#and i liked her for about half of s3 before what she did to luther!

[shrinkthisviolet]

have you seen season 4 of umbrella academy.. curious about your thoughts on it if you have

Oh I hated it. Absolutely hated it

There's a reason I never made a post about it, though I'm surprised I didn't reblog more posts 😅 it was atrocious.

I already didn't like s3 (the writers ruined Allison for me with what she did to Luther*), and s4...well I at least hoped it wouldn't be worse. Dear God was I wrong.

the stuff with Five/Lila was so...ugh. Like...it's not even Five having a romance that I hate—him being aspec is a hc I have, but I would've been fine with him getting a love story...if that love story wasn't with his brother's wife! Like...wtf??

I don't even like them as a ship generally, but I wouldn't have overly complained if they'd gotten together before Lila had settled into a committed relationship and marriage with Diego. Like...wtf?? And how OOC for Five?? He loves his family, even if he's reserved about showing it - why tf would he betray him like that?? And why would Lila cheat on Diego like that (especially with his brother, like oh my god)??

Allison, also, is never held accountable for what she did to Luther. He is, in fact, the first to welcome her aside from Lila! How gross.

The ending was also so awful. The solution to fix the world is for them to just?? Die?? Meanwhile Reggie gets to live on and have his happy ending?? Yeah, sure, it's a different version of him, but idc! We are first introduced to this man as an abusive mf, and yet he gets the happy ending while they have to die for the world to be safe forever?? That's so terrible. What kind of a ridiculous ending is THAT

So yeah! In short, I hate it. This show ended for me at s2. It was 50% good. I only still have it as my banner because I have such fondness for s2 and I still do enjoy the first two seasons, but...yeah no s3 and s4 were terrible.

*I have the same issue with s3-and-beyond Allison that I do with Mirror Iris. In their villain eras, I can appreciate them and still love them...but my goodwill is gone once they rape someone and it's never mentioned again. Especially when it's unnecessary...which it was in both cases

[tua-five]

Season 2 Episode 8

Starting off strong..

I know for a fact I've said this before, but I really dislike the handler. I hate how she said that she and five have a "colorful history." Makes it worse that she winked after. No, thank you.

Okay, next in line, we have Reginald. And I noticed this before, but it deserves some actual recognition. Pogo drew a picture when he was just a little guy (and technically, he still is a little guy here). It was a picture of him and Grace and Reggie in a line holding hands, the classic kid drawing. And we know Reginald hates kids, but he loves Pogo and Grace and his wife, so he's not without compassion. Anyhoo. Reggie framed that picture and put it up on his shelf just outside his office. If he was truly cruel, he would have thrown it away. But he loves Pogo. Or maybe he just loves Grace, and Grace loves Pogo, so he did that. Either way, my point still stands.

Also, can we talk about Aidan's wonderful, quick, and flexible abilities? He wasn't actually supposed to do the scene where he lists off the 7 symptoms of paradox psychosis. He had to learn all of that in less than a day. I mean, memorizing all of that that fast is really impressive.

Okay, also. Luther stops Five from going straight to his older self. He says he should break the ice because he will scare himself. Because yeah. Seeing your dead "younger" brother smiling at you is better than your younger self...

I love how in true Diego fashion, he says, "I'm Deigo, I have a knife."

I love how the writers did a flashback to Five saying "[Viktor] is the bomb" and then Diego repeating it. It's a full circle moment. And then Diego says, "[Viktor] will always be the bomb." (I'm going to make a separate post about this whole thing because I have things to say about this, s3, and what we know of season 4).

The brain scene is so terrible. It's sad and gross. I mean, I get it. Eating the brain to remember. But still...

Also, let's talk about the sibling's responses. Ben says it's not her fault. She hit her head and can't remember anything. This shows how she views Ben, always sticking up for her and the nice one. Allison says she got overheated and wiped her mind clean, and I'm not exactly sure what that means or what she's trying to say by that, so if anyone has insight or anything. Luther says she's lazy and didn't study. I think that this does show how Luther would've acted as a kid. Trying to be number 1 and whatnot. It just makes sense for him. Now, Klaus says maybe she's been faking it all along. And I don't know what to make of it. I can't imagine Klaus being like that. I mean... maybe. Like, he says it half-heartedly or just because he doesn't have enough braincells, and when [Viktor] was younger, [he'd] interpret things like that as he means it. Reginald says that they're all wrong. That [he] just refuses to remember. And I do think this is in part true. And it also just makes sense that Reginald says that.

Frick guys. I'm not ready for tomorrow's episode. Not with Ben...

Today's gifs!

[cookieandbread]

SPOILER FOR TUA S4

because I'm French (a hater at heart) here's everything I disliked about tua s4

it felt like half a season. and yeah there was half as much episode as there is usually, but even in the storytelling it felt like half of the story was missing (notably the EXPLANATIONS on so many things)

Klaus being sidelined. AGAIN. just kill him at this point if you have no idea what to do with him (I mean they did kill him so....)

since we're on Klaus, every season I feel like I'm rewatching him doing the EXACT. SAME. THING. but in a different outfit + hair. there's a commentary that could be made about being stuck in the vicious circle of addiction, which, fair. but while s2 shows that vicious circle, s3 and s4 are just a repeat of s1 because the writers were lazy.

I HATED the Lila x Five thing. it's not so much about the ship (that I don't like anyway) but I feel like it's an insult to both characters (but particularly Five) to make it happen. Lila loves Diego, and even through the hard parts of their marriage she tried her best to make it work. and Five? Five "I waited 45 years in the apocalypse and became a time assassin just to get back to my family" Hargreeves? you're going to tell me that THAT Five would dare to do something that would shatter his brother's entire world? PLEASE.

the ending is lazy. I'm all for tragic endings that make people cry until they drown in their own tears, but only when they're WELL DONE. this just felt like "oh idk what to do anymore with them so let's kill everyone". and I saw it coming since the beginning of the season so...

is it me or was there more gore and swears than all the other seasons? like I get they finally had the right to swear and all that, but I feel like it was a little overdone? idk maybe that's just me

most characters felt like caricature of themselves, notably Luther. (tbh for Luther it has felt like that for a few seasons now, but the issue extended to other characters this season). either that or it felt like they had no reasons to be here, like Viktor.

why did Ben make everyone drink the marigold? he could've just took some himself and that's all. why did they even need to vote on that considering the fact that, even if one of them took marigold, not all of them would get their powers back?

s3 post-credit scene wasn't explained AT ALL???? all the season I was waiting for Umbrella!Ben to pop up in the tube station with Five & Lila but nope. nothing. did they even rewatch the previous seasons before making this one?

WHERE IS THE INCREDIBLE SOUNDTRACK???? THE ONLY THING I THOUGHT WOULDN'T FAIL ME FAILED ME?????

WHERE WAS THE DANCE SEQUENCE????

probably forgot some things but idc anymore at this point (which is probably more care than Steve Blackman put into this season)

[zalisok]

TUA Rant #3: Characters

Spoilers ahead!

Okay, I really want to talk about the characters this season. I feel like I'm not doing the best job at summarizing their characters here, but I hope this will suffice for the time being.

Luther: Luther was just a himbo the whole season. Kind of happy-go-lucky in an unnerving way. I thought it was because he was dealing with the loss of Sloane and the trauma of going through three apocalypses and having his worldview turned around in a short period of time but no, there didn't seem to be a reason for it. (Or if there was, I missed it). I wish the show would touch upon him losing Sloane more (not only Sloane would have loved this, Sloane would have loved that) and his traumas in the past seasons (the thing with Allison? Being murdered by his dad?) Although he didn't have much going on for him, I did like how the show showcased his protectiveness and his trust in his family. I also liked his dynamic with Diego.

Diego: I feel like the writers did Diego dirty here. They turned him into a dad who makes dad jokes (and also was the brunt of the joke a few times. I don't understand the fat nonsense going on.) I feel like his character is much more than that: yes, he has anger issues and is incredibly impulsive, but he is 100% a family man. Look at his relationship with Grace. The way his concern for his family manifests as anger throughout the seasons. Look at his relationship with Stan in Season 3. I was going to say that fighting Five while the others were fighting the Cleanse was OOC for Diego but now that I think about it, it's not completely OOC. (reasoning: he was fighting Cha Cha to avenge Eudora in 1x10 while his family were trying to subdue Viktor, and his obsession with JFK in season 2. We've also seen him fight family members before (aka Luther) and there might be more that I can't remember). Anyways, the show really undermined Diego and Lila's relationship from Season 2 and 3. Diego is so much more than what was portrayed this season, and it's really unjust to him when he truly cared so much for Liia (despite the communication issues) and he just forgave her so quickly (even though she betrayed him) because they were all dying. He deserved better.

Allison: Allison was so badass this season. Her relationship with Klaus and Claire is one of the parts I like the most in this season. We do get to see the motherly bond she has with Claire. It's only ever been touched upon gently in Seasons 1-3. We never get to see her interact with Claire (except that one time she read her a bedtime story) and it's nice to see Allison's maternal side when it's always been such an integral part of her character since Season 1. Although her storyline didn't add much to the story she did have some great moments, along with Klaus. Nonetheless, I still wish her actions in S3 could have been touched upon more, especially towards Luther.

Klaus: As I said, his relationship with Allison and Claire in this season is awesome. I don't like how he seemed to do a 180 because his powers came back--from being so adamant on staying sober and being a good role model for Claire and being so afraid of dying to falling back into his old ways and being incredibly self-destructive. It was so sudden (he had just told the family off, and then BOOM, he's stealing from Allison's home?) and, to me, it wasn't immediately clear why he was suddenly acting that way. I don't like how everything that happened to him was so traumatic but didn't add any relevance to the plot. I feel like it was only there for the shock factor and for emotional impact--and like I said before it only works because we love Klaus, but what's the use of adding this in? A huge part of Klaus's character is his addiction problems and self-destructive tendencies, and we see him actually get better in the first part of the season (in some twisted extreme way). But it was all undone in the second half of the season and he died that way. Upsetting.

Five: I don't think I can express how badly they mischaracterized him in the last few episodes. For the first part he seemed okay, albeit a bit quieter and less aggressive/assertive than he usually is. But then episode 5 happened and oh boy was it a complete 180.

I feel like the Five/Lila thing would make more sense (I'm not saying it's acceptable.) if there were more buildup. But there wasn't. Which makes it worse. To make it make sense we need to see how desperate and lonely they were, and it has to be EXTREME because these two characters are incredibly headstrong and capable assassins and absolutely do NOT seem like the type of people to just give in. Especially Five. That guy literally spent 45 years in an apocalypse and always held out hope for his family. The only way I can rationalize this is that it was because Five was just done with everything--we see some of that in Season 3. I get that his more subdued demeanor in the first half of the season might have been setting the audience up for this but it absolutely was not enough.

The journal was a "???" moment for me. You're telling me Five wouldn't jump at the chance to fix things when the answer is right in from of him? You could say that "oh maybe Five is the type of guy that becomes a fool when he falls in love" because we've never seen him in love before (even if you count Delores, which, to me, is just a coping mechanism for him--he still absolutely had his wits about him and used her as a way to stay on track and achieve his goals), you DON'T INTRODUCE SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THE SECOND LAST EPISODE.

And the subway arc didn't end up doing anything at all? (except for the stupid love triangle) Five and Lila tried to go back in time to save their family but accomplished. Absolutely. Nothing.

Ben: I feel like his character retained most of the characteristics from the previous season for the first few episodes, which is nice, in a way. (I still want to know more about Ben being a crypto bro--side note: what was that scene in the subway from Season 3 all about? Ben reading books on how to scam people via cryptocurrency? jkjk). His character also did quite a 180 when he started to feel a connection with Jennifer--but it makes sense now that I think about it, given how we know from Season 3 how badly the Jennifer Incident affected him (side note: didn't Ben already know who Jennifer was in Season 3?) The storyline between Ben and Jennifer, to me, was interesting and honestly one of the better paced storylines, but honestly I have so many questions about the Cleanse and Jennifer that I wasn't completely satisfied. The vulnerability he showed in this season was nice to watch and his last scene truly was quite heartbreaking.

Viktor: I actually quite like Viktor's arc this season, and some of his scenes were my favourite parts of the season. The changes in his character came on a bit sudden: his anger towards Reggie (and his anger in general--I understand that anger and resentment has always been part of his character, but we didn't see much of that in season 2 or 3, and the only thing we know about him in the five year gap is that 1) he's a bartender 2) he's fucked every woman in nova scotia), him not going to family gatherings to him understanding that he had to be with his family and help them--it was underdeveloped and I wish we could have seen more of that process. Nonetheless, the way he stood up for himself and actually expressed his resentment this season was cathartic, (although a bit misplaced because this timeline's Reginald is NOT the same Reginald, but Viktor really needed to get that out) and he, along with Ben were the ones that were actually driving the plot here. I liked his growth and I wish his relationship with Reginald was explored a bit more, it was fun to watch and there's so much to unpack between both of them.

Lila:

I feel like she was reduced to "mother" this season. Her storyline just consisted of marital issues, parenting issues and love triangles. There was the part in the first (and second?) episode where she was part of the CIA but that was never brought up again. She was literally trained by the Handler. She was part of the Commission. She's capable of so much more, not only assassin-wise but also power-wise. What were those laser eyes really for? Why did she only use her mimicking powers in the last episode?

Another gripe I have about Lila-- her parents. Losing her parents was really traumatic for her. Especially when the person who killed her parents was Five. But we don't see any of that touched upon in Season 4, even when her parents existed in that timeline and she had SEVEN YEARS with Five. I think they both needed to air things out to give them both closure.

One thing that I find weird is that all the female main characters always, always have a storyline of them being a parental figure in some way. Allison throughout the series, pre-transition Viktor in season 2, Lila in seasons 3-4. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just something I noticed. It is worth nothing that not every female character has to be a parental figure.

Also, not everything has to be romantic. Platonic relationships can also be fun to watch and impactful. And even with romantic stuff, TUA has this consistent problem with introducing a love interest for one season and it having absolutely no significance in the next. Like Eudora and Diego. Ray and Allison. Luther and Sloane, to some extent. I understand that in most cases it's because the Umbrellas are jumping through time and space and their loved ones can't go with them, but if you're going to write a romantic subplot, at least acknowledge it a bit more for continuity reasons.

There's probably more that I can say but that's all for now.

[angst-fairygodmother]

Hi I was wondering if I could request a Luther X Sloane cliches and tropes #33 please

A/N: Hello Nonny! It’s taken me a while to get here, but I give you what will hopefully be the first of many Luther/Sloane fics. This was a good prompt for them, because it fits really well into the canon, so I was able to find their voices and relationship before I dip into the ones that might take more of an AU, so thank you for that as well. I hope you enjoy! Word Count: 1092 Rating: T - implied smut/suggestive themes; Spoilers for The Umbrella Academy s3; minor instances of self-hatred and body image issues; cheese

Sure, the Sparrows had attacked them, Ben had swung the first hit at Klaus (for no reason, Klaus was just being Klaus). But he couldn't really blame them. After all, it wasn't that long ago (just a year and two time jumps, practically no time at all) that he would have done the same thing if a gang of black-clad wackadoos had shown up in the living room, without half the shit they'd said today. It was what Hargreeves were trained to do. And it wasn't like anyone got hurt…Seriously hurt…they recovered. 

It made total sense. It was perfectly rational. But he still wanted to kick their smug…smugness into next week (or let Five do it since he was most likely to manage to do actually that). 

Except for one. He'd only caught glimpses, not able to track any one enemy, or ally, through the chaos, but when he did there was something about her that felt like it was pulling him in. She was the Earth to his Moon. He needed to see her again. 

Being kidnapped wasn’t exactly the ideal way to meet a potential partner, but Luther was nothing if not an optimist. And the smile she gave him when the Sparrows approached wasn’t like Ben’s smirk or the bird-woman’s scowl. It was sweet, and it stayed that way. As they talked about their dreams (those absent wishes of someone who didn’t really get to choose their own destiny), and their interests, and the moon, there was no judgment or hesitation. She looked at him like he was whole and human and…maybe even handsome. He wanted to stay, just for her.

~

“Everyone thinks I should stay away from you because you’re dangerous,” Sloane murmured, almost absently while she drew hearts on his chest with his fingers. 

“That’s funny,” he chuckled awkwardly, even though it really wasn’t that funny at all. “My siblings said the same thing about you.”

He didn’t feel like he needed to flinch away from her gaze or her touch, especially after what had just happened between them. It was a new feeling and one he wanted to bask in, and the hazy post-coital glow that probably helped. But Sloane sat up suddenly, pushing away from him with a fire in her eyes, and…nope there it was again, the urge to hide himself away behind high walls and thick woolen coats. 

“What?” She looked shocked, angry, and worst of all, hurt.

“Yeah, my family thinks that yours is evil and that I'm naively falling for a honeytrap and that you're going to turn on me and kill all of us or something. Which is ridiculous.” 

“Us?! Your family is the one full of murderers! Or have you already forgotten Alphonso and Jayme? And probably Marcus. And JFK…somehow. I should be the one worried you're going to turn on me!”

“I already told you, Harlan wa–” he sighed, cutting himself off. “Actually, it doesn't matter. I promise you Sloane, I love my family, but I won't betray you for them, I promise. I would never. I…”

He couldn't finish the words. He was scared to. Some Number One. He couldn't keep his family from fighting each other. He had fallen in love with the enemy (even though he thought it was stupid to see them as the enemy, or maybe that was another point against him) and was too much of a coward to tell her. Reginald had been right, always, about Luther's flaws. 

But of course he loved her. Sloane was so…perfect. She was beautiful and powerful and so much smarter than him (than any of his siblings probably, except maybe Five). She was funny, in the same awkward way that spoke to his own sense of humor. She loved travel and reading poetry. She was actually interested in his stories about the moon. She never flinched from his touch or questioned his appearance. And she was so incredibly kind. Anyone would be stupid not to love her. 

And maybe, if he could just find the words to tell her, to tell the whole world, or what was left, the others would understand. His family and hers. And they’d be able to be together. 

“Luther,” the way she said his name made him feel like he was flying, and he wanted to hold onto it forever. “I love you too.” 

“You…” he felt like his brain couldn’t catch up with the rest of reality. His heart raced and his tongue felt clumsy and too big. He thought he might be dying. And he never wanted it to stop. “You do?”

“Yeah, of course I do. I wouldn’t have snuck you in here after everything if I didn’t.”

“I…that’s great! I mean me too. Love you. I love you, too.” She giggled as he stumbled over his words and flushed red. “Sorry. I sound stupid. I’ve just, never had someone say they love me before.”

“You don’t sound stupid, Luther. I wish you wouldn’t talk about yourself like that.”

“I…sorry.”

“It’s okay, just something you have to work on, maybe we can do it together? Because you’re pretty amazing, and you should treat yourself like it.” 

“How are you so perfect?”

“Oh…I’m not perfect…”

He cradled her face gently in his big hands so that he could kiss her softly, their mouths melting together with a sigh. “Yes you are, and I love you, and I want to shout it from the rooftops, except we’re trying to sneak around right now. But someday, soon.” 

It was Sloane’s turn to blush, cheeks heating adorably as she smiled up at him. “I’d like that. As soon as we figure out how to fix our families.” 

“Right. We should probably get back to that then?”

She looked thoughtful before leaning in again, so that her breath tickled his face. “It’s late, and we can’t do anything until morning…so it could probably wait a little while, if you wanted to do something else…” 

His eyebrows scrunched as he thought, her meaning somehow going over his head despite their respective positions and nakedness.

“Just kiss me again Luther, please?”

“Oh. Oh, yeah, I can definitely do–”

She laughed as she cut him off, rolling them both so that she sat across his hips while she kissed him, pressing their bodies close. They could figure out the future and their families and whatever else the universe threw their way in the morning. For now, for tonight, it was just the two of them and their love and the full moon through the windowpane.

[dogbearinggifts]

What are your thoughts on tua S2? Did you feel like the characters grew? What did you like? What did you not? I’m interested in your perspective. Your analysis are super thoughtful and interesting!

Aw, thanks, Anon!

Overall, I really enjoyed S2 and thought it was a solid follow-up to S1. I do have my quibbles about it, so I think (for ease of reference and because my thoughts are a little scattered today) I’ll list some of my personal highlights (in no particular order) before getting into what I didn’t like as much.

Big spoilers ahead.

Allison. I thought they handled her storyline especially well. Of all the siblings, I think she had the most difficult obstacles placed in her way (not only is she a Black woman landing in 1961 Dallas, but she’s a Black woman landing in 1961 Dallas who can’t even speak in her own defense for a year) and they sugarcoated exactly none of it. The writers pulled no punches when showing what civil rights protesters went through, which just made their nonviolent response all the more breathtaking. Allison’s fear and anger during those scenes were palpable even as she kept them hidden. But along with that horror, we see the kindness and warmth of the Dallas Black community, the women who take her in simply because she needs their help, and her love for Ray, perhaps heretofore THE most thoughtful husband ever portrayed on screen. I loved him, and I loved him and Allison together. While I understand and respect his choice to stay in 1963, I wish they’d gotten more time together. They both deserved it.

Vanya. We got to see how much the baggage from her past affected her by glimpsing what she might be like if it were taken away. It’s an interesting philosophical question, and it was explored well, in my opinion. She finds it easier to love and be loved, and she stands up for herself more readily—but she also doesn’t hesitate to use powers she can’t quite control and threatens Five without fully realizing how dire her threat is (or how it might dredge up traumatic memories she doesn’t know exist). The moment where Ben finds her curled up, fully convinced she’s a monster, was heartbreaking. I loved watching her find happiness with Sissy, even if that was fleeting (and dear god, Sissy deserved her happy ending with Vanya, dammit, I don’t care if it would fuck up the timeline). Her patience and sweetness with Harlan were just beautiful. And the way she used the confidence she gained during her amnesia to fully come into her own not to exact revenge on her siblings, but to save them, was fucking phenomenal.

The humor. There was a lot more humor this season, and it was awesome. So many iconic scenes—Olga Foroga, Luther babysitting two homicidal Fives, Elliot awkwardly lecturing his guests on the history of Jello, “NEW TIMELINE NEW ME,” “Your vagina needs glasses,” AJ the fish gobbling up the cigarette bubbles, Five getting to say “fuck”….this season was a lot funnier than the previous one, and I think that was one of its strengths.

Klaus’ cult. It was played for laughs, which I both expected and thought was the best way to handle it. He didn’t want to start a new religion with himself at the center; he just wanted to not get thrown out of any more diners, but Destiny’s Children had other ideas. The “I too am a fraud!” scene was hilarious and tickled the question of whether or not a religion founded on false pretenses can still help those within it find meaning.

Luther. Getting him away from his dad, his siblings, and the Academy was exactly what he needed to become the pure of heart and dumb of ass genius we always knew he was, but his first major step in that direction was heartbreaking. We all knew he’d be rejected once he got to the Academy. We all knew Reginald would rip his heart out and stomp on it in his admittedly fashionable shoes. It gets Luther out on his own and forces him to become his own person apart from his dad, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch. He got the positive character development he needed, but the catalyst was tragic.

Diego. We see, for the first time, exactly how Reginald kept him in line—not with meds or with PTSD-inducing torture, but with words. Even when he knows Diego as little more than a stranger, Reginald is able to rip off his skin and fling it in his face with a single diatribe; and even at 30, with years away from his dad, Diego is left unable to speak, feeling as if all of his accomplishments up to that point were the work of a dumb kid who thought he was smarter and more capable than he actually was.

Luther and Diego sharing a braincell. Luther has bad ideas. Diego has bad ideas. When they put their bad ideas together, they get terrible ideas. I loved watching them work together as a team, rather than being at each others’ throats for most of the season, even if I’m left hoping Olga Foroga had a pleasant and quiet day after that phone call.

Reginald. At first glance, it may look like the writers were trying to make him likable so they could parade him around as your average abusive-parent-with-a-soft-side. But it’s more nuanced than that. Abusive parents (and abusers in general) often fly under the radar because they fool outsiders into thinking they’re good people. They’re active in their communities. They give to charity. They have friends who attest to their virtue, significant others who think they’re the greatest. And that’s what we see with Reginald. We see him as the rest of the world did: an intelligent, eccentric man with a sharp sense of humor who cared deeply about scientific advancement. That’s how he evaded suspicion—because there were stories from years past of lively parties at his mansion, of what a gentleman he was to Grace and of how he did everything he could to save little Pogo. But those stories would all have come from people he considered his equals. When he’s with people he considers his inferiors—aka, the Umbrella kids—he’s openly condescending and demeaning. We get to see how he fooled the world, and it is chilling.

Elliot. He deserved better, and you can ship him with any one of the Hargreeves kids and get the cutest thing ever. 

The Swedes. They said so much while speaking very little.

Ben. He got more personality and screen time, and it was glorious. His love of his family and resentment toward Klaus practically leapt off the screen. The way he says “I’ve missed you all…so much” once they’ve all left was one of those right-in-the-feels moments; and watching him get so much of what he’s wanted for years when he possesses Klaus was beautiful.

Now, as for things I took issue with….

Ben. I understand why they ended his arc the way they did. I get that they were probably afraid the Klaus/Ben dynamic would grow stale if they didn’t change it somehow and wanted to give him a larger role in S3. His death(???) was heartbreaking and extremely well-done. But it also wasn’t foreshadowed. We never got any sense of what ghosts in the TUA ‘verse are, so the fact they can be destroyed by a ton of sound-turned-energy or by going too far into someone’s psyche or whatever happened….it’s not that it doesn’t make sense so much as there’s not enough evidence to determine whether or not it makes sense. It feels like the writers just kinda made that up so they’d have a reason to change Ben’s relationship dynamics, but if that’s the case, couldn’t they have done it another way? Couldn’t they have made it so the immense energy or psychic woo-woo or whatever gave him a power-up instead of destroying him? Vanya transferred some of her energy into Harlan and brought him back to life. Couldn’t something similar have happened with Ben? And if it tied him to Vanya as well as to Klaus, great! More fodder for angst and humor! (”Vannyyyyyyyy, stop hogging Ben!” “You got him for 17 years, Klaus, you can part with him for 20 minutes.” “Guys, don’t I get a say in this?”) I’m glad they didn’t write him out of the series entirely, but I still wish they’d kept him and all the character development he’d gotten throughout S2.

Episode 10. It looks like they tried to cram half a season’s worth of developments into 45 minutes. Twenty minutes in, I’d already said “Wait what the fuck” half a dozen times. A lot of those moments were explained later on, and I was able to make enough inferences to fill in any lingering plot holes, but…still. Too much stuff, too little time. E9 was a perfectly satisfying ending to the season. Yes, it leaves the siblings stranded in 1963, but they could’ve tied up those loose ends in the S3 premiere.

Lila. She’s an incredibly fun character, but her arc is kind of a mess. Most of that is due to E10, and I do feel that more time to let her arc breathe would’ve worked wonders, but I’m left feeling like her turn from “Handler is the best mom ever and I lurve Diego too” to “KILL DIEGO AND HIS EVIL FAMILY” to “Handler is a bad mom and Diego is right” happened too quickly.

The Commission. Okay, so, the Handler announces the entire Board has been killed, and she’s stepping in as director even though everyone appears to know she’s been demoted (and demoted pretty severely—she went from having an office bigger than some apartments to being a case management drone). There’s suspicion and lots of it. But then, La Resistance is….ten or so people in a single room? And when she calls the temps agents to her side, thousands of them show up ready and willing to fight and die? I dunno. Just seems like there should’ve been more splintering going on there. Again, I think they needed more time to tie everything up.

Aside from those complaints, I loved the season. I set aside most of a day to binge it, and I do not regret that decision at all.

[capricornsicle]

I have a feeling your ask box and I are going to be familiar. You might be hot-taked out after that killer Satomi discourse. But whenever you’ve got it in you, I’d sure love to hear what you think about Kira and her Jeff-deemed-absolutely-necessary departure.

Oh, definitely. And I do love content, so...

Kira Yukimura was done so dirty by the writers and Jeffrey “I’m not racist I’ll prove it by arguing to poc calling me out for it on twitter” Davis. Her treatment was racist, tokenizing, and it wasn’t even high-brow racism. It was sloppy and lazy. If you’re gonna write all your characters of color off the show, commit to it. She went to the desert like 5 times before she stayed. Cowards.

Kira was only meant to be on the show for the Nogitsune storyline in 3b. However, fans liked her so much that, as with Theo in season 6, she was brought back for more episodes. The difference is that Cody Christian is white-passing and male and Arden Cho is not. Female characters don’t exist on Teen Wolf without a relationship to a male character. Hayden existed for Liam. Tracy existed for Theo. Melissa existed for Scott and Argent. Allison existed for Scott. Lydia, the female character with the most screentime of all of them, spent a lot of her time existing in relationship to Jackson, Stiles, Parrish (shudder), and other male main characters. Women on the show were reduced to love interests and mothers more often than not, and Kira was the same.

I loved her character. I loved her arc. I loved Arden Cho, who in real life is as sweet and kind as her character. I enjoyed her parents, both Noshiko, who’s surprisingly funny and a total badass, and Ken, who’s the most wholesome man in the universe. The only straight man we stan. I love him.

Anyways, Kira was getting a fun arc outside of being Scott’s girlfriend, with her parents and her powers and all, and then wham, white-passing boy shows up and no more main character status for Kira. Guess there wasn’t enough room to keep the only interesting plot line of all the ones happening in s5. Personally, I would have chosen Kira over the Marrish garbage fire of underage relationships, but that’s just me.

Then. The Skinwalkers. I could write a whole essay about them, but this is a Kira post, so I’ll limit it to her. At least Luther got sent to the moon for a reason. Kira got sent to the desert for “rEaSoNs”. There was no indication that her power was out of control, but every indication it wasn’t. She was growing and learning. Then, suddenly, she was “too powerful” so she had to go to the desert and disappear for a few episodes and then go back and forth for a while before they wrapped up sending Theo to the upside down or wherever he went and she could finally go... hang out with the people who we were told could help her control her power but who only threw spears at her and gave her a season finale ex machina. Then back to the desert with you!

You can tell something was going on backstage in her treatment. Arden Cho wasn’t informed she was being cut, she had to be told by fans. Her departure was carried out as swiftly as possible, and not for any real reason. Kira would have been tremendously helpful against the hunters and in a lot of later scenes, against the Ghost Riders (and let me remind everyone that KIRA WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD LYDIA ABOUT THE WILD HUNT), against pretty much anything. Immune to electrocution? Don’t help with the hunters who love electrocuting people. Sloppy writing through and through.

And what’s more is that Kira was cut just in time for the Scalia thing, which was so fucking rushed oh my GOD nothing has ever been less natural- this is a Kira post, calm down capsicle. Anyways, Kira got replaced as Scott’s love interest and not much else by a white girl, no hate on Malia or Shelley but much on the writers. I loved Malia and Kira’s friendship, and if anyone should have gotten with Malia, it should have been Kira. (The first time I saw Malia I wondered if we were getting another ambiguously brown character, actually, but no, just Georgian and well-tanned. But I bet not all my followers knew Tracy was played by a Chinese and Cherokee actor. Or that Nolan was played by a Mexican and Caxcan actor. Or that Theo was played by a Penobscot Native actor. The list goes on of white-passing POC who got to stay marginally longer than Black or brown characters.) The “Scott ends up with a white girl he has no chemistry with” threw me for many loops, especially after I was surprised to find myself liking Scira, even though I’m usually bored by straight relationships because of their one-sided focus and nonexistent chemistry. Kira got to be a character outside of Scott, and I liked their romance better for it, and then desert for a thousand years!

TLDR on the canon end of things is that Kira and Arden were done dirty by a group of powerful white men who wanted to tell a cishet white story.

Now, on the fandom end of things, I’m stepping into the real hot water. It’s safe to say that Kira’s story was sloppy and Arden didn’t deserve that ending, but it’s less safe to say that this fandom doesn’t treat her that well either. Here’s the most popular x Scott ships on Ao3, under the Teen Wolf tag with no other filters.

Scott and Allison. Scott and Stiles. Scott and Isaac. Then Scott and Kira, in dead last. Scott and Malia don’t even make the top ships list, probably because of how rushed and sloppy it was, but I digress.

People love Scott and Allison a lot, and I get that. I liked her too. I was also sad when she died. But, unlike a lot of sentiment I see in this fandom, I don’t think she should have been brought back to fight the beast in season 5 and get back with Scott. Not only do I think bringing characters back to life without very good reason and explanation (which they wouldn’t have, come on) cheapens their death, and that bringing characters back to life is weak storytelling in general, but let’s recall that Scira is still a thing in season 5. They’re still madly in love when Kira leaves. Allison should not have come back and love-triangled so Kira could be written off for a different white girl or so the massive amount of young white girls in the fandom who love Allison would be angry at Kira for breaking up their OTP. That would have been the one thing that could have made season 5 worse. (Well, they could have made Marrish a thing or killed Mason, but Jeff Davis thought about it and a shiver went down his spine because the ghost of Christmas future hears my name in its nightmares.)

Even if people aren’t “bring Allison back” campers, they largely ignore Kira’s entire existence. People who post gifsets and posts about Allison or Lydia don’t give anywhere near the same amount of attention to Kira. I see more Malia posts, actually. And while all of them had more runtime than Kira, none of them paired with Scott quite as perfectly, or had such strong independent storylines. Lydia almost did, but it kept petering out and she kept going back to main plot only. I see lots of appreciation posts for Allison and Lydia and Malia and the men, obviously, but NOTHING for Kira or Arden Cho. We all know what happened backstage because we read the same post in 2016 or whenever and then we all stopped talking about it.

Even the racism in this fandom skips Kira. Scott antis, I’m looking (controversially) at you. I’m glad Kira isn’t the subject of a bunch of obvious racism (as much as “bring Allison back!” makes it subtle), but not because she’s a forgotten side character. Kira made the main credit sequence! She has a sword! What else could you all POSSIBLY want?

And here’s where I burn at the stake: Kira was written off her own damn “look Fun Japanese mythology” storyline half the time so it could center around Stiles. A white boy. There were numerous issues with the mythology before that — “Oni” means demon, not “firefly samurai ninja”, and it refers to a similar mythology as the western “fae”, a large collection of creatures benevolent, malevolent, and in between, with different traits and origins. Kitsunes are meant to be red or white, not gold, and they’re foxes, not cats, animation team. “Nogitsune” refers to the malevolent class of “low” Kitsune, or “wild” Kitsune, who didn’t align themselves with the goddess Inari and do divine and pious work. There are many of them and the most they really do is harass people at shrines, not murder indiscriminately for funsies. They’re only malevolent in that they like doing bad deeds, not that they’re serial killers. And they’re not one of the usual 13 low Kitsune, two of which are bad of their own accord! (Spirit and Air. Google it!) They are meant to be dealt with by Inari-aligned high Kitsune, not your average tricky fox. Among other things.

So Stiles. Outside of the Kira storyline, he’s used in a lot of fandom discourse about racism and sexism. And queerbaiting. Y’all love a scrawny white boy. Anyways, Stiles gets possessed by the Nogitsune (that’s NOT how that works but okay Jeffrey) and suddenly s3 is about him. Kira’s not evil, now let’s look at Stiles being tired and messy and killing people. Dylan #1 did a great job playing that part, no hate on him, but the fact that a white boy became the main character in a Japanese (or Korean, if you’re Jeff, same thing) girl’s storyline is. Hmm. How do you call it? Blatant racism. And erasure. Which is racism. YIKES, Jeff. There is so much wrong with Stiles being the Nogitsune and controlling the Oni and his whole story (and oh my god the other guy who got possessed was also a white boy instead of a Japanese character played by the same actress Jesus fucking Christ). I’m not going into that, because that’s its own essay.

Anyways, because of how much this fandom loves Stiles, it’s easy to ignore how Kira and Japanese characters were treated. People project onto Stiles with glee. He’s white. He’s awkward. He’s (supposedly) not super attractive. (Yikes.) He’s ditzy and bouncy and all that fun stuff, but he also always saves the day. He got written off for most of 6b and he still saved the stupid day. And hey, dark!Stiles (let’s not get into calling him dark instead of Nogitsune that’s just too much wine we’d have to crack open to say it) is a fun trope and people like posting and creating about him. Except that he’s the white boy who took Kira’s storyline. Her independent story about Kitsune and the like was all given over to him, not just by the show, but by the fandom. So now every post about Kitsune is a Stiles post, even if it started with Kira. And because it’s Stiles, and this fandom loves him, and is easily offended by people leaning too hard on the glass house around them and him, Kira gets forgotten and swept aside. Everyone would rather talk about Stiles. Who is incapable of bad. Or cultural appropriation. But if you attack him you’re being ableist because he has ADHD. This is why I relate to Nolan for anxiety feels instead.

TLDR on the fandom end, y’all don’t treat Kira better than the show did. I see a few posts here and there from some dedicated users — typically the same people posting about Boyd, Deaton, Morrell, yeah that’s it I’m the only one posting about Kali. (Un-fun fact: Kali was not played by an Indian actor, but by a half-Black actor. Jeff Davis, when called out on twitter, said “wow ok idiots we tried to find an Indian actress but it was hard actually SUPER hard so shut up and stop telling me how to write MY show”, which is paraphrasing with intent to make fun, but exactly what he said.) Y’all who know about Arden and Kira should diversify your blogs to include more POC, especially ones where the actor AND character were rudely sidelined for vague white people reasons. Post gifs of Kira along with Allison, Lydia, and Malia. Post ship stuff of Scira too. Post about kitsunes, the origin story of the Nogitsune, when you post about the white boy who became the main character of that arc. Call the show out. Call the fandom out. Stop making every bit and piece of her story about Czechoslovakia White Boy. Demand Kira in any future runs of the show, if season 7 or whatever does happen. Include her in your fanfictions, in your headcanons, in your art. You don’t have to love her, but you have to remember that she’s as there as any of the white characters are.

This take is very hot. If I receive racist asks and/or messages about this, I’m going to make fun of each and every sender.