#When that scene happened on the trailer I literally screamed

[orion-archives]

Baby boy. Baby...

EVIL

[intuitive-revelations]

Theory: Something serious is up with the TARDIS

I had been wondering about this all series, but after Rogue today, it's finally been confirmed that something's going on with the TARDIS (on top of all the other arc threads going on!).

The moment I picked it up was in The Devil's Chord, where the TARDIS makes a strange groan and creaks after landing back in 1963. Ruby thinks it's from Maestro, but the Doctor says it's "something else". As of today it's happened again, twice! Once in the episode itself, once in the next time trailer. The exact same sound effect!

Someone on reddit pointed out a few weeks ago that this sound appeared even earlier too, in Wild Blue Yonder (notably also when we first saw Susan Twist, had gravity changed to mavity, and welcomed the Pantheon into the universe). Each time, it's also had attention drawn to it. Here's a video of each scene, followed by a direct comparison of each sound:

(I did have a quick glance to see if it appeared elsewhere, maybe even during Flux. As far as I can tell however, Wild Blue Yonder seems to be the only non-S14 appearance.)

What's more, going back to that Reddit thread, someone pointed out what the Wild Blue Yonder script says about this moment:

And then the TARDIS seems to moan. The Doctor fascinated. DONNA: Is it working? THE DOCTOR: I think so. Strange. He reaches out, touches the TARDIS, wondering. And that 'strange' will come back to haunt him, one day. But now...

(Suddenly the TARDIS freaking out over Donna's spill might make a bit more sense...)

So what the hell's going on?

Well, between a trailer scene and some news that just came out a few hours ago as of writing this, I think I may have an idea. Given it's based on trailer footage uploaded and then removed from YouTube, I'll put it below beneath a read more:

In a removed Disney+ teaser trailer we get two frames of the Doctor screaming out into space (with Mel behind him). Except it's not from "his" TARDIS:

It's the f*cking memory TARDIS!

And here's the thing. Not only was this trailer scrubbed from the Disney+ and BBC channels, but in the other trailers, this clip is entirely different! Not only is Mel gone, but the TARDIS interior is now Fifteen's own, and the TARDIS is in a different, generic region of space.

Just before this, we also see a similar nebulous region of space matching the unmanipulated clip.

But why on Earth is this such a big deal, that the BBC/Disney would go full MCU and give us a deliberately altered clip? The only previous time I remember Doctor Who doing this was for Series 10, hiding the plot point of the Doctor's blindness. It's not because of Mel, who literally appears in the released trailer. It's also seemingly not because of the background, despite it also being altered (unless the two moons are a clue with the planet being Gallifrey or something - the thought had occurred to me - but that's such a tiny detail, and we also only see one sun). Instead, it must be the Memory TARDIS. But why?

In-universe, I have no idea. On one hand I'd be delighted to get some answers as to its nature. Assuming it's connected to the groans we've been hearing, then it could be the TARDIS undergoes some sort of metamorphosis into this state? But we've seen the TARDIS change all the time, whether for safety, to recover or whatever. I also can't imagine general audiences are falling over themselves to find out the in-universe explanation for a Classic Who re-release framing device. Not to mention, apparently the sound will go on to "haunt" the Doctor...

...maybe the TARDIS straight up is taken out of commission in some way? And the Memory TARDIS isn't the same ship, but the Doctor's way of saving the day without her? Maybe even remembered into existence Fitz/Amy style?

Out of universe however, it's just been announced yesterday that we're getting more Tales of the TARDIS.

And not just more omnibus stories with past characters returning for in-universe commentary... but with Fifteen and Ruby! What's more, it's apparently a one-off, right before the finale (but, note, after the first part next week).

Which means it's important. Possibly extremely so, given the edited trailer scene. It might even serve as an interquel, given Fifteen and Ruby are somehow in it.

I've seen two common theories. Either a) it will be Pyramids of Mars, and we're getting Sutekh in the finale (presumably with Fifteen and Ruby partially because of bringing back Elizabeth Sladen obviously not being an available option - and even if you thought up another character, eg. Luke, I doubt Tom would be interested, at that point anyway), or b) it will be something tying into Susan returning.

Honestly between the remaining trailer clips (eg. sandstorms and dusty planets), a tease RTD supposedly gave in DWM, and an old interview with him where he supposedly floated the idea of bringing back a Classic Who for a finale and airing the original serial on BBC3 beforehand, I'm kinda leaning towards the prior, even though it wasn't at all on my radar.

However, this still doesn't actually answer what's up with the TARDIS.

It could quite literally be anything. However, here's a few ideas, some reasonable some weird, that I have come up with:

Old age / stress. This is a weird one, but oddly enough something I had thought of once in the past, and I just saw someone else come to the same idea on Reddit. The idea is that while the Doctor has a new regeneration cycle and now a good few years, if not decades or more, of rest and recovery, the TARDIS may struggling in it's own right (especially if it is somehow old enough to have once been the Fugitive Doctor's). However, while this could be something interesting to explore, and I think isn't entirely mutually exclusive with other options, I can't imagine going anywhere near a storyline of the TARDIS itself 'wearing thin'. Besides, if we did, I like to imagine it would have been foreshadowed with size leakage, as per Name of the Doctor.

Relating to the above, could it be something linked to the TARDIS splitting in The Giggle? However, the sound starts before then (not that that means much to the TARDIS, but still).

Laws of rationality breaking down. This one makes the most sense in a lot of ways, between the expanded universe (particularly Christmas on a Rational Planet) and Flux, we've seen the TARDIS cannot survive in an irrational universe. While time has stabilised for now, we're still seeing magic and other Old Time forces encroaching in on the Web of Time. I'm a bit torn with this one however, as while it works from a lore and writing perspective, plus matches with this starting in Wild Blue Yonder (right after the Mavity incident... interestingly), it seems odd it's not more connected with what happened in Flux? Why are the sounds and effects on the TARDIS completely different?

Something to do with the Doctor's fobwatch. In Rogue, the Doctor blames the sound on indigestion. We know we're getting more Timeless Child related stuff - could this somehow be linked to Thirteen dropping the Division biodata module deep into the TARDIS? Would be a weird time to pick this up though, and I'm not sure exactly how that would have had such an effect.

The most actually likely, but least possible to theorise about: it's something time-wimey to do with Ruby, the villain(s) of the story, and/or Susan Twist, especially given this started after her first appearance.

Regardless, I'm just excited to see what's up with the Memory / "Remembered" TARDIS, because it's seems we're about to learn something...

[d3lly1000]

I finally watched Sonic 3!!!!! (IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE)

I had been holding back so I could talk without worrying about spoilers, but I think I can now comment on my general opinion of the movie.

There will be spoilers, so you have been warned!

I’ll admit that I found the first act a bit rushed. I understand that they had a lot of characters to “reintroduce” and new ones to add (especially Shadow), but I felt a bit lost with what was happening—it was really convenient how the script handled a lot of things just to get to the point.

For example: Shadow attacking in Japan with no real explanation, Rockwell quickly finding Sonic and the others. Even Commander Walters showed up just to explain what happened in the past, only to die unexpectedly right after. Even though he's not a particularly memorable character, I felt like his death didn’t carry the weight it should have, even for Team Sonic who witnessed it.

There was also the fact that a lot of what happened in the first act had already been revealed in the trailers and TV spots, which kind of deflated my excitement, knowing what was going to happen. But as I said, things were happening so fast that I couldn’t process all the information right away! XD

I have to say, I absolutely love the interactions between all the characters. The relationships and how they were developed felt so unique to me. I’ve always had the headcanon that Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic acted like siblings, and in the movies, I got to witness that in a meaningful and very loving way (shoutout to Tails saving Sonic and Knuckles protecting them, my boys <3).

One of my favorite scenes is definitely the argument between Knuckles and Sonic, as it really shows their maturity. It shows how much they are changing with each movie, which is so valuable to me because it demonstrates that the characters are really learning from their experiences. In a franchise, this deepens their moral journey and enriches who they are — it’s truly wonderful.

Speaking of siblings, I can’t not talk about Maria and Shadow. Right from the beginning, I could already feel the heartache hearing Live and Learn in an acoustic version. I think for fans who know how iconic this song is for the franchise, the idea that MARIA COULD HAVE BEEN THE ORIGINAL COMPOSER of it (at least in the SCU) hits so hard.

The narrative of Shadow talking about Maria always moved me, and the film managed to emphasize what she meant to Shadow in such a sweet way. Seeing the scene where Shadow recalls the day of the accident and then carrying the Eclipse Cannon gave me chills.

The parallels between Sonic/Shadow and Tom/Maria were something I was really looking forward to! The franchise often makes these types of comparisons between characters, not just in the games but also in the movies. As I mentioned before, I think this makes everything richer — it gives you a new perspective and helps you understand the complexity of characters by revisiting the "same memory" through a different person. I love when they do that!

ABOUT THE FIGHT SCENES, ALL OF THEM. I was breathless! I have to confess I was cursing A LOT during the third act. It was so epic, something you wouldn’t even think you'd see! Super Form battles were such a great concept for the situation, seeing Sonic get so angry really fed my fan dream of seeing him want to destroy everything XDD. Shadow literally crushed him, both physically and mentally. He REALLY IS THE STAR of this movie. The whole year was his. And he delivered in every possible media!

((I screamed so much when they did the pose, Live and Learn, it was so epic.))

Jim Carrey’s performance is always amazing. I’m still stunned at how naturally Gerald and Eggman felt together. It really seemed like a completely different actor, and that’s insane! I think the only thing I wish we’d seen more of was scenes between Gerald and Maria in the past, but who knows, maybe they’re planning something for a "Shadow solo spin-off."

The light shines, even when the star dies. – I was already emotionally losing it inside, there were just so many things to process.

AND THE POST-CREDITS SCENE HAUSFHSAIFHGVSNUHGUSAHGUSAH

OK OK I’M >TOTALLY< NORMAL ABOUT MY BABIES

Literally my two FAVORITES showed up. METAL WILL BE THE MAIN VILLAIN, I have so many theories and DEFINITELY it will be an adaptation of Heroes and CD. I CAN'T WAIT to see him in action, the whole Artificial vs. Natural thing is something that really resonates with me in the rivalry between him and Sonic.

AND HAUSHFUASFHUASFH AMY MY GIRL!!!

She’s so cool, she appeared in SUCH A UNIQUE way, the cracked moon in the background, revealing herself by taking off the hood... I can’t wait to see her in 2027... I need it so much aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I definitely loved the movie a lot. I still want to rewatch it in English since I saw it dubbed in my language, but I think I’d give it an 8.5/10 or 9/10! YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!! I’m still shaking remembering the action scene sahufzahghaghs

[helpallthenamesaretaken]

Songs I Need to Hear in Future PJO Seasons (ft. me being very intense for no reason)

Angel with a Shotgun by the Cab - SEASON 👏 FIVE 👏 TRAILER 👏 it's literally about stepping up as a hero and fighting a war for what you love without caring what the gods would think, BANGER OF A SONG also so percy in tlo coded

Welcome to New York by Taylor Swift (Sad acoustic version) - Hear me out. It's a panoramic shot of New York during the war, and what the song describes as a city of new beginnings and dreams is now a city of the end of a lot of lives and crushed souls. And it won't ruin the sad vibe because it's a sad acoustic version

Labyrinth by Taylor Swift - Do I need to explain? S4, a slow-mo shot of annabeth staring numbly at the volcano exploding with tears down her face and her mouth opening to a scream as the lyrics "I'll be getting over you my whole life" echo, it's not a want, it's a need.

The Freaks by Jordan Clarke - The most camp half blood song to ever camp half blood, I need this song in an introductory shot of camp or at a campfire sing along scene

I Wanna Be Yours by The Arctic Monkeys - Okay, this is more of a vibe related song suggestion than a lyrics based song, but a scene with percy and annabeth pining over each other with this song in the background? would be chefs kiss. (also rick loves vintage songs in his books and this is a very vintage sounding song sooo)

Brutal by Olivia Rodrigo - Self explanatory, I just need the song, no matter what scene or character

literally any imagine dragons song

Riptide by Vance Joy (Cover) - the same song, the same cover except SON OF NEPTUNE TRAILER COME ON NOW

Not going to happen, but at least an instrumental of Good Kid when annabeth talks to piper in the lost hero season about how everybody had been searching for percy for weeks

The Prophecy by Taylor Swift - You know what a TLO adaptation means, right? It means a proper rewrite of the book to make it better, right? Which means we can write percy being actually depressed because of the prophecy, not just him ignoring it like how he did in the book, right? So imagine: when the whole "If I have to die, I have to die" dialogue comes around during the revealing of the prophecy, this song starts playing as percy storms out the room in anger and disbelief. He just goes to his rooms and buries his face in the pillow and starts sobbing with this song in the background. Also the 'just want someone who wants my company' lyric also expresses his feelings towards the rachel and annabeth drama.

Add on in the reblogs and comments of your ideas hehe😁

[aangarchy]

Alright. I've rewatched the trailer like 20 times by now and i've been processing it.

First things first: anyone that's gonna talk shit about Gordon Cormier is gonna have to go through me first. I've only had Gordon!Aang for a day and a half and if anything happens to him i'll kill everyone here and then myself got it?

Just look at him! This is the exact big eared cute little kid i wanted them to cast for Aang. He looks adorable and honestly his outfit is growing on me.

The glowing arrow looked cool as hell. I like that the light spread through his tattoo almost like veins. I'm still curious on how the full avatar state is gonna look, how they're gonna get the glowing eye effect. Please don't let it look goofy.

Y'know what does look goofy?

Is it better than the m night shyamalan appa? I guess. Does that mean it looks good? Well.... at least momo sort of looks cute instead of some folklore nightmare like in shyamalan's version. But also you can tell in this shot in particular that it's very green screen-y

Then we go over to the bending, the limited shots we have of it. Mainly firebending was shown (a little airbending too but kinda hard to get a stillframe for that one)

Idk how to feel about it. In screenshots it looks alright but the shots while they were moving looked a bit off, especially the one where zuko's kicking. We only got very limited shots and that's intentional. I feel like the bigger cgi fails are gonna show up once we get the full show. If the bending looked good all the time i feel like they'd be showing it off by now.

What i don't like, is how apparently they're gonna SHOW Zuko getting burned. Like sure in atla they didn't bc kids show and Nickelodeon wouldn't allow it, and netflix can take darker turns if they so please. But i personally always felt that scene made so much impact because we didn't see it. Iroh is telling it from his memory and he didn't look when it happened, so we don't see it either. It's like a courtesy the show extends to both Zuko and the audience. We just hear the harrowing scream, and that's enough to know how devastating it is. I don't need a dramatic overlook so we can see the whole thing in detail, netflix.

Another thing is the hair in some scenes.

Daniel dae kim looked better in that promo photo, bc here you can just see how the bulky goatie was glued on. And then Sokka's hair..... where's the ponytail? It's laying completely flat against his head... why? Is it bc that's Ian's hair and they didn't know what to do with it? Literally get a comb and tease that bitch. This is like the complete opposite of Jackson Rathbone's hair in the shyamalan version, and somehow that full maybelline ponytail makes more sense than this sad excuse of a tail. Either way at least Suki looked dope.

Another thing i found weird about the trailer is the narration. I think it's either Iroh's voice or maybe Gyatso's? (I haven't heard Iroh's actor talk yet so idk, but it felt like it was being said TO either Aang or Zuko) but the lines they gave him... it felt like some weird mumbo jumbo tbh. Something something about the past and present being the same and it's up to us to know the difference and be the difference? It's saying everything and nothing at the same time and it felt kind of out of place. They're probably saving the iconic opening narration done by Katara for the full trailer (i hope???) but still they could have just gone with music, or maybe just a few iconic existing lines?

The music? Fire. Nothing needs to be added there. Was i kind of hoping for a different soundtrack? Maybe a bit. But am i mad? Not at all. They clearly took the nostalgia route with the more epic version of the avatar theme, and i can only respect them for that.

So far, very mixed reviews for me. I'm morbidly curious and very nosy by nature though, so i'm absolutely watching.

[beeswearpants]

so i watched the venom 3 trailer, freaked out like a schoolgirl, and god, how on earth will i be able to watch this in a theatre- in public- I’ll want to scream… ill want to squeal… i can’t watch this in the theater man!!!! its genuinely a concern I have to have its so funny to me cause god

little fun fact about myself I already made someone leave a theater from a venom-related reaction

i went to see spiderman with my friends, the last one. And i know nothing about marvel i’ve never seen any of it, I was just sitting there the whole movie, mildly confused but okay, but then… ending credits….

in a wave of pure shock and adrenaline, i screamed to the top of my lungs (APPARENTLY) “VENOM????!?!?!?” upon seeing them. so much so that it made a woman angrily storm out complaining cause she got so fed up with it. and this was the last spiderman movie!! the one where everyone is screaming and clapping and yapping all the time- so it must’ve been baad–

And I didn’t see no woman i didn’t notice i had screamed, my friends told me about it later cause I was LOCKED IN, i did NOT notice any of that!!! i felt so bad but i was STUNNED

my guys??? my gays??? on the big screen??? without warning?????? a surprise from MY guys??????????? HUH?????? OUT OF NOWHERE????? on the fuck ass marvel spiderman movie?????????? MY GUYS???? i was on the edge of my sit!!!! adrenaline!! pumping on my veins!! i was SHOCKED!!! hands over my mouth!!! made a lady leave the room!!

oh oh!!! and watching venom 2? i fell down my chair and scraped my knee-

every 5 minutes i had to pause it and run away from my computer, literally sprint away around my house giggling jumping-

the night club-coming out of the closet-sorry you’re not my type- scene? hit me so hard i fell down my chair, scraped my knee.. I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, when i came to i was on the floor, i had such a visceral reaction I FELL

watching venom 2 in the safety and comfort of my own home made me fall down and scrap my knee-

I’m gonna die a venom related death I just know it

it’s gonna kill me someday

so it’s genuinely something i have to worry about and its so funny to me, APPARENTLY i cannot conceal my reactions when it comes to venom and i am tone deaf about it

god ill be on that movie theater squirming foaming out of my mouth in a straitjacket trying to contain my reactions

im scared. im not gonna make it. they'll have to take me out back the mall and shoot me😦😦

[raziiyah]

I think I realized what my issue with Randall's portrayal in MAW is

The fact that everything that Randall does in MAW is played for laughs

Compare that to MI where Randall's actions are taken very seriously by the narrative and played for drama.

Other than at the very end where Boo hits him with a baseball bat and the Trailer lady hitting him with a shovel, Randall has almost no scenes where the audience is supposed to *intentionally* make us laugh

This was a good thing because it showed how much of an actual menace Randall was. Someone who was meant to be taken seriously as a threat

In MAW? Everything he does, there's a literal joke there. "Chet-wetter", calling everyone a "Loser", him getting hit with slime, him being electrocuted, etc...

It's really hard to take him seriously as a threat because of how much slapstick comedy he has here. He menace is completely gone

Hope S3 fixes that

good GRIEF i agreeee

when they first announced maw i was actually nervous about what would happen if randall came back, to the point where i didn't even want him to because i was scared that the show would desicrate his character. obviously i'm actually VERY happy he made an apperance again, and though he actually turned out being much better than i was anticipating for, (i was anticipating the worst) they kinda nerfed him

now as a kid when i first watched MI, randall was my fav immediately going into the movie; i was never actually scared of randall and was with him the whole time (i did NOT support the scream extractor and obviously wanted boo to be safe, i just didn't want to watch him lose or get hurt ya know) but even though i loved him so much, i remember that some of the scenes would "scare me" in the sense that i would still be like "oh randall's a legit bad guy"

like the scene when he twists mike's arms and when he called sulley STUPID PATHETIC WASTE really gave kid me a sense of just how evil and threatening he is (i'm sure the fact that "stupid" was basically a swear word to me at the time also contributed 💀)

and yes randall being hit on the head by boo and the shovel lady being made to be funny makes sense since it's his defeat scene and wouldn't be taken as seriously (these scenes actually traumatized me as a kid bc i had such an attachment to randall ⚰️⚰️) but i will say that randall did actually have some funny scenes leading up to this moment, which i think just shows how great of a villian randall is if he can still be funny and entertaining while at the same time being recognized as a dangerous threat

i think his defeat may have also suffered from the fact that he was basically reintroduced and defeated in a short time frame and he didn't have much time to make a huge impact as he could've. like it kinda felt like johnny was the big bad villain and randall was just his sidekick, which sucks because randall was such a fantastic impressionable villain in mi, even with the addition of waternoose also being there as a villain. though i enjoyed every moment he was onscreen, i feel his treatment in maw left so much more to be desired. tbh i don't think any other monsters media could ever recreate how great randall was in mi

but yeah tbh his goofy treatment in season 2 was what i was expecting from maw for randall. i'm all for randall being funny, i think he certainly likes messing around and having fun from time to time, and i think that side of him is underrated, but they don't balance it out and give him compelling scenes like they did in mi. also in mi his scenes were ordered in a way to become generally less silly and more sinister as the movie progressed, uncovering more of his true nature. not just a mischievous competitive jerk, but a monster willing to kidnap and harm children to one-up his long time rival. in maw, you can't really take him as seriously. his defeat included silly elements and phrasing, and his insults just feel so generic. like him calling mike a one-eyed cretin in mi is so much more fun than just hearing him say loser 3x

you would think he'd be more off the deep end after the events of mi. especially with mike and sulley even MORE successful than the last time he saw them, you'd think he'd go apeshit but yeah to me at least the way he mentions mike and sulley during his monologue severely undermine how much hatred he has for them

though i will say, i do like that his monologe where he spills his plan showed that he was still clever and cunning, and i also like that he's still violent like he was in mi and put up a good fight against maw since he was shown to have some pretty good combative skills. he wasn't as murderous as he was in mi but i don't expect him to be towards mift since randall doesn't have a personal vendetta against them like he does with sulley. the writers made it so randall escaped so they hopefully have much more in store for him. disney didn't treat randall like some complete pathetic loser or redeem him in a dumb way or anything so i'll give them that. but disney television studios definitely held him back and i still believe that if pixar wrote maw they'd give him something more compelling. i just hope he gets to shine more in maw season 3 and gets a more major role, especially since he'll probably be interacting with mike and sulley, who he very much has a personal vendetta against

at the least, he wasn't like he was in kh3 (why is he just letting himself in??? 😭)

[doyouremem8erme]

no one understnads what amphibia is like. its a funny disney comedy cartoon about a teen girl stuck in a world of frogs. halfway through the first season the main character joins a gang and has her arm broken over taxes and also giant birds eat people onscreen. she defeated the monsters of the week with a bathbomb once. the season one finale involved her best friend trying to kill her adoptive frog grandpa due to him being used as the face of a brewing rebellious in the frog politics and in response the main character permanently scars her friends face and her friend tries to kill herself. in the next episode they fight a giant monster made of vegetables that destroyed their house right before they were supposed to leave on a road trip booooo. in season 2 they introduce a character so adorable and endearing that she immediately becomes a fan favorite. in the season finale she is killed by the evil king by being impaled onscreen and collapsing while apologizing. disney freaked out so much that they delayed the episode for like a month at the last minute and it accidentally got leaked anyways. when season 3 started the fandom practically descended into madness for the smallest acknowledgement of what happened to everyones blorbo (also the trailer for the season had revealed that a very popular au was actually canon) but only getting silly shenanigans like getting. hunted down by literal fbi agent rupaul until almost halfway through the season when an episode ended with an extended scene of the stabbed girl getting tortured onscreen while screaming in agony and getting an evil ai mindhive downloaded into her brain. the next time the possessed girl showed up she was bullying the king for being a bad gamer in the christmas special. the second half of the season was so gay that the copypasta about a character being attracted to women refused to die. one of the most popular fan theories was that the main character would lose an arm. in one part of the series finale a completely different character had his arm cut off. in the last episode the main character dies fighting the moon and meets god. god takes the form of the main characters cat to ask her to become god so it can retire. it brings her back to life and tells her when shes going to die. did i mention fbi agent rupaul

[red-hibiscus]

Just finished watching Paradise of Thorns with a friend

Our thoughts (with some spoilers):

Overall, it had A LOT of potential to be a masterpiece, but it kind of went in a totally different direction than we thought it would and not in a way we particularly liked. Cinematography, acting, and music was great. Concept was good. Set up was good. The movie ended with us kind of not liking anyone. Especially after that very last fight. Everyone is objectively kind of a bad person.

Certain things we thought were unnecessary or could've been done a bit differently. Sek didn't need the whole cheating thing. Mo could've been a younger sister who hates Sek bc he got the land and not her. Or maybe she's a legitimate ex idk. Even an actually adopted daughter. This is partially bc the trailer (and first half of the film) leads you to believe it's a legal battle that shows what happens when gay ppl (who love each other) can't get married. Which does happen in the film, but Sek betraying people kind of weakens the impact of that. The focus is shifted.

Also the attempted rape was not needed at all. They could've continued with the slasher. It would've sufficed. Speaking of that slasher ending, where was Jingna? They weren't that far from him and they were screaming pretty loud.

My friend said she didn't like how quick Tongkam was to fall for Jingna. Personally (especially after seeing much bl) I can justify it from a plot perspective ig. I can work with it. At least the feelings. I think the suddenly acting like Jinga is his soulmate was fast though. Maybe he's desperate and lonely and wants to confirm an ally/loved one. Idk. Tongkam's brain confused me a bit.

I've said a bunch of negative things, so some positive things...

I think the Mo and the mom slowly but forcefully pushing out Tongkam was well done. It really made it feel like he was losing literally everything. Husband dead, house taken, literally sleeping outside without a good mosquito net despite having paid for everything. Well done. I felt the pain and frustration.

The actual pain of not being able to have the surgery done bc Tongkam isn't legally Sek's husband, and then not being able to get the land was intense. Really well done.

The sabotaging of the water and plants while Tongkam was out was smart and sad. The whole murder scene of the mom was intense and interesting. Tbh I thought it would've gotten more intense than it did. Wish they lingered on that plot a bit more. Similarly the reveal of Mo taking the chance to kill Sek was... in retrospect kind of predictable, but yeah fits the vibe and character.

That kiss scene under the mosquito net was aesthetically amazing. A+

My friend didn't like how it suddenly turned slasher at the end. Imo while it doesn't fit the vibe of the start of the film, I won't exactly say no to sudden blood and fighting. So some of that scene I did enjoy (minus the parts I mentioned above).

Conclusion:

Beautifully shot with great acting. Jeff looked gorgeous. Really had some amazing potential and I liked the first half the movie a lot. We both did. Some things were really well done and got me really attached and emotional to the whole story. Started going downhill due to certain plot choices we didn't really agree with. We also felt there was some plot holes. Wished some things could've been explained a bit better. This one is more of my friends thing, but I do think some relationships could've been a touch clearer. With a second watch on my own when I'm not chatting with a friend maybe I'd be fine for me.

I give it maybe a 7.5~8/10??? Do I recommend. Possibly, with warnings.

[aurelion-solar]

Arcane Season 2 Act 1 Spoilers

i've just watched the first three episodes of arcane season 2 HELP

SPOILERS BELOW i've just rambled about what happens lol

OMG WHAT JUST HAPPENED

i feel like the pace was amped up so much! so much happened in such a short space of time!!!

mel and jayce - they didn't address exactly HOW mel and jayce were completely unscathed by jinx's rocket, but they focused on mel's glowing gold armor again in the opening scene so i assume it'll come up later

THE BLACK ROSE OMG - i feel like we could see this coming but they really didn't hold back with it! i wonder what ties ambessa has to them... and i wonder if we'll see leblanc later on in the season? the black rose magic looked so cool tbh

side note - ambessa's guard rictus used his runic weapon that glowed green, which reminds me of riven's sword!

mel - she got captured by the black rose?? like she completely disappeared in the last scene so where are they taking her?

viktor - UMM HELLO WHAT? HE JUST LEFT JAYCE AND THAT WAS IT?! AND JAYCE DIDN'T TRY AND STOP HIM? wtf did the hexcore do to him? and he's like... jesus now? are the people he's healing going to become like the gold-adorned floating people in the trailer?

jayce, heimer and ekko - wtf. wtf. again i assume it'll be explained later but like wtf. the hexgate looked corrupted and then what happened to them??? jayce fuckin bodied the hexcore?

hextech weapons - the hexcore had a weird effect on the hextech weapons when vi and caitlyn were fighting jinx and sevika? something CRAZY is happening with that omfg

VI AND CAITLYN - THEY FINALLY KISSED AAAA BUT THEN they're broken up again like damn my heart can't take this 😭

the way ambessa manipulated the whole situation at the memorial service and now caitlyn's the leader of the military force i'm screaming??? she's really turned dark omg

jinx and sevika and isha?? love that for them. i wish it showed more of their relationship tho, i feel like we didn't really see much of them :( sevika's new arm being built from the punching machine that vi and jinx used to use omfg

Lest is such a cool character wtf. i hope we see more of her

JANNA MENTIONED AND SHOWN MULTIPLE TIMES YIPPEE

ERM SINGED TRAPPING AND CAPTURING A WOLF TO CREATE WARWICK HELP MEEE

jarvan cameo? :o

the new intro sequence is so cool. i like ambessa and mel with the literal black roses, caitlyn's hands on her head makes her shadow look like it's wearing a crown ("heavy is the crown"), ekko going back in time a little bit (still waiting for an in-universe explanation about that...)

[droshawoluv]

My favorite parts of the FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH Trailer reveal.

Back-to-Back (literally) Cloud & Tifa for a team up attack along Aerith. (also, Elenaaaaaaaaaaa!)

Cloud schmoovin and groovin' (but also, the conversation mentioned over there, Tifa potentially talking with Aerith about her doubts, probably after Gongaga, sounds meant to be for many reasons WHILE putting down the wrong idea some have that she lied on purpose about the events of the pasts when she is also, in fact, confused as fuck)

Aerti Combos attaaaaaaaaaacks

Red XIII playable (of course, I did a gif but too big for here) and Combo attaaaaaaaaacks with Yuffie

Cloud & Barret Combo attaaaaaaaaaaaaacks

Yuffie my beloved already showing chaotic sibling energy with Cloud in the very first scene together they have, and already running and screaming iloveu

The end dialogue is so good and if you know what happened in OG7 is while obvious, and incredible addition, the gaslight is strong and you can already taste the angst and lowest point of Cloud's psyche, so good for so many reasons (one is to identify who didn't pay attention to shit while claiming they know the story)

Also, BLOOD WOO!

Special mention to Ever Crisis Tifa Lockhart wearing the same outfit of the concept Art of her master Zangan, I'm obsessed with her look

This trailer made me the happiest about any videogame since the 2019 ones. So excited ♥ ;_;

[figmentof]

i think we're not going to get Ed angry with Stede and him avoiding/running away from him

we already have confirmation that the teaser/trailer edited Ed's "no more izzy" into "no more Stede", and we all could tell the barrel smashing scene with Stede on the floor screaming are two different scenes (of which the barrel scene is revealed to be from 2x03)

it was a fairly popular reading in post-s1 fic/meta that Stede would be upset at Ed for marooning the crew and throwing Lucius overboard. but we've been proven wrong already. not only is Stede not angry at Ed, he understood very clearly why Ed would act the way he did. and i think that goes both ways for the two of them

it wouldn't be all that interesting imo for the show to entertain the low hanging angst fruit of "Stede has to prove himself worthy of Ed by making it up to him while Ed is angry and avoiding him". with what we've been given in the first three eps centering around Ed's struggle with self worth and believing he's unlovable, i don't think he'd waste energy being angry at Stede. plus we've seen that anger isn't an emotion that Ed associates with Stede, even when he was going through the worst parts of his heartbreak

i think the "shipmates!" "former 😬" isn't actually framed as the 'oh he's my ex..." tone that the trailer makes it out to be but rather what it literally says on the tin: former shipmates. Ed's going to wake up and headbutt Stede and perhaps they'll have a moment where Stede spills everything to Ed in a rush of apology bc he knows he owes Ed that much and Ed deserves to know what happened, and Ed's going to be like "okay. thanks for telling me i get it"

but then he's going to leave the revenge because he feels guilty about the trauma he put them through and that he no longer deserves to be part of the crew. the reason he seemed annoyed at Stede finding him at Anne and Mary's is probably because he told everyone to not come after him and of course, Stede does

i believe next week's episodes aren't going to focus on how angry Ed is at Stede but rather him believing that he's not deserving of the love that Stede is openly giving him, and Stede being undeterred in showing him how much he's loved in spite of everything. it's not about Stede painstakingly trying to prove he's worthy of Ed, to Ed he's already everything he ever wanted, flaws and all. it's about Ed accepting that he's worthy of Stede's love, of the crews love, of forgiveness and warmth in general

[accirax]

Disventure Camp All Stars Power Ranking (Round 19)

The finale begins!

In case you haven't seen my previous power rankings, the Power Ranking Format is essentially a way of ranking how well each player is doing in the game. So, in essence, this is a long form way of predicting who I think will be eliminated from the competition in the next episode. There will be spoilers for last week's episode (obviously) and its power ranking, so make sure to read that first if you don't want to be spoiled on how I ranked our last boot. If you want more clarification on the rules, that first post will help you out as well. Furthermore, I'm going to be spoiling the preview for next episode, so if you want to go in TOTALLY blind, save this for later. Let's go!

Recap - The Motel Episode

Current Score: 76 acquired/113 total

(Points versus @venus-is-thinking: 27 acquired/38 total)

Bench Points: 8/10 (so far)

(Note: Scoring for Fiore, James, and Yul was taken from the Motel episode. Scoring for Tom, Aiden, Lake, Connor, and Miriam are taken from the preview.)

Well, that was... not what I expected! I mean, all of the character dynamics and fun banter I mostly expected-- other than that one last shot at some Yul depth-- but the setup for the three finale helpers being chosen by a first-dibs challenge was not. And, even if I knew that that was going to happen, I probably wouldn't have guessed that Fiore, James, and Yul would be chosen as the helpers to Ally, Jake, and Riya. I look forward to seeing those unexpected pairings gain more focus in the finale.

Yeah, I think that pretty much everything else I had to say, I covered in my initial thoughts. There's less to talk about here when no one was actually eliminated. So, let's look at the trailer!

Trailer Analysis

Looks like Emily will literally have to drag Trevor into being complicit kicking and screaming. Surely Derek and Trevor won't have a misunderstanding this episode that is resolved romantically in the last episode, right?

I'm guessing that Ally and Jake are practicing here? Notably, it appears that Jake wins the practice race. I'm sure that won't get in Ally's head.

Ooh, are they doing the Survivor-style finalists' breakfast this season?

Is this one of their letters from home? Why is Jake smiling while reading it? Out of the two of them, I would guess it's probably Riya's letter, but it could also be a surprise Connor's letter or something.

We're back in the mines from Season 1! Some bonus trauma for Jake, as that challenge occurred in the episode where Ellie berated him before he got eliminated.

I guess maybe they have to mine/dig for clues?

Despite the two seemingly getting along while eating breakfast, Ally will still sabotage Jake's team via giving James a rock to the face. Maybe that'll make James think twice about emotionally supporting Ally. (/j)

So, Emily's act of sabotage (for this episode at least) is releasing the scorpions onto the campers in the midst of an otherwise peaceful challenge. Hooray for murdering people...?

First of all, Jake needs to stop engaging in long jumps where he barely makes it to the other side. Secondly, this is probably the same gap that we see Riya putting a bridge over multiple times in the trailer, which may imply that Jake and James reach this area before Riya and Yul.

Of course, everyone is going to wind up in the same tunnel at the same point in time anyways.

This is interesting because, in the last shot, Riya was in the front of the pack. But now, she's throwing a rock at Ally, who's ahead of her. I wonder which scene happens first.

"C'mon, everyone! Let's do the Jake cheer we've been practicing!" "One, two, three, four! Gooooooo--" "And, that's enough of that! Here come our finalists!"

James looking so dead inside while doing the cheer has me dead. Based on this, I'm guessing that Ally will have Hunter, Tess, Grett, Gabby, and Ellie, as well as picking up Alec, who's there to support Fiore. That would leave Jake and Ally with even benches, and Riya with no one other than a mandatory Yul. I feel really bad for Ally, though, given that Jake picked up both Ashley and Connor. It makes sense why both of them would pick Jake (they befriended him first), but I hope she doesn't take it too hard.

Power Ranking

I don't even think anyone is getting voted out this episode, so I'll keep this formality relatively quick.

#1: Jake

Jake is still my winner pick, as he has been for a while, and nothing other than his elimination is going to change that. Going up against Ally + Fiore and Riya + Yul is a stellar combo for Jake, because no way ONC wants Fiore or Yul to actually get their hands on any money. The only mildly confusing thing is that James would wind up winning money from the show again (despite being the first boot, even), but I have half a mind to believe that he'll just donate that money to Ally anyways.

I think that James is here to be an audience insert. Having barely participated in the game at all, James is still of the belief that Jake is exactly the same as he was at the end of Season 1, no matter what Aiden tries to tell him. By being someone who had no faith in Jake who learns over the course of the finale that Jake truly did become a more thoughtful and responsible guy, ONC will use a character that the audience loves to prove why they too should root for Jake's victory. They want to prove to the nonbelievers that Jake has improved, through him mending his relationship with his first DCAS burn. Or at least, that's how I see it, as a Jake winner truther since the beginning of the merge.

#2: Ally

While an Ally/Riya finale feels basically impossible to me, a Jake/Riya finale is plausible. Offputting, but plausible.

Ally has been in the strange position of being rootable but unlikeable for most of the game. I believe that she could turn it around and win, if ONC is going for a plot twist ending, or that she could be taken out now as the lesser of two evils to let the real baddie shine in the finale. Most likely, though, I believe she'll take second, learning some important life lessons and maybe getting some money from James.

Fiore is probably here to be the devil on Ally's shoulder. She'll suggest something cruel and unusual, and it'll be up to Ally to decide whether she can resist those urges, or whether her fate will fall to villainy. Fiore also may be here as someone who can comment on her relationship with Hunter. She saw the beginning where they were fighting, but she's also been at the Loser's Motel for long enough that she probably knows how Hunter feels about her now. If she's feeling nice, she could use that as motivation.

Let's go team Fiore!!!

#3: Riya

If someone is eliminated in this episode, it'll be confusing in and out of universe if it isn't Riya. She has Yul as a partner and a second disadvantage, and no one should want to work with or root for her. She's also obviously not going to win the season, so if the writers want to keep up suspense for who does, they should eliminate her and leave the finale to Jake and Ally. Really, the only reasons why I don't think she would be eliminated this time are because 1) it's so obvious and 2) I don't think anyone will actually be eliminated this episode.

I think that Yul is mostly here for the comedy of it all, and so that the writers didn't have to choose who he would genuinely choose to root for otherwise. There is also some juicy potential for something I've mentioned before-- for both of them to reflect on their shared tendency to sabotage themselves by always choosing material success over building relationships or choosing to be kind. If we're lucky, we'll get some reflection on that, but I'll be happy with just a Riya/Yul cringe comp.

Alright, I've probably hit my government-mandated word count now that I've yapped about the helper choices a bit. Excited for the finale! Let's end this season on a high note!

[melonteee]

When opla was announced I was guarded, but trailers and learning that Oda would have first and last word about everything made me hopeful.

But I knew that live action are never for the actual die hard fans.

Too much need to be cut because of time, as real actors cant look like they only age two years for 26 years, and some cartoon stuff doesnt translate well to live action *cough* garps fist of love *cough*

So I was able to convince my friend to watch opla with me.

She had read the manga when she was little, up to syrup village, so she was excited to see Kuro because she actually liked him back when she read it.

I was mostly there just to observe my friends reaction to it instead.

My favorite moment was watching her freak out after the "grandpa?" reveal.

I dont like that Garp was included that early on, I didnt mind him being there at rogers execution. But more than that seemed too much. I watched some Netflix guy explaining that they wanted to add a reason why the strawhat had to keep moving from island to island, but no marine would do because who would bother chasing a pirate crew with no bounty. I understand that reasoning. Still dont like it, but I understand.

But my friends reaction made it all better.

Did you know netflix wanted a romance between Nami and Zoro? Thank god Oda was there to stop it.

Also my friend and I quote "Oregano is for savages!" a lot now.

I'm truly glad you liked it anon and I do understand the excitement that came with it, but I honestly could not stand it. Nearly every scene and every line was like "Sanji wouldn't say that. Nami wouldn't do that. Why is this happening? Luffy definitely wouldn't say that."

An adaptation must adapt to its medium, true, but that is not what this did. This was an insanely loose reinterpretation that took so much charm away for me. I've talked about it on this Tumblr tons now but I've finally had the time to watch through all of it now that the hype's died down, and it just made me angrier per episode?

They had to shorten things down, but they included so many new scenes that added nothing? They had to explain the Strawhats going from island to island... WHY? They literally had a spine to go off, the original property had them going from island to island to find a crew and get to the grand line. That's literally a very solid reason. WHY did they need any marines chasing them? It just sounded like an excuse to add a fan favourite character so the Garp fans could scream about it.

And I've said this many times, but Oda being part of the process genuinely means nothing to me. Netflix infamously do not listen to their creators, and not only did they admit Oda HATED the Garp addition and they STILL added him, you can tell so much of his original vision was thrown aside for non-anime fan audience convenience. Usopp and Sanji felt like side characters for god's sake, Buggy felt comically evil for a LIVE ACTION, Mihawk's fight was literally so empty due to the fact no one was THERE? NAMI was the one who yelled she believes in Zoro and they'll always be friends??

I truly do not believe Oda would agree to most of that, and considering we know he was ignored for Garp, we know for sure he was definitely ignored for many other things.

As always, if you loved it, great! I'm glad the excitement was met. Maybe I'm cynical, maybe it's not to my tastes, but it screams Netflix cash cow to me and the whole time I watched it I thought "This is not One Piece at all."

As a reinterpretation? Great!

As an adaptation? It failed miserably. None of the characters felt like themselves and the additional scenes were so nothing. Sorry for the sour reply anon but for those on here who know, I indeed have a sore spot for that entire production.

I honestly think a lot of people got blinded by the pretty actors and the millions of dollars that went into production and promotion to really look at it for what it was trying to be.

[deadnytalks]

Welp, time to talk about Sonic movie 3. It's been 16 hours since I watched it.

First, I've been SO exagerated whith the precautions on this movie I was even evading watching Shadow design till I was on the cinema, witch was a mistake because I get a bit disappointed at first xd

Noow the part with spoilers and theories for the movie 4 so get under the read more thing if you already watched the movie :)

SO GLAD I NEVER WATCHED THE TRAILERS. They did exactly like in sonic 2, they made the trailers look better than the final movie adding the best parts there. So my first experience whith this movie was "a bit more enjoyable" than the second one.

Buuuut not watching the trailers and theorithing only by the out of context frameshots I saw sometimes, was also somenthing that make me.... when I saw the movie I was screaming whith some parts because of how cool they are (and also live and learn 😭😭😭, shadow and sonic doing the pose referende when they became super, that was awesome omg). But during most of the movie.... I got a feeling of deception. Everything caused for the information I get of the movie being pg 13 like the fnaf movie, so I was waiting at least Maria geting shot or some blood or somenthing like that. But now I get it, this is a familiar movie and I have to start expecting this franchise like that, or I will get decepcionated again whith impossible whishes xd. (Probably I will love more this movie the more I watch it, what happened to me with Sonic movie 2, an also when I first saw sonic movie 3 I didn't knew that Maria was definitely dead so... Watching shadow grabbing his wheel shoe when I'll went to watch this movie again is gonna be súper painfull know that I know that is from his dead kid friend...)

Now I get how many freedon they can take making this movies respect the historys they are bassed on, like, Shadow in this universe is LITERALY ALIEN, not an artificial created creature, everything happens on earth, the Chaos emeralds are only relevant for instant super Sonic, Maria is not sick and she just casually dies for an explosion of chaos energy, Jerald was alive and didn't manipulated Shadow's mind so he can actually doubt on his word when he accidentally punched Tom mistaking him whith the Gun comander, etc.

Not gonna lie, I preffer the history of game Shadow. I feel more meaningfull to hesitate for being Maria the only reason he has born. Also, why is he a Hedgehog then on the movie? In the games it has an explanasion but now he's just a Hedgehog because lol.

NOW THE MOST IMPORTANT PART, THE POSTCREDITS.

Amy is so beautiful!! And Metal Sonic appears and that made me so surprised but... dammit.... We are not getting Silver... I literally take my plushie hiden for the film in case he arrive for also scream on that part but that never happened xd

The kids was very happy with Amy appearing, more than the adult fans, at least on my cinema. I literally screamed "HOW BEAUTIFUL" because lol, she was so precious on her life action version, I wasn't specting that.

Not gonna lie, this post credit scene was... When Shadow arrived on Sonic 2 everyone was screaming like they favourite futbol team marked, it was one of the best 5 seconds of my life, screaming whith fans for one of my favourite characters. That didn't happend here, but at least I'm free from being waiting frenetic the next movie for the next 2 years jajajaja... ja... (please I hope they do like on Sonic 2 and they reveal Silver later on Twitter or somenthing please please I don't want to wait 6 years for finally watch him on the big scream or a tv media).

NOW THE THEORIES PART

Its crazy how we came from adventure 2 to again an old Sonic game as is Sonic CD. The only thing I know about that game is that it has time travel, so I keep a bit of hope that maybe we can see Silver being some antagonist there too...? Please...? Maybe he's a time guardian and he doesn't like Sonic travelling through future like that.

Movies take a lot of freedom making the plot as I mentioned before so maybe they keep the time travel whith the time stones, maybe they discard them at all, or maybe they put Silver too and Eggman Nega created those Metal Sonics, who knows what they'll do. The narrative will stay kids adapted whith references for the older fans so don't spect it to be exaggeratedly impressive, but neutral impressive with little hype points.

Shadow will be back and Amy would mistake him with Sonic for make a reference to adventure 2 when her hug Shadow. But in this time, she hugs Shadow because she's scared for some reason and she wants confort so she hugs "Sonic"

That's all, I don't want to get too high with speculation because I may have a problem of getting too hyped with my own ideas and spectative lol (that's why I love drawing, the process and suspense and expectation of what a drawing can become gives me so many possitive emotions).

Thanks for read in case you advanced this far because Jesus christ, is a lot of text.

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x6

First, it looks like tumblr refused to actually let my non-spoiler post be in the tags so here is the link: deeper dive 2x6: eyes without pity; hopefully this post will show up in the tags!

Not only is this one going to have spoilers for all the aired episodes plus any teasers (including the trailer for episode 7), it will also have book spoilers through book 14: A Memory of Light

"A few weeks ago I considered hitting Renna over the head with that pitcher, and I could not pour wash water for three days. Once I’d thought of it that way, I not only had to stop thinking about hitting her with it, I had to convince myself I would never, under any circumstances, hit her with it before I could touch it again. She knew what had happened, told me what I had to do, and would not let me wash anywhere except with that pitcher and bowl."

It is a little stunning how the show was able to take that paragraph and make this heartbreaking episode using it as the spine. And by changing it from a wash bowl into a water pitcher, they made it even more of a fundamental torture because Egwene is literally being dehydrated until she gives in to her abuser's demands.

Which, her mention of 'weeks ago' (Egwene is damane for roughly two or three months in the books) is making me wonder about the timeline in the show. Because we were visually shown the brutality of the 'training' process already, I wonder if the timeline is going to be shortened, or if we're going to get a timeskip of some kind next episode. Because Rand is definitely not interested in waiting around for weeks now that he knows Egwene is in captivity, even if he doesn't know the full extend of what's happened to her.

Also, double-checking the books, Egwene hits Renna in the stomach with the pitcher and doesn't hit her over the head like I had remembered; hitting her over the head was what she had thought about but never did. Maybe she'll get to brain her in the show.

2. Note: Renna may be wrong when she says that any pain a sul'dam feels, her damane feels twice-over even to the death, because in the last book when Min comes to rescue Mat and (ugh) Tuon, there is a damane attached to a dead sul'dam. And Min just... leaves her to die in a fire instead of saving her because book!Min kinda sucks but, yeah (she actually screams at the damane to help even though she should know it's impossible for her to help while she's still leashed). Though I wonder if Renna is actually correct but the implication is wrong -- which is that the damane does feel the full pain of the sul'dam's death (twice-over) but just doesn't necessarily die as a result of it.

3. The show is really really evoking book!Tuon in both the characters of Renna and Suroth in this episode, I have to say. Renna makes a point of saying she's a ~kinder softer~ sul'dam because she believes in cultivating a ~friendship~ with her damane and that's basically exactly how Tuon presents herself and her relationships with her ~well-behaved~ damane. And then later in the episode, we get Suroth's scene where she purposefully mocks and degrades Loial for her own amusement, evoking... well, Tuon in many moments tbh -- she laughs at Mat like this frequently in CoT & KoD, because she sees him as her own personal court jester -- but definitely the moment when Tuon steals Egeanin's name from her.

It's... it's an interesting thing because I also feel like the show has deliberately evoked book!Min in some of Lanfear's characterization changes, mostly when she was playing Selene -- pretending that she doesn't want a romantic relationship with Rand but desperately wanting one; pretending that she's not jealous about the other people he cares about but actually being incredibly jealous; trying to make herself his emotional anchor and the one person that he depends on; using their connection to get him to do things for her that he doesn't want to do (in Min's case, it's about using sex to get Rand to take her into dangerous situations, like the fake!DotNM meeting that ends up with Rand losing his hand while trying to protect Min). And taking characteristics that belonged to 'love interest' characters in the books and giving them to villains is... an interesting choice.

4. Is Lanfear questioning Rand near Shayol Ghul in TAR (that large blasted area) or is she just dramatic?

5. Turak's room of curiosities... I really wonder if we're going to sub in the Stone of Tear's storage room from TSR to Turak's room of curiosities and if there is a twisted stone doorway in there. That would give us a chance to do (some parts of) the beginning of TSR in 3x1 next season by having Mat, Rand, and Moiraine potentially all going into the doorway.

@markantonys was talking about how it was interesting that Min's romance viewing didn't come up in her scenes this season and speculated that the show is hedging its bets somewhat with regards to how much time they'll get to play out the storylines. And wondering that if that's the case for Rand's Situation, then it might end up being the case for Mat as well, and the show might hold back on the marriage prophecy (because if s4 or s5 ends up being the final season, they might not want to have to deal with squishing in Mat marrying some random slaver that we just met a handful of episodes ago). Definitely interesting to think about!

I personally love the idea that Avirandlayne could all get together without the viewers actually having heard about Min's viewing (besides the little hint of it we got in s1).

I do wonder sometimes if Jordan regretting sowing Mat's marriage prophecy in so early once the book series really started to stretch out, because it really handcuffed him to a very specific Mat plotline and some of the authorial choices that Jordan made to shackle Mat to that plotline were... very weird and involved characters behaving very strangely to their normal behavior (I have an entire post at the end of my WH reread where I go over how WTF some of Jordan's writing choices were to 'justify' Mat going on his road trip with Tuon).

6. I know that some people take issue with Alanna, Maksim, and Ihvon confronting Lan over potentially being a Darkfriend but... as Pevara says in A Crown of Swords, “You were very brave coming to me, Seaine. I’ve known Darkfriends to kill brothers, sisters, parents, to try hiding who they are and what they’ve done. I love you for it, but you were very brave indeed.”

Holding Lan above suspicion because of his background seems like it would have been foolish for Alanna & co to do, after having found that poem in his belongings. After he and Moiraine have been doing secretive journeys together for twenty years, very soon after Moiraine herself changed to be much colder and much more isolated from her fellow Sisters (especially since she and Siuan likely 'broke up' at that time).

I do think that book readers were potentially so distracted by wondering whether or not Alanna was going to get Lan's bond that they didn't necessarily realize that he was being covertly interrogated all of episode 4 by her and her two Warders, trying to figure out what Moiraine is doing and why she dumped Lan this way. I didn't look at the storyline like that on my first viewing because I was looking at it as a Lan plotline, but on my rewatch, it was actually very clear that Alanna, Maksim, and Ihvon were all trying to get information from Lan in various ways to try to figure out what's up with him and Moiraine. Alanna doesn't want Lan's bond; she wants his secrets.

7. More eye trauma for Mat in Rand's dream here. Both Nynaeve and Rand give Mat eye trauma foreshadowing in their visions, which does imply to me that the show wants to do the 'Finn plotline.

8. "You can travel too, see the world as it really is." hmm, I almost wonder if Rand is going to do what Egwene did in LoC, and use TAR to get to Falme quickly? (but then how do Moiraine, Lan, & Mat all come too? hmm. Might just be set up for a later season)

9. My constant emotional surprise when Randgwene keeps being a thing even though we haven't gotten to the part in the books where they break up For Real: my own personal toxic book reader trait, lol.

10. We once again have it kinda being hammered into Rand that going off entirely on his own and abandoning the people that he loves is a bad thing, actually. It's very very difficult to see the show ending in the same place that the books did, because "Rand off on his own and emotionally isolated" is definitely being shown as a negative.

(of course, it was mostly treated as a bad thing in the books too, until it's suddenly Rand's happy ending. but the show has the advantage of already knowing the journey they need to take to the ending, so I feel like they wouldn't be pressing this button so hard if they planned to end it the same way -- plus, this Rand doesn't even smoke pipes, which was really just Jordan, known pipe-smoker, stapling that trait onto every single male character in the series, no matter what their culture)

11. I really hope that the show is able to find some excuses to let more character reunions happen in the show than happened in the books because the idea of Mat and Rand splitting up in s4 for their respective narratives and then not seeing each other until they get one single scene in s8 is absolutely excruciating. My biggest disappointment with the Sanderson books...

...okay, no the biggest disappointment was Mat magically teleporting to Ebou Dar with zero explanation in the text of how it happened or why he changed his entire set of character motivations in between ToM & AMoL.

One of my disappointments was how... hollow the Mat & Rand reunion was. It happened on enemy territory, while Mat was still in full 'fawn over the slaver' mode and hadn't yet gotten his spine back, and it ends in this weird bro-out one-up competition that didn't really match their previous relationship in the books at all. So if the show could just... do all that differently... that would be great.

12. I wonder if Rafe & co noticed the same thing about Rand and Mat that I noticed in my last reread -- which is that their lives kinda drastically go downhill once the plot forces them to separate for the rest of the book series. Because we really see them being a source of comfort and support for each other here. Which is also very true in portions of the book series -- I think especially of moments like Mat quietly sitting with Rand after Rhuidean, which is literally exactly what Rand needs at that moment in time.

13. So, my current theory re: Mat and the dagger viewing is that he is going to essentially be the 'proof' for show-onlys that Min's viewings are unavoidable. Because Mat does not want to stab Rand and he even knows now that there's (essentially) a prophecy that he's going to do just that. And Mat stabbing Rand anyway, even though he actively does not want to and does his best to avoid it, would serve as a harsh lesson for the viewers and for Mat himself that prophecy cannot be avoided (my money is still on compulsion from Ishy, but we will see!).

Which is relevant to Mat's arc in a lot of ways. In the books, it was really frustrating how he thinks about how he'll run away from the DotNM if he finds out who she is but then once he's face to face with her, he basically rolls over and caves to fate pretty much instantly.

He didn't have to take Tuon with him when he escaped Ebou Dar. He didn't have to stay with the circus once he'd left the city; he literally could have just walked away from her and yet he inexplicably actively courts someone that he never, at any point, wants to marry (even after the final vows are said, Tuon's slave Karede notes how Mat looks miserably resigned to his awful fate), and fawns over her despite her being basically the lovechild of Suroth and Renna, in terms of characterization (Suroth's Mean Girl (TM) behavior towards Loial in this episode vividly reminded me of Tuon's Mean Girl (TM) behavior towards Egeanin; show!Suroth and book!Tuon both have the most fun in life when they have someone to mock and look down on and treat like shit).

If, in the show, he's already learned the hard way that some fates cannot be avoided, then we might get into a more interesting situation where Mat tries to find a way to make the prophecy come true in a way that still helps his friends, and tries to manipulate fate for the better. It's also a way to make the relationship somewhat more palatable for the viewers

Just... the whole way that Jordan played their relationship in CoT & KoD will eternally leave a bad taste in my mouth. Especially since WH set Mat up to challenge Tuon's beliefs. (though probably the worst part is running across that certain variety of 'Mat fans' who either don't notice or don't care that he threw away his morals in between WH & CoT and did a near-complete 180 turn on his attitude about slavery). It's just wild how much shit Jordan makes Mat swallow with a smile for the sake of this terrible prophecy marriage -- and other characters get covered in Tuon's shit too, because of Mat's choice to bring her along in the escape. Joline, Teslyn, and Edesina get tortured because of Mat's choice. Yeah. Pretty much any decision that Rafe & co make about this storyline is guaranteed to be better than the original version.

14. So Siuan coming here is basically the show's version of the scene from Fal Dara, given what we have of the set-up -- fourteen Aes Sedai making a traveling journey to a major city. But that is definitely worrisome news for Moiraine, given the differences in the show vs books.

15. I don't think that Alanna will bond Rand next week (it feels way too early for it) but I do think that the seeds of why she believes that he should be bound might be planted. It depends on if Rand gets publicly outed as a man who can channel & who believes that he's the Dragon Reborn. Because we do have those fires and potentially a riot going on in the Foregate in the next episode, based on the trailers. Rand may do something that 'proves' to Alanna that the White Tower needs to control him so that he doesn't destroy the world. Especially if he disappears from the city after the riot, with them having no idea where he disappeared to.

16. ...I am really looking forward to Egwene putting that damn collar around Renna's throat.