#and ep5 with ricky's arc

[originallypoki]

Our Flag Means Death S2 Spoilers!

Something people doesn't seem to realize, is that pacing has a key impact to a story. Yes, the tale you want to tell can be the best someone has ever come up with, but if your pacing of it is awful, it pulls the whole story down with it. To rushed pacing? It loses meaning and impact, because there's no time to become attached. To slow paced? It becomes boring and uninteresting, finishing the book, show or movie feels more like a task than actual fun.

The first 4 episodes of season 2 of OFMD were awesome. The pacing was perfect, we had enough time to register what was happening and to sort out our emotions. I was a bit thrown off by ep 5. Because, while still good paced, you can start the see the problems because of the missing 2 eps ( for example the skipped fight, instead choosing to tell, not show. )-

Then episode 6 and 7 happened. And oh boi, I wanted to drop the show, only my love for it keeping me going.

I know that it isn't David Jenkins and the production team's fault, since the 2 episodes got cut, giving us the total of 8. But I can't excuse the decision to cram the plot of 10 eps into 8. If you have so little time left, why don't just cut some 'unimportant' storypoints?

Like Ned Lowe, he was introduced and died in the same episode. His purpose was to give GentleBeard development I know, that still doesn't give him enough importance to let him stay in the shortened version. Just like the second break-up from GentleBeard we got in ep 7.

Instead we got very out-of-character characters, Stede for example. I can see why he acts the way he does in ep 7. It would make sense, had he more time to have proper character development! Instead he feels weird, plus the very very uncomfortable second-hand embarrassment scenes (like the fight with Zheng). And sadly after ep 3, I couldn't feel the same chemistry GentleBeard had in S1. While there were cute scenes, like the end of ep5, I felt like something was missing to make me actually care. It's just my feelings, so not very important, but it was a bit disappointing.

The end of ep 7 gave me hope. Because it was a perfect way to introduce a villain, who's a genuine threat to our heros. And I maybe like Prince Ricky a bit to much. Then ep 8 came crushing down while drowing my love for OFMD, that made me ignore everything wrong with the second half of S2.

I like ep 8, well the first few minutes. It felt like I finally had time to see what's happening and David Jenkins didn't leave us completely clueless. ( Let's ignore the logic holes since it was is a comedy show and they were always there. ) And I was way to busy squieking like a pig of happiness to think critical.

I have many criticism points, but will only focus on one;

Izzy's death. And by god, I. Am. Pissed. Killing a character that is beloved by the fandom isn't the problem. While I love him, he's my favorite, I also love a good ol' angst. But he was in the middle of his redemption arc, and ending this with death is just such weak writing. I have nothing against killing a character off for development. Iron man for example, his whole story is about becoming a better person and jumping over his ego. And it ends just like Izzy in death. But Tony was through his arc, his death was the final, showing he has changed, showing he would do everything to save the universe and more important, the people he loves.

If Izzy died at the start of or before S2 I wouldn't complain, because it would've been perfect for him. Maybe if he died a more impactful death I wouldn't write this. But you can't make a character finally change and then destroy the meaning of it by killing him off in the fucking middle of the change. It would've had so much more impact seeing how he becomes a part of the crew he loathed not even a few weeks ago. Episode 5 did that great, while a bit fast. I like how he and Stede get along. Growing closer. It was a bit too fast paced, and I hoped for them to finally communicate, not talk. The same with Ed, I wanted him and Izzy to finally talk to eachother and not through eachother. However, giving us acutally communication while Izzy's fucking dying is not how you give impact. (And credit where credit's due; I really like that dialog, it was beautiful and the right words choosen to explain how Izzy feels)

Not to forget what a meaning it conveys. Izzy always did what he thought was right, even when it was completely wrong. But when he finally grows and begins to do actually what is right and let's go of Ed, he dies?

Still, I wouldn't say that they shouldn't have done a season 2 at all. It has great potential and I can see what they were going for. So, while it has it's problem's, it's nothing what a good fanfic can't fix. So I look forward to the amazing works that will build up on this hot mess and / or 'correct' it.

So bye, I'll go cry and give the last three episodes of S2 of OFMD, the last 20 minutes of S2 Go treatment T^T (except that GO S2 was fucking fantastic through the whole season)

[eloquentgifs]

I'm going to say things bc that's how I cope.

As a person who thinks that if you're going to do something you should do it right, I can't help it, it bothered me how sloppy this season felt. Of course I fully blame HBO and their cheapness, but it stills bothers me. Not only we got two episodes less than s1, but the 8 we got were shorter, and you can tell. I also blame the budget cuts for the constant yet unnecessary flashbacks, and the weird editing, and the anticlimatic pace. In any case, I want to highlight the things I did like, because I fucking love this show and Im sure that after a rewatch or two I'll be less angry, so let's stay positive:

Since it seems they were having trouble to get the complete cast together in one plot, I do love they kinda let them have their spotlight one by one. Like, Frenchie in the first episodes, Wee John as Calypso, Lucius with his PTSD in ep5... It's not the same as s1, but it's something.

I've seen people complaining about this, but Im happy they didnt invest too much time on the forgiving process. I like it better when everyone gets along fine, and in the end they're pirates and they never seemed to be the kind of people who hold grudges, so yeah lets skip to the nice part.

I did like a lot what they did with Izzy. I don't care if it happened too quick or what, I used to feel indiference towards him and this season I actually enjoy his scenes a lot. I still dont know how I feel about his death tho. It bothered me a little that the whole scene was more about Ed than Izzy himself, but in the end I always saw Izzy as a narrative tool in Ed's arc more than as a character of his own, so I guess it makes sense.

Super happy with the music choices, and also the new outfits.

Really, the first five episodes were absolutely brilliant.

It made me so happy they got Bronson Pinchot as Ned Low.

Huge fan of Zheng Yi Sao and Auntie.

Im so fucking furious at Taika Waititi for his pro-Israel shit that seeing Pop Pop attacking him gave me some sort of inner peace.

Now, things I wished had been done differently: - There were a lot of paralelisms with s1, which is good, but I'd like they brought back more actual elements of s1 into play. Like, the lighthouse painting, the secret wardrobe, the pink robe, a third Badmington (he would have work better as big bad than this prince ricky guy I dont really care about?). Frenchie singing again. This oneis a reach, but I would love to have Mary Bonnet back. And I was really hoping they play with the fact that Stede is "dead". The guy doesnt even mention the Master Fuckery from ep10.

-On that note, I was a little dissapointed on Jim's arc. I was never that invested on them or their plot in s1, but it feels weird how this season it seems like none of that even happened. Even Jim felt like a different character. I feel it would worked better if some of the conflict was related to Siete Gallos stuff, so at least it would feel all of that subplot wasnt a waste of time.

-Little missing opportunities of making me happy: Anne Bonny and Mary Read mentioning Jack (to insult him, mostly); they kissing when the house is on fire; Ed finding not just one letter but the whole pile of them; a better narrative use for Seagull Buttons (well, any narrative use, really); developing the bombclocks thing in a way where Auntie was not deprived of her superhuman detective skills; having Ned Low as bigger villain, with several appearances.

-The general development of Ed/Stede in the final episode... It's just confusing to me. My reading of Stede's mind state was that he was on autopilot since he killed Ned Low, and being abandoned by Ed and having his ass kicked by Zheng would wake him up a little, but this episode he's still in PROBLEM SOLVER mode, zero regrets about anything, still hasn't talked anything through EVER, he's just fine. With Ed I dont even ask for coherence bc he's always been a wtf guy, but I dont understand the "just do whatever you're good at" thing in the beginning of the episode, and he claiming back his leathers and his pirate-self and going on berserker mode and fighting along Stede as equals and blablabla if at the end he's still chosing to be a fucking innkeeper. Also, having a shitty inn in the middle of nowhere sounds too close to the antique shop in ep4, didn't they learn ANYTHING from Mary and Anne? I mean, the innkeeping was a predictible outcome, but the setting up of the episode was really aiming to the opposite, so it feels weird to me. In any case, I'm happy they're together and if being absolutely on their own in the loneliest house in the world doesn't get them to improve their communication, idk what else they could do.

-Still think they should have been lighthouse keepers instead.

-Next season Im totally muting every OFMD tag as soon as they announce the trailer release, because the promo and bts content was absolutely TOO MUCH. Those fuckers had been showing us stuff from the very climax of the fucking last episode since weeks before the season aired. I get it's a me problem, but I do believe it ruined my experience a lot, so fuck that.

And well. That's it. Good season, could have been great. Im happy but sad. Let's just hope that, if there's a season 3, they gave them more money and time to do it properly.

And before I post this and run away from tumblr, Im checking out how much of my wishlist had been fulfilled: - LUCIUS IS ALIVE - Stede Bonnet, berserker era [Not as I imagined, but hey] - The Queen Anne’s Revenge, either being captured or coming back as the ship Ed left behind when he went to The Revenge - The Blockade of Charleston (and make really absurd) [Still might happen in the future?] - Anne Bonny and Mary Read(as middle aged women who kinda mirror Ed and Stede, but they did it right) - Since he was already mentioned in s1, it would make sense introducing Hornigold, maybe as a new antagonist or something. - A rip off of that wwdits episode with the Vampire Council, except this time is the Pirate Council and its members are pirates from other movies and shows [I was really dreaming big here] - On that note, a really weird episode with every person who has played Blackbeard in recent years [Fully tripping] - More women and more asian characters. And more people speaking their mother tongues [So many Chinese gals, not one chinese word :(] - Ed finding out about Stede’s death and believing it [It did happened but not how/when we thought] - Ed meeting Mary and getting along [Never losing hope on this one] - Frenchie adopting a cat (and singing a song about it). - More info about everyone’s pasts. - I would LOVE having Bartholomew Roberts in the show. [YES PLEASE]

[katarzyna-]

This? This ruined me. Because you made me realise how true this statement is.

I wanna preface this by saying that under I'm in no circumstances a JKR supporter (for obvious reasons) and I'm also NOT trying to imply that Jenkins is homophobic and transphobic (so please don't send me death threats, read this or don't, block me on sight, idc, even argue with me, but please be respectful). I just know/remember a lot from my younger days.

I'm not saying that these characters have the same arc/story, but there is a shocking amount of resemblence.

Both Lupin and Izzy are shown as outcasts of their already alienated society.

You could argue that pirates and wizards are completely different, but let's think about this. While I know that JKR didn't plan on it, she created a close-knit community with their own traditions, language and wardrobe that lived in secret, hiding from the rest of "normal" society. This image just screams queer. Her portrayal of werewolves was harmful and god-awful, with Lupin being "one of the good ones" trying to conform to social norms and living his whole life in hiding (we will come back to this later on).

While Izzy is respected by others (especially in s2, with Steak Knife, Bill and Ricky, who seems like a fanboy at first, and Jackie since season one, and even the Navy), he does not fit on the s1 Revenge. He is not used to living so openly, so unapologetically as the rest of the crew. He is not used to showing his emotions. Season 2 gives him the opportunity to try that way of life for like five minutes, before he dies. And that's the hurtful part, he only just found his new family, he got accepted into it for a moment, before everything is forcibly taken from him. In these five minutes, he got protective of them, fought for them and took the blame upon himself multiple times, just to save them. And what is more, they defend him back. They risk their lives covering up the fact that he lives, hiding him from a psychotic-ex their Captain. They save his life by performing surgery even when he begs them to just end it all. They bond while making him a prothestic leg, a gift that touches Izzy so deeply, that he stops his self-destructive path and embraces his place in the crew (look at ep5 and 6, he is thriving, he jokes around, trains Stede, offers advice and the drag scene? Truly iconic. He finally allows himself a moment of softness after a lifetime of hardship).

2. Disability/ overall health

While Lupin being physically disabled is mostly fanon, his health is in shambles even in canon. The transformations take a lot of his organism, he is in his 30s during the series, but is described as looking much older, always on the brink of exhaustion. Fans found him relatable, made him a symbol, which JKR kills off without much thought.

While I myself am not disabled, I can recognise that the treatment of Izzy is hurtful. His prothestic is a part of him and using it as a grave marker is just so disrespectful and many fans already brought up this topic. Killing off the visably disbled character feels like a big "fuck you" to those who recognised a part of themselves in Izzy and took joy in his acceptance journey. Before you come to me about him not being the only disabled character, he is the only one with an arc connected to the fact. Ed convieniently forgets about his knee this season. It's like it never bothered him at all. The brace is long forgotten, he runs freely. So, great writing and consistency guys! Good job!

And to the "fans" who say he "deserved it": I'm begging you to just use your brain and think for five seconds. First of all, disability is not a punishment, it cannot be someone's fault. Please rethink your words. And in this particular instance, do you think taking his toes and eventually the leg were appropriate/proportional of his crime of... being mean to Ed in season one? Because "Ed is so babygirl, he cannot do anything wrong" he literally commited a war crime. Check your morals.

3. "Bury your gays" and fan reception

"But OP, this isn't bury you gays, everyone is queer in OFMD!" okay yes, but does anybody else have such a typically queer arc? The whole season is centered about acceptance and belonging. Izzy finds himself experimenting and finally enjoying life. He rids himself of toxic masculinity. He does drag for god's sake. He mixes in with the crew, sings a beautiful love song abot loving a man! (please read the translation from French, not only the English lyrics, bc you loose a whole layer of meaning). He admits his feelings to Ed! (tbh I didn't expect that, especially such early on in the season, but we all know what came later). He even admits the fact to Stede, so it's not like he's hiding the fact anymore.

He is the elder queer, who fought tooth and nail to be where he was. He was disabled. His love was unrequited and he still stayed with Ed for years. He finally escaped an abusive relationship. He was a symbol to many of us. And they took him away, when "he was no longer needed". They made his death a plot device and then didn't even mourn him. His death didn't serve anything except shock value. It didn't motivate the characters to revenge, it didn't help Ed with abandoning the Blackbeard persona, because he has already done that in the previous episode (with Izzy's help/blessing, no less).

And the whole deathbed confession was an apology to his abuser? Wow, what a way to victim blame, Great message, really. Nobody tries to save him, despite the fact that the crew has already done it this season. What are we supposed to think, that once was enough? That it was too much of a burden? Fuck this. Fuck making suicidal characters die. Great message to the fans. You can be happy only when you're young and healthy and a socially acceptable version of queer. Fuck it.

And the fact that they tried to last-minute change his relationship with Ed to a mentorship? Why? There is almost no textual evidence to prove it, at this point it looks like Jenkins realizing he fucked up and trying to backpedal after the backlash.

Lupin on the other hand could very much be a poster child for the bury your gays trope. After JKR found out that people shipped him with Sirius, she kills both of them off. While Sirius's death serves some kind of a narrative purpose, making Harry change, Lupin's is just... there. He dies for the shock value, leaving behind a child which he only has to emphasize that he is straight, duh. The fact that his (also dead) wife was also thought to be queer by fans must be a coincidence, right?

I know it's all a bit chaotic, but I really expected more from a show that promised to be kind and a safe space. I'm tired of having to think up my own endings, of pretending that queer charcters are treated fairly. I really believed them and I'm not making this mistake again.

I'm used to queer-baiting in shows, I'm used to my faves dying, I just never expected it here. I thought we were better than this in 2023, but I got proven wrong.

An open letter to David Jenkins

Some fans believe that we should not vent our anger and frustration to show creators. I don’t believe that. The thing about being a professional is that receiving criticism is part of your job—especially if you have done a terrible job.

OFMD went from groundbreaking to disappointing overnight.

There was a momentum to create a queer media that is smart, fun, sexy, and most importantly, respectful. In the way they are writing these queer characters. Especially older and disabled queer characters, a reflection of a generation of marginalised communities that have gone through so much. To give audience a glimpse of hope in their escapism.

But sir, you choose to Remus Lupin him instead.

This is not just about killing off a character. Hell, I might be willing to accept it. After all, I have read and even written fics with MCD in it—involving my favourite character.

But I want you to know that this is a special case. It is not just another popular character being killed off to drive plots.

I have issue with how you kill off a queer character that represents many marginalised communities in his arc.

Izzy is an abuse survivor who becomes disabled as a result of it. Izzy is a queer elder. Izzy is suicidal but manages to overcome it with the healing power of love and community.

Having him killed off just like that is a huge slap for fans who have gone through what he has gone through. Turns out, even in fiction, in our escapism, there is no joy. Only despair.

Also. Father figure? Where does that come from? Ed has never been shown to have any level of respect for Izzy. So let me ask you again. Where does “father figure” come from?

You have an opportunity to make a difference with OFMD; to be remembered in history for the right reasons. Yet somehow you choose not too. You choose to turn this into cheap, sensationalist entertainment where death and torture are thrown around for shock value.

It is like you have no idea how much power you have by being a professional storyteller.

Let me break it down to you. For you as a writer, perhaps killing off Izzy is nothing but an artistic choice. A plot point to figure out. But for audiences in marginalised groups, stories are mirrors. They see themselves in stories. That is how stories give them hope. This is why OFMD has never been “just a pirate story”. Perhaps this is hard to understand if you have never been part of an underrepresented community in the mainstream media, but this is how many are feeling about your work now. Your legacy.

OFMD has truly become an overnight failure. I don’t know how this happened. I would like to blame budget cuts, but your Vanity Fair interview makes me realise this is all deliberate choice.

So, what is next for us Canyonites?

If anything, this convinced me that queer and disabled people should write. And continue to write.

We can no longer trust major media to speak for us. We definitely can never trust David Jenkins again. Any form of progressiveness that he showed earlier was just coincidence, apparently. Even worse, it was fake.

As my friend Sam beautifully puts it, Izzy belongs to us now. We reclaim that character and give him all the happy endings he deserves in our fic, our art. We transform the works. We write about queer, disabled, suicidal characters the way the deserve to be written. If being a published writer is the path you choose, make sure you make wiser decisions than David Jenkins.

Thank you, sir. It was good while it lasts.

But this is a terrible job that you’re doing.

[rickybowxn]

let’s talk about ricky bowen again

dude ep5 and ep6 has crushed me. the way that they are alluding to ricky’s mental health these two episodes is so incredibly loud in the most subtle ways. and not to mention so damn relatable. 

ricky bowen is crying for help and comfort rn and it’s so sad and incredibly heartbreaking to watch. 

episode 5 mostly set up the emotion derivative and complexity for all of ricky’s actions in episode 6 to be as angsty and as wonderful as they were so i’m just gonna be pretty straight to the point with this first half of the post. let’s take a closer look and start with episode 5:

watching this sucked. he’s growing up, and bottling up all of these feelings to be strong for his dad. i love that they establish ricky’s response to conflict and trials: as someone who wants to be there for everyone else, even though it’s pretty sad to watch. he passively states what’s going in his life but never really talks about it, throughout the next few scenes, we realise that he deals with his conflict by being there for everyone else and well... not dealing with his conflict. he literally grows up and as fucked up as it is, becomes the parent. it made my stomach twist and it was written really well. my poor baby boi.

in his next two scenes with gina, we see exactly what was established with his dad:

in the first gif, he states his conflict in passing and then flips it to gina to talk about what’s going on with her. i’ve said again and again that he’s rlly bad with explicit verbal communication and this is a great example of how he’s good at being a support system for literally everyone, but has such a hard time being kind to himself. he uses ‘it’s a whole thing’ as a fast and sure way to dismiss his issue as not worth talking about and instantly wants to make gina the focus. the writers really did well with establishing that.

this gina and ricky interaction was great. not only did it establish rina’s chemistry, it also gave us the setup to ricky’s actions in the next episode - this play is what’s keeping him afloat rn. the people, the lines, the rehearsals are effectively helping him stay grounded and not lose his mind. it’s rlly heartbreaking to see how much he’s actually hurting, especially because he explicitly doesn’t show it throughout this episode or the next.

(i plan to do a rina arc post as well, and i’ll save most of my thoughts on them for that, but while we’re here, the last two scenes we broke down really established this strong and substantial connection between the characters really well. the writers pushed past the ‘we’re both outsiders’ arc and really gave ricky and gina substance and common ground for a solid dynamic. their motives and actions are very similar, and that’s why they have such a good foundation for gina’s understanding of, and being there for ricky in ep6, as well as where-ever the writers decide to take them - i personally prefer friendship but i know that some of y’all are rina shippers and that’s also very much on the table and i’m rlly okay with either! as much as i want rini to be endgame, they have established such wonderful characters with such amazing arcs and i want all of them to be explored and the writers are doing good work with it rn).

and now let’s look at episode 6, where they drive that stake into our hearts further. this is ricky’s reaction to carlos breaking the ms. jenn news to everyone:

you can see him unwind. you can see his world fall apart bit by bit as the realisation hits. the established safe haven he has, doubling down as a distraction for everything going on in his life right now, is being torn from under his feet. it was personally one of the hardest and heartbreaking things to see this ep, it’s just constant angst with him oof. 

but then, in the most ricky bowen fashion ever, he jumps right back to wanting to fight and keep trying, he stays despite everyone else leaving (starting with nini, and i’lll mention why that’s important in just a second). he puts aside all the anxiety he has if the play (at that point, most probably bound to end) falls apart and commits to fighting for it, clinging desperately to it:

and now as for everyone leaving, the writers used it as such a good way to establish how significantly important the play is for especially ricky, carlos and gina - the three people who stayed. as a side-note, carlos’s attachment to the play is established and developed later in the episode with the string of dialogue in big red’s basement, so i’m not gonna elaborate, it was way more explicit than ricky’s arc that led to the climatic monologue(ish) he delivered towards the end of that same scene.

for nini, the play is the path to her developing her self-confidence and maturity so she embraces it to grow (and she’s slowly rediscovering herself just generally), not to run away from the rest of her life, unlike ricky and gina:

like nini, the rest of the cast uses the play as an opportunity rather than a distraction, and that’s what sets ricky and gina apart from them. this made it easier from them to walk away and wallow in the possibility of the show ending (also that look ricky gave nini walking way *my heart shattered*). ricky (and gina) is established to clearly not have that same luxury. this scene sets up ricky and gina having the play as this tether that’s keeping them at bay from things that they should be dealing with (we don’t know about gina’s issues yet and i’m very ready and excited to cry about that angst by the way), so their instinct is to stay and try and fight for the play/keep practising. 

the next scene explicates why this play means the most to ricky, and as with everything about his arc rn, it’s heart-wrenching:

he’s in complete denial of the only thing keeping him together rn falling apart. it is sad, heart-breaking and gut-wrenching. this angst is delivered with such fucking excellence by joshua bassett that i kinda wanna punch him lmao

and here’s where it hits home. gina realises the reality that they might not come back to the show and is ready to face it (instituted by her even asking the question in the first place), but ricky’s denial contrast that so heavily this scene. that denial is what establishes the play meaning the most to ricky. just by watching the scene, you can tell how he’s unravelling, trying not to let himself be overwhelmed by the possibility of it. it’s so fucking angsty ugh.

(another side note, as i said before, i’m probably gonna make another entire post about the gina/ricky arc but i had to mention this. after this exchange, her supporting him and taking his mind off of all of this by asking him to do something he loves and perform the acoustic version of ‘when there was me and you’, grounding ricky for a bit, was one of my most favourite things to watch this entire episode, even being primarily a rini shipper - they rlly sold them i can see their growing popularity as completely justified, they were hella cute this ep).

now this moment is where i felt like sobbing and reaching into the screen to hug him:

he finally opens up about it. why he’s so desperate to keep this play alive and why saving ms. jenn’s job is so incredibly important to him. and i loved that nini helped him say the words he needed to say. the look of relief when he was assured that he didn’t have to do any of this alone, just with nini finishing that sentence for him - that nini, gina, big red and everyone else was going to be there for him, and hear him out - fuck, it was beautiful!! it also encouraged him to take charge and chant ‘what team?’, he was ready to fight and everyone readying with him was so magnetic to see. it was also clearly therapeutic to him bc during, and after the final number, he looks genuinely happy, and we see him fully smiling/laughing more than the last 5eps combined. 

he finally gets a win and it may not solve all his problems, but being one of the motivating factors in saving ms. jenn’s job through his vulnerability in this scene really gives him a leg up and i loved watching it. i hope they don’t dismiss everything he still has to continue to have to deal with (making this an all problem solving cure as sometimes disney does) but that aside, i’m so glad they had subtle continuity in furthering his character’s development these last two episodes even though he wasn’t a primary focus. it was subtle, nuanced and genuinely so complex and enjoyable to watch.

[klausalvatores]

rickyxgina honestly felt like a plot device to me in season 1 to make nini jealous. but with season 2 they can’t just drop it out of nowhere so they use it as a way to set up an arc for Gina where she gets over Ricky and a way to set up portwell to contrast how Ricky treats her/makes her feel with how EJ treats her and makes her feel. RickyxGina always just felt one-sided to me, esp this season, so I can’t imagine it becoming anything serious or long term.

I actually agree with all of this.

Even tho Ricky is scared of change and Nini was the last “safe symbol” he had, no one can deny how much he loves her. He even said he was doing everything he can to make the relationship work because of how much he loves her. I’m not a fan of Rini this season but they seem like the type of couple who will always love each other. And at this point, Gina will always feel like a second choice for Ricky. Unless they do something to prove otherwise like Nini wants to get back together but he rejects her and chooses Gina instead, which seems forced and unrealistic given everything that’s happened but i digress.

I’m very impressed with the show’s continuity so like you said, they couldn’t just pretend like Rina didn’t happen this season so they teased them for half of the season until Gina finally put her foot down and told off Ricky that she’s not his couple’s counselor for Nini. That seemed like it was the end for Rina in ep5 (and the start for Portwell) but then in ep6 they showed the flashback of her confession to him (mainly due to the fact they filmed it way back in S1 and wanted an excuse to show it) & we find out that Ricky knew ALL ALONG, which painted him in a very bad light because he just pretended like Gina never said anything & continuously dismissed her feelings. She was broken for a long time but then EJ saved her on multiple occasions, just by saying all these sweet things & treating her like an equal.

Nevertheless, if Ricky sees Gina with EJ and then gets jealous and then decides he has feelings for her when she’s finally moved on and happy again, it’ll continuously paint him in a bad light for being a homewrecker (again) and it’ll just prove that he only wants what he can���t have. I don’t think anyone wants that for his character… or at least, i hope not.

[rickybowxn]

on episode 5:

i know everyone's having really polarized opinions on gina and ricky rn but i'm just going to point out that that scene was written in a way that sets up the possibility of a romantic arc for them.

if you felt like they were cute and had chemistry (which i did for sure), that's valid and the writers, clearly evidenced by the body language and delivery of the car scene, meant for it to be just that. tbvh i don't mind gina and ricky after having watched ep5, i hated the idea of it before this episode, but the interactions were genuine and they changed my mind. period.

don't get me wrong i love nini and ricky and i'm pretty sure they're endgame. they're literally the softest kids ever i love them, but it's no reason to hate ricky x gina they're a good pairing ngl.

all i really want is for gina, ricky and nini to get more that .3829 seconds of happiness and whatever way they get it, i'm good.

also, i fucking loved nini and kourtney this episode. seblos can end me bc goodness me i'm so endeared i love them so so so so much and they had like 3mins of screen time. also carlos, the loml, amazing. also ashlyn? my gal my love my sunshine, she's was an 5271819/10 this episode being soft and cute and dancing with carlos and doing the routine and giving carlos away to the seblos slow dance??? AMAZING

[rickybowxn]

hey!! ok so i just need someone else’s opinion bc i haven’t seen anyone talking about this and i literally can’t wrap my head around it lol ok so ricky and nini dated for a YEAR and never once said i love you? and if ricky isn’t ready to say it was he going to wait till 2 years? 3? 4? or was he never going to say it? i also don’t understand why he doesn’t understand that he broke her heart :( i love him but he essentially broke up with her after she told him she loved him on their anniversary 😭

hiya! this is such a great line of discussion and so there’s a lot to break down, bear with me this is gonna be a long one :)

let’s start with the thought that ricky doesn’t understand that he broke nini’s heart. i agree and disagree with you on this. i think that as a 16 year old boy, in the heat of the moment after he saw the instagram post and was clearly overwhelmed by it, he definitely didn’t know that he deeply hurt nini when he decided to not say it back and break up with her. he was as impulsive and sudden in action in response to a post/declaration that in his perspective, was impulsive and sudden by nini. he definitely underestimated the consequences and the weight of him not saying it back in respect to nini’s emotions, and thought that there was space to come back from not saying it back (and i’ll get to why he assumed that in a bit). now, fast forward to junior year, i think he’s definitely understood just how much he broke nini’s heart. i think kourtney’s resentment toward ricky in respect to how nini was treated and more importantly, nini’s general irritation/stand offishness and just distaste towards him throughout the first three episodes allowed ricky to understand how hurt she was by it.

now let’s get when ricky was supposed to/will say ‘i love you’. i don’t know about you but i personally believe that every relationship has a pace, and that pace is different for everybody. saying ‘i love you’ simply doesn’t have a timer on it, it could happen in weeks, or months, or years. how fast or how long it takes to say those words neither validates nor weakens the relationship, and that’s what i believe. personally, i’d argue that throwing around ‘i love you’s’ at 14/15/16 is more unusual/immature than a healthy/mature response (and i’ll elaborate on that in a bit as well) in a relationship. with respect to rini/rickini/ricky and nini, it’s more about each character’s motivation and circumstance with respect to their relationship, as well as their relationship as a whole. tackling that first bit, ricky is in a really rough spot in his perception of love atm, it’s been skewed into negativity since his parents’ marriage started falling apart, i’ve mentioned it in another post of mine when i was analysing ep4 - ‘the only concept of love that he grew up with, his parents - he witnessed them be in, and slowly fall out of love. his only understanding of love is that it is temporary and painful’. now parallel that with nini’s perception of love, beautifully explicated by the subtext of kourtney’s (kinda) monologue in ep5 “i don’t get it, what happened to the seventh grade nini who used to belt this song… ever since you discovered boys, you’ve spent way too much time trying to see yourself through their eyes”, we know that they are worlds apart in how they perceive and pace the idea of love, as well as a relationship itself. nini, from what kourtney said, can be deduced to loving the idea of love - having a boyfriend, getting attention and affection etc. she’s a 14/15 year old girl who started a relationship with the first boy she met and seriously had feelings for. it’s even safe to assume that she jumped into saying ‘i love you’ because she thought ricky was ‘the one’ and she must have watched about 3737328473 romcoms and musicals that pushed the agenda and romanticised relationships and being in love (which no doubt influenced her version and understanding, which is still completely valid and integral, of love). it’s really important for us to understand that just like ricky’s understanding of love is twisted, so is nini’s, neither of them have really gotten to knowing the depth of how good and not so good love can be, and how big of a commitment it is, and that’s because of what i talk about next!

the bombshell that has created the entire arc of the ricky and nini relationship is immaturity. immaturity! ricky and nini are teenagers who are still developing skills such as communication, their independent values and beliefs, as well as self-image. these are all fundamental aspects that encourage and foster a healthy environment for a romantic relationship to grow. getting into a relationship so young, at 14/15 and committing to a person is so difficult simply because you don’t have a developed skillset of these things yet, and ricky and nini are a poster example. remember how i said i’d get back to why ricky thought that he could come back from not saying ‘i love you back’ to nini? well we’re here now, it was immaturity. ricky didn’t have the empathy or emotional maturity to understand how it would effect nini, and nini didn’t communicate, (and actually still hasn’t communicated), why not saying ‘i love you’ back hurt her, she’s just been lashing out so far. now the mature thing to have done is to have sat down with ricky and talked through it, asked him and understood his train of thought. she didn’t do that and ricky just walked away without explaining himself. that, is called a lack of communication. and that skill, comes from learning and ageing. yes it was obvious to us as an audience what he’d done was so wrong, but seriously, as a 16 year old coming from a broken home and never having experienced/seen a healthy relationship, i doubt you any of us would be able to fully grasp it if it was happening to us. and that’s why i’d argue that taking a relationship slow, feeling it out and getting into it as older and more mature individuals is more thought-out. your feelings at any age toward another person are valid, especially in the case that they are reciprocated, but that doesn’t mean you will have a functioning relationship. that’s because relationships. are. work. and kids can’t handle the work because they don’t have the skills that match the job description. ‘i love you’ encapsulates that promise - exercising communication, empathy and support, it’s more than just an emotion i think. in this case, i actually think that ricky understands that better than nini does, because as i said in my other post, one of the motivating reasons he didn’t say it back is because his parents didn’t keep their promise - they fell out of developing their skillset and supporting each other. 

now the most important side-note: none of us will ever perfect these skills that make a relationship work, its constant practice in empathy, in communication, in understanding, in esteem and confidence, and in support. i just think that nini and ricky never got to experience even developing those skills independently and that’s why their relationship fell apart in the way it did. this break has already matured them, ep5 showed nini gaining genuine confidence in herself and ep4 showed ricking communicating to nini how he felt about everything going on at home. them independently going about their lives and growing is already inevitably readying them for being in a relationship and committing to them the right way, when they’re ready for it! i’m so excited to see it

finally, as for when ricky will say/was planning to say ‘i love you’ - i think the writers are taking us on that journey right now! the break ricky and nini have been going through is perfectly setting them up for that mutual and satisfying understanding of the love they have for one and other. i personally think that ricky has loved nini from the get-go, his fear of externalising those emotions is that he’ll have the same outcome as his parents, his insecurities right now don’t allow him to believe that he can have, or even deserves, more than his parents’ fate. hopefully gets out of his rut with talking about how he genuinely feels about nini and how he’s ready for that relationship soon. nini is already getting better at being more sure of herself and what she wants, i think she’ll soon realise how ricky is different to her, and how that doesn’t take away from his legitimate and very strong feelings that are ever-present for her.

what ricky did sucked and he was undoubtably a douche. but that was the exposition to his, and ricky and nini’s story, it only gets better from here! it already has xx

(i’m so so sorry it’s this long, you just really got my analysis flowing lmao, hopefully this wasn’t just a mumble and was kind of an insight. i have so much to say but my brain feels like ramen rn)