#actors are perfectly cast

[amberlin1]

These cien años de soledad memes are giving me hope. Keep meming. Make people watch it. I want my second half

[scarlet--wiccan]

Oh God I was really hoping the backstory that was leaked for Billy was fake... just heard about the new episode and it turns out it wasn't. why would they choose this over adoption or reincarnation-

It's bad! I really feel like the M C U goes out of its way to interpret these characters in bad faith and come up with the worst possible versions of their stories. I've said this before, but everything about Wanda's origins and the nature of her power seems designed to make her an objectively worse person who is more directly responsible for causing harm than her comics counterpart, but is also weirdly set on punishing her for existing and having trauma. She's simultaneously more doomed by the narrative, and infinitely less deserving of redemption.

With Billy, they took a situation that, while complex and, at times, difficult to parse, is ultimately miraculous and joyful, and they made it just.... incredibly grim. There is no real distinction between Billy Maximoff and Billy Kaplan in the comics-- they're the same person, given a second chance at life and the great fortune to reconnect with his original family, in a way that doesn't invalidate or erase the second. And, again, I want to emphasize that when YA and CC were written, Wanda had Jewish heritage, so I don't think there needs to be any awkwardness in the transfer between the Maximoff and Kaplan families, and the text never does anything to imply that Billy's cultural upbringing is any less valid, or any less central to his character after his origins are revealed.

Here, they created a false dichotomy between the two characters, killed one them off, and made the other into a body-snatcher. That is so much darker, and so much more tragic for the Kaplans-- and it creates uncomfortable questions about their relationship, and Billy's identity, that I don't think can ever be neatly resolved. I will say that, thus far, I don't think the show explicitly disavows "William's" heritage, or writes off Billy's relationship with the Kaplans, the way some people are reporting. He doesn't actually remember his life before the switch, so it's not a total takeover, and at points, the episode seems to imply that he's somehow both, and neither-- a new gestalt.

But I don't trust these writers to execute that concept with integrity, or even consistency. In WV and MoM, Wanda's motives, sense of self, and relationship to her powers repeatedly change at the drop of a dime, and we're seeing the same thing, here, with the abrupt change that takes place when Billy reveals his identity. The shift in personality, escalation of power, and the vague implication that he's been masterminding this whole excursion makes no sense with the established timeline-- this is all happening within 24 hours of him even learning that Wanda had kids, let alone that he might be one of them, not to mention hearing about both Agatha the Witches Road for the first time. And up until that point, he really was just an earnest kid. The heel-turn feels silly and juvenile, and the needle drop at the end of episode #5 underscores that a little too perfectly-- his "bad guy" act is just as ill-fitting and unsubstantiated as the Eilish's edgy, wannabe-thug aesthetics.

Obviously, the most important issue here is not the quality of writing, but where this character falls into the spectrum of whitewashing and erasure. The fact that Locke is not Jewish but, before the switch, is playing a Jewish character-- and, specifically trespassing on prayer and religious ceremonies-- is a problem. I've seen a lot of different opinions expressed by a lot of different people within the community about who can or can't play Jewish characters, but I think we can all agree that this is worth criticizing, especially given the larger context of repeated erasure and historical distortion against Jewish and Roma people in this franchise.

But I also want to emphasize that, because of what was done to Wanda, and the franchise's insistence on conducting blatant anti-Romani racism, there was never going to be a truly authentic or acceptable version of this character. Now matter how they cast the role, a significant part of his background had already been erased, and he was already saddled with significant racist baggage. I am very, very tired of white people and Young Avengers fans overlooking that fact.

[youvegotmailpdf]

so its like they have the same mannerisms when they talk and move + the same twitchy defensive anger + the same cadence of voice + they enjoy similar hobbies + they are leavers in the dead of night (metaphorical) when they get scared + something something sins of the father. and jess had never ever met his father til he was 18. hm. however

like this is as on the nose as it gets. surly + angry + uncomfortable in kooky social situations + incapable of displaying affection unless its in weird convoluted awkward ways (the chuppah. the diner care package) + trying really hard at loving and being kind without it feeling like skinning themselves alive

[spiralmode]

spiral + @screenshotsofdespair IV

[ghostlypawn]

think one of my gripes around stage to movie adaptations is that the discussion around roles turns competitive in nature as only one person can portray a role on screen compared to the stage where multiple people can play a role so the community feels much more appreciative of the variety of portrayals and as a result the discussion feels less hostile

[thesarcasticism]

i have so much fucking respect for takaya's actor in p3wm because bro was literally in four 2-hour long plays and never put on a shirt even ONCE

[scarefox]

Vivit e-guitar cover of: Babymonster - Drip

[demadogs]

i always say i dont want a book to have a screen adaptation out of fear of them doing it dirty and then i think of the most perfect casting ever for the main character and im like FUCK now i wont sleep until i see this happen

[the-busy-ghost]

Me normally: Let people love what they love

Me, after a Test Match Special commentator expresses their belief that the new All Creatures Great and Small is somehow "better" than the 1978 version: This is pure insanity and TMS can no longer be trusted on anything, how can they even be trusted to know about cricket, do they have no TASTE

[whydotheycallmechimney]

lowkey turning into a wot books purist, but I still have so much love in my heart for the show, and I'm hopeful that s3 is going to shift the focus onto the actual main characters (as much as I love moiraine)

[thefabelmans2022]

i understand the impulse to be nice to new cast members and give them a chance to find their voice and find writers who get it and figure out how to translate what they're good at into the show's format etc etc but sometimes i do think we need to be haters a little bit.

[qprpbj]

brent comer self-proclaimed nervous yapper he’s so me 😭

[the-lark-ascending69]

Just realized that saide sink, maya hawke and natalia dyer are all 4 years of apart in age (21, 25 and 29 years old) and watching stranger things i just feek like... that... that doesn't sound right

[sonknuxadow]

im generally not a fan of the idea of any of the early 2000s sonic games being remastered because i think those games not having the most updated looking graphics or the best voice acting ever is part of the charm i dont want them to be changed to look and sound exactly like every other sonic game thats come out in the past 14 years

[thebrightestbling]

I'm sorry but like, the avatar live action is a fucking masterpiece like??? Is this the era of good live action series now? This is way better than the original series, I'm enjoying the realness here and how deep and dark it is. I'm not even finished lol

[thegoosiestlucy]

i’m gonna get shafted for saying this on here but i’m so mad at the rwrb script for gutting the book so needlessly; of course a book-to-film adaptation can never be 1:1 but you gotta get the important stuff in there for the characters to make sense and the story to feel satisfying even if you need to shift and change things to suit a different medium