracy is about belonging/family. We are Good. (Forgive me, I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the gist). Izzy truly did find his family in the crew outside of Ed. That was absolutely fantastic, especially in the first four episodes and episode six. It VANISHED when he was dying and dead.

The fix: To make the death impactful, effective, or even to make it make sense on a very basic acting and writing level, the crew should’ve been utterly DEVASTATED. At least heartbreaking music and like 30 seconds of everyone breaking down and holding each other. At least some of them crying and holding each other in the background when he was dying. Come on.

Issue 2. Thematically speaking, is piracy Good or Bad? Again, Izzy tells Ricky that they (the pirates/his crew) are capital G Good. Yet Ed has spent a lot of time maintaining piracy is capital B Bad. He tells the urchins as such. Here’s some money that I never had, now you don’t have to be pirates. Don’t be pirates. He doesn’t want Stede to kill Ned Low in cold blood. Ed just doesn’t want to be a pirate. Even at the end AFTER Izzy dies telling Ed he’s with his family (implied that this is the crew) and they love Ed, Ed LEAVES THAT FAMILY AND LEAVES PIRACY IMMEDIATELY. We’re left with him and Stede watching the family Izzy swore was Good and loved Ed sail away because Ed thinks piracy is Bad. Which is it?? The death served nothing in convincing Ed he could be happy with his found family on the sea as Ed, not Blackbeard, so the dying words were pointless. The thematic elements are all over the place (for the whole season but that’s another post) and that needs changing to make the death scene make sense.

The fix: Izzy should’ve told him he sees he doesn’t want to pirate anymore, he’s glad he’s found love with Stede because Izzy isn’t going to make it, go run your fokkin’ inn, you twat (affectionate).

Issue 3. Izzy died of bad planning and bad luck. Why didn’t they take the gun from Ricky? Between Spanish Jackie, Izzy, and Jim, SOMEONE would’ve thought about it. If not those three, someone else would’ve, but come one. One if not all of those three would’ve known better. Yeah, Izzy happened to be standing in front of Ed and he got shot instead of him, but you’ve gotta be REALLY looking for that to even be aware it’s what happened. It wasn’t even on purpose unless Ed strategically placed himself behind Izzy (which I doubt was the intent). Izzy didn’t position himself protectively/take the bullet for anyone on purpose. It was just happenstance and you only notice it if you’re rewatching and hyper-analyzing everything (which a lot of us, me included, in the fandom do, but casual watchers don’t. It’s totally unclear as far as the surface level narrative goes) Any sort of “heroism” is not acknowledged, it’s barely even noticeable in the shot. If that was the intent, it HAD to be clearer and acknowledged by the characters so the audience would realize the stakes and repercussions of clear choices. As it is, I don’t think it was intentional. If Izzy HAS to die, it should truly have rounded out his arc in a way that CLEARLY changed the course of the scene, leaving him to protect people he’d put in danger at the end of s1. It didn’t. It just read as terrible planning to the point of it being out of character for more than one character, and bad luck.

The fix: Izzy should’ve saved someone. I personally don’t like the idea of it being Ed. I’s have rather he save Stede (Not really, but it’s better than Ed I guess) But really Izzy should’ve died saving the crew. The crew makes the most sense to me, narratively speaking. He’s their figurehead, he’s protected the Kraken Crew for months and they should’ve been fiercely loyal to him, he blames himself for what Ed did to them (more on this later) so it makes sense for him to fiercely protect his crew. His family. Who should’ve been devastated that it happened because Izzy is the one character of the main three who’s managed to earn that status this season.

Issue 4. The death did not serve to move the plot along. There are literally zero things that would’ve been different for the end of the episode, save Izzy being alive and on the Revenge in his rightful role he earned with his crew as the captain, if he’d have lived. Ed and Stede aren’t partnering with Zheng to go after the guy who killed him in the next season. Nope. They got the offer but nah. They’re running an Inn. Which Izzy would’ve supported based on literally everything we’ve seen from him in episodes 5-8. The crew who Izzy protected fiercely and who viewed him as their leader? Not one tear during his death or the the funeral. Happily sailing away to do presumably more Muppet Treasure Island hijinks. No character development happened. No plot development happened. The season could’ve ended literally the EXACT SAME WAY with Izzy alive aboard the Revenge!!! No stakes were changed at all. No one was impacted enough for it to seem like it was even going to be a plot obstacle next season. It just happened, Izzy’s toxic situationship who maimed him multiple times over the course of months to the point of his leg needing to be amputated was sad for one (1) scene, then we moved on and did not seem sad at all at the funeral. What.

The fix: The plot should’ve been driven by the death. Ed and Stede (but especially Ed), and DEFINITELY the crew should’ve been sailing off plotting to avenge the death and defend piracy against Ricky and the British, especially with Zheng who lost her whole fleet. Ricky and the British are clearly (or so I hope, nothing’s clear here anymore tbh) the primary antagonist for the theoretical third season. No one should be running an whim-based inn for fun or sailing off happily into the sunset after the death of the most major character aside from Ed and Stede, who beyond proved himself a major part of something every character (his family) should’ve cared about this season. If he HAD to die, that death should have furthered the plot. But instead, it seems everyone shrugged it off with tears exclusively from Ed.

Issue 5. Izzy got shot in the left side. The side in which canonically NO ONE DOES FROM BEING INJURED ON IN THE OFMD UNIVERSE.

The fix: Yeah I know this is just too nit-picky but it was also just SO sloppy. Like just shoot him on the other side if he has to die, because this was a very memorable plot point more than once in s1. Like, come on y’all.

Disclaimer: Issues/fixes 1-5 would all need to happen together to truly fix it and make the death serve the narrative correctly. Issue/fix 6 is a totally separate route, which I personally hate, but at least the narrative would’ve made sense this way.

Issue 6. The idea that Izzy had to die so that Ed could be free of Blackbeard makes no sense at this point in the story. Ed already threw away his leathers and gave away his treasure to symbolically get rid of Blackbeard, and Izzy very sweetly encouraged him to follow the feeling that throwing out the leathers gave him. Izzy told Stede that he and Ed were good for each other. They balance each other out. Izzy is on good terms with both of them and their relationship, so Izzy “having to die” so Ed could flourish as Ed genuinely makes no sense and came totally out of left field.

The fix for 6: This one stands alone and is my absolute least favorite option, but if it HAD to happen without the 1-5 fixes, here’s how it could’ve made sense. If THIS is truly the way it was going to end, Izzy needed to be continuously antagonistic or avoidant to at least Ed and actually be shown holding Ed back from happiness until that last second. He wasn’t. He was so much better. Izzy clearly does blame himself (that’s for a separate post because I have lots of thoughts there) but to be fair they were both abusive in that relationship, for years it seems. Although I think by the beginning of s2, the power dynamic has clearly flipped and it was Ed who was doing most of it and Izzy was exhausted and knowingly “reaping what he’d sewed” (I don’t Blame Izzy for his abuse but I think this was his mindset) so the crew wouldn’t get the brunt of it.

If he seriously HAD to die because the writers just had to have it that way, those are the changes I think would’ve made the narrative work/make sense, served all the character arcs and dynamics correctly, and actually driven the plot as fictional deaths are supposed to, compelling things into a third season. Seriously, this season finale was a mess of baffling choices the most series finale season finale I’ve ever seen.

Anyway. There’s my unsolicited two-cents. Now back to hoping Izzy’s in the gravy basket waiting to be sea witch necromancied back by seagull Buttons in season 3. I love this show and I hate hating what I hate hating about it because it’s my absolute favorite and I can’t stand it because it’s fantastic and the worst thing I’ve ever seen. (Also, Izzy should’ve lived).

[wearevillaneve]

Nobody liked the way Killing Eve ended...

...except for these two nobodies.

[nartml]

Every time I remember that we're not getting season 5, something inside me cracks

[motorsport-sideblog]

I understand that this is a business and VCARB can do whatever they want in order to make what they think is the best business decision and i don't have to agree with it, but there is a way to do that AND still treat someone well and honour their fans and their long career and recognize that many, many people only follow this sport because of them. It is possible to do both, and this ain't it.

[issaxcharlie]

I miss jatp so much, such a wonderful show that could have been something even greater

[elfhunk]

i should probably do some other videos to shake it up. tour of my ffxiv closet. treatise on how seraphine from league of legends made me figure out my adhd/autism. an oral history of symmetra. revisiting the insane F2P KMMOs that defined my youth.

[q8qwertyuiop8p]

Well guess I'm going to have to make that Silco arm references without those biceps I was anticipating. They did us so dirty. 🫤

[rodpower78]

*Philip walks Maddie down the aisle instead of Buck*

Me:

[callsign-fangirl]

Going feral over the fact we didn't get a longer scene of cooper in the swat uniform 😭

[ygsunflower]

What we mean when we say Avatrice has one of the healthiest on-screen relationships… Mind you, they established this in two short seasons while relationships weren’t the main plot of Warrior Nun.

Beatrice and Ava might be young and had their shares of past trauma (hint they might not the most experienced ones dealing with people and relationships), but they acted so maturely in building this relationship. They were always communicating with each other. Since the beginning, when they were just learning to open up to each other, they never hesitated to apologize. Later on, when they were in disagreements, they fought just like any of us would, but they knew better than to walk away from hard conversations. They were patient with each other and they always showed respects to the other person. Instead of storming out, they chose to stay and talk through their issues. Regardless of the situation, they always let the other person who was in distress talk, and they would listen intently free of judgements.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve shipped many ships before, and as much as I understand the need to showcase how past dramas can affect a person’s relationship with others negatively, it feels so good to see characters who despite their hard pasts were still able to build a healthy relationship. Yes, they had difficult upbringings, but that doesn’t take away their ability to love and be loved.

Thank you uncle Simon and the WN team for giving us this precious and tender ship. 💙

SAVE WARRIOR NUN.

[aroaceteagirl]

I'm still mad about how Merlin ended. honestly, it could have been so much more satisfying than what we got. Arthur should have found out about Merlin's magic at the end of season 4. Then in season 5, we could have seen how that affects their relationship. In the ep where Uther comes back as a ghost, their relationship would still have been strained but then when Uther tries to kill Merlin, Arthur realises that he still cares about him and they slowly start to mend their relationship and Arthur starts learning the truth about magic. And Arthur starting to take steps to legalise magic. And uniting the kingdoms by creating alliances in the war against Morgana. Up until the end, we could have had hope for a happy ending, and then they could have crushed our hearts by killing Arthur. And like instead of Merlin only becoming more and more depressed and cynical, we could have seen him become optimistic again, only for Arthur to die.

[doyouknowthemuffinmaam]

The fact that we are going in to episode 9 of only 10 episodes of Love Sea with so much conflict only just now getting really addressed has me convinced that unfortunately the entire ViMook relationship story has been a complete and actual waste of time.

Time that this drama did not have to waste because at this point there is no way to wrap up any portion of the storyline in a truly satisfactory way that doesn’t feel rushed. Not the family drama. Not Rak and Mut’s relationship. And certainly not Vi and Mook’s relationship.

The handling of Vi and Mook has done a huge disservice to the characters, the drama, and GL representation. They are perfectly fine as separate characters, but the way their relationship has been presented makes them both so much less likable.

It’s a shame because I am otherwise truly enjoying the drama, and at the very beginning I was even enjoying these characters. It’s just feels at this point that this is the area where they really dropped the ball and is unfortunately rippling to the rest of the drama.

[the-prophesied-disco-gay]

I sometimes I get the impression when I speak about the rights of children in the USA, people seem to have this idea that I'm complaining about kids not being allowed to do whatever they want all the time. I don't think people quite realize what the situation actually is.

We have literally upheld, as a legal right, the ability of strangers to abuse our children. Parents are allowed to deny their children education, medical treatment, food, proper shelter, and just about anything else they want as long as it's in the name of discipline, culture, or religion. We have generations of judges, social workers, lawmakers, teachers, parents, etc, who grew up with this stuff and consider it completely normal and see no reason it should be changed. This country truly is a world of its own, and Should Not be allowed to be that way.