#and probably some of the other writers who were responsible for the ones in s1-2

[thebreakfastgenie]

Did the MASH gay stuff peak in season 2? I feel like all the big moments are concentrated in seasons 1 and 2, with just sporadic jokes (like "I knew it, you're one of those too") later on.

[endiness]

okay, i have gone through probably 50+ s2 interviews of hc researching this so far and i have to say that at this point i really don't see how he wasn't deliberately trying to manipulate the fanbase and the media against the writers and the show to get them onto his side. (and also, like, a very specific, extremely toxic section of the fandom at that.) (it's the sexist incel gamerbros. i'm talking about them.)

"I wanted to represent as much of a book-accurate Geralt as possible and a lot of the fans did as well, and so I campaigned really hard to make sure that he was more verbose, he sounded more intellectual, his choice of words was more thought out and that his approach to Cirilla and everyone else wasn’t antagonistic. Because it initially came across as he was just grumpy all the time with everyone and everything and I really wanted to show this three-dimensional character […] It’s gonna be tough to do the stuff which is as brilliant as Sapkowski’s writing, but it’s something I’m always gonna campaign for and it’s hopefully fit into the vision of the show."

there are so many interviews (ie virtually every interview out of 50+ with the exception of maybe, like, 3) where hc says the exact same thing about how he just cares so much about book accuracy, specifically where geralt's characterization is concerned, and that he really started to push for a more book accurate geralt in s2 and wanted him to be more verbose and intelligent and show that he isn't just a one dimensional character who just grunts and says hmm all the time like in s1 — and at no point does he ever take any responsibility for how that was due to his acting choices in the first place because he would cut his lines.

he also just straight up lies about the situation because the writers originally wrote geralt as being more verbose and book accurate in s1 but then changed the way they were writing him due to the acting choices he made. and yet he acts like that was never the case and that geralt was never originally written that way and he pushes this idea that a book accurate geralt went against lauren's vision. even though, once again, that was the original vision and it only changed due to him.

and on the extremely rare occasion (i'm talking, like, maybe 2 con panels here) that he ever takes any kind of responsibility for his role in all of that, he still waffles about and tries to present this image that he wasn't really cutting that many lines and they weren't really that important anyway and it didn't really matter:

"I didn't even cut that much. Just little bits when someone says how they feel, I thought if Geralt says nothing, and maybe the well-known grunts or hmms and sometimes the occasional f-word, people can take from that what they will."

even though that can't be true as confirmed by joey:

"Henry likes to cut his lines, 'cause he's lazy. No, he literally just likes to cut them. He likes to do more up here [frames his face with his hands] and just with face and hmms and grunts. There's a lot of hmms, and so I often have to take a lot of his lines and turn it into a lot of my stuff so that the plot happens."

and even hc himself confirms this and what joey said in a s1 interview:

"All the grunts, I either added or I didn't say anything and just grunted instead. It was often up to the other actors to go, 'I think he's not gonna say anything now.'"

i also have to point out that hc directly links his push for a more book accurate geralt to reading comments on reddit as i think that's very relevant to what section of the fandom exactly that he's pandering to and why he's been so vocal about it while lying about the role he played in everything and what actually happened:

"I’m on all the Reddit forums. I’m reading all the reviews. I’m literally trying to get everyone’s information. Some of it is not useful, and other criticisms are incredibly useful. I take it all in, and I look forward to bringing it even closer and closer to Sapkowski’s writing. I think any of those criticisms, they often lie in things like I was saying—we don’t have the advantage of a long involved conversation or dialogue with Geralt, so they are criticisms which I think I was prepared for. So for me, it’s about seeing that, understanding it, and working out how I can do my job better within the framework provided, [how to] appease and make those people feel comfortable that I do actually understand this character—and love this character just as much as they do."

"As a source for information, it's really helpful for me to see what everyone's saying, what everyone's thinking, and to see how much my thinking falls in line with whichever side of that spectrum it is and whether I'm doing the wrong thing, for example, by campaigning hard for the book Geralt to exist or whether I'm doing the right thing."

and just another important thing to point out imo: virtually the only times hc ever takes any responsibility in any capacity whatsoever for his own role in the show not adhering to the books (which even then he barely does and it's still always with a lot of excuses), it's only ever at con panels — which are far less likely to get picked up by news outlets and seen by a broader audience — and not in formal interview settings. (except for, i think, one interview he gave early on when s2 first went on hiatus. but even then, it still has the same problems that the con panels have where he comes up with a lot of excuses that don't match what happened.)

then there's an interview hc gave where he went on about how he added some book dialogue into a scene and he made it out to be like it was some kind of rebellion against the writers and he didn't consult them as he was just going to do what he wanted, consequences be damned:

"I did not feel like having long discussion about whether I could add this bit somewhere. So I just did it, said the words in front of the camera, and was ready to face the consequences."

and meanwhile what actually happened was that lauren eventually let hc have free reign and rewrite a scene that he was unhappy with. which, y'know. kinda fucking weird to present what happened in the way he did.

and then there's him pushing this narrative that the female characters — namely yennefer and ciri — were given more depth and focus than geralt and the male characters as if that came at their expense and all of which is somehow due to lauren's women-centric vision of the show as if that's somehow opposed to how the books themselves are:

"On season two, I wanted to bring as much of 'Book' Geralt into the show that Lauren's vision and that the plot would allow. That's a tricky thing to do, because the plot, as Lauren has said, is very centred around bringing women into the centre of The Witcher."

"In Season 1, there wasn't really much of an opportunity for expansive dialogue which Geralt is known for — in the books, he's often known to monologue — because we had two original origin stories which were the center point of the show."

"Lauren’s vision was more of an ensemble piece than the first Witcher books. It’s driven a lot more by the characters of Yennefer and Cirilla."

"I wanted to make sure we really explored as much as showrunner's vision could allow. She has her own plan, so I’ve got to toe that line between book Geralt and Lauren’s vision."

"I wanted to try and bring as much of the book’s Geralt into Season 2 as possible, and as much as the vision, the plot and storylines would allow. The toughest part for me was finding that balance between the showrunners’ vision and my love for the books, and trying to bring that Geralt to the showrunners’ vision."

"It’s important for me to have the character be three-dimensional and it’s tricky to do, as I was saying earlier, because there’s a certain vision and there’s a certain set, storyline and plot. And so, it was about me trying to find Geralt’s place within that."

"There’s only so much space to provide the same character from the books within the showrunner’s vision. But, I did my best to provide a bit more of a three-dimensional character with a bit more emotionality."

"It's important to me that the men in the story are three dimensional as well."

like, first off — and not to continually reiterate this but — that's not true. in s1, geralt was originally written as being just as verbose and intellectual as he was in the books and that only changed due to hc cutting his lines and we know that joey often had to take his lines, too. so there was, in fact, always plenty of time for geralt to be book accurate and for yennefer and ciri to have their own focus. these things were never mutually exclusive and it's definitely some kinda take to imply otherwise.

secondly, while it is true that geralt is the main character of the short stories, ciri is the main character of the main series starting from blood of elves, the book that s2 adapted. and despite claims otherwise, her pov has always had the most focus — yes, even more than geralt (sans baptism of fire, obvs.) and it's not like ciri is the only female pov, either, or that there aren't other important female characters that make up the series. there's yennefer, triss, milva, philippa, fringilla, nimue, condwiramurs, kenna — and that's just off the top of my head. there are plenty more where that came from. women and their stories have always played a central role in the books. nothing about that goes against them or is unique to lauren's vision.

and just with boe in particular, like. triss's pov is either focused on more than geralt's or at least about as much as his depending on how you want to break things down. and with dandelion following very close behind them, too! like, ciri may be the main character of the main series and geralt may be the main character of the short stories and their povs are the most focused on overall, but the books are still very much an ensemble piece made up of a collage of many, many povs to paint a full picture of the universe. and, yeah, the women make up a huge part of that. so the show focusing on ciri and yennefer and the women — and, yes, the men as well because it does actually do that! — is um, still book accurate. so y'know, why the fuck is he presenting this idea that's somehow not the case.

in general, hc emphasizes in a lot of interviews how much he fought for "male characters to be three dimensional." which yeah, given the context of everything else, is some suspicious kinda phrasing because it gives this undertone that the show wasn't writing three dimensional male characters in the first place as opposed to the women and that it's only due to his efforts that anything changed.

also, i have to highlight this quote of him talking about the three dimensionality of men because ~curious that he omits women from the list of people real menTM can be loving and caring toward:

"I believe that real men are very sensitive. They are very capable of doing things which can be violent, if possible, or necessary. But at the same time, they are incredibly capable of love and caring amongst men and towards children and family and all sorts."

and then there's the way hc talks about changing things which comes across as so suspicious, too, imo. especially when there is every other cast member to compare him to. because the way the rest of the cast has talked about this is that they all very consistently say that the whole process is very collaborative and that lauren is very much willing to hear them out about their thoughts and concerns and that it really feels like a team effort and that everyone is working together. and meanwhile the vibes that hc gives off is either "me vs the world (ie the writers)" or "but there's nothing that i can really do to change anything and it's all on the writers~" either way, his attitude very much comes off like all bad decisions are the writers' fault but meanwhile any good decision was due to him and him alone (or maybe the rest of the cast, but definitely not the writers.) like, weird af to play it off that way especially since every other cast member didn't seem to have any problems and they all gave credit where credit was due ie to lauren and the writers.

in conclusion, it'd be one thing if hc had just taken the l and admitted that he is the one who fucked up geralt's characterization in s1 and so he sought to rectify that in s2. but yeah, he doesn't really do that. instead he lies over, like, 50 times to create this narrative of him pushing for book accuracy as if that's somehow in opposition to lauren and the writers and as if they didn't originally write geralt book accurately in the first place and as if he played no role in the lack of book accuracy at all. and then that there's also him pushing this subtle (or not so subtle) narrative about how the women were taking a more central role as opposed to the men and that's somehow unlike the books and something purely due to lauren's vision, too? even though women have always played a central role in the books to the point where ciri is the main character of the main series? and that he's directly linked this narrative he's pushing to reading comments on reddit? (and that he also has a history, since s1, of trying to cater to game stans?) yeah, i just don't see how this doesn't add up to him trying to manipulate the media and audience — especially the worst parts of the fanbase — against the writers and the show and onto his side.

(also just one last thing i'd like to note as i find it super weird that when hc was asked about giving freya any advice, he immediately shut down the notion that he would ever do anything like that and he would never offer her any unsolicited advice and he would only ever give her any if she came to him first. like, there are literally s1 and s2 interviews where freya talks about hc giving her advice. i mean, maybe she did come to him in the first place, idk. but the immediacy in which he shut down the idea that he would ever do anything like that as if offering someone younger than you advice and being a mentor to them is wrong… weird. sus, even. like, why are you scrambling to cover your ass for something that's not even bad and, also, why are you lying about it by omission in the very least.)

[redhead1180]

https://www.tumblr.com/redhead1180/753555840255115264/what-do-you-think-about-kie-and-jj-going-into-s4

I’m interested what about his personality you think they changed for Kie bc I always saw it as basic character development but I’m super interested to see your view xx

I'm sorry anon it took so long to answer, but below are some things my moot @echo-at-the-pond came up with while discussing.

Let's start with Kie:

Let me start to say when I first watched this, I thought Kie was gay. Honest to God. She has the potential to be a strong character and not a 'pick me' girl, but the writers didn't go that route and now she is just that, the 'pick me' girl for her guy friends. Now I will be honest, never have been a big Kie fan, but she at least had principles and integrity in s1. My biggest issue with Kie is she needs to check her kook card. Girl insists on being a pogue but has no clue. Literally, she has a big comfy house and can get a hot meal anytime she wants. She has two loving parents, her remark in S2 about this would be easier without parents in front of JJ was so obtuse. I may not agree with their methods, but literally, all her problems are her fault. I know she is a teenager, but the girl takes no responsibility for herself. She blames everyone else for her problems. Like yelling murderer to Ward and then blaming JJ for breaking the camera. And that's another thing, she did nothing but yell and berate JJ in s1 and 2. She doesn't understand him AT ALL, and then all of sudden in s3 she had a epiphany and loves him. What?! Sorry I feel the love is a convenience for her and something she needs to feel better, not real. And yes I know they are teens, but come on, JJ deserves so much better than someone who wants love for the sake of it. Again pick me trope. I honestly don't see this as character development, again fitting the narrative for the couple. And don't get me started what she did to Pope. If one of the guys had done that to her and then moved to another girl, they would be crucified. Probably more, but that is all I can think of for her.

Now to JJ:

Ok, first off, home boy would never get with Kie after the thing with her and Pope. Sorry, the boy is all about loyalty and Pope is too important to him. As @echo-at-the-pond said he went from "I'd go to jail for Pope" loyalty to "I'm gonna fuck around with my best friend who is my friend's ex", it's baffling. He wouldn't jeopardize their friendship like that and honestly, I think that would turn him off to Kie. I will die on this hill that s1 JJ would never get with her after everything that happened in s1 and 2. The guy has MAJOR trust issues and they just threw all that out the window. Yes, he honestly would have a hard time letting someone love him, and I do feel it would have to be long time friend for JJ to fall for because those issues. But Kie would have broke that trust with the Pope thing. Other things the writers changed was his stealing and recklessness. It wasn't there all that much in s3. Many of the established habits, stealing for no reason, recklessness, his crazy ass plans, were gone. Some would say character development, but I feel like they just toned him down for Kie, cause a tiger don't change his stripes. They toned JJ down a lot in s3 and it just doesn't fit him.

I am sure there is more but that is all I got for right now. I am sure , any disagree with me, but I know a lot agree.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Storer and Calo make each other better at this

S3 was imbalanced.

It was all Storer no Calo -or very little Calo-. She was not as involved in the writing as in S2.

She focused mostly on her EP duty.

Maybe it's because she’s involved in the pre-prod of other Disney projects right now, which started right after award season 2023.

So she had a lot on her plate, she had to prioritize, and writing + producing was too time-consuming so she picked EP. Plus EP is better paid than writing. Let’s be real. She chose wisely, I guess…

But it wasn’t just her that deserted the WR. I’m 100% sure the writers’ team changed from S2.

And you can tell the lack of Caloness. It’s all Storer’s sadism. No balance.

You can call it softness + intensity, or two fires with different levels of ignition, as Ayo said about her character and Jeremy’s. The point is that Calo balanced Storer out.

Without her he’s a 3 y.o. with too many fucking crayons, Uncle Jimmy would say.

She brought in the romantic element.

Storer, the intensity and the chaos.

She was the red string that connected Sydcarmy.

Storer and Calo S&C, btw are like Syd and Carmy.

They make each other better at this.

When they are disconnected, so are Carmy and Syd and they are not as good apart as they are when they are together.

I checked and most eps lack the WRITTEN by xxxx or SCREENPLAY by xxxx credit. Most of them just mentioned the Director and EP or one or the other, but we have no idea who was really responsible for that script, which is shady and kinda backs up my idea that the WR is 100% different now, they let in a bunch of writers that were not there before and have 0 knowledge of the mythology of the show and the characters. No idea about the vibe and the subtext that were there in S1 and 2. So they watched the show a couple of times and started writing for these characters from scratch. AND YOU CAN TELL! The characters didn’t sound like themselves in some scenes, they sounded OOC, especially my man, Carmy! And even Syd sometimes. IT WAS THE NEW WRITERS ON THE BLOCK’S FAULT! I’M TELLING YOU! They shoulda made NO CHANGES, the same WR they had in S2 shoulda have remained untouched. Identical. They fucked up big time, changing that and then the Editors fully fucked it, bc they coulda soften the blow, but didn’t. All of this was signed off by Storer and Calo. Storer is not the same Storer without her. And Calo was otherwise engaged.

I expected better, I expected the winning team to remain the same but they changed it and Disney is probably to blame for that. It was a self-boycot, sure. But not Storer’s. It was ultimately Disney’s because the network saw a Golden Team and decided to make them multitask and diversify, and they got greedy. They wanted them to make a lot of BEARS for them. And they couldn’t. Then again, those were nothing but my own expectations.

Now, if I detach myself from those and analyze this season objectively, like I have on some previous occasions, if I remove my own expectations from the equation, I can easily identify amazing stuff such as the constant battle between man and beast that Storer wants to portray. I mentioned time and time again how Carmy is 100% not based on a chef friend of his, as he said in several interviews, no way. Carmy is Storer and Storer is Carmy and that’s the best guarantee that we, truthers have, of Carmy having a happy ending. I’m sure that happiness will definitely include Sydney. So, summing up, we’re cool. Let’s just be patient and don’t let this sadist fuck with our patience. In the meantime let’s focus on the great things this season had.

Let’s choose to let it go and be positive, as Cousin would say.

This show constantly inspires me to take a good hard look at art as a whole and my own relationship with it. I mean, art in any form. I’m not an artist per se, but I certainly am an avid art consumer and fully believe that life would have no meaning without it. So, having said that Storer’s art is always inviting me to broaden my perspective because whether I like it or not how he does it, he usually pushes the boundaries of writing, storytelling, and cinematography, and also tells a story through music in a very personal way, etc, One of the things I loved the most this season was the cinematography and noticing he found inspo in paintings, painters, etc. I mentioned this season was Carmy’s blue period, like Picasso’s, etc… Storer does that, and last but not least, he put front and center a topic that is often not well depicted on TV, which is MENTAL HEALTH and indirectly, COMPASSION, EMPATHY, LOVE but from a non-romantic perspective. From a human perspective. Not platonic, bigger than that, human. S3 was also about SOLIDARITY if you think about it. And that, in and of itself, is something beautiful.

So, thank you, Storer.

[the8thsphynx]

FELLOW YURI LOVER HELLO <3 I love your art and I wanted to pick your brain for any Lunatic theories or headcanons ya got, if you're up for it! I've always had this thought and wanted to ask other Tiger & Bunny fans about it, but how do you think the Petrov family was doing after Legend's death? How do you think Yuri got through law school to become a judge while taking care of his mom??

Ohhhhhh Anon we are sharing a braincell right now. Buckle up.

Yuri gifs sprinkled throughout to help make my points

(CW for the theories ahead, dealing with themes of trauma, domestic violence, child abuse, and alcoholism)

First off, I absolutely think Yuri and Olga were not wanting for money at all after Legend's death, even before Yuri became a judge. There were probably no financial worries whatsoever for Yuri getting through law school, either. Mr. Legend was the hero in Sternbild for the longest time, so there was likely a sizeable life insurance policy and inheritance for them.

Also for sure Maverick threw hush money their way because while the alcoholism was bad enough then that meant Hero TV ABSOLUTELY was not gonna let the news out that Legend's death was because he was about to kill his wife and child. Case in point for this one is that when Ben got the info for Kotetsu about NEXT powers fading, Ben only had info about the alcoholism; not that Legend was an abuser nor that Yuri was his son.

I could make an entirely separate post and go on for days about the fuckery I think was going on between Yuri and Maverick, but I wanna stay on-topic for your question. another day... maybe... if its asked...

So... onto the sadder part!

What Happened to the Petrovs?

So... disclaimer: I am NOT a mental health professional... however I am a childhood abuse survivor, so I'm really just pointing out patterns I recognize from my own experiences.

In Ep. 16 of Season 1 when we got Yuri's backstory reveal, I couldn't help but make mental note of his mom and how they interacted. When we first see her, she's not only elderly and disabled to where she needs mobile assistance, but she's also clearly having some sort of memory lapse into a time where the abuse wasn't happening, given her cheery way of talking when she does go into these episodes.

However... When Yuri reminds her that his father is dead, it shocks Olga and kind of snaps her out of it... and her instant response is to start verbally abusing Yuri and throwing things at him.

Yuri not flinching we could first think 'yeah his reflexes as Lunatic are probably making him aware he doesn't need to dodge' but like... what if it's that and that he's used to it...?

I think that the mental condition we see Olga with in the beginning hasn't been going on for too long. If we go off the first movie's timeline of things, Yuri implies that he came to Sternbild and was just appointed as a judge for the city.

Also there's this air in the way Yuri was walking around the house and talking to his mom in S1. Ep16 that makes it feel like this is one of the first times in a while he's been around her. he's also still learning the ropes of being a caretaker for an elderly person, bc as someone who used to work with CNAs and nurses in a retirement home the last thing you want to do when someone's having a memory lapse is forcefully pull them out of it, unless of course the writers for the show themselves just didn't know

All of this to me this feels like Yuri has only just recently come back to Sternbild and moved in with his mom in order to take care of her.

With Olga she obviously was very in love with her husband and adored her son before the downward spiral began. That much is apparent later on in Season 2 where we see Olga (albeit almost permanently in this memory-lapse state) being quite tender and affectionate towards Yuri and acting towards him like she did when he was a child (cue the heartbreaking flashback to how she really really wanted to make the cookies Yuri loved on the night she died).

However, in the moments where she's lucid again and acting negatively towards Yuri, I think this is the truth of their dynamic after Legend died.

Trauma from abuse can do... weird things to people.

Now any of us can sit back and say 'if my child went through the horrible agony of killing their own father to save the both of us I would simply cherish and care for them, RIP but I'm built dif', or 'if my husband started abusing me and my son I would simply divorce him' but... people and legality can be more complicated and messier than that.

I'm not going to get into the semantics on if Yuri's mom was a completely bad person or anything like that (bc the whole theme of the Petrovs is 'there are no only good or only bad people, there's just people), but I'll flat out say that I think a bit after Legend's death Olga was at the very least verbally abusing Yuri.

The complete disregulation of her brain from the abuse and violent death of her husband PLUS all the ways Hero TV was probably covering things up must have messed her up some type of way that she blamed Yuri for their life being turned upside down and was resentful towards him.

On the flipside, on Yuri's part, he absolutely has a deeply complicated relationship with his mother on TOP of how fucked up he is from his father. He doesn't regret stepping in as a child and saving her, but for sure there's a painful wound still stinging in his chest about how their relationship was damaged and never really recovered. With how bitter and toxic things with his mom probably got, Yuri might have left home at some point or was even kicked out.

As for Yuri's personal mental state, I mean the show highlights pretty clearly that he is NOT okay. Yuri has very intense PTSD to the point of constantly reliving when his powers activated and he killed his father to having hallucinations of his father mocking him.

His perception on morality has been pretty skewed to the point of being super vengeful to whoever he perceives as 'wicked', which comes through not just as Lunatic but in his dayjob as a judge where he's known for giving out heavy-handed sentences.

(i mean usually this vengefulness as Lunatic is directed to serial killers or violent criminals, so.... it could be worse, I guess...?).

Now... Back to Yuri and his mom... So for those of us who did survive a toxic family/parent, I'm sure we can look at anyone who asks and say 'lmao fuck my shitty family, I don't care what happens to them' but... let's get real, that shit hurts. Especially like in Yuri's case where the family member wasn't always abusive or at least wasn't in the beginning.

So when the times comes for whatever phone call that Yuri got to come take care of Olga in her old age, I think he was still bitter about how she treated him and was mentally prepared for everything to be nonstop difficult and depressing. And I mean from there we see in the series how things go; exactly that.. But as Olga's mental state deteriorates, in some fucked up bittersweet way her relationship with Yuri greatly improves. Like... to the point where in the very end Yuri was happy to talk to her on the phone and spend time with her. Which again, for those of us that have lived this IRL, is HUGE.

I'm not going to get into Season 2 endgame spoilers, but the ultimate fate of the Petrov family depresses me to no end. I DO like though in S2 Ep20 how Yuri was able to get a LITTLE bit of closure for himself.

I just still maintain a lot of things for him in the end of the series should have been handled differently.

This got long, but the brainworms are real.

WATCH TIGER & BUNNY. STAN YURI PETROV.

Thank you for the ask, Anon!

[ivysangel]

Omg I’m watching yj rn cuz I haven’t seen the show since maybe 2012 or 2013 so it’s been a while for this girl and I have no one else to talk to about this.

~Mild spoilers ahead for those who haven’t caught up~

But I just have to say that the writers are gonna be fending off more then just these hands for the bloody time skips they did. When s1 ended I was so excited for season 2, and then after a quick recap of the new years scene we get blasted 5 years later!!!?!?!?! uHMMMM HELLO?!?!???? WTF IS THIS ??? I WAS EXPECTING TEAM BEHAVIOUR AND THIS IS SO NOT TEAM BEHAVIOUR!!! I WANTED GROWTH!! I WANTED TO GET TO LIKE THESE CHARACTERS MORE AND UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIPS!! And they hit us with the oop aqualad is now an enemy, yeah Tula joined the team but died, Dick and Zatanna aren’t together but he’s with Barbara now, Barb is also disabled, Jason was a part of the team for a while but of course died, etc etc like it was huh after huh after HUH cuz a lot can happen in 5 years and I’m cheesed we didn’t have season 2 to ride the wave a little longer with the team while they were midteens before we got a switch up and suddenly they’re in their 20s and mentoring, and we got introduced to a new team like 2 or 3 times

And with each time skip I’d just get more and more steamed cuz this feels like when you have a friend that you’ve known for ages but suddenly decides to drop new lore and you’re like 👁️👄👁️ what do you mean you were pregnant at 15 and found out at a Wendy’s bathroom????? Like it felt like being hit with a truck hearing all the things that happened during the time skip cuz as of right now I’m on the latest season and there’s queer relationships that were dropped like a bomb. Don’t get me wrong I’m not mad about it at all but with kal I was like who?when?? And with Lagoonboy I was like aww he looks so happy with her! Wait did she just say husband??? But that’s not….. omg this dude is a home wrecker!!! ohhhhh ok he’s in a poly relationship…. WAIT A MINUTE A POLY RELATIONSHIP??? It was just coming out of nowhere unless I missed hints being dropped in earlier episodes or seasons. Probably the sap in me but I would’ve liked to be introduced to these other characters and see how they caught feelings and got together instead. We’ve had a few episodes about Halo figuring herself out both with sexuality and gender preferences, and her religion as well which does make sense when you were previously a living machine. But nothing for Kaldur or lagoonboy???? I would’ve loved to have seen that unfold instead of some other episodes that were more of a snooze fest for me

hihihi sorry this has been sitting in my inbox for so long, i got this crazy influx of yj related asks that were all so long so i've been spacing out my responses!!

but you are so right, the time jumps are so heinous because half the time we don't even get flashbacks to supplement any of the missing plot. they fully just drop bombs on the viewers and expect everyone to just accept it. it's very jarring to get attached to a team and then see the whole team split up the next season with absolutely no warning.

(also idk why this just came to mind but does anyone else remember when orm was camped out in that house trying to kill everybody at that birthday party???? what the fuck was that about??? was that crucial to the plot...did i miss smth)

BUT YEAH. there's a whole lot of "did i miss something"s floating around for s2-4. i would literally sit in front of a paused screen and try to figure out if any dots connected bc i was so lost.

i also really liked how we got halo's sexuality and gender identity arc but i do wish they had done the same for kaldur since he's such a massive part of the show. i wouldn't be mad at one for lagoon boy either, but his plots generally don't mean as much for me since he was really only there as a piece of the m'gann + conner plot.

[azuresins]

*Builds a blanket fort, crawls inside, puts up a sign that says "Grelle Haters/transphobes do not interact with this post I am TALKING TO MYSELF PLEASE BE NORMAL THANK YOU*

This was pointed out a long, long time ago but it's never left my mind.

One thing I do miss about the anime adaptation S1, are a few of the filler-moments and Grelle interactions, specifically during the time when Grelle and Ciel were 'teaming up'... Ciel promised Grelle that if she helped him, Grelle could do anything they wanted with Sebastian.

And Grelle's immediate response was "...Even a kiss/kissing?" ... people, and even people who have worked on kuro content like the musicals, Season 2 (GODDDD), and other random material that's technically official... have been kind of quick to paint Grelle as this huge scary pervert, simply because what... They're outside of gender norms and that's what makes them predatory? Not that I dunno, they befriended a serial killer, and killed people who weren't supposed to die?

Ciel seemed pretty happy to allow Grelle full permission and access to do whatever they wanted with Sebastian and it doesn't really matter if he intended to make good on the promise or not, the point is all Grelle asked for was a kiss. They didn't ask to fuck him, some hot and steamy night or whatever (and we all know Sebastian fucks) they only asked for a simple kiss.

That's pretty innocent, all things considered. I think... she talks a big talk and walks a big walk, but she's probably a virgin, and after the laughs deep down she's actually extremely careful with her body, and who she takes to bed. IF she takes anyone to bed- I'm not actually sure she does, or not. I haven't seen a TON of fanwork, reflecting that very often and I can't say I blame fans for reacting that way because there's so much Grelle content out there but not much of it is connected to Manga canon at all... I just feel like that was a nice choice, on the part of the writers of S1.

It also warmed my stupid cold heart when Grelle stumbled upon a baby crying during the fire in london, and knelt to acknowledge it and tell it that she's not allowed to take it's life, just yet. People I think misunderstood that interaction and assumed they were being cruel or something-- I interpreted it as them acknowledging the infant and gently telling them, it wasn't their time, therefore it's possible someone else off camera rescued the baby and it got to live it's life. Some people are just really quick to assume the worst of them and I'm pretty sure 'degenerate' has been used to describe them before and I don't think that's fair, and I also don't see it.

When people pointed out in the past "but but but but Grelle tries to touch people without permission!" I take it with such a fat fucking huge grain of transphobic salt, because Madame Red full on rubs Sebastian's entire ass, RACHEL thought nothing of squeezing her own sisters tits, Sieglinde gropes Our!Ciel, I have NO idea whats going on with "Freckles/ Freckle Face" and their gender but they takes Our!Ciel's hand and make him grab their tit, and then there's all the filthy things Sebastian does. Not to mention the actual cultists/rapists, and kelvin who is an actual disgrace and sick fuck and Lao????????? I'm?????

Grelle all things considered is like THE LAST person in this manga I'd call a pervert. I know S1 isn't canon, and the plot kind of went off the rails... but I actually really liked those choices. PUT THEM BACK. ����

In the manga and in official art drawn by Yana, I've noticed over the years Grelle has been drawn significantly more feminine, people who have never seen Grelle before can look at these pictures and not distinguish them from a cis woman... and I think that's a very nice choice, I just hope that we get more canon interactions with Grelle on a bit more of a personal level the way we did in S1, seeing as they're one of Kuro's more popular characters.

I find it an interesting choice that Othello has been just about the only character shown so far, that appears to be the most gentlemanly/respectful of her (and also hasn't tried to fight her/beat her lol) and for that reason... I think they're kind of cute, together and I hope they continue to be teamed up even if Grelle doesn't appear impressed or interested, I simply... can not unsee it. I am looking, I am NOTICING... very hard, and very respectfully in that ships direction even if it's kind of a rarepair and one-sided on Othellos part.

If William can stop beating her up for comic relief, that'd be great... but maybe I hope for too much. I think it'd be super, super, super funny if Grelle was gone for a few months, completed their transition and suddenly William fell all over his own ass and turned into a stuttering moron (because shes too beautiful) she was just, "Hiiii Will~ Gonna hit me again for filing my paperwork late? God forbid women do ANYTHING." And he was just. "Uh. --I'm.. -- No. That's enough. ////" I can see it very vividly in my head.

Anyway every time I talk about Grelle I get some weirdo in my askbox but I've been holding these thoughts in for quite some time...//////////

[javic-piotr-thane]

“Like I think just personality wise, Gwen is the most capable leader “

i don’t strictly disagree, much in the same way i don’t disagree that ianto wouldn’t thrive in taking command, and ive said ab my communist theory just now haha

i think my opinion is probably tempered by how i see gwen? which is someone who will take charge & lead but often won’t make the most sensible decisions because she’s too swayed by her emotions (which isn’t necessarily bad, but i think torchwood leadership needs to be more cynical than emotional)

i know these are s2, but i’m thinking of the things that have confused me in her actions (very simplified) - in sleeper, she refuses to promise beth that they will not unfreeze her if they can’t fix her, something beth is clearly terrified about happening (given she kills herself at the end); and in meat she potentially jeopardises people because of her worry for rhys. i also would say the fairies thing too but the majority if not all of the team were upset by that (which i also don’t really understand, perhaps its my autism lol) so that one is more useless as a point here.

there absolutely are moments she excels, but i think chronologically between s1 & 2 she isn’t quite there yet. but yeah, again, odds are none of the others particularly cared to lead and so she was the best option (in that she perhaps did want to lead) but it always struck me as a little odd the newest torchwood agent became the highest ranking one

i think the fairies thing ("how can you give the child to them?!" uhh the child wants to go?? and also otherwise there would be untold revenge??) stumped a lot of people, you're definitely not alone there - i think the writers aimed for a more emotional response from viewers but that didn't quite happen in my impression :''D

and that's actually a good example for a lot of things, like Gwen the main character = the character most of the audience is supposed to relate to. but many (most?) don't.

Gwen is RTD's baby, she's the main character, of course she's in charge. she took over from Suzie who was Jack's Second, and therefore gets to be Second pretty quickly as well. apparently. also main characters have to be special and/or leader characters, that's just how it be. (something something it took Star Trek over 50 years to have a show with a main character who's not captain. only to make her captain later.)

but.... let's take a stop here maybe, because even writing this, i can feel myself slipping back into the negativity i've held for a long time regarding Gwen's... special position in Torchwood, both canon and in the bts and meta sense. and i unironically think leaving that behind was the hardest but also the best thing i've ever done in this fandom. because yeah there's gripes to be had. but i really don't want to be bitter, you feel?? i want to think about and enjoy an interpretation of Gwen (and everyone else, for that matter) that makes me happy and not angry or upset. partially born from fanon, partially born from a mix-up of all the different flavors of canon we have received over the years.

speaking of, regarding the novels; you don't have to rush to read them or anything. some are quite good, but some are something else :''D in fact i think i unintentionally spiralled into a lot of Gwen negativity (i don't like to say Gwenbashing because i like to think i never got that horrible on this blog, but if someone wants to use that term for some of my older posts ig that's fair) back when i first read those, (particularly but not only 12, 13 and 14) because holy fucking hell Gwen's characterisation there is. is not okay at times. everyone is mischaracterized at times in the books but Gwen's bits definitely had the biggest impact on me by far and in the worst way. so maybe. stay away :'D (or only read the first eight for a start, they're decent and have all the people. so double win!)

[mermaidsirennikita]

Have you read the Henry Cavill blind item leaks about the actual reason he left the Witcher? Thoughts on him?

I mean my thoughts on the deuxmoi ~leaks~ are that they remind me a lot of when Rege-Jean left Bridgerton. Deux, with basically nothing backing it up, said that he was a diva on set, horrible to work with, etc. Funny how this is what happens when Netflix loses talent that was perceived to be a big asset to a show's success.

Also, interesting that this leak only occurred when it became official that Henry was not in fact returning as Superman anymore, a couple months after he left The Witcher. Like, you'd think that this type of gossip would be leaked way earlier. I personally don't trust anything Deux says unless it is pretty like... visually obvious, or is backed by sources other than "Deux's sources". Deux is a gossip mill; whoever is behind that account will post literally anything and be like "HMM WHO KNOWS MAYBE TRUE". There is true shit reported to Deux, but there's also a lot of bullshit to sift through.

To be super blunt, The Witcher is a show that has had big numbers but has never been super critically acclaimed. I've seen some critics love it, some hate it. Reviews are mixed. Reactions got worse for season 2, which was just.... a mess, imo. I had no idea what was happening for s1, but I had a good time at points. S2 was really not great, and a lot of fans seemed to share that opinion. The one thing that was largely consistently well-receive was Henry Cavill as Geralt. And honestly? I don't think Henry is like, a once in a lifetime talent; sometimes I find him good, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I think he's really hot, sometimes he doesn't work for me at all. But in that role, he was good. He fit very well. He was the main selling point of that show, and I think it's kind of deluded to suggest otherwise. Other actors were good. Freya was good. Anya was good--though I'll be real. I wanted to love that ship, but she had like zero chemistry with Henry and her role was horribly written. Henry was the very clear star, though, and people responded well to him.

Imo, the only way Netflix would have fired that man would be if he was like... physically and/or sexually abusing people, or very clearly sexually harassing people. And even then! If they could cover it up, they probably would (and they have, for other big stars). That's just the reality. It's awful. But his attachment to the series meant money, and they prioritize money. It's possible that he was a dick on set. It's possible that he critiqued what the writers were doing and was difficult. He would not be the first star of a show to be difficult on set. I just don't think he ever would have been fired, unless he was truly, honestly horrible on set. It's ridiculous to me that people think he would be. Big names just don't get fired unless something truly impossible to brush off has happened--Frank Langella being fired from Mike Flanagan's House of Usher on Netflix due to sexual harassment accusations is a recent moment. And 100%, I think that if Netflix had something to prove Henry was fired due to those issues... I think they'd do it. He's not being protected by DC anymore. He's a babe in the woods. The reaction to Liam Hemsworth (who I for the record think is fine lmao) has been kinda negative. Why wouldn't Netflix take the opportunity to look like a responsible hero? If they could? They can't. And I don't think they would have fired him for ANY other reason.

And I'll be real! If Henry was being a dick on set about the quality of the scripts... Yo, he was right. The scripts for season 2 were baaaaad. I'm not a Witcher fan, but I'm friends with people familiar with the games and the books. All of that. Sounds better. Than what this show has been doing. "But the showrunner is a woman," yes and her work is bad. I do believe now, after seeing some interviews with Henry, that he wasn't happy with the scripts. I doubt that's the only reason why he left. But if you look back to like... 2021, there were rumors on the ground that Henry was wanting to leave because he didn't like the scripts and he didn't like the creatives in charge. I think it's as simple as him already being unhappy with the people and the scripts, and him thinking he had a safe place to land with DC. Which, honestly? I think he absolutely should've gotten paperwork in order before announcing his Superman return, but if DC literally told him to announce... A lot of actors have done that kind of shit based off verbals before. The world is changing, but DC is also HORRIBLE to talent, in front of and behind the camera. Gal Gadot (who I dislike) and Patty Jenkins got screwed. Jason Momoa is about to get screwed. Everyone working on Batgirl. Before Zaslav took over, Birds of Prey got set up for failure. Ray Fisher got fucked over. I don't think shit is suddenly going to improve under James Gunn (someone everyone is acting like they love, despite the fact that he's said some pretty off color shit and was backed by actors like Chris Pratt). Talent is not being treated correctly at DC... unless they're Ezra Miller!

All this being said, I don't think Henry is like... this great guy. I'm not going to cry into my cereal about him as an individual. I think he's dated girls far too young (probably younger than is known to the public) and he said some dumb shit about Me Too. But I can say all of that... and also say that Deuxmoi didn't seem to have any real evidence there, and the hyperbolic HE'S BEEN RED PILLED is kind of playing into what Netflix (and probably DC) want. Like, maybe he has been. But I don't think that's ever kept actors from getting jobs (look at Chris Pratt) and I don't think there's any evidence to suggest he was fired.

[queerspacepunk]

here's the thing though (and I am ENTIRELY certain of this): end of s1? right up until olu spots him with the spyglass? the entire crew thinks stede is dead. i'm serious!! (with the probable exception of izzy. pretty sure izzy knows he's alive) (fml this is so long i'm so sorry)

it's pretty clear from the start of episode 10 that ed hasn't told anyone anything, in fact i'd say it's pretty likely that no one but izzy has even seen him since he climbed on board and asked to take tea in his room!

so imagine you're the crew, trying to figure out what the fuck just happened, and you have the following information:

stede bonnet is stupidly in love with edward teach

edward teach is so in love with stede bonnet that he signed away his life for a decade to go fight for the king of england

they both got taken away to join the navy and go to war!!

stede is an absolutely useless dingdong who has only survived this long because of sheer luck, and clearly has people within the navy who Hate His Guts

ed's ploy only worked because some officers saw him as a prize, and he's notorious enough that everyone in the navy is going to either hate him, feel threatened by him, or both

ed comes back. alone, and sad.

so you're all sitting there, in the jam room, or maybe by the kitchen, or up on deck, slumber party style, trying to figure out What The Fuck Happened To Stede, and really there's only three options:

ed changed his mind and fucked off, leaving stede behind

stede and ed broke up and/or stede refused to escape with ed

stede died and with no reason left to stay in the navy, ed fucked off back to his crew.

now, option 1 is an immediate write off. like i think black pete would be the most likely to suggest it and lucius would just be like "babe, babe please. you do not understand how utterly deranged they are for each other. edward teach is so in love with that man that he didn't stab me in the face on like three separate occasions." option 1? out.

option 2? interestingly, i feel like option 2 is both what actually happened AND the option that, to the crew would seem the least believable. olu would be the first person shutting this down. he had to put up with stede the entire night they broke up the first time. even more than that? they're looking at blackbeard, right? and blackbeard's responses. if stede HAD dumped ed, after ed just sacrificed himself for stede, then surely he should be furious, right? they would all be expecting a response much more akin to what we get in the second half of the episode after the magical girl kraken transformation.

(of course, they don't KNOW about all the shit going on in stede's head, they don't know about ed just wanting to be ed and how much that shook stede, they don't know about chauncey! they also don't know about trying to put down the whole blackbeard role for a bit!! even though option 2 is 100% what happened and makes sense to us viewers it seems entirely out of character to the other characters in the show!! the writers made these boys eat the broccoli so hard i wanna scream)

whiiiiiiich leaves us with option 3: stede is dead. compared to the other two options, this makes so much sense. You've just put Stede No Survival Instincts Bonnet into what may be the only environment more dangerous for him than pirating, they were probably expecting it to happen at some point or another. and ed? from that brief interaction? easily looks like grief. then factor in how fucking delighted izzy is about the turn of events, and well... stede being dead is pretty much the only thing that makes sense.

(they're all sitting there kinda talking around it, fang's probably talking about how he was quite worried for stede, in the navy and all, and swede's like 'blackbeard seems very sad' and buttons is all 'ahhh but mr hands is in a very good mood' and no one wants to say it until frenchie's just "so the captain, uh, stede, i mean... he's uh... maybe... ?" and jim's just like "dead." and there's a big uncomfortable chorus of "very dead" "definitely dead" "absolutely deceased" (lucius) and they all make a beeline for the rum)

i have a bunch more to say about why i think izzy knows stede's alive and also how "the crew thinks stede is dead" makes the rest of ep 10 read different but it is way too late and this is way too long already so i'll come back to that in the morning

[number5theboy]

Same anon here!! Hi. Firstly, thank you so much for your great response, and I'm more than happy to offer up thoughts. I originally wrote a massive thing but largely I think those thoughts can be summed up by saying I think Klaus and Viktor were poorly handled characters in season 2.

For Klaus, there was compelling story there, but it felt disconnected from the Klaus we saw at the end of season 1 and because Klaus' story is the least prominent of any sibling in season 2, there doesn't feel like there's much depth or complexity going into the writing of Klaus. If they wanted him to be the sibling to take a backseat, it would've been better to have his story directly connect to being a soldier. Anti war protester overwhelmed by the amount of ghosts that like what he has to say, rather than just being treated as comic relief.

And Viktor's amnesia felt like it only impacted Luther's development. It leaves Viktor's arc uninteresting because he's not really getting to grow after season 1, it flattens his complexity out. Could've been good if more of the siblings interacted with each other/had been together the whole time and got to react to a Viktor who doesn't remember anything, but they didn't do much with it. Doesn't help he's still such a large character and has such a big chunk of screen time but never knows what's going on.

Hopefully this wasn't too long, but I think those two are the ones who stand out to me as the most confusingly written in s2, probably because their s1 arcs had them both change and grow so much, but tua wanted to keep some kind of status quo.

Hi, welcome back, Anon, we are completely on the same page here. I literally typed out that I thought that Klaus and Viktor got the shaft in my original answer, but then I thought I'd hear your thoughts first and then add mine, and turns out, not much to add, I am 100% with you.

With Klaus, I am split, because I like the storyline with Dave, I think that builds well on S1 and his assertion that Dave was the only person he ever truly loved, more than himself, more than his own chance of meeting and falling in love with him. On the other hand, the cult storyline feels like it was in there because someone was like 'hey wouldn't it be groovy if Klaus had a cult?' in the first draft meeting, and that's the extent of thinking that went into that. It's such a pointless, unfunny storyline with no lasting impact on anything and no thought into the real-life implications of cults and the weight of that word. It's just. They could've done anything else there and it almost certainly would've been better. I love the idea of him being involved in anti-war-protests and how the ghosts would play into that, it's a good one.

And I basically hate the decision to give Viktor amnesia, it's such a boring cop-out to absolve him of any and all responsibility of the things he did in S1 (which then beautifully comes back to bite the writers in the butt in S3). They wanted to fasttrack Viktor being integrated into the family without having to actually deal with the baggage of what that would entail. It somehow writes out the siblings out of a storyline that the ending of S1 literally could not have been more clear about them being involved in. Sidenote: the way S2 butchers and misinterprets Five's comment about Viktor always being the bomb genuinely pisses me off to this day, the way it's used in S2 is so stupid and so much less nuanced than what it meant in the S1 finale, it frustrates me so. They really had a character coming down from a lifetime of being drugged against their will and immediately settled him with amnesia so that any interactions with his siblings prior to like. Episode 9 has no real meaning. I would love to see a version of S2 where a) Viktor has his memories and b) since Luther was holding him, they were never split up. That would have been, in my opinion, the most compelling way to start them off.

No worries about length, Anon, I completely agree with your assessment that the show did not really wanted to move on from a certain status quo for these characters.

[gra-sonas]

Hi! I’m not sure if you know or not and I’m a fairly newish fan so I don’t really know what went down. I know that something happened with Ca*ina and thats why she isn’t a part of the show, even though according to her it was ’her choice’. but I noticed both Jeanine and Nathan don’t follow her anymore, they are the only two of the cast I believe that don’t, I was wondering if you knew the story behind her departure. just curious as it seems like Ca*ina doesn’t seem like such a great person to work for/with. Thanks for reading!!! 💖

Eeeek, sorry for the super late reply, nonnie, rl happened. 🙈

Obviously, we don't have 100% verified knowledge, but the same day she announced that she'd be leaving the show, Hollywood Reporter posted an article and revealed some details. They paint a pretty good picture of what probably went down behind the scenes, and since HR's one of the more reputable industry websites, it's reasonable to assume that they wouldn't publish all these details without verifying them with someone who had insider knowledge.

The article mentions one "public" incident in particular that happened roughly 2 weeks before her announcement. S1 of RNM had just started airing in the UK, and when episode 2 aired, UK fans noticed that some moments from the Malex scene in the Airstream were cut from the episode.

Instead of looking into the possible reason (i.e. RNM airing in a very early pre-watershed timeslot that made it necessary to cut "too steamy" content, only it weren't just moments from the Malex scene that were cut, they also cut stuff from Max and Jenna making out - certainly the more "steamy" scene of the two of them...), CAM decided to rant on Twitter about it, falsely claiming that ITV had cut only Malex scenes, but none of the Max/Jenna scenes (effectively accusing ITV of homophobia - which, not a good thing to do to a business partner, especially when it's not true).

That seems to have been one major thing that may have been the "final nail" to the coffin. There were other things mentioned in the article, like the fact that apparently, she kept rewriting other writers' episodes, that she didn't get along with Jeanine, and so on.

CAM later denied that she didn't get along with Jeanine, but during that time Nathan - a long-time friend of CAM way before RNM - unfollowed her on social media, and Jeanine did, too. But that's all we know.

It's quite interesting, how Jeanine's been talking about Chris once he'd taken over tho, always gushing about how amazing it is to work and collaborate (!!!) with him, and praising him wherever she had the chance...

MAKE OF THAT WHAT YOU WANT 😏

Anyhoodle, all in all, it seems like CAM was a helicopter showrunner, insisting on micro-managing every aspect of the show (she once said that she even decides what kind of underwear actors have to wear underneath their costumes - even when the underwear's never revealed on screen. Mhmmkay??? 👀), while simultaneously being completely overwhelmed with the responsibilities of running a show.

There were also claims that she spent too much time in New Mexico [to hang out with the actors *cough*] instead of being in the writers room in Los Angeles (she left that to Chris, her co-showrunner).

On social media, she mentioned more than once, that she went to cry in her car in the parking lot several times, another indication that she struggled to handle the pressure. The HR article mentions, she "fostered a working environment that was rife with tension", and although we don't have confirmed knowledge of this being true, from everything we've seen on social media or heard from actors in interviews, it seems like a reliable claim.

As recent as 2/25/2022, CAM posted this during an IG Q&A

"Woe is me, if only I hadn't taken all the $$$ then I could 💩 on the show I created" 🙃

Whatever, personally I'm just glad that she's gone, and I know for certain that I'll never ever touch another project she's involved in.

[cheri-translates]

[Analysis] The Importance of S2 Gavin’s Shooting Star Date

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, 流星之约, which has not been released in EN! 🍒

Do check out @skyholders translation of the date here before proceeding!

If you’re taking the time to read this boring analysis, you should love Gavin enough to know just how iconic the planetarium is to them in S1, in which we witness a glorious, steamy kiss between Gavin and MC.

Which is why I was pretty disappointed when I first read this date (I gave it a 1.5/10 rating when someone asked) because it seemed so... stale. The karma got me hyped up for a fluffy date where Gavin would show his nerdy side to MC, not an investigation (-ω-、)

I refused to believe the writers would pick the planetarium as the setting for no reason, so I read through it again and identified some notable points:

1. A parallel to Blind Date

In Blind Date, MC didn’t tell Gavin the specifics of why she flaked out on him, which resulted in a misunderstanding and Gavin’s unforgettable line, “Too much of anything can get boring after a while.”

Afterwards, she didn’t clarify her relationship with Gavin, which resulted in Chandler inviting her to the planetarium. Gavin’s jealousy continued to fester, making the atmosphere tense. 

That is, until the searing kiss in the planetarium (i.e. non-verbal communication) led to a confirmation of their romantic relationship.

In sum: Lack of communication -> Misunderstanding -> Communication -> Confirmation of (romantic) relationship

In Shooting Star Date, MC was upfront with Gavin about the letter her company received, and Gavin also told her about the findings from his investigations.

Afterwards, when Gavin didn’t explain how he obtained the motorcycle, MC clarified it with him almost immediately, preventing any potential misunderstandings from taking root.

Because of how frank they were with each other, they were able to complete the operation without a hitch, leading to this confirmation:

MC: Haven’t we always been standing alongside each other, and walking in the same direction together?

Gavin nods lightly, exerting slight pressure as he grips my hand.

Gavin: Always.

In sum: Frank communication -> Mutual understanding -> Confirmation of (collaborative) relationship

2. Whether they realise it or not, they want to spend more time with each other

Gavin: Mm, there’s something I need to tell you. Are you free later?

I stare at the heap of documents on the table, and ponder for a few seconds-

MC: I’m free.

Gavin: That’s good. I’ll wait for you at the cafe near your office.

He pauses for a while.

Gavin: It’s almost time for dinner. We could have a meal together.

At this point, MC had no idea whether Gavin called her for personal or work purposes. Yet, she readily agreed despite having a pile of work. 

Similarly, Gavin offered to have a meal with MC despite having tons of work to do as a Commander. He even catered to her convenience, suggesting a cafe near her office.

Gavin: Let’s eat first. It’s already dinnertime. The dishes here aren’t bad, and they suit your palate.

Based on what he’s saying, it’s implied that MC has never been to this cafe before. Gavin might have picked this cafe not just because it’s close to MC’s office, but also because he knew MC would like the food 🥺 

3. How much closer they’ve become

[ Moments ]

Gavin’s Post: It’s more convenient to drive Sparky.

MC: Sparky: I think so too.

Gavin: It’s in a good mood tonight, probably because it had a change of motor.

-

Gavin’s Post: It’s more convenient to drive Sparky.

MC: It’s so late. Are you going for a spin?

Gavin: There are fewer cars in the night, so I can drive a little faster.

-

Gavin’s Post: It’s more convenient to drive Sparky.

MC: I suddenly realised that it’s been a very long time since I saw Sparky.

Gavin: You could tell me whenever you want to see it.

-

His responses are very telling of how comfortable he is with MC now. In the first few S2 Moments, specifically [R&S - Reunited Yesterday], Gavin gives painfully curt answers, for example:

MC: Is Officer Gavin on a mission?

Gavin: Just passing by.

Yet, he’s now giving her tidbits of information MC didn’t even ask for - Sparky having a change of motor, the reason why he’s going out for a night drive, etc.

-

4. What we can look forward to

[ Phone Call ]

Gavin: Have you heard of “Lonely Planet”? It’s usually called a wandering star.

Gavin: It can flit across fixed stars, but it won’t be bound by them completely.

Gavin: While it’s flying, it doesn’t emit light. It doesn’t reflect light either, and no one can see it.

MC: In that case... won’t it fly alone in the galaxy forever?

Gavin: That’s what other people ascribe to it. Flying could be its very meaning.

Gavin: Perhaps one day, it’d find a fixed star that it’s willing to be bound by, making it the destination of its wandering.

It’s a running gag in the CN community that S2 Gavin tends to disappear a lot and does his own thing. It’s a little frustrating, but this call hints that the plot is building up to the moment when Gavin, who is obviously the “wandering star” in this analogy, admits to himself / MC that he’s made her the destination of his wandering.

[teamfreewill2pointo]

Transcript of End of the Road Special

Transcript of End of the Road Special. 

Please let me know if I made any errors in transcription. Twitter version Family Don’t End with Blood Transcription Winchester Mythology Transcription

Dabb: Ultimately, we came up with something that we're all very proud of Singer: You never know what the audience is going to like so we really tried to say "what would make us happy? Would we be satisfied with where we've taken them?"

The Carry On song was a guideline.

Singer: The myth of what these brothers were throughout 15 years... We didn't shy away from fatalism, but we wanted to be able to have it be kinda uplifting as well.

Dabb: If you're going to do something that feels like a complete arc, you have to kinda go back to the beginning of it (clips of them hunting vamps from s1 & 15.20) When it comes to Sam & Dean- it's all about getting back to, in some ways, these two guys on the road in this car.

Dabb: They've been doing this job for 15 years now. They've fought everyone from demons to vampires to God himself, but at the end of the day, they're still working guys, out there on the road & taking cases. We've tried to never lose sight of that.

Dabb: There are times when we've been wrapped up in our own mythology a little bit. We've always tried to get back to the basics, which are: these two guys, saving people, hunting things. 

Eugenie: I think we sort of knew generally what the ending would involve.

Eugenie: We might not have known the mechanics, but we sort of knew there would be a victorious, glorious sacrificial ending bc I think sacrifice is a big theme in the series.

For every great thing you do, a cost must be paid.

Singer: Andrew & I talked about it. We were in agreement pretty quickly... talked to the rest of the writing staff & let them know what we wanted to do and we were open to suggestions. And then we pretty much pitched it to Jared and Jensen.

Jensen talks about flying to LA. Jensen: So before we ever even started 15, we knew how the last portion of the story was going to go. We didn't know how we were going to get there, but we kinda knew the final- the finish line- we knew what... what that was going to look like.

Jared: I don't think there's ever been a season of SPN in 15 years where the way the writers thought the show would play out for that season- ended up being the way it played out And so we were aware of that. They told us here's what we're thinking, here's what happens to Castiel

Jared: In the finale, Dean dies & Sam lives on. And then we think they're going to meet up in heaven. 

I remember Jensen... just because I know him so well- he seemed to bristle a little bit.

Jensen: It was hard to hear then & it was hard to read now. Not because I didn't like it, not because I wished it had gone differently... I'm not adverse to it. I think it's a great ending. I'm proud to film it.

Singer: And we just aimed for that, you know, throughout the season. We knew where we were going.

Jensen: Reading it & knowing that... there's just a weight that is so much larger reading these scripts than I've ever experienced before. 

There's an emotional weight that these scripts are going to carry & these episodes are going to have that I don't think we've ever seen before.

Brad: [J2] were so young when all of this started. They brought to it such conviction & such commitment to the effort. 

That's one of the things that kept the show going for so many years... a show that was designed for very young guys, footloose & fancy free, & on the road…

Brad: To see these guys grow up b4 your eyes into- men, not boys any longer- was amazing. 

BABY Jared: Though the story does involve Sam & Dean chasing supernatural things, it really is a story about two brothers that love each other & ultimately will do anything for each other.

Jensen: There's really one person that gets it on the level that I get it, and that's Jared. Jared: I've never spent as much time with another human being as I have with Jensen Ackles. He will be my friend and brother forever. And I know that.

BABY Jensen: There's a lot of dynamics between the two brothers, there's a lot of history between them, there's a lot of banter between them... it's good stuff S15 Jensen: We had a partner in crime & we leaned on each other for, you know, for times when it was tough.

Jensen: But we also won together. We got to share the experience of success & the experience of getting picked up for another season. Watching these two characters go through what they're going through, when we're working 14 hours & it's 2-3 o’clock on a Sat morning and we're just now finishing filming out in the rain and mud and we gotta race to the airport to get on a plane because we've got a photoshoot in LA & we've gotta do on camera interviews and we gotta promote the show that we love so much that we were just in the mud & the rain filming hours before we're exhausted and it's like there's only one person that gets that right now. That gets how I feel and that's this guy standing next to me. That's pretty cool. That's pretty cool to have somebody like that.

Brad: We knew it was going to be impossible to tie up every aspect of all of the cans of worms that we opened up. 

We did want to bring a proper ending to the guys, the guy's relationship.

Brad: Then of course we had this huge corner we painted ourselves into with the most powerful thing in the universe being the big bad of the season. We try and find a proper send off for Jack & for Cas. What to do w/ the boys & is that a together farewell or an individual?

It was just... lots of moving parts. 

Dabb: I give a lot of credit to Bobo who really was the one who started banging the drum early & often to ending the mythology in 19 and end the characters in 20.

Brad: You're battling God & battling God & you have this epic situation going on through the first 3/4 of the show & then what? You send off Dean in act 4? That just felt wrong. Eugenie: We had this obligation, it was really mandatory, that we tie up the mythic narrative and leave the final episode for the emotional resolution. I [was] more on the side of not wanting to best God. To have God change to be more like his creations. So there were philosophical arguments, but we always knew God's resolution was going to be a big ticket item.

Jensen: We'd started day 1 of the 2nd to last episode, 19. We were 1 day down on that episode & we were just about to start our 2nd day & we got the call that morning that we were not going to be coming in that day.

Jensen: So we figured ok, we'll figure out protocol, figure out what we need to do, & we'll just regroup, come back on Monday. As that day progressed, it was like- this looks like more of an apocalypse that is ascending upon us than just a bad cold.

They pulled the plug & they said everybody go home. 

Singer: Fortunately, we got assurance from both the studio & the network that one way or another we were gonna finish the series. That was comforting to us, but we didn't know when we were going to go back.

Eugenie: We didn't know what we were going back to... if this was the last time we would ever see the set. There was no plan. It was just get out of dodge. Dabb: When it first happened, we thought it would be a couple of weeks, maybe a month.

I had conversations w/WB where they expected everyone to be back shooting in June & then things got worse & pushed & pushed.

Eugenie: Slowly as we settled into that 4 or 5 month period, discussions were going on w/the studio, & the networks, & the actors. We knew there would be restrictions on what we were allowed to shoot, but finally, the mechanics were figured out. 

Singer: So they were ready to go pretty quickly, shooting in Van, where covid wasn't quite as virulent as it was [in LA].

Dabb: We were one of the first shows, one of the first WB shows to start back up. So in a way, we were kinda a guinea pig. But, in being that, I think everyone took it really seriously. We had 0 positive tests. Crew members weren't going out on the weekends.

They were like look, if I get sick, it hurts the whole show. That speaks to the family culture up there, where we've had so much of our crew for so long. Where J2 & Singer provide such great leadership.

Singer: When I was in prep for 20, I was basically in the office but couldn't go to the set. It was very odd for me not to be able to go to the set while I was in prep. 

Everybody just hung in there & did what they were supposed to do.

Brad: Then we were faced with the dilemma of having to rewrite a lot of the stuff bc of the pandemic bc of the limitations that we knew were going to come on the production.

Jensen: We were gearing up for, not only the end of that season, but the end of the series. There was a lot of big, big things written-packed- into those last two scripts.

Jared: At first, it was supposed to be a lot of our old cast from prior seasons in a Roadhouse with Kansas.

Everybody had already agreed. Kansas was going to be in Van. We were going to have dad there & mom there. Just probably 20 or 30 different actors & actresses who had been a part of the SPN's canon over the last 15 & a half years.

Jensen: It was scheduled to be the last day that we were going to film, so it was almost like rolling right into a nice wrap party on camera. 

Brad: The idea of flying a boatload of ppl up there to quarantine for 2 weeks so they could shoot for a day was making less & less sense.

Eugenie: How do we make this work? And while you're doing that, you also don't want to sacrifice the heart and soul of the project. 

So we came up with a reduced, much more intimate ending. It has been replaced by something equally magical & rewarding.

Singer: I felt an enormous responsibility in directing the finale of a show that's been on for 15 years. Andrew, when he saw the cut, he said some really nice things to me as to, you know, the way I handled the material.

Jensen: The scenes that were filmed on our last day on the sound stages were filled with the most emotion of the final episode. 

Singer: One of the really hard things was we're on another stage that wasn't the MoL stage & they started wrecking the MoL sets

They'd been working on this set and been apart of this- this family for just as long if not longer than the set's been around. I was like "it's really sad seeing this get taken down" and the other guy said, "I'm trying to hold back tears while I'm swinging this hammer."

Jared: As we start saying goodbye to characters, to locations, like it just seems like every day you would wake up and there would be some reason to cry. 

Misha: This is a show ultimately about love, & empathy, & caring, & I think that Castiel embodies that.

Misha: Half the crew was crying. It was really such a sweet, supporting environment to be in for the demise of a character that, of course, for me is really important. 

But it was so lovely to see that, you know, the folks that I'm- I'm working with were also there for Cas at that moment. 

Alex: To get to work with these caliber people & see your friends every day is really special & is not something that often happens in this business for this long. It's been definitely a topsy turvy last couple weeks here with us and the crew. 

Jared: Friday of the final full week was the big scene in the barn with the vampires where Dean suffers his fate. They did the first two days with the entire stunt team & the young boy actors. 

And then they cut it for Thursday night and they're like, okay, Friday, tomorrow, we’re starting the dialogue. Dean, you're on the post. Sam, you just cut off the last vampire's head.

That was the scene- that was where Supernatural was really encapsulated. 

Jensen: And then the next week we kind of had this- on the road encore get together filmmaking scenario that felt more like we made it & it was more pats on the back as opposed to tearful goodbyes. 

Dabb: In a weird way you can look at the 15 seasons is like Sam & Dean's emotional evolution. You know instead of therapy, they kill vampires, but other than that it's kind of the same & brings them both to a very good place. And a place where they can, as the song says, you know, lay their weary head to rest. 

This felt like the most honest & emotionally fulfilling episode for these characters to us. Jared: I got thinking about how Supernatural started & how the majority of times how I thought it should end. It started with Sam & Dean Winchester. I think it's proper that it ended with Sam & Dean Winchester together again. 

Jensen: When the cameras stop rolling & Bob yelled, “Cut!” and Bob yelled, “That’s a series wrap on Supernatural.” There was- a there was a loud cheer that echoed through that canyon we were filming in. I will- I will happily say that there were hugs that happened and that needed to happen. Those are people that I spent not just years with, but so much time with- it's like brothers in arms and so to put it to bed the way that we did felt really good and then felt good to hug some people, I'll tell you that much. Singer: I thanked everyone, but I wanted to really thank people who had been with us from the beginning and as I looked around, there were so many people who had been there from the beginning.

We really were a family. I always say about this show is one of the reasons that it was a success and is that it was not only about the Winchester family, but it was about the Supernatural family. 

Jared: So now that's all said and done, I guess I can look back at it and just be proud that I helped this show carry on and I'm really proud of the blood, sweat, and tears that I put in, and I feel like- I feel like that sacrifice was also maybe one of the things I learned from Sam, you know? Sam had to sacrifice a lot. So, I'm honored and flattered and grateful that I got to be a part of that journey.

Dabb: You're never going to have another show like this. You're never gonna have another experience like this. For a lot of different reasons, from how long it ran, from the family that the show became, from the amazing fans that we have. [Footage of us] From the emotional investment people can put in over 15 years of their lives. 

Some started watching this when they were in high school, when they were 15, they're 30 now, they might have kids. That's their- that's like half their life. They've been with this show. You're not gonna have that again. Shows just aren’t gonna run this long, especially genre shows, but I don't know that I'm ever gonna do anything else in my career that I'm gonna be more proud of than having been involved in this show. 

Jared: The things that stick out are just how important it is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. And keep on working and wake up every day and treat it like it could be your last and- and if you make it out the other side, you'll be happy and proud of what you did. 

Jensen: The crew had packed up, they had cleared the bridge, and they were all starting to, you know, load their trucks and get moving. And Jared and I just kind of hung back, and we just took a moment. I looked at him and I said, “I’m proud of us, man. I'm proud of what we've done.”

We know that that's the collective we, that is everyone that is involved, that is- you know from the top down. You know, for our portion, for what we contributed to this monster of the show, he and I reflected on that, and still able to see and smell the roses.

[hopeshoodie]

Ok so in light of the Independent article (see my tag #fusebox layoffs for more info), I’ve been trying to piece together the sequence of events that lead to FB Going to Shit™. 

All of the below is based on articles, tweets from the staff, and dates from screenshots. Especially with the Matchmaker stuff, I’m using the dates I personally accessed the stories- that might not be accurate to when they were actually released to an international audience, just when my phone updated the app. In hindsight, I’m not a great person to do this because I have a shit memory and don’t keep receipts, so if you have any corrections PLEASE lmk either in the dms or replies. 

In sum, the timeline appears to be:

1. Key players left Fusebox in early 2020. 

The one that people are probably most familiar with is David Gallopim, one of the artists who helped define the S2’s distinct style, leaving sometime before March 2020. He seemed to indicate that there was conflict over the new art style of S3, and released assets he’d designed of Harry in his own style (notably way prettier than Harry looks in-game). 

But probably more important to the direction of the company, Michael Othen, one of the co-founders and former CEO, left in July of 2020 (I had thought it was earlier in the year but according to LinkedIn it was July). It’s much more unclear why he left, but it’s notable because he was a huge force in making the game inclusive of LGBTQ characters. 

So all in all, not a great sign when employees who had a huge hand in creating the content and direction of a game that defined its success jump ship. Especially after the game was seemingly hitting its stride, with the host of Love Island (the TV show) doing a sponsored Let’s Play of S3 and projects in the works like Boat Party and CMM.

2. It seems like Fusebox‘s CEO/executives hired new management, either in 2020 or early 2021. Employees complain that the executives don’t understand what it takes to make a game and are pulling the studio in the wrong direction. It’s unclear if the newly hired execs had experience. 

Wil Stephens, the CEO/founder, has been with FB since its inception but also appears to have only founded game distribution ventures and not worked in any development or employment capacity. If that’s the case, maybe the complaints about lack of experience/knowledge about the mechanics of making games work are about him. If not, then some of the newly hired execs would likely be to blame. 

Paul Virapen, COO, was brought on in November of 2020. He’s worked with Disney’s gaming division, Big Pixel studios, Wooga. The quality of that experience is dubious since he headed up the ‘let’s make apps for Apple watches, it’ll be the next big thing’ department… Lol. Notably also, all of his roles had been in the executive/managerial realm, not the development teams, so the complains might have been about him. THIS IS SPECULATION, but I’m willing to bet that Virapen was a if not THE driving force in switching Fusebox’s focus entirely to matchmaker. All the studios he’s worked with have primarily produced and promoted Match 3 games, and he has a background working with big studios that produce games for large international audiences, not small studios making narrative games for limited audiences.

A new Manager of Finances, Ruth Erskine, was brought on in December of 2020

Rob Goddard, a new producer, was brought in January of 2021

Several key operations positions were filled by existing employees being promoted to management- 2 as far as I can tell. But as a whole it seems like December 2020 was a huge shift in leadership for the upper management while a lot of the other teams expanded but kept their old players as well.

3. At some point in late 2020- mid 2021, the executive team made the decision to switch LITG’s focus from a narrative pass-based game to a Match 3 incorporating romance narrative cut scenes. In early 2021, Fusebox teased more content to come while releasing S3 (seemingly referring to Matchmaker and not S4). In the interim between S3 endings and Boat Party’s release they put out an interview confirming the new game will be Match 3 but did seem to indicate that the plan at that time was for Matchmaker to be a side project with a different development team and not replace the main game. Notably, the LITG writers and artists were reassured that their roles will continue to exist (according to the independent article) as they’re working on S4.

3. In September of 2020, Matchmaker became briefly available in the US. That’s when I first downloaded it, at least. It would be added/removed from the google play store multiple times before having a unilateral release in July of 2021. 

Throughout 2020, Matchmaker is available to Asian audiences solely with LITG S1 getting rolled out in incremental updates. 

Eventually, Beanie Quinn is released (March 2021)

LA Noir is released (May 2021)

Seduction Games is released (late May or June 2021- I got the update and played it June 3rd, but hadn’t opened the app for a month or so. It might have come out before then, which is unfortunate for this timeline since it’s so inextricably linked to the open letter and layoff dates)

LITG S2 is released (only like 20 levels of it) the same month- June 19th for me. Notably, all of these stories are only released to an international audience, with the UK and USA still not having access to the app.

4. At the same time, Fusebox’s internal affairs are pretty quiet from 2020-2021, at least on social media. 

S3 comes out in 2020, Boat Party comes out later in the year and finishes in 2021. Post S3 in October of 2021, a survey goes out gauging player interest in new art styles and representation, which was pretty in keeping with past actions and seemed promising for S4. 

Boat Party features a promising cross promotion implementing irl brands into the game. It’s unclear if enough money was made from this on FB or the sponsor’s end to make that strategy viable, but that might’ve impacted management’s outlook for the profitability of LITG.  

Fusebox teases more content for the summer on Instagram, and then follows up and confirms it’ll be a proper season.

5. More key players leave in early 2021

Ed Sibley is still listed as Narrative Direction on LinkedIn, but he’s not credited as a writer on Season 4 (he was on 3,2,and 1) and started work with NetSpeak games in May of 2021, so we can assume he left around then or at least transitioned away from Fusebox then.

Fred Francis, another writer who had been on the team since S1, turns in his resignation ‘weeks’ before the layoffs were announced in late June. So we can assume he made his exit sometime early June or late May.

6. Prior to the release of Seduction games in May/June, staff expressed concern about the biphobia in Seduction Games. No sources have given a specific time when this took place. They were reassured that the problem would be corrected prior to release, but then the story was released as is to an international audience in June. The article released by the Independent is unclear- there might have been discussion prior to the open letter where staff expressed concerns and then were reassured before the game going live. OR the open letter might have been the first expression of concern by the staff. I tend to think the former, and the open letter was a response to Matchmaker going live with Seduction Games anyways, but I have no proof for that. On May 24th, 31 employees sent an open letter of concern regarding the problematic content in Matchmaker. This letter isn’t public, so we don’t know the scope of the employees' concerns or who the employees were.

7. To resolve the situation, a meeting between the staff and at least the COO (likely more than just him though) was held sometime after May 24th. Allegedly, Virapen was disrespectful to the employees who had questions, refused to answer, and ended the meeting early before any resolution was had by closing his laptop and leaving the room. At least 4 HR complaints were made in the wake of that meeting, we do not know the nature of those complaints. 

8. Some time mid-July (maybe July 26th? A writer tweeted about their job ending soon on that date), employees were made aware that the LITG app would move into ‘sunset mode’. It’s unclear what was communicated, but it seems as though S4 will be heavily delayed or cancelled altogether and no future seasons would be made. Writers begin to post about looking for work on Twitter

9. June 30th- The majority of Fusebox writing staff announce on twitter they’re out of work. In addition to the entire writing staff, unity engineers and producers are also let go.

10. July 5th - Fusebox executives respond to an article by MCVUK with a statement asserting they were “consulting with [their] employees on a proposed change to its business model” that would focus on producing Matchmaker content. They also expounded that the move was to secure “cash injections and and continued support from respected investors across the media and gaming industry”

11. July 6th- Fusebox announces that S4 will be delayed from the summer release date and that there is no fixed release date. 

12. August 2nd- three jobs are posted to Fusebox’s careers page on their website, one being Head of Narrative Content. In the job listing, it specifies that they’ll be maintaining existing properties as well as new ones, and that because of the co-development model (re:fusebox outsourcing Matchmaker to another studio) the new Narrative Lead must collaborate with external content creators.

Hopefully posting this timeline gives players a better understanding of how radically Fusebox has changed in the course of 2021 (and how royally they screwed over the people who made LITG what it is). Again, please let me know if you have receipts showing dates are different or things to add. 

[sour-n-salty-citrus]

Do you have any hopes for the season finale? I saw in another ask, you described the dynamic between rick and morty this season as "very weak, distant, and downright frankly boring" and I completely agree with you! I hope that, because this is most we'll see rick and morty interacting this season, it'll have at least a few moments of what makes their dynamic so interesting to watch.

(Ok i started airing my grievances with this season, which ended up being... long, so skip this paragraph (starting at / / /) to get to my thoughts on the finale)

Oh gosh I remember that ask (I think-). And yeah, maybe I'm being a bit overly critical. I'll probably look back on this season with retrospect, and a kinder, fonder view. Ik androgynousblackbox (think thats right) made a great point about it being the season FOR rickorty shippers. And sure, I agree on some bits, like Rick acting all pissy and partying the way you would if your ex got with someone new in the planetina ep. Overall though, i think my problem lies in that I was enjoying more individual moments than episodes themselves, especially the middle three. For example- Amortycan Grickfitti. Like, I really liked the idea of the Ship getting on a crazy adventure with Summer and Morty (and Chutback). I like the idea of a Beth-Jerry-Rick adventure. But put together, it's just kinda... meh? You know? I liked the first half of the Thanksgiving special... but it kinda dragged on after that. I get that they want to give other characters (particularly female ones) more attention, which is completely understandable and i encourage it(!) but I can't help but find it underwhelming. Like, Summer in the voltron ep was like- girl how are you STILL vying for Rick's attention! He's the worst! Haven't we done this already? (I will say though I ADORE how far Beth has come, props to her for continuing to seeing through her dad's BS. I was worried the character would relapse into a more typical s1/s2 Beth, and I'm glad she didn't). Some of these plots, funnily enough, seem more fitting of the comics (they actually had a voltron parody already). Fun and entertaining for two or three-something issues, not so much a 22 minute episode. i think most of my complaints come from the dynamic between our titular characters- ok, I know I'm very biased (I mean you can see it), but I came to the show primarily for their relationship. It doesn't even feel drama-fueled, just that they kinda... can't be arsed. I'm torn because on the one hand, they're unhealthily codependent and this separation is probably a good thing, but on the other... it doesn't feel natural? I'm not sure if that's the right word- it's like, season 4 had them practically joint at the hip, but all that's suddenly flung out the window. It just kinda feels like this "i got better things to do" vibe from both of them and its strange. The only time they both got a solo adventure (I'm classifying "solo" as an adventure where they spent a significantly large portion of time together, without the other family members) was in the sperm ep and Thanksgiving ep. And, well, in the Thanksgiving ep Morty felt like a side character in his own show, and the sperm ep... um. Yeah. I don't think it's AS bad as people were saying, but I was cringing the whole time (the second hand embarrassment for Morty was so strong I had to turn off the episode multiple times and return to it. It's just like- godammit MORTY). And I think there's good reason those two seemed to be the most disliked episodes overall. They're the ones RaM spend the most time together and it's... meh. Meh? Meh. I don't mean to say the season overall is bad (it has loads of good points, and its amazing for Smith family as a whole) just that if we're talking specifically about the dynamic between these two? Yeah, I wouldn't recommend a single episode from this season so far to use as an example of their relationship.

/ / /

There's one thing this season has been pretty good at, though. And it's showing us what happens when Rick is alone.

And that brings me to the finale.

"Who is Rick without Morty?"

Well... we already know the answer to that. Pathetic. Sad. Lonely.

This season has been phenomenal in humbling Rick. (And trust me I'm happy for it- every time someone beats the crap outta this shitty old man I'm like YES!!! IT'S WHAT HE DESERVES!). Ep 1 had his "nemesis" clearly besting him, ep 2 had Beth making constant digs (love her) and overall pointing out his extreme callousness and cruelty towards even himself(ves). Ep 3- when Morty shows interest in a girl and ditches him (like seriously it's not like he's moving out, chill) he immediately goes on a bender and develops a deep attachment to the first person he can (wearing yellow, funnily enough). Ep 4, he devotes himself to becoming an "honest man" for his new child, only for it to instantly be taken away from him. Ep 5 highlights how RICK is the asshole for making fun of and taking advantage of someone well-meaning and honest, if "simple", and how literally not cool that is. Ep 6 has his crazy rivalry with the president, and they both get smacked down a couple pegs for that. Ep 7 shows what happens when he allows himself to get carried away, and that he can end up driving everyone else away in the process (lucky they still wanted to save his ass when he needed them). And episode 8? Hooooo boy. Episode. 8. We see a direct parallel in Birdperson with Morty, and the whole "Rick and [insert] 100 years!" Rick has few people he cares about, arguably only one or two that he truly devotes himself to, but when he does, boy does he go HARD. We see younger Rick, optimistic, energetic, friendly and hopeful. And we see all of that crushed in minutes. Rick is desperate for a companion, someone to see the stars with. He needs someone there, someone he can trust and rely on to stay. Someone like Morty. So without Morty, who is Rick?

No one.

And the thing is, Morty doesn't need Rick anymore. Not like Rick needs him. In season 1, Morty was this bright-eyed kid who was new to the cosmos and the multiverse, who needed his grandpa there with him as they explored all these places together. But that's not him anymore. That's not them.

The promo has Morty using the portal gun to go somewhere w/o Rick's permission (i like to think it's boob world lol). It doesn't matter to me as much where he's going, as much as he's doing it alone. He doesn't just not need Rick there, he doesn't want him.

(Also correct me if im wrong but I've missed that sweet portal gun so much. I think the last ep was like- the first time this season we saw it).

Morty's response to Rick? "Replace me!". And wow. Wow. WOW. Morty doesn't give a FUCK! I think Rick thinks that because he's so smart, that he can offer so much, that Morty will come crawling back, and I don't think he will.

Hopes for the finale! Hmm. I mean, I definitely hope "evil" Morty makes a reappearance, haha. I think we all do tbh ;). I want to see some Morty development too, this season has been very Rick-centric (not that there's anything wrong with that!) so I wanna see what's in store for Our Boy. I really hope we get to see the Citadel again, and see the state it's in, but I doubt it. We know something super big is in store, it's just a question of what? Other hopes I have is some Summer + Beth action (please let them team up Im BEGGING) and Jerry too ahaha. I'd love if some other side characters made an appearance as well. Oh- I'm definitely expecting a dramatic cliffhanger at the end of the first half leading to the second half, with the kind of angsty music that leads into the credits (pls that shit is so good (OH WAIT imagine if it was like, for the damaged coda, but like- the chopin version or smth so it could be more subtle maybe bruhhhh)). Ok haha, maybe that's asking too much, the writers made it clear in the story train ep that they weren't gonna do that big dramatic showdown (... unless 👀). Oh, I'd also love some Premium Angst too, like someone getting kidnapped/nearly dying (like ACTUALLY nearly dying). These stakes better be so damn high I could spear a man on them! OH, also I remember androgynousblackbox (is that right? I hope it is) mentioned something along the lines that they could be driving Rick and Morty apart this season in order to have them come back together stronger than ever in an explosive finale, which, I'm strongly hoping for myself.

Thanks if you made it this far! If you have any thoughts on or hopes of your own for the finale please feel free to share! :D