#and then i rewatched the scene and found it clever

[swaldblues]

Lack of communication by "W"

I can’t really form many coherent thoughts yet but I’ve been thinking about one classroom scene at the beginning of Ep 5, where Wille is distracted after visiting the Palatset and imagining Erik participating in the initiation. I was distracted at first too but then noticed Henry and Valter referring to a "W" in their presentation - my mind immediately made a connection to Wille.

It left me wondering what significance their presentation on George H.W. Bush relating to rhetorical analysis has on our characters. Last season, in this class the Karin Boys assignment became a tool through which Wille and Simon could express their feelings and show understanding for one another’s viewpoints/positions.

Valter and Henry's slide/presentation is titled "Jag säger ingenting. Så har jag ingenting sagt." (I don't say anything. So I haven't said anything)

Their final remarks go:

One could say W’s lack of communication itself became rhetorical.

But the questions remains, “Was this a conscious strategy by W?”

It probably wasn’t, in his case.

Or he just happened to be in the wrong place, and chance decided his place in world history.

Who knows?

Not us.

The lack of communication on Wille’s part about his feelings IS a statement in itself, even though it probably isn’t a conscious decision by Wille.

Does Wille get to decide his fate, or will the cards he's been dealt ("happened to be in the wrong place" -> position as crown prince; "chance") determine his legacy?

Who knows?

Not us - until the end of the final episode 😉

[moonfireshadow]

Rewatched Saltburn and I'm obsessed with Farleigh and Oliver's tutoring scene. The essay specifically. For those who don't remember: Oliver did his homework and all his assignments and genuinely gave a well thought out essay for their summer assignments. Farleigh shows up hungover and late and didn't even read the books. But the teacher immediately loves Farleigh and is chatting him up with an interest he barely tried to show Oliver. Even after Oliver gives his presentation and shows that he's clearly a much better student than Farleigh. Obviously this is the real start of their rivalry. But it's also such a beautiful look into their characters and how they mirror eachother. Farleigh understands Oliver's essay, I believe. But like the teacher he's bored by it. The knowledge and work is there, but the presentation of it is boring and strange. Academic and correct, but lacking the appeal to the audience. (Which, can we talk about the fact Farleigh was genuinely listening at all? The teacher zoned out and switched channels, but Farleigh was interested and paying enough attention to know the exact number of times Oliver used the word "thus" in his essay. They respect each other truly even if they despise eachother at this point, and refuse to acknowledge the grudging respect.) So Farleigh does what he does best, he gloats over Oliver. He picks apart the style of the essay and it's presentation rather than addressing the central argument or topic. This delights the teacher and frustrates Oliver who is like, "so you're going to critique the style of my essay rather than it's substance? Seems a bit lazy" and that's the core component of these two characters.

Farleigh is ALL about presentation. He knows how fragile his pedistal is placed up and in view for everyone to see. He's a charity project, just like every other rando of the month. Sure he has some familiar connection, and that's given him a leg up in this world. But it's still shakey at best. He always has to give the correct performance, say the right words, keep his audience on HIS side. Unless he wants to get knocked down with the rest of the common rabal that he knows he's belongs with, but can't stand the idea of. So yes, of course he picks apart the one thing he knows Oliver is failing at. He takes his one advantage over Oliver and uses it mercilessly to both entertain and secure his audience on his side. (I wonder if the positions had been different some how, if Farleigh would have had anything to say about the substance of the essay itself. He was paying attention to it, did he want to have a real academic conversation? Did he possibly want to try and connect to Oliver in that way? A real and non performative way with someone who's so similar to him?)

As for Oliver, obviously his character is intelligent. He does the readings. He does the research. He puts the time and effort in to *learn* in the way Farleigh never does. And it must infuriate him that his essay is so easily pushed to the side for a cheep critique that doesn't even address the central argument of his essay. Of course he would hate Farleigh from the start for that. It's such a quick negation of all that Oliver has to offer and give just because it's not wrapped up in a pretty bow. And that's just his character. The substance is there, the intelligence is there. But it's not enough. It will never be enough. Because Oliver doesn't know how to translate it to his audience in a way they'll care about. He learns and tries to mimic, but it always falls short because he just can't seem to figure out the way to blend in and present himself so seamlessly as Farleigh.

And that's why they're such perfect mirrors of each other. They're both intelligent and clever. But they've found different ways of getting what they want and proving themselves. Farleigh is the face and the presentation, Oliver is the substance and body. In another world imagine what these two could have done and been if they hadn't been pitted against each other for the same prize. And the fact Oliver definitely deliberately shoved Farleigh out at the perfect time so he wouldn't get hurt and killed? Oliver and Farleigh respect and admire the other. But their tragedy is they can never be on the same page or team because the world they're in says there is only room for one. And they'd both do anything to get that title.

[rootspiral]

AGATHA ALL ALONG DEEP DIVE: episode 1 part 1

(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])

(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1)

IT'S TIME TO REWATCH AGATHA ALL ALONG, WITCHES! And as usual, spoilers below.

episode 1, Seekest Thou The Road

Wanda is dead (no she ain't). As a result, her spell is weakened and Agatha has changed from her nosy neighbor character to detective Agnes (or caught the true crime bug, as Herb will put it.)

Stinky grimy Agnes, so serious and depressed. As soon as she appears onscreen she's humming the Ballad.

Detective Agnes has just been recalled to action after being off duty for a while. She was punished for "punching a suspect", which is code for going after Wanda. Agnes points out that now the suspect is a convicted felon, i.e. that she was right after all and Wanda is dangerous and evil. "I can't be right and wrong" she says. "Yes, you can" says Herb, because both Agatha and Wanda are villain and victim. And lol at the police tape symbolizing Herb's fence. You know the poor guy is in his garden looking down at Agnes in her Bonher family tshirt, wondering what the hell is going on.

oh that's a seriously good shot

Agatha looks heartbroken when she sees Wanda's body, doesn't she? She looks so sorry.

Herb (the real Herb behind the illusion) confirms that Agatha is acting different than usual.

THIRD TIME SHE DISCREETLY DRIES HER TEARS

There is nothing funny about Detective Agnes. Or rather, it's funny to watch her because she's so intense, but we laugh at her, she's not being a clown on purpose like Agatha usually is. And Agatha right now is in a lot of pain, even more than usual having completely lost her agency. This character so unkempt, so sad, so doggedly searching for answers, is more true to Agatha's real self than what she usually lets people see. Deep down she's just a tragic lesbian wet rat.

Somebody called in to have the body found, and I think that somebody was Rio. Why would the body be next to the water otherwise? It's like the River of Life laid her gently where Agatha could find her. In other words, Wanda's death brought her to Agatha. I'm curious about these woods too, we know they don't actually exist as this is all in Agatha's head, but where did the idea come from? Are these the woods where she killed the Salemites? Where she gave birth to Nicky? Or where she buried him?

Agatha's victims from the finale flashing throughout the opening. Wherever it may bend, I'll see you at the end.

"based on the danish series WANDAVISDYEN" never fails to destroy me. and it's so clever too, it's like they're telling first time watchers that yes, this seems like a grim detective show, but you clever audiences know that things are not as they seem and this is a parody, right?? this is not serious at all, it's funny! Laugh! Except. It's not funny. It's not funny at all. And you're going to realize only when it's too late. It's the same thing they do with Sharon/Mrs. Hart, they lure you in with laughs only to hit you with heartbreak. This show is not a comedy at all. It's at its very core a senseless tragedy.

Sarah/Dottie lives next door too, was Agatha talking to her through a window, or does the library desk symbolize another fence? This poor woman, hasn't she suffered enough? But they all more or less try to help Agnes, that's sweet. Has anyone from SWORD or whomever dropped in to talk to them, did the Avengers just decide to leave Agatha there? Did Monica (or Ralph) even explain to the poor people of Westview that she's a witch, or do they just think she's a random neighbor who couldn't be saved from Wanda's Hex?

THE MAILMAN CONTINUES BEING SUSPICIOUS. Is Agatha putting words in his mouth, or was he (the "messanger") sent by someone to warn her about the Darkhold being destroyed???

her FACE when she sees Rio

and the way Rio just stares and stares. When you rewatch this scene knowing that this is the first time she gets to see Agatha in centuries... and she has to be cool and she has to be gentle. I think it's deliberate that they put Phil/Harold/Ross Geller in here, because he's one of the funniest people in Westview and it's suggesting a first time viewer to read this scene as a comedy. Except it's a cosmic tale of tragedy and heartbreak, but you're not supposed to notice yet, even if it's right there under your nose.

Stop being such a lone wolf, Agnes. Or rather, stop being such a sad and lonely covenless witch, Agatha.

Rio laughs her delighted little laugh, licks her lips, looks out the window for a moment as if overwhelmed, then goes back looking at Agatha and basically devouring her with her eyes. ("te veo.") (thank you for my life aubrey plaza.) Agatha stares daggers back, but her body language stars getting defensive. She feels very vulnerable.

Yep, defensive. And wistful.

She is doing her job, like always. But she's also going above and beyond. There is technically no need for her to wake Agatha up, but here she is, dropping gentle clues, guiding her with such patience and care.

"If you wanna be in control you can be" is said in such a kind tone, but it's also sexy?? I think Rio really likes for Agatha to take control, in a lot of ways. Her body language is the opposite of what Agatha is doing too.

Oh noes she's making herself so small now. She's like, intrigued and angry and happy and scared to see Rio. They're both being so tentative!! And she doesn't actually know who Rio is because she's under the damn spell, so her body language and feelings are pure instinct. They come from somewhere very very true and deep. (and LOL that mug says "get a clue")

Is this who you are now, Agatha? the intense but lonely detective? she's genuinely interested, because Rio investigates Agatha just as Agatha investigates everybody else. Rio simply cannot get enough of her. and she keeps talking with this gentle, warm, understated tone.

Gains personal space. Keeps staring and staring.

oh now we're leaning. they do this every scene they are together, they keep getting closer and closer even if they don't mean to, like magnets.

Agatha literally bolts to the door and tells her to leave. Rio's presence is so overwhelming in so many different and complicated ways, and she doesn't even understand why that is at the moment. Kathryn Hahn is playing this perfectly straight (no pun intended), there is genuine pain in her voice.

"Te veo", which is not "see you," but I see you, I'm always looking for you, I'm always watching. And I finally see you, after all this time.

Oh, honey.

I'm running out of space again, but I promise I'll continue this tomorrow. Thank you for all the notes you guys, I was not expecting so many! I'm doing this mostly to amuse myself, but it's nice to know that the brainrot is collective 🙃🙃🙃

go to the next entry

[littlespoonevan]

i think it's funny that there's a sort of inevitability to buck and eddie becoming a popular ship when you look at the start of s2. and it's not because they're two attractive guys or because of their chemistry or even because of what their relationship becomes later on. it's because of how eddie is introduced and folded into the narrative

with abby gone, there's a void in the show

maddie slips into her role at dispatch, taking over that 911 operator pov and offering the compassionate and clever perspective abby brought to the emergencies she dealt with

eddie, on the other hand, takes on her role in buck's life

abby is the person buck spends the most time with on a one to one basis in s1. abby is the one he talks to and who also confides in him when she's struggling. abby is the one he makes a conscious decision to step up for at the end of s1.

with her gone, it would make sense narratively to introduce a new love interest for buck. instead they introduce his sister (a dynamic we understand already exists, even if we don't know it yet) and his new coworker/best friend (and rival for approximately 20 mins lol) and everything abby was to buck and was for buck basically gets transferred to eddie. this is the person he's spending time with now, this is the person confiding in him, this is the person he can show up for over and over again because he wants to

i remember when i was watching the show for the first time back in 2021 i was trying So Hard not to get sucked in to buddie so i was very much watching as an outside observer. and i remember watching those first 4 or 5 eps of s2 and thinking, 'oh yeah i see why this is a thing because if this was a man and a woman all of this would be hinting to them falling in love down the line'

and even all these years and rewatches later it still reads like that!!!!

so much of those first couple of eps is orchestrating moments to establish buck and eddie's dynamic:

buck reassuring eddie during the earthquake that chris is fine before bringing eddie to pick him up at the end of the night (vs. say, buck helping abby look for her mom when she's goes missing and reassuring her, until he brings her to the hospital once she's found - significantly their first meeting and the thing that changes things between them).

and then buck taking eddie to the hospital when pepa calls about isabel's accident, giving bobby a head's up about eddie bringing chris to the station, discussing eddie's struggles with maddie bc he wants to help, calling carla to help eddie with childcare (all a direct parallel to bobby's encouragement he step up for abby and the way he did try to do that before she left)

those first few eps tell us eddie is Important to buck and he is personally invested in trying to make eddie's life better/more manageable (and on the flip side, they obviously need to create connections between eddie and the other characters if they want us to root for him. and with bobby and athena together, hen with karen, and chimney about to meet maddie for the first time, the only person missing a counterpoint is buck)

and none of this is me saying the show intentionally put eddie in abby's shoes (they definitely didn't) but from a purely logistical perspective of making eddie buck's primary new scene partner and when you consider the show didn't make the effort to establish ali as a new viable rival to what abby was for buck, it's like, of course people are gonna latch onto eddie and buck's relationship instead!!!!! of course this is where we were gonna end up!!!!!! what else did you expect!!!!!!

[koalatysleep]

I wish the RDJ Sherlock Holmes / JL John Watson movies were still on Netflix so I can rewatch them whenever I want to!

The last time I rewatched them, I fangirled so hard my heart felt like it was gonna burst

There's so much delicious subtext between Holmes and Watson, and even the action sequences were character-building or plot-advancing.

The piece de resistance is of course the off-the-chart chemistry between RDJ's Holmes and JL's Watson.

And the movies very sophisticatedly shows us Holmes' and Watson's feelings for each other, instead of telling us outright. As they say, "Show, don't tell" - it's one of the hallmarks of great story telling.

There were so many delightfully romantically coded scenes like this one:

I love how much was conveyed about the characters & their relationship in just 1 scene:

- Holmes had eschewed the companionship of all other human beings by choice & secluded himself in his room for weeks on end to wallow over Watson's impending engagement, but an appearance from the one person he treasures above all others is enough to immediately draw Holmes out of his wallow/strop & get him re-engaged 100% with Watson

- Holmes literally crawls to Watson to sit at his feet! This visual analogy shows us that while most people mistakenly think that Holmes holds all the 'power' in their relationship coz he's the intellectual superior, Watson holds just as much sway coz just the thought of Watson's impending engagement has brought Holmes to his knees. (Plus Holmes sitting at Watson's feet hints at Watson being the Master of Holmes' heart, an analogy that is carried into the 2nd movie when Holmes plays his final chess match against Moriarty and Holmes sacrifices his 2nd most valuable piece (the Queen piece, which is an analogy for Holmes' own life) in order to save Watson, the King of Holmes' heart and the most valuable person in Holmes eyes. But this deserves another post of its own, back to movie 1! )

- even though Holmes is sitting at Watson's feet, due to the clever framing, we never get the sense that he is lesser than Watson, and this shows us that Holmes and Watson are equals in their partnership.

- when Watson sits on the chair after handing Holmes the papers, Holmes was propping his arm up on Watson's thigh to read the papers (this is slightly out of frame but one can deduce from the closeness of their positions). Love the casual physical intimacy here, which also establishes the deep bond and absolute trust between Holmes and Watson.

- both of them obviously looks sad thinking about their "last case together"

- Holmes coyly asks to be wooed out to dinner by Watson by playing up his ennui with the dramatic line "there is nothing out there in the entire world for me", then in the same breath, Holmes immediately overturns that with his responses to Watson sounding him out for a night out together. This is Holmes playfully & coyly letting Watson know that he feels neglected and wants Watson's attention ;) Love the witty repartee & dialogue between Holmes & Watson, and how flirtatiously RDJ played this!

- Watson knowing Holmes so well that he knows what Holmes is really asking for (a dinner date), and using that to manipulate Holmes into meeting Mary. Outsmarting Holmes gives Watson a thrill I'm sure ;)

- Watson leaves after revealing that he hasn't proposed to Mary yet coz he "hasn't found the right ring", but this hints at his underlying hesitation coz of Holmes' obvious disapproval. It's very telling that later on in the show, he gives Mary the ring that Holmes gave him - "the right ring" is Holmes' tacit acquiescence

Then we get the dinner with Mary scene which also has delicious subtext:

- while Holmes waits for Watson and Mary to arrive, we see Sherlock getting overwhelmed by the sheer data coming his way. Holmes doesn't usually lose control like this, he's usually able to take in the data without getting overwhelmed. This hints at Holmes' emotional state & anxiety about the meeting with Mary. We see him retreat into his mind to try to block out the overwhelm.

- Watson calling Holmes' name is what brings Holmes out of his overwhelmed state, and John can see immediately that Holmes is not feeling well & is visibly worried about Holmes. In fact, Watson's attention is almost solely on Holmes for the next few minutes - he's watching Holmes exclusively while Mary speaks. This little detail speaks volumes about the priority and place Holmes has in Watson's heart. The dialogue between Mary and Holmes cleverly highlights this -

Mary: "it can seem a little far fetched, making these grand assumptions out of such tiny details"

To which Holmes replies "That's not quite right isn't it. In fact, the little details are by far the most important".

Love the 4th wall dialogue here!

- Then Mary and Holmes engage in a thoroughly entertaining pissing contest under the guise of civil conversation to stake their claims on Watson & one up each other.

Holmes: "Take Watson"

Mary: "I intend to"

To one up this, Holmes proceeds to demonstrate the liberties he's allowed to take with Watson's person as he unsheaths Watson's sword to highlight John's strengths (🤣 not even gonna go into the obvious homoerotic subtext of the sword here), then reaches into John's pocket to pull out the boxing match stub to highlight that he knows John intimately well, gambling warts & all, and he still loves, wants & accepts John even though John's shortcomings have "cost us the rent a few times"

Mary then tries to regain the upper hand by asking Holmes to deduce her, hoping he'll make mistakes since she's a stranger, and it's interesting that she knows Watson hasn't told Holmes much about her, even though she's heard so much about Holmes from presumably Watson.

Holmes quite gallantly tries to dissuade her from this course together with John, but she insists, which Holmes pounces on as his get-out-of-jail-free card 🤣

Love this verbal sparring between Mary and Holmes, and how the subtextual clues of what the characters say and do subtly reveal what they're really communicating to each other ("John Watson is mine, back off!")

- We then find out that Watson was not Mary's first choice for a husband, just like Mary is not first in Watson's heart either. Her first fiance died, and she still loves her first fiance that it still hurts now, just like Watson still loves Holmes.

In any case, I digress. I love the RDJ Sherlock Holmes movies is what I'm saying, coz these are really top notch movies with fantastic acting choices from both RDJ and JL, as well as the supporting cast, great dialogue, spot-on characterisation for Holmes and Watson, and every scene serves to build character, plot, and reveal something about the characters' feelings, which they never need to explicitly talk about, because the subtextual clues like what we have in the scenes above speak loud & clear for anyone who knows how to look, like Holmes himself ;)

Really well done and thoroughly entertaining movies, my favourite films from Guy Ritchie!

If only I can still access the full movies! Would so love to do more in depth analysis like this!

[elen-tari2]

Finally got around to rewatching episode 4 of TPs2 and I just have to vent about my next complaint about how the writers handled the Frank and Amy relationship. (My first complaint being about the scene where Frank ties her to a motel bed and tapes her mouth shut while he takes a nap, but never once tells her he has absolutely no intention of SA’ing her)

Look, I know a lot of people dislike Amy because she’s such an over the top, angsty, tough teen trope, but I give her a pass on most of her plot-forced obnoxiousness. But I just can’t let Frank off the hook.

You’re telling me Frank Castle heard a kid crying from whatever horrible experience traumatized her and he just… turned up the volume on a hockey game?

SHAME. WRITER SHAME. SHAAAAAME.

Literally. What. The. F *CK?

This scene was done all wrong. Frank is an asshole but he protects innocent people from getting hurt. In that moment, the bratty teen is alone, dropping her tough girl act, and hurting. For all that she is a little shit, he has already —willing or unwillingly—decided to protect her, even if he doesn’t care that much about her. But the moment she’s breaking down, he would care enough to at least check on her.

He doesn’t even have to say much of anything. Amy has locked herself in Madani’s bedroom, so he can’t go in. But he would go sit with his back against the door and just be like, “hey, kid. You okay?”

The result could have been a much softer scene with Frank listening from outside the room and Amy talking to him from her hiding place until she feels safe enough to go unlock the door or maybe just try sleeping IN the bed instead of under it.

Instead what we got was a weirdly broken up scene where eventually I guess Amy is sleeping so Frank locks her in and goes to visit Curtis and it’s only upon his return that Amy realizes she was locked in at all and freaks out? So she is panicking and berating him to never do that again to her because it was also traumatizing to feel trapped like that. Not okay, Frank. So instead they finally talk about what happened to Amy but she’s still on the defensive, and Frank is pretty aggressive with his questioning about Fiona’s gang.

Then we get the sharing of their truths broken up even more, as Frank goes to take a shower and Amy leaves and goes to a computer store to google Frank Castle’s name. (I guess that was a clever way to use the Internet but it feels totally random. Or like, go to a library or something??)

Then she comes back and is like oh wow they killed your whole family. We don’t even get shown Frank’s reaction to coming out of the shower and thinking the kid ran off. Did he care? Or was he just like ::shrug:: not my problem anymore I guess? Just risked my life for this kid but I was such a jerk, she didn’t want my help, oh well?

It just seemed unnecessary to make the conversation where she talks about what she survived and tells Frank her real name chopped up into different parts throughout the episode. There was a chance for her to be vulnerable and realize she was safe around Frank no matter what, and they missed it. She could still be a smart alec, just she would also know he wouldn’t be dismissive of the horrible murders she witnessed and how scary that would be for a young person.

Think about how supportive Frank was to the small town police force in episode 3? He is respectful, encouraging, and knows they’re in over their heads but it’s not their fault. It’s not Amy’s fault she got in over her head and she needed some f*cking comfort and reassurance, when she was CRYING. I’m not saying he’d have hugged her or told her everything would be ok. But he would be a good listener and know she didn’t deserve to go through it.

Honestly having a tiny moment like that and THEN getting into stuff like her pulling card tricks on Frank would have been much better. They’d be back to their banter, but be starting to build towards that found family feeling, like we see over the rest of the show.

Ug, this is making me want to write a fan fic fixit for that episode. But I’m just putting this out there for future Punisher writers— Get. It. Right. Next. Time.

Clear your female characters treatment with female viewers. I’m serious. You have the potential to be writing GREAT stories, but missteps like this where Frank is uncaring in the face of an innocent (if annoying) child’s suffering is a no. Just no.

[shamixlour]

The Newsreader - 1x06 _ The Looks

I was rewatching the show and could not help myself notice these looks, so I decided to make a small analysis of them and what they supposedly mean. Grab something to drink, a snack because despite my attempts to keep this relatively short, I just know it is going to be long.

Anyways, let’s get into it!

There is something about the art of looking in this scene that makes me absolutely devastated for each single one of those characters: Dale, Helen but also Tim. It is so interesting to me how through the gazes they are able to instantly paint the very specific and unique emotional turmoils they each are going through at that moment. It is so vivid, almost palpable the way their emotions get carried via their glances. They look and we watch and we directly know. 

But yeah, I just love how they used the looks to expand and highlight a certain aspect of each relationship. I adore how the gazes are a witness of that specific instant. I don’t know, it is such a human thing to look at people, it is instinctive, we do it even without thinking of it most of the time and yet I found the use of eyes in this scene quite genius. Like, imho, it is genuinely clever to employ something as inherent as eyes, as looking to human beings to express feelings that cannot be perceived, because they are there, the emotions, the feelings, we can see them in the actions of/their eyes. 

First, we have Tim and for some context, we learn in that scene that this is Tim’s last day at work and that he is leaving his job, partially, imho, because Helen discovered what had happened between him and Dale and because the whole situation had become too much for him to handle. The news drops like a bomb, and they all seem awkward, but then we catch Tim spare a quick glance in Dale’s direction after it is known that he has quit his job. It’s barely a look, so furtive and somewhat almost innocent. He wants to look at Dale so badly, he wants to look at his reaction upon the sudden news, he wants to see something but he refrains himself even before he has the chance to see it and averts his gaze which is a pity because we, the audience, see the something, because it is there, on Dale’s face but Tim misses it out. It feels like Tim believes that he does not have the right to look at Dale anymore, which makes this look even more morose. 

Then we have beautiful Helen. She is obviously distraught and emotionally overwhelmed by the revelations regarding her relationship with Dale but also the events in general, with the news they are trying to broadcast. She glances toward Dale at some point, and I read that look as a quiet cry for help, for peace. Dale is the one bringing peace to her. She is used to looking at him and falling under a serene calm wave, but it is not the case anymore. Her eyes are watering, her traits carry so much emotional turmoil and she looks at the man she loves, the man that betrayed her and Helen is stuck in the room with the source of what makes everything crumble down and she can’t find her peace anymore as she looks at Dale. It is all gone. She looks at him, and the anguish is still there. It torments her, and we know, with her eyes that something is broken. 

Speaking of broken. Dale. His look is horrendous. It is so painful for me to watch. It reeks longing. It is longing in its purest form. Longing for Tim, for who he is, for this man that embodies SO fucking much for Dale. It is yearning for something, a love, a life Dale refuses to let himself have. It is pining for a love story that could have been beautiful. Essentially, it is burning for Tim who is leaving Dale behind and looking at it again, it makes my stomach knot itself into a billion horrible ties. With just this look alone, Dale is able to show us, the viewers, how meaningful Tim is for him and not only as a love interest but merely as a human being entangled in his life. With this look, with these eyes on the verge of sharing tears, Dale silently paints his pain, his sorrow, his utmost surrender for us all to see. He is not going to fight for Tim regardless of the longing and oddly vicious eagerness for more. He has given up and Tim is leaving and it makes Dale sad but he is mostly defeated. His eyes yearn but he has given up. Dale’s gaze slides away and with it vanishes everything. 

I believe it is interesting to note that it echoes with Helen looking at Dale because Dale used to look at Tim for peace, too. Whenever they worked together, whenever he felt the anxiety crawl up his insides as he faced the camera, Tim was there, behind it, bringing peace to him, telling to relax but he can’t do that anymore. Dale can’t look at Tim and find comfort there. 

I just love what they did here, resting upon the looks for storytelling instead of actual dialogue. It is a charged scene but in a very subtle way which, again, I find genius and so in harmony with the show’s sensibility, AND it reminded me of a quote I like :

A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of the poet by Orson Welles. 

And here, not only the camera is an eye in the heart/head of our characters but we quite have this inception kinda silly theme where the camera on the eyes is literally the eye in the head of our stunning Helen, Tim and Dale.

Thank you so much if you read until here <3  

[meatballlady]

Thoughts/Questions about ambiguous wording in GOS2: Looking Where the Furniture Isn't (somewhat unorganized) (also biased towards episodes I rewatch more)

PSA to not tag/ask Neil about any of this!! Metas/speculation are for the fans, not for the writers/production team.

Episode 1

"I worked very closely with upstairs on it" what/who is "upstairs"?

Why does Aziraphale have so much more knowledge than angel Crowley? Aziraphale has seen the plans and knows about the Earth and humans and Crowley doesn't at all (is this future Aziraphale with og Crowley? going back in time)

"Most of it [isn't] visible from earth" this implies there's more that Crowley knows about than we do, but does this mean anything?

Misspelling of urgency - This must mean something, otherwise why dedicate screentime to it?? Is Maggie possessed? I always get caught on this.

"I got your note" is that the same note we read?

Why aren't Maggie's internet orders not coming? What is that?

Why hasn't Maggie brought this up before? It doesn't seem urgent. Is she angling for an invitation? a welcome?

Shostakovich symphony is not 21 minutes, yet Aziraphale calls that out.

Repeated line - "i brought your mail"

"Hell doesn't care how jobs get done" "yeah I remember, they just care that somebody does them" look this whole scene is a book reference, but this line does it mean Crowley has been helping Shax out?

Crowleys "it's all rather pointless" line. It... I mean we know he thinks this already. It sounds very out of place. Is he trying to get a read on Shax's opinion? Is this a future scene? Is there a separate plotline that's hopeless that we're missing?

"Something's going down in the up" - weird wording, never addressed.

"Through your contact in the bookshop" who is the contact? Which bookshop?

Beginning of last movement is when Gabriel knocks - when is 21 minutes before that?

"Where here is and who you are and who I am" is this significant?

"I'm not saying anyone is complicit... if anyone is found helping him..." Then just says "book of life" - maybe those are two separate things?

Also! Michael never specifies Gabriel. "helping HIM" could refer to anyone.

Why tinking sound coming from Aziraphale so much? Pocket watch or something else?

No really, what is the Something Terrible?

"Terrible" and "Awful" used to mean... AWE full. like Great and Terrible. is that something?

What thing does Jimbriel have to give Aziraphale? Aziraphale only assumes it's the box but what is it?

"arms were aching because I had to carry that box for so long" 1. How long? are we missing something? 2. Is this the same box we see, or a different one?

When Aziraphale says "you aren't Gabriel" Jim responds, "then WHAT am I?" not who am I?

later he asks "what box?" and much later Aziraphale asks the same thing. Maybe they mean "which box of the ones we know about" and not "box, what do you mean, box?"

"something CLEVER you did before you pop" vs "it's nice to tell someone about the GOOD things I've done, now that I'm not reporting to Heaven" which one is it - clever or good? Does it matter?

Why isn't Aziraphale forthcoming about needing to discuss things outside of the bookshop when they're having coffee?

Why does Maggie leave her shop open when she goes to get a coffee?

Aziraphale's blinds are not closed during coffeeshop conversation, but it looks like a/c have only just walked in during next scene!!

Why is Crowley so careful to be ambiguous about talking about the execution, and then later just tells Jim? I noticed the bug (Real Gabriel) seems to be in the room with them during the e1 conversation. Maybe he and Jim are alone during the e5 conversation.

Why does Crowley get so publicly angry? Seems a bit ooc to me tbh

Why did Maggie/Nina's phones stop working?

"There is, of course, no question of replacing the surpreme archangel" Does that mean that they're definitely going to replace them or definitely not going to replace them??

"Heaven does not have a supreme archangel" ... "There is ALWAYS a Supreme Archangel" "Yes, and who is that?" oof. Yes who is the supreme archangel? why always?? they aren't in Heaven but they exist

Why didn't they think he'd gone to Earth before seeing the matchbox?

Crowley mentions Beelzebubs new face - he hasn't seen them since before they started dating Gabriel

Crowley does seem very convincing that he thinks extreme sanctions mean nothing

Crowley does do a Miracle on the traffic light

There are writing noises after Crowley comes in to apologize and says "you were right" for the first time. Also at the end of the dance there are shuffling noises.

Does Crowley really do the apology dance for trying to get away from Gabriel? A/C never specify. What was Crowley "wrong" about?

Crowley does say "let's hide him until we sort this all out"... "while we figure out what's *actually* going on"

"and now I have two friends" does Jim actually count Crowley in that or is he referring to other(s)?

We make sure nobody notices he's here while we "sort all this out"? Aziraphale is confused that he says "together"

move the miracle dials? Does this mean anything or just worldbuilding?

"short for James but people call me a lot of different things" ooh like what?

Aziraphale TOTALLY knows about Shax! Crowley's like, "you'll never guess who Shax asked about" They're 100% on the same page

Is the alarm the "awooga" noise????????!!!!?!!?

"There's a FORMER angel in this up to his bookshop owning neck"

So Mx. Anthony J'"compelled to walk on the grass instead of the path" Crowley respected the "This way up" sign for a whole week? 🙃

Episode 2

Gabriel personally witnessed Eve's birth? Does this have significance?

"absolutely I made an ass of myself" Are we missing something here? Is she just nervous? Or is.. like what??

Aziraphale gives a Look when Maggie says they were locked in the coffee shop last night. Was that significant?

"Right now I'm a bit out of miracles" - what?

There's a lack of using "bad" to mean good in hell, etc.

Love that Aziraphale implies that Maggie being his tenant has something with an obligation to be involved with her love life

Crowley also said they need to talk about last night's miracle. Why?

Aziraphale specifies the "Gabriel" miracle. idk is that something?

"we've got a problem and it's in your bookshop right now" is this the problem we know about? Crowley seems to think the love thing isn't the big deal

"amd there is an actual mystery associated with that song and That is the clue" i feel like this isnt exactly the same thing as what it actually is.? Does that mean the song is the clue or does it mean that the mystery itself is a clue? Does it matter?

"three nice people in the shop just now... they were in the shop. just now." like just now just now? like while they were in the pub??

"nah you can do better than that" has a miracle noise after??

Was Gabriel's first memory "when the morningstar sang together and all the angels shouted for joy"? or was their first memory God *saying* that? Also is it Gabriel we're talking to here?

Who are Keziah's "usual" angels?

love the detail that Job says "i loved my children" and immediately starts crying whereas sitis doesn't believe it at first. Job really does have faith.

Episode 3

Is their private discussion we see the same one Muriel is talking about?

"The miracle we seem to have accidentally performed" did they accidentally perform a large miracle, or was the miracle only "seemingly" an accident?

Do devices just bend to Aziraphale's whim like that, or is there another weird thing going on?

Aziraphale says "dr dalrymple" and Crowley corrects to Mr. Is that something?

when Aziraphale calls Crowley he says hes found "clues" plural

is it significant that Crowley hasn't done rain in a while?

"you have the advantage on me" does she? is Aziraphale humoring her?

Episode 4

Heating's knackered... girls won't go onstage because it's so cold... is this significant?

How do the zombies know to look in the bookshop? Do they think Aziraphale will be there or Crowley? Is it just that that's how they contacted him in the first place?

What's with the timeline on 1941? They're all out and about... is it a couple days later?

While demons like me... for hundreds and hundreds of millennia ???

Episode 5

Why is the big transporter out of service?

"If you're not him, then *what* are you?" Jim also says this ep 1. seems like a distinction.

The matchbox is still in Heaven.

When did Muriel meet Jim?

Jim leaves the window open after he stops jumping out the window

Crowley's test doesn't really prove much for me. If Jim was trying to get back to heaven to tell on them, death would be the fastest way

"If you aren't him, then WHAT are you?" again, what are you not who are you in reference to Gabriel.

"check in on Nina and Maggie and make sure *they* are on their way" does they refer to someone(s) else??

During the ball, where is Crowley between the Gabriel face thing and the dancing??

"I don't plan to harm you, only the humans in there with you" Why? Why isn't she threatening Aziraphale? Doesn't she want Gabriel? What is this line for??

After Jim comes back in after declaring himself to Shax, he's off screen for a long time. In a different outfit when we see him again

Aziraphale's box when Crowley starts bringing people outside. this is the same box that he leaves Nina and Maggie to fiddle with in ep6

might be a miracle blocker?? but Muriel brings back the elevator

6)

Nina's questions for posterity:

what is happening? (not simple)

why is everything so weird? (not simple)

This all started last week when the power went out, didn't it?

no, this all started a very long time ago, but also, yes.

"last week when the power went out" that's a different timeline than portrayed in the show. What's that about? It could be a cleverly hidden time skip.

Crowley knows Muriel's a 37th class scrivener?? Do they tell him when they arrest him? Or do they hang out offscreen?

Muriel catches onto the bee metaphor immediately. "you look like a murder hornet, or a snake"

"I have to tell you: You can all leave now, and no one will be hurt" Does he *have to* tell them?

clock ticking in last intro

"Where's the cardboard box?" "What box?" !!!

"Apparently if we do a miracle together it all works a bit too well" Why say this?? Also. Apparently? As in "we discovered that..." or as in "in an apparent way, but not a literal way..."

There's stuff in the cardboard box. Why?

"every day, something IS getting closer" -beez - why??

[captainpikeachu]

There is this interesting moment in the scene where Lee is being interrogated by Verdugo, and Lee calls out how the smartest minds at Monarch decided “let them fight” was the best idea and the scene cuts from Lee to Michelle Duvall’s reaction

Upon first watch, it might not seem much more than just a reaction shot, but after finishing the season, you realize the clever little bit of foreshadowing they’re already planting the seeds for.

They put her reaction in that moment, specifically in a moment critiquing what happened in Godzilla 2014, because her sister Sandra died in Janjira in that very movie.

There is an emotional stake for her when Lee is calling out the mismanagement of things that got people like her sister killed. In that moment, Michelle was likely already assessing if she could trust Lee to take action that Monarch wasn’t taking, hence also why she was rather aggressively asking Tim a bunch of questions about how Lee knew all the things Monarch doesn’t even know.

That all makes her “turn” in the later episodes have much more foundation and logic. She was already unsatisfied with Monarch, she was effectively fishing for information, and Lee calling out Monarch for their inaction gave her the signal that she had found a new leader to follow.

I love when shows retroactively upon rewatch makes the episodes even better because you can now catch all the little foreshadowing details they placed in them.

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch 1x3: a place of safety

Onto episode three, where we get to have some new dynamics and some relationship building for the future.

spoilers for the first season and the new s2 teaser scene that we got and for book spoilers... through The Dragon Reborn due to an identity reveal, I guess.

Nynaeve! I think it was a really good idea for the show to make sure to show us that Nynaeve was still alive at the end of episode two rather than trying to draw it out any further.

We do get some useful info here. We see the Trolloc's willingness to kill their own. We get to see Nynaeve being both brave and clever in how she dispatches the Trolloc. And then she tracks down Lan & Moiraine afterwards. We get shown on screen how impressive Nynaeve is.

Lan is also very impressed by Nynaeve, even so that he's very honest with her here. And he also needs her help, of course.

I'm going to be watching for our mirrors and parallels between Rand and Egwene while they're separated.

Rand is still calling out for Egwene and Perrin, and Mat is the one thinking clearly - he reassures Rand that they'll find the others but that they need to keep themselves alive first.

Mat wants to go home, but Rand is now picking up the responsibility baton, both to protect their home and because he knows Egwene will want to continue to the White Tower. I love Rand and Mat's banter in this episode a lot.

Perrin and Egwene are being followed (by wolves) and make a fire - Perrin tries with a flint but Egwene succeeds with the Power. Perrin takes her using the Power pretty well -- I do wonder if he jumps on board the "Egwene is the Dragon Reborn" train here.

Now they get to have their parallel discussion about what to do next. Rand knew Egwene would continue to the White Tower but Egwene thinks that Rand will go home. Perrin says that they won't, and he's right. Rand wants to go home -- Egwene's correct there -- but both responsibility and wanting to reunite with Egwene and Perrin prevents him from turning back even though Mat was on the side of "let's go home".

But that gap between Egwene and Rand loving each vs maybe not always knowing each other is something that continues from the first episode. They know parts of each other but they both also have gaps of knowledge - Rand makes assumptions about Egwene in episode 1 because he doesn't know about her offer from Nynaeve and Egwene makes assumptions here because she doesn't know that Rand has reason to believe that he's the Dragon Reborn. Rand accepting being the Dragon Reborn means accepting that he "can't go home", which is a big thing that he struggles with over the season but deflects onto first Egwene and then Mat once it starts looking like Mat might be the Dragon (exhibiting the 'signs' that Thom told him about).

Lan is developing a big crush and Nynaeve has no clue. <3 also I like Nynaeve's little healer's kit. We get some hints about the Warder bond here but we'll be getting much more next episode.

The set-up of the give-and-take between the three pairs being explored in this episode is a lot of fun.

Perrin's dream... Ishy trying to suss out if Perrin is The One, I assume. I wonder if he was trying to trigger Perrin into a memory of "his" past life and guilt over his dead wife. Which isn't going to work because it isn't his past life, of course. But it does make me wonder if he thought Perrin was TDR. We know from the finale that he appeared to be genuinely surprised it was Rand until they got a bit of quality time alone.

So Perrin and Egwene start out having a rougher and scarier journey -- howling wind, howling wolves, and being chased. While Mat and Rand appear to have found a touch of luck by running across a town. But the town is not a genuine "place of safety" while the wolves are actually doing their best to help out and lead Perrin to people who can help him.

Thom's coat does have colorful patches on the inside. I do understand why they toned Thom down, for sure. I wonder who wrote this song - given the subject matter. But we know why Thom would feel so sympathetic to Lews Therin.

Dana was such a great introduction to Darkfriends. It really feels like the show put a lot of thought into why someone would decide to become a Darkfriend and are putting it into practice early on. Lots of thought into all the various world philosophies that we've seen so far.

Go to a slighter large village than the one you grew up in, immediately get pickpocketed. No safety here for Rand and Mat. And poor Rand is so grossed out by how Dana just dumps all the leftovers back into the stewpot.

Mat Tries To Set Up A Porn, take one: offering to work for their stay.

Mat Tries To Set Up A Porn, take two: threesome edition.

On a more serious note, lol, this is also where Mat and Rand first get into a genuine bit of conflict, when Mat blames Rand for them being here and tells him that Egwene and Perrin are likely dead and, even if they aren't, that Egwene wouldn't go through any of this effort for Rand's sake and so he shouldn't do it for her. Basically, taking all that emotional sensitivity that Mat has shown previously and using as a weapon against Rand to try to get Rand to do what Mat wants to do (go home).

He successfully hurts Rand's feelings, clearly regrets it, but instead of apologizing, he goes with Mat Tries To Set Up A Porn, take three, which ends in him serving drinks.

Dana is pretty honest with Mat and Rand. Except for the big thing she's lying about, of course.

Honestly, I'm finding Perrin's guilt and grief over Laila to be pretty touching in this rewatch.

Rand trying to talk himself out of a room for the night, lol. Rand burns Mat so hard and he's not even there to hear it. Dana, of course, already knows about Egwene so it feels like her trying to "help" Rand and Mat's, uh, relationship woes was her angling to get some kind of in with Rand (which worked). From what we see in S1, Ishamael does have a fair amount of knowledge about their current lives (likely from Fain) but just doesn't know how that tracks into them potentially being the Dragon Reborn.

Mat is starting to get pretty twitchy and quick to draw his fancy new dagger. But he's still willing to calm down and realize Thom isn't a threat. We also get some tiny bits of Aiel lore.

"Mat says a lot of things" yeah, so true. But both of these scenes -- the Mat & Thom one and the Rand & Dana one -- are so good.

At this point, Thom was willing to give some advice and then walk out, because the two boys might need a life lesson but there's no indication they're in trouble they can't get out of. And then he hears that a Fade is after them, and everything changes for him.

"All five of you... but only one matters, only one of you can be it." Ishamael hasn't ruled Nynaeve out yet, because he doesn't know the exact wording of the prophecy.

I love how passionate and sincere they had Dana be here. And now that we've seen the teaser, we get a look at how Ishamael acts around prospective marks so I feel like Dana probably got started with the 'soft sell' just like the little girl did.

And now Lan leads his group to a hopeful place of safety. And we get to explore Aes Sedai politics in the next episode. <3

Logain! Talk about you soon. <3 <3

[tm-trx]

currents.45[2024]

selections from my week in media [3-9 november 2024]

[ listening ]

[ loving ]

X and Namping, on a blanket, by the river, completely in love.

[ reading ]

44.1644° North by Josh Lanyon {4 stars} - mlm suspense novella

[ watching ]

Every You, Every Me, ep 3-4 - Ah, tragic romance. Sometimes it really hits the spot. But that was contrasted with a weak side couple that did not enhance the story. Maybe if Namping's illness had been more central to the plot, it would have served as a break from the heaviness of that.

But X and Namping, man. So many great moments between them. The deeply romantic picnic by the river being a highlight. The ending though. Pain all around. X is left with the knowledge that if he'd gotten up the courage to approach Namping earlier they'd likely have had much more time together.

Fourever You, ep 6 - This week we found out what trope the North/Johan romance will be using and I gotta say I'm not enthused. I don't hate it, there are just so many better ones. Also, North is a lousy drunk which was unpleasant to watch. so not the best episode. At least Ter and Hill continue to be cute.

The K2, ep 1-9 - Spontaneous rewatch and it turned out to be a great decision.

Peaceful Property, ep 11 - I've been waffling about Uncle Kid since the first episode so I'm glad to finally get confirmation once and for all. This ep featured one of my favorite things that sometimes happens in a "__ of the week" show: previous bits and characters show up at the end in clever ways or in a final scheme. It was a fun scene.

previous Currents posts

.

[teafiend]

Reviews (summaries) of a few of the drama adaptations for [Legend of the Condor Heroes]/ 「射鵰英雄傳」 from the last three decades:

*Drama posters are from oldest to latest (from left to right, top to bottom)

1983 version (starring Barbara Yung and Felix Wong):

Too young to remember and never rewatched. A feted classic from Hong Kong TVB’s heyday. The only thing I will unequivocally say I love about this version is the iconic theme songs, which are the only musical tracks I can easily recall and identify when it comes to the numerous adaptations.

1994 version (starring Athena Chu and Julian Cheung):

First love. Good performances. Beautiful and ultra-cute JingRong. Favourite balance of visuals for JingRong. Solid production (HK TVB). Newish classic. Faithful to the main storylines. The version which made me fall for Guo Jing and the saga. Sometimes, however, first love only goes so far.

2003 version (starring Zhou Xun and Li Ya Peng):

Gritty. Jiang Hu. Sweeping epic. Mature vibes. Tragic and heartbreak-tinged. Faithful to the main storylines. Brilliant JingRong. Elegantly cultured Huang Rong. Earnestly chivalrous Guo Jing. Love both the portrayals of Guo Jing and Huang Rong (despite the many criticisms received). Loved the veteran gravitas of many of the supporting casts. Performances were fabulous. My only gripe is with Yang Kang (and his actor, Zhou Jie, whose performance I was not especially partial to, but he did okay though). The best Mongolian segment(s) out of all adaptations. Favourite drama adaptation (to date). The main and ending theme songs are fantastic, and the opening track has quite an epic saga feel.

(Some audience disliked ZX’s portrayal, and criticisms abound about her using her own voice during the show - which is a bit husky - but I had absolutely no issues with it. I thought the criticisms weirdly petty, actually. As someone who does not find dubs at all nice, I appreciated her using her own voice/dub for the series. LYP also received his fair share of criticisms for his portrayal. Personally, I enjoyed both tremendously).

2008 version (starring Ariel Lin and Hu Ge):

An adaptation I skipped as neither mains appealed to me, and Liu Shi Shi as Mu Nian Ci was not enough of a draw to make me trudge through an adaption I read was not particularly faithful to the novels. Visuals and vibes wise, I just could not see Hu Ge as Guo Jing - which is simply a personal preference - but I do not doubt that his performance/portrayal would have been fine. That goes for the rest of the cast and their performances.

2017 version (starring Li Yi Tong and Yang Xu Wen):

Pretty. Vibrant aesthetics. Wuxia vibes. Relatively youthful. Commendable production. Sweet, lovey-dovey and affectionate JingRong. Cutie - and handsome - Guo Jing. Excellent Huang Rong. Faithful to the main storylines. Highly enjoyable. Main instrumental track a clever nolstagic callback to the classic Hong Kong songs/themes. Good production. Superb performances overall.

(I found this version’s GJ a bit too prettily handsome, which is lovely but also felt a bit not-GJ. Still enjoyed his portrayal a lot though).

2024 version (starring Bao Shang En and Ci Sha):

Strong Wuxia vibes. Solid aesthetics and production. Youthful. Squee-worthy JingRong. Adorably devious Huang Rong. Favourite Guo Jing and JingRong (to date). Wonderful performances all around. Faithful to the main storylines. Some distinct emotional beats.

Especially noteworthy was the beautifully shot and conveyed scenes from near the end during GJ’s mental and spiritual struggles with his grief and martial abilities. Superbly done and went to the heart of the novel’s themes.

Flaws included pacing and issues with storylines length. Uneven focus. Lack of epic-ness.

(Ci Sha is not really my cup-of-tea visuals wise but he looked and felt like what Guo Jing *should* be and his performance was compelling and layered. His portrayal embodied the 靖 of 郭靖, and I think that meant something significant. He truly came into his own by the last third when the confidence and composure GJ cultivated throughout the series made his nuanced portrayal fangirl-scream worthy. *fainting away* Love his steady, gentle and devoted GJ to bits. The focus and complexity they afforded Yang Kang in this version made him a much more complex and conflicted antagonist, which was fascinating. This Wanyan Hong Lie inspired major feelings for a character I already found especially interesting and tragi-complex since the 2003 adaptation. The soft-spot I have for him is too real).

[legless-fish-on-rollerskates]

I'm laughing at how hard the trailer is trying to convince us that Blitzø and Millie are going to be at odds in the second half of this season. At first I was worried, but after a few rewatches I'm solidly convinced that it's all fabricated drama for the trailer. There are clips interspersed throughout of them fighting, pulled from two different scenes. One of them is in the hotel (presumably in the Ghostfuckers episode), and if you pay attention you can see that Blitzø is very much not in control of his body. The shot of him coming out of the fountain with fins is the most obvious one, but there are hints in the other shots too that Blitzø is being possessed by the ghost/aquatic demon (posibly Leviathan??).

In the other scene they've pulled from where the two of them are fighting, Millie has long hair like she did in her and Moxxie's wedding photo. This is a flashback, probably to when Blitzø and Millie first met, like we got with Blitzø and Moxxie's first meeting in Truth Seekers.

Neither of these scenes are current Millie fighting current Blitzø.

I'm a little concerned about the shot of Millie with glass in her eye, but that's entirely out of context so it could easily be a nightmare or hallucination, and even if it's real (nooo poor Millie) we don't know that she's talking to Blitzø. She has ropes around her wrists and is leaning through a doorframe, which implies either she and Moxxie were interrupted doing something kinky or she was captured and is trying to escape. My guess is this has something to do with the D.H.O.R.K.S. And it's unclear whether the dialogue over that clip even actually matches - it could easily have been pulled from another scene, we only see the shot for a split second and I still can't decide if Millie's mouth matches up with the words.

"You always take from those around you and leave them worse and more broken than you found them!" This is a cutting remark from Millie to be sure, but whether or not it's from the glass-in-eye scene, there's not actually any evidence that it's directed towards Blitzø. It's an easy assumption to make because it's sandwiched between two other pretty upset things, the first one of which is for sure directed at Blitzø ("you are so shitty!" from Verosika) and the second one of which absolutely could be said to Blitzø given that we know there's going to be Blitzø/Stolas tension ("do you feel any kind of remorse for what you do?") ((I actually think Stolas might be talking to Stella here, but that's a whole other theory)), and since the whole trailer is sort of framed around Blitzø having a terrible time it's easy to assume all the out-of-context anger from everyone is directed at him. Do I think it could be interesting story-wise if everybody really is mad at Blitzø and abandons him? Totally (though it would make me very sad). But at least with Millie, there's no real evidence that she's upset with Blitzø, just a lot of clever editing to make us think that at first watch.

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "The Mystery of Chopper Base"

Spiders. Why did it have to be spiders.

So first off, it's hilarious and adorable that they named it "Chopper Base". Did Chopper claim dibs on the name since he's the one who found it or did they name it after him to be all, "Okay, yeah, you did really good this time." as a nice little way to honor him?

*chants* At-ol-lon, At-ol-lon, At-ol-lon, At-ol-lon. :D

Ahhh haven't heard the mellow variation of the Main Titles theme in a while.

Actually I think this is the same cue that opened "Path of the Jedi" I recognize these little string ditties.

Kanan and Ezra have been sparring in the cargo hold for hours, it's implied, and Sabine has been watching. You can already hear from the modified buzzing that the sabers are in training mode, and Kanan is performing a lot of basic strikes, reminding Ezra of the fundamentals maybe?

In light of his internal decision in "Shroud of Darkness" Kanan has apparently resolved to cram in as much last-minute lightsaber practice as possible before they have to go off and possibly confront Vader and the Inquisitors. He's pushing Ezra a little bit hard, and you can hear Ezra's frustration.

Something interesting I notice during this sparring session is that Kanan seems to be particularly focusing on getting Ezra to get out of situations where he's pinned against a wall.

HOO BOY all the little tiny things that wound up being horrible portents of things to come this episode.

"You win by surviving." Kanan already trying to correct Ezra in a "how we choose to fight" fashion.

Ezra's particularly snippy after all that, normally Sabine complimenting him would make him beam and try to say something cute or clever back but here he's just huffy and irritated.

"But since when are you my enemy?" *CRIES IN SIX MONTH GAP BETWEEN SEASON 2 AND SEASON 3 FEELS*

Hera's expression turns somber and downcast (which Sabine notices) riiiiight in time for us to have a fanfareless titlecard.

A very broken-down variation of the "Shenanigans" cue, with precise military-drum percussion accompanying it.

Hera unamused by Kanan's "excited face" lolol.

"So I can expect them to be late all the time then." Lol, yep, sorry AP, you picked a very disorganized scrappy band of underdogs.

Ha ha spoke too soon, Rex. Spoke too soon.

I feel so bad for Dicer, she didn't deserve to be spider chow. :(

Some clever foreshadowing with the dokma crouching under the sensor though.

"Everything you need." "...Except you and Ezra." :((((( Ugh the way Kanan and Hera's thread this episode feels vaguely like a messy divorce/separation in places.

Just because Hera understands and accepts that Kanan and Ezra have to leave to keep the rest of the base safe doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, doesn't make her any less worried and anxious.

Lol Chopper running straight into Ezra while chasing the dokma that got in.

Ah frick this scene.

This whole episode has this melancholy feel of the calm before the storm. Building up an anticipation of major narrative shake-ups, giving us a breather before things get really crazy.

"The deep breath before the plunge", as it were, since I know the nerds working on this show adore the Lord of the Rings films.

It permeates the whole story, infused in every small sad expression, every innocuous line of dialogue that hurts so much more afterwards.

Catch me crying forever about Ezra and Zeb's friendship and how close they've gotten and how sweet it is.

ALSO PLEASE DON'T THINK ABOUT ZEB THINKING BACK TO THIS MOMENT AFTER THE FINALE HAPPENS, WISHING AND HOPING FOR THE DAY WHEN HE CAN KEEP HIS PROMISE TO SWAP WAR STORIES WITH EZRA AND MISSING HIS LITTLE BROTHER TERRIBLY.

Ahhh I see we brought back the Fyrnock cue, once again signaling something dangerous and hungry lurking in the dark.

NOOOOOOOOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE. I DO NOT LIKE THE KRYKNA I DO NOT LIKE THEM.

"Aim for the eyes." Right and it turns out to be actually very hard to hit the eyes so that helps only slightly.

Cheeky Ezra with his lightsaber flashlight lol.

"We've got to get used to not having them around." :((((( No one knew at the time how long Kanan and Ezra were going to be separated from the rest so this hit a lot sadder back then. Still ouch tho.

Sabine so worried about Hera. :(

HA HA LOOK AT THIS BOY HE SEES A STRANGE NEW DANGEROUS CREATURE AND HIS EYES JUST LIGHT UP ALL, "I WILL MAKE IT MY FRIEND! :D"

He's so excited to try and connect with it aww.

Hints to the strained tension between Kanan and Ezra, they immediately fall to bickering once the threat is dealt with.

I... don't even wanna think about what they were going to use Rex for, probably storing him for food after they ate Dicer.

People complained about the fact that shots kept missing the eyes but I appreciate this little bit of realism about shot accuracy. Even trained marksmen will have trouble with a small moving target like that, they won't always hit the eyes every single time first try.

Lightsabers be more effective. :)

See, this is what I'm talking about, Zeb has great clustering, but the eyes are a four-inch round bullet hole on a moving hungry target with long legs.

Ezra's nervous little, "Well, we're safe in here, right?" and Hera's inability to confirm it.

These things even shrug off turret blasts ghgshkjh.

AND Hera's trick with the electrified hull that worked on the Fyrnocks.

The tense situation is fraying Ezra's already raw nerves. Love Sabine rolling her eyes all, "Okay chill for a minute drama queen."

"What am I doing on the ramp?"

Lol Ezra's idea is "Hurl girlfriend at problem to make it go away."

That panic in Kanan and Ezra's faces when they think they've flung her too far. <3

Badass family shot.

Sabine glancing from Hera to Kanan all, "Soooooo either of you gonna talk about the issues? No?"

Sabine sounds so sad here. :(

That palm to her forehead all, "My gosh this idiot." There's this hurt in her eyes and voice when tells Kanan, "[...]you're still walking out... and taking Ezra with you." A very loaded phrase and an interesting one. Sabine's choice of words here, "walking out" feels like a bit of a call forward to her backstory reveal, and also possibly more how she feels about the situation, rather than Hera.

Mayhap there be a niggling negative voice in her head that's saying, You're abandoning me and you're taking away my best friend too.

"We're gonna be okay" wow the layers in that one. We as in him and Hera, relationship-wise, we as in him and Ezra, physical safety-wise.

*SOBS OVER THIS EMBRACE AND "WE'LL SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN, I PROMISE."*

Frick they really know how to pull the Harsher In Hindsight on us.

Ezra still trying to connect with the krykna. :(((( That was the one talent he was better at than Kanan, that made Kanan so proud of him just a few episodes ago, and now it doesn't work.

Imperial March sliding into the strings there, as the convor heralds Ahsoka's arrival.

OH.

OH WAIT.

WAIT.

FFFFFFFFFF--WAS THAT DELIBERATE??!!???!

Wide-shot, pan up, Ezra walking towards the camera as the pan drops him out of frame, THAT WAS DELIBERATE WASN'T IT???!!???

ANSWER MEEEEEEE.

Ezra's theme plays haltingly one last time, the last note souring and the ominous Imperial March taking its place.

And boy if my levels of dread had not been sky high before lol.

As I said before, this episode is permeated with a sense of impending change, portents of doom hanging over us. It was very effective at setting the stage for "Twilight of the Apprentice", mentally preparing us for that crowbar piledrive into our kneecaps.

This is NOT filler it is NECESSARY connective tissue between the finale and the rest of the season and I will hear no slander about it.

It's just good writing.

[mrbensonmum]

TV Show - CSI: Las Vegas IV

We did it! The middle of the second season brought the much talked about changes in the aspect ratio, and at the same time, although it was subtly hinted at the beginning of the season, the lab and the interrogation rooms also changed.

But before we can enjoy this new, wonderful, screen-filling view, we have to go through another tough battle. Because yes, I'm harping on it, but Catherine is really exhausting at the beginning of the second season.

So far, she hasn't been confirmed as supervisor, and she graciously declined the temporary takeover by Grissom. Yet she behaves constantly like a boss, always bringing up that she's not properly appreciated, and her interactions with colleagues are just impossible; that's just not teamwork, sorry. Yes, she's supposed to be portrayed as the strong woman, and I can understand a certain gruffness there, but I find her incredibly disrespectful when working with Nick, Greg, or Sara. They're her colleagues and teammates, what's up with that??

This brings us directly to another point that struck me in the first part of the second season, namely the treatment of Greg. The impetus for this came from a comment by Grissom when Greg dared to call Paul Millander clever in his eyes. You can do that, and yes, Grissom is particularly involved in this case, but that was kind of intense. It made me realize that Greg is being treated quite disrespectfully. After all, he's a crucial point in almost every investigation; let's remember how often Grissom is with him, gets some info, and leaves with the idea to solve the case. It's no different with the others, and yes, Greg can be difficult, but he simply doesn't deserve this treatment.

Now I've watched one episode in the new format, and it feels like they've changed quite a bit here. We've already mentioned the aspect ratio, and as a result, the camera shots of the city feel much more natural and fuller. But even with the individual characters, more is revealed or they are set in scene differently. There's more play with the composition of the individual shots, and it feels like the series has undergone a facelift. The aforementioned lab has also changed; it hasn't received the full glass setup yet, but the somewhat outdated look from the first season is gone. Now, they play even more with the light; through the glass fronts, some shots can be better executed, and characters are often accompanied by the camera when walking through the facility or from one lab to another.

Other actors also have one of their first appearances here, just like back then in Dr. House. So we see an even younger Jeremy Renner and a very young Amanda Righetti, who will later become a regular on The Mentalist. What becomes of Jeremy Renner should be known!

With Paul Millander, who pulled a pretty big rabbit out of his hat in his last episode, we've also dealt with one of the first episode-spanning villains. Tammy is still around, but I found that Paul was much more present, especially because he managed to establish himself as a judge.

Meanwhile, Grissom's hearing impairment has also become noticeable, which will manifest more frequently as the series progresses. I especially like the episode where he reveals that he knows sign language because I really like Deanne Bray. She's always a ray of sunshine when I see her in a series, and it's fun to watch her speak or gesture in sign language. I just saw that she's also in Heroes for a longer period (9 episodes). Luckily, this series is also still on my rewatch list.

Now that we're practically in full throttle, because Doc Robbins and Super Dave are fully on board, along with Archie, who used to sit behind the cameras at a university and now works in his role as Archie in the CSI, we can really get started. My brain is already being flooded with wild memories, and I'm more excited than ever that I started this rewatch.

And don't worry, I haven't forgotten that we've already had the pleasure of meeting the charming Lady Heather. But I'll save that for the next post because we know there's still a lot more to come.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

We watched Emotion today. Aka, Fèlix's mental breakdown episode also featuring the weird Diamond Dance that feels like a cult meeting, but apparently isn't.

My SO was highly critical of the Diamond Dance's lackluster security. For an event of that caliber, security would be required to memorize the guest's faces to prevent interlopers. Marinette would never get in the door.

I was highly critical of the Diamond Dance in general because it and previous episodes (ex: Gabriel Agreste) implied that there was some sort of rich people conspiracy, but that never materialized, so on a rewatch, it just feels stupid. What was the in-universe point of this dance? What did previous dances look like if Kagami and Adrien only met this year, but were supposedly meant to be all along? Why waste production money having someone model this room? Nothing about this makes sense and it's clear that the writers put no thought into the lore of this world.

Moving on!

SO thought that Felix was Adrien acting under a senticommand to woo Kagami which is actually not an unreasonable assumption. It would have been an interesting twist, but then the show would have had to acknowledge just how messed up the sentistuff is and they're never going to do that. SO only got that it was Felix when Felix suggested leaving.

Marinette sneaking into the party instead of just texting Adrien like a normal teenager (or waiting until the next time she saw him) was painful to watch. She's supposed to be clever! Why in the world would she think that crashing the party was a good idea??? Who would see this as a romantic move? Writers, are you okay? The more you try to write the Adrienette romance, the more concerned I get. If that had actually been Adrien and not Felix, then this whole scene would have fallen apart. It's a clear example of writing for drama instead of writing logical characters.

When we saw Felix create Red Moon, I was asked to explain how sentimonsters work and, honey, I don't even think the writers know that. I have no idea how sentimonsters are an emotion brought to life while not appearing to have anything to do with emotions. And - in the case of the sentitriplets - somehow having a full range of emotions instead of just the one they're tied to. Akumas are more tied to emotions than sentimonsters (which is part of the reason why the peacock's power is so bland and derivative, but that's a rant for another day.)

SO is very sad that the cute bug girl & cat boy show is so poorly written and sees why I found this season depressing. He's seen that since Derision, but the more we learn about the sentistuff, the sader he gets because Adrien can never be free now.

We're both fans of narratives about abuse victims escaping abuse and finding freedom, but Adrien will never have true freedom. He'll always have to be paranoid about his rings. I can just picture his future kids wanting to go in the ocean with him and he can't because then he'd risk losing his rings and it's not like he can take them off and leave them behind! They're not even safe from theft when he's wearing them (thanks for establishing that Felix)! Just what an awful, awful thing to do to a person.

My SO and I enjoy family-oriented shows specifically because shows aimed at adults are often depressing. Family shows are supposed to be a way for us to relax because we know that good with triumph and that the ending will be happy, but ever since season four, Miraculous is the worst of both worlds! They keep introducing serious, depressing elements and then not exploring them or outright ignoring them because those things don't suit the intended tone of the show.

Miraculous never needed to be deep. I never wanted it to be deep. And it's not deep. It's as shallow as a puddle of water, but the writers clearly think that they're being deep and it's painful.

For example, this episode shows all of the rich kids at the Diamond Dance being selfish and rude because that's totally why people don't like the uber wealthy! They're all meany pantses! It's certainly got nothing to do with the 1% using their money to hurt the planet or manipulate society or cause housing crises or anything like that!

But we can't talk about those issue because this episode features Zoe, Felix, Adrien, Kagami, Chloe, Marinette, and Lila. Only two of those characters aren't uber wealthy (as far as we know) and implying that special babies Zoe, Felix, Adrien, and Kagami are part of The Problem is just not going to happen.

To be clear, I don't think that a bunch of 13 and 14-year-olds are actually part of The Problem, but if you want to address the issues with uber wealth and you've decided to make a bunch of your characters part of the uber wealthy, then those characters need to have or develop an understanding of the problem and a desire to change it once they're old enough to do so. They're not doing that in this show. They've just made it that wealth is some sort of meanness disease that the special babies didn't catch for some reason and it's asinine.