#and the retconning and lack of closure like

[lurkiestvoid]

the biggest problem with waiting to get into stuff until loooong after it's peaked is that I have FEELINGS about a thing but NO ONE to throw them at

anyways I just finished Star Trek: Picard and I am simultaneously over- and underwhelmed. I loved seasons 1 and 2, I LOVED RaffixSeven, I LOVED Elnor and Agnes and Rios!! S3 was a good fan-service standalone show, as in it was nice seeing the original TNG cast back together and on their Enterprise, and if it had been a separate bit it would have been delicious, BUT it had NOTHING to do with the previous two seasons!! WHAT DID THEY DO TO QUEEN BORGATI, WHERE DID SHE GO, WHAT TF HAPPENED TO THAT ENTIRE PLOTLINE

[sflow-er]

I heard people are mad because they feel like August should be apologizing to Simon also, and I think that’s like, a no-brainer because of course he will – – he’s changed now. He’s not the same person who did that thing so – – we saw him suffer and now he apologized to Wille whom he knows and then – – I’m sure when [August and Simon] meet, he’s going to talk to [Simon] about it too. Linnéa Roxeheim, director of S3 eps 5& 6, PRP interview 59:00-59:22 (– – used for legibility, the redacted phrase is 'you know')

So...this kind of seems to confirm something I've been thinking since I watched the season: the lack of apology from August to Simon feels less like an intentional, character-defining writing choice and more like a mishap overlooking or even retconning the August-Simon conflict.

Some thoughts under the cut.

That conflict was one of the central building blocks and driving forces back in S1. Simon wouldn't have ended up selling drugs if it wasn't for August looking to buy, Wille wouldn't have found out about August's finances and been able to use them against him, and Alexander would not have been framed to save Simon. And for that matter, August's eagerness to pin the blame on Simon was likely fuelled by the fact that he wasn't just a sosse sleeping with Wille, but also a constant thorn in August's side. Someone who had even physically roughed August up at one point.

Still, I do believe August's decision to post the video mainly concerned Wille. I've written about that too many times to rehash it again; let's just take his dismissive reaction when Sara says Simon is distraught in S1E6 at face value. And that made perfect sense for his character, considering his only moral code at the time was (elite) loyalty.

However. From S2 on, the history between August and Simon has been sidelined, and the focus has been on the conflict between August and Wille.

We didn't see Simon suffer any more daily consequences from the video in S2. He could already sing karaoke in Bjärstad without people giving him dirty looks, and both the rumour mill at Hillerska and the hate comments online had stopped. Not being allowed to sing his song at the Jubilee was a concrete consequence, but even that felt more like an obstacle for Wilmon and an opportunity for Wille to stand up for them. Simon and August barely even interacted over the season - but at least Simon did refer to Sara knowing everything August had done to him in the gun range scene, so that was something.

I had hoped for the August-Simon conflict to be picked up again in S3. Even if the writers wanted to focus on other relationships and tensions, to me, it felt too essential to pass up. It would have been a clear sign of August learning the accountability and empathy that he needed to grow, and it would have also provided some much-needed closure for Simon (and tied the series together as a whole). I guess the writers felt differently.

Even though the focus on Simon getting hate on social media again could have provided an easy tie-in, the vile hate messages focused on his and Wille's relationship, as well as him being a POC. Apart from Linda's comment in the settlement negotiation, I don't think the video was even mentioned once in all the hate comments we saw. There was no indication of the media or the public having dragged it back up either (or asked who filmed and leaked it, but that's another matter entirely). Nor were there any references to Simon having already received some hate after the leak - on the contrary, it seemed like he was completely blindsided by all the vitriol. I do realise that the scale was much bigger this time around, but still.

Circling back to the August-Simon conflict, there's also another aspect that is easily overlooked. Namely, that Simon himself actually seemed pretty content to just put all his dealings with August to rest after the settlement was finalised. The only time the two of them even interacted after that was all about Sara. It could have also been an opportunity to show Simon's own feelings, but that didn't materialise.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Simon could still use that apology, but I never got the impression that he needed it the way we fans needed to see it. Based on S3, you might even think their only source of conflict was Simon coincidentally being on the video, and when that was settled, Simon was okay just moving on with his life.

Which brings me back to the ending.

I always figured that August was portrayed as genuinely remorseful towards the end. Yes, I would have liked to see more of his growth and development (even just showing his reaction to the sale of Årnäs instead of having Simon say that Wille said it was a fitting punishment would've worked wonders)... But the authorial intent seemed to be that he had already taken enough steps. His and Wille's reconciliation was as sincere as anything could get, with Wille not forgiving him as such but agreeing to move on, start healing, and even wish each other well. Wille was sincere when he congratulated August upon graduation and tapped him as the next king, thinking he was well suited for the job (it's the narrative that frames it as a sort of punishment, not Wille).

Crucially, Simon doesn't seem bothered by this. If both Wille and August had truly just ignored the harm caused to Simon and reconciled amongst themselves, with Wille essentially giving August the position that everyone but August still thought was all August ever wanted...while Simon was still hurting and needing the closure of an apology...well. That would actually make Wille look like kind of a terrible partner even right at the end, which clearly wasn't the intention.

We can't be sure if Wille told Simon about the reconciliation when they talked at the lake, but Simon will still know that Wille stepping down means August stepping up, and he is happy about it. Wilmon are off to start a new chapter in their lives, and we don't get the feeling that the lack of an apology to Simon is left as an unresolved issue between them (or between them and August).

So...yeah. I guess I'm just trying to point out that this seems to be another example of a previously important plot line being dropped from S3, and to a lesser degree, also another example of execution vs. authorial intent.

[anavatazes]

Hi. *shuffles feet* Been a while. Might still be a bit yet before I start posting regularly again. Long of the short? Had a bit of mental break and needed a break. Slowly easing my way back into things. Slowly.

Obligatory picture of Mara, taking the youngest to school. Her favorite thing, next to eating ❤️.

Anyway, heart is still in a stranglehold by Joel. Pedro as Joel is NOT helping, as he does 😏.

And what really prompted this, was one of my original heartbreakers from when I was a teen, in combination with one of my most favorite characters in comics are coming together again to expand on their time together in the Savage Land 🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠.

Is it January yet 🤤🤤?

Uncanny X-Men 269, 274 & 275 were my favorites when they came out. Rogue was already my favorite character among Storm and Nightcrawler, but this story really captured her essence. She was depowered, just arrived out of Siege Perilous, no one else around, and is attacked by the Mauraders. She uses Gateway's ability to escape but ends up in the land of dinos, fighting Carol Danvers, and being saved by the missing Magneto?! Who Jim Lee really could draw 🤤🫠. It's a great story, and I recommend it.

And now, this January, they are revisiting that story to fill in some gaps. I do hope they don't do any retcons. There is enough hate from Rogue/Gambit shippers as it is, that if they even get a hint of Magneto anywhere near Rogue, they explode. It's like, dude, fucking chill. Gambit has been the end game all along. We all knew it from the moment the Cajun first laid eyes on her. They are married now. If ya'll don't stop, I'm gonna start hating a favorite couple of mine... and it's not the one you want.

Also, no retcons in this, because, well, Magneto is the king of retcons, and I am tired of it. The major being his children Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Sorry, not sorry, you cannot still draw Pietro like Max, and say Max did not birth that boy. Nope. Even acts like him, still. It's Max Eisenhardt, Jr. So, no retcons. Don't cheapen the Legacy romance nor ruin things in the ROMY world.

Seeing more of Magneto helping Rogue figure out what is wrong with her powers, please! The man is a fucking genius. Self-taught in so much, too! Let the man show off! Part of what makes him so hot 🔥.

I want to see Colossus' son. Other than a blip here and there, we saw him last in the 80s, I think? Even if it's in passing with the tribes Ka-zar and Shanna are helping, just something!!!! The X-Men know he’s there. WTF happened to him?! This would be perfect for it.

Zaladane. More backstory, please. We were never given 100% yea or nea if she is, in fact, another of Magneto's children or what her exact connection to Polaris is. Not sure what I want, other than closure. This is as close to a return for the character as we're gonna get, and I will enjoy every minute.

I read a good chunk of Tim Seeley's run on Nightwing, and he's good. There is hope that this just won't be a wet dream of a scantily clad chick with two half nekkid guys and dinosaurs! Dick Grayson is a pretty complex character, as are Rogue and Magneto, so I feel they are in good hands.

As a few who are reading this know, I've been looking for pre-order information. I still haven't found any. But I did find an exact release date for issue #1 -

January 15, 2025. It's already on my calendar. I will probably blow my husband's mind and buy both digital and physical on this straight away. I always get digital on the Kindle and use the points I earn to buy more digital, which saves me tons of $$$$. Then, I will buy the TPB or individual issues of the books I want. It's rare I go straight in. But I want more Rogue stories, and this is how you get more Rogue stories.

Hope all that was understandable. Thanks to a stupid change in insurance, I am without one of my meds, and I am feeling it. Lack of sleep, high anxiety levels, and a breakthrough migraine that won't stop. I may not have been all that coherent 😄. Anyway, love you bitches. I am making my way back. Slowly.

[barnowl265]

To all Acolyte fans. I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm saying this to hopefully bring some closure. The vast majority of people who watched The Acolyte did not like it. The numbers, reviews, and ratings are all out there to check if you want. Not enough people watched the show to greenlight a second season, and of the few who did, the vast majority didn't like it. This show LOST money, it doesn't matter how much you appreciated it. If the show isn't going to make money, to risk another season would be bad for the property as it's likely to not do well a second time.

I've seen plenty of comments from people who are showing support for getting the show a second season. While I admire the fact that you appreciated the show and want to see it keep going, you're probably not gonna get a second season. I've been a fan of the KOTOR games for years, and fans have been begging for a movie or show that retells its story. Yet, Lucasfilm has given us nothing but a possible remake, which we still haven't seen a proper trailer for yet. If Disney isn't going to deliver a certified moneymaker like a KOTOR movie trilogy for fans who've begged years for it, then they certainly won't deliver a second a second season of a show they already canceled.

I've also seen where you point the blame, other fans. First off, The Acolyte's cancelation isn't something to be happy about. A loss is a loss. It's a loss for the company, the actors, the production team, and every Star Wars fan out there. Hours of hard work gone to waste. No one wants a show to fail, but making a show is like baking cookies. You leave 'em in the oven too long, they get burned. The Acolyte had been delayed several times before release, and we know what happens to shows and movies that face production delays. It usually means the show has lots of problems and will be lacking in quality. The show failed because of various poor decisions being made behind the scenes that hindered its development as well as hiring a director who didn't do any research, tried to retcon at least two extremely important elements of the franchise, and doesn't consider herself a fan. If you wanna blame anyone for this failure, blame Disney's incompetence for letting this go on under there watch, blame the higher-ups at Lucasfilm for fumbling the bag on choosing a director, but the last thing we should be doing is blaming each other. It's not my fault The Acolyte failed, it's not the YouTubers fault, and it's definitely not the actors' fault.

Which also brings me to my next thing. To all the fans who hated The Acolyte. Yeah, I don't like what it did any more than you do, but be more mature about this. This show had people working hard at this for the past few years, give them some grace. The actors, set and costume designers, vfx artists, camera, and sound workers, where just doing their job. They don't deserve to be insulted for that. The show getting canned is heartbreaking enough for them as is. All that hard work and effort, wasted. C'mon guys, we're better than that.

Star Wars is a universe of infinite possibilities. Some of those possibilities have stood out while others fell away, and The Acolyte will unfortunately be a victim of the latter. I'm not looking for a fight, enemies, or an argument. I'm just hoping to bring Star Wars' horribly fractured community together a little bit. It probably won't amount to anything, but I wanted to share my opinion, and hopefully, someone got something out of it. Please, be respectful in the comments.

God bless you all, and may the force be with you.

[daystarvoyage]

After rewatchin* the owl house for its lack of black or poc representation & certain writing lore, world building, storytelling being compromised & characters retconned.

It’s no known fact….

THESE TWO NEVER INTERACTED OR SHOW A SOLID RELATIONSHIP OR HAVE CLOSURE!

(from talking or just sharing a joke,here & there, all we get Are GESTURES yet she talked to every other character in the show. (who’s a girl, family and not poc besides Luz)

she literally has no interaction with Gus!

BE IT A OR B PLOT & THROUGHOUT THE SHOW.

(NO DONT BLAME DISNEY FOR THAT CAUSE ALL THIS COULDA BEEN ESTABLISHED & WRITTEN PROPERLY.)

VERY VERY SUSPICIOUS- DW ARTHUR

And trust I can read numerous or five reasons on ARTIECETB LIST BELOW ON HER HAZBIN VIDEO on why the owl house needs to be fixed, written and paced well, Also make sure to check out her channel.

Like wow funny enough y’all sure did dispose of Gus of being the token black friend cause that trope is been done repeatedly, sheesh woulda think he had his own spotlight however right?(Gus was overshadowed by the lumity kiss in his centric episode.) it’s been discussed throughout every platform so hoping we can talk more on the topic at hand.

Which I’m thankful the toh critic postees are talking about the injustice which questions, the whole poc rep of the show, cause there barely focus or show the other hexside students (Cat & SKARA example) who are also pocs in the show.

For more of my other videos check out my YouTube below.

[todomitoukei]

Replying because I saw your bnhavent post so thank you for making this space! I only made this tumblr to follow bnha content and will likely delete when the endorphin train of new content dies down but I have read bnha since 2018, specifically because it made the villains and todoroki story compelling and a refreshing take on how victims in media at large are portrayed. With this hurricane of an ending I have whiplash. He took several interesting, dynamic relationships with cool societal critics boiled in and turned this series into a D level shonen ending. “Better get saved before you hit your breaking point or you’re not savable” that’s what touya, shigaraki, and toga can teach you in this series. And people in powerful spots, like the #1 hero, will always be above critical review and the law in hero society. With touya’s story I’m even more frustrated because he lacked closure. He barely gave touya a conclusion because touya rose in popularity after it was too late to back track in the writing for him. I am usually picky about stories that I read in fiction because I want to enjoy them for pleasure while I have an intensive job mentality. I enjoy the occasion tragedy but I need to know it’s a tragedy going on. I do not read optimistic fiction to have my heart broken miserably . Apologies for the ranting

No need to apologize, this is exactly why I made that post because, like you said, the story didn't start off tragic like this.

One of the things writers need to be aware of is that they make certain indirect promises to readers at the start of their story. One of the main promises a writer makes is in regards to the genre/tone of the story, which is why there is such a divide in the fandom in the first place - if you look at the first season, it's overall a light-hearted story. Yes, occasionally there was some seriousness to it, but nothing that was focused on too much or rather it was all quickly turned around into something more hopeful.

For example, Deku being told to jump off that roof was never painted as too serious since he continued to consider himself friends with the person that told him that. While that in itself could be considered a concerning response, the story simply never paints this as an issue, it feels more like a way to show how good-hearted he is for sticking to people and seeing the good in them even when they don't act that way.

That promise then got broken with the lov, specifically their backstories. Sure, Shouto's backstory in season 2 was also on the serious and dark side, but the difference is that he is arguably in a better spot, whereas the lov's existence shows how physically and mentally damaging abuse and discrimination can be to the point that people almost die, become homeless, turn to crime etc etc.

A lot of people got into bnha because of the season 1 light-heartedness, a fun story about a kid who tries to become a hero against all odds. It's only natural that people who enjoy stories like that to be turned away when the story starts taking on more horror elements, like when we get to see little Tenko kill his family for example.

So I think having those two very different tones and genres was one of the downfalls of this story and the reason he ultimately failed to write an ending that feels consistent and just.

Aside from that promise being broken, he obviously also backtracked and retconned so much that the story ended up not living up to the various expectations it set up for the readers throughout the story.

[themattress]

How Toriyama/Toyotaro salvaged "End of Z"

Let me start this post with a personal confession that may or may not be unpopular: I have very little interest in Dragon Ball DAIMA. I have slightly more than I used to after Akira Toriyama's death since I am naturally curious to see what the last Dragon Ball related material he ever produced is like, but otherwise it still looks like just a different take on Dragon Ball GT, my least favorite Dragon Ball series, except that more characters than just Goku turn young and it's the Demon Realm that's being explored instead of space. It also doesn't help that the head writer, Yuko Kakihara, makes me nervous - she's done fine work as an episodic script writer on anime such as Fresh Pretty Cure, My Bride is a Mermaid, and Pokémon Journeys, and she was fantastic as the head writer of IRODUKU: The World in Color. But in terms of shows closer to what Dragon Ball DAIMA seems like, she was head writer on that god-awful Stitch anime that Disney stupidly allowed to be made. Worse still, she was the writer of Digimon Adventure Tri. So you can understand why I have reservations.

Point is, I consider Dragon Ball DAIMA to be a sideshow, regardless of what its merits may end up being. For me personally, it's the manga/anime trilogy of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super that really counts the most. And as tragic as the circumstances behind the end of Toriyama's involvement on the latter are, I am highly impressed what he and his mangaka protégée Toyotaro were able to accomplish. With three major steps, they have substantially retconned the notoriously underwhelming ending of the original manga series and DBZ anime, known as "End of Z" among fans, in a way that makes a satisfying closure.

The first step was way back in Dragon Ball Online. Toriyama was involved back then in canonically mapping out the future of the Dragon Ball world, long after Goku, his friends and his family have passed away. And a major part of that was how Gohan, Goten, Trunks and Pan affected that world for the better in their adult lives. Gohan in particular has a masterful end to his long struggle between being a fighter and being a scholar by becoming a scholar on ki fighting techniques, publishing a study that makes it widely possible for humans around the world to master ki control and gain flight and energy blasts. It's a perfect outcome for him.

The second step was through Toriyama's involvement in the new movies and Super series. End of Z now cannot happen the way it was presented in the original manga and anime. There are way too many discrepancies, from character appearances, the lack of certain characters who it would make little sense not to be there, and details like "none of Goku's friends saw him for 5 years before then" which have now been completely contradicted. Obviously the 28th Budokai where Goku meets Uub and takes him under his wing for training is still canon, but that event is now free to transpire in a far more plausible and satisfactory way than the famously rushed, haphazard and OOC way in which it was depicted before.

The third and final step was the last collaboration between Toriyama and Toyotaro in the Super manga. The final three chapters they worked on together were an epilogue to the story of the Super Hero film, actually tying its plot together with the side plot featuring Goku and Vegeta on Beerus' planet. Perhaps responding to prevalent criticisms, the movie had already made a major point of showing how the world can still be successfully defended by the Z Fighters even without Goku and Vegeta being there. And in these three chapters, the point is carried even further by having Goku test what the new generation is capable of, a theme that's even reflected in the final chapter's title, "Passing On To The Future". This completely recontextualizes End of Z. Originally made as a laughable attempt to salvage the "Goku passing the torch" direction with Uub in place of Gohan after Toriyama botched it so badly with him, now it makes Uub only the latest in a large field of fighters that includes Gohan. Now it's Gohan, Goten, Trunks, Pan, even Broly of all people, who are being gathered as Earth's next line of defense once Goku and Vegeta finally expire. Uub will join that group. (Oh, and being Namekian, both Piccolo and Dende will still be around to assist, of course.)

So while the narrative of Dragon Ball may have peaked with the Cell Saga, now the Majin Buu Saga -> Battle of Gods Saga -> Resurrection F Saga -> Universe 6 Saga -> Future Trunks / Goku Black Saga -> Universe Survival Saga -> Broly Saga -> Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga -> Granolah the Survivor Saga -> Super Hero Saga -> End of Z together create a worthier follow-up than just the Majin Buu Saga -> End of Z was back in the day. Certainly not perfect, even when leaving the loose ends out of it (so Freeza's just gonna stay loose out there with a new ultimate form?), but feeling much closer to a fully realized ending.

Thank you, Toriyama. You made it up as you went along right to the very end, but as usual, your remarkable creative talent managed to make it all fit together. You are deeply missed.

[bobwess]

AMA : Supernatural addition Scrolls back to make sure I'm not re-asking any questions

Has there been any episode that you've changed your mind about in a positive way?

Has there been any episode that you've changed your mind about in a negative way?

If you could add in a monster-of-the-week episode with a monster we've never seen the boys fight, what monster would you bring out and why?

If Cas zapped them anywhere (to avoid planes) for a vacation, where do you think they would go?

Thoughts on Cas's grace/wing situation post fall? Do you subscribe to the headcanon that because his grace was separate he should still have his wings? (Realizing that clearly it's time to reread Only Human since i do not actually remember the answer)

You have any fic ideas bouncing around your head that are still even too early days to be called proper WIPs?

If you had to rank the seasons, how would they fall?

Thoughts on Michael and Adam?

Episode that is garenteed to make you laugh?

Episode that is garenteed to make you cry?

Favorite Destiel moment?

Know you have a lot of facinating thoughts on John, but do you have a similar amount of thoughts about Mary?

What do you think is the best practical effect that the show ever pulled off?

Any opinions related to particular the last 5 seasons (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) of the show?

Did you ever think when you started watching the show that all these years later you would be this invested in it?

Do you have any headcanons about Cas's True Form?

What loose end side plot from the show annoys you the most with the lack of closure?

Uuuuuum...What do you think is everybody's favorite color?

Okay that's all I can think of right now! Have a great day!!!

Has there been any episode that you've changed your mind about in a positive way?

Heaven Can’t Wait sucks less than I gave it credit for. 

Has there been any episode that you've changed your mind about in a negative way?

Wishful Thinking is way more rapey than I remember. 

If you could add in a monster-of-the-week episode with a monster we've never seen the boys fight, what monster would you bring out and why?

We’re retconning the “dragons” and letting the boys fight a real proper dragon. 

If Cas zapped them anywhere (to avoid planes) for a vacation, where do you think they would go?

Dean says “Take us to a beach” and Cas in his infinite wisdom picks an icy beach in Greenland. Dean is displeased, Sam is amused.

Thoughts on Cas's grace/wing situation post fall? Do you subscribe to the headcanon that because his grace was separate he should still have his wings? (Realizing that clearly it's time to reread Only Human since i do not actually remember the answer)

Complicated. From a practical standpoint, I think it was necessary to kneecap Cas’ ability to zap himself anywhere in order to bring him into the show more frequently, because a LOT of their problems would be over before they began if Cas could still fly all the time. It’d be a lot harder to write for. 

ALSO I like the idea that Cas wasn’t completely human so even without his grace he still technically could have ‘fallen’. 

HOWEVER in order for that to make sense someone would have at some point had to actually have SAID anything to that effect. So. 

I ascribe to the headcanon that Cas hadn’t been human enough and while he didn’t go screaming to earth on fire, he was still damaged in the fall and thus is unable to fly but as it stood in the show, they didn’t give enough of an explanation so it WAS stupid that his wings got shredded. 

You have any fic ideas bouncing around your head that are still even too early days to be called proper WIPs?

Yeah, two. One with Dean and Lee and one in purgatory.

If you had to rank the seasons, how would they fall?

5, 12, 4, 11, 7, 8, 9, 10, 2, 13, 1, 6, 3, 15, 14

Thoughts on Michael and Adam?

Love them. One of the few good things in season 15. 

Episode that is guaranteed to make you laugh?

Everybody Hates Hitler

Episode that is guaranteed to make you cry?

Lebanon

Favorite Destiel moment?

Dean opening up to “Emmanuel” in the car after Cas says “You’re not a machine, Dean.” 

Know you have a lot of fascinating thoughts on John, but do you have a similar amount of thoughts about Mary?

Mary was 29 years old when she died, and therefore (casting choices aside) was 29 years old when she came back to life. 

She is a 29 year old with two babies and a husband who suddenly is thrust back into the world decades later and immediately told her husband is dead and her two boys are now complete strangers she doesn’t know from anyone who are also significantly older than her. 

Dean is 37. Dean is 8 years older than her. Sam is 33. 

Mary died on the ceiling the same age Dean died and was dragged to hell.

Frankly she takes it very well all things considered. She’s vilified by the fandom unjustly. We’re conditioned to look at Sam and Dean and be like “they’re the main characters so only their feelings matter and she hurt their feelings so she is devil lady.” Which is stupid AF. “You are not a child.” “I never was.” Yeah ok but she didn’t raise you to be a hunter, and it wasn’t her choice to be dead instead of raising you. “But she made a deal with a demon and that led to Azazel getting to Sam!” She made a deal with a demon at 19 years old to save the person she loves most in the world. Dean made a deal with a demon to save Sam and he started the fucking apocalypse. (No shade to Dean.) 

They’ve all made dumb mistakes, even BMoL Ramiel sized ones, we’re just choosing to ignore some because we like our boys better. But it’s putting an unfair expectation on Mary to be perfectly what everyone wants her to be and ignoring that she is human. 

An aside: She wouldn’t have even batted an eye with how Jack killed Nick, and it was the most forced thing to make her hassle Jack until he snapped her into ashes. 

What do you think is the best practical effect that the show ever pulled off?

Michael v. Lucifer Season 13 Finale. There is a rack focus between 2014 Dean and 2009 Dean in The End that is so seamless it is delicious. The practical side of the hellhounds tearing up Dean is pretty cool too. 

Any opinions related to particular the last 5 seasons (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) of the show?

I think I like later seasons SPN more than most people (despite my distaste for season 14 because 14 is offensively stupid). I thought 15 was largely uninteresting, not actively bad. I think 13 started strong but fell off very rapidly after Tombstone into being just again uninteresting. 

I think 11 had a lot of good episodes and I really liked season 12 a lot. 

Did you ever think when you started watching the show that all these years later you would be this invested in it?

I honestly didn’t expect the show to last as long, but it wasn’t something that would have surprised me. If a show is really good, I latch onto it hard, and it’s reaffirmed if there are other people also as/more into it as me. So SPN still having a lot of fan attention keeps it going. I think if SPN had ended 5 years earlier, there’d be a lot less of us here now, and the interest might have died off more. I imagine it’ll drop off in the next few years. 

Do you have any headcanons about Cas's True Form?

Hard to make anything out. Lots of wings, eyes, and bright brilliant flashes of color. 

What loose end side plot from the show annoys you the most with the lack of closure?

Ghost Kevin. Someone better look me in the eyes and assure me Jack brought him to heaven. To a lesser degree what was up with Cas "my powers are fading" season 15?

Uuuuuum...What do you think is everybody's favorite color?

Sam likes blue. Dean likes red. Cas has not really given it a lot of thought and picks a random color when asked. (Thoughts based on vibes and oft-worn clothing colors.) 

[skaruresonic]

If it makes you feel any better us Metroid Prime fans have also been waiting for a sequel to resolve a cliffhanger ending that's been going on since 2007 :/

Which is better: no ending, or an unsatisfying ending? A pretty interesting question. I hate that my thoughts on HLA are filtered through an ambivalence about the way Valve used the game, particularly its ending, to retcon Episode Two's ending. For one thing, I feel like it takes away from the hard-hitting-ness of Eli's death. Like waving a magic wand and saying poof, he's okay now. It's the narrative equivalent of yelling "redo!" or taking a giant step to the left and pretending you didn't just see that. Imagine playing FF7 and Cloud undoes Aerith's death by striking a deal with Sephiroth and jumping into the Lifestream. Imagine how cheap that would make Aerith's death feel, even if it were some kind of deal with the devil scenario where she would have to die again eventually.

We don't know if Eli will die again - we still have to wait for HL3 either way - but the point remains that it feels like Valve is saying the last 15 years of grief the players had over the event and the slow burn of its subsequent lack of closure didn't really matter. Alyx overreacted in Epistle 3 and went completely overboard with her fridging of Mossman, but at the very least his death was a narrative strand that attempted (albeit poorly) to weave her past and current character together. The degree was highly exaggerated but the core idea was left intact. Her grief made her act this way. You understood the reasons for her behavior. And so, I feel that saying "Eli's alive now yay" makes for more artificial drama than simply letting events play out their natural course. Yes, I realize the contradiction in saying that when the G-Man's entire purpose is to mess with the flow of time and space. I'm not talking about that so much as narrative coherence.

For another: it detracts from HLA's narrative. Everything the ending did could have easily been accomplished in the first twenty minutes of HL3, and I feel that reduces HLA from this great standalone prequel to a stepping stone. Granted, it would have been just as cheap had the retcon occurred in Episode 3, but better that than retroactively turning a game that should have been left alone into a means of revising previous events.

[thstarsofsilver]

Gina going back to liking Ricky felt very out of character for me because she showed no signs of still liking Ricky she was more focus on her relationship with EJ. I am surprised how Gina forgave Ricky so easily after the way he treated her in Season 2 which he still hasn’t apologize to Gina about which makes me so mad Ricky still owes Gina an apologize. I am still mad three months later about the way things ended for Portwell without any closure just to make Rina happen. 1/2

I expected so much better from the writers than to repeat the love triangle storyline from season 1 by making EJ get dumped by his girlfriend who ends up dating Ricky after their breakup. It just really annoys me how sometimes Ricky gets away with stuff without apologizing but when EJ makes a few mistakes some fans still see EJ as the “bad guy” when he is trying his best. At least EJ tries to make up or apologize for his mistakes which is what Ricky needs to do more often. 2/2

hey anon! firstly thank u for helping revive my account

secondly i'm on the same page! i'm still mad about it 3 months later but i guess i've had to accept it lol. i feel like if i accept it i won't spend s4 mourning them and instead i'll be able to enjoy the reunion aspect, which is mostly what i'm really looking forward to haha

definitely agreed that it was lazy writing to gratuitously break up portwell when unlike s1 rini they showed no fault lines that could have become earthquakes, which is what happened with rini (although i still completely think out-of-show factors played a major role in their irreversible split).

they retconned a LOT of what we were shown towards the end of s2 - for instance (1) gina being over ricky, as you said, (2) gina waiting for the right guy to show up and ej being presented as her right guy and (3) ej developing into a person who puts others' needs first. all of a sudden in s3, (1) gina is showing signs of being into ricky again, (2) ej is suddenly the "wrong guy" and yet again she's waiting for the right guy to show up, and (3) ej being unaware of others' needs (arguably he is STILL putting others' needs first, but many viewers lacked the nuance to actually see this, and the show itself didn't do much to help).

i think all the characters need to be held accountable, but especially ricky when it comes to gina (which is what i would have wanted to see from their confession!!!!). the whole point is that characters are supposed to be flawed, and they should all learn from their flaws, but certainly some characters' flaws are presented as more forgivable than others', and the narrative certainly has favourites.

anyway rip ej's character growth, rip portwell, and PLS t*m f*derle, no more repeating storylines unless you're somehow actually building to some powerful, symbolic resolution. just don't do it.

[ichirukilover]

I've read the last arc of the mange. I didn't quite catch all the inconsistencies and how bad it was when I first read it, because i was waiting for it to release every week, etc. It's only after going back and looking it over that I released how much of a dumpster fire it was. I feel like the last arc shouldn't have been about quincies at all. Maybe touch on them a little to give Uryu closure and to reveal what really happened to Misaki, but I just thing all the new abilities with the quincies is stupid and doesn't fit. IMO it's like Tite tried to make the quincies into a different form of soul reapers with all these new abilities. I wish he had done the hell arc as the final arc, because that would have been interesting having the current captains fight all the deceased ones and still would have given old man yama a fitting ending. And i guess squad zero could have been introduced then as well.

It is bad, but not because it shouldn't have been about the quincy, I do think he was plotting about them since the beginning, but he just went about it in all the wrong possible way he could. Aside from all the retconned things we knew about them, they were just too many, half not even interesting, abilities totally what not a quincy we knew should've had and to top it all Yhwach was...idk...if I think the "I planned your life from the beginning" or something like that and how it was the exact same shit Aizen said...uhm boring, unoriginal, unimpressed. Oh and the lack of a proper backstory is also what makes you just don't care or understand about them too.

Everyone is excited about hell arc, IDK, I didn't touch anything Bleah related since the ending, but imo it looks good just because it was one chapter, if he is going to touch it more he is not going to satify the big inerest that fan have set all to themselves. I do love to know Ichigo and Rukia will end to hell together tho, hope they'll have fun lol

[thestaredown]

This would have been more understandable commentary had it not come on the heels of a season that literally sent them back to high school. For the whole final season in a way that had nothing to do with the other seasons (cause it didn’t they have no memories)

They say camp and absurdity.

The fans saw seasons 1-5.5 connect in meaningful ways and seem to be coming to some sort of conclusion.

Then a swerve suddenly witches, magic and superpowers tons of retcons and a hollow relationships. A big lack of emotional stakes and an unrelenting supply of dropped story lines and forever unresolved emotional beats. No closure for anything.

Riverdale has always had a level of absurdity it was part of its charm. What kept it grounded was the fact that unlike most shows it kept steady relationships between the mains for the most part. There was a steadiness in an otherwise chaotic environment.

The problem was never the absurdity it’s the fact that somewhere along a the way they seemed to decide they didn’t feel like finishing 5 years of somewhat linear storylines and character work and threw it away as if we wouldn’t notice.

The removal of friendship, relationships being half assed…it all contributed to people like me just not really caring what happened to these characters anymore because they essentially weren’t them anymore.

They wrote themselves into a wall and decided to just do something else. So in it’s wake are a million loose strings and storylines that will never have a proper onscreen resolution.

The last two seasons especially were a choice. And the choice was fuck it I’ll do what I want.

They got their absurdity and so called camp, but the end is a nearly unilaterally underwhelmed or unhappy fandom whose expectations have been on the floor and are still somehow getting less than expected.

I get the actors having their feeling on how the show is received and they must receive a lot of shitty comments and such but as a whole pretty much all parts of this fandom have very valid reasons for disliking these turns.

It’s easy to laugh at the absurdity when it’s just random characters acting silly.

This season had its moments but let’s be real the final season was basically a 1950s anthology cast. A face claim and little else.

Hard to consider that a satisfying ending when for the majority of the show the absurdity was part of it and not everything.

everyone who’s ever said anything bad about riverdale should die. go watch euphoria.

[okashiras]

Why do you think duffer brothers decided to revisit stancy and do you think they're gonna keep exploring them in season 5?

why indeed? i've been asking myself the same question. the only reason i can come up with is it's probably more interesting from a writing standpoint??

they have made steve romantic to the core (i mean, the reason he was thrusted into this world in the first place is because he loved nancy so much that he went back to fight the demogorgon for her) but still had no clear resolution in sight. they were almost building up a potential romance for him in s3 but ultimately didn't (and were better for it, frankly). and (fortunately for them, i guess) the steve/nancy breakup was written clumsily enough that steve's longing gaze in the end of s2 can be interpreted as an ellipsis to their story instead of actual closure.

nancy pairing up with jonathan never did push either of their characters forward. it was like events were written solely for the sake of getting them together and so when they finally did, the writers didn't know what to do with them anymore. (eg, putting nancy in the will exorcism group in s2 where she did nothing but stand and sweat while jonathan held onto her sometimes, etc) and their friction in s3 only proved their (totally valid) differences were more fundamental than anything that it's probably become difficult to justify writing how they're a good match for each other.

it’s a season of retcon and course correction lmfao!! from brenner being alive somehow to changing eleven’s memory of how the gate opened, etc etc, they were probably more willing to cut their losses and that includes jonathan/nancy?? ...and jonathan’s character too which is a shame but i dunno, maybe they can still salvage that by defining him outside of being a brother/son/boyfriend. is it clumsy writing? yeah, but i mean, the writing has always been kinda clumsy lmfao!! i’m just gonna stay in my corner and eat my meal, thanks.

exploring steve/nancy would be consistent to the overarching theme of this season, which is confronting one's past pain/trauma. for nancy, that's always been barb's demise. and the writers probably realized how steve has a significant role there too, and how that's what led to the dissolution of their relationship, and how they have both changed as a result, and how nancy can ultimately absolve herself (and their relationship) of that guilt. their feelings resurfacing again after they have both matured and grown would mean they broke up not for lack of affection for each other but because they didn't know how to deal with grief and trauma at the time, and that they're better-equipped and are in a better position to overcome it as they are now. and that seems pretty realistic (and more interesting) to me if i were writing?? over "shared trauma" as a reason to push forward a romance without even unpacking what that means anyway lol

they are both well-defined characters on their own and are tied to their own specific genre reference that their storylines converging felt like magic, frankly. why not add a little romance there too as a treat?

the narrative symmetry of it is sexy???

the impression i got from this video is the duffers just throw steve these random storylines and he sticks the landing magnificently every time because he’s so great. and i’m buying into this s4 stancy renaissance 2022 obviously i’m sorry they just hit different if you get it then you get it

i dunno what’s in store for s5 other than apparently there’s gonna be a timeskip? i think what’s important in closing s4 is they finally meet eye-to-eye as they are now, so that whatever happens in the time before s5 (whether they break up or take the next step in the relationship or whatever else), they’re doing it as themselves?? that is, not hindered by trauma, guilt, etc.

[share-the-damn-bed]

Easter Eggs in ST4 referencing the Steve & Nancy Break Up in ST2

I’m back on my bullshit!! So, I’ve already mentioned at least one of these in passing but throughout ST4, there are references to Steve and Nancy’s break up in ST2.

The most obvious is the Tom Cruise poster and Robin explicitly calling it out and Nancy stating “that’s old.”

There are so many references to Tom Cruise during Steve and Nancy’s time together (especially in ST1) that I almost didn’t include it BUT Steve is dressed up as Tom Cruise the night Nancy says she doesn’t love him and calls him bullshit.

The next little easter egg is that “Girls on Film” is playing in the car while Nancy is driving the gang to meet Eddie.

This is the same song that plays when Nancy and Steve fight over Nancy’s drinking which ultimately leads to their bigger fight and break up in the bathroom. This is pretty big because even though Stranger Things reuses score frequently they rarely reuse the same song and when they do, it has served an explicit purpose (think reusing ‘Heroes’ at the end of ST3).

The most interesting (and biggest) easter egg is Nancy’s shoes from the halloween party.

Nancy is wearing these shows almost exclusively in ST4. She at least wears them in the first 4 episodes about 90% of the time. I can’t tell if she’s wearing them in episode 1 but it definitely looks like it. Nancy has also not been seen wearing these shoes since the Halloween party so for them to play a prominent part of her wardrobe in ST4 feels meaningful.

In the last photo, you can see the same texture at the top of the boots the best to show they are in fact the same shoe. 

So what does this mean?

I think this is the writers trying to bring us back to that moment in the bathroom (a real catalyst in the Steve/Nancy relationship) showing that their relationship (platonic or otherwise) is perpetually in that moment since they lack closure. I think the show will take it in one of two ways:

1) retcon the break up and have Steve and Nancy get back together...

OR!

2) Have Steve and Nancy gain closure in their relationship and move forward as friends or simply people that understand one another (which is something I thought they already did independently in ST3 but I digress....)

I know which one I’m hoping for, and with Nancy facing the Barb of it all in the current narrative, I think option two makes the most sense. 

But most likely...

[booasaur]

I cannot wait to hear your thoughts about FAMK 308. I have a few questions for you (kindof spoilerish) 1) Do you think Pam (and Larry) are right, that Ellen was always meant for greatness and she'd want more? Im not sure. I think that's used to fit the narrative so Ellen could be president but IMO I think Ellen would have been happy playing CEO of a space company which no one knew about but Ellen. 2) What were you thinking when Ellen left Pam's and their interaction / meaning behind it all?

I typed up a long answer to this last night and then my Tumblr tab went blank so I took a wee break to be mad as hell but let me try again today. :)

First, thank you for giving me questions to form my answers around! It's tougher when it's just vague thoughts.

For 1), even as I was watching their long scene and loving it, y'all know my favorite f/f activity is just open communication, I was like, what are you talking about, Pam? I know I've said this a million times, but the show never acted like Ellen had these huge personal ambitions, she just always wanted only space in general, then specifically Mars. If anything, this track kept her from personally going to Mars. If Ed could, she sure could have.

And okay, as you said, maybe only Ellen knew that heading her own company was even an option, but then that's just absurd character writing. We're meant to think Pam and Ellen never talked about life outside NASA, about what would happen if Ellen came out, as she was increasingly implying in s2 she would? Pam must know of Ellen's family, she never herself thought about that connection?

However, even as I was thinking that, I was finally at a point where I was like, you know what, even if I don't think that's how they wrote it, the writers are clearly now building upon this particular narrative, so whether it's a matter of bad writing or retconning or even a scene being left out, fine, this is the current reality. Ellen was ambitious and Pam gave up on their relationship for her. Okay.

And then immediately I was again like, Pam, how are you remembering young Ellen as this fiery activist who would be disappointed in her presidency when she was the most quiet of the candidates and pulled her hand back in the bar and chose to marry Larry? What's more, how can you blame her for not fixing the country's homophobia in a couple of years when you literally lied to her and left because you knew that would be needed for Ellen to be president? THAT compromise is okay? Though actually, that's the kind of thing I can excuse more easily, where it can be more about an individual's own perceptions and justifications, flawed as they might be. Unlike the straight up false reality everyone's trying to create around Ellen in s2.

For 2), let me also bring in another ask:

And another ask:

FAMK SPOILER - I feel, Pam's bitching to Ellen about her lack of progress re-ignited the fire in her belly that's been missing for decades due to Larry's bs chatter about being gay is bad. I can't wait for you thoughts on this episode wrt Pam / Larry / Ellen.

When I was answering these last night, I had been like, on this show, perhaps their scene was meant to bring closure in addition to giving Ellen a kick in the pants to finally take more of a stand against Larry's arguments to go for the safest option but you know... I mean, I haven't been liking Larry for a while now, but that's based on how he's been written and I'm a little sad that not only did they make him cowardly and selfish to the degree they did, which could have been simple character traits, but he's actually framed as the antagonist Ellen's needed to fight back against. Like, the lesbian astronaut politician's biggest enemy for two decades is the scared gay guy? But I suppose this show is still...I trust it to at least pull that back, have them come to some kind of understanding.

Then I was gonna say, on a different show, I'd assume Pam reappearing would mean a reunion at the end, if they're really gonna hammer in her being the love of Ellen's life and appear now in the third decade, it's ridiculous to just have her go away again. But based on this next ask from earlier today:

And another ask:

I'm getting excited about FAMK ep 9, Pam in promo pics staring at something. Hmm wonder what it is.

Ahhh, well. I kinda wish I'd been able to just be surprised when she showed up, but nevertheless, interesting. She's in eps 7, 8, and 9, if they don't include her in ep 10 this time!!! I guess we'll see. :o

[thesuperiorloki]

The writing for Loki got so sloppy after TDW. In that film he was given a complete arc and bringing him back to life with no concrete plan makes the narrative line awkward. It wasn’t rendered impossible to work with, but that possibility was wasted by Marvel bringing him back with no forethought and then hiring writers that didn’t care about or understand Loki’s past or motivations, which caused his story and characterization to become disjointed and unsatisfying to anyone who was paying attention.

Loki’s motivation in his first three films was to feel worthy and to gain a sense of control over his life. His flaws came from seeking that worthiness and control in the wrong ways, first by trying to destroy Jotunheim and then by trying to rule Earth (level of culpability for the second act debatable because Marvel refuses to confirm exactly how much power Thanos had over him). This narrative circle was closed in TDW when he acts selflessly to avenge his mother, help protect Jane, and assist Thor in defeating Malekith: he proves himself a trustworthy ally in carrying out Thor’s plan and demonstrates he can do the right thing for the people he loves and that he cares about and can protect others. Through these actions he proves he is worthy. Furthermore, when he is dying and repeating “I’m sorry”, it is possible to infer he is not only apologizing to Thor for his mistakes in that moment but for every wrong he has committed. So he not only narratively repents for his misdeeds through his actions, he verbally repents for them as well. That’s a complete arc.

Deciding at the 11th hour to not only keep Loki alive but to show him having returned to Asgard and ascending the throne flushes all of that characterization and growth right down the toilet. It’s so clear that Marvel threw that scene in at the last minute without fully thinking it through.

The thing is, Loki could have walked away from this mistake relatively intact if Marvel had gone back and addressed issues in his past that did still need resolving, such as finally gaining control over his own narrative and realizing his own value. Instead, they permanently hamstrung him by hiring first Waititi and then Waldron, two people who have expressed not only ignorance and indifference to Loki as a character but at times open contempt. Rather than touch on Loki’s Jotun heritage or his father’s lies and neglect, Waititi and Waldron chose to retcon him into a one-dimensional power-hungry narcissist, whose tribulations are selfish, pathetic, and self-inflicted. Waldron purposefully ignores the good he did in TDW, Ragnarok, and IW and reframes the narrative to make it look like he was uncaring and ungrateful for his innocent family because he was too self-centered to see how much they loved him. That’s all canonically bullshit and provably false. By making up character flaws he never had, Waititi and Waldron prevented Loki from getting closure on his real struggles and messily severed his narrative arc into something un-mendable.

Insult to injury, Waldron and crew frame Loki’s healing in the show as coming through abuse and yet more indifference. He is manipulated, gaslit, belittled, and beaten and this is presented as the much-needed impetus that snaps him out of his sniveling myopia and forces him to actually care about others by stepping back and accepting his rightful place as inherently lesser. The series actually presses turbo-rewind on any growth Loki achieved during the film timelines and forces him right back to square one, where he is pushed aside and silenced and undervalued. It even goes a step further and adds a dash of physical abuse because nothing cures self-hatred like a good old-fashioned beating, amirite? Sickening.

To me the lack of thoughtfulness and care that Marvel demonstrably put into continuing Loki’s story after TDW is unacceptable for the largest and wealthiest media company in the world: Disney has the money and the influence to hire any writer they should so desire with just a single ring of the phone. There is simply no excuse for the nosedive in the quality of writing and I have no respect for Feige for letting it get in this state. I personally feel everything from Ragnarok on was thoroughly and excessively disrespectful to all of the hard work that Tom, Kenneth, and the writers who gave a damn about Loki put in to create the character that everyone fell in love with in the first place. It was the heart and the vulnerability and the human struggle that we connected with and Marvel just wiped that all away like it was nothing. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why.

Anyway, I don’t know how to end this, so have an emoji of my mental state: 🤪