#and that was a lovely scene in an otherwise very erratic episode

[pharawee]

I love you, Q. I love you too, Min.

—KIDNAP THE SERIES · Episode 08

[raine-kai]

Novel Wen Ziduan Has Issues

As you might know if you have seen anything I have posted here or written lately or talked about in the past month or so, I like Third Prince, or Wen Ziduan, from Love Like the Galaxy quite a lot.

What you might not know is that even though I liked him before I read the book, based on the drama alone, I like him even more that I read the book.

Let me be clear: novel Ziduan is a disaster.

For one thing, Yuan Shanjian's tendency to neg Shaoshang at every possible opportunity? That was Ziduan in the book. YSJ is a lot less directly offensive in his behavior toward Shaoshang, which makes him a lot more likable in the book. They still argue a lot, but he doesn't go out of his way to try to make her feel bad about herself. Meanwhlie, Ziduan only goes through one scene where he outright starts negging Shaoshang in the drama—and to be fair, this is episode 49 and he was having a really bad day that day, after having had a terrible day the day before as well—and she tells him off pretty well for it. He has a reason to talk to her that day, but otherwise he seems to mostly ignore her, or roll with whatever else is going on in the scene. Ziduan in the drama comes off as a foil of sorts to Shaoshang. They both care deeply for Huo Buyi, but while Ziduan has power in theory, he can do nothing to help Huo Buyi and is losing his mind (he behaves more erratically, more angrily and snappishly in that episode than we ever see him before or after) after the revenge. Shaoshang might not have power, but she has the keys to exonerating Huo Buyi, and she is exceedingly quiet and calm as she makes her case—both to Ziduan for her right to personhood, and to the court for Huo Buyi. By the end of this scene, we see Shaoshang share a warning with Ziduan, who bows to her and promises to bring Zisheng back, and make him apologize to her.

This is a far cry from the behavior of novel Ziduan, who takes every possible opportunity to point out how inferior Shaoshang is, especially relative to Zisheng.

He does eventually come to terms with the fact that Shaoshang and Zisheng are going to be together, in his own way... But not before being absolutely delighted to betroth Shaoshang to Yuan Shanjian, only to be deeply upset when Zisheng returns and wants her back. There's a whole scene where he demands to know why nobody told him that he would want her back, and rants about how poor of a match Shaoshang is for Zisheng, who deserves the best...even though he is just as dumb as she is, he admits toward the end.

I cannot articulate enough how much novel Ziduan comes across like a comphet gay boy trying to justify why he's mad that his best friend is dating someone by making it the girl's fault. Somehow.

I ship OT3 in the world of the drama, but I don't see how that could work in the novel world unless ZIduan does one hell of a lot of soulsearching.

The other day, I found the novel extras, and there was one for Ziduan, and OH BOY, I did not think this shit could get even funnier.

First off, this man is a misogynistic mess from the moment we get into his head. He says there are two kinds of women: virtuous and unvirtuous. And then he proceeds to list all the women in his life as various shades of unvirtuous. Empress Xuan? Very unvirtuous. His mother, Consort Yue? Extremely unvirtuous. His aunts and sisters? Never heard of the word virtue in their lives—except Second Sister, she's ok. (I have to assume this assessment is pre-time skip, because post time-skip Second Princess had apparently become less ladylike or something.) Xiao Yuanyi is also ok. Cheng Shaoshang is just the absolute worst.

So he sort of...has to approve of their betrothal (again) because it's what will make Huo Buyi happy and as we know, Ziduan really just wants Huo Buyi to be happy. (Although in this universe it's buried underneath so much negative vibes directed at Shaoshang that it can be easy to forget that.)

Shaoshang comes to talk to him, and she uses flattery over his dedication to justice over family (a love language between all 3 of them, I swear) to undercut his usual pattern of berating her. It works, until she's about to leave.

And then this happens:

The prince was very moved, and his tone could not help softening: "I am not afraid of being criticized by others, but only hope that the people of the world will live and work in peace and contentment, free from natural disasters and man-made disasters, so I will live up to the trust of the ancestors."

Originally, he wanted to scold the girl, but at this moment, the crown prince could not swear much, so he simply waved his hand: "Forget it, you can go back, take a good rest, and serve Zisheng carefully after marriage. Sigh, Over the years, Zisheng has really suffered a lot, you, you should treat him better."

Shaoshang agreed sincerely, and hurried out of the door. When she reached the courtyard, the prince suddenly called her to stop. Shaoshang looked back in a daze, and saw the prince raised his right hand, and then her shoulder hurt slightly, and when she looked down, it turned out to be a small stone. She was tongue-tied, and looked at the prince in disbelief—he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he actually threw stones at herself! The majestic crown prince actually threw stones at her!

The prince's brows and eyes are firm and resolute, and the perennial solemnity is swept away, as if he is ten years younger and suddenly returned to his naughty and troubled boyhood. He laughed heartily: "Okay, let's settle the matter now, you can go back and happily prepare for marriage!"

Shaoshang stamped her feet angrily, turned her head and left.

HE THREW A ROCK AT HER.

HE THREW A ROCK AT HER AND WAS HAPPY ABOUT IT.

And then after this scene, Ziduan's immediately thinking to himself about how he has to double their wedding gifts and hope they have a daughter he can marry to a son of his own.

THE AMOUNT OF DISASTER GAY ENERGY HERE IS STAGGERING.

Oh, about his wife--he does have a concubine. A cousin of his, selected by his uncle. He agreed to marry her because his uncle said so, and then the moment he stopped and thought about it, he realized how unvirtuous his wife is. She actually wants him to LIKE her, the gall of her!

Anyway, this man is a complete trainwreck and I adore it.

Mostly because the drama version exists as essentially a fix-it.

Speaking of which, who was it who decided to take Ziduan's "you-stole-the-man-I-am-not-aware-I'm-in-love-with-and-I'm-mad-about-it" energy and dropped it onto Yuan Shanjian, of all people? He's actually supposed to like Shaoshang... That might be the strangest adaptation decision, imo 😂😂😂

[musings-from-mars]

If RWBY were an edgy grimdark series

Or, a satirical RWBY rewrite,

Or, if HBO did RWBY

CW: major character death, bury your gays, Ta*rradonna or however you spell it, naught safe 4 werk if you squint, just…bad

The cities like Vale and Mistral are dilapidated, dark, and smoggy. Atlas stays the same and is essentially the only safe place on Remnant. Places like Patch and Argus don’t exist because the Grimm are just that bad.

Roman basically runs the show in Vale. Instead of being an endearing bastard (affectionate), he’s an erratic, overtly bigoted womanizer who kills his goons for fucking up a throwaway mission. He’s a store-brand Joker. Neo is also there and is eye candy and nothing else. Their relationship is quite creepy. Neither of them have a backstory.

Ruby’s personality is nonexistent. Gone is her love of weapons and books. Gone is her hopeful, cheery dorkiness. Her only motivation is to avenge her mother’s death, which is shown on screen in the opening scene (Salem is the one who kills her). Her family lives in a tiny shed in the middle of a crowded Vale city block.

Weiss remains racist towards the Faunus throughout and the narrative lowkey justifies it. She falls for Jaune by ep 3 and is part of a love triangle involving him and Pyrrha. She legit hates her teammates. A lot of lewd humor is made at her expense throughout.

Blake is constantly distrustful of her teammates solely because they’re human. She regrets leaving the White Fang but fears going back because Adam would be mad at her. Faunus are shown being assaulted and worse in the background of some scenes. Blake never does anything to stop it, she just looks sad sometimes.

Beacon students die left and right on missions. These deaths are usually glossed over; they’re just there to show how tough things are in Remnant.

Yang outright admits to liking Blake in like ep 4 (she’s the only textually queer character). Blake never acknowledges her. Yang dies in the Volume 1 finale to a Grimm attack, further motivating Ruby’s lust for revenge (even though their relationship has always been testy at best).

Jaune is an asshole. He is the strongest fighter on the heroes’ side. He is revealed to be the descendant of the King of Vale in like ep 2. He’s a mega-pessimist and is the de facto leader because he talks over everyone.

Ren and Nora are already a couple at the series’ start and are incredibly codependent. Their relationship is framed as absolutely perfect. They both die tragically in the same incident that kills Yang in the V1 finale. Jaune, who hasn’t paid much mind to them anyway, is enraged by their deaths and goes on a very badass rampage and single-handedly repels the Grimm attack while the others watch. He probably unlocks his semblance in the process, idk something OP. Pyrrha is a little scared but makes out with him when he’s done.

Pyrrha only survives to continue the love triangle thing with Weiss and Jaune. Despite still being a world-renowned tournament fighter she defaults to the damsel-in-distress role when Jaune is present. She wears boob armor, a leather bikini bottom, greaves and nothing else, yet is constantly shown to be lacking in self confidence. She has a pointless shower scene at some point, where Jaune walks in on her but doesn’t react because he’s too cool for that.

The first episode of Volume 2 features Weiss and Blake finally blowing up after all of the one-sided vitriol Weiss has thrown her way, despite Blake having never stood up for herself until now. They fight and Blake accidentally mortally wounds Weiss. Blake has to go into hiding. Weiss dies very sexily in Jaune’s arms (he’s not a healer here). He vows to track down Blake, and for some reason Ruby and Pyrrha go along to help. Jaune and Pyrrha become a thing in the very next ep (no one really mourns Weiss, there’s no time).

At some point Jaune yells at Ruby for thinking they could ever defeat Salem, basically asserting that she’s an idiot for believing otherwise. She’s so angered that she goes off on her own to prove him wrong. This is where Cinder is finally introduced as an agent of Salem’s. She kidnaps Ruby and takes her to Salem in the next ep. Cinder’s just really unhinged and there’s not much else to her. Her outfits are really skimpy and she’s one of those queer-coded villains.

Jaune and Pyrrha finally track down Blake, but before they can fight her, Adam and a squad of White Fang members descend and fight off Jaune and Pyrrha. Blake tearfully reunites with Adam and apologizes profusely for leaving, and she goes with him and the Fang. This is the last we see of Blake.

At this point the series won’t be renewed for a new season due to it not pulling in a rating (I wonder why?) so everything starts getting quick resolutions as the season nears its end. While Salem’s captive, Ruby somehow escapes with the help of Emerald (introduced along with Cinder, redemption arc speedrun!). Jaune and Pyrrha just so happen to show up at the same time. Ruby, Pyrrha and Jaune, but mostly Jaune, fight Salem. Cinder kills Pyrrha (wow some things never change) and Jaune immediately kills Cinder in a rage. Ruby at least gets the killing blow on Salem. Afterwards, Jaune and Ruby go their separate ways. Jaune’s heroism is known the world over and he leads an effort to rebuild the world now that the Grimm are gone, and Ruby goes home, at last at ease now that she’s had her revenge.

im sorry for this

[youwontlikethisblog]

Betty, My Betty! Part 2.5 (Hopefully the last one)

Alrighty, I think this will be my last post for tonight? This morning? But it is still in the same vine of Armando being possessive so he is the main subject of this breakdown but I will also be discussing Mario a lot here so this in an attempt to be the final post regarding this episode will be a lengthy one.

Again I accidently bought the bootleg version of the novela so some scenes and episodes are missing as well as the chapters aren't titled.

We are in the same episode of Armando reacting to Betty having a boyfriend.

Right now Betty is exiting her office, she just hung up the phone with Nicolas who warned her that they needed to pay a loan to the bank because their 24 or 27 days were up.

Mario is leaning over Armando's desk and Armando is leaning forward as they are both discussing and whispering (that part is so short you can't really pick at what they're talking about but you can imagine what it is. I'm assuming that while Mario was telling Armando not to question or judge Betty on her personal life that Betty was in her office on the phone with Nicolas and when Mario leaned forward to talk to Armando Betty was about to end her call so they are essentially talking about how to go about finding out who Betty's boyfriend is) something I cannot hear. As Betty fully exits her office Mario moves from being up front to in the back of the room by the doors that take us to the meeting room. He looks Betty down and up as if checking her out.

This small frame(I don't know if when they were whispering it was them arguing over Mario's proposal of the plan or if Mario hadn't proposed it yet and it was just them talking about how to find out who Nicolas is because again, since this bootleg version isn't the complete one some scenes are missing so I could be wrong about this one! but the episode I saw on NBC showed the exact same scene so I'm going by the first "(red)" in the paragraph above) allows us to depict Mario coming up or starting to scheme the plan.

We know Mario Calderon will screw anything that has legs, wears skirts, and breathes and consents that is(<-hopefully). Every woman who has had a seggsual relationship with him has said so. Marcela warned Paty about it before they got involved so I'm assuming that in this scene Mario is checking out Betty to see if it's possible for someone to really love(lust) her and if not than he needs to figure out a plan and a way to convince Armando to follow through said plan.

When you're writing a novel you write down the key points you want to make but as you imagine certain scenes you really delve into detail of characterization. You make sure that whatever happens in that scene that your characters behave as themselves. So you really spend time getting to know your characters. This is a general rule of thumb for any creative writer. The plus of being a novelist or writing literature is that you can really go deep into details and write scenes in really long poetic ways. I don't know how to write scripts but I've read some from TV shows I've watched and they are written differently than a novel. Scripts have more dialogue than poetic descriptions and they are usually blunt with what the writer wants from each character in that scene.

For example: (Take this with a grain of salt I don't know how to write scripts I am going off based on how I've read them)

Ana walks into the room. The camera focuses on her face. There's lighting outside and we see the lighting flash on her face.

Julian turns to see her. He is surprised to see her. He thought she was dead. He stands up slowly. The camera focuses on his face and then Ana's.

She smiles at him, tears forming in her eyes.

"Is that re-really you?" He stutters. He then walks slowly towards her.

In a script you write where the camera goes, where the actors move, the facial expressions, the mood of the room, and so forth. Yes directors do have a say on how they choreograph scenes and actors can add their own two cents but script writers have a pretty good idea of everything that is going on the scene and why it is. If in novel writing(that's not the correct term) we focus a lot on how the reader will imagine the scene and being able to correctly and artistically discribe it as well as how they will understand it because we are not focusing on visual cues like script writers but rather focused on using words to be able to paint a inner visual picture than in scripts the writer usually focuses on tone and movement. The same rule still stands though; show don't tell.

Why do I even bring this up?

This helps us understand that what is shown here isn't just an accident. We aren't being fed what we're told, we are being fed what we see. What we see is the final vision of the writer. Fernando Gaitan was the only one to write this novel and he wrote every detail with the intention of it to mean something.

I have no doubt that the actors added their own flavor as they are excellent actors and the reason why we were able to fall in love with these character. The directing is amazing as well. The scene cuts, the frames, and the choreo are amazing(tho some stills are funny and y'all know which ones) but the writing has a lot to do with it. If anyone is a script writer or knows what that's about correct me if I'm wrong!

I say this because what we are being told and shown is that Armando had feelings for Betty and not a crush like Betty did. He actually cared about her, as a friend. I know many don't agree with that because Armando was a crappy boss. We see them always interact as boss and employee but the reason why I continue to bring up the fact that he started to blur those lines is because we were being told and shown that.

Armando is mechanical. He is emotionless to the outsiders. As he once told Betty that she probably thinks he is a man of ice and later on in the future we see Betty daydream telling Marcela that she knows Armando acts like he's got a heart of stone but deep inside of him he needs a lot of love. However Armando isn't a man of iron and he tells that to Betty himself.

We are told this but what are we shown?

We are shown an erratic, often driven by emotion, and neutronic person. Now the people he has surrounded himself with aren't the most loving and welcoming people. They are pretty judgy and stuck up. So often the emotions he shows and knows how to distinguish well are anger, frustration, and most of all being erratic with the emotions mentioned above. These emotions drive him. The people around him think that he is a man of stone and that nothing moves him. However we then meet a woman who isn't like that at all or like any of the people he has surrounded himself with.

This person is kind, loving, respectful, and sweet to everyone. She loves her job, loves her friends, loves her family and secretly loves her boss. In a very poetic way Betty is color in an otherwise black and white world. She brings warmth to Armando and because they work so closely, how is he not supposed to be affected by this? How is he not supposed to be changed and moved by this?

He is an awe of her morals, of Betty's qualities and her general presence and though we aren't bluntly told this by the characters themselves we are shown this and it's not by accident and not by mistakes of post production.

Take a break if you need it.

It isn't an accident that we see Mario so much in these scenes just standing in the background taking it all in because he truly is the mastermind behind Betty's downfall. He truly mapped out and planned the way to seduce Betty and how to manipulate Armando and didn't even care if it hurt her or his best friend. What he cared about was that his best friend remained President because titles mean everything to him. As we saw in the past when Armando and him were arguing over the deal with the Panamanian fabric seller, while Armando focused on how it not only affected him and the major shareholders but everyone, Mario reminded him that he was also a minority shareholder, but a shareholder nonetheless. Armando's inner turmoil was that he was jeopardizing the livelihood of not only the company's shareholders, and his family but the entire company's employee roster while Mario was more focused on himself, telling him that he too had a lot to lose but not understanding what really weighted down Armando's shoulders.

Think about it, Mario in a sense is a leech. He gets the crumbs of women Armando doesn't want. If I'm not mistaken in the spinoff Eco Moda Mario himself says that women only ever showed interest in him because they wanted to get close to Armando. Mario lives off of the crumbs of Armando, not only with women but socially. Armando is one of the major shareholders of Eco Moda, he's attractive, charismatic, and an important figure in society and not only among the Fashion world like Mario is. Mario Calderon wasn't going to let his best friend lose the title of being President for anything because than it would be bad for him. It would be bad for his reputation to have been his close friend and accomplice to Armando while also being a part of a disastrous presidency term in the company.

Mario is charismatic, one could even say a lot more than Armando seeing as I myself even like him even when I know all of this about his character. I find him funny, charming, and at times endearing but of course that's when you look at him on a surface level.

Mario Calderon is despicable. He is downright selfish and egocentric down to the bone. He maps out this plan so easily because he knows his two victims well. He has seen Armando's disagreements with Marcela, he has witnessed first hand Armando's change towards Betty and silently observed Betty's interactions with Armando. He himself has thrown out his conclusions on Betty's actions by a simple snip bits of conversation that he's either been in the room to hear or heard from Armando himself.

Who better to make Betty fall in love than Armando? Because Betty has those feelings there and who better to do be the one to do this than Armando? Not only because those feelings are there but because Armando can stomach the job. The man who is confused about his feelings and behaving erratically and emotionally driven than Armando?

Because Armando proposes for Calderon to do it. At first Calderon is grossed out by the idea but Armando presents everything telling him he isn't the boss, that he has no morals and he was perfect for the job. Mario agrees with all of that, even asks for a bigger percentage of shareholding and Armando agrees. This gives us the understanding that Mario would be willing to seduce Betty.

I realize this contradicts my own personal opinion that Armando agreed to do this because it meant he was saving Betty from Nicolas but lets remember that Armando was afraid to face those feelings and he wasn't even aware that they were there. Here Armando and Mario weren't talking about love, as he thinks Betty is so in love with Nicolas that he is her eternal love and that Nicolas would take advantage of that and poison her against them, they are talking about seduction, meaning seggsual. Which I've said before Armando thinks lust is love and therefore that if he ain't wanting to jump they bones in that instant that it cain't be love therefore my mans thought he had no feelings for Betty(idk why bc we do get two scenes where he checks her out briefly (I am sure of this because it's the episode where Betty tripped and was limping and when Mario brought it up Armando asked if she didn't already walk like that, if he had been noticing her walk than he would have been aware of the limp but his eyesight went from the top of Betty's head all the way down. Do with that information what you'd like :)) and where he gets jealous when Charlie Zas kissed her cheek(someone once said that they were celos de jefe and excuse me ma'am jealousy is jealousy and a normal boss would not feel that. If my boss or manager ever did that I woulda done been fired in that instant))

Take a break if you need it.

Okay return back to this scene.

While Calderon does this mila second rundown of Betty, Armando and him share a stare. Either Armando wants the room to himself or is looking at him for a confidence boost. Then Mario nods and lets him know he'll leave them be.

Armando sticks to the script by not removing his trust from Betty. Instead he encourages her and congratulates her on doing things well.

In this scene while Betty has been entirely focused on the work at hand and being professional Mario was busy assessing the situation while Armando... is hard to read here. He is keeping himself composed rather than being emotionally driven or erratic or neurotic. In truth he is showing one of his best traits so far, composure. When he is sure of what he wants to happen Armando is really good at keep composure, feelings at bay, and controlling the situation. Something he later loses as he begins to get more lost and confused in his own feelings and understanding them.

Betty here is endearing, honestly I find Betty endearing at all times lol. She's super cute and such a good sport since her character is written to capture your heart, not by sympathy but by empathy. Again just like Armando how are we not supposed to be affected by such a sweet character? Constantly putting her feelings aside for Armando's, who hasn't done that? We empathize with her because at some point or another we've been her and ironically it's the exact same reason why we sympathize and empathize with Armando because at some point or another we've all been there where we let the worse get the best of us and we've learned to live with it and deal with it same as he.

As Betty starts to leave the office Armando calls her name, stands up in a slow but steady way showing us that he is the one in control in this situation. His tone is controlled but not enough where you don't hear that resent.

"Betty you didn't hadn't told me you've got a boyfriend"

Betty looks taken aback by this behavior of his. As she stares at him a bit shocked and rocks on her feet, seeming uncomfortable with this but also worried.

Armando proceeds to say "and that that boyfriend is Nicolas Mora, your friend from university. The one you've got in Terra Moda" Notice how now there is a waiver in his voice and he no longer is being as composed or in control of his emotions. As he for split seconds allows those emotions of jealousy and possessiveness to sweep through his tone of voice.

In this scene Armando isn't so much giving us body language as he is stiff, showing nervousness and discomfort himself, often we see this whenever Marcela is interrogating him but he is giving us tonality in voice.

Again the sequence as he names the list of what and who Nicolas is shows priority. First, Nicolas is Betty's boyfriend, that guy she's talked about who she went to university with, and she's got him working in Terra Moda. His priority: Betty has a boyfriend. He knows who said boyfriend is and he knows what he does.

Betty tells him that she doesn't have a boyfriend: "Ay ay no Doctor, eso no es cierto." Betty normally has a waiver her voice whenever she's nervous or scared so it's not unlike her to have it here, she smiles and chuckles nervously. In translation what she says is lost so by interpretation this is what she said "Hmm? No sir... um that's not true."

Armando's tone is now accusing her. He seems angered by Betty's "denial" as he tells her "It's not true? I heard it-" we then get a frame of Betty's reaction. She is truly concerned over this as we later find out at the end of the day that she was worried that it could cause Don Armando to build distrust towards her. Again we are shown that Betty is keeping it all professional whilst Armando isn't.

"I heard when Bertha told you, right in front of me. [Y'all] started gossiping, didn't notice I was there. You both forgot about me, no Betty?"* He is shaking as if agitated and he sports a cocky smile because he feels like he caught her in her own lie.

[*]This could be taken in a double sense. In his eyes Betty was so excited about hearing that her "eternal love" called her that she forgot he was in the room and in a figurative way, Betty forgot him.

Betty's understanding of his behavior is rational. He's upset that she withheld vital information from him after she told him she had nothing else to hide(when he interrogated her the previous night) and this is related to a professional work related situation.

Armando now sports similar traits to that of Marcela when she is looking for reasons to act out on her anger. Armando is agitated as stated before and while Betty goes to explain herself Armando grabs his glass of whisky, not taking his eyes off Betty and drinks(cantinero, otro whisky!(Now his behavior here is very interesting because as he grabs the glass to drink from it he takes in a deep breath. At first I interpreted this for anger but after seeing it a few times I realize it's panic. While at first he was composed and sure of what he was feeling which was anger, now he is faced with uncertainty from feelings he doesn't recognize and he doesn't know where this conversation is going to head or how he'll react or feel so he enters panic mode)). She tells him that it was something the cuartel came up with because she once mentioned Nicolas and since then they haven't gotten it out of their heads that he is her boyfriend "I don't have anything with him."

Then relief starts to wash over him as Betty's final words are reassuring him that she doesn't have a boyfriend. In this frame Armando no longer has a drink in hand and he doesn't seem as tense as before.

"Definite? We're sure of that?"

Betty chuckles and nods and his tone of voice returns to being soft spoken and calm, even hopeful as he tells her "Okay, okay it was only curiosity." (What kind of curiosity tho?;))

Betty leaves his office and has a slight smile and was on the brink of a daydream when Sofia interupts her from doing that.

I have this dumb theory where Aura Maria and Freddy are in some way a parallel of Betty and Armando except that Aura Maria takes on the role of Armando while Freddy takes on the role of Betty and if y'all want I'll write a post explaining this.

Take a break if you need it.

Skip a scene we've got Armando interacting with Freddy. Usually everyone pays the burnt of Armando's anger and in this scene he looks anything but angry. He actually humors Freddy which allows us to know that after that conversation with Betty, he has one less problem(you know the one that topped all the others). He then laughs at Freddy(I find it ironic that Freddy told him that what Jenny and him have is strictly professional at which Armando laughs and repeats the same thing. The reason I find it ironic is because we as an audience know that what J & F have is not strictly professional and the conversation Armando just had with Betty wasn't strictly profession. In other words, Fernando Gaitan has a good sense of humor) and tells him to show him his lil dancy dance and leaves to go to Mario's Office.

When he enters his office he informs him he spoke to Betty about that infamous boyfriend.

"What did she say?" Mario asks.

"Well no, that she doesn't have a boyfriend." his smiles and says happily. He the catches him up on the gossip.

While Armando is now showing an array of emotion and excitement Mario is poker face, fidgeting with his pen and studying Armando.

He tells him "You know what this means? That I'm a happy man!" he chuckles and looks around the room as if really taking in the news and letting the relief settle in. "What a relief, finally some good news today, ah" he says the final part as if he were an italian chef. This lets us know that Armando is truthfully relieved to find out that Betty, his Betty is single and that he is still her special man.

In the previous post I talked about how Armando went about listening his excuses to start drinking early that day and how he basically went going from his smallest problem to the biggest one as he says that the one that topped all of his other problems was Betty having a boyfriend.

See, all his other problems were a cause of stress and anger, emotions he is very familiar with so they don't disconcert him however, jealousy or fear of losing Betty, are new territory for him that alone freaked him out but the fact Betty had a boyfriend was enough to just push the boy just close enough to the edge he needed a drink so early in the morning because it was anguish.

Mario tells him he has never seen him so relieved and happy to find out a woman doesn't have a boyfriend to which we pan out to see Armando roll his eyes and slouch against the chair, annoyed at Mario's insinuation once again.

Mario reminds him of the last time he saw that same expression on him which was when he found out some woman was separated from her husband. Armando then tells him not to diminish the good news because it meant Betty hadn't ommited any information from him.

To really bring this post to the full potential of it being analytical let us break this down.

Why was it important for him that Betty not omit information from him? Especially relating to something so personal and intimate of Betty's life outside of the office? (Again the argument that this is only about Eco Moda and Terra Moda are disproven in the previous post).

[EDIT: Sometimes as I write I've got two ideas at the same time and forget to finish writing them. It wasn't only important for the reasons mentioned below but because he does in fact want to know more about Betty as he later tells Bertha the same thing].

Armando went through the five stages of grief.

Anger, denial, anger, denial, more denial, and then moving on.

He did not accept that Betty had a boyfriend therefore when she told him she didn't he fully believed her, didn't ask more questions.

For Armando Betty's character means a lot. I don't mean the individual personification of Betty as a fictional character in this novela I mean as in her inner self and what she represent. To him Betty represent stability, comfort, unconditionality, honesty, and most of all fidelity and loyalty and the last three qualities are what he is always naming. If she withheld something from him it would mean that Betty was no longer that. She no longer would be an object of reassurance and comfort but like everyone else she'd become an unpredictable and untrustworthy individual in his life. Some one more that he needed to keep at arm's length or pretend around.

Armando has gotten a taste of being around someone who doesn't judge him when he is himself and doesn't hold it over him when he makes mistakes based on his neurotic nature or anger issues. Instead he has been around someone who understand he's like that, someone who is patient and knows how to call him out on it and how to handle his erratic behavior so he has learned to let his guard down little by little and found a niche of comfort in his assistant but if she lied to him it would take all of that away. It would be betrayal in his eyes.

That's why it was so important to him that Betty didn't keep secret from him. Especially seeing as they were forming a friendship that was based on honesty and respect towards each other. This explains why that was important to him. It's important for him to have trust in her.

However we ain't kidding anyone because his reaction was possessive over Betty because Betty has given all of these things to Armando, who has never really received them without some fine print, and he doesn't want to share her with anyone else. This is possessiveness and it is not love or romantic. It is a toxic trait because not one person belongs to someone and Armando feels that Betty belongs to him. Be it romantically, platonically, or work related, a person is a human being and they do not belong as an object or property to anyone.

Armando is a very emotionally immature individual and this shows us that.

Mario then proceeds to be his classical self, which is to sow the seed of paranoia in his best friend as he starts to point out that her friends wouldn't be saying that if Betty hadn't given them a reason. His hands clasped in front of him show a position of power. Right now he is holding the cards and he is well aware of that.

Right as he see the reaction he wanted from Armando he leaves him to ferment so to speak in the paranoia he has left in him. Armando becomes nervous all over again and susceptible to it.

He is left with himself and he says "Y quien es el.." now if you're hispanic or latino you'll find the humor in how that scene ends as he starts to sing in a sorrowful tone a very romantic and a song that I'd say most listen to when dealing with a break up "y en que lugar se enamoro de ti?"

Which translate to "And what is he like? and in what place did he fall in love with you?"

I won't read too much into that as I'm sure it was written in for humor or added in for the humor effect as we've had some pretty heavy emotionally driven scenes in this episode but I do think it's an ironic placement of humor.

Now to bring the final scene that I will be discussing regarding Armando finding out about Betty's boyfriend we come full circle with Armando asking Bertha about it.

He acts charismatic, composed and professional to get Bertha to talk to him.

"The subject is the following: I've got a long time working with Betty and It's just until now that I find out she's got boyfriend. Do you know who he is?"

"Well like really know? No, because she's so reserved"

He then with a pierced mouth nods. Again those feelings are creeping back up. I get it. He's feeling paranoia, distrust, betrayed, hurt, offended, scared, jealous, possessive and angry but this proves what I mentioned about Armando having his guard up at all times because he doesn't show any of this to Bertha, at least not enough where she picks up but because we as an audience are given so much detail regarding his character, we can.

Quickly he asks her "And you don't know how long she's been dating him?" brings us full circle again. The same tone he had with Betty when he told her that he was in the same room as her when Bertha said that she had a boyfriend, minus the smirk and actual reaction of his, once again proves that Armando knows when to show his reaction and how to be in control and composed.

Bertha proceeds to tell him the "actual" story in which she tells him "dating dating? No, but he does have her eating from the palm of his hand because she's stupidly in love with him." and we hear Armando gasp and say "No." we then get a frame of his face which shows us... the opiset of happiness, joy, relief, tranquility, peace, serenity but with someone trying to be composed.

Bertha tells him that Mariana read her the cards and said that he was Betty's dream man and that he was going to change her life and she was going to change his life. I don't care for that but for the sake of this breakdown I'll mention it.

We know that Betty's dream man is Armando, not Nicolas. However everyone else thinks it's Nicolas. Armando's facial expression shows someone once again panicking.

He not only finds out that Betty has boyfriend, now it turns out she didn't just omit something from him but lied when he asked her and to top it off she so happens to be stupidly in love with him and on top of all of that he is Betty's dream man and to finish it off, he will change her life and she will change his life in the mildest of riches, meaning with Betty becoming the sole owner of Eco Moda and Terra Moda, making her rish rish $$$.

This is when it no longer is just about his mixed up feelings for Betty but now the entire livelihood of his family and everyone that works for Eco Moda.

Eco Moda is Armando's pride and joy. He does love that company which is why he started that scheme in the first place because he didn't want to lose it, let his father down, prove Daniel right, and throw away 30 plus year of his father's work and life time(Also as we're told because of his goals). The company means a great deal to him and in ways he's not aware of yet, so does Betty.

However someone is aware of this, not to the deep knowledge that Armando has regarding whatever he thinks he is feels towards Betty but they've got some sort of idea regarding this and they innact and come up with a plan to secure the company, the presidency, and his statues and reputation.

Step one: Tell Armando that he needs to make Betty fall in love with him to secure the company. Women in love will do anything for the one they love therefore if he beats Nicolas to the goal we secure the company. It worked with Paty(he's stupid so his logic doesn't work)

Step two: Convince Armando that he is the right candidate for the job. If that doesn't work, manipulate him with paranoia and make him fear Betty. If that doesn't work, tell him you were sure that Betty was in love with him before you found out about Nicolas.

Step three: Tell Armando I will be in charge of all the corny details because he will freak out and get way over his head and ruin the plan.

Step four: make fun of him.

Step five: Go on a trip and write a letter that explains the entire plan in detail and leave it on my desk without telling my secretary to not let anyone touch it or go near it except Armando so that she can go into my office, and I know how she likes to be nosy, and she can then think it's in the wrong office and give it to her assistant who takes care of all of his stuff, literally, and she finds it, reads it and does exactly what I was afraid of and made my best friend afraid of as well and that will then bring her downfall, his downfall, therefore the entire company's downfall.

Step six: never realize how stupid I am or take full accountability for it and apologize sincerely for all the wrong and harm I have caused.

Obviously I'm not saying Armando is innocent or that he didn't do anything wrong. He did. He allowed his best friend to manipulate him when he said he wouldn't listen to him again(the panama thing), he allowed his best friend to make fun of Betty and was a coward to admit his true feelings not only to himself but to his best friend. He was a willing(felt guilty for it but nonetheless willing) participant in the plan.

By now breaking down these past episodes and scenes allows us to understand where Armando was coming from so we can sympathize just a bit for him and his confusion and how he was so easily manipulated by Mario, however this doesn't mean he isn't guilty. At the start of it he too to some degree thought no one could love Betty, (yes we later find out that he did care for her as he tells Mario that he feels endearment for Betty and he looks relieved to find that out. I will be breaking down that scene when I get to it) because of her physicality (I already talked about this but when the time is right I will go into deep detail regarding this part of Armando's character).

It is eleven AM. I have been writing this post for the past seven hours and I am beat and tired. I hope this makes sense.

Once again, 'til next time.

HAHAHA OKAY I FORGOT TO ADD SOME COMMENTARY ON THE REST OF THIS SCENE.

[Edit:

Bertha proceeds to tease Armando about him liking gossip and being Nosey. He gets annoyed at her but in order to get the information he wants he stays composed and tells her that he just wants to know about Betty.

"It's not that[I like gossip], it's just that this is about someone who is really close to me everyday-who I work really close with- and truth be told I am a little curious about Betty's life. You know, one just imagine her a little ugly and with boyfriend...? You know? Why don't you tell me the whole thing?"

At first he is a being defensive while trying to justify the fact he is being nosey. His tone then changes to endearing as he tells her "truth be told I am a little curious about Betty's life." and his face goes along with the tone as he says "you know, one just imagines her a little ugly-" he catches himself and say "and with boyfriend...?"

Overall what we have learned here is that Armando is really good at dismissing his feelings on the spot, suppressing them, and running away from them(I too do that and it's a pain in the butt). He does this as a sport.

Bertha then tells him "The thing is that Betty doesn't like it much for you to know about her private life." and this again offends Armando as he straightens his face and stares at Bertha in shock and as Bertha says "How is it, Sir..." and he quickly sits down to listen to her. "that this morning when we left your office she pulled me aside and told me that she didn't want you to know about her intimate life?" he rubs his chin, eyes still on Bertha and whispers "Really?"

Armando knows that Bertha can't tell half a gossip so instead of asking her to keeping telling him, practically begging her to tell him the whole scoop he manipulates her by saying "If this is going to cause problems then don't tell me. Let's leave it as is, Bertha, thank you." his tone is somber to tug at her strings, how could she possibly leave this man curious over this juicy gossip? and how could she not tell the whole story? Especially because it's her boss?

Bertha chuckles and tells him that she, of course is going to tell him, that she is dying to tell him. Armando then tells her "Well then if this is between us two it doesn't leave the planet, go on, tell me how did it go?"

Armando starts to bit his nail as he listen to Bertha start from the beginning.

She tells him word for word what Mariana said about Betty's dream man. She's obviously describing Armando, but to everyone else that's Nicolas, so the impression or idea that Armando now has of Nicolas is that he isn't some loser or nerd or some nobody but he is an important man who is the type of man woman lust over. They will have an intense relationship that will be strong and that the man is fundamental for her life.

This describes a man that is both important and that will be for sure in Betty's life.

Now Bertha goes on to describe the man Betty told them about. He is desired by woman,tall, handsome, strong, isn't rich but has money, has a big car, and his name is Nicolas Mora. However Betty clearifies that she has nothing going on with him, that she just likes him and she feels a strong attraction to him but that nothing has happened between them.

Then Mariana tells her that something will happen because it will change both of their lives.

Take into account that though Betty's life in a personal aspect hasn't changed much in the professional aspect it has. She's got a respectable job, a boss who values her work ethic and her enough to hand over his company which means she's could be rich. She's abandon some of her morals to collaborate with her scheming boss and is doing things that aren't morally correct.

Armando's life has changed not only professionally but personally. For one he's begun to let his guard down and given more of himself to a woman he isn't in a relationship or knowingly attracted to, his relationship with Marcela is only getting worse and Betty is usually the center of their biggest fights, he has now built a friendship with said woman built on trust and respect, something he has never done with any other woman and of course professionally he has sunken his and his family's company into debt.

I'd say Armando's life is changing a lot and that's not even the peak of it. Betty's life is also changing a lot and they haven't even started dating.

Armando is aware of how Betty's life is changing on a work related level so he obviously believes everything Bertha is telling him because he knows things she doesn't know.

Impatiently and annoyed Armando tells Bertha to explain what she means by "it's going to change their lives." which again since he "knows" things Bertha doesn't, therefore Tweedledum has sowed the seed of paranoia and Tweedledee has given it the perfect terrain for it to flourish so Armando is now listening to Mario's voice that Betty could turn against them though the important thing to note here is that Armando isn't mistrusting of Betty instead he is really mistrusting of Nicolas, because again, who could really fall in love with "ugly" betty. Except that's a joke on it's own because the idiot was already having feelings for her.

They are interrupted by Guti Guti and this is where I will end this post.

Truthfully until next time. ]

[stillness-in-green]

Idk if anyone told you but the MVA OST leaked, with themes for both the League and the MLA. If you haven't listened to it yet, please do! And if you have, what are your thoughts? I think Mine Woman and RE-DESTRO slap for 2 characters that got shafted hard by canon so I appreciate them a lot.

I have listened to them, and I like several of them! I feel like I need to lead with that, because I'm about to add some criticism about my previous responses to BNHA's score for context, so it's important to know that I genuinely do enjoy quite a few of these.

So, I haven't listened to a lot of Yuki Hayashi's scores, but he's definitely done work I've liked! He composed the music for several of the more recent PreCure shows, including their movies; I particularly loved his finale for the 15th anniversary film, which prominently featured a truly delightful medley of every team's opening theme. I'm also very fond of some of his pieces for Kiznaiver and Welcome to the Ballroom.

His BNHA work, though, I feel like suffers from two main problems: the tracks are too short to work up a good head, and yet, despite that short length, they sometimes feel exhaustingly over the top. (Did Shigaraki's theme really need crying children to get across the point that he's bad news?) I've long felt that the BNHA anime wants me to feel like everything is way more Epic and Stirring and Dramatic than I actually find the material to be, so curiously, the music winds up having a distancing effect rather than drawing me in. This is frequently compounded by placement choices that feel so staggeringly poor that I'm often left wondering whether the staff chose the music out of a hat! (Seriously, why does a fairly rote test of character in Nighteye's office warrant doom choirs?)

As to the MVA tracks specifically, I wish there could have been tracks that sounded a bit more fun or heroic, given that the League in MVA really are the heroes for the arc, complete with Shigaraki suddenly having access to Shonen Nakama Tropes and getting all these little comedic reaction takes. It'd be nice if the music could cue in and let the League have some aural triumph without being all doom all the time ("Oh, no! The villains are winning!" Yes, they are; let them have this for one arc, would you?)

But that said, I do rather like most of these! There are some that I do suspect will fall prey to the This Is Too Much Drama, Would You Please Ratchet Back? problem, but there are also some that I can imagine playing better in the context of the show than they do in isolation, and some that feel like they could even be exactly what I was dreaming about, if they go where I hope they will. For some individual thoughts, see below:

The Mission of the Stealth Hawks: A reasonable enough little tense atmospheric piece. Doesn't jump out at me.

Different Ability Liberation Army: I always approach the MLA as styling themselves as an army, but in reality being more of a sect--far more cult than militia-- I appreciate that if they can't have a good dramatic march despite having Army, like, right there in the title, I'm glad I could get church bells instead. On the whole, though, this is a good example of the first problem I mentioned having with Hayashi's work for BNHA--his pieces tend to be pretty short, and it takes them so long to land on a melody that by the time they find one, there's hardly any time to develop it before the song ends. Even a lot of the hero pieces are like that, and the villain songs, even more so. That said, I do like the horror strings that creep in around the 1.25 mark, blossom at 1.45, and float on through 2.10. I just wish they went on longer. Admittedly, "erratic church bells and horror strings" is still not the choice I would have made for the MLA's main theme. I really would have preferred something with a more militant air; as it is, this sort of feels like it scores a creepy prologue that plays before the opening credits kick in and then the episode proper starts. Which isn't a bad description for the way the dinner scene played in the manga, but thanks to the anime's decision to reshuffle everything, I don't think that dinner scene's going to maintain that feeling of "prologue" when we finally get to it.

My Villain Academia: Better on the melodic front; I enjoy the drama at .43, the dancing tension at 1.05, and particularly the minor strings from 1.25 that just keep climbing until everything else drops out around 2.10. I do wish it found a better place to end rather than noodling on for a further thirty seconds, but the melody will get a more central, and more bombastic, treatment in the final track, so it's probably okay for it to trail off here. (It's also apparently a reprise of a villain theme from the very first season's OST, which is rad. More on that in the Track 11 blurb.)

Second Coming: This is a bizarre one because, while I complained that Hayashi's BNHA tracks are usually short, this one is a full six and a half minutes--except that it falls clearly into movements of about a minute each, with clear lulls in between. I wish it was twelve minutes and everything was twice as long! As it is, I'm highly doubtful that we're going to hear this one played in its entirety anywhere, since I can't imagine what scenes would require this specific sequence of musical passages at this length. 0.00 - 1.01: I love that the song kicks in comparatively quickly; the first minute's passage has a great, thrumming drive that very nearly hits major key towards the end. 1.02 - 1.53: The drive picks up pace in the second minute before the chorus arrives, and for once, I am very prepared to love a BNHA choir piece. I hope this is what plays when Deika's going up in ash. 1.54 - 3.01: I love the melodic line being carried by the intentionally hard to distinguish violin and whatever brass instrument the violin's trading off with in the third minute. It's bit out of place with the rest of the track, but I like it quite a bit on its own, and it does have a similar sound as some of the "dirty" brass in RE-DESTRO and Mine Woman. It's probably too long for RD's childhood flashback, but I wonder if it'll play for an MLA character somewhere? 3.02 - 4.07: The fourth minute has some very fun drums, but otherwise doesn't jump out at me as much of the rest of the track. I'm very curious to know when this will play, though. 4.08 - 5.32: The fifth minute, god bless, has some proper march drums--I like this passage a lot, particularly when it come back in the sixth minute accompanied by the choir. I like this because the key is minor but it's not "oooo scaaaary" minor; it's more dramatic, a bit tragic, but triumphant too--pretty much perfect for Re-Destro, Spinner and Machia's moment of revelation in the crater. I wish it were longer. 5.33 - 6.36: And here for the end we're back to the driving guitar and some fun low-thrum strings and percussive chain sounds. Like the fourth passage, it's fun, but jumps out at me less, particularly as the song's finale.

Gigantomachia: This is an extremely boss kaiju song. Seriously, that brass in the opening could come right out of a Toho flick. Extremely good walking calamity number, love that distorted synth stuff towards the end. It's going to sound great when (if) it plays over Machia leaving the villa, the hand rising up through the floor behind Toga, Momo and the other students surveying the desolation left in his wake, and so on. (I know that's all Season Six material, shhhh. I hope they use this piece there.)

Mine Woman: This is so fun. And so extremely superior that that awful Christmas insert song! I'm glad Curious got this at least, and I love the moment the beat drops at the one-minute mark, and that interwoven sax. So good. It's hard to imagine the fight between Toga and Curious being paced to this song, mind, but it's real good, anyway.

TOGA's Nature: This one showcases the other problem I have with Hayashi's BNHA work, especially his stuff for the villains: it feels very on the nose in a way that tips over into being Too Much. The birdsong, I think, is on the nose but in an effective, playful way, with the natural beauty of the birds undercut by the lovely but ominous piano/synth melody. I am considerably less kindly disposed to the creepy child laughter, which just feels on the nose in a thuddingly obvious way--though I do like the way it slides in when the birdsong fades. I like, too, the sort of cloudy roaring reprise of the melodic line that kicks in around the 1.10 mark. It feels like an effective echo of Toga--cute but creepy as a young girl, and then, after she snaps, creepy in the same way but now you can't ignore it.

Symbol of Fear: The beginning doesn't do much for me, but I enjoy the howl that gives way to the organs at 1.15; while it's too action-heavy to be Tenko, the transition does still put me in mind of Tenko wandering the streets, internally crying for anyone to help him, and the person who finally does is--well. I like that the organ nurtures that howl into something considerably more dire, though you still get a return to that guttural cry periodically. While it is, again, difficult to imagine this scoring the scenes between AFO and Tenko's first meeting and Tenko being formally named Tomura--it's much too bombastic--it does still feel like an excellent representation of AFO sculpting Tomura's formless, aimless rage into something that really could tear down the world.

I Don't Kill My Friends: It would have been really nice if they'd let the most significant, unadulterated personal triumph of the arc sound actually fun. Why does the Sad Man's Parade song sound so upset?? @aysall predicts that it'll play over Twice's confrontation with Hawks and death scene, and I can see it working extremely well there, but it's a pretty weird call for the Dead Man's Parade bit, if that is indeed what this is intended to evoke. Quibbling about the title aside, I do like the way this pulses and throbs, something like an exposed wound, which is not a bad description of poor Jin's mentality. I still hope this isn't what scores his breakthrough, though. As I said previously, the villains are the heroes for just this one arc, and it'd be nice if the score could reflect that at least a little.

RE-DESTRO: I like this one a lot. I love the interwoven layers of that dirty sax and the Big and Dramatic orchestral strings + brass, but both of them undercut with that regular, machine beeping that could almost be a heart monitor, but mostly isn't--right up until the long beep at 1.52/1.53. It feels like a strong illustration of the titular character's different personas--his attempts at casual, friendly villainy (like menacing Giran or chatting with Shigaraki on the phone), him when he's thundering full-volume about the weight of his legacy at people (THE BLOOD OF DESTRO FLOWS THROUGH THESE VEINS I AM RE-DESTRO), and, beneath it all, the constant little thread of stress that Rikiya can never escape (right up until Shigaraki). I probably wouldn't love it so much in isolation, but I'm easy to win over with the right character association. XD

Paranormal Liberation Front: Very fun grubby guitar intro. It also has much the clearest melodic throughline, which inclines me towards it. What inclines me to it even more is the knowledge (per @aysall again) that it's the same main melody as the track Villains Theme from the very first season's OST. That track already having used its allotted Doom Choir quotient, this track makes do with less synth and a lot more orchestra and chunky bass backing, which is much to its benefit, I feel. I do wish it had any of the MLA's theme in it, to represent the merger, but admittedly, it'd be hard to make that very audible when the MLA theme has…next to no central melody, percussive rhythm, etc. Still, as an evolution of the League to something bigger, classier, and far more dangerous, it's real good--just long enough to develop into itself and explore its central leitmotif. Probably my favorite track simply on its own merits.

Thanks for the ask, anon! I'd listened to the tracks once driving around for work, but sitting down with them properly gave me a greater appreciation for them, and now I'll definitely have an ear out for them when we get to this material in the anime…

….whenever that winds up being. *sob*

[raexxbb]

Critic of Cartoons (SPOILERS!)

KyI figured I would begin doing on here what I do in my life. Rate a cartoon 10 out of 0 (-10 being highest/best and zero being the worst of the worst nonsense-) while telling my thoughts as to why. The third one is older and full of adventure with tales beyond what’s expected. Now on Netflix:

9 -Avatar: the Last Airbender

This may get a bit long ‘cause I want to bring each character justice. I love this show so much. I only deducted one point for the smallest of reasons otherwise it probably would have gotten a ten.

There’s a strong love-hate relationship with this show. All of the characters are incredible in there own unique way. My only issue is with the fact that the ‘hero gets the girl’ and does so by being whiny. It’s such a cliche and literally the only reason this show has a nine. The romantic element has a strong scale to hold but this show does a poor job of holding it up. Aang is fine, and I love Katara just not them romantically. Aang’s crush on her right away just rubbed me weird. I guess, it’s fine to crush on a pretty girl but to push the crush so much until she feels the same way... Katara had multiple boyfriends along the show and didn’t show much interest in Aang other then as a friend. So, them romantically together I never saw it being as Aang also pushes the chemistry. That’s it, my only issue is there in that relationship. Alone every character is very well thought out and placed in such a particular situation it makes them each perfect.

This forced kiss is the most disgusting moment in the entire show. He pushes this on her right after she says she’s confused and doesn’t know her feelings towards anyone. He’s just being childish (yes, I register he’s twelve) but if you want an adult relationship this is the wrong way to go about it. I don’t see why Katara would ever consider moving into a romantic relationship after this. Pushy is such a red-flag for me. Maybe I’m the only one that feels this way but it just outright infuriates me. Just look at how uncomfortable she looks during this moment.

Another thing I’d like to bring to light is the fact that Aang maybe a bit sexiest. I state this lightly ‘cause of the play episode in the third season. The thought came to be while reviewing Korra. Katara fights against sexism and to empower women. However, Aang became overly insulted when a woman was acting as him in the Ember Island play. Toph loved the idea of a guy playing her, but Aang just couldn’t get over his part being played by a female cast member. It is rude. Yes, everyone knows he still isn’t a girl but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t doing a decent job representing him. The fact that Katara still enters into a relationship just makes me feel like she’s going against something she stood so strongly for. 

People may believe it’s because I favor Zuko and Katara but it isn’t that. Honestly, I’m no longer sure I like them as a couple anymore either. They have cute moments. There are just so many issues among all of the romantic relationships. Somehow, I found myself wishing it revolved more around friendship ‘cause the romance in this show wasn’t handled well at all.

The only reason I’d ever argue for Katara and Zuko to be a couple is because of the ending where he saves her life from Azula. I mean, yes, he put her in danger quite a few times but he was slowly redeeming himself throughout all of that. This wasn’t the only time he saved her and tried to give his life for hers. Throughout the third season of him trying to redeem himself, he tried the hardest with Katara because he had already betrayed her trust once. 

Although, I’m still not saying they would’ve been the best couple either. Let’s not forget: they’re young -teenagers and children. If someone has found their soulmate already, good for them. It’s just abnormal and I’m trying to look at these relationships with a bit of a more realistic thought process. 

There are a few times this show has been about friendship:

Toph was once worried about their friendships, however, one line from Roku gave her confidence and soothed her completely.

“Some friendships are so strong, they can even transcend lifetimes.” -Avatar Roku

Really love this quote from Roku~ 

Zuko’s redemption ark was beyond the best point in the show and had me balling the entire time, every time I’ve watched it gets my heart throbbing for this boy! What if his mother had taken him with her? His life would’ve been so different and probably a lot better! The scar would be gone. No father abuse for him! Of course, without him the Fire Nation would be even worse then it ever was.

“It was to teach you respect!” -Ozai

“It was cruel! And it was wrong!” -Zuko

“Then you’ve learned nothing!” -Ozai

“NO! I’ve learned everything! And, I’ve had to do it on my own.” -Zuko

That conversation with his father, where he finally stands up to such a horrible man was beyond astonishing. Especially seeing as it seemed like something Zuko would never do. 

Although, Iroh new all along that Zuko is great.

“Then would you come and take your rightful place on the throne?” -Zuko

“No. Someone new much take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko.” -Iroh

Uncle has always believed in his nephew. That he would be the one to take the Fire Nation and bring balance to the world. They’re the best relationship in this show once Zuko stops being so angry.

Of course, there’s also the Mai of it all. 

They’re occasionally good for each other. Their relationship is highly problematic. Mai is an awesome character alone, standing up to Azula when she’s terrified of her is great! However, Zuko and her argue nonstop and have an on-off dating history. It can be tiresome to watch. There just wasn’t any chemistry between them that I felt.

The only thing that I love about them is the prison scene. (Which could’ve been a friendship scene.)

Even when Zuko locks her away she chooses him. That is when I thought perhaps their relationship isn’t terrible. She still chooses him afterwards. Their behavior before is erratic and not that of a good relationship. Mai alone wouldn’t have been a trouble thing. Honestly, I relate to Mai as a gayer character then straight.

Although, that leads me to think about Azula, the girl of evil.

“My own mother, thought I was a monster...” -Azula

She’s only fourteen and she’s been raised by an abusive mad man. The entire background just makes me wish someone had tried to love her instead of shown her hatred. Her mother feared her, didn’t even say good-bye. Her brother had to fight her in order to save her from herself and father. 

The thing that made her truly snap was her friends (only ‘cause they fear her) betray her. The last people she had on her side! She just needed love as Zuko did. It would probably take her years to recover from the madness just as it took Zuko. She needs love and help. Who was going to give it to her after the third season? 

In the graphic novels, it’s revealed Zuko has her in a special insane asylum trying to give her the mental help she needs. But, she still seems tense and full of rage. It would’ve been nice to see further into that department of the Fire Nation.

These two are both extremely important. Their bond throughout the entire story is amazing. Him becoming his teacher was his true redemption, true honor came from that act. Of course, he learned so much from hunting Aang and trying to kill him as well.

Above all else, Uncle Iroh (-Zuko’s true father-) is definitely my favorite of all the characters. He’s just so warm and always does the right thing. He waited for Zuko when he went down the wrong path continuously knowing Zuko would realize his mistakes.

The White Lotus is one of the greatest things about this show.

“Don’t you know? All old people know each other?” -King Bumi

He’s just so hilarious and random. All of the great masters together in a secret society despite their nation’s differences is the most grandest thing.

Of course, another favorite is Appa.

The episode portraying animal abuse is heartwrenching. Him being taken from the ones that love and protect him only to be beaten and abused. This show goes beyond any other show in displaying all the different types of abuse in the world- emotional, physical... And it covers even more than this.

Another piece of me would’ve been interested in seeing if Aang had died and a water Avatar born to be the last Airbender. *Cough, cough* Maybe Katara? She is the most powerful bender in the show after all.

“I will never ever turn my back on people who need me!” -Katara

Perhaps instead of killing Aang off, just have them be wrong that he’s the Avatar and so whoever was actually got killed during the air temple raid. Causing the line to move on to water. Aang could’ve been trapped in an iceberg to be able to teach Katara air. Of course, that may not work if he weren’t able to waterbend and freeze a bubble around him. But, there’s definitely an air pocket in there. 

It is one of the most beautiful cartoons ever created. Besides the fact I never really enjoyed Aang as the main character. All of the others are just so much more interesting then him, in my opinion.

Toph is one of the many characters I didn’t discuss. That fact just is that Toph is beyond incredible. She is the character that is ahead of her time. She proves that being disabled doesn’t mean she a person that’ll stop trying.That’s all, her blindness doesn’t work against her. Instead it works for her giving her a stronger way to see the world.

I’ll be doing Avatar: Legend of Korra at a later time. Trying to make sure I go back and re-watch everything to properly review it.

I really wish they would go back and create a show called Avatars about all of the past lives. Maybe 2/3 episodes to display each of them. There are hundreds and I’m curious to know more about them. I’d love to see Kyoshi as a badass teenager.

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Walking Dead: The Tower (10x15)

It looks like the finale of The Walking Dead has been postponed because of COVID-19, so this is where we will be leaving these characters for a while. How does this episode hold up as a finale? Let's dive in!

Cons:

I think Daryl and Judith are adorable and I always like seeing them together, but their scenes in this particular episode didn't really work for me the way I think they were supposed to. Far too sentimental, if I'm being honest. It just felt like Daryl was making a declaration that "I'll never leave you... but I can't promise because we don't know what's going to happen," specifically so people can be scared he's going to die. Now, I don't think they'll kill Daryl off. I think he's one of the last things holding this show together, honestly. But that whole moment with Judith seemed designed specifically to tease the potential of him getting hurt or dying or disappearing soon. I hate that kind of plodding, heavy-handed foreshadowing. And Judith was a little bit too "kid on TV" for me this week, with her pathetic little voice saying she doesn't want Daryl to leave her like Michonne did.

Also... Negan telling Lydia that he tied her up to keep her safe is such malarkey. It makes no sense that Lydia was ever tied up in the first place; it was so clearly just done to fool the audience about Negan's loyalties.

Pros:

One thing I did kind of appreciate about Judith and Daryl was that moment when Judith admits that Michonne is going off to help some people that she met, but she doesn't mention Rick. It's interesting to me that she kept that information back, even as I was dying to know what Daryl's reaction to the news would have been.

I liked Kelly and Carol spending some time together. You'd expect Kelly to hate Carol for her role in Connie's very-probable death, but in fact, Kelly says she understands Carol. She knows that she's always been the person who needs to handle things in her own way. And she gets being in denial about the right thing to do. I also loved how Kelly talked about sign language. As she has started to lose her hearing, she's been scared about what that means - but her Deafness is actually her super-power, as everyone around her starts to learn some ASL to be able to communicate with her. That's such an incredible and empowering message, and now I'm really hoping that knowing sign language is going to be a key skill in a vital moment. Maybe the gang can pass messages to each other discreetly without alerting Beta and the others? We'll have to see!

Beta has completely lost it, and it is honestly kind of fascinating to see. He has taken control of the Whisperers, but he bristles at the implication that he's the new Alpha. He remains Beta, and woe be to anyone who says otherwise. As the episode ends, we see the hoard closing in on our gang of intrepid heroes, leaving us on one hell of a cliffhanger. I want to be annoyed about this, because Alpha's death didn't actually really change much in terms of the Whisperers being a threat... but also, I think Beta is going more for an all-or-nothing strategy, while Alpha might have taken her time and tried something a bit more nuanced and clever. Also, we weren't meant to be left with this cliffhanger for long, and I can't exactly blame the show runners for the real-life pandemic that has put a temporary halt to the fake one in The Walking Dead.

My favorite part of this episode was the story with Princess! At first, I kept wondering if we were going to find out somehow that Princess was the person who had been talking to Eugene, luring him here in need of companionship, but that's not the route we went here. Princess really is just a loner trying to survive in a crazy world. Her isolation has clearly started to affect her mind. When Yumiko, Ezekiel, and Eugene meet Princess, she seems erratic at best, insane at worst. She scares away their horses with gunfire, and seems not at all self-conscious about the creepy Walker tableaux she has set up through town.

But she also wants to help. So even as Eugene is anxious to move on and reach the rendezvous, they follow Princess in search of promised vehicles. She leads them into a mine field, apparently just an accidental detour, but at the end of the day her loneliness and despair really endear her to the gang, and Yumiko, the most suspicious and cold from the start, extends her an invitation to join them on their journey.

I love Princess. She is an instantly invigorating presence on the show. She's funny, she's erratic to the point where you can't ever feel quite safe with her, which adds an interesting element. I loved the parallel between Princess and Eugene, as well. He too has lied to people just to keep them around. That's how we met him on the show, when he was pretending to have government information so Abraham and Rosita would keep him safe.

I liked that this whole plot thread sort of felt like a wacky detour, but also introduced a new character, who could be quite interesting, either in the short-term or as a more permanent addition to the cast. I'm also desperately wishing I could see Eugene meet his radio friend now... I can't believe we have to wait to find out more!

So there you have it. This episode was obviously not intended as a finale when it was written and shot, but I think it works pretty well nevertheless. We'll see how long we have to wait before we see the conclusion, and Maggie's return!

8/10

[migleefulmoments]

"Because accusing a gay man of hitting on all the straight men is homophobic. Because Abby insinuated that the video is problematic" Did the anons say Ryan has hit on all the straight men? This is getting weird. I am sorry to see you keep misrepresenting what the original anon said - who mentioned only a "crush". I don't remember anyone here accusing Ryan of hitting on Darren. The anons weren't talking about Abby either, you brought her up regardless. But she uses everything to tinhat.

I’m done talking about this- if you want to say more then come off anon and have a conversation.  But they DID imply that Ryan was being predatory and inappropriate- I don’t remember what the first anon said but I have been responding to the tinhatters comments. 

Abby: Yes Anon, That was my take as well.

This got long so it’s under a cut

 followed immediately by:

justcantgetenoughcc

I have seen the recording of Ry/M touching Da/rren’s cheek before, and still find it creepy. It looks as if D turns his head to kiss R’s hand. What do you think?

Abby: I noticed that too. That Darren turned his head and blew him a kiss / or kissed his hand… to appease him, as he was interrupting the conversation with their guest of honor - Mayor Bloomberg. Possessive much? I found Harry Shum’s expression even more interesting as he notices what RM is doing.

There’s another picture that goes with this set… Where Heather is unceremoniously yanked out of the way, so that RM could stand next to Darren.

Look at Jane’s reaction to HOW RM is describing Chris here…

Chrisdare actually comes in with a reality check and pushes back against their nonsense.  Notice that she points out that they need to watch the entire video to see the truth.  

chrisdarebashfulsmiles No it’s not the right take and it’s easy too see if you see the entire clip: tightening the lips is not the same as kissing hands.

Now, i know i’m gonna sound rude but i’m mad and pissed off AF in D’s behalf (and as a person who try always to check before speaking) and it’s not something that happens a lot. I usually stay silent too but today this is too much for me. I don’t understand this need of spreading “lies” about him of on this kind of things. To prove that is ok to be mad at him for the bearding and thinking he’s always been disrespectful to C?? That maybe he did casting couch?

We have enough haters… he has more haters than we have… why there’s the need to invent stuff about him it’s beyond me. And now you all block me or whatever, i don’t care. I swear after 6 years here and all that this means… I DON’T CARE.

But for the love of God he has enough on his plate without this kind of stuff. Said that, i agree on RM being the creepiest and i hate him for how he treated C.

Abby comes back with a toned attitude and agrees with Chrisdare. She wasn’t reflagging this earlier in the week? No idea what that means but she can’t help but stir the shit. 

ajw720

I was actively not reblogging this gifs earlier in the week because it’s a reminder I don’t think d needs.

But he’s literally pushing his hand away with his face. As @chrisdarebashfulsmiles said, d as enough on his plate. Can we not add to it with falsehoods?

No one is arguing about RM. but for some reason d has decided to dance with the devil he knows. It must be his best option. And c is still there and supporting him so he’s clearly ok with the choice. Let’s not add to the substantial weight on their shoulders.

Rouged has the most outrageous comments-as usual- and Abby reblogged them without pushing back and in fact said “some good points”. Since she didn’t call out those she felt were untrue-I must assume she was fully supportive of the suggestions of impropriety on behalf of Ryan. This isn’t the only time Abby has sullied Ryan’s name. Rouged is only upset that Darren’s name is dragged through the mud.  

rougedraconteur

This has been around forever, and will never go away, will it?  I had asked that this not be reposted, for what I thought were obvious reasons, but people just can’t help dragging him through the mud.  So, let’s talk about this little piece of hell.  This was when they were filming the competition in New York.  D’s bit was supposed to be over, and he was only in that episode at the very end, which could have been filmed anywhere.  BUT, he had broken so big that he, and the Warblers, were given an album release and were also in NYC and on Today show premiering it. D was privately discussing with the producers where his character Blaine would go next.  Would he have his own show with the Warblers, a spinoff, or would he stay with Glee?  It was a huge decision, and very high-pressure.  C had already returned to Glee and New Directions, this was the big show.  But, starring in his own show, and giving all the other Warblers a bigger career, that was also tempting. I am sure he felt the pressure of that decision, and how his choice impacted others, he had formed a bond with the Warbler actors.  But being on the big show, a sure thing, and with C as his co-star, seeing him and working with him every day, well…

This was a “Welcome to NYC” photo op and news article by Mayor Bloomberg with some of the cast, and this was the moment D was shaking hands with Mayor Bloomberg, and speaking to him.  I happen to think D has some political aspirations as well, so he may have mentioned something when he met Bloomberg.  RM was probably high, he acts so erratically here, but he reaches out, with a camera and tons of photographers there, and pats him on the cheek, cups his cheek, actually, and pats it way too fondly, extremely inappropriate but what RM does a lot, and not just with D. (more about that later.). I don’t know why Br/ad Fal/chuk does not control him better, but they are both horrible people, as is Dan/te Di/Lor/eto, standing right behind RM, who no longer works with RM, Br/ad, and I/an. (Thank all the gods.  That’s one creep out of the way, two to go.)  D, in mid-speech with the mayor, and still shaking his hand, is shocked, and reaches up to angrily swat RM’s hand away.  Remember that D did not know all the other guys that much, he had mostly hung out with C and the Warblers, who would probably have been more protective of him, (I am sure C would have tried), and more interactive, but this is the rest of the world, including Bloomberg, the NYC press, AND New Directions seeing this predatory behavior roll out up close and personal, for the first time, out in the open, and blatant.  I mean, he just did not care what people thought at that point, he thought he was king of the world.

I don’t know why C and the rest of the girls besides Hea/ther were not here, but I know L and C had that big filming singing on the Wicked stage, and the scenes at Tiffany’s.  D supposedly was present in the audience at that filming.  Since he is not dressed in Warbler costume, for Today show, this may have been that day, I assume C and L filming in those outfits took most of one day.  The entire Glee production team, including Warblers and THEIR album rollout, were all there for a week of filming, and, at the height of their fame, had all practically shut NYC down with their various filming locations.  Fans were everywhere, and the city made a big deal of it.

Heather tries to stand in front of D, in the group photo, and is roughly jerked out of the way, (also caught on film, the guy must have been unable to stop rolling, it was just too bizarre), so that RM can cosy in to that tight space next to D and hold on.  In virtually every photo made with the two of them in a group, D ALWAYS is made to be very near RM, UNLESS RM is sober, has just been called out for being a creep, or is otherwise trying to behave and scrub his image, in which case D is not attached to him at the hip, but these are rare indeed.  Again, this was NYC, the height of Glee’s popularity, RM was drunk with power and fame, and probably also literally drunk, thinking he ruled the world and everyone in his domain, and D was making the second-most important decision of his life, behind the scenes. I don’t think many people ever consider the extreme pressure he was under, this was a career making moment, and RM and the other producers were all giving him the hard press.  At 23 years old.

The first important decision, knowing how RM was, was going all in to be on Glee.  And don’t tell me he didn’t know.  Every person in Hollywood knows the predators, and the pluses and perils of working with them.  If they are mature adults, and are not trapped or coerced or blackmailed or assaulted, (and they usually are, the power exchange is very imbalanced), what they do is their business, and I don’t judge.  If they gain something, that is an exchange, that is their power, their erotic capital, and they are allowed to own that and exchange it as a strength, if they choose.  The actors have assets, that propel their careers, and they are allowed to use them, as they see fit, if they give that consent in that moment, and get something they value in return.  That is an exchange of power, and happens so frequently in Hollywood (and Washington, and corporate America, and The entertainment and fashion industries as a whole), that most in those industries don’t think twice about it.  

So, Hollywood is one of those towns where lots of sex happens, because there are lots of beautiful people interacting with very rich and powerful people, and they all interact with each other.  Get real, and get over that part. D is not a saint, nor does he have to be for me to be his fan, I am not blind or stupid or naive, I get it. They are not like us, okay?  This is not our day to day lives.

 The bad part is when people are faced with almost constant sexual and physical and emotional harassment because of it.  And D is.  From many power sources. The same as many beautiful women  are, with all the talk about fleshlights and being rapey, which is the latest.  It is all lewd and suggestive, we have all sexualized D and C, and need to accept that complicated history we all have with them.  But especially it is true for D with RM, and Br/ad Fal/chuk, (and Da/nte Di/loreto, but I hope that one is over.) Theirs is oppressive, and manipulative, and controlling and threatening. And that is abuse.  

And if anyone has the film from C’s first Single Ladies dance rehearsal, in costume, for the Glee tour, you would see more blatant RM abuse.

 In fact,I would venture to say almost every member of that key cast was abused beyond their consent by the showrunner, other producers, writers, and directors. (Not all of them, but some of them, for sure.) It was only because that show made billions, with a B,  for F/ox, and even War/ren Buf/fet visited that set (weird, he sat by Ch/ord), that Fox execs looked the other way.  The fact that Da/na Wal/den, RM’s main enabler, is now at The Mouse House, just tells you how pervasive this culture truly is.  It’s hard to fight everyone, when all your heroes have feet of clay.  RM IS the devil he knows.  And he has a contract.  And he DID negotiate Executive Producer status.  But I think it is ironic, and more than a little sad and sick, that RM also gave it to the two new prettyboys on set, who have earned NOTHING like the shit D went through, after we all mentioned that it gave D power and control  that he had more than earned.  Can’t let D get too big for his britches, and think he is getting somewhere without us now, can we, RM and BF?  He OWES you.  Apparently, forever.

And can we stop reblogging that series of images now?  I think RM gets a sick satisfaction out of them even now, as all the shot starts yet again, tangling them together in intimate ways RM does not deserve, and I despise giving him anything.  What was done, is done.  What happened, happened.  What is happening, has its reasons.  It does not change that D is a huge talent, and deserving of his fans, nor that RM and BF are likely to bring him success.  They are still creeps, and horribly so, ones that deserve to be brought down, in my opinion.  i  And apparently would rather deal with, at this point, since everyone is watching, due to all the issues in the past, than ones he doesn’t, which no one expects.  The current movie is a perfect example.  This career is exactly like walking through a field of land mines for a living.  You never know when you are going to step on the next one.

ajw720. Will no reblog again, but some really good points.  

[lookwhatilost]

i finished my second watch of bojack s6 p1 and here’s a predictably massive post of some thoughts/observations abt it

spoilers under the cut obviously

the “fuck” of the season definitely came in a moment that i didn’t expect, but i rly liked how it was used. like, it was a callback to when gina dropped it in the last season –– something that traumatized her vs a reaction to her PTSD symptoms. a lot of people seem unhappy w it but i think it’s more powerful than people are giving it credit for being

the gatsby reference in e3 rly brought to mind that there are, like, a lot of gatsby tie-ins w this show and i never rly pasted them together mentally bc of the ubiquity of the “rich guy is utterly depressed and alone” trope. like, the imagery related to the pool, the shallow parties, the yellow car, the spacious but empty house, the billboards staring him down as he drives when he’s hallucinating in s5. charlotte/daisy being a weak parallel in that he had feelings for her when they were younger, held onto them for years, only for her to be married when they reconnect, but it’s worth mentioning that the glow stick balloons were green.

someone on reddit pointed out that jameson’s baby in e1 had physical traits associated w fetal alcohol syndrome. like, short, upturned nose, eyes that are far apart, and low ears. it’s hard to say if it’s intentional, but he’s drawn w a lot more detail than a lot of the other babies i’ve seen in the show. if it’s purposeful, like, that’s amazing attention to detail

i liked how the season opened on a planetarium flashback, because honestly, the immediate aftermath of sarah lynn’s death is definitely kind of glossed over in s3 when it initially happens. and though i suppose the added information isn’t terribly surprising (like him lying abt the events that lead up to her overdose and minimizing his own role in it as much as possible), it did make me wonder why i hadn’t thought abt it before

bojack rly does show signs of serious growth in the 6th season and it’s cool to finally see him move forward w/o simultaneously backsliding in other ways. a lot of his good actions in previous seasons were only rly things that benefitted him. and there are a lot of examples of it, but i think the one that stuck out to me the most was w his therapist. when he fell off the wagon, it’d have been rly easy for bojack to look the other direction and walk away like we’ve seen him do before. realistically, he has no real incentive to care for doctor champ’s wellbeing if he’s no longer staying at pastiches, but he checks him into rehab anyway, and when doctor champ throws his insecurities in his face to be hurtful, he immediately identifies it for the petty jab it is instead of letting it fuel his negative thoughts and using it as an excuse to dive into self-destructive behavior. honestly e6 was the emotional high water mark of part 1, even though it wasn’t the kind of gut punch that the dramatic, narrative focused episodes of bojack tend to be

i’m glad that the writers finally /did/ something w todd that made him feel like an actual character instead of jst a device for the comedy part of the show. i used to watch this show w a friend and we always used to say that todd had very little depth given the amount of screen time he occupies and seeing them move away from that was refreshing. his struggle w jorge is very relatable as someone whose parents have always pushed me towards things i didn’t sincerely want based on their expectations and desires for me vs my actual opinions of what success and happiness would look like for myself. but, on the other side of the coin, there’s finally a little bit of confrontation of the fact that todd’s erratic behavior and shenanigans are very taxing things for people who care abt him to deal w. and todd is rly the only character who’s somehow defied the show’s formula in that he never faces accountability for the things he does. like, he’s enabled PB’s impulsivity many times and drove him to bankruptcy, care of PB Livin’, and it’s a detail in the show that’s never truly been acknowledged or talked abt at all. he fucked PC over when he wouldn’t follow through w his sham marriage to courtney, and it was met w a cheesy speech from her abt how he needs to follow his heart and do what he thinks is right. it always struck me as a weird oversight, and to finally see someone take him to task for how taxing his behavior can be was refreshing. his only other “depth” was the asexual stuff and honestly? that is stupid and does not actually count for anything

if it didnt warm your heart when PC named her daughter ruthie then you dnt have one. i wasn’t as invested in her narrative as i’d have liked to be, but its good when PC is happy and that’s what everyone wants

IM SO GLAD JUDAH IS BACK. also i still hope he and PC end up together (and maybe she has a viable pregnancy this time w him a la sex and the city charlotte but that’s a little too cornball sappy for this show). generally rly enjoyed how characters from previous seasons were incorporated this time around. but i dnt want them to bring back vincent adultman jst to spite everyone who’s always saying “bring back vincent adultman”

pickles is still my least favorite character even tho the surprise wedding episode was probably the one i found the funniest. realistically i wanna see things work out for PB but his relationship w her is obviously not the move for him, and she’s also the worst

i like diane and guy together, they have rly good chemistry but i also have a bad feeling abt where things are headed w them. he seems ambivalent abt how principled she is and the scene where his son comes to the party and he makes her leave when he could have jst introduced her as a party guest if it even needed to happen at all... there was jst something off abt it. like you can definitely see the cracks in the foundation already and it’s disappointing

the scene btwn PB and bojack where bojack says to him “but i understand that feeling of needing to bottle up your guilt, not burden other people w it. you think you’re protecting them from your toxicity, you convince yourself that you’re being selfless, but it comes out in other ways and it infects everything” hit close to home bc it reminded me of someone i used to bond over this show w and like... whew

i rly love how the dominoes are being set up w the reporters (even tho their his girl friday shtick got old fast) bc the way things are culminating, the story getting out is liable to expose bojack for everything. if they approach penny and she talks to them abt what happened, she’s liable to tell them that bojack and sarah lynn went to ohio to find her in the time before sarah lynn overdosed, and the pictures that her classmates took of them could establish a time frame. he was in new mexico when he was supposed to be filming secretariat, and that knowledge could lead to them finding out that he’d been digitally replaced in the movie. when this information gets out, it’s very likely that gina will dogpile onto it w the truth abt what happened on the set of philbert, since trying to conceal her ptsd is actively hurting her acting career bc of the reputation she’s developing as a problem actress, and even though she dznt *want* to be “that girl that got choked by bojack horseman”, she won’t have a choice if she can’t get jobs otherwise. i guess there’s always a chance that penny and charlotte won’t talk to them, but now that hollyhock knows about what happened in new mexico, either way his personal life will be hurt by this. i’m not sure what’ll happen to him professionally, since there’s a recurring point the series has been making w famous people never being held fully culpable for their negative actions, and it’s a dicey thing for them to approach w a character that many viewers find sympathetic without ending on some myopic note abt cancel culture (whether intentionally or by popular interpretation) but im excited

i also hate how my obsessive watching and rewatching of this show meant that the intended pete repeat reveal (like, you’re not supposed to recognize him until his identity becomes obvious through the prom night story) was sort of compromised for me bc i recognized his voice and the second he introduced himself, i placed him IMMEDIATELY but it was still such a great scene. it’s the most tense i remember feeling when watching and an all around great cliffhanger

the final line of e7 comes off as some rly grim foreshadowing–– “it looks like you found solace in our show. stay if you’d like. in 30 minutes, we start over”. but it’s such an incredible line in context. my god, i fucking love this show, you guys

[sol1056]

if you promise peaches, deliver peaches.

After S7, the asks have been piling up. A few examples:

I was so confused in ep4 when Acxa disappeared, I thought she’d stuck with the team after ep3 and maybe I just missed the scene where she left, but others have brought that up, too.

Funny how the majority of the problems in s7 are because they tried to force BP Keith to the detriment of the story, and ironically, Keith's story, too.

I thought Lance’s family reunion would be much more emotional and be a part of his arc, since he was the most homesick, but then they gave that to Hunk?

Shiro got tossed aside in the most ableist, racist, and homophobic way, and Allura could have had a cool storyline mixing her paladinship and her castle storyline with a new altean mecha, instead of Shiro becoming a bad Allura 2.0 and Keith becoming a bad Shiro 2.0.

Srsly tho, am I the only one who finds it extremely bothering that in writing Allura and Lance they don't bother to show Allura coming to view Lance in a romantic light after her breakup?

Why even bother in S6 to make such a big deal of Shiro/Kuron saying his dream is to be a paladin over and over? Until he was revealed a clone some of us thought he was Shiro, so it's even harder to accept Shiro not being BP anymore.

The EPs seem to be so stuck in their initial idea and salty they couldn’t do it exactly as they want that they just ignore the story itself?

The EPs have spoken of being determined to get the VLD gig out of fear it’d be given to someone who'd wreck the story. That's understandable, but we're talking about a 78-episode, six-season, space opera mecha series. This genre practically demands a sprawling world and a massive cast, and it's far beyond the scope of anything either JDS or LM have ever helmed on their own. 

My guess is that JDS and LM didn’t realize the enormity of what they were taking on, or they (and their bosses) seriously underestimated the degree to which they were wholly unprepared.

Behind the cut: what I meant when I said these EPs are not storytellers.

I’m not surprised the EPs over-estimated their skill, really. People will look at a creative process like art –- where you often start young, practice daily, maybe study it formally, apprentice or intern (especially in animation), and gradually work your way up -- and they see the effort. They know it wasn’t an overnight thing. 

Too often, the very same people won’t accord that respect to the art of storytelling. It’s treated like divine inspiration, something that just happens. We’ve been hearing and reading and watching stories all our lives; how hard can it be to do it ourselves?

It’s goddamn hard, is what it is. I would love to tell you otherwise, but that’s the truth. You can rock your dialogue but you gotta track character goals, too. Complicated backstories only get you so far if you don’t understand how to modulate tension. You can have a great premise but you still gotta resolve the damn thing. A story has a hundred moving parts; scale up to a space opera’s necessary levels of epic and we’re talking exponentially more.

In my experience, the hardest part of storytelling — not the technical aspects of writing, but the art of storytelling — is holding the shape of the story in your head. The entire thing, all at once. You have to, if you’re to see how a choice at this point will echo down the line, or a motif laid here should reflect there, how the theme shifts but stays true from start to end, how these secondary arcs weave together to undergird the main arc.

I’d say a lot of what we learn in our first few novels is how to see — and hold —the story’s shape in our head. I’m not talking dialogue or voice acting or choreography. I’m talking about the overall shape, the vision and theme it establishes, evolves, and eventually resolves.

If we cannot, we will find our stories promise peaches and deliver pine cones.

Looking back, there are too many clues --- almost all given by the EPs themselves --- that they didn't have the experience to do this story justice. What they did have was a certainty that their vision was the best, an inability to deviate from that one story they'd devised, and a continual low-grade frustration at being held back.

Let's go back to the beginning. S1 starts a little rocky (to be expected as a team finds its groove), but S2 builds on S1 quite deftly. It’s not perfect, but in a storytelling sense, it’s the strongest season, and it's much too self-assured to be a beginner’s. It moves swiftly but steadily to a pivotal midpoint, and from there snowballs gracefully into its finale; it balances nuanced characterization with plot movement, and its opening promises bear fruit by the end.

In those earliest interviews and panels, the EPs are often casually vague about basic details, like character ages or relationships. At least twice their answers change, giving the impression they hadn't known and had needed to confirm with someone else. Generally, though, they're low-key and hopeful, possibly leaning on the borrowed confidence of that other storyteller’s influence.

By S3/S4, their tone shifts to a peculiar kind of non-ownership. They joke about having no idea what's going on, tossing out guesses as though they'd be the last to know. They offer head canons, rather than insight. They wear their frustration openly, alluding to the story they'd wanted, chafing at what had been decided for them.

As the story moved into the split-seasons, it's clear that whomever lent that guiding hand in S1/S2 was no longer present. Someone else’s fingerprints are on S3, and my guess is it’s mostly Hedrick, at least on the script-level. The word choices change, the cadences change, the beats change. From S3 on, VLD has all the hallmarks of a muddy vision. 

You can see that in the story’s shape. It holds together, but barely. It darts forward, then sideways, then treads water for a bit. It’s erratically paced, dropping plot points and introducing new ones, only to drop those as well. It can’t settle on a driving antagonist, and when it finally does, it can't keep the antagonist’s goal consistent. It sacrifices nuance for one-note characterization, and shoves most substantiative character growth off-screen.

This continues to S6, which generally continues the focus on plot coupons over character goals, exposition at the cost of emotional beats, and neglecting established characters to introduce left-field swerves in the guise of plot twists. On the plus side, it does manage to rally enough to end its multi-season prevarication, and put to bed questions hanging around since late S3.

It's worth noting that both EPs have only a single writing credit each, for the pilot three-parter. That makes it doubly striking that JDS chose to write the Black Paladins episode. After the season aired, JDS complained in passing about rewrites on his episode. If that seems odd, remember that an EP has final approval on every script. If it bothered him to have his ideas rejected in favor of keeping Shiro, it must've burned to have his writing choices countermanded.

From the timing and the episode credits, this must've been around when Tim Hedrick left the team --- and the EPs took full ownership. 

It shows in their post-S6 interviews. Gone are the ambiguous expressions or vague promises of doing their best. Their wording is declarative: what Kuron had been, what Shiro would be, the resolution of Shiro’s illness, the nature of Shiro’s past relationship. None is equivocated, nor couched as head canons. They’ve taken control of the narrative, and their interpretation is now the deciding one.

This change was important enough to them that they had to make sure we’re aware. There’s simply no other reason to tell us S7 had been written in its entirety, let alone tell us the original outcome. Nor is there any other reason to tell us they petitioned for — and got — permission to rewrite.

When I look at S7 with my writer’s hat on, everything tells me this is where the brakes came off. With Hedrick’s departure, there was no one left but the EPs themselves to steer the story. By whatever means, for whatever reason, VLD went from a crafted vision, to a conflicted one, to none at all.

Set aside the larger controversies for a moment, and just think about the shape of S7. It’s almost three seasons in one: the first part skips from event to event, then abruptly timeskips to reset the entire playing field. That second part in turn is divided from the last half by a two-parter that halts momentum for an overlong flashback with an entirely new cast, followed by a finale that mostly backseats its protagonists in favor of letting that new cast dominate.

There’s a common pattern in the way beginner writers react to critique, and I see that all over the EPs’s responses, from the beginning. It’s only grown worse since S6. They can’t quite juggle the story they think they’re telling versus the story they’re actually telling.

I’ve had these conversations too many times to count. I ask, how did this character get from here to there? The newbie storyteller is quick to explain, usually in great detail. I ask, but then why did this happen? The more I dig, the greater the chance the newbie will get angry that I don’t seem to be reading the story they’re so obviously telling. If I keep pushing, they’ll get defensive.

They’ll confidently assure me this is exactly the story they’d intended to tell, and if I don’t like it, that’s my problem. (They may not be able to hold the shape in their head, but they’ve probably already taken to heart the adage that one must stay true to one’s ‘artistic’ vision. The part about listening to critique even when it’s uncomfortable… that takes a bit longer to learn.)

My reaction almost always boils down to: you’re telling me this amazing story, but that’s not the story you’ve actually written.

Sometimes the best description of the shape of a newbie’s story is that of a house after a tornado’s swept through: the front door is on the chimney, the roof is half-off, and the windows are shattered in the front yard. Most of the pieces are there, but it’s all so jumbled the newbie storyteller can’t see what’s missing. They can’t hold the shape of the story in their head, so even when they know here’s where something goes, they’re too overwhelmed to remember the door they need is still on the chimney.

An epic story is no cakewalk, and boy do I give credit for that effort, but it’s one thing to learn by noodling in a fandom on AO3. It’s quite another to do it at the scale of a television series, let alone one with the expected scope of a space opera spanning galaxies. This is not the place to learn as you go.

Here’s why the shape of the story — and holding that in your head — is so important. 

Think of a story’s resolution like a fresh peach. You want the reader to bite into the peach as the culmination of everything the story has been, from start to end. But you don’t get a peach by planting pine trees. You must start with the proper seeds, and make sure what grows is a peach tree, such that your final act bears the right fruit.

I touched on this before with the promise of the premise. Themes, backstories, world-building, and motifs are facets of the seeds planted in the first act. Everything you need to resolve the story must be present when the story begins; that’s where your premise lies, and your promises are made. 

Through the entire second act, the tree must grow. The storyteller’s task is to trim as needed, bind this to that, shore up the roots, add water and nurture: this is where the theme expands, the foreshadowing laid, the questions reveal answers that lead to further questions, narrowing the outcome, each outlining the tree’s shape in sharper detail.

By the time the story turns the corner into the third act, the readers should be reasonably certain they’re going to get a peach tree. This is not a bad thing! You want them looking forward to plucking the peach and enjoying it. You want everything planted at story-beginning to come to fruition, at story-end.

That is why you must hold the shape — the vision — in your head, always checking against where you began and where you plan to end. You cannot throw out the entire tree at the end of the second act and start over; if you ignore the fruit your story is producing and insist on serving up pine cones, you’re going to have confused and possibly angry readers.

You promised them peaches, damn it.

The story is now midway through the third act. Everything planted in the previous seasons must now be coming to fruition… but it won’t. The EPs are openly (even proudly) reversing course on everything that’s come before. That means directly violating every motif, every thematic element, every bit of foreshadowing in word, image, or sound.

And at the same time, the story’s scope is simply too vast, and they haven’t the experience to juggle all the thousands of moving parts. The result is the most slapdash season, yet. Characters simply drop out of sight, only to reappear again with no warning. Themes and motifs built up over so many episodes are tossed aside as if they mean nothing.

The hand-to-hand fights are visually striking — the EPs’ strengths are in storyboarding, after all — but emotionally hollow, bereft of dialogue that could finally give us closure. Characters that would’ve once spoken openly with each other barely exchange a word; character-distinct dialogue is uttered by someone else, as though the VAs mixed up the scripts in the recording booth.

To achieve the emotional heft required for a meaningful resolution, there must be echoes of the story’s beginning. But when the beginning is negated—underscored by a timeskip that resets the entire playing field—there’s nothing to refer back to. The events now are happening in a void, divorced from the themes and motifs that created the emotional context in the first place.

This is by design; the EPs’ vision has never matched with the story as it was told to this point. They can’t go back, so they’ve rebooted. Once with the timeskip, and again with a two-parter episode that introduces new characters that can be entirely their own. Compared to the protagonists, these secondary characters have been lavished with attention to the point of overload: full names, backstories, designs. All of of that, and the time required to introduce them is to the detriment of the actual protagonists.

Whatever story VLD ostensibly set out to tell, that story is gone, now.

This is no longer a matter of losing track of the story, such that the promised peaches have transmuted into pine trees. We passed that point somewhere in S6. The EPs have burnt down the orchard to plant new seeds, while doing their best to ignore the charred stump of the story we'd been promised.

I would've preferred peaches, myself. That was the story I was promised, and that was the fruit I expected from everything I saw onscreen. But now? 

I hope you like carrots.

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 78: Log Date 7 15 2

"She still has a lot to learn about our planet.”

Cooldown episodes tend to be underrated, as they’re right next to big bombastic moments that merit such cooldowns. House Guest is bad for its own reasons, but episodes like Full Disclosure and Kindergarten Kid do an excellent job of just taking a moment to breathe and process. The Cluster Arc isn’t over quite yet, but the emotional high point certainly is, and I’m thrilled that it’s followed by Log Date 7 15 2.

This is a simple episode full of humor and heart, in a way that’s honestly difficult to write about, because the temptation is always “oh man it was so funny when ____ happened” in such comedy-centric outings. But this is still Steven Universe, so there’s still something deeper even in a wacky pseudo-clipshow like this. 

If we’re going to move forward with Peridot’s development, it’s nice to take one last look at how much she’s grown, which this episode does brilliantly. And if we’re honest about making Peridot a true member of the team, it’s necessary to address her fusionphobia.

This is Garnet’s Peridot Episode, and the culmination of her Season 2/3 arc (she’s the only Gem who gets to finish in Season 2!), in which she learns better ways to understand and to be understood. In Keeping It Together, she encounters the heinous perversion of fusion that creates the Cluster Gems, and in the Week of Sardonyx, she faces betrayal from her oldest living friend. In the former incident she nearly comes apart, and in the latter she does come apart, but after absorbing these events and sharing a more positive story of fusion with Steven in The Answer, she’s able to deal with Peridot’s toxic attitude with grace.

It’s an unusual arc, because despite resilience being a good thing, Garnet isn’t wrong to react the way she does in Keeping It Together and the Week of Sardonyx. She’s completely entitled to her pain, and to her expression of that pain. It takes a ton of strength to deal with a bigot with patience, but I very much doubt the crew’s message here is that having negative reactions to bigotry makes you weak. Not everyone can deal with the Peridots of the world the way Garnet does here, and frankly, if you’re the one being wronged because you are who who you are, it’s not your job to educate bullies on how to not be terrible.

Garnet’s ability to do this benefits from Log Date 7 15 2 airing at the end of her arc. We know from past episodes that her patience has limits: she gets fed up with Peridot in When It Rains and Too Far and It Could’ve Been Great, so this isn’t some unrealistic paragon of grace we’re talking about. You don’t have to like somebody to be patient with them, and showing that Garnet has never liked Peridot makes their newfound bond much more meaningful.

Moreover, we have a concrete reason for Garnet to change her approach to Peridot. This is the episode where Peridot inadvertently shares with Garnet what she already shared with Amethyst at the end of Too Far: that she wants to understand. There’s a different between a bigot determined to hate and a bigot who seeks to learn, and while the latter is no ray of sunshine, it’s certainly a better starting point for the conversation.

The scene where Garnet makes this discovery is remarkably subtle considering how broad its humor is. Peridot’s methodology to see whether humans can fly is childish and clumsy, but think about her point of view. Yes, it’s silly to think that an animal with a very different body than a winged insect could fly, but her only exposure to humans until now has been Steven, who has superhuman strength thanks to his Gem heritage. Otherwise, every other humanoid she’s ever met has been a full Gem, and peridots themselves are especially sturdy. So even if Greg is unlikely to fly, Peridot has no reason to think pushing him a relatively short distance might hurt him.

Garnet’s natural response is anger, but she takes Peridot’s “Well how was I supposed to know that?” to heart. From there, this could’ve been an episode where Garnet teaches Peridot the ways of Earth, but thankfully we eschew the preachiness this would involve and instead get a ridiculous comedy episode where Garnet pops in on Peridot’s antics with quiet affirmation.

Garnet’s suggestion to fuse works terrifically as the episode’s climax, ending with the episode’s strongest plot point: Garnet referring to herself as Percy and Pierre. It gives her seemingly random appearances in other clips meaning beyond comic relief, because it shows that she’s been paying close attention to Peridot and used her interests to better communicate. Garnet appreciates that Peridot is trying to understand her, and expresses this by making an effort to understand Peridot.

I really can’t emphasize enough how funny I find this episode, but I love how well the comedy is used to flesh out the characters. Peridot’s erratic emotional state at the beginning of the episode (culminating in Shelby Rabara’s jolly “No!”) is hilarious, but it does wonders to show how she feels about her harrowing rejection of Yellow Diamond. Florido’n’Zuke, as always, make the most of Peridot’s inner raccoon to give us great physical comedy, but it constantly reminds us how awkward and antsy our little gremlin still is. Her very first “Wow, thanks!” is a punchline, but it only takes two episodes for it to become a heartwarming acceptance of love.

Even the episode’s unusual format serves the comedy and the characters simultaneously. The zipping around in time allows for quick jokes that build on each other to create callback humor, but the conceit of Peridot’s recorder gives us the rare episode with a narrator (linking this episode with Steven Bomb opener The Answer). Care was clearly taken to make sure her commentary doesn’t tell at the expense of showing: we can see, for instance, that Peridot is bashful around Amethyst and patronizing to Pearl before her jokey narration confirms her analyses of them.

Log Date 7 15 2 is, above all else, a relief. Like Peace and Love on the Planet Earth, it’s refreshing to see sustained levity in a season full of stress, but unlike Peace and Love on the Planet Earth, this is an entire episode of that without another shoe dropping. Yes, we’re about to hit more drama as the third season begins, but this episode will hold us over nicely on the comedy front until the legendary Hit the Diamond knocks it out of the park.

Future Vision!

Where is Peridot gonna put the star? On her chest, as a badge of honor. And it’s awesome.

Garnet and Peridot’s positioning during their present-day conversation has some serious Mindful Education vibes.

I’ve never been to this…how do you say…school?

Okay wait how are Pearl and Amethyst and Opal all around at the same time? Is this a different opal, or are you telling me that the Floridoverse isn’t grounded in strict logic?

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

I really love this episode, and it’s pretty high up in terms of rewatch, but it’s not quite enough to crack the Top Fifteen. Still, it definitely would make the cut were it not for the glut of amazing episodes.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Winter Forecast

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

No Thanks!

     5. Horror Club      4. Fusion Cuisine      3. House Guest      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[densiland]

A Line in the Sand (9x23) and Ninguna Salida (9x24) - DensiLand: Analysis of all things Deeks & Kensi

A Line in the Sand (9x23) and Ninguna Salida (9x24) – The one(s)... where everything is broken

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a DensiLand Analysis returns!  (And thanks as always to ncislosangelesfan.com for all the screencaps!)

Even I can’t believe it’s been 4.5 seasons(!) since I wrote & posted one of these. It’s a testament to 1) how burnout I was from the incredibly long “The Frozen Lake” (5x10) effort and 2) how life can change. 

Before we jump into the episode, I want to express my gratitude to the entire cast, crew, etc. for creating these incredible episodes, episodes that have been sorely missed in regard to their quality, entertainment, storytelling, conflict, action, and so much more. It made me remember everything I loved about this show and characters.

So why these episodes & this post now? This all stems from our incredible @wikideeks team and our reviewer Karen. I was so excited to share my comments on these episodes on her review post. I found I couldn’t stop writing! It grew far beyond what was appropriate for a simply “comment” and I immediately felt that pull to write this post - almost exactly the same feeling that drove me to start this blog in the first place! Just know it’s not as chronological and detailed as my previous posts grew to be, as they had gotten out of control. (Plus, I wanted the most important stuff IMHO at the end!)

Preparing for the episodes - In seeing who was writing & directing these, I was excited! Then I thought, "Oh no, Military! What is he going to do to them this time?!" Like others said, where has THIS pair of episodes been all season?! THIS is the quality you get from people who have "institutional memory", who have been there from the start and can pull from the mountain of backstory. What an epic reminder of what this show has been and still can be. The rest of this I'll break into categories & characters.

HANDICAMS - Like someone else said, it was too erratic this time. Were they different cameras or the operators running? It was too jarring. Callen's pursuit with no music, which I'm sure was a purposeful choice, didn't just feel like NOT their show, but also not a professional network show at all. Weird.

(Simply because this photo should be posted.)

2 HOURS! - It was a glorious NCISLA movie that so many of us have longed for! Definitely worth it. Quality from top to bottom! 

MOSELEY -  Let’s just get this out of the way, as I don't want to spend much time on her. Initially, I expected they were pulling a "Granger" - hate him at first and then grow to love him. Nope. Not even an inkling. This character &/or actress (???) were consistently abhorrent. (It probably even made some of us apologize for the times we were angry with Hetty.) Not only does Moseley (thus Ms. Long) need to go based on all of this character's out of line words and actions, but I also hope it's done in a spectacular way. No slinking out silently to raise her kid. No, this is deserving of a public shaming from the entire team and epic firing by Hetty (in her most bad-ass fashion)! Deeks and the rest of the team deserve to be avenged. (Can you tell I’ve gotten pulled into the Marvel Universe since my last post?)

HIDOKO - As to not be forgotten, even though we didn’t “see” her Hidoko deserves mention. Good actress, interesting character. But it really depends on what TPTB might have in store for her if I’m invested in having her back. She's probably alive, but either way I'm ok. (But if she's dead did it have to be in such a graphic way?!)

ISSUE OF CHARACTER - I loved the continued thread of "character", as like Karen, I immediately had a flashback to Deeks & Sam's conversation over the chess game on the stakeout. Seriously, how do you question Callen's character? (Even Callen wonders this...)

SAM - They kept making such an issue of his continuous bleeding and I don't think it was just due to his slowing down/not keeping up with this case. It feels like there will be something more with this. It's no surprise he wanted to go after the kid, based on his own, and I like how he acknowledged the entire team was in this together. I'm curious why Moseley didn't snap at him the way she did Deeks.

FIRED - Yeh, that happened. (See the Surf Log over at wikiDeeks - tough to keep so short, thus this here!) I think we’ve all been waiting for a season or so for this too happen. Whether it was from Granger losing patience, LAPD pulling another stunt, or who knows what else, this had been foreshadowed for quite awhile However, the reason for this was outrageous, as there was no real basis other than Moseley pitching a hissy fit. (Reign it in Gayle!) Yet, like Deeks I was still utterly shocked. 

For a moment. For some reason knowing Hetty was still there gave me confidence and peace that the decision would be reversed. Eventually. (And yes, a rascal indeed!)

Also, I don’t get why no one else on the team defended Deeks. That was disappointing. This was a very different reaction than when Callen turned in his badge. 

Can we also appreciate this Tyra Banks-like “Smeyes” (pronounced Smize) from Deeks/ECO? Knowing he can testify against her (& with Kensi as a witness) is all we need as faith that he’ll be back. 

BROKEN TEAM/PLANE SCENE - Skipping ahead, (don’t worry I’ll come back to “The Garage”) I actually loved the plane scene, of seeing them all at odds with each other as 1) it's something that rarely happens, especially at the same time and 2) creates the intrigue of how they come back together. 

(Thoughts about Silent Kensi are ahead!)

(Who else shouted & did a fist pump when they saw Deeks emerging from the car? What? Oh that was just me? I bet if you’re reading this you did too!)

Yet, based on what had happened, sadly there was no way this was a happy reunion. If anything, it just ramped up. The tension in that fuselage was combustible! 

Call me a “raging optimist” (like my BFF does about me with my honors students, even though that’s the opposite from my natural default), as it applies here. Even when I see it with my own eyes faith springs eternal when considering Densi. They’ve invested too much for too long for it to be otherwise.

This single utterance, “I’m still your partner. At least one last time.” Ouch! A punch right in the feels! The bittersweetness of this possibly being their last mission together.... NO. Absolutely not. I am not having it! So let’s unpackage this:

His words might initially just sound like carrying out his responsibility (even though he’s technically fired) of being Kensi’s partner, of “having her back”. It’s so much more. I know you Deeks; I’ve got your number! It’s simply be a pained cover for his unwillingness to leave Kensi.

He used the word “partner”. We all know how much that term actually carries, and it’s far beyond their work pairing, even if that was the jab he was taking. The other word holding a lot of weight here is “last”. Is this Deeks drawing a line in the sand (stay with me) specifically to get Kensi to see how serious he is and to force her to consider “their” finality? If so, this is a risky move in knowing how Kensi can’t be forced into anything. 

Speaking of...

THE GARAGE SCENE

DENSI - That scene. Those actors. This is the brilliance that brought me (& probably you!) to them. I know so many people are just longing for the "happily ever after". In the long run yes. Yet if you know anything about me (from this blog), I'm a fan of the long-run, the journey, of overcoming obstacles. I've become accustomed to having the minority viewpoint on this. 

Some comment they thought Densi was already past this topic. While yes, it's been a regular subject, I don't recall (like Deeks) there being any firm conclusion. Perhaps people aligned the engagement with agreement regarding kids and “getting out”, when that's clearly not the case. What they showed us were each of them being at absolute odds/opposite ends of a spectrum with each other. When in order for them to be together is a compromised (not like Kensi referred) negotiated middle ground. A happy medium if you will. I understand having kids does tend to be an absolute; however, the when, where, how, etc. are fluid. 

DEEKS - Dear Lord, when Deeks uttered, "I don't think we should be getting married." - the tormented look on ECO's face CRUSHED me. (BRILLIANT & BRAVO!) Deeks has only recently made firm moves & plans to get out. (Kensi has never been one to make personal choices quickly.) The events earlier in this case and season have seemed to only escalate this. To me, it feels like anxiety & fear are pushing Deeks to get them out "before it's too late". (Although the “knocked up” comment was wrong in so many ways.) 

He’s now become desperate & pleeding. ECO gives us a Deeks who is coming undone, even beyond his post-torture recovery - & it’s beautifully vulnerable. 

This may feel smothering to Kensi who isn't YET there. (He's always been ahead of her with their 'ship.) As always he was willing to work through it before he’s pulled away. Still, he gives us hope: HE GETS TO THE PLANE. He gets to her. 

KENSI - Yes, I left her for last, because again if you know anything about me, Kensi's my girl, a character I can relate to in too many ways. So here's my defense of Kensi. 

First, it's too easy to project onto her in the garage as she says very little in the middle of the discussion. Silence it tough to interpret accurately without infusing your own beliefs. Second, that silent characteristic is pure Kensi. She withdrew, just as she has so many times before. Here, huge kudos to DR, as she isn’t able to rely on words, but instead must carefully express non-verbally to convey Kensi’s thoughts & feelings. 

Some might be angry that Kensi hasn't "evolved" past this, but in unexpected situations we naturally gravitate back to what we know, what is customary to us. Kensi simply reverted to her natural default. She was struggling to handle everything Deeks was putting on her in that moment and I believe was working to try to get a grasp on the warring thoughts racing through her mind. 

Third, someone else commented that maybe she has for some reason learned she can't have kids. Intriguing, but a stretch in my mind. As if this was true I'd suspect she'd feel driven to tell Deeks. Why? Out of fear he would leave her and she had to know, had to get it over with. I prefer to read this as fear that maybe she won't get pregnant; that this would make her feel like a failure to herself and Deeks. She (&/or he) would feel so ashamed then THAT will make them fall apart. She's trying to get in front of a potential future situation that might not even be reality - at least as far as we factually know at this point.

She's silently screaming, as her very worst fear is coming true: She believes he's leaving her. While Deeks' initial words might lead to that thought, that's not really what he's saying. (And he says that!) He needs (they both do) to work through this topic before they get married. 

Kensi's turning to go back to the job, yelling at him about her job, of who she is, is "just" her reverting back to what is known, solid, and safe - her job. Her job that won't change. Her job that won't betray her. The one thing that's always been there for her to escape to. Something that makes her feel proud, satisfied, and fulfilled. A job that very rarely puts personal, feeling demands on her.

Finally, let's not forget in the field she screams at him, "We stay together." While it might have been in the heat of the mission, those words extend far beyond their professional partnership - just as Deeks’ final lines in the plane. This is the fight in Kensi, the grit of doing whatever is necessary, even if it's painful to get to resolution. (Think of how much time & effort she put into tracking down her father's killer.) And just as Deeks got to her in the plane, she didn’t get on the chopper; she stayed with Deeks.

Yes, she’s angry. But is she really angry at Deeks? Maybe on the surface. But it’s just as likely she’s frustrated with herself of not being able to find a way to get out/to see beyond this job, of not having worked this out solidly with Deeks before this point, of having walked away from him earlier. We know an angry, fighting Kensi isn’t going to let anything get in her way; the struggle is perhaps her biggest obstacle is herself. Yet she’s able to break out, even if it’s verbal lashing demanding that she & Deeks stay together on the ground. This shows us she's not willing to really walk away or lose Deeks. 

For all the times their ‘ship has “appeared” more one-sided, of Deeks being the one chasing after Kensi, here we get the opposite. (We’ve seen it before, but more quietly & casually, like when she was trying to see him after the torture, when he was in jail, even when he’d been shot & in the hospital.) Her single line is all the hope I needed. (Hope from Kensi Blye, who woulda thunk?!)

ONE LINGERING ASPECT - There's one thing I am struggling to come to terms with. Kensi has seen Deeks having been tortured, of temporarily walking away from the job once. We know he somewhat came back to NCIS because of her, but did she think it would be that simple? That all of these near-misses would have no impact on him? (Remember Nate said the trauma is physically & psychologically cumulative.) That he's made of the same steel that she is? That he would simply bounce back (again)? She lives like she's bulletproof even though she's already been proved otherwise (coma). If it could happen to her, wouldn't the same hold true for Deeks? Does this not also scare her? 

Seems strange, especially for a daughter who lost her own father at a pretty early age. How has she not considered that for her own future and that of a potential child/children? As someone who experienced this loss myself, I personally would work to avoid that at all costs. 

CLIFFHANGER - I actually like this, not knowing what's going to happen. Of course that's maybe because this show has trained me to expect a positive outcome (eventually). There are so many potential permutations and combinations of outcomes to consider and keep us invested over the summer - something that's been sorely lacking the past couple of years. So I say, "BRAVO!" 

Finally, as fate would have it, today my daily lunchtime Dove Dark Chocolate wrapper contained, "Keep them guessing." As Deeks would reply, "Done."

-------------------------------- P.S. As for all the swirling rumors of ECO leaving fully or partially, until he says, who truly knows. While I personally subscribe to an “all in or all out” mentality, the man has to live his life. Yes, he has a family to support (which is easier with a full-time gig), but it also has to be a life well-lived. We all have dreams and aspirations, work to avoid stress and boredom - celebrities included. For him to go into a recurring role, would be disappointing and lessen both the show and Densi. I would never be happy for us to lose Deeks. (The only support I’ll put here is for DR & Kensi; she was here before Deeks and is a complex and compelling independent character in her own right. She doesn’t need Deeks or any other man to be a significant individual character.) ECO & Deeks leaving completely would be devastating, something I personally refuse to consider.

[miasswier]

miasswier’s ultimate glee ranking: no 60

60: Bash

Written by: Ian Brennan Directed by: Bradley Buecker

Overall Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about this episode. I like it, don’t get me wrong, otherwise it wouldn’t be so high on the list, but it also feels odd. The pacing is weird, and a lot of focus goes to the wrong issues. Almost all the music is slower, so the whole episode has a lowkey feel that always weirds me out a bit. I don’t know. I’ll try and untangle my mixed emotions throughout this review.

What I Like:

I will talk about this in the negative section too, but I do like that Samcedes is the A plot and that they actually dealt with the fact that they are an interracial couple, and one that will soon be in the spotlight. As you will see in the negative aspect, they didn’t go into it as much as I would have liked, but they did touch on it, and they did focus an entire episode on that aspect of their relationship. I appreciate that.

When Sam throws quarters at that woman who’s like “you can’t just throw things in the river”

That they dealt with gay bashing, and particularly that they dealt with it happening in New York, which is seen as a “gay utopia” of sorts.

I also really appreciated that they gave this story to Kurt instead of Blaine. It feels more in line with his journey, and plus, knowing Blaine had been gay bashed twice would just be a bit too much for me.

Watching this episode now, you can see how deeply Finn’s death is affecting Rachel. It’s not explicit, but  you can tell that so much of what she’s doing – the show and NYADA and the diner – is to lose herself in her work and her success. These last few episodes especially, Rachel begins behaving more and more erratically, which we know will ultimately culminate in her leaving her show to be on a terrible TV show. Now, to be fair, I could be giving the writers way too much credit, and this could just be a downward spiral that they decided to throw Rachel down for no reason other than The Drama, but I like to think that it’s all related to Finn’s death, and her coping mechanisms. Plus, it’s got to be hard to see your roommate engaged to his high school sweetheart, you ex get together with his high school sweetheart, and then your other best friend get back together with her high school sweetheart, all the while you know you will never be able to rekindle your relationship with your high school sweetheart. I feel for Rachel, here. More than I did the first time I watched this episode. I really do.

The scene with everyone in the hospital.

I also really appreciate that they decided to have Blaine sing “Not While I’m Around” as a solo instead of making it a group number. It was more intimate, and honestly, more effective. The moment when he climbs into the bed with Kurt and curls into him always makes me tear up. It almost feels too intimate to be witnessing.

The scene with Kurt and Burt, and how Burt sticks around and watches Kurt’s performance! Oh, I missed Burt.

What I Don’t Like:

The pacing in this episode is a BIG issue for me. We have three stories happening: Sam and Mercedes, Rachel and NYADA, and Kurt and the gay bashing. Sam and Mercedes’s story takes up at least 50% of the episode, leaving very little for anything else. And while I think it was an important story to tell, the gay bashing story was important too, and yet it got about 25% of the episode instead of the 33% it should have gotten. Even Rachel and NYADA feels like it got shunted a bit, and again, I think that the Sam and Mercedes story was important to tell, but it makes for a very strange feeling episode. Also, there are literally six main characters being focused on on the show right now, and yet Artie had zippo to do. He’s in like four scenes. What the hell?

I also have mixed feelings about the Sam and Mercedes story in general. As I’ve already said multiple times, I’m glad they touched on race, and on the issues that Mercedes is going to face as a black woman going into the industry, but I felt like a lot of stuff they just barely scraped the surface (ironic since they gave this story such a huge part of the episode). Yes, they touch on the fact that Mercedes may alienate her black audience by dating a white man, but they then say that “white people don’t notice this stuff”, which is wholly untrue. They completely bypass the reason why Mercedes doesn’t want to alienate her black audience – because, as a black woman, it’s going to be harder for her to even get a white audience. Straight, cis, white people still see people like them as the norm, and everything else as “niche”, and therefore only for the people like the creator. Mercedes Jones, as a black woman, is an artist for black people, and a lot of racist people are going to think that no matter what. Also, racist people will notice that she’s dating a white man and they will make a stink about it (though they will be on Sam’s side, despite not knowing him). Also, in general, this whole story gives off too much of a “poor Sam” vibe. It’s like the racism is affecting him because he can’t date the girl he likes, whereas for Mercedes its so much more complicated than that, but that seems to just be swept under the rug. I don’t know. I’m going to leave it here because otherwise I’ll get my head in a knot, but yeah. There’s a lot of aspects of this story I’m very unsure about.

The way that Carmen basically tells Rachel “you’re not special” despite the fact that she spent all of last season beating her over the head with the idea that she was in fact special. Also, in general, I don’t get why it isn’t an option for Rachel to take a sabbatical from NYADA in order to focus on Funny Girl. I get why Rachel wouldn’t take it (see above), but it surprises me that it doesn’t even seem to be an option.

Also, I’m tired of Rachel telling people she’s being an adult when she’s acting like a brat. Dear god.

Songs:

No One Is Alone: I don’t really get why Rachel has such a huge part in this song, and why it’s only Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine. It would make more sense to me if it were just Kurt and Blaine, or a group number with everybody. It’s a good song, but I’ve never understood their reasoning for the lyrical distribution.

You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman: I like this one a lot. And the whole carousel idea is so cool and aesthetically pleasing.

Broadway Baby: A more upbeat song, which is a nice change from the slow, lowkey pace of the episode. I grow to enjoy this song and this performance more and more each time I see it.

Not While I’m Around: Not a big fan of the recording, but I really like the episode solo version, and the performance is so raw and emotional. I like it.

Colorblind: This is a gorgeous song, but the scene is way too long and honestly pretty boring. She’s literally just recording the song. They couldn’t have had some other scenes playing while doing this? Also, why did they have her perform the whole damn song. I love Mercedes Jones, but I also love to be entertained, and as much as my ears enjoy this, my eyes drift pretty damn fast.

I’m Still Here: Kurt’s last official solo! It’s fantastic, and so well performed, and honestly I’m glad it’s a bit more upbeat, since, like I said, most of the songs here are pretty slow.

Final Thoughts: Pacing is a huge problem in this episode, as is the fact that they spent a lot of time on an issue that they didn’t even fully dive into. Black women are made to look like big bad meanies to the poor white boy who just wants to date their friend, and we’re supposed to feel bad for him, even though he says some pretty offensive things to them. They also tried to shove two PSA style stories into this one single episode, which ended in them greatly neglecting a really important story (the gay bashing) because there simply wasn’t time. It’s a good episode, and one I do enjoy, but despite it’s high ranking, it’s not an episode I would purposefully watch just cause.

[nitrateglow]

Thoughts on Abraham Lincoln (1930)

Abraham Lincoln was at once better than I expected and underwhelming. DW Griffith’s first talkie is actually pretty competent from a technical perspective; he hardly seems at sea with the new technology.

On the plus side, Griffith manages some lyrical moments here and there, particularly during the scene where Abe throws himself on his first love’s grave in the rain or all the scenes to do with the Civil War battlefronts. Walter Huston is excellent as Abraham Lincoln. And it was a treat to see Hobart Boswarth and Henry Walthall in the cast as well.

Unfortunately, that’s about all I can say for positives.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the film is largely episodic and the quality of the episodes are uneven. They also lack drama. The whole movie feels, as Richard Schickel once put it in his Griffith biography, like a greatest moments collection and not a story.

Now, even if we know how Lincoln’s life ends, you can still make good drama of it. Give Lincoln an arc, show us how he grows from being a callow young lawyer to the president! However, the script is so disjointed, jumping erratically through Lincoln’s life: one minute he’s a young man mourning his dead lover, and then the next, he’s in politics! We are not shown the transformation between these two stages of life.

The debate between Lincoln and Stephen Douglas is especially awful: the actors ham it up too much and we only get little snippets of debating. The rivalry between the two men should be a major episode, but it’s glossed over.

Basically, you don’t come away with anything you couldn’t get from a textbook. As Robert Henderson said of the film, “Animated history is not drama no matter how worthy the subject.”

One element which has been criticized for decades is Una Merkel as Ann Rutledge, Lincoln’s first love, and yes, she is pretty bad. The love dialogue between her and Lincoln is like Attack of the Clones levels of awkward. However, she’s only present for about ten minutes in this 90 minute film, so she isn’t that big a flaw in my view.

Is the film worth viewing? I would say yes, though really only if you’re interested in any of the following:

DW Griffith

Early sound cinema

Abraham Lincoln in film

Walter Huston

The Civil War in film

Otherwise, you probably won’t be very entertained. I admit there were stretches where I was impatient for it to end, and I’m someone who enjoys early talkies and slow-paced movies!

7/10

[youwontlikethisblog]

Nicolas Mora, un Amigo.

OKAY IT'S HAPPENING, NOBODY PANIC, ITS HAPPENING!

This scene is probably one of my favorite in the sequence of writing the romance of Armando and Betty and Betty isn't even involved in it(too much).

Here we are, two days before the new collection is launched, the day that the establishment of commercial pledge (I used google translate for that so I could be wrong but it's el establecimiento de prenda de comercio) over Eco Moda is let known to the banks. The night before Armando said he had a night of dogs, didn't sleep well and it was a terrible one. He told that to Betty without her even asking, all she asked is if he was alright.

As the day progresses Armando is seen in a slump, not his overly erratic and neurotic self but just down, one could say feeling the blues. Marcela picks up on this when she enters the office to let him know that she's on her way to pick up his parents from the airport and asks him if he's alright he smiles and tells her everything is fine.

The camera work then shows her leaving and Armando telling Mario that it pains him to know he is letting her down, in the background Betty's office is in view, we can see her sitting at her desk paying attention to what's going on. Armando continuedly stands in front of her office or beside it. Something I've noticed as the episodes go on. Almost as if he's trying to stay close to her, maybe it's because his desk is right next to her office and I'm reading too much into the cinemograph lol. But for the sake of this post lets say I'm not reading too much into this and that is in fact the reason they show us this. Not only because it gives us the sense that Armando's subconscious is trying to stay as close to Betty as possible without alerting him or the others in the room, but as established in a previous post, Betty offers comfort and brightness in otherwise cold and uncomfortable situations to him. It also allows us to see that Betty was very well aware of the situation, relationship, and feelings Armando has towards Marcela. She's aware, that though they have their ups and downs and that he cheats on her, that Armando does care for Marcela. She doesn't go into that relationship naïve and unaware of Armando's feelings.

Now Betty receives a call to let her know that Nicolas is downstairs waiting for her and she leaves the office. She isn't a part of this scene so much as just the beginning. Armando was waiting for her so they could leave to the banks when she tells him she's got to get the papers and he agrees.

This shows us the paranoia that Mario truly has and how manipulative he becomes towards his best friend, Armando. We get a very clear image of how and what Armando thinks of Nicolas up to this point.

Mario stops Betty from leaving and asks "Who brought them?" and Betty without hesitation, indicating that she has no reason to lie or withhold truth tells him "Nicolas, my friend." and Mario's paranoia shoots out of his eyes.

Betty and Armando had spoken about Nicolas before. Armando was aware of who Nicolas was, aware of his role in Betty's life and Terra Moda. He had no reason to be doubtful or mistrusting of him or Betty and that's what is so important to note from this scene because he wasn't paranoid. He wasn't mistrusting or afraid that Betty could take the company away from him. In this scene was see someone who is and the only one that is is Mario Calderon.

Mario then goes on to question Armando about Nicolas and Armando even defends him. He goes to say that he[Nicolas] is trust worthy, that he's always brought them the paper work and that Betty collaborates that. Mario's body language is uncomfortable, shifting on his feet, and eyes are very alert, studying Armando.

While Armando's manipulation is very noticeable, Mario's manipulation is very subtle because unlike Armando who doesn't really study people to exploit them, Mario does. He silently pays attention to peoples behavior, which makes him seem like he's detail oriented and caring but he uses this ability to find weaknesses in people and exploit them through paranoia and tactic. In other words, he's a true manipulator.

[Someone wrote a more detailed post about Mario's manipulation but I forgot who it was. ]

Now Armando's body language is really telling us he doesn't care and finds the conversations unnecessary but he's being defensive about Mario's questioning. Even his tone of voice and facial expressions lets us know that he isn't worried about Betty or Nicolas taking away his precious company, much less that that's even a thought in his head.

The following scenes are of Betty outside with Nicolas, the cuartel de feas and then Betty in Armando's office handing him the papers. Mario is sitting upright, not slouching like he normally does, his finger tips or on the edge of the desk as if holding onto it for dear life and Armando is contemplating the papers, his tone of voice is somber and defeated. The phone starts to ring and he glances once, twice, at his phone and then yells at Betty at the third ring "Are you going to pick that up?" and she rushes to her office.

This outburst once again lets us know that Armando wasn't worried, wasn't mistrusting, wasn't paranoid and wasn't even considering the idea that Betty could take the company away. Which lets us know once more who the paranoid individual was in that room. Armando was sure of the woman he was entrusting his company to. He had an unwavering trust in Betty and this needs to be noted for the following days because though Armando on his own had been working on his temper as we see that he doesn't yell at Betty as much as before, Armando has had moments of blurring lines of work and personal in a split of a second all of that changes.

His best friend then tells him that he should watch his tone and no longer yell at Betty because she is the proper owner of Eco Moda. Armando has this look of shock and disbelief, because it hits him that Betty is the company's owner and that neither him or his family are the proper owners of Eco Moda anymore. Which is a big deal to him as he mentioned just minutes before, that it pained him to let Marcela down and along with that it's letting his parents down and being a failure, which I've talked about him and failure before.

Once Betty returns to the office she lets them know it was a bank confirming their meeting and the camera shows us Mario standing up, with Armando in the background still contemplating the paper, as if he needed to study them to make sure they were in fact in his hands, and Betty following Mario's order so he can question her. He proceeds to ask her about the meeting she had with the lawyer. He asks if he[lawyer] recognized her or something, she tells him not at all. The frame shows us Betty in focus while Armando is the background blurry, still engrossed in the papers of the suit against Eco Moda until Betty mentions what the lawyer wanted to be paid(which is 10% of whatever the embrago is) and he finally looks up and seems more worried and concerned over that than anything Mario has insinuated and then we return to seeing a somber and sad Armando in the background because his precious is no longer his. Mario's behavior was shocked at first when he heard what the lawyer was asking but then calm and composed.

Betty then proceeds to inform them that the only problem is that now the process has begun and that at any moment the secretary of the jury was going to go to take inventory of everything Eco Moda has and Armando, as always, yells at her, then lowers his voice and talks at her, angerly so, but Mario stands there observing them. He watched then closely, as he has done in the past(which is why he often mocked and joked that there was love between Armando and Betty) and as Betty leaves, respectful but annoyed at Armando for raising his voice at her and treating her as if she were a fool, Mario tells him that what she said was true and that there was nothing they could do about it but the most important thing was for him not to yell at her and Armando's face and body language indicates that he is unfazed by that, or truly bothered by it.

He is more preoccupied with the seizure against Eco Moda than he is about yelling at Betty and his best friend telling him not to.

Armando then proceeds to go into Betty's office to talk to her and he has a heart to heart where he tells Betty that it was going to be a hard period for him and that she understood more than anyone what it meant to him and how hard of a decision it was for him to make and do what he was doing. The music is somber and intense, often used for Armando's heart to hearts. Betty tells him she understand his dedication to the company.

Armando starts to open up to her. He doesn't even do that with his best friend of his girlfriend. He begins to let her in, once more my boy is blurring them lines. As he is leaving her office Betty stops him and tells him that she knows he was giving her his company but she wanted him to know that it was in good hands and Armando's response is "I know, I know that Betty"(Just in case this isn't part of her day dream I want to add that this signifies that Armando does in fact truly trust Betty with the company and isn't paranoid and worried that she'll take it away. It lets us know that Armando has total complete faith and trust in her).

The next scene is a daydream of Betty's(tbh I'm a bit confused as I write this because what lets us know that it's a day dream is the change in music and Armando's over the top behavior but as the day dream ends and the music fades Betty is back behind her desk where she was as Armando was leaving her office).

Why did I say that these scenes were important to the plot of Betty and Armando's romance?

Because if you focus well Armando displays total trust in Betty and Nicolas. He displays no paranoia towards them and the only one that does is Mario who slowly begins to feed his paranoia to Armando.

As he tells him "Don't yell at her, treat her better, she's the owner now." and ect ect. THIS explains why Armando was easily manipulated but most of all that his behavior towards Nicolas and his mistrust towards him isn't based on the company but Betty.

What does this mean?

Though to some degree Armando is paranoid over the company because of Mario, his biggest fear isn't Nicolas taking the company but subconsciously, his biggest fear is Nicolas taking away Betty as the next day he finds out that Nicolas is Betty's platonic love that's when his behavior has a definitive change towards Nicolas and Betty.

Why does he have a change of heart by simply finding out that Betty could be in love with Nicolas? How does that affect Eco Moda? Mario doesn't feed the idea that Nicolas will take the company away and I'll do a post breaking down that scene once I get to it but I think it's important to note the change of heart Armando has by simply finding out that Nicolas could be Betty's boyfriend/love because before he wasn't worried or mistrusting of them.

Nicolas Mora, after all, was a friend of hers.

PS. Later Armando interrogates Betty against his will because of Mario and his paranoia and though he does become heated during the interrogation, you can tell by his body language that he didn't want to be questioning Betty's loyalty and trust and feels bad over it. Do with this information what you'd like :)

[recentanimenews]

Princess Connect! Re:Dive – 02 – Friends are Delicious

Well, that didn’t take long. Princess Connect soundly beat Shironeko Project this week, and it wasn’t close. And it did it with a no-holds-barred charm offensive, introducing the fourth member of the party: a twin-tailed tsundere catgirl named Karyl (Kyaru).

We learn all we need to know about her as she observes three cats playing together while a fourth keeps its own company. Karyl identifies with this cat. Who needs friends?

Well, if your friend happens to be Pecorine, you don’t have to answer that question. The crusader lights up every scene she’s in, managing to be immensely powerful and a complete airhead without coming across as annoying or cliched.

That’s a fine line to walk, but she walks it extremely well, owing to her cool character design, fluid, lively movements, and of course great voice work from MAO. It’s just barrels of fun watching her wake up in a stable after a rager then win an eating contest for breakfast!

Karyl seems intent on making Pecorine acknowledge her power. She also has the ability to control animals, like an Orc just outside the city. Pecorine deals with the orc easily with her bare hands, and Karyl gets knocked out by that very flying defeated orc!

The reason Peco was in the right place was that she spotted the sword thieves (who are still around and still fun characters in their own right) and was attempting to catch up to them—not because they stole her sword (she thinks they’re just minding it for her as a favor!) but to deliver “Beriberi’s” medicine.

Karyl just so happens to witness the thieves get snatched up by a dragon, who was lured to them by Peco’s valuable sword. Since Peco, Yuuki and Kokkoro were nice to her, she decides to lead them to the dragon’s lair, but won’t lift a finger to help them separate the sword (or the thieves) from its clutches.

Karyl’s ulterior motive is to use her magic to control the dragon and demonstrate her power to Peco. Interestingly it’s not Peco but the amnesiac Yuuki who leads the charge against the dragon, defiantly standing before it, attracting it with his cloak like a matador, only to get hilariously snapped up as the dragon takes flight.

Peco tags along, first using her sword as a handhold and then the afro of one of the thieves. His roots eventually give way, sending Peco flying, but she manages to position herself above the dragon’s head and delivers a devastating blow, knocking it out of the sky and saving both Yuuki and the thieves from a sticky end.

Throughout all of this, Karyl is manipulating the dragon, having made it fly erratically to shake Peco off. However, on the ground she is helplesss against Peco’s luck, pluck, and brawn, the dragon proving to be no big deal at the end of the day.

Pecorine also ends up reunited with her sword, which is actually a good thing for Karyl, because the monsters she controls always have a tendency to land so close to her they manage to squash her. She’s saved by Peco and her sword, and Peco then goes into all-out Crusader Mode, cleaving the dragon’s fire breath then blowing it away with a devastating strike.

In the aftermath, all Karyl can do is gawk at Peco’s glowing magnificence…and you can’t blame her! This right here could have been the best battle of the season so far…something I did not expect, but for which I’m very grateful. The animation was smooth and sweeping and packed a huge punch, and underlining all of it is Peco’s God-Level energy an enthusiasm.

In the end, the quartet returns to Landosol (bathed in the light of another gorgeous golden sunset) and tucks into onigiri made from leftover lunch rice. Pecorine proposes the four of them create a “Gourmet Guild”, the object of which is to discover the tastiest dishes in the realm. Yuuki and Kokkoro are all about it, but Karyl reverts to tsundere mode and huffs off, offended that Peco would think she’d be happy about being included in such nonsense.

However, Karyl has a change of heart when she spots the three cats now playing with the lonely fourth. She takes a bite of the onigiri, made with love by Kokkoro for her companions, and thus tasting better. And while she claims to still not need friends, her recent escapades indicate otherwise. There’s no question of her eventually joining the guild.

Princess Connect Re:DIVE looks and sounds great, has an infectiously upbeat tone, and is legitimately funny. Kokkoro’s expression whenever Yuuki is suddenly injured is growing on me, while Peco is never not entertaining, whether she’s kicking serious ass or being a charming space cadet. I also like how food will be the focus of the party’s efforts going forward. It took two episodes, but I’m sold!

By: magicalchurlsukui