#and frankly Tim didn't just cross a Rubicon with his audience

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

I was listening to the podcast with Aisha and Oliver and they got to the cursed storyline that we all hate. And I just love how Aisha is pointing out how people were like since when did this show suddenly care about realism. I know she was saying other people said it but a part of me thinks that’s what she thought too lol

I admit I was a little confused by the wording here but if I'm reading it right you're talking about when Aisha discussed Bobby's death, and how the show didn't kill off characters, but Timmy here decided it "wasn't realistic" that the main characters never died. I agree with you - I could be wrong in how I interpreted what Aisha said but - in my opinion she was saying, "we're dragged online all the time for not being realistic, THIS is how you want to change that? We've had eight seasons enjoying not caring about realism and NOW you care? for THIS?"

Last season Bobby was "dead" for far, far too long. Medical experts and even just people with common sense and the ability to google were like hey, he shouldn't be able to recover mentally, if you're without oxygen for that long you're brain dead. Tim knew this. He didn't care. He literally said he didn't care. He wanted the drama.

So yeah, using the "we have to be realistic" argument is absolute bullshit and from my understanding of what Aisha was saying, yes, she absolutely agrees with us that it's bullshit for him to say that.

You want a show with realism you watch The Pitt. You want a show for campy fun you watch 9-1-1. It was a comfort show for many. We had a shark on the freeway! A tsunami in Los Angeles!

In killing off Bobby the show betrayed itself. And while Aisha is far, far too classy to say "yeah this was bullshit and I'm pissed as fuck" in an interview, I think you could tell that she agreed with the outrage. The cast has been very clear (well, Kenny and Athena and Peter and now Aisha and I think also Oliver? so I think we can infer everyone is on the same page here) that they disagreed with and were deeply upset by the decision, with varying levels of diplomacy in how they express their opinion. Which honestly... pisses me off more than the actual story.

To me, the story is paramount. The story trumps all else. I don't care if I fucking hate your guts beyond all reason, if I was an actor and you were my costar playing my romantic interest, I am going to give it all I've fucking got, because I'm not going to ruin the story. I believe in that very strongly. Whatever is going on in your real life or behind the scenes, you drop it the moment it comes to your art, no matter what medium that art takes. You owe it to your audience. You ask them to trust you to follow you on this journey, and so in return you need to be worthy of that trust.

However, at the end of the day, a story is fiction. If you're in an abusive work environment, don't put up with it. Quit. If you need time off, take time off. Real people always matter more. There is a big difference between "I'm a closeted queer person and being a messy bitch about it so I'm going to throw a bitch fit if they make my character queer because god forbid I separate church and state a little" or "my coworker is an entitled arrogant asshat and so I hate kissing him" and "my boss is sexually harassing me" or "the crew is being forced into dangerous working hours that will get them killed." Y'know? Drama versus wellbeing. Fix your damn self versus save yourself.

And so what makes me angriest is that real people got hurt in this. The audience is hurt because you took advantage of the trust you built with them. Those are real people who trusted you. Your cast is hurt, because you betrayed them. You hurt them. Real people. They didn't want you to do this. At least two of them have admitted they begged you not to. And you ignored them, because power was more important to you than taking care of the people who are your responsibility.

Stay classy, Aisha. I'd die for you. If your husband ever takes you for granted I am outside your home with roses. Also you're so valid for falling in love with Bear please hug him for me and tell him I love him muchly.