#and then in 4x08 the entire episode is about her not needing no man

[gayofthefae]

Funny how El isn't in 4x04 at all so you can really immerse yourself in Mike and Will's scenes but Will is in every single one of their without fail.

[theawkwardanglophile]

What are your top 5 episodes??

I should have seen this coming! 😂 Thanks for the ask, Sarah, and I’m sorry I didn’t get this out sooner. My brain was mush the past couple of days and I wanted to give this my full attention when I made my decisions. And, man, I DELIBERATED on this! My criteria were episodes that were Chenford-heavy, so some eps that have like one big amazing Chenford scene (4x18 for example) were left out. And I'm sure this might change at some point, but I feel pretty good about where everything landed for now. So here we go….

5x12 Death Notice This ep just has EVERYTHING: the end of their era of riding together, being flirty at work, ridiculous married vibes (the lint picking??), LUCY LESSON (how did it take them 5 years to come up with the greatest term to counter Tim Tests? Bring back Lucy Lessons in S6!), the lengths they both will go to for each other, Tim's talk with Grey, and of course, NAKED TIME. And that doesn't even cover all of it. I just love it to pieces.

5x10 The List The absolute high this episode gave me, after a full month of bliss already with them being canon. The most delicious rom-commy cold open that I could have hoped for, trying on their entire closets and then being so painfully, adorably awkward on their date. Then Tim and Lucy being ANYTHING but subtle at work, which is just so hilarious considering they can be so stealthy when needed on the job, but trying to hide their relationship? Umm, y'all weren't fooling anyone. Maybe Nolan. And the precious first/second date at the end. The GRANDKIDS, the SMILES, the KISS. Perfection!

4x09 Breakdown An Eric Winter master performance. I just wanted to hug Tim throughout the ep. Luckily, Lucy was there for that job, and what a hug it was! Tim lets go completely and sinks into her, all his walls down. He felt so safe with her. I love how her opinion of him means everything, and she was quick to offer reassurance (I truly believe her words in 4x08 were just a slip of the tongue). But I also love how Lucy is just doing life with Tim, the things that matter. Where was Ashley, hmmm? It's Lucy that's there helping with such a significant job of remodeling Tim's childhood house, and doing some wonderful future sister-in-law bonding with Genny. Also, Tim and Lucy power-walking through the station in plain clothes? A VIBE.

4x12 The Knock The most insane double date ever? My gosh, this ep has so much fun stuff in it, so many little details, that even though Lucy started dating Chris, and Ashley decided to turn a blind eye and continue dating Tim, after watching this I had never been more convinced that Chenford was endgame. Every part of the double date is gold, and Tim and Lucy's scenes on the job beautifully showcase how seamlessly they work together (and their total lack of personal space). LOVE IT.

2x13 Follow-Up Day This ep was an early fave, and still holds a special place. TIM GAVE UP A PROMOTION FOR LUCY. Way before Court Liaison there was THIS. Lucy is his biggest cheerleader this whole ep (and, you know, always), and Grey's knowing looks during the test score scene is *chef's kiss*. And the scene outside the bakery is everything. Their faces say so much! They were being such flirts in S2, to the point that I originally wondered if they might actually start something later that season. THAT'S how powerful that scene was.

Honorable mentions:

2x11 Day of Death I know, I know, and part of me feels like it should be in the top five. I mean, it is without a doubt one of the best episodes, if not the best, they ever made. It's so powerful, and was the turning point in my shipping, because I'd only been mildly intrigued by Chenford in a few S2 eps, but DOD cemented me as a full-fledged shipper (little did I know it would become my best shipping experience of all time). But it can be a hard one to watch, and I just love those others a tiny bit more.

5x08 The Collar There are so many moments to love in this ep. It truly changed everything with Tim and Lucy, and the more I've seen their talk outside at the end, the more it grows on me. It really is so them. Even though they become CANON in this one, I think because there is so much clueless Chris, and the tough scene with the first bomb victim, it just didn't quite make it to the top 5.

3x09 Amber Anyone who was around when this aired knows we all lost our minds pretty good with this ep. It grew on me more and more over time, and I love it so much. The whole confession scene still might be the longest uncut Chenford scene...ever? Just them talking in the shop. It's insanely wonderful! And this ep gave us Parking Garage Face and the beginning of a brand new chapter with Tim and Lucy.

5x01 Double Down Editing to add this one, because I started questioning everything, and it did NOT feel right to leave this one out. What a fantastic collection of moments. The airplane kiss is top tier, HANDS, the gorgeous shots of them in the car in Vegas, it doesn't feel like pretend, etc. And even though I'm so glad they didn't cheat, I'll never be over the fact SHE OPENED THE DOOR FOR HIM AND HE WENT IN.

[valenschmidt]

IT'S 3AM AND CALL ME A CLOWN BUT....

This is gonna be a little long but bear with me cause I have a point.

I believe this entire Eddieana and what happened this episode is heavily hinting that something big is coming...

This entire season we have had subtle Buddie moments AND also moments that hint that Buck and Eddie co-parent Christopher together and I'm gonna list it for you:

We start in 4x03 where Eddie and Buck have this 'good cop, bad cop' scene with Christopher and the video games where Buck tells Christopher no after a silent very mom/dad like pose which says 'Try and defy me' which is very common between married couples who co-parent (I've seen it with my parents a few times). We continue this episode with this cute little prank with the coffee maker that Buck and Chris play on Eddie (which was hilarious and really cute btw)

We move on to the crossover when Buck gets sad (and kind jealous when he finds out that Eddie is gonna work with Marjan instead of him

Later in the ep we have TK (an openly gay man) who thinks Buck is flirting with him AND OPENLY TELLS BUCK he has a boyfriend when Buck suggests they "get together" if TK's in LA sometime... AND on top of that when TK disappears of the frame who appears right after? Yup Eddie

We move on to 4x04 in which we have the scene with the 'Karen's murder' where we have Buck and Eddie playing detective together in a very cute way trying to discover the woman's killer. Then we have the punching bag scene in which after being angry for a while, a conversation with Eddie helps Buck with his anger.

We move on to Buck begins!!! Where in the factory fire JUST AS BUCK is about to give up, the 118 shows up to help him. Who is the first one there??? Eddie. Then we have the scene with Eddie waiting for buck's clean bill of health... And then the whole "Show off" scene which honestly?? EDDIE YOUR FONDNESS!!!

Now we get to the good stuff.... 4x06. JINX. My favorite episode! Where we have the clipboard scene with fond Eddie and the cutest moment with Buck and Eddie laughing in that whole helium scene but also it's the one where we get an incoming... Ana. Bobby tells Eddie this advice which resonates with me

"They're so focused on what they don't have, that they miss the chance to have something else. Something real" and tells Eddie to try and move on... But this line I believe it's more for us. Eddie will be SO focused on what he doesn't have (a 'mom' for Christopher) that he misses the chance to have something real. Something that is right in front of his face (Buck) and tries to find it on Ana (which is where our misery begins)

We have 4x07 where the focus of story arcs shifts to other characters and we don't get that much here BUT we get Buck trying to 'date' and failing miserably with Veronica.

In 4x08 is where the fun starts and co-pareting buddie starts to show... We have on one side Buck who is having issues with Albert and Veronica dating which leads to uncomfortable Buck in his own apartment. Our dear Taylor Kelly comes back but we see her relationship with Buck change to a really nice friendship. On the otherside we have Eddie who starts dating Ana and Christopher finds out which leads to his outburst to Eddie (which had never happened before) and then... HE RUNS AWAY. WHERE!? To Buck. To his other parent. The only other person who makes him feel safe (we get kind of like a divorced!buddie vibe here too). This beautiful scene between them shows us how Buck is Chris other parent AND ALSO that Buck and Taylor are truly becoming friends now. And then we get this really rushed scene where Edmundo (not eddie, Edmundo) introduces Christopher to Ana as if that's gonna make him feel better after the outburst he had and that made no sense at all to the point of the episode

In 4x09 we get a little bit of Buddie working together as the partners they are but the focus is on Chimney and Hen this ep so we just get breadcrums

In 4x10 we get the biggest hint so far... The episode is called PARENTHOOD! And it focuses on obviously the parents of the 118. Bathena and Michael, Henren and Madney. Who is the only parent who gets left out here?? Eddie... Why?? Because we all know that Chris has two parents and they don't want to acknowledge that just yet cause... Reasons. BUT we get nice hints. The few scenes in which we have Buck we get him talking about children at the same level as the rest of the 118. He acts and talks like he's already a parent. Why? Because he is!!!

We get this scene which is very subtle (BUT ALSO VERY NOTICEABLY) where we have the 'good cop, bad cop parents' and their kid. Chimney asks if both parents can be the 'good cop' AND BOTH BUCK AND EDDIE RESPOND NO! As if they know by first hand that a kid needs both, good and bad. This HEAVILY hints buddie co-parents or there's no point to this moment. In the same epsiode we get this AWFUL and very rushed scene with Buddieana and Chris in literally the last minute of the parenthood episode where Chris didn't even show up. The show portrays them as the 'adorable family who watches tv together' when they showed us JUST a few scenes ago the very noticeable buddie co-parenting scene. Why you say?? To remind us Eddie and Ana are still dating.

My point??? It's all on purpose. This is all hinting that something big might be coming. That's why we are getting so little scenes, why buddie is "pulling away". Also the fact that Ana is just here as Eddie's love interest and has literally no personality whatsoever is making me believe she's just being used as a background character. Even David (Michael's partner) has more personality than her and I think this is done on purpose. I believe something is gonna happen and this might all lead to Carla's appearance in an upcoming episode which could be the turning point of this storyline. Cocoa hinted that Carla will be coming back and she might be anti Ana (and possibly team buck). Will she knock some sense into Eddie? I really hope so

This took me an hour but it's here... Am I a clown? Yes. Am I reaching? Probably. But I had to get it out of my chest... Buddie is coming

[adamsparirsh]

can not stress enough how not serious this is but getaway car for bucktaylor. specifically "think about the place where you first met me" and the bar scene

the funniest thing about this ask is that you just compared bt to h*ddlesw*ft and that, my friend, is the most APT comparison you've made today holy shit

i'm actually laughing rn. is buck miss swift in this scenario? i'm thinking yes (if only bc the progression is then to cruel summer in which he and eddie get together).

WAIT WAIT. no one asked but here's an analysis of this because i seriously can't look at my paper anymore or i'll cry myself to sleep tonight. under a cut bc that is so not fair to anyone if i didn't put one in LOL

"no, nothing good starts in a getaway car" - yeah no fucking shit

"it was the best of times, the worst of crimes i struck a match, i blew your mind but i didn't mean it, and you didn't see it" - this is like. the first time they have sex. i get that buck is like "looking for someone" but he knows it's not gonna be taylor kelly, except she honestly can't stop coming back to him. she was like... kind of into him right away weirdly, even though she kinda disappeared after 2x07/2x08

"the ties were black, the lies were white, the shades of gray in candlelight, i wanted to leave him, i needed a reason" - this is buck talking about abby

i think the pre-chorus is actually the most damning part of the song besides the bridge?

"x marks the spot where we fell apart" - treasure hunt episode, where buck is like hey we make a great team, and taylor tries to push him away, and then you go to ghost stories, and buck is the one saying they don't make a great team anymore (through his actions) "he poisoned the well, every man for himself" - this is about the way they treat each other, specifically how neither of them know how to be there for each other "i knew it from the first old fashioned, we were cursed" - yeah this is obvious lmao "it hit you like a shot-gun, shot in the dark" - this is taylor being floored when buck didn't chase after her and then suddenly wanting him back

the entire chorus is like. so them. they're in the getaway car, trying so hard to be something but they're never gonna go anywhere, because at first buck has literally JUST left abby behind, and by the time we get to taylor's return in 4x08, buck is well involved in the diaz family and is like. obviously in love with eddie.

specifically "don't pretend it's such a mystery/should've known i'd be the first to leave, think about the place where you first met me: in a getaway car" like. they can NEVER be endgame because both times they tried to start anything buck's been hung up on something that makes him unavailable, and now taylor's hung up on the past, and it's just never going to work!

the SECOND VERSE

"it was the great escape, the prison break the light of freedom on my face but you weren't thinking and i was just drinking" - this is buck using her to escape his fucked up feelings after the shooting, right? like she kisses him (she's not thinking) and he just lets it happen? he's just drinking it all in.

"well he was runnin' after us, i was screaming 'go, go, go' but with three of us honey it's a sideshow and a circus ain't a love story and now we're both sorry" - buck's trauma involving eddie and christopher is following them through this new iteration of their relationship, and once it's over, it's one of those things where i can imagine they're both sorry. like buck is sorry his heart was never in it, taylor's sorry she let herself get hurt

"x marks the spot, where we fell apart he poisoned the well, every man for himself i knew it from the first old fashioned, we were cursed" same as before "it hit you like a shotgun, shot to the heart" - the breakup! eek!

then the bridge. "we were jet-set, bonnie and clyde til i switched to the other side it's no surprise i turned you in 'cause us traitors never win" - buck just can't do it anymore, so instead of repeating his past relationships (being left), he leaves this time, because he's becoming the thing that hurt him (abby leaving)

"i'm in a getaway car i left you in the motel bar put the money in the bag and i stole the keys that was the last time you ever saw me" - literally don't know what more to say except this analysis was way too in depth for a relationship that i don't care about BUT bt and h*ddlesw*ft is the funniest comparison in the world THANK you for this

[firelxdykatara]

hello!! i just wanted to ask- i wanna do an ouat rewatch bc CAPTAIN SWANN but its pretty long and i honestly dont care for the other characters/how badly the overall writing was handled.. which are your favourite captain swan eps? anything them centered and i think ill just skip around to rewatch their romance as they did invent romance 😭😭 ty in advance <3

they absolutely did invent romance, you are right about that and i love them so much

UHMMMM as far as my favorite CS eps, here’s a roadmap of what I personally consider key eps in their journey (some of this is from memory but I haven’t done a full rewatch in a while so i’m going through the episode list as a refresher)

2x06: Tallahassee--this is a must-watch ep for any CS fan, and I really think this is the episode that sparked the fire that CS would become as a fandom. It has everything--flirtatious banter, all kinds of tension, deliberate parallels drawn between Emma and Killian’s pasts, as well as their first meeting being intercut with her relationship with Neal (which serves, especially in hindsight, to highlight just how sketchy that relationship was, and why she couldn’t bring herself to trust Killian--because the last time she felt this way about anyone, it ended horribly)

2x08 and 2x09: Into the Deep and Queen of Hearts--these episodes cover the race to the portal between Emma&co and Hook/Cora and while they don’t do a ton for CS as a relationship since they’re still enemies at this point, it lays great foundation for their future relationship development. Plus, sexy swordfight, Hook going out of his way to save Aurora’s heart--he may be a pirate, but he has standards ok--and Emma realizing Cora can’t remove her heart without her permission? Poetic Cinema

2x11: The Outsider--more of a Killian-centric episode, it shows a lot of Killian at his worst but it’s necessary for his overall character arc and I genuinely love looking back and seeing just how far he managed to come, to the point of eventually even letting go of his (very understandable) grudge against Rumplestiltskin.

2x12: In the Name of the Brother--am I including this purely for Emma&Hook banter in the hospital, and Killian saying ‘hey beautiful’ when he’s lying on the road because he just got hit by a fucking car? You bet I am. Also, go to youtube and look up ‘ouat season two deleted scene jello’, because it’s beautiful and there was a tremendous outcry in the fandom when we realized it had been cut from the episode lmao (It’s also the episode that made me start shipping Frankenwolf, which I’m still sad never went anywhere, but they had a lot of potential and great chemistry.)

2x22: And Straight On Till Morning--A few of the episodes in between have some fun minor interactions and flashbacks (and I always approve of episodes where Killian gets one up on Rumple, so 2x15 is fun for me if i ignore all the Neal bits) but the finale is where we finally get a glimpse of who Killian could be beyond his need for revenge. He didn’t have to come back, he didn’t have to bring back the bean and help the town--but he did.

Season 3a: there’s a lot of really good stuff here for Hook and Emma that is interwoven between the A plots of other episodes. I think, as far as half-season arcs go, it’s one of the best (and everything after 4a bombed hard, but I digress) But there are a few episodes that stand out if you don’t want to watch the whole season. (I recommend starting with the premier though, it was a really solid season starter overall.)

3x05: Good Form--this is the culmination of David’s poisoned-by-dreamshade arc, and is also Peak Captain Charming Bromance. Hook not only keeping David’s secret, but doing everything he can to help save him??? Poetic cinema. It also provides some crucial Killian backstory, showing how he lost his brother to the very same dreamshade. Plus, the character development--Pan offers Killian a chance to escape the island with Emma if he kills David, and instead, he saves him, refusing the deal and damn the consequences. Also also? The first CS kiss which drove the fandom WILD.

3X06: Ariel--not only to I love OUaT’s take on Ariel, but this episode has the infamous Echo Cave scene, which involves a lot of feelsy confessions and Killian being the one to tell everyone that Neal is alive and helping Emma save him despite his own growing feelings for her.....IT’S JUST A LOT AND I LOVE IT.

3x07: Dark Hallow--oh man, I’d forgotten about this episode, but it has Killian and Neal fighting over Emma, which may sound eye-roll worthy, but Emma is allowed to tear them a new one about it and it’s one of the few times she’s allowed to actually???? put her own feelings first so I have to include it here on spec

3x11 and 3x12: Going Home and New York City Serenade--these mark the end of 3a and start of 3b respectively, and it has some amazing shit like Killian vowing never to forget Emma and Emma smiling as she replies, “Good.” And then she and Henry are in New York with their memories completely altered, but Killian shows up because Storybrooke is back and in jeopardy, and he helps Emma get back to her family and her home and, much later, Emma finds out he sold the Jolly Roger to be able to do it and it’s just. It’s beautiful ok.

3x17: The Jolly Roger--there’s honestly not a whole lot in the back half of season 3 (until the CS movie) but of course anything named for Hook is a must-watch, and this is where we get the iconic line I swear on Emma Swan--which is Killian saying he’s in love with her before he even realizes it. We also find out just what he did to Ariel, and his attempts to make amends are what lead to Zelena being able to curse him, so it’s great from a character perspective as well.

The next four episodes round out the end of the season, and there’s a lot of great stuff in them--Hook refusing to get Emma to kiss him, but Emma feeling like she can’t trust him because he didn’t tell her about the curse to begin with, and then kissing him anyway to save his life regardless of the consequences.... but the only ones that are absolutely necessary are the final two episodes.

They are colloquially termed ‘The Captain Swan Movie’ for a reason, after all.

Killian and Emma essentially have an entire Time Travel adventure all to themselves, where they accidentally ruin her parents first meeting and have to fix it so that she’ll even be born, Emma finally getting into the storybook, the pair of them dancing at a ball, Killian rushing to save Emma only for her to get out of the cell herself, because “The only one who saves me is me.” Killian saying “I would go to the ends of the world for her... or time.” Finally fixing the timeline and making it back to Storybrooke and Killian feeling like he doesn’t deserve a place at the table so he doesn’t go inside, but Emma comes out to him anyway and finds out he gave up the Jolly Roger for her, the true start to their relationship...... IM CRYING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT I’M SORRY.

I personally really enjoyed 4a, the Frozen arc was one of the last good half-season arcs of the show, but a lot of people disliked it so it’s really up to interpretation. I don’t have as many Intense Opinions on this season (except hating almost everything about 4b and the queens of darkness arc), but I will say the episodes with good Killian/CS moments are 4x02 (Emma nearly freezes to death, Killian is desperate to save her, Captain Charming teamwork, my heart hurts), 4x04 (Emma asks Killian out on a real date, he tries to get his real hand back from Gold, things go massively awry and he winds up back under Gold’s thumb), 4x08 (Killian tries to save Emma from Gold’s plans), 4x11 (the 4a finale is just great in general), and then..... it cannot be overstated how much I hate season 4b, but 4x15 is the Killian-centric ep where his past with Ursula is revealed and he makes amends to her in order to get her to leave the QoD alliance and it’s great character stuff for him, and then there’s the season 4 finale.

Both parts are worth watching, if only because Deckhand Coward Hook still being a braver, more heroic man than ‘Hero Rumplestiltskin’ warms the very cockles of my heart, and of course the second part of the finale has him helping Henry to save Emma and it’s beautiful and also Emma watches him die for her and it is angsty as FUCK but gods I love it. Here’s where it gets tricky, though--my recommendation is, turn the episode off right after Emma finds Killian back in the present day of Storybrooke and they reunite.

Just turn off the episode there and skip right ahead to the s6 musical episode (Emma and Killian’s wedding ep) and pretend they got married and none of seasons 5 or 6 ever happened. >.> (Although I will say certain parts of the Underworld arc were incredibly feelsy despite how much I overall hated the season: 5x11 (the 5a finale, Killian as the dark one STILL being a better man than rumple, we love to see it), 5x15 (I am not immune to Brothers Jones feelings ok), 5x20 (emma literally takes a True Love Test trying to find a way to save killian, you don’t get more romantic than that--also Killian telling Emma to promise she won’t put her armor back up just because she lost him again??? my HEART), 5x21 (Hook does what he can from the Underworld anyway and zeus sends him back to Emma, they really just said ‘today I will invent romance’ and then Did That)

And then, yeah, just skip to the wedding. It’s beautiful, I enjoyed the music, personally, though I know musical episodes are hit or miss with most people. And if you turn it off when the last musical number starts (after the wedding ceremony, I believe) you can pretend it was the end of the show! =DDD

.....Oh my god I just rambled for years. I HOPE YOU FIND THIS USEFUL, ANON. I 100% support a CS-centered rewatch, their episodes were consistently some of the best across the entire series, and they are truly one of my favorite romances of all time.

[therealsaintscully]

My list of X-Files inspired BBC Sherlock fic prompts

 I recently finished reading @88thparallel​‘s fabulous “Written in Ashes”, a BBC Sherlock fic inspired by the X-Files episode Demons. I’m a huge X-Files fan myself, and the idea of adapting an XF story into a Sherlock one sent me down a rabbit hole. I decided to compose a list of ideas, all up for grabs, for X-Files plots that can be adapted in interesting ways to a BBC Sherlock casefics.

Below you’ll find a list of X-Files episode with their original description, and some suggestions based on my knowledge of the two shows of what makes the plot an interesting one to write. As I mentioned, these ideas are PROMPTS, suggestions - feel free to write them. In fact it’ll be my honor! Let me know if and when you do (I might even create a collection for them in AO3).

Ice (1x07) - Mulder and Scully  investigate the death of an Alaskan research team. Isolated and alone, the agents and their accompanying team discover the existence of extraterrestrial parasitic organisms that drive their hosts into impulsive fits of rage.  Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: extreme nature adventures (mountains, snow, remote research facilities); isolated together with strangers in a distant location (Ice was supposed to be a bottle episode); a lot of suspense as Mulder and Scully’s trust in each other is put to the test (a handgun showdown), physical inspections rife with sexual tension, ooo! 

Darkness Falls (1x19) - Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate when a team of loggers disappear without a trace. Initially suspecting eco-terrorism, the agents find themselves trapped by a seemingly ancient menace lurking in the woods. According to Wikipedia, “Chris Carter was inspired to write this episode based on an interest in dendrochronology (sic? that’s how it’s spelled in wikipedia), a subject that involves analyzing annual growth rings found in non-tropical tree species.”  An interesting topic to develop!  Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: Just like in Ice, opportunity to write magnificent nature descriptions; also like in Ice, Mulder and Scully have to fend to themselves against the ‘others’; wonderful quotes such as “Rugged manly-men. In the full bloom of their manhood.” and “Come on, Scully. It'll be a nice trip to the forest." A Three Garridebs moment could work here!

Pusher (3x17) - Ah, Pusher. An early Vince Gilligan classic! Mulder and Scully’s assistance is requested for a case involving a man, who goes by the pseudonym "Pusher", seemingly capable of bending people to his will. The suspect uses his mysterious abilities to manipulate Mulder into a dangerous end game.  Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: Many parallels can be found between Modell and Eurus and or Moriarty; the game of cat and mouse in hopes of luring Mulder as the end game is quite similar to the TFP/TGG; the final game of Russian roulette with Mulder at the end is a classic MSR scene which could be lovely to write for John and Sherlock (Gillian is amazing with that One Tear™  while she threatens Modell); an opportunity to instill a fear of a very specific shade of blue in your readers; a chance of a sequel, since Modell returns with a vengeance in Kitsunegari.

Jose Chung's From Outer Space (3X20) - Mulder and Scully hear, and promptly investigate, a story about an alien abduction of two teenagers. Each witness provides a different version of the same facts. Within the episode, a thriller novelist, Jose Chung, writes a book about the incident.  Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: Humor! Lots and lots self-aware, meta-type inner-jokes humor as an observant book writer describes Mulder/Sherlock’s many weird traits.

Avatar (3x21) - Assistant Director Walter Skinner  is accused of murdering a prostitute, Mulder and Scully investigate to determine the truth behind what happened. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: A fine chance to turn Skinner into Sholto or one of John’s other army friends (Skinner discusses trauma from his days in Vietnam in this episode, which could be adapted to Afghanistan). John Asks for Sherlock’s help on behalf of Sholto/said friend and there’s a thrilling prospect of some good old jealousy :) *After writing this I kinda fell in love with this idea and I might attempt writing this, but I’m absolutely not claiming this exclusively! If you like the idea go ahead!

Paper Hearts (4X08) - Another Vince Gilligan episode, my go-to one these days for when I miss the show and need a good dose of Mulder and Scully. I can go on and on about why I love this episode but I’ll spare you from that right now ;) Mulder and Scully find that a child killer who Mulder had helped to apprehend several years earlier had claimed more victims than he had confessed to; and in the resulting investigation, learn that the killer is now claiming to have killed Mulder's sister Samantha. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: The Alice in Wonderland theme in the episode is somewhat reminiscent of the Hansel and Gretel theme from TRF so Moriarty could be one way to go; another way to go is have Eurus as a villain in a TFP plot fix-it (if you find the Sherrinford plot exaggerated), with Sherlock’s hope of finding Victor’s body by the end of the game.

Zero Sum (4x21) - In the episode, a case Mulder is asked to investigate is covertly covered up by the agents' boss Walter Skinner, who has made a sinister bargain with The Smoking Man. Scully is missing in this episode (Mulder cites her cancer treatments; Gillian Anderson was filming something else at the time). Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: A wonderful opportunity for a Lestrade-as-Skinner story!  (and you’re given a fine chance to write a Lestade naked with nothing but pants situation); Mulder is a bit lost without Scully in this episode so that’s added background Johnlock angst; the story can happen when John is away, either during his honeymoon or after Mary dies.

The Pine Bluff Variant (5x18) - This is an underrated episode which I quite like, personally. Scully grows suspicious of Mulder when she thinks he may be helping a terrorist organization. Scully begins to wonder if he is now a traitor to the FBI. It is eventually revealed that Mulder is working as a mole in the group, and he is trying to stop them before they are able to use a biological weapon—that may have been created by members of the U.S. government—which causes rapid degeneration of human flesh. Cool plot points you might enjoy: alternating POVs between Sherlock and John; a lot of tension between John and Sherlock while John is suspicious; Mycroft recruiting Sherlock to appear as a traitor.

Triangle (6x03) - What can I possibly say about Triangle that hadn’t been said before? Cool plot points you might enjoy: An AU-within-AU opportunity - a chance for John and Sherlock to meet in a WW2 era, saved by rebel-Nazi Lestrade, Sherlock’s irregulars are The Lone Gunmen, a kiss, a punch, “You’re my one in five billion” (remember when there 5 billion people on this planet?) :) If you do write this, please make sure present John and past John pass each other by and get a strange, tingling sensation as a result! It’s one of my favorite scenes in the entire show.

Dreamland I & II (6x04 and 6x05) - Mulder and Scully visit Area 51. But when the agents witness the flight of a mysterious craft, Mulder and a member of the Men in Black switch bodies, unbeknownst to the others. In part two, Scully begins to suspect that her partner's strange behavior is more than it appears to be, while Mulder fights to return his life to normal before it is too late. Cool plot points you might enjoy: Humor, humor and more humor. Mostly Morris Fletcher trying to bed John (=Scully) who promptly pulls a gun on him. That should be an awesome scene to write in and of itself. And let’s not forget “Lately, for lunch, you've been having this six-ounce cup of yogurt, plain yogurt, into which you stir bee pollen because you're on a bee pollen kick even though I tell you you're a doctor and you should know better.“ as well as “I’d kiss you if you weren’t so damn ugly.”

Tithonus (6x09) - Another underrated episode. I think it deals with the theme of death’s inevitability rather beautifully. Scully learns that she, but not Mulder, is being given a chance to prove her worth at the FBI, and—paired with a new partner—she investigates a crime scene photographer with an uncanny knack for arriving just in time to see his victims' final moments. What she does not expect, however, is for Death to play a role himself. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: John exploring on his own, for one reason or another, attached to another investigator (things happen!); this episode further explores a theory referred throughout the show since Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose, that Dana Scully is immortal (she seems to avoid death in this episode as well). It’s an Appointment in Samarra sort of story.

Monday (6x15) - Mulder and Scully are stuck in a deadly time loop. It’s a story that writes itself! Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: Sherlock or John having a really bad morning, over and over again.

Alpha (6x16) - Mulder and Scully investigate several killings blamed on an Asian dog called the Wanshang Dhole, thought to be extinct. Mulder and Scully join an obstinate Sheriff, a seemingly eccentric hunter, and a reclusive canine expert to find it. However, there is more mystery to the expert than meets the eye. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: I enjoy this episode because it has some gentle but obvious MSR moments. Scully is suspicious (and low-key jealous) of Karin Berquist’s involvement in the case and it colors her opinion of the investigation. A key quote in this episode, preformed softly and beautifully by Gillian, is: “She's enamored of you Mulder. Don't underestimate a woman. They can be tricksters, too.”

The Unnatural (6x17) - This is a weird ass episode, let’s admit it. This is DD’s love story to baseball and it’s silly and sometimes boring/slow. BUT, it has lovely MRS moments.  Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: The structure of story within a story (Mulder retells his time spent with Arthur Dales who tells him the story of Josh Exley) is interesting enough. The opening and closing scenes are lovely as well of course!

X-Cops (7x12) - Mulder and Scully are interviewed for the Fox reality television program Cops during an X-Files investigation. Mulder, hunting what he believes to be a werewolf, discovers that the monster terrorizing people instead feeds on fear. While Mulder embraces the publicity of Cops, Scully is more uncomfortable about appearing on national television. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: It’s your chance to write a Sherlock crossver fic about an X-Files crossover episode. If that’s not cool, I don’t no what is.

Hollywood A.D. (7x18) - Let’s admit it, Hollywood A.D is not a good episode, as funny as it is. This episode was one of the first signs the show had lost its edge, possibly because they thought this would be their truly-this-time last season. However, it IS funny and gave rise to fans claims that by this point, Mulder and Scully were Definitely Sleeping Together. Wayne Federman, an entrepreneurial Hollywood producer and college friend of Walter Skinner picks up the idea for a film based on the X-Files, however Mulder and Scully find that the level of realism in their fictional portrayal is somewhat questionable. Meanwhile, during the filming of the movie, Mulder and Scully research the mysterious "Lazarus Bowl", an artifact that supposedly has the exact words that Jesus Christ spoke to raise Lazarus from the dead recorded on its surface. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: Lots of inner-jokes and crack humor, many fluffy moments, the chance to imagine who’ll play Lestrade, Sherlock and John in a BBC Film, Lazarus could refer to The Fall(!), which could be the plot to said film.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Mulder and Scully have both left the FBI, but when an FBI agent is mysteriously kidnapped, and a former priest who has been convicted of being a child molester claims to be experiencing psychic visions of the endangered agent, they reluctantly accept the FBI's request for their paranormal expertise. I know, I know. Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t like it either at first, but a) compared to the revival seasons, it’s not that bad and b) in terms of established relationship angst, it’s a fucking goldmine. Cool plot points you might enjoy writing: A chance to write a post-recent-retirement fic for Sherlock and John, with a lot of tension in their established relationship based around John’s reluctance to return to their lives as investigators. IWTB has quotes like “This isn't my life anymore, Mulder. I'm done chasing monsters in the dark.” and “This stubbornness of yours, it's why I fell in love with you.”  So there! Don’t dismiss the idea so quickly!

Wow, this turned out longer than I expected! I hope you liked them, and even if you don’t write anything - I definitely enjoyed this exercise.

My finished fics are ready to be read on AO3 :)

[arsenicpanda]

☕️ the epic love story of Riverdale, barchie

I appreciate your sarcasm, anon, I really do.  I honestly don’t have many opinions on Archie/Betty other than that it’s Bad and Boring and Barely Developed.  Like, they have put zero effort into it because it’s not endgame and it would, honestly, be a waste of Riverdale’s time.  Like, Riverdale is a very fast-paced show, it doesn't like to spend time on things it doesn't consider absolutely necessary, and it prioritizes its batshit plot over character interludes, which is fine, that's the way it's always been, with the sole exception of 1x10 and 4x08 and mayyyybe 2x14.  Honestly, I don't mind because I’m here for the wild ride and they’ve established their main relationships enough for me to be invested.

But Riverdale doesn’t do slow burns, it just doesn’t, but it can convince you of a ship pretty damn quickly if it tries (see: bughead, which they pulled off in basically two episodes (I know, I know, there were scenes in 1x02, 1x03, and 1x04, but all the heavy lifting was done in 1x05 and 1x06), and archosie, which I think they also did in one or two episodes.  They do take their time with Veronica’s relationships though, I’ll give them that, and those always work, although the time they spend spread out over multiple episodes is probably roughly the same as the dedicated time they spent on bughead in 1x05 and 1x06.  They also sold me on Charles/Chic in a single scene, like, well done, guys), but it doesn’t always succeed (see: trying to sell choni in the b plot of a single episode when it definitely needed at least two, whatever the fuck they tried to pull off with falice in season 2 (although that might be the angle they tried to take on the ship more than anything else), and the B/A bullshit in 2x09 and 4x17 and 4x18).  Obviously, they didn’t try with B/A, and I don’t think they will try either.  I mean, maybe they’ll experiment with it in season 5a while Jughead and Veronica have their significant others, but I have my doubts (just as much as I have my worries, tbh).

Idk, man, it really fucks with both of their characters.  Betty's entire trajectory throughout the show has been about moving away from the image of the perfect girl next door and the idea of the life she's supposed to have, and being with Archie would just completely backtrack her on that.  Also, as much as they are friends, Betty doesn't seem to completely respect Archie or feel she can rely on him, based on their dynamic in 4x14, especially that scene where she’s completely talking down to him over the phone while she creepily and threateningly keeps tabs on him through the window to make sure he doesn’t fuck up.  As for Archie, there is of course the racist aspect of “After dating exclusively WoC, Archie settles down with the white girl next door” that is a huge yikes, like damn (a similar, classist angle can be taken on Betty going from dating the poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks to the appropriately middle class boy next door, but it’s not as glaring), but I also think it offers absolutely nothing for his character.  I just see no opportunities for growth there, y’know?  He, too, needs to grow from being just the golden boy next door.  Also, it completely undermines his early line to Veronica of, and I quote, “I’ve never felt...whatever it is I’m supposed to feel with Betty.”  Like, Archie has clearly felt pressure to be with Betty because being with the girl next door is the obvious path for him.  But it’s not what he wants, and it doesn’t offer growth opportunities for him any more than it does for Betty.

tl;dr I don’t like it, and, at most, it’s an underdeveloped diversion from the endgame ships.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Revolution Theme, Part 4 - The Governor’s Episodes

What led me to wanting to rewatch the Gov’s episode was a discussion with @galadrieljones. She talked about Lenny from 4b being an anti-Daryl, and that sparked something for me. I totally agree about Len, but it made me remember that, a long time ago, I remembered that Mitch (guy who operated the tank for the Gov and helped bulldoze the prison) was also an anti-parallel to Daryl.

Now, back when I first realized that, I didn’t have anywhere to really go with it. I mean, we had the leader (Governor) pitted against Rick and his right-hand guy (Mitch) pitted against Daryl. Mitch operated the tank, which Daryl blew up. And then of course Daryl ends up shooting Mitch in the heart. The thing that first made me realize Mitch was a Daryl parallel was the fact that he had no sleeves, lol. I know that’s goofy, but I think it’s intentional.

Anyway, I hadn’t thought about it in a long time. And while we’ve talked about Gov parallels to Beth in these two episodes lots of times before (like the stigmata walker in the yellow wheelchair) it suddenly occurred to me that there’s probably a LOT more to it than that.

Recently, especially since the bonus episodes, I’ve been big on looking at entire sequences and multi-episode arcs from a broad, bird’s eye view because I think they’re templates for future story lines. (It’s totally Find Me’s fault. Lol.) Anyway, I just realized I hadn’t done THAT with the Gov’s episodes, and I probably should.

Long story short, I was right.

Long story long, here we go:

So we start by seeing the end of 3x16 again, right after the Gov kills all his own people and takes off with Martinez and that other guy whose name I don’t remember. He doesn’t show up again and Martinez says he pretty much gave up and got eaten by walkers.

(We’ll skip the discussion about how Karen was a Beth proxy at this part in 3x16, because she was left for dead and even pretended like she was. In other words, she played possum. Then she returned to Tyreese and eventually became romantically involved with him. But that’s beside the point, right? ;D)

Okay, so we see the Gov and the two guys at a camp site and a very Beth-ish walker stomps through his fire, trips, and starts burning before Martinez kills it. I’ve always thought that was a Beth hint, and I still do. I think it’s just the writers’ way of signaling that this is a Beth template for the future.

When the Gov wakes up, his guys have abandoned him and he’s alone in this bright yellow tent that stands out against the bleak landscape. (Yellow.)

Then he goes and burns Woodbury. I’ve always tried to connect that to Beth, particularly because of the Moonshine shack. But looking at it now, there’s just something else entirely going on here. Emotionally, I mean.

We know Bethyl burning the moonshine shack symbolized something positive. Letting go of their pasts and moving forward. When the Gov does this, you don’t get that vibe at all. It’s more bitter and resentful. He’s angry and grieving over losing his leadership, the town he built up, and his people. It almost feels like a “if I can’t have it no one can” sort of thing.

So, this is total conjecture on my part, but I feel like there will be a Beth parallel to this. Probably not quite as destructive, but I’ve always had a head canon that somehow, after waking up, she’ll end up at Terminus, find the riot gear and Daryl’s poncho, and assume they all died there. That may be where the bitterness and sadness will come from. Just my head canon, though.

After that, the Gov starts on his long, lone journey (another thing we’ve always theorized Beth would do). Oh, and the song that plays over this part, which I’ve always thought was very pretty, is called The Last Pale LIGHT in the WEST (emphasis mine). I think the Gov goes west when he leaves.

Then we get voice overs, and this part is SUPER interesting and makes me very happy. We heard two women talking to the Gov about where he comes from and where he used to be. We now know those voices to be Tara and Lilly, but at this point in the episode, he hasn’t met them, yet. So, what’s interesting is that neither of them are named in the subtitles. They are just “woman.”

And where have we seen that lately? In 9x05, every voice (like Lori and Abraham, for example) was named, but Beth wasn’t. We immediately recognized her voice, but she wasn’t named in the subtitles as “Beth.” It just said “woman.” So, what does this mean? We wouldn’t have recognized Alanna’s voice yet at this point, unlike Emily’s, but we had yet to meet Tara yet. So, on a basic level, I think it shows that the unnamed “woman” will soon be a character on the show.

And why would they do that with Beth when, like Lori and Abe and the others, we’ve already met her? I think it’s probably in line with the theme about her being a different person when we see her again. In a good way. “Meet the new Beth Greene.”

The next important thing about this part is what is actually said. I’m paraphrasing here, but Tara and Lily ask where the Gov was before and he says something about having been in a town. Tara asks if the monsters were there. He says no. It was a good place, with walls. But “he” lost it. She asks, “who?” And he says, “the man in charge.” So clearly, he’s talking about himself in the third person, and Woodbury.

But.

If this is a Beth template, then Gov = Beth, right? We always wondered why they would use him, being evil and stuff, as a Beth proxy. But keep in mind that Gimple took over as official head honcho and completely reworked a reportedly terrible 3x16. They were basically done with the Woodbury/Gov storyline, and they needed a good sendoff for him. In a way, this was Gimple’s first Sirius arc. Someone who leaves, is presumed dead, but then comes back. We know Daryl (and Michonne) searched for him, but lost the trail (kinda like losing Beth’s body) and the Gov is even down one eye. Siriusly.

So, my point about the voice over is that everything said there could be applied to Rick, especially during the S4/S5. He lost it. He screwed up. Beth was left behind/separated from them.

Okay, now I’ll jump forward a little faster. For the rest of 4x06, there are really only two big things of note. 1) Tara and Lilly = two sisters who eventually lose their father. A foreshadow of the Greene family dynamic. And even though Tara’s father dies of natural causes (lung cancer), the Gov does end up bashing his face in to keep him from biting Tara. I think that was supposed to be kind of like him “killing” the dad, and therefore a foreshadow of him killing Hershel by taking his head.

The second thing, in terms of future Beth arcs, is that he lost everything, was left behind/abandoned by his people, went on a long journey, and eventually found people that he came to care about and protect. And I think the same will happen with Beth. In fact, it actually works in line with the Charleston template I laid out. Just a community of people she cares about and protects/takes care of.

And I’m sure some people will wonder about the fact that the Gov finds a love interest in Lilly, and if that will translate to Beth. Well, it’s possible. She might have had boyfriends over the years. We’ve discussed this. But it’s also important that her *true* love interest, Daryl, is already back with TF. And that wasn’t true of the Gov. He was never going to return to the prison and have some beautiful relationship with…anyone. The closest thing would have been Andrea, and she’d already died by this point.

There are, of course, small clues in 4x06 that I haven’t gone over, and of course I’ve skipped the rest home with the stigmata walker, because we know about that. But a few highlights: At one point, Tara says, “Ray Charles could have seen it” about their truck out front. Blindness mention. Lilly used to be a nurse, which ties to Grady. And she even talks about being bored, which is a direct link to Edwards being bored. 

Pirate theme, of course. I do think Megan represents Beth, though perhaps not directly in the template. She wears a lot of pink and yellow, blond hair, etc. And I think she’s just another way to say that this template is about the blond girl who, apparently, dies.

We should also probably appreciate that the way the Gov’s arc ends (the situation in 4x08) is a prisoner exchange situation where a Greene dies, and both directly ties to and foreshadows Grady.

But let’s move on. The end of 4x06/beginning of 4x07 is where they fall into a pit and meet Martinez. Let’s be real. In the show they call it “the pit” and it’s just used to keep walkers from overrunning their camp, but it’s clearly a grave. So, we have the Gov and Beth—I mean Megan—falling into a grave with a bunch of walkers (death) but surviving and eventually getting out (resurrection). Side note: we also saw the Gov kill one of the walkers that went after Megan by ripping it’s jaw off. (Speak no evil.)

So, here’s where we get to talk about Mitch and Pete a little bit. And it’ll be fun. I promise. :D

Watching this with an eye toward them representing Daryl and Merle, a lot of the symbolism became a lot more obvious. Keep in mind that they’re anti-parallels, not parallels.

See, between the two, Pete, who actually represents Merle, is the more sweet, compassionate one. While Mitch is the more brutal one. But again, they’re anti-parallels, so in this case, Mitch, the brutal one, is Daryl’s antithesis and Pete, the kind one, is Merle’s.

In fact, the first time we meet them, Mitch doesn’t want to let the Gov’s group in because they already had too many mouths to feed, and Pete says, “come on, man. They have a kid.” Just reminded me a lot of Daryl’s “they had a baby” in 3x10 after saving the family on the bridge.

So, they come back to the camp and start living in a trailer. The Hole in the Roof theory is huge here. The roof of the trailer keeps leaking water and, I shit you not, it looks like it’s dripping from a bullet wound. So, clearly….

And while I stand by it being a symbol of Beth being shot in the head, I also think it represents toxicity of a sort. Things that are wrong and it’s just a matter of time before the crap hits the fan. That sort of thing.

Okay, obviously the most important part of this episode is when they go to the cabin, but let me mention a few things that happen along the way.

Mitch, Pete, Martinez, and the Gov go out looking for supplies for the camp. And they had a really interesting conversation that may give some insight into the spearfishing in Find Me.

They walk by the lake and the Gov asks if there are fish in the lake. They reply, no. The lake is totally dead. Mitch then adds that there are rabbits, skunks, and possums. Obviously, some symbolism in those animals. But it occurs to me that fish = life. Something they can eat, subsist and even thrive on. The lake is dead because there are no fish.

Now, clearly this is a foreshadow of the Gov killing Pete and putting him in the lake. And of the Gov already being kind of dead in his soul. And “dead water” might also foreshadow the poisoned water theme. Water that can cause death if you drink it.

But in thinking about Daryl’s reaction to both Leah and Carol finding fish in FM, it’s kind of interesting. Both times, he says, “no way,” and is pleasantly surprised that they caught the fish (life). So, I’m wondering if this is meant to be him being surprised that someone he thought was dead was really alive. And what if all the fish symbols we’ve seen represent life in some way?

Of course, it could also be that a mounted fish, like we saw near Dwight in S8 is technically a dead fish. So, it might have symbolized the death of his and Sherry’s relationship. Or that it would live again. I’m not sure how granular to make this. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Okay, so then they come upon a camp that seems to be doing well. Mitch wants to take all their supplies, but Pete refuses and they leave. Later, they come back to find the camp overrun, most of its people dead, and the supplies gone. Here, Mitch is just pissed that they didn’t take the supplies before someone else got them. (Very anti-Daryl.)

But I do think this points to some future arc. I don’t know for sure what it will be, but again, I think it works with the Charleston template. Like, Beth is in a community. She goes out looking for supplies, and when she comes back, the community has been knocked on its butt by the CRM. And this is one of those things that was never really acknowledged or explained in the show. Who killed off the camp? And why wasn’t anyone in the Gov’s group at all concerned that their camp might be next? Gotta be symbolism for sure. :D

Oh, and the Gov says it must have “just happened.” Just like Daryl said about the wolves and the girl on the tree in 5x15. And again, the wolves are very tangled up in the Native American symbolism.

Then there’s the cabin bit. Again, I’m not at all sure how this will fit into Beth’s arc, but I’m sure it foreshadows SOMEthing. So, we have two headless corpses, one of which says LIAR and the other that says RAPIST. And then a third that still has his head, but killed himself with a shotgun. He is, presumably, the guy who lived in the cabin and killed the first two, and he’s labeled himself MURDERER.

Now, on the one hand, all of these words describe the Governor. He says “Liar” just before taking Hershel’s head, which is what that first one points to. And it’s not too hard to figure out that he’s a murderer. We didn’t actually see him rape anyone in the show, but there were suggestions of it, especially as he attacked Michonne and manipulated Andrea. And I’m pretty sure in the comic books, he does actually rape Michonne. They just didn’t want that to be the case in the show. So, these do all work for his story line.

But I also think these may be things Beth encounters at some point in her arc. Maybe someone will lie to her (or even betray her, Lone Ranger-style) and she’ll have to take them out. We already saw her dealing with rape at Grady, and have long thought that it foreshadows a bigger, potential rape situation that she’ll have to deal with. You get the idea. So, it’s very vague and I don’t have any great inspirations about what these point to, but in general, I’m sure they’ll apply to her.

It's also important to note that all these guys are dressed in military clothing. So, we might be able to tie them to CRM, symbolically if not literally.

I didn’t find anything massive inside the cabin that we haven’t already discussed. You asked me to look for revolution/George Washington pictures, @wdway, and I didn’t notice any. I didn’t try overly hard to see every single picture in the background, but most of them looked too blurry to tell much detail anyway. The major one is of Abraham Lincoln, and I think that’s important. But I’ll come back to it.

Of course, we have all the Native American symbols in this cabin. So, here’s the thing. Because of Tonto in TLR, I feel like whoever the Native American symbolism points to, whatever group that is, good or bad, it represents the group that Beth found after she woke up/lived, who nursed her back to health. And the reason I say good or bad is because the Claimers do theoretically fall under this same symbol theme for Daryl. The first group of people he ran into after he lost Beth. After the big disaster.

And here, I think Martinez’s group works in that regard for the Governor. He wasn’t hurt badly but he was in need of help after falling into the pit. You could say the same of Daryl after losing Beth. He just needed people to pull him out of his slump.

Now, here’s the other thing I’m not entirely sure how to interpret, but it does lend credence to the idea of the guy who lived in the cabin, who took out the two headless corpses, being representative of Beth. Once they’ve cleaned the walkers out of the cabin and are all sitting down talking, the Gov finds a picture of the guy who lived their and his family. The guy’s left eye has been colored over with read. Like red pen or marker. But it’s clearly a Sirius symbol and the red looks like blood.

So, I thought about what must have happened in this cabin. I kind of thing it might have been sort of like what happened with Abraham’s family. We were told after 5x05 that he killed the people who were actually part of his group. People he trusted. That’s because while he was out on a supply run, they raped his family. They just couldn’t show that in the show.

So, for the cabin guy, taking out a rapist and liar who might have harmed his family is straight forward enough. But why would he kill himself if his family still lived? And the Gov’s group found them as walkers in the house. Why would they continue to live there if the husband/father had shot himself on the porch? So, I’m thinking that these two headless corpses not only raped but perhaps murdered his family. So, he beheaded them and, in his grief, took himself out.

Or, because he labeled himself a murderer, maybe something happened where his family went crazy, or just got bitten, and he had to put them down. And that made him feel like a murderer. Because I don’t think justly taking out bad guys would have made him feel that way.

This may feel largely irrelevant, but it’s in the episode for a reason. Once again, I think this probably points to some part of Beth’s future arc. I mean, this sort of thing, the kind of thing Abraham went through, since it happened at the hands of people that were part of his community and that he trusted, is the ultimate betrayal, right? So maybe it will be a matter of someone in her community that she trusts betraying them to the CRM or something. IDK.

I keep saying it’s the west/lone ranger stuff that = betrayal, but the Native American theme always seems to be tangled up with it, doesn’t it?

Some minor details.

They find *beer* in the cabin.

We find out that Mitch and Pete were in the army before the turn happened. And in this case, I don’t necessarily want to link that to the CRM. We could, but given that both of them are now dead, it doesn’t really matter.

But it occurred to me that this is more evidence of them being anti-Daryl and Merle. Daryl and Merle were nobodys and drifters before. So, their opposites were in one of the most disciplined professions one can enter. Daryl started in an unproductive place and evolved. Mitch started in a disciplined place and devolved.

Of course, they’re playing GOLF when he kills Martinez. After doing so, he sits like Daryl at the crossroads. Then when Lilly finds him in the RV, he says he had a bad dream. He doesn’t remember. (Memory loss mention.)

They tell the camp he was hitting golf balls, got drunk, and fell into the grave/pit. *coughs Bethyl*

There were some interesting mushroom mentions. I noticed that before they met up with Martinez’s group, they were talking about Tara’s ex girlfriend (who was named SAM, btw) who lied to her about her feelings for Tara. Lilly says, “Yeah, then you went camping, ate mushrooms, and the rest was history.” Or something like that. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but then later, we see the same mushrooms on the trees around the Gov that we saw in Still. Hmm.

I’m also a little unsure of what to make of the walker pit they reach when they try to leave the camp. Remember they all take off in a car, including Tara’s girlfriend, but they have to stop because the road is impassible. It’s turned to mud and is full of walkers. I’m sure that’s symbolic of something, but I don’t know what.

Of course, the Gov kills Pete and recruits Mitch. You could say he has a very Negan approach, ruling through fear. He kills Pete specifically BECAUSE he’s the compassionate one and Mitch is the brutal one. Very different to how Rick ever approached things.

Okay, that’s most of what I have for the Gov. Except that at the beginning of 4x08, after he takes Michonne and Hershel prisoner, he says, “they’re the key.” (Key Theory).

[blorbosexterminator]

1/2 Unpopular opinion: I totally agree with you about Herlermo. Palermo falling for a character like Helsinki doesn’t really make any sense. The only valid explanation I can find is that he’s just so desperate for human contact. I feel the same about Helsinki as well, he doesn’t seem the kind of guy who would fall for someone like Palermo, not to talk about how the writers made a gay stereotype out of him in s3/4, always calling him a bear or smth. I really appreciated how Helsinki was depicted

2/2 in seasons 1/2: the clearly mentioned his sexuality, but it wasn’t his only feature, while now he’s defined just by his feelings for Palermo & Nairobi. However, it seems like the entire gang hates Palermo just because he doesn’t reciprocate Helsinki’s feelings, and it seems quite hyprocritical to me, because they all indulge in occasional sex, so why should they judge Palermo about it? Farther, Helsinki choosed to sleep with Palermo by himself, so he doesn’t need them to defend his honour

Yes, there are so many reasons for me to dislike Herlermo. And I agree with what you said about Helsinki, it seems the show didn't want to be stereotypical with their depection of a serbian solider that they went to the complete opposite, and ended up with a stereotype as well. Helsinki did really hold more interest in the first two seasons, although it was still slight. He's just not very interesting, we don't know this much about him and he doesn't have as complex of a characterization like most of the others, let alone Martín.

I wouldn't say it's a stereotype to just dumb the only two gays together, because it could work in other shows, or in other contexts, but it just doesn't work here.

I want to clarify here that my opinions on those two specific characters within their own very specific context doesn't reflect my opinion on whatever real life situations, but look. Martín is canonically a huge egomaniac who thinks of himself as a god, and the only other person he saw with the same status was Andrés. I completely believe that the reason Martín didn't date anyone wasn't just because he was in love with Andrés and his emotions took control of him, but that he made the decision that it's either Andrés for him or no one. And as I said, I think a big part of it comes not just from their overwhelming connection, but from Martín deeming Andrés as his only equal, as Andrés did with him, it comes from egomania and narcissism. And the way they interacted with each other in the show, the way each spoke about the other only proves this. Now taking all of this into context, and taking Martín's state after everything that happens, it's just completely unlikely and out of character for Martín to fall for Helsinki and completely anticlimatic character-wise for Martín as well, and narrative-wise. We could talk all we want about multishipping and how chronologically Berlermo and Helermo don't interact. But in narrative, as we watch the show, we see them happening at the same time. And it's not a ship battle or anything, it's not simply picking one ship over the other, but it just pales in comparison, do you understand? And the more we see of berlermo flashbacks, the more we see of Martín's flashbacks, it keeps lacking sense more and more.

What I despise most about all of this, is that it's a part of a completely ridiculous arc they're taking Martín on. Supposedly, from what it looks like, it's a redemption arc. And for the life of me, I don't fucking understand why Martín needs a redemption arc. It's completely unnecessary and I believe will ruin his character and I also believe they are only doing it to make his character more likable to the general audience, as he didn't get the same overwhelming approval as Berlín, despite their similarities. (*cough* homphobia *cough*)

Like let's look at the lovely emotional scene between Helsinki and Palermo on the floor in 4x08. If Rodrigo had played it slightly differently, I would have honestly thought Palermo was manipulating Helsinki. Or at least that he's lying to himself.

The idea that Martín turned into this (whatever the fuck this is) only after Andrés left him and then died is just canonically incorrect. What Martín did, that he was apologizing for, was freeing Gandia and Gandia killing Nairobi. This was predicted by Sergio, a man who knew him for probably 10 years, 5 years before the heist, when Andrés was alive and well, and Martín was happy and normal. And I do believe Sergio was correct in how he assisted Martín, even Andrés, probably the person who knows Martín best, his soulmate, didn't deny that this was what Martín is, or that those aren't his traits, or that this prediction is something that Martín won't do. He didn't deny it, he only defended it as something that isn't negative and that Martín is a genius on top of all of that. And when Martín came back, he didn't deny anything that was said about him either. Those things are just him. He didn't become a monster and act out on them. Sure he was happy and dancing and all of that, but he was never only a soft ray of sunshine without a bad or evil thought ever crossing his mind lmfao.

Also, I don't see how his guilt and apology for Nairobi's death is something that marks his 'redemption', or that it marks any shift or change at all. This is 100% Martín from the first episode we see him in. When Sergio went to him in Palermo, and Martín was screaming and crying he also very clearly mentioned his distate for Sergio for letting 3 members of his team die and did nothing. Martín clearly has an image in mind of what the right leader should be, and he's a control freak character that would gladly carry the entire heist of his back. From the first moment he literally shielded any member of the team with his own body, from protecting Nairobi and Tokio, to his reaction over Lisboa's death, to his argument over sending Nairobi outside (that they won't let her live). Martín clearly thinks the leader's outmost job is to protect the team, despite his little speech over where his loyality lies, and to at least avenge them if something does happen to them. This is him from the beginning. So it's completely normal and predictable that he would feel this bad over Nairobi's death that not only happened under his heist, but also partially due to him. It doesn't particulary add anything to Martín him that we didn't know.

I despise this idea that Martín is somehow not acting like himself and all of this was a product of pain just because he was smiling in the flashbacks and grumpy in the bank scenes. It's demeaning to his character to make his traumatic experiences responsible for his literal personality, that we did witness and got told about from him himself and those who knew him best, before said traumatic experiences happened.

[murphystartedthefire]

I'll be honest - I didn't like Emori, but she started to grow on me at the begining of this season. Last episode was great for her. I don't know if you've been asked this already (probably yes), but could you make a ranking of your top 10 Memori moments? I think I know what's gonna be first, though 😁

Sorry for the delay but thank you for this ask!!! It is so hard to narrow down to a Top Ten, let alone rank them. So this is my best effort and very personal to my own feels (and I’m likely to change my mind on any given day):

-------

10) 3x13 Red Sky at Morning

The scene where Murphy, Pike, and Indra have a chance to take out the City of Light, but ALIE-Emori says it will kill her? And he has every reason to *know* she’s manipulating him and either way this is a world-destroying threat they need to take care of and meanwhile (not that he knows this) Monty is off in another location wiping his own mom out of existence, but Murphy is a soft boy who can’t bring himself to do it. And THEN there’s that crushing moment of hope where he thinks she’s back for a second but then realizes she’s still ALIE... it is pure angst and I love it.

9) 4x01 Echoes

Asking her to come back to Arkadia. Their main arc all season was about being on their own or part of a group, Murphy a lot more chill about returning to his people and Emori much more wary and distrusting. But it still ends with her agreeing to take that leap with him (the fact it’s another couple of episodes before they actually do is his decision). To me this was the I-want-a-future-with-you proposal scene prior to the other one, and I don’t know how to look at those big beautiful smiles and NOT want to give them the world.

8) 6x01 Sanctum

Speaking of smiles! I can’t get over how cute and joyful this scene is, especially coming on the heels such a dark time they had in season 5. It’s a fair argument that their post-breakup reunion was too quick and not fully earned. But in my Memori-shipping heart I just love to see them *happy*, teasing each other and acting like kids, embracing this second chance to be alive and loved.

7) 4x08 God Complex

I really should put this higher but on a purely subjective level it just... hurts too much to watch.  Murphy losing his entire shit and trying to get out of his bonds while Emori’s trying to resign herself to her fate and telling him not to fight for her. They are so desperate and terrified and thinking of *nothing* but saving each other. :( It’s kind of brilliant how “Gimme Shelter” totally establishes Memori as borderline villains (in the framing of that last scene more than anything) and then in the very next episode it’s just... I can’t even imagine not feeling terribly anxious and sad for them, while watching our usual protagonists become nearly irredeemable. And then Murphy screams and pleads at Clarke and it’s an incredible performance from Richard as we all know, but the scene leading up to it is underappreciated, I think.

6) 5x06 Exit Wounds

It was hard to get anything from S5 on here (and I’m tempted to just go with the near-sex scene in this ep, definitely the hottest Memori scene) but I do really appreciate this moment in the rocket giving us probably the clearest view of what happened to drive them apart on the Ring. Also season five had several Unfortunate Uses of Shock Collars but this was probably where it was put to *best* use as a symbol of where they were at emotionally. It’s a rare and really good thing on this show when the action stops for characters to have a human conversation.

5) 2x12 Rubicon

There’s a lot of great meet-cute/meet-knife-to-throat in this episode, but by far my favorite scene is when they open up to each other about their reasons for being rejected by their people -- Murphy owning up to his violent past and Emori showing him her mutation. It’s a risk of being vulnerable and judged in different ways, and the foundation of their relationship: they recognize a part of themselves in each other.

4) 3x16 Perverse Instantiation Pt. 2

This is a short moment but makes me feel so much! Memori have so many great reunions/hugs, but this one after she wakes up from the City of Light is just so emotional and powerful. Her devastated face! The way they cling to each other! They are truly everything in the world to each other at this moment and never want to let go.

3) 4x07 Gimme Shelter

This list has many tooth-hurtingly sweet moments about how adorable and precious Memori are together, but it’s no secret I also LOVED this episode’s reveal of how dark and cunning and ruthless Emori can be and how Murphy was all the way onboard with it. There is so much complexity to them that doesn’t easily boil down to ‘perfect misunderstood woobies’ or ‘irredeemable bad guys’. Emori especially had been shaped by her life to be very, very paranoid and self-preserving, and Murphy so quickly accepting and even *impressed* by that side of her is a lot more interesting than if the show had just straight-up vilified her, or alternately made her an angel whose goodness redeemed him.

2) 3x02 Wanheda Pt. 2

Cheek kiss! This will always have a place in my heart as the moment I started shipping them. I just really love how sweet it is, in contrast to the fact they just killed a person (albeit in self-defense). There’s something completely sincere and gentle in how they relate to each other. (You see that with Murphy’s puppy eyes in Rubicon, I guess this is when I felt it from Emori as well.) They approach giving and receiving affection in such an innocent way because they just haven’t had that in their lives. :(

1) 6x08 The Old Man and the Anomaly

HAHAHAHAHA (laughter turns into delirious sobs and falls off chair), your ask was like “I bet I know what’s gonna be first” and my immediate thought was “Not necessarily!” but then I realized I was just kidding myself. Can you believe. CAN YOU BELIEVE. JOHN MURPHY. GOT ON HIS DAMN KNEE. And they called back “survivor’s move”. And there were *tears in his eyes*. And the entire thing had an “oh shit” undercurrent because he is making the worst life decisions and it basically turned into a pitch for stealing bodies and becoming Gods together, but it was also... so genuinely more than that. And Emori got that, as evidenced by the end of the episode, when she rejected his literal Let’s Be Immortal proposal but accepted & returned the declaration-of-undying-love part. Wow.

[HONORABLE MENTION: the season 3 deleted scene which I left out because it was unaired, and “your home is with me” because I didn’t want half the list to be S4.]

[msbeccieboo]

Arrow 7x18 brain dump

And we’re back from hiatus! Unlike a few that I see, I really enjoyed this episode! Sure the main story was clunky, and a lot of the dialogue was cheesy as hell, but the theme and notion behind it of women coming together to save the day was just everything that Arrow, and the whole Canary concept up until now has been missing. As usual, this got long, and gif-heavy, so apologies if you get bored haha!

Felicity

Yes of course we’re coming to Felicity first! Our (Smoak) Queen absolutely ruled the show this week! I still remember the fandom reaction when we heard the episode title…it was something along the lines of:

(gif from my gif keyboard-sorry no link!)

And then the episode rolls round and it’s awesome (mostly) and Felicity is at the centre of it!! Amazing! In fact, it was so hard to separate this review into character/theme sections this week, as Felicity was intertwined so closely with all of them.

Felicity was at her finest this week. We saw her both as Overwatch and literally saving the day in the field. We had wifey Felicity, loyal friend felicity, mama Felicity, flirty-flirt Felicity….the list goes on!! And in an episode called Lost Canary??

Continued under the cut

It was Felicity’s heart and famous empathy that really shone through for me this week. From start to end she tried her best to win Black Siren back round, to clear her name, and save her from herself. Our girl literally reached across time to help her friend. Now whether or not BS had earned/deserved that much effort on Felicity’s part is another thing altogether, but one thing that prevails is Felicity’s huge heart, her compassion and her unwavering belief in those she calls her friends. Her ability to see the good in people, even at their worst, is probably my favourite thing about her. And whereas Dinah was right to an extent about Felicity having ‘blinders’, she just wants to see the best in people. This is why she is the heart of the team. This is why Oliver fell in love with her. This is why I fell in love with her. The moment where she shouts at Dinah “we should be helping her not hunting her”, just epitomises Felicity for me.

It was ultimately Felicity’s stalwart belief in her that made BS turn ‘good’ in the end. Our girl literally put her and her unborn child’s life out there and dared BS to kill them to prove she was evil. In doing this, Felicity ultimately saves the day! Sure, we see Felicity being a badass every week, but watching her lead a team of women in the field was super emotional for me to watch.

Source: smoaktechs

This did start to feel like a goodbye to Felicity, especially with the Sara scene, reminiscing and commenting on how far she has come. I imagine the timing of Emily’s announcement was planned to precede this last run of episodes for this reason. I’m still coming to terms with Emily leaving, and I haven’t been able to write anything about it yet (and not sure I will tbh), but episodes like this make me realise just how different (and by different I mean shitty) this show would have been/will be without her in it and I’m simply not ready still 😭😭😭

Olicity

We only got two Olicity scenes this week, which was actually far more than I thought we would get, and they bookended the episode so beautifully!! I still don’t think I’m over the cuteness this week!!

In the first scene we got a beautifully babbly Felicity; “Are you sure that you are ok, now that you know that your sister is evil and tried to kill you? Too soon?” 😂😂, along with a little of her own horn-tooting haha:

Source: felicitysmoakgifs 1 and 2

Oliver’s little smile after that was just 😍😍

We had a cute little smooch, and touching!! It was so nice to see them being truly affectionate and comfortable around each other again!

Source: olicitygifs

Then Oliver being all Protective Daddy!Oliver, asking Felicity to take it easy and look after her PRECIOUS CARGO!!!!!

NVJDFNVJDKVNFDVKND!!!! Honestly this will go down as being one of the great Olicity quotes for me! His little belly gesture, and then her adorable “I know” I can’t handle the cuteness guys!!!!!!

Oh and then there was the cutest Olicity scene everrrr!! Felicity returns from her bird adventures to find a sleepy adorable Oliver laid out on the couch 😍🔥😍

Source: lucyyh 💗

OMGGGGG her face when she sees him, and tells him she’d missed him….hgfidsbodsnfv!!!

Source: olicitygifs

The mystery remains as to just why Oliver is that exhausted…as I talk about in the next section, he and Dig didn’t do an awful lot this episode. The only acceptable answer is that they spent the rest of their time in the episode putting together an endless amount of baby furniture…I now decree this as FACT!!

Anyhoo…back to snuggly Oliver. Ughh this man does not stop being adorable (even with this hair)! He sits up and pulls Felicity into him by the bum (we all see you Oliver 👀) and smushes himself into her chest for a hug, kissing her shoulder, telling her how he will take care of her 😍😱 😍😱, then Felicity promptly asks for a foot rub, to which he happily obliges.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer 💗

I AM DECEASED!!!!

Combined with the ending of 4x08 this confirms that the Green Arrow is a cuddleholic, and I will watch this scene on a loop FOREVER!!! I could seriously watch the rest of this season/show just of them being affectionate and domestic like this. Your OTP could never!!

Oliver/Dig

Oliver goes on a little boys trip with Dig to try and find the killer of Emiko’s mother. I’m sooo glad they didn’t waste much time on this, and gladder still that they wasted no time at all on Emiko! Turns out the responsible party was one of the Longbow Hunters (yes them again), that Felicity found for them.

Source: ebett

I love how Dig/ARGUS/NTA spent the first part of the season trying and failing to capture these guys, then Oliver rocks up and takes him out with a tranq arrow in 2 seconds flat, and has no clue who he even is haha!

Source: feilcityqueen

They work out pretty quickly that Dante hired him, then promptly leave and that’s the end of that! I really like how the men weren’t minimised or side-lined entirely (except Rene *shrugs*), they just weren’t that significant in the episode. Boss Beth and her team did a great job here of not taking away from them in order for the women in the episode to shine, something that previous writing teams on this show have done over and over again in the reversed situation *cough* MG *cough*.

Sara

Sara frikking Lance is back!!!!

That entrance though...it was everything!! The way all the glass shattered was reminiscent of her first cry scene where she saved Oliver at the DA’s office in 2x03.

Source: supercanaries

I do think though that it was absolute bullshit that BS could beat Sara in a fight!

Then we got the previously teased Sara/Felicity scene. OHMIGOD I loved this scene so much!! I really miss Sara in Arrow, and this scene was just so perfect!! I loved their little friendly flirty-flirt!!

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

Putting together the two people in the Arrowverse that have killer chemistry with everyone was an inspired choice here, and it just makes me long for the Smoakingcanary friendship that we never really saw fully developed! We have a lighter Sara now, so they could not have had this level of friendship in S2, or even S4, but I always loved their relationship, even back then.

Source: eloquence-of-felicities

Sara has grown so much since she left for the Waverider, she is so much more reflective and a wiser woman now. I like that she doesn’t acknowledge BS as LL, but sees herself in her and still wants to help, and to honour Quentin. Lance sister scenes were always my favourite of Laurel’s, and the Sara/BS scenes have the same energy about them. I loved Sara’s speech to BS at the graveyard about redemption. Sara still doesn’t see herself as completely worthy, but acknowledges that she has grown into a hero, through her years of trying. So I cheered when she told BS “You think you deserve a medal for trying to be good for 5 seconds? Redemption isn’t a destination it’s a journey”

Source: canarygifs

Oh, that’s just the theme of the entire series!! Yaaaaassss!! Go Sara! I really hope we get to see her again this season.

Black Siren

Straight up, I was worried when I saw the opening scene…the overacting, yelling, annoying music, ridiculous unbelievable ass-kicking and then that title card?? 😬😬 ‘Evil’ BS is so campy in the worst way…I like ‘good’ BS, so that opening?? Yeah I had my doubts haha!

I enjoyed Black Siren’s struggle within the episode; what she really wants is to be seen and accepted as the good person she is trying to become. As soon as she was doubted last episode, her instinct was to revert back, an ‘if they think I’m evil, I’ll just be evil’ mentality. The problem is, as Sara told her, she was trying to be a good person for like a few months? She has a long way go to redeem herself and earn back the trust of people who know what she did as Black Siren before (see: Dinah 😬). Her beacon of hope (see what I did there?) is Felicity. She has been ever since she approached her at the start of the season. BS saw in Felicity an opportunity to avenge Quentin initially, and eventually, through falling for Felicity’s friendship charms (doesn’t everybody?), do good, and be that better person that Quentin and Felicity thought she could be. And despite Sara’s (awesome) talk with her, it’s Felicity in the end that persuades her which side to fall on in the end.

In the end, Black Siren realises/decides that in order to continue on her redemptive path, she needs to go back to where she started, Earth 2, and do some good there. How this fits with her appearance in later episodes in the season (spoiler pics) and her apparently large storyline next season is yet to be seen. Felicity’s face when she hears BS is leaving is heart-breaking 😭😭 Their friendship has been one of the unexpected highlights of this season for me; it has been so nice to see a female friendship on this show! I also liked how through all of her short-lived evilness, she never revealed Felicity’s pregnancy, even covering for her back in the lair at the end of the mission!

Extra BS moments:

BS pushing Felicity out of the way in the final fight scene 😍

Shadow Thief: “Which one is Felicity?” BS: “The chatty one” 😂😂

Source: minibetta

Source: plotbunnyshipper 

Dinah

*Dramatic sigh* Ugh Dinah. She continues to drive me mad! She has some real moments of warmth (but I think that’s just Juliana shining through), but for the most part she’s just super annoying! She has a constant condescending tone, a terrible attitude, is massively hypocritical, and is so back and forth with her standpoints that she leaves me with whiplash most episodes!

I hated the way she talked down to Felicity throughout the episode, for believing in Laurel. Dinah believed in Vinnie, and the Team had her back (until BS killed him 😬). Dinah MURDERED PEOPLE TOO, and the Team had her back. She should have empathy for BS, having been in the exact same situation, but she doesn’t see it that way. I loved Felicity serving her up the tea in the bunker scene, it’s about damn time!

Felicity’s overall snark at Dinah this week was on point!  Her “Please hold” and “Good chat, really love our chats” 😂😂 our girl really knows how to deliver a burn and still look cute doing it haha!

Flash Forwards

I have missed my flashforwards baby OTA!! Unfortunately we were missing William, Connor and Roy this week, cos Girl Power ✌ and all that jazz! But we did get to see some more Mama Felicity. Future Felicity is definitely more stoic and detached than our Felicity, but that changes when her kids are around; I loved the mother-daughter hug when Mia returned!  

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

I’d forgotten about the whole helmet thing to start with, when I first saw it I thought it was Dig!! But helmet guy basically shows up at the start of the FFs and kills a boatload of Canaries. Did I giggle at the notion that anyone can be a Canary in the future, and that therefore they are totally interchangeable and dispensable in nature? Yes I did 😂 Anyway, Mia’s determination to track and take down helmet guy, to honour the dead birds, led to more Oliver (and later, Felicity) comparisons, which I am always here for!!

Dinah later actually gives Mia a really inspiring speech about the Canaries. That they are girls taking care of girls; a support system for women, so that they are there for each other when needed most. Dinah references a time when she did not do that (for Black Siren, presumably), and that that following that she changed how she worked. I’m hoping this means that Dinah will become more likeable in the present timeline for the upcoming episodes, but I’m not holding my breath.

Mia still isn’t used to relying on others, but she does ask Dinah for help and is refused, so her reaction to Dinah’s talk was just ‘yeah….no’, pretty much, with the line “Too bad I’m not a Canary”….and the Smoak burns keep on coming this episode 😂 😂

Source: amunetblack

At the end, as Mia nearly meets her end taking down helmet guy (as if he could have taken her!) she is saved by…Future Black Siren!!! Who is obviously alive still, back on Earth 1, and a goodie!! Yay!! I love that BS ‘saves’ Mia in both timelines in the same episode, nice touch! She gives Mia the helmet for Felicity, along with some sage advice:

Source: jaces-clarissa

I’d have liked to see her and Felicity interact, but you can’t win them all!

Bonus moments

Felicity: “Fake heat signatures? That is devious and impressive!” Lolololol!

That table slide!

Source: seeing-red-arrow

Source: smoaktechs

(I love that Felicity delivered the birds line 😂😂)

“To ladies taking down ladies”

And that’s it! Four episodes left 😭😭😭 I AM NOT READY!!

Thank you to all the wonderful gif makers! This episode has yielded SO MANY amazing gifs, so thank you for sharing them with us all! 💗💗💗

[dayna-scully]

ncis s4 lb

season 3  |  season 5  |  season 6  |  season 7  |  season 8  |  season 9  |  season 10  |  etc

4x01

you can’t ever convince me ziva and tony weren’t sleeping together between s3 and 4

worried boyfriend tony

I was hoping maybe save me

she needs her dad kill me

we love you too 😭

she got dad to come home

he’s supposed to be dead/apparently he’s gotten better

they were 10000% fucking lets 👏 be 👏 real 👏

“when I need to be” quick question: what the fuck

skinny summer mcgoo

they use the same safe house over and over again

why wasn’t I with ziva?

she’s scared, not that she’ll ever admit that

4x02

I wonder how different the show would have been if they’d always written tony and Abby as being mature and serious the majority of the time - the childishness gets really really annoying, and there’s such a change in quality when they are more mature

dad’s home!!!

4x03

uuuuuUUUUGH I forgot how early Tony’s undercover stuff started

now that gibbs is back there’s so much tension between z/t

perhaps because z is jealous of the “mystery girlfriend”

tfw you’ve already got a girlfriend but you’re still checking out your totally platonic professional work partner’s ass

ziva is definitely a daddy’s girl in a way that Abby isn’t, Abby’s sugar sweet and spoiled, but ziva is the one that really needs the emotional support

I wonder if ziva ever actually thought about having kids with tony before tali

I wonder if tony thought about it too

has anyone ever told you you’re attractive/my brother 😂

you’re a geek, not mentally deranged

crime!!

4x04

Timothy Jimothy McGee

4x05

uhoh Tony’s worst nightmare

personally I prefer a good shag 👀

I think it’s good to keep in mind throughout all episodes that tony and ziva have already seen each other entirely buck-ass naked

I’m not blowing on you again

again: what the fuck

totally normal

👀

now is not Paris

why do you wanna look at a dead guy’s junk Anthony

4x06

I don’t totally understand ziva’s derision of Halloween, they do have Purim in Israel (and in Jewish communities in general) it might not be as dark and spooky as American Halloween but still

maybe it’s different in the states but amber alerts are only when they know the kid’s been abducted

I mean now they do know she was abducted but that was AFTER

according to someone called Scuttle Butt

so tony and ziva are watching movies together outside of work 🤔

4x07

UGH jeanne

zeevah! Zeevah!!

this has to be the stupidest thing anyone’s ever done/then why are you following me/I don’t fricking know (it’s cause you love her you doof)

i can see down your shirt right now/I don’t think your new girlfriend would like that/what are you talking about i don’t know what you’re talking about/I’m talking about you and the fact that you no longer stare at every woman when they pass you by

so 1) tony is not as good at hiding this undercover assignment as he thinks he is, 2) ziva observes him enough to notice that his behaviour has changed and 3) ziva is the only one he is STILL checking out

not worth dying over

I’ll remember that

my son, tony (!!!!!!!!)

gibbs was unfortunate(?) enough to be stuck with the most loyal set of ducklings

4x08

the only thing I DO like about the jeanne/la grenouille plot is jealous ziva

this cannot be admissible in court even with proper chain of evidence

totally platonic to be touching the entire side of your work partner’s body with your own tony would definitely sit that close to McGee by choice right it’s not just ziva

lee looks like a ballerina

sometimes they really go hard with the imperialistic propaganda

4x09

nepotism: both Sean and Troian getting jobs on ncis

MySpace im….okay

Jenny’s only here for the hot goss

see I don’t think Jenny realizes he’s talking about jeanne, I almost wonder if she thinks he’s talking about ziva

4x10

McGee thinks ziva’s in love with me (she is)

dad and grandpa are fighting and the kiddies don’t like it

pimmy jalmer

🎶sexually frustrated “platonic” partners🎶

you two done playing grab ass

you described everything in my bedroom (why weren’t they endgame?)

I do feel bad for tony. He was definitely put in a bad situation where he was taken advantage of (by NCIS/the director) without anyone to confide in, and of course it ended really, really badly

how can ziva even tell but anyways of course she’s jealous

the usual/the usual what - oof. That expression hurts. Poor ziva

you got that moustache in a box, don’t you

4x11

sexual harassment training

LICKING YOUR COWORKER’S FACE IS TOTALLY APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR ZIVA DAVID

why are you touching dead naked people?

I suppose at this point the viewers didn’t know that jeanne had anything to do with the undercover stuff tony was doing

ziva is concerned about her boooyfrieeend-seriously though

what part of inappropriate touching don’t you understand

romantic or not, ziva seriously gives several shits about tony and his well-being

dadman to the rescue

did Jenny…also not know????

ziva is so, so concerned ugh bb

4x12

I don’t know what my moas would be

unreservedly romantic tony

ahh, you two got married and didn’t tell me

I think it’s scary!

oh ziva.

why does ziva being so concerned make gibbs so uncomfortable 🤔👀

your other phone is never on silent

IT LITERALLY DID NOT OCCUR TO ZIVA DAVID, INTERNATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AGENT, THAT TONY COULD HAVE A GIRLFRIEND

LOOK AT THAT FACE

HOMEGIRL’S WORLD JUST GOT FLIPPED UPSIDE DOWN

oh z

so the pictures that mossad had at the beginning of the season of z/t - could those have been from the agents watching tony and jeanne now?

4x13

when your wife and your girlfriend are in the same room

sounds like you have something up your wazoo

when your boyfriend has two super intense daughters who could both kill your painfully and without evidence

ooh petulant ziva

I’m certain that they used the same hall for jeanne and Tim’s apartments

“it’s important to appreciate the competition” EXCUSE ME TONY the competition for WHO??? Ziva??????

what the FUCK tony

those two are unusually motivated to find sharif 👀

4x14

what’s a little state sanctioned kidnapping between friends, eh?

mark harmon was on st elsewhere, wasn’t he?

maybe now gibbs gets why ziva’s so concerned

z is so pretty in this episode

4x15

so Tony’s so in love with jeanne that he doesn’t notice ziva dancing provocatively in front of him, but not so in love with jeanne that he’ll get in between ziva and someone who’s attracted to her

he’s also a ziva-to-English translator

oh tony

Dead Man Walking

oh dear poor z

you didn’t make her promise not to destroy it, mcgee

brain training to figure out how ziva knows the dude

aquasmurf

meetcute

so does my spleen

we finish each other’s-sandwiches

her technique 👀

falling in love with a dying man is a fantastic idea z

(Professional follow-up)

oh z

red light behaviour!!!!!

the look on your face says you are

what’s that look on your face

gee tony if you’re so in love with jeanne why are you also so in love with ziva

are you okay?

good guy tony

4x17

I’m pretty sure that mausoleum exploded in Bones too

so. over. abby.

why do they just shit on ziva all the time on this stupid show, everyone she loves dies

when you break up with your girlfriend but she’s still jealous of your wifee 😬

4x18

she’s wearing Roy’s hat 😖

oof, boy’s got a face like a brick house

I don’t want to see you naked, either tony

cold elbow

or maybe you said something when you should have said something

I’m so not interested in this melodrama 🙄

not good?

4x19

oh tony

4x20

ziva is totally unimpressed by these shenanigans

uncomfortably reflecting upon McGee’s book and ziva looks like she’s about to cry 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

campfire!

4x21

all these investigators and none of them can figure out that it’s kort

4x22

jeanne, on a fishing expedition and tony, regretting his response

ziva, studiously avoiding tony’s face while tony processes his regrets

bad news from the, um, dentist? / something like that OOPS TONY OOPS

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

she looks so hurt, ouuuch

like

she must realise how much in love she is with tony, even after roy

A GIRL LINGERS

long enough

tony/zeevah

that was...astonishingly cruel

like I can’t even comprehend

“it’s because you’re a good person” YOU DON’T DESERVE HER DINOZZO

you fuck

he’s right/he is?/i am?

4x23

noooooooooo

yeeeeeeeeees

buying a house is a loooooot

“Tony’s never vulnerable” maybe not around you, jeanne 👀

ha! I’m a normal man! I hate my wife!

I don’t know if I’m getting this ziva outfit mixed up with the one in bury your dead or if Something actually happens in this episode

something happens in this episode

so you’ll help me?

rip my little bi heart, she loves him

love you too, jeanne

poor z

4x24

I think sometimes she pretends not to know movies just to hear tony talk about them

OH NO THE BAR

to dry eyed mice

i have seen this episode an unhealthy number of times

I have a funny feeling, doctor

straight to voicemail, just like always when he’s with her

oooh z

tony?/what?!

why do you monitor tony?/i don’t monitor tony/oh yes you do, like a mother with a toddler

or a woman with a wayward lover

so if he’s profiling you, z, that means...there’s some truth to it?

tony is with his girlfriend, and you are worried about him

he is my partner, and my partner said he would be here and...and I have this not so good feeling

cut tooooooo a gun

aaaaand now to bury your dead.......

[mtvswatches]

Crazy Ex Girlfriend 4x08 I’m Not the Person I Used to Be

Stray thoughts

1) OMG I’m Other Rebecca!

2) This looks like a smut fanfic…

…except no one asked for it?

3) OMG!! What is it with Rebecca and shit?

REBECCA: Hey, I'm sorry I stunk up the toity yesterday.

JOSH: Oh, no problem. Made my eyes tear up, but, uh, I needed a good cry.

4) I fucking love when this show goes all meta!

5) And they did it again!!!

HEATHER: How long are you here for?

VALENCIA: For the rest of the series! …of holidays, I mean.

Is this going to be a thing in this episode? Because I love it!!

6) This scene was – in Heather’s words – THE BEST.

Okay, based on your face when you were looking at the guest list, my guesses are we're dealing with a frenemy, a nemesis or an ex. So it's an ex. Wait, no. But you dated Josh all through high school. So you cheated.  Oh, you really cared about this person. Oh, my God, you were in love. And nobody knows. Whoa. This is so juicy. Wait, wait, was it a girl? Oh, it was the first girl. Wait, is she here yet? Have you seen her? Oh, okay. So she's not here yet, but she's on the list. Okay, I am on it, I am gonna figure this all out.

I just love how well they know each other, and even though this is obviously exaggerated and played for laughs, it’s a quite accurate depiction of female friendship. When you really know your friends, it’s quite easy to read them and know what they’re thinking just by looking at their facial expressions.

7) So this is the episode, this is the episode where he gets back? Right? Btw, I nearly died when this happened…

REBECCA: Anyway, am I… I can't believe I'm saying this Am I meant to be with Nathaniel or Josh or both or neither?

VALENCIA: Neither.

HEATHER: Neither.

REBECCA: Right, of course. Because the idea of "meant to be" is a lie perpetuated by Western culture.

VALENCIA: No. You're meant to be with Greg.

HEATHER: Wait, you think that? I totally think that.

VALENCIA: Everyone thinks that.

Seriously, it made me feel so good inside and giddy to hear both of them validate how I FEEL. Yes, Rebecca is meant to be with Greg.

Now I’m getting nervous because I know he’ll show up soon. It is his high school reunion, after all. But “he” won’t be “he”anymore, and I’m not sure if the show will be able to pull off this switcharoo you know? Okay, I have to continue watching, don’t I?

8) I see what you’re doing, show…

REBECCA: Okay, look, the only way the only way… The only way Greg would ever be my "meant to be" is if we were in some sort of sci-fi weird parallel alternate universe where he was just a completely different person.

I swear to god, I just got chills when I heard his voice in the background. I’m not ready for this. I’ve been waiting two years for Greg to be back and yet this wasn’t what I was waiting for? What if I don’t like Greg anymore? I’m scared! Okay, I’m going to hit play again…

9) So here he is…

He does look Greg-ish, I must admit.

So, the idea is that this is how Greg has always looked to everyone but since Rebecca wasn’t mentally stable at the time they were together she saw him differently? Is that it? I mean, we always tend to see people differently after some time apart. And Rebecca has changed a lot since Greg last saw her, so that’s probably why she’s seeing him differently. Both of them have probably changed a lot.

10) OMG they did it again, the entire conversation!

GREG: No, I'm-I'm here on winter break. I'm actually back for the whole rest of the series… of holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and the finale…. Valentine's Day.

HECTOR: Valentine's Day. I guess that is the logical end of our series… of holidays.

11)

12) I love Heather so much…

13) Josh had a literally one good thing going on in his life right now – being prom king at his reunion – and it was all a lie!

14) Now, this was quite a revelation…

GREG: I got to confess, I've been back a few times.

REBECCA: You have?

GREG: Yeah, uh, I just thought it would be best if you and I didn't see each other.

REBECCA: So you were back in town and no one told me?

GREG: Well, I may have asked them not to. I did. Yeah, I did.

Question is… does he know about Rebecca and his dad? And everything that happened in the last two years?

15) The clean slate thing works considering he is literally a different person – at least physically, what he says sounds pretty Greg-ish to me – but it’s the easy way out for Rebecca… Sleeping with Greg’s dad is probably at the top of the worst things she’d done (and yes, I’m including pushing Trent off the balcony.)

16) OMG we’re getting a new Greg and Rebecca song, I can’t believe it.

Okay, show, I think you did it. You got Greg back and you didn’t piss me off in doing so. And of course the Greg and Rebecca song is amazing and it’s the first one this season that I actually love. I had to go back and watch it again.

I really didn’t believe they could pull this off, and I really don’t know how they did it, but it worked? Listening to these two sing to each other about their history together and seeing them reconnect… my heart was swelling with joy.

Also, I loved the fact that they made it clear Greg is still sober.

Is it weird that even though he’s clearly a different person, I do see Greg?

17) Man, I loved every Heather/Valencia scene in this episode! And damn, Valencia, that story is the thing great love stories are made of!

18) So… does Greg’s dad really have to talk to him about sleeping with Rebecca or was Greg trying to get Rebecca to fess up?

19) Yes, Rebecca, you make total sense…

I mean, he basically told her he didn’t feel for his ex-girlfriend the same way he’d felt for her, right? I wouldn’t want to fess up either...

20) WAIT, WHAT?!!!

HEATHER: What? It was Father Brah?

VALENCIA: Joseph. He never got the letter. My love letter was in his jacket in Hector's trunk for 12 years?!

OMFG this show just blew my mind!! He was going to marry Valencia and Josh, right? He was always giving Josh advice about his relationship with her? Is this why he decided to become a priest? WHAT IN THE HELL?!

21) I’m HEATHER, THIS IS HOW I FEEL WATCHING THIS EPISODE!!

22) A GEORGE SONG?!!! CAN THIS EPISODE GET ANY BETTER?!!!

Another catchy tune!! Love the Hollaback Girl homage! And I laughed so hard! “We learned to cry while you were popular!”

23) My shipping heart is killing me right now…

24) Oh, dang, indeed!

25) OH ME GERDS!!

Paula is going to freak out when she reads all those texts, isn’t she?

26) I SHIP THIS? A PRIEST AND A PARTY PLANNER?

What is this episode doing to me?

27) thIS FUCKING EPISODE, I SWEAR TO GOD!

Okay, it makes sense, Valencia is in a good relationship and she is very much in love with her girlfriend. And I’m sure Father Brah didn’t become a priest just because Valencia didn’t choose him. At least they got closure and knowing the truth about what happened definitely changes how they will look back on those memories.

28) OMG they were about to kiss and she told him!

I’m kind of sad she ruined the moment, but it had to be done. Good for you, Honest Rebecca, I’m proud!

29) Greg’s reaction was not what I had expected. He did freak out a little, but he was mostly surprised at how Rebecca came clean and owned up to probably the shittiest thing she could’ve done to him. He didn’t punch any walls (awwing at the reference!) And yes, Rebecca has changed, too. For the better. Old Rebecca? She would’ve lied and schemed and manipulated to prevent him from finding out until ultimately everything would’ve blown up in her face.

And I loved the fact that he’s the one to acknowledge they both have changed.

30) Paula’s ending scene!! I loved her reaction to all the texts from Rebecca as if she was seeing the situation unfold in front of her in real time. It was perfect!

31) This episode… is definitely my favorite episode this season! I just loved EVERYTHING about it? The Heather/Valencia/Father Brah B plot, Greg’s return, Hector’s obsession with the speech and the 2-hours lunch, Rebecca’s texts, the songs, the meta!

It was an amazing episode that reminded us why we love this show so much and why it is SO GOOD.

The writers knew the odds were against them in bringing back Greg with a different actor in the role, so they brought their A game and delivered a nearly perfect episode, one that I’m sure will be remembered as one of the best in the series.

And of course they had to amp up the meta jokes in this one - they were bringing back one of their main characters but played by a different actor, they had to make a meta-commentary about it. But I really enjoyed how organically they weaved the behind the scenes stuff into the storyline - they made the fact that they were recasting a character emotionally relevant for the characters.

I also love how all the storylines had a common thread and in a way reflected back to Rebecca’s storyline - Father Brah and Valencia missing their shot kind of echoes Greg and Rebecca’s story, although they might get a second chance now; Josh discovering this whole new side to the high school experience he’d never noticed before kind of mirrors Rebecca seeing Greg in a new light; Paula missing out on the events of the whole night and catching up in a few minutes probably mirrors Greg’s journey in this episode.

I was very hazy about the decision to cast a different actor to play Greg, but I also knew that if any show and any group of writers could pull it off, it was CEG. And God bless them, they did! I’m not saying I’m totally sold on New Greg yet, but I feel like I will. I feel like I will grow to love this Greg as well. And I think the fact that they were able to achieve that - the possibility of viewers falling in a love with a recast character - is a feat in itself.

This show is such a blessing, I swear! I can’t wait to rewatch this episode!

Sorry if I got a bit rambly and incoherent there, I just enjoyed this episode a lot!

32) Hope you enjoyed my recap, and, as usual, if you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi.Thanks!

[ajoblotofjunk]

Z Nation re-watch: 4x08 The One With the Nun Zombies

The title of this episode makes explicit the theme of this season - "Crisis of Faith." I love it.

It's Kaya and baby JZ! And Zona has arrived, shooting at them.

HI NANA!

Moment of Kaya appreciation.

Sarge gets in an "OH, Canada" joke but I sincerely hope she's kidding about the 'cannabis country' thing because there is a GIANT SIGN that says "WELCOME TO CANADA" right in front of her. Or maybe she just never learned to read in the apocalypse. Reading isn't exactly a priority when zombies are trying to eat you.

10k: "Seems too good to be true." Doc: "I know what you mean kid. I remember when Newmerica was called California. It's just so hard to believe in anything anymore." This theme comes up a lot this season - especially from Doc, which is interesting because he's basically been their north star in terms of 'we can do this' - and it's explored a lot in this episode in particular. This is just the beginning.

It's a natural extension of seasons of show/years of in-show time to dealing with the apocalypse and one of the things I think Z Nation in particular is VERY good at: what happens when the apocalypse is just your regular life? You've fought and scraped and done terrible things and had terrible things done to you and now you're just living, what next? How do you hold onto your belief - your faith - that something better is going to come? (And if you don't think that's applicable to 2017/2018 US politics, well. Maybe consider it again.)

Murphy plans to keep on surviving but some day he has to ask himself why.

Warren will be especially interesting in season 5 with no mission at all - no saving Murphy, no being driven by Black Rainbow.

lmao the music using the Canadian anthem briefly as the Mountie zombies attack.

Sarge gets a little wild and inappropriate with the the crop and the Mountie zombie.

The scene fighting the nuns is funny mostly because I know several people who are ex-Catholic school raised and they would feel much the same way.

Warren saves Murphy and looks beautiful doing it. As a side note, though, this exchange between them is interesting. She's saved his life a lot of times, but it seems to mean a lot more here. I suspect it's because of the tension between them. It's actually a shame we didn't get one episode between last ep and this one with them just being awkward and mad at each other, because I think the payoff of this episode where he finally believes her would mean even more (though it's a pretty big deal anyway). I would've cut out the Mt Weather episode for that, but I'm not a showrunner, so. Hee.

Doc: "I'm going to hell even more than I was before." Murphy: "We're already in hell, Doc, it can only go up from here."

10k: "My dad said Lazarus was the original zombie." Murphy: "Don't count if you don't crave brains."

Warren to Murphy: "You were in Zona. You were awake. What did they do to me?" Murphy has no idea and I think he feels guilty about not knowing.

Just leaving this here. I'm going to do a lot of cap dropping for this next section because visually it's a LOT.

Could've called this ep "Warren's Wedding," ijs.

Murphy: *tries for 10 seconds* Murphy: This isn't working! lol u quitter.

Look at her little face when she tells him "come here" and holds out her hands.

Lordt.

I love this show and its sometimes hilariously bad CGI.

BUT on a more serious note - is this what it's always like for Murphy to get into people's minds? We've never seen it before, it's always seemed he more feels/hears them instead of any sort of visualization. I'm just curious. (I did appreciate that it was 10k who brought up this idea in the first place, and in an appropriately bitter voice.)

Doc: "What'd you see?" Murphy: "Nothing. I didn't see anything. I felt it. What she's feeling. It's excruciating." So maybe the visual was entirely for us as viewers. Hm.

He is horrified at what he felt, realizes that Warren has been feeling that the whole time that words alone couldn't do justice to how awful it is. Warren is the GOAT, and Murphy knows it:

<3

Warren's so thankful someone finally understands what she's been going through, he's validated her beliefs by feeling it, too.

Murphy: "What I felt...what you've been feeling. You been feeling that this whole time?" Warren: "Yeah." Murphy: "Whatever it is, are we going towards it, or away from it?" Warren: "I don't know." The crux of her problem.

I like the framing of this.

Sarge calls the zombies "a storm of skinnies" and "chicken and dumplings" and nothing makes sense.

Murphy, clean your sword before you sheathe it!

Sarge: "We get to interrogate him, right? I always wanted to interrogate somebody." She is way out in left field this episode, a bloodthirsty soldier spoiling for a fight. Her personality never really solidifies this season, IMO, and I hope she gets more grounded in herself next season.

But it does give Warren someone to react to to remember how to be herself. Warren is very sweet with Louis, and introduces herself as Lt. Warren of the National Guard again, something she is still holding onto.

Louis is a great one-off character and it's a damn shame what they do to him at the end of the episode.

Sharing a moment.

Warren: "Not many people still got religion in all this." Louis: *laughs* "I don't. I mean, old white man in the sky? But. If this relic can really cure people? People are gonna need healing, once all this is over." Gosh I want to have a long conversation about healing post-apocalypse, and how you know when it's time to focus on healing vs. surviving.

Warren: "You think this will be over? I call that faith." Louis: "That's just basic survival. You gotta believe this will end, right? If you don't, hug a zombie."

Warren needed someone to give her faith. She was running low.

Good lighting in this crypt.

Warren: "How do you know you're doing something good or you're just...delusional?" Louis: "I don't."

Oof, Murphy talking with Louis about his daughter is rough.

Murphy: "She wasn't a saint. She was a little girl." Louis: "Sacrificing yourself for someone you love, it doesn't get more holy than that does it?"

Mom and Dad looking at their little Lucy.

Warren heads back to the US again and the others follow. We're back on the trail of Black Rainbow. We’ll not speak of what happens to Louis.

[haltandcatchfiretothemax]

Everyone's terrible: Halt and Catch Fire 4x08.

Because it's determined to be the most maddening show of all time, of course Halt's penultimate episode is going to maybe be the best episode of the season and easily one of the best of the series. I've spent this entire season getting more and more frustrated and distracted by the show's construction, and as such feeling more and more ready for it to end its run. So naturally, the next to last one is the only episode of the season that not only didn't have a bunch of stuff in it that upset and annoyed me, but that also reminded me why I fell so hard for Halt in the first place, and why I'll miss it so badly. WHY?

"Goodwill" is a really remarkable hour of television about a necessary and draining chore that we mostly try not to think about ever having to do. It feels like it should be uncomfortable, but it's surprisingly easy to watch, and I think it's the first episode all season that I'm truly looking forward to watching again? There's a lot to talk about, and it seems like no matter how much my Halt geek friends talk about it, we still want to talk/cry about it more. So, put on some Dire Straits, grab some extra boxes and plastic bags, and lets see if we can finally sort and pack up what went on in this episode. Literally nothing but spoilers for Halt and Catch Fire 4x08 below.

For me, there were a few different key, big deal things that really stood out to me about this episode. All of them are more than worthy of their own full-length post, but I'll address them here as succinctly as I can:

The Flashback scenes. I probably literally will not be able to list all the reasons why the early scenes from Donna and Gordon's marriage worked for me, but I'll try. They bring a different, more vibrant drama to what otherwise would've been a relatively quiet, elegiac hour of tv, which is amazing considering that we knew Gordon would return to Donna and Joanie. The flashbacks force us to remember that Gordon wasn't a great husband, and that he and Donna had real problems, and their argument is such a fitting prequel to season 1. Gordon is characteristically, annoyingly, and depressingly right about why they absolutely should not move back to Texas or let Donna's parents any further into their marriage! But Donna is just as right about why they, or really she, needs more help. To me, that's the most effective and striking thing about the flashbacks: the heartbreaking contrast between Donna and Gordon in 1976, and Donna in 1994. In 1994, Donna seems so alone without Gordon, but she has help, she and her girls has some kind of support. In 1976, she had Gordon, but they didn't have anyone else, and it's presumably why they cut their losses and moved back to Dallas. Gordon's return and recommittment to Donna is so well done that it takes no effort to imagine Donna shortly thereafter making a sort of inverse of the list of demands she made in 2x10, and also the first version of her 'you partner with me in this family' speech from the pilot: we move to Dallas, we let my parents help, we let them buy us a house, that is how we stick together. In her defense, it's also very easy to imagine Donna's mother nudging her into making said demands. The whole thing is a beautiful and miserable depiction of two people who were never going to make it work, for so many reasons, but who tried so, SO fucking hard.

The grief. It isn't surprising to me that Halt got this so right, and I'm glad that they spent nearly an entire episode on going through Gordon's things, because in this garbage c*pitalist, anti-feelings society we don't get to talk about that process or how difficult it is anywhere near enough. Everyone is in a sort of fog, feeling sad and overwhelmed and numb at the same time, and just trying to get through it, because what else can you do? There's always at least one person who is angry and who copes by picking fights and being 'overly' honest about how things really were, like Joanie. And there's always at least one person who can't seem to find any chill or numbness, who is jumpy and freaked out and who struggles and makes 'too' big a deal about everything, like J*e does in this hour. But everyone is there, and they're all grappling with the same thing, this sudden hole in their life that they can't patch. The loss means something different to everyone there, but everyone knows it's a loss shared by the entire group. They spend the day working together to clean out Gordon's house, some of them retrieving their own things, some of them preparing the deceased's things for their next destination. They grapple with the brevity, loneliness, and fragility of their own lives, and they talk about Gordon, and they laugh and then they cry. And then eventually, they all sit down together, exhausted, and they eat together at Gordon's dining room table. Because again, what else can you do?

The CamDonna. So, to be real: I don't think it was necessary to make us wait all the way until the next to last episode for Donna and Cameron's reconciliation, and no, I don't think that there's anything even remotely poignant about the brorunners torturing these two women characters and then hurting them more by taking one of their few friends away from both of them, just to put them back together for the finale. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's 'too little too late', but damn if it doesn't feel, in some ways, like so little, so freaking late. AT THE SAME TIME: if this is all the CamDonna reunion we're gonna get, at least it was good. It didn't track with my experiences with grief -- a death will deepen long-term personal rifts more often than it will magically heal them -- but it was still welcome and long overdue. Cameron goes out of her way to help Donna deal with Joanie, Donna finally tells Cameron that she finished Pilgrim and it quickly gets awkward when Donna tries to apologize for telling Cameron to stay out of her life, and then again when Donna talks about how good J*e is with her kids (……), but then they finally really talk when Donna performs the timeless Mom task of letting her know that dinner is ready. They bond over both their loss and how aggravating and demoralizing it is to be asked 'how are you doing' when you're in the middle of a life-altering trauma, and then over how that trauma changes your relationships. And yeah, it might feel a little bit prestige-y, but when Cameron and Donna talk about Gordon and how much they miss him, and what he meant to them, they're also talking about each other. You feel it the most at the end of their conversation, when Donna says she spent so much time telling Gordon everything he did wrong. They're finally in the same frame for the first time since early season 3, and they cry together, but when Cameron supplies a perfect and very in-character response, "He did a ton wrong," they finally laugh together. For a moment, you almost forget that they're talking about Donna's relationship with Gordon.

But there's the other thing. Um, not to be a douche but, did anyone else find themselves wondering, are we seriously all crying over Gordon, right now? That's not a question for viewers though, because of course we're responding to this glorious and cathartic piece of filmmaking by crying about Gordon, because that was the intended impact. No, this is a question for the showrunners: why Gordon, when he's actually been an incredibly unlikeable character for the whole goddamn series? Why, in season 4, does he suddenly become this beloved family man, and the character who connects everyone? (Yes, even this season, in which he still wasn't a great partner to Donna, and in which his personal life flourished while the showrunners put hers through a friggen meat grinder.) Why do Gordon (and also J*e…) get these huge, season-long redemptive arcs? While Cameron and Donna get nothing but like, suffering? Lol jk  DON'T answer, I KNOW why. (No, literally, don't answer, I don't need any of this explained to me, I'm good, thanks!) Again, it's not necessary or inherently poignant but if we had to put up with this storyline, well. At least it was executed impeccably, and we got a brilliant episode out of it, with great scenes with Donna, Cameron, Katie and the girls.

But now, we're down to the finale. We've got two hours of show left, in which anything and everything can happen, dog help us. Gordon's story has come to an end, and that's sort of what the last scene is about, right? He went over the cliff and he went all in, and he lived his life, mostly with Donna. Prayer circle that the rest of our characters will get a generous conclusion to their stories!

[fanfictalkdotcom]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Hogwarts Sortings

Cordelia Chase   Cordelia Chase is a queen, and a Gyrffindor queen at that. Any examination of her character would be direly lacking without taking into account her development on Angel (and of course ignoring season 4 of Angel). Throughout Angel, Cordelia consistently shines as the character who is bravest and most committed to doing the right thing. There are a great many things that Cordelia wants for her personal and professional life, but she always has the courage to sacrifice what she wants for what she knows she needs to do.   But even disregarding Angel, I would also sort Cordelia into Gryffindor just based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is both fearless in the face of danger, and fearlessly herself. She is most Cordelia when she combines these two things, say, biting a vampire who tries to bite her in the season one finale. Even her more shallow acts support her as a Gryffindor. It was a really big deal for her to choose to date Xander despite the consequences it had for her social standing. Considering how important her social status was to her, that was a very rave act.   When I think of Cordelia’s bravery and dedication to fighting the good fight, I think of the episode on Angel where she is being overwhelmed both physically and emotionally by the pain of the world, and (in stark contrast to Willow’s “I have to stop this”) her response is that she wants to save them.   Long story short, Cordelia stares down a vampire and he literally runs for his life.  

Willow Rosenberg   Excuse me while I plomp down an entire essay on why Willow is a Slytherin.   People tend to srt Willow into Ravenclaw or Slytherin, often depending on what season they’re talking about, but I firmly believe that Willow was always a Slytherin.   The shortest answer to Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin for her is that Willow’s mantra is not “Wit beyond knowledge is man’s greatest treasure,” but “Knowledge is power.” She has a passion for learning, but not for the sake of knowledge itself. For her everything is a means to an end.   We see her priorities of power and authority in season 2, when she is asked to teach the computer class. When Jenny first asks her to fill if she’s running behind, Willow’s first concern is “What if they don’t respect my authority?” Jenny reassures her, and Willow’s next question is if she will have the power to assign detention or make the students run laps.   Another way to see how Willow’s interests is that she tends to discard them as she finds something more powerful. While there was a time that she actively loved academics and computers, which were both things that helped her feel more in control, they become less relevant to her as she becomes a more powerful witch. She did not love them for their own sakes, but for what they could do for her.   Willow also has a streak for vengeance, that’s established since the beginning of the show, which she often implements in a cunning way. When Cordelia is annoying her in 1x02 and asks how to save her computer assignment, Willow says "DELiver.” See also “Have some punch, Cordelia” in 2x03, when Cordelia is again grating on Willow, who knows there is no sugar in the punch. There are many more incidents, but those are some of the ones that stick out in my mind.   Willow also sometimes feels held back by her good girl reputation, as in 3x16, when she becomes visibly frustrated that people think of her as boring and reliable. While this comes across as a joke at first “I’m eating this banana, lunchtime be damned,” it becomes much more real as she disguises herself as her vampire self and sums herself up the way she sees herself: “She’s so weak and accommodating. She’s always letting people walk all over her.” What I see in this is that while she may have some Hufflepuff traits, she sees them as weaknesses.   While Willow has a great deal of love and loyalty to those closest to her, I think that that can also be seen as a Slytherin trait. Slytherins tend to have tight knit groups, and will extend their trait of self preservation to protect these. I definitely see this in Willow, a lot more than the Hufflepuff trait of open hearted friendliness among a larger group of people and putting others before herself. Willow’s loyalty to those closest to her actually often hinders her from letting others in, such as her protectiveness for Xander driving wedges between her and Anya (also Cordelia, but there was more jealousy at play there). She is also quick to adopt her friends ‘views on people. Willow hates Faith for the reasons that Buffy hates faith, while a Hufflepuff would be more of a combination of having their own reasons and making more of an effort to empathize.   While Willow has a strong work ethic, she actually shies away from doing thing the hard way. This is seen a lot through her magic. As she gains more powers, the old way of doing things seems no longer relevant to her, whether it is something that would involve computers, science, doing an ordinary task, or just dealing with her own feelings. We see this a lot - when she tried a spell in 3x08 for her and Xander to get over their feelings (even he knew that was cheating), and again in 4x08 to get over her feelings from Oz leaving, and repeatedly in season 6 when she tries to control Tara and Buffy’s memory through magic to make things easier on herself. These incidents both speak to looking for the easiest way through something, as well as her ethical disregard for interfering with other peoples’ minds and emotions.   Long story short, Willow once wore a green and silver shirt with an S on it.

[by Dojh167@HPFT aka the cutest ever @sinnersandsapphics]