#and watching lost and pll at the same time has clearly... not been a good idea

[gra-sonas]

I didn’t mean to be “silent”, this just took me much longer to write than I had planned. 

First of all, I’d like to point you in the direction of a very good post @adiwriting​ posted a couple of days ago, that sums things up in a very articulate way, you can find it HERE.

~*~

In short: in his most recent interview with the Pretty Little Wine Moms Podcast, Tyler - who’s playing a character who’s half Native American -  revealed, that he did a DNA test with a company called 23AndMe during the filming of season 1 of Roswell, New Mexico, and he test didn’t detect Native American ancestry, even though his grandmother had told him in 2010, that his paternal grandfather Harold's great grandmother was Cherokee Indian.

Below the cut is a transcript of that part of the interview, my opinion on this whole thing, and I answered a couple of asks I got about it. This is a VERY long post.

I’ve already watched the video of the interview, and it shows, that they edited the interview quite heavily. There are several cuts throughout the episode, and some things that can be heard in the audio version, didn’t make it into the video either. 

TRANSCRIPT [I didn’t transcribe every laugh or random words, but I’ve tried my best to make it as accurate as possible]

LESLEY: Did you audition for any of the other roles on PLL?

TYLER: No, Caleb came in halfway through season one. I remember, it was supposed to be a 4-episode stint, a guest starring role. What’s funny though, I lived right by Warner Brothers [studios], so I would drive […] past Warner Brothers and there was a bill board of Pretty Little Liars before it came out and I was like “I could probably be on a show like that.” So, anyway, I auditioned for Caleb, yeah. I never read for… […] No, I didn’t get the role at first because they were like “we really think he needs to be like really ethnic. We need some ethnic diversity. And I was like—

LESLEY: What are you? You’re like “hello”! Part Native American, i mean.

TYLER: Well, no, I’m actually not. I’m actually not, I found out.

HOLLY: Whaaaat? Yes, you are. We did talk about this.

NIA: I thought you were.

HOLLY: We talked about this on set.

TYLER: Do you know when I found out that I wasn’t is when I got Roswell, my character was also supposed to be Native American, half Native American. And I was like “great”, because the pool was like so small. You know, so this is great, you know. I’m shooting season one of the show and do a 23AndMe [DNA test] and I have literally not even 0.1 % Native American.

HOLLY: That can’t be possible.

NIA: No, no, no, no, let me explain how that works. That’s not right.

HOLLY: Nia has some things to tell you.

NIA: The information - I know these things, every nationality in me—

TYLER: Okay, tell me.

NIA: 23AndMe is pulling from— if you do 23AndMe and then you do… what’s the other one—

LESLEY: AncestryCOM

HOLLY: AncestryCOM

NIA: —they’ll come up different. And the reason they’ll come up different from each other is, they’re pulling from the people they already have in their database. So, if there’s not very many Native American people doing 23AndM—

HOLLY: Which there isn’t.

NIA: —it’s not gonna show up.

TYLER: Oh god.

NIA: Yeah.

[INFO: There’s a clear CUT at this point before the interview continues, they even cut Tyler’s “Oh god” you can hear in the audio from the video. So they must’ve talked about this some more before the official version of the interview continues.]

TYLER: Okay, so this is what happened, going back [to being cast as Caleb]. They said “thank you so much for the read” and I really thought I was gonna get it. Because Gayle Pillsbury [PLL casting director] - I’d never even read for her before - and I went in and auditioned, and her response was literally everything you want in an audition. She like lost her fucking mind and was like “where did you come from?”, you know, that sort of thing. I mean, I’m a TERRIBLE auditioner and I get so unbelievably nervous, so for that to be the response—

LESLEY: Wow.

TYLER: So that response… I was like “oh my gosh”. And you even audition and you’re like “I booked it. I booked it!”, you know what I mean? Even though it’s not up to her, you know, but anyway. Then they told me “thank you so much for the read, it was so good, but we want more ethnic diversity”. They came back to me, I don’t know, three weeks later? And they were like “What is your background?” And I was like “I don’t even know.” I called my dad, he tells me “I don’t even know.” He’s like “Call grandma.”. I call my grandma, she tells me her side and then… My dad’s dad passed away before I was born, I don’t know his side of the family at all. So my grandmother talks about his side of the family and says “You know—“ - it was Harold, Harold was my grandfather’s name - —“Harold’s great grandmother was Cherokee Indian. And I was like “Really?” I was like “This is good!”

WINE MOMS,  LAUGHING: “This is good!”

TYLER: So, then I told casting “I’m Native American.” And so they thought it was enough to cast me as, you know, ‘ethnically ambiguous’ or whatever.

[END TRANSCRIPT]

~*~

I’m not an expert on DNA tests. Nia’s comment that tests from different companies come back with different results bc they pull their data from different gene pools makes sense, but I can’t verify whether that's actually the case. Neither do I know whether her claim that 23AndMe pool lacks Native samples for reference is correct.

If it is, it would mean that 23AndMe DNA tests in general wouldn’t be able to detect Native ancestry in any sample. Maybe a test with a different company would come up with a different result, in any case, it would be a very small percentage, given how many generations are between Tyler and his Native ancestor.

The result of the test is only one piece of the puzzle tho, and not the relevant one.

The question isn’t whether the result indicates that what Tyler’s grandma told him is false. The question is, if one Native ancestor 5 generations back and no tribal affiliation of any kind entitle Tyler to play POC characters. 

The answer is a clear no, and yet he’s been cast as non-white characters (and in one case as an explicitly Native character) twice in his life.

That’s unfortunate at best, and ignorant at worst.

~*~

Tyler auditioned for PLL in 2010 when he was 23, turning 24 that year. Initially he didn’t get the role bc they wanted someone “ethnic”. They called him 3 weeks (!) after the initial rejection and asked about his background, and by talking to his grandma, he found out about this Native ancestor.

2010 was a mere decade ago, but it was also a different time. Discussions about diversity and representation on screen, the question whether it’s okay for male actors to play trans women or if shows should pass the Bechdel test were all topics that weren’t discussed as “aggressively (and I mean that in a very positive way, hammer it home that all these things matter!) as they are discussed today, and structures in the TV and movie industry ignored most of it anyway (still do way too often, lbr).

Looking back, it’s easy to condemn what happened as vigorously as we would condemn it if it happened today, but applying today’s standards to 2010 is still a bit unfair. (I’m not saying that what happened is okay, just that back then the level of awareness for it to be wrong wasn’t the same as it is today).

Sure enough ABC execs were all too happy to accept that minimal partial Native ancestry as “enough” to cast him, probably also because Tyler looked “ethnically ambiguous” to them, whatever that means. (Holly also mentioned that they talked about Tyler’s Native ancestry on the set of PLL, and apparently not a single person pointed out that maybe it was a questionable decision...).

Tyler was trying to get his career started back then, and an opportunity like PLL would be any young actor’s dream. When they told him “you’re ethnic enough, you’ve got the job”, he lacked the tools and the awareness to question their decision, neither did anyone ever question Tyler’s decision to accept the role. It was considered to be “okay” by all sides. Which is a systemic problem.

As far as I know, Caleb’s supposed “ethnically diverse” background was never explored on PLL, so they were just happy he looked “ethnic" but never gave a fuck about actual representation. Welcome to the club of most TV shows ever made. Even in 2020, too many shows and movies still try to pull that shit. The difference is, that nowadays they are called out, and people speak up. 

~*~

Fast forward to 2017 when Tyler got the script for Roswell. 7 years of him believing that this partial Native ancestry made him part Native, not half like Alex Manes, but it probably felt like it was “enough” - it had been enough for PLL after all.

He got cast because he’s a great actor, but also because he supposedly had the required ethnic background. This is also on the studio tbh. I assume he was asked about his background and he must’ve told them the same story (since he didn’t have a DNA test he could’ve shown them), and for The CW “one Cherokee Indian ancestor 5 generations back” was also “Native enough”...

~*~

It’s quite a bit of a mess tbh. Fans have been hit rather hard by this revelation, some are angry, some are disappointed, some feel uncomfortable, some probably don’t know whether how they feel is how they should feel after applying all our new-found 2020 ~wisdom and awareness to the situation.

Opinions on the matter differ. Vastly in some cases. Some people feel betrayed, some have “cancelled” Tyler, for others it’s not ideal but also not that big of a deal. It’s a mixed bag, really. 

As for me: 2010 Tyler gets a pass from me. It was a “different time” with different industry rules in place, and ABC’s higher ups, who should’ve known and done better, didn’t. Neither did anyone in casting, nor his management, colleagues, or anyone in his personal life. And he clearly lacked the experience and awareness to question the decision, or himself for accepting it because it never was questioned! Not even in the years following.

2017 Tyler only gets a partial pass. 2017 wasn’t 2020 and too many things were still not all that different from 2010. He’d been on a show for 7 years where this partial Native ancestry was “enough”. Hence he probably felt like auditioning for the role of Alex was okay, and everyone involved in the casting process thought so, too. 

He never pretended to be Native American to get the role, he never pulled a Scarlett Johansson. However... he probably should’ve questioned a bit harder whether a Native ancestor 5 generations back makes him “Native enough” to play a (half) Native character, or any kind of POC character for that matter.

So yeah, definitely putting some blame on him for the lack of awareness, but I’m also side-eying The CW and whoever was involved in the decision making. 

~*~

What I hope for and expect fromTyler now and in the future is, that he won’t ever allow to be cast as any kind of “ethnic” character ever again.

He’s worked hard and has very much earned the career he’s made. He’s an amazing actor, but the circumstances that gave him the opportunity to have that career are based on racist structures in the TV and movie industry, and he directly profited from a system, that cast him - for all we know a white man - as a man of color. Twice.

Imo Tyler’s well aware of these things now. 2020 in particular should’ve been a pretty good eye-opener. It’s good that he has someone like Jeanine to look up to and learn from (not her job to teach him or take him by the hand or anything, but I think she’s a great example of someone who’s already made a name of herself, and uses her influence to help others, and the way she talks about diversity and elevating marginalized voices is very powerful), and I hope that in the future he’ll use is voice and “weight” as an established actor, to elevate minority voices and push for their stories to be included.

Answered your question in part above already.

It’s important to note that there’s a difference between criticizing someone’s actions, and openly hating and/or dissing them. This is a messy situation, and while Tyler can’t change the past, he has to do better in the future. Saying that doesn’t make me (or anyone else) a hater. Tyler’s amazing, but he’s also not perfect. And he doesn’t have to be. No one’s perfect.

When I look back at my life, dear god, I grew up in a very liberal family, we travelled places, I had access to all the books and education, and still. At 23? I was somewhat anti-feminist and a slightly conservative leaning liberal. Not a bad person per se, but also quite ignorant (compared to today’s standards anyway). Thankfully that’s changed over the years. And it keeps changing. Because getting complacent and thinking “I know it all” is BS. I’m working on myself every day, and I’m still prone to fuck up occasionally bc the system is rigged in my favor, and I might not even be aware of it in that moment. 

I’m not cross with Tyler, because I can’t say for certain I hadn’t done the same if the circumstances had been similar. I’m actually quite sure I had done the same, bc society and the industry made it okay. AND NO ONE EVER QUESTIONED IT! He never claimed more for himself than a Native ancestor 5 generations back, and society at large and the TV/movie industry in particular said “that’s fine, you have that ancestry, you can go for diverse roles”. So in part, he fell victim to a system that pretended it was okay.

With MeToo and the Black Lives Matter movement, that “it’s okay” mentality is finally questioned and challenged, and more and more people speak up whenever someone tries to pull this shit. But it still keeps happening and there’s a lot more work to do. 

No one can claim ignorance anymore, though. And he has to do better in the future.

I feel you, nonnie. It’s a messy situation. Imo it’s most unfortunate that this information came out the way it did. In a heavily edited podcast episode with inexperienced (and dare I say “industry-biased”) moderators. We don’t know what else he said or for how long they talked about this.

The podcast hosts were clearly not the most qualified to handle that kind of revelation. There were no follow-up questions, there was no criticism, and the way the interview was edited, the whole thing was treated as a non-issue and “fun” anecdote. Which doesn’t do Tyler any favors tbh. 

But imo it’s also unfair to condemn him solely on what they decided to release. We don’t know what else he said, whether he expressed remorse or whatnot. I don’t know whether his publicist okayed the interview prior to its release. If they did, he should get a new publicist... 

(I’m not implying he should’ve kept it a “secret”, but as a publicist I would’ve made sure this revelation had been handled differently, and Tyler hadn’t been made to look like he was just laughing it off).

I don’t know Tyler personally, but going by everything I’ve seen from him and know about him, I’m certain he won’t take on another POC role. And even if another DNA test should come up with a different result one day, and a certain percentage of Native ancestry would be found, I’d expect him to handle things differently. And imo that’s something he expects from himself, too. He’s a good man. <3

I don’t think he should, but I’m white, so my opinion on this isn’t really relevant. If Native groups would call for him to step down (which I don’t think they would), I’d support it because THEIR opinion on this actually matters.

One option could be that they do a storyline where it’s revealed that the woman Alex believes to be his mother isn’t his biological mom and it turns out he’s not Native - but that’s probably a far stretch, idk.

If he’d give up the role (which he clearly isn’t doing, considering he’s found out during S1 and is about to begin filming S3), I doubt The CW would recast the role with a native actor btw. Alex’d just be written off the show.

What I hope for is, that he’ll join Jeanine in her efforts to push for more Native and Latinx representation and stories on the show (Jeanine talked about that in her recent IG live with congressman Castro, @lambourngb​ made a post about it), and you can watch the entire IG live here.

Fandom’s a large group of many individual people. There are several people who have addressed this and talk about it. And while not every single person in fandom’s talking about it, it’s not swept under the rug either.

And how does this whole thing make Malex fans (another large group of many individual people) look toxic? Malex fans are not a hive mind. I have seen several Malex fans talk about this, and talk about it critically.

I’m sorry that you’re disappointed, nonnie, I’m just not sure what you expected?

[niuxita21]

It’s way too late to change the wording of this post into something more wistful but I really wanted to wait to post this until PLL ended because it just carried more weight that way.

Anyway, this is why all the disdain for PLL pisses me off. I started rewatching Lost recently (the product of having nothing to occupy my evenings with), which, for all its entertainment value, it’s a show where women are, at best, bit players and, at worst, token characters (I mean, there’s Claire being reduced to a crying mess because people were gonna take her baybeeeee and Charlie going on and on about having to “protect her” as if she wasn’t capable of doing it her own damn self; there’s Sun, who spent like half the first season incommunicated; there’s Shannon being nothing more than the typical vapid blonde who was only given depth via a romantic relationship because of course; and then there’s Kate, an all-around solid, intriguing character constantly ruined by Jack telling her what to do and her LISTENING and APOLOGIZING when she doesn’t as if she owes him anything). I mean, they eventually added more women, but the men were always the ones invariably taking charge and calling the shots, so it doesn’t really count.

And here’s the thing. For years I’ve been saying Pretty Little Liars was my new Lost because of the suspense/intricate-plot-that-spiraled-out-of-control-and-probably-won’t-achieve-a-satisfying-ending aspect, but it didn’t hit me just HOW much it is so similar to what a female-centric version of Lost would look like until just now.

Like, when you watch Lost, you see Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, and Locke discussing how they’re gonna proceed with something or dealing with people trying to kill them, and randomly traipsing through the jungle in planned excursions for a variety of reasons, while Jack tells Kate that she can’t come with them because it’s too dangerous, or switches out the dynamite so she won’t have to carry it even though she drew a short straw, and Claire does nothing but cry about her baby and beg Charlie to go bring him back (because the automatic assumption is that she can’t go bring him back herself, duh, and the only reason why that assumption would be made is because she’s a woman), and Sun has to play the weeping wife role as she sees Jin sail off on the raft (because, again, the automatic assumption is that Jin would be in it and not her, again, only because she’s a woman). To me, the message that this sends is that women not being active participants in survival situations is the norm, that men being the ones to take care of everything and “protect them” is the norm, that women couldn’t possibly handle things like a hunting party to go bring Michael back from the Others, I guess because they’re too fragile for guns or something.

And then you watch Pretty Little Liars, and, on a regular basis, you have 4/5/6 girls (depending on the situation and also the season) conspiring together to take down the ubiquitous being who has been tormenting them since day one (their version of the Others or the Black Smoke, if you will); constantly shutting out the men in their lives because being involved in what they’re doing is too dangerous and they don’t want to risk their fragile male lives; regularly going on “excursions” in the woods all by themselves with no male protection whatsoever, sometimes in the middle of the night and sometimes with pink backpacks because why the hell not; routinely having to dispose of murder weapons and counting only on each other to make sure the job gets done right; on more than one occasion burying or exhuming bodies, in one case the body of the man they ACCIDENTALLY MURDERED, and once again, this only involves the 4/5/6 female protagonists with no male assistance whatsoever (I mean OK, sometimes Caleb plays the Kate role in terms of being the only male character to ever be allowed to be of some use to them because of his computer skills, but even that still fits the parallel perfectly).

So when I see this, I can’t help but think that, within the universe of this show, it is the norm for girls (and they were teenage girls when the series started) being involved in the pretty high-intensity situations these characters are involved in. That it is perfectly acceptable for girls to take charge of what happens to them, to not trust anyone but each other, to shut everybody else out. That it is perfectly normal for them to have to deal with situations such as covering up murders and blackmail with no one ever questioning why they don’t just leave it to the men in their lives to take care of it. Because why the hell shouldn’t it be normal for women to do these things? Why the hell shouldn’t it be the norm for them to take charge like this? 

So like BOO-FUCKING-HOO, so fucking what if A.D. didn’t make any sense***, if Marlene never had any idea what the hell she was doing or where anything was going plot-wise, etc. Like, WHO GIVES A FUCK. We got SEVEN SEASONS of girls and women taking charge and having agency like very very few female characters get to have on TV and without ever having to operate under the control of a male character and that is just SO FUCKING IMPORTANT. And rare. So so so rare. And probably won’t happen again for another ten years, if that.

So show some damn respect.

***Actually, much like with Lost, I thought they went for probably the best resolution at their disposal given the circumstances and the corners they’d written themselves in. Hats off.

[sakuwriteshere]

Pretty Little Liar: Chapter 7 - FIN

General warnings (for the whole story): Fluff, comedy, angst, sexual innuedos, roommates AU, Ketch is a douche

Beta reader: Rosaline 💖 I can’t thank you enough for your help and great ideas!!

Words count: 5633 words

PLL Masterlist

Main Masterlist

A/N: So this is it! The final chapter! I’m so sad to have to let this story go, it was fun working on it. I want to thank all of you who liked, commented and/or rebbloged this series. It means the WORLD to me, trully. And a very special thank you to Rosaline, who did a wonderful job as a beta. Thank you so much for your help and the very interesting remarks and advice. <3

Well... I hope you’ll enjoy this last chapter ;3 Thanks for keeping with it until the end! <3 <3 <3

Chapter 7:

The kind of tone Mary’s using suddenly surprises and worries Dean. Mary is a lovely mother, a very kind and understanding person but she can be very scary when she’s angry and Dean had heard that disappointed voice a few times in his life and it was never a good thing. The fact that John is strangely silent isn’t helping Dean to feel better as well. Just like he had feared, telling his family the truth doesn’t make things right, on the contrary, he knows he has disappointed them. Is he going to lose his family just like he had lost Y/N? Dean doesn’t think he can live with that though. Fortunately, Sam coming back into the living room with Mary’s purse is putting an end to Dean’s own torment. As the white and grey purse comes into his range vision, Dean chances a look at his little brother who has his lips pursed firmly.

With the purse resting securely on her lap, Mary opens it, taking out a few bills and parts what she had in her hand in two. She gives one part to Sam and the other one to John as Dean watches the strange scene occurring in front of his eyes without understanding anything. A chuckle finally breaks the tense silence and John stands up, cheering loudly before high fiving Sam.

“John, your son is hurting.” Mary reminds him, rolling her eyes at her husband's childish behavior. 

“Yeah, hm, sorry son.” John calms down but can’t help and pumps his fist as a victory sign.

“What’s going on?” Dean asks, completely lost and a bit embarrassed.

“We knew you were lying from the beginning so Mom, Dad and I bet on when you were going to tell us the truth or not. Mom thought you were going to get out of it easily while dad and I thought you wouldn’t.” Sam explains, counting the few bills in his hands before putting it in his pants back pocket.

“Wait a second. You knew?” Dean repeats, completely baffled. “So since the beginning you knew and you watched me stupidly trying to make it work for nothing?” 

Mary raises her hand, motioning for Dean to not start a tantrum. “You’re the one who started it, Dean.” She reminds him in an authoritative motherly tone. “Be thankful that making fun of you is the only result you get.”

Dean shuts his mouth right away, he knows his mother is right but can’t help feeling angry and stupid. “How did you know?”

Mary smiles softly and looks at Dean knowingly. “You’re my son, sweety and a very bad liar.” She fumbles with Dean’s hair jokingly, the latter swatting her hand away weakly. “I have to admit that I had my doubts when you told me you proposed to her. For a second I thought you two were legit.”

Dean hides his face in his hands, groaning lowly as he remembers that particular night. If only he knew his parents suspected something he would have told them the truth right away and maybe he wouldn’t be in this mess right now.

“I don’t get why Y/N is so upset.” John thinks out loud. “She accepted to play a part in your little scheme at first and now, if I understand what you told us, she’s angry at you for lying. Isn’t she overreacting a bit?”

“That’s because she cares,” Jess explains, surprising the three men at the same time. “Mary, Y/N told you she loved Dean when you met her at the coffee shop, right?”

Mary nods, confirming Jessica’s explanations. “She did.”

“If she loved me, why didn't she say it so when I admitted my feelings earlier?” 

“Would you believe a liar?” Jessica asks Dean, her question completely genuine and void of any reproach.

“I’m not a liar,” Dean grumbles, hating this more and more.

“Right. The last time Dean lied to us, Sam wasn’t even born, but, Y/N doesn’t know that” Mary ponders.

Dean gives his mother a sad look and after taking a deep breath, stands on his feet. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. Everything is over.”

The Winchesters family members watch the oldest son sadly, it’s pretty evident to see how down Dean is. Not liking the overbearing attention, Dean excuses himself, opting for hiding in his bedroom.

“You really love her, don’t you?” John asks his son, feeling a bit out of his comfort zone.

Dean stops between the doorframe of his bedroom and doesn’t even look back at his family. “As I said, it doesn’t matter anymore.” That being said, Dean closes the door behind him, leaving his family to do whatever they want in his living room.

The Winchesters watch the closed-door helplessly. It is very rare for Dean to forfeit, the man is well known for being stubborn and getting what he wants, so seeing him giving up so easily is a sign that all these lies have affected him a lot.

“I think it’s about time that I have a little talk with Y/N.” Mary announces, John giving his wife a warning look and silently telling her to stay out of their son’s love problems. “Don’t look at me like that. My baby is hurting and those two idiots clearly love each other, they just need someone to give them a little push.”

“What are you going to tell her?” Sam asks his mother, knowing how stubborn she can be when she has decided something.

“What Y/N wants,” Mary states, a powerful glint of determination in her eyes. “The truth.”

***

Her argument with Dean the day before is still swirling inside her head. While she had hoped that giving back that stupid tee-shirt would end the whole story, it has, in fact, made it more complicated. Now, because of Dean, Y/N is even less confident about her choices than before. Is it really a simple fake crush? Does he really love her? Is she making a mistake by trying to forget Dean with Ketch? Y/N is not expecting to live a wonderful love story with Ketch, on the contrary, that’s because she knows there’s nothing to expect from him that she’s trying. It’s safer that way. Not caring means you won’t get hurt in the end. 

The line on the other side of the counter is getting bigger and bigger and Y/N tries to work as fast as possible. Charlie had to leave earlier because her girlfriend, Dorothy, had a (fortunately) minor motorbike accident and went to the hospital. At first Charlie didn’t want to leave Y/N on her own but she was visibly distress and wasn’t helping Y/N a bit, her anxious attitude made it harder for Y/N to work, so after Y/N had assured Charlie that she would be fine, the redhead finally agreed to leave. And that’s exactly the moment people suddenly decided to buy some coffee. Now Y/N is facing a very long queue that keeps on growing. At least working means she doesn’t have to think about her problems.

“Hello, I’m sorry for the wait. What can I serve you today?” Y/N asks without looking at the next customer as she's already busy filling the coffee machine with coffee beans.

“I can’t decide,” The woman customer announces and Y/N stops what she’s doing as she recognizes Mary’s voice. “There’s so many choices, it’s hard to choose.”

“Mrs. Winchester.” Y/N turns around and pronounces Mary’s name in a whisper.

“So we’re back to family names?” Mary smiles sadly.

Y/N lowers her gaze, feeling uncomfortable with Mary’s presence. She’s scared that the Winchester mother will make a big fuss in the shop and Y/N is really not ready to face such a problem. There are fewer people in the shop now but there’s still a few of them and Y/N doesn’t know how she’s going to cope with it.

“Just take other customers’ orders first, I’ll still check the menu. Don’t worry, take your time, I’m not in a rush.” Mary reassures gently and steps on the side, giving room to the next customer. Despite all Mary’s efforts, Y/N is still not at ease and becomes particularly quiet as she serves the remaining customers.

Thirty minutes later, the queue is finally gone and only a few customers are sitting in the coffee shop, enjoying their treats. At some point, Mary took a seat in a secluded corner of the shop as she waited for Y/N to be free. Y/N took a deep breath, preparing herself to face Mary and once she felt that she can’t be more ready than what she was, she headed for Mary’s table.

“Have you made your choice yet?” Y/N asks, trying to control the waves of nervousness in her voice.

Mary lowers the menu and tilts her head on the side, giving Y/N another gentle smile. “I don’t know, did you?”

Y/N’s fingers tightened around her pen and pad of notes. She perfectly understands what Mary is hinting at and she knows she’s not ready to talk about that topic, particularly with Mary, so instead, Y/N chooses to feign she doesn’t get Mary’s point.

“I can recommend you our new chaï tea with a cinnamon roll, the tastes are mixing wonderfully and some of our regulars even told us it tastes like heaven.”

Mary nods her head and hands back the menu. “I’ll take that then.” She follows Y/N’s lead, not wanting to frighten the poor girl more than she already is but can’t help and adds a second order before Y/N has time to leave. “And make it two. I think you deserve a break.”

With that being said, Y/N knows there’s no escape anymore. Mary’s determined to have a talk with her whatever it takes. Until the very last second, Y/N prayed for a new customer to come in but as she finally sits on the opposite chair from Mary, she knows the talk is inevitable anymore.

“So how have you been?” Casual talk, Y/N thinks as she watches Mary pouring some sugar in her tea.

“I’ve been good.” Y/N answers, picking at her cinnamon roll and avoiding Mary’s eyes.

Even if Mary doesn’t believe her she doesn’t show it and keeps on a neutral face. “I’ve heard you’re staying at a friend’s place. It must hurt sleeping on a couch.”

“The couch is comfy enough.” 

“But after a moment you’ll get uncomfortable,” Mary argues. 

“It’s just temporary,” Y/N counters right away.

“Is it really?”

The two women are now staring at each other. Y/N’s body is tense and on the defensive while Mary is relaxed.

“Y/N, relax please. I’m not your enemy here.”

“Mrs. Winchester-” Y/N starts but Mary cuts her short, asking of her to keep on calling her Mary instead. “Mary, why are you here?”

“I just want to help you and Dean. You’re both hurting and I don’t like seeing you like this.” Mary says genuinely and tries to hold Y/N’s hand while saying so but the young woman quickly pulls back her hands from the table and rests them on her lap instead.

“There’s nothing you can help for. De-Dean and I...it’s over.” Y/N says, keeping with the lie. 

“How is something that never existed can be already over?” Mary asks her, surprising Y/N in the process. Seeing that Y/N is stunned by the sudden revelation, Mary knows it is better to tell her everything.

“Before you ask, yes I know the truth.” Mary starts her explanation and stops to take a sip from her tea. “Dean recently told me the truth but honestly, I knew from the beginning. Am I angry at him for lying to me? Not at all, I actually feel responsible. If my son felt the need to pretend he was dating someone to please me, then it means that I have somewhat said or done something to pressure him into lying, which means that I failed at being a caring mom.”

Y/N is at a loss for words. She doesn’t know what fact is the most important. The one about Mary and the whole Winchester family knowing Dean and Y/N little plan from the beginning and being played, or Mary’s vision about the whole thing and her responsibility in all of this. No wonder that Dean wanted to please his mother, she’s truly a wonderful person and very caring. She’s indeed someone you don’t want to disappoint.

Feeling that Y/N isn’t going to reply soon, Mary keeps on pressing. “What I want to know is now that this thing has been cleared, what other excuse will you find for running away?”

Y/N’s mouth opens but no sound comes out and she just looks like a fish out of the water. If she thought that she was lost before, then she just entered a new level of uncertainty.

“Y/N,” Mary joins her hands on top of the table and leans on, speaking softly. “I’m not here to push you into my son’s arms if that’s not what you want.” She reassures the young woman once again. “But I’ve seen you and Dean then and now. I know you feel something for him and believe me, he does too. I’ve never seen him in such a state. I understand it’s hard for you to trust him after what both of you did but as a piece of friendly advice: stop lying to yourself.”

A tear slips down Y/N’s face and she doesn’t know why she’s crying in the first place. Is it from relief or because she’s scared? Naturally, Mary brings her hand closer to Y/N’s face, brushing the tear away with her thumb.

“Y/N, sweety, I became fond of you. You’re a nice person and even if I don’t know you very well, I couldn’t hope for a better person for my eldest son. Whatever you decide you can count me as a friend, alright?” That being said, Mary stands up, knowing she has told Y/N what she wanted, now the ball is in her camp.

“Take all the time you need, sweety.” Mary said in a loving tone. “But let me be a selfish mother for a second please; don’t wait too long. I don’t think Dean can bear it anymore and neither do you.”

When she woke up this morning, Y/N didn’t know it would be such a horrible day. Never did she think that she would feel so lost and if she knew it, she would still be curled into Charlie’s couch. However she can’t lie to herself anymore. Mary is right. For fuck sake even Charlie and Dean told her so, she just wouldn’t listen to them. She’s scared as hell. Scared of living something great one second before it slips through her fingers the next second but by running away isn’t she letting something great slipping away as well? What is worse? Losing something great or living with regrets and days full of ‘if’? 

In that right moment, Y/N knew what she wanted. She can’t live with regrets. Maybe it’s already too late and everything is broken, but she’ll reach the end of this story and live it to its fullest, without any more ‘what if’. She’s going to go to Dean’s apartment and make things clear between them. She’ll try to give him her side of the story and explain why she acted that way and Dean will be the one to decide. She has to give them a chance at least. She never did until now but it’s time for her to stop pretending. She loves Dean. She loves every fucking second she had spent with him since that weekend at the Winchesters. So what if she loses it? Every second is worth it. She never gave them a chance before but things are going to change. Right now.

Well, maybe not right, right now. She’s still responsible for the shop since Charlie left and she has to stay until the closing time. Her sudden confidence is slowly leaving her and she needs to keep herself busy so she won’t think about it anymore and change her mind again.

***

She couldn’t run fast enough, as soon as she had closed the room from the coffee shop, Y/N rushed towards Dean’s apartment and only stopped, breathless once she’s standing in front of the door. She doesn’t even wait for her breath to slow down and knocks frantically. It never occurred to her that maybe Dean isn’t at home. What if he’s not there? Maybe he had already forgotten about her and went to one of his previous conquests’ arms? They are way more beautiful than Y/N after all. Why would Dean bother with someone like her? She’s stupid for thinking that maybe she had a chance with him. He’s way out of her league. Maybe the reason she ran away is because she secretly knows she’s not worth it? Maybe, maybe, maybe…

The door opens suddenly, revealing one flushed Dean, drenched from head to toe.

“Y-Y/N?”

“Hi, um, is it a wrong time?” She asks, noticing Dean’s state.

“No, of course not. Never.” He quickly answers her before a huge noise disturbs them. The sound of something heavy falling, followed by glass crashing makes them jump. “Argh, damn it!”

Without wasting another second, Dean rushes into the kitchen, leaving the door wide open for Y/N to enter. The young woman steps inside carefully, wondering what all the fuss is about and closes the door behind her.

“Dean?” She calls from the doorstep, not daring to enter more than what she has already. “I can come another day if you’re busy right now.”

“No, no, it’s fine! Ah, damn it! Stop! You stay right here! No!” Dean yells from the kitchen, heavy footsteps resonating and Y/N doesn’t know if he’s talking to her or not.

When a thudding noise makes her jump, Y/N has no other choice than to check for herself if Dean’s alright. She doesn’t know what she expects to see once she’s inside the kitchen but she definitely isn’t expecting such a scene. Dean’s laying on his stomach, crawling under the kitchen table, leaving a wet mess behind him.

“Dean?” Y/N tilts her head on the side, wondering if her roommate has lost his mind.

“Stop moving you, son of a-” The man struggles under the table and hits the top of his head as he jumps back suddenly. “Biting? How dare you!”

Before Y/N has time to ask him what’s going on she hears tiny barkings and even a low growl. Slowly she sits on her knees and takes a look under the table. The first thing she sees is Dean sitting underneath and rubbing some sensible spot on the top of his head. The next thing is a ball of black fur, curled up against the wall and as far as possible from Dean.

“Oh? What do we have here?” She asks in a soft voice, crawling a bit closer to take a better look.

“Be careful, that thing is wild,” Dean warns her, crawling out from under the table.

“I think it’s mostly scared. Where did you find it?” She asks again, holding out her hand for the little puppy to sniff it. It takes some time for the scared animal to trust her enough but after a few minutes of comfortable silence, the little puppy finally approaches her with careful steps. Y/N can’t help herself and smile when she feels the cold, wet nose against her palm. Gently, she tries to pet the top of its head and she’s delighted when she sees that the little dog doesn’t run away.

“I found it on my way home tonight. Someone abandoned him in a dirty box a few streets from here.” Dean explains as he watches the puppy curling onto Y/N’s laps. The easy contact this girl has with animals is always surprising him.

“And you took it with you?” Y/N keeps on asking him, the astonishment clearly present in her voice. 

“I heard it might be raining tonight.” Dean shrugs his shoulders and steps back as Y/N crawls out from under the table, the puppy securely wrapped in her arms. “I’m not heartless, I couldn’t leave it alone under the rain.”

They both went into the bathroom, and Y/N can finally understand why Dean is drenched from head to toe once she sees the mess in and around the bathtub.

“Don’t tell me you tried to give it a bath?” She deduces, her eyes wide opened as she takes in the mess all around them.

“It stinks!” Dean defends himself, grabbing a towel to dry his hair. “And it can move really fast.” He adds in a whisper.

Y/N rolls her eyes at Dean’s stupidity. “You scared him, idiot!” She reproaches as she takes a good look at the puppy and realizes that the dog is a male. Now that she can look at it easily, Y/N recognizes the kind of dog she’s holding. It’s a black Finnish Lapphund with two hypnotizing piercing blue eyes.

“We can call him Shadow. It suits him, don’t you think?” She smiles turning around to look at Dean and pressing the puppy’s head against her cheek. She will never admit it but Dean is right, the poor thing stinks.

“Do you always think about dogs’ names so easily?” Dean chuckles, softened by such a cute scene.

“It’s a gift.” Y/N announces proudly before turning on her heels again and walking towards the bathtub. Now that Shadow isn’t scared anymore, she can try to give him a proper bath. 

Dean and her spend the next fifteen minutes in the bathroom, giving Shadow a bath in completely but comfortable silence. Once the dog is finally clean, she takes him from the water and asks Dean to bring her hairdryer from her room, the young man not losing a second and obliges. They both laugh when they see how much Shadow enjoys the hot hair being blown over his fur, and laugh even more at the way he’s sticking up his little butt when Y/N tries to dry the area around his fluffy tail.

Once Dean and Shadow are totally dry and the bathroom clean again, they both sit on the couch, Shadow curled up on Y/N’s lap and slowly drifts to sleep thanks to Y/N’s gentle pets. Dean will never say it out loud but he’s glad to have some normalcy back. The tension between them had completely disappeared as if the few previous days never happened. He would give anything to stay like this, alone with Y/N, sitting on their couch, their knees almost touching but he also knows that he has to say something. 

“Why are you here, Y/N?” He asks in a whisper, half hoping she doesn’t hear him so they could stay like this and ignore the rest of the world.

The soft smile she has on her lips falls as Y/N, herself realizes that the peaceful moment had to be broken. “Your mom came into the shop today.”

Dean closes his eyes and sighs before giving Y/N an apology. “I’m sorry. I have no idea she would come to bother you, I-” An index finger pressed against his lips shushes him.

“Calm down, it’s alright.” She reassures him, the smile back on her face. “To be honest, I needed it. She’s really a wonderful woman, you’re lucky to have her as your mom.”

Dean simply nods, strangely happy to know that Y/N appreciates his mother.

“You told your family the truth? Why?” She asks him, her eyes fixed on his and her voice not above a whisper.

“I’ve lost you already. There was nothing more to lose.” Dean admits, using the same tone.

“You never had me, Dean.” Y/N’s sentence is like a slap in his face. So Mary and Jessica were wrong when they told him Y/N was in love with him, she was just a very good actor, that was it.

“You never had me because I was too scared to believe I could have you.” She adds, knowing how easily Dean could misinterpret her previous statement.

Dean’s head snaps as soon as the words left her lips. “You had me the day you came through those doors, Sweetheart.”

It’s Y/N’s turn to not get Dean’s point. Seeing how hard she’s trying to comprehend what he’s telling her, Dean keeps going. 

“I never needed a roommate, I was just looking for some easy company, you do remember the ad, right?” Dean smirks, remembering exactly each word: ‘Non-smoking women, only.’ “But then you came in and agreed to stay as long as nothing happened between us and I agreed. I thought I could make you change your mind but you resisted and frankly, after a while, I just pretended that I wasn’t attracted to you anymore but now I realize that I was lying to myself.”

The more Dean explains himself, the more they become closer without even realizing it. As Dean keeps on explaining, he leans a bit more comfortable on the couch, one lazy arm draped on top of it, just behind Y/N’s head.

“I don’t know why I lied to my mom that day. When she asked me if I was going to the party alone, I thought about you right away. Don’t ask me why I don’t have the answer. I just thought about you. And I thought I would be fine then but you had to charm me that weekend, without forcing yourself and then I just knew. I knew you would be the one, and damn it believe me when I say I tried to fight it and then-”

“Are you going to kiss me? Because I have enough of your ramblings already.” She whispers, her cheeks a deep red despite the confident voice she can muster. Honestly, she’s scared because it’s exactly what she dreamt of hearing but she couldn’t believe it, she must be daydreaming. She is proud of herself for not having run away already and knows that the only reason she’s still here is because of the ball of fur sleeping on her lap.

Surprised at first by her sharp tongue, Dean doesn’t let go of this occasion. He’s been dreaming of kissing her for so long, there’s no way he will let that chance slip. Gently, he brings his body closer, their knees now touching while his hand cups her cheek. Dean can’t help and smirks when he notices the way she’s softly biting on her lower lip, her body buzzing under his fingertips, so he doesn’t wait any longer and ends the torturous wait by pressing his lips against her. He wants to keep the kiss chaste and gentle but that was without counting on Y/N to be the greedier one. Once the first surprise at the contact has passed, she’s responding to his kiss eagerly, her tongue licking his lower lip, seeking a way inside. Dean, being proud to please his women grants her wish, happily. His other hand cups the other side of her face, tilting their heads in the movement, giving them more room to deepen their kiss. They’re not in a rush, they just want to enjoy this unique moment, their very first kiss, after several failed attempts and it’s sweet as fuck. Their tongues are fighting each other, curious and greedy. The only reason they part is that they need to breathe, so, ruefully, Dean breaks the embrace, his lips missing the soft touch of her already.

“Dean, I have to tell you, I’m sorry I-” Y/N starts to apologize, still breathless and flushed but this time it’s Dean’s turn to shush her.

“It’s getting late. Why don’t we apologize tomorrow, hm?” He pleaded, his forehead pressed against her. “Would you stay the night? Please?”

“Would you let me stay more than one night?” She asks instead of answering him and a slight grin adorns Dean’s lips as he kisses her forehead.

“You can stay as long as you want, Sweetheart. Is forever long enough for you?” He jokes between kisses.

The bright smile she’s giving him is enough of an answer. Slowly they stand up, Y/N careful with her movements so she doesn’t wake up Shadow who is happily snoring into her arms. She heads for her bedroom and Dean opens her door for her. She can feel her heart sore when she notices Dean’s old tee-shirt on the top of her bed.

“Good night, Sweetheart. See you tomorrow.” Dean wishes her goodnight, kissing her again as he can’t get enough. Now that he knows how she tastes, he just needs more. She’s really addicting.

“By the way,” he asks suddenly as he was going to close her door and leave her alone. “Are you staying for me or the dog?” He jokes, knowing perfectly the answer but any excuse is enough to keep her in his sight.

“Both?” She answers sheepishly before laughing when Dean’s face falls, he wasn’t expecting that kind of answer.

***

A few days later, Y/N is whistling in the kitchen, preparing Dean and her breakfast. After a very long day full of talking they’re back to their usual routine. They both were honest to each other and agreed to never lie to themselves anymore. If one of them has something to say, then they’ll say it, no matter how hard or scary it could be. They haven’t put a label on their relationship yet.

“Stop it!” She warns Dean, her back turned towards him as she’s flipping the pancakes in the pan. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do.”

Dean freezes his movement, a bit of bacon dangling from his fingertips as he gives Shadow an apologetic look.

“Sorry buddy, I swear she has eyes in the back of her head.” He whispers to the puppy who’s waiting for the piece of bacon to magically fall on the ground. “Sweetheart, your phone is ringing a lot this morning.” Dean comments, hearing the stupid device ringing on the coffee table.

“I wonder who it is.” She ponders, whipping her hands with a towel as she walks into the living room but the ringing stops before she has time to take the call. That’s the moment she notices she has missed 35 calls and has 52 messages left. “Oh shit!”

“What?” Dean asks, curious to know what’s going on.

“Ketch! I completely forgot I was supposed to go out with him yesterday.” She answers without thinking, too focused on reading the angry messages the British man left her.

“Ketch?” Dean exclaimed and to Shadow’s delight a piece of bacon finally falls on the ground, miraculously. “Seriously?”

Dean doesn’t care about the deathly glare she’s throwing at him for feeding Shadow with bacon, the Ketch topic being more important at the moment.

“I was a bit confused and made a mistake.” She admits and rolls her eyes, knowing how sensitive that particular topic is.

Dean comes into the living room and manhandles Y/N, forcing her to turn around and look at him. “No, no, no.” Dean disagrees, pressing his forehead against her. “Having sex in the shower is a mistake. Forgetting my mom’s birthday is a mistake. Dating Ketch is simply the dumbest move. You should thank me for saving you from his claws, you deserve better.” He finally says, kissing her deeply.

With a soft tap on his arms that are wrapped around her waist, she breaks their embrace, an amused smile on her lips. “Because you’re better?”

“Damn right, I am.” Dean grins proudly.

“Damn right you are.” She concedes, kissing him back. “Oh, speaking of which! Mary called yesterday, she asked me to remind you that your Uncle Bobby’s birthday party is next weekend.” She remembers suddenly. “She didn’t seem surprised to have me over the phone. Did you tell your mom that we’re together?”

Dean shakes his head no, a fond smile on her lips, and wraps his arms around her once again, bringing their body closer. “Not yet,” Dean admits and smiles a bit more, picturing how his family will react when he’ll come with Y/N at his sides.

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t asked you something.” He starts, unwrapping his arms from her waist and taking both of her hands in his before becoming suddenly serious. “Will you be my girlfriend? For real this time.” He asks, his eyes plunged into her.

As she loses herself into the deepest green eyes she has ever seen, Y/N knows there is only one answer to that question. Their relationship started the day this man pronounced one little white lie and none of them knew how it would turn. That day she thought she was helping one pretty, little liar and the story would be over by the end of the weekend. However, after some stupid complication they didn’t need, Y/N finally knows that Dean Winchester is and always will be her pretty little liar. So instead of answering him with a plain and obvious answer, Y/N gives him the most passionate kiss she can provide.

“Friendly advice,” she says as they broke the kiss, their lips still touching. “Next time you propose to me, bring the ring with you or your mom will kill you.”

FIN

Pour Toujours tags:  @drakelover78​​, @akshi8278​​

PLL tags: @eliwinchester99​​, @paiswhite​​, @vicmc624​​, @metalfangirl, @londoncallingbutiwontpickup​

[singingwordwright]

The #ShadowhuntersLegacy Theory--aka our Hail Mary throw #SaveShadowhunters

UPDATED as of 8/24/18 (see bottom of post)

I wasn’t sure if I had shared this theory on Tumblr or not, because sometimes I speculate on Twitter and then don’t remember to make a post over here. It turns out, I sort of did, a really long time ago, but the theory has evolved in light of a number of events in the past couple weeks, and most of the tinfoil-hat elements have been stripped out. Now it’s just sort of a Theory, as opposed to a Wacky Conspiracy Theory.

Before I begin, let me just say outright that this is not to give anyone false hope. Let’s be quite honest and admit that our chances don’t really look that great. But as I said in my post last night, there are reasons why I can’t bring myself to call a Time of Death on this whole thing yet. And this theory is a big part of it.

Let me also add a disclaimer that none of us knows what is happening behind the scenes. We don’t know the legal ins and outs that make up the Freeform/Constantin/Netflix Ménage à Torture so this is all just guesswork based on the pieces we have and a metric fuckton lot of supposition.

This could all totally be self-serving delusion. I’m not going to lie about that. But it’s already been put out there, so I’m going to stand by it until we see how this all shakes down in the end, if for no other reason than, on the off chance that some variation of this does end up happening, I have documented proof that I predicted it might.

Everyone okay with that? Then let’s go!

Where We Stand

Okay, look, we’ve been told, straight-up with no equivocation, that “it's not possible for this version of SHADOWHUNTERS to continue.” (Source: Constantin Press Release August 10) We have to accept that at face value. There is almost certainly not going to be a season 4. Something is in the way of that happening.

I don’t believe it’s lack of interest from potential buyers. I think it’s an unwillingness to reach a compromise on the part of the parties already involved so that someone else can pick up the show.

Chances are good that the obstacle is @freeform/Disney. The show was developed specifically for Freeform as part of ABC Family Channel rebranding itself. Netflix got involved later to snag the international distribution deal, yes, but it’s possible that the show goes nowhere unless Freeform/Disney is willing to relinquish their distribution deal on it, which they may not be willing to do.

Why? Well, there’s always my DisFlix theory, which is a little out of date in light of recent developments but not yet dead in the water.

But @netflix could also be to blame. I’ve heard rumblings, and I have no idea where they originated or if they’re true or not, that Netflix’s international distribution deal gives them rights to the show for seven years. They may not be willing to give that up, and picking the show up for season 4 without being able to stream/rerun seasons 1-3 is really not going to appeal to any potential takers.

It’s also possible that @constantinfilm isn’t willing to lower the license fee on the show enough to make someone else willing to pick it up, but I honestly don’t believe that’s the case. 100% of nothing is nothing, so keeping the price jacked up beyond what anyone is willing to pay makes Constantin no profit. I see no motive for them to prove intractable in that regard, especially if they thought they could bundle a pickup of Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments with development of a series based on The Infernal Devices and make even more money.

But, really, that is all sort of outside the scope of this post. Ultimately all we know is that something is standing in the way of the show being picked up by anyone who may be interested for season 4.

Which isn’t the same thing as saying all hope is lost. It’s just lost for “this version of SHADOWHUNTERS.”

Yeah, uh, What Other Version Is There?

We’re presently campaigning for Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments. But The Mortal Instruments is ending. And by that, I mean the six-book well of source material the plot has been borrowing its vague overall direction from is coming to an end. The 2-hour movie (which originally should have been the entire fourth season, but oh well, we can’t really dwell on that) is supposed to cover the final book, and after that it would be entirely original plots.

In other words, after season 4, we wouldn’t have had Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments ANYWAY. It would have effectively been a spin-off featuring the same characters, even if the title of the show had remained the same.

And I think most of us were perfectly okay with that, or would have been had we stopped to think about What Comes Next after the book-based material ended. @janoda has been talking for months about wanting a spin-off centered around the Downworld. I’ve thought all along that the tense relations that the Downworld and the New York Institute have with the Clave in Alicante would provide a wealth of plot material once book-based material ran out. @janoda and I have been calling this hypothetical spin-off “Downworld: Revolution” but whatever you call it, it’s not “this version of SHADOWHUNTERS.” It’s a new version, featuring many/most of the same characters.

But That Was Just Talk Right?

Well, yes. Sort of. At first I thought (in my original Conspiracy Theory post) that what we might be seeing with this cancellation is a slightly more contentious scenario originating with Freeform’s recent strategy of ending shows after 3-4 seasons or so, and then spinning them off before they lose their audience through attrition, to keep them fresh and shiny. (see also: PLL and The Fosters.)

Then, once it seemed like it might be Freeform’s claim to Shadowhunters distribution rights that was preventing anyone else from picking the show up, I started side-eyeing the notion of a spin-off as a way of working AROUND Freeform. Because Constantin still owns the adaptation rights. Even if Constantin can’t continue making Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, they CAN make a new show, even one featuring the Shadowhunters characters and even with those characters played by the same actors. They just can’t continue making THIS VERSION of the show.

Which, again, is okay, because effectively this version of the show was going to come to an end anyway, and a new show was going to begin.

But I sort of pushed this notion of a spin-off to the back of my mind once all the talk about Constantin developing The Infernal Devices began. Because honestly I didn’t want to muddy the waters with the words “spin off” when we were trying to send such a definite, iron-clad message that The Infernal Devices was not an acceptable substitute for Shadowhunters. I did start trying to word my emails with terms like “our characters” and “our actors” while leaving those concepts open to the possibility of those characters and actors being in a new show.

(Now, however, in light of Constantin’s statement that hope is lost for “this version” of Shadowhunters, we have nothing to lose.)

And then, two weeks ago, something happened.

Starting the night before the Last Day on Set (August 2nd), the cast introduced a new hashtag--#ShadowhuntersLegacy. It never really caught on or trended, but Kat and Emeraude in particular were pretty aggressive about using it. Most of the main cast, with the exception of Isaiah, Matt, and I think Alisha, used it at least once, and I know Jade, Nicola, and some of the other supporting cast members did as well.

It struck me as a little strange. And, yes, it may very well be just a nice way to thank the fans by reassuring us that the ways in which we’ve touched their lives won’t be forgotten. But what was pinging me about it was the way it was adopted among the cast had clearly been coordinated. This wasn’t just happenstance that they all began using it at once.

And the word “legacy” implies continuation. A legacy is sort of the opposite of something ending. It’s something that carries on.

I bit my tongue about this for a few hours, and then when I was talking about it in DMs on Twitter to avoid tweeting publicly about it, @saadiestuff pointed out something I had known in the back of my head but hadn’t actually connected.

The Originals is getting a spin-off called Legacies.

(A spin-off that--I believe--will be bringing back a lot of the original characters even going back to The Vampire Diaries.)

So those messages and a bunch of tweets using the hashtag were trickling in from Thursday night onward. Then, on Saturday morning, Kat posted this:

I mean...look at those last few lines? “The story doesn’t end here” and that parting shot, complete with a picture of her with her hand on a door?

But the cast doesn’t know anything about negotiations, right? Usually that’s true. However...

IF a hypothetical spin-off were being discussed, obviously the cast wouldn’t be part of the negotiations. But one of the first things those discussions would entail is inquiring (probably through their agents) about the casts’ interest and availability to return for the new series.

So the usual wisdom about the cast not knowing anything until shortly before we do doesn’t apply here. They would almost certainly know this was at least being discussed as a possibility, even if they didn’t know whether or not it would end up being a done deal.

There is also the live that Jade did a day or two before filming wrapped. I didn’t get to watch the whole thing because I lost my place when I was about 20 minutes in, so all I knew was that people got upset by some of the things he said which they felt indicated he didn’t feel there was any hope. @TheJessy34 on Twitter found it for me, and starting about 29:45, Jade talks about how the show in “this form” is over and how things can happen, yes, but he didn’t think if it continued it would continue in the way it has. (BEWARE OF POTENTIAL BOOK-BASED SPOILERS AT AROUND 33:00)

I’m tempted to include this tweet of Harry’s (the Monday after filming wrapped) for consideration as evidence of this possibility. Because Harry is the guy who likes to dole out clues for us to piece together (see also, 2x12 and the season 3 renewal livechat.)

However it would be dishonest of me to do so without also including the fact that he denied this tweet had anything to do with anything:

That said, boy, Kat sure was all over it, both on Instagram and Twitter:

And it should be noted that Kat is STILL occasionally using the #ShadowhuntersLegacy hashtag. As is Jade, I believe.

I’m also tempted to offer into evidence this article from TVLine earlier this week:

However, I think the evidence supporting that is sketchy at best. All the medical puns point to a medical drama, and the cast is obviously not reassembling yet (though that verbiage could be figurative, as in “they’re signing the contracts” rather than literal, as in “they’re gathering to begin filming.) Public opinion seems to hold that the show in question is likely CBS’s Code Black and I have no concrete reason to assert otherwise.

I will say that in the event of a hypothetical spin-off, there would be some new cast involved (which could explain the “returning and new cast” line.) The book the 2-hour movie is based on, City of Heavenly Fire, has a fairly high body count. Chances are good that at least some of our fave supporting characters won’t be returning.

So. The TVLine article could be about us, but I’m not holding my breath.

UPDATED 8/24/18: 

So it looks like the TVLine blind item may not be about Code Black after all.

Others, not me, did some sleuthing.

This tweet from Seitzman is dated 8/22/18. The TVLine blind item was posted 8/13/18. I would say (and others have said) this could mean that whatever deal TVLine was referring was Code Black but then it fell through, except that tonight, TVLine assured us that once the show in question is revealed, the initial article would be marked as UPDATED.

That has not happened with the TVLine article. If it had been about Code Black and the deal fell through, TVLine would have updated. Therefore, it’s looking fairly sure that TVLine isn’t referring to Code Black. 

Which still doesn’t mean it’s referring to us. Let’s be very clear about that. There have been a lot of shows cancelled in the last six months. One other show that has been rumored to be on the verge of rescue is Designated Survivor, I believe (back in May or so, there was talk that Netflix might pick it up.)

All this means is that we’re a little more solidly in the running with regards to our chances that TVLine was, in fact, referring to us. That’s it. It’s not much, but it’s something.

I have reached out to TVLine to request that if it ISN’T us, they let us know. Because I really want us to be as realistic about our chances here as possible. As I said at the beginning of this post, this is a Hail Mary throw. Our chances are microscopically slim. But they do still exist.

(End UPDATED portion)

Which brings me to Isaiah’s post on Instagram yesterday:

Again, right now we are looking at the one situation where the cast probably really would have an early clue of what is going on. Before any deal is inked, someone would have to go around and ask the cast (again, probably through their agents) “this is a possibility, if we can make it happen, are you in?” And if it was a done deal, the cast would DEFINITELY know, even if they weren’t at liberty to say anything yet. They would have already signed their contracts.

Isaiah doesn’t believe hope is lost. I have to believe he has a reason for thinking that. But we know “this version” of the show isn’t coming back. Where does that leave us?

A new version of the show, featuring most or all of our characters and cast.

So What Now?

Now, we wait. We maintain our presence. We hope. I meant what I said last night, at this stage there is nothing we can do to influence the outcome that we haven’t already done. We keep the hashtag alive. We keep emailing and sending postcards and letters and maybe the occasional gift, just to remind them we’re here.

But mostly we wait. And we find our joy in the show again. Because in the words of a certain warlock we all know and love, “if you don’t take time for the things you care about, you’ll forget why you’re even fighting at all.”

But Do We Know Who Will Be Carrying This Hypothetical Spin-Off So We Can Let Them Know We’re Interested?

Nope. Not a clue. Sorry. Unfortunately this means we should probably treat everyone as though we’re courting them. Even *gack* Freeform.

When Do You Think They’ll Announce It, If It’s Happening?

Well, *if* the TVLine blind article is about us (and again, I cannot emphasize strongly enough that I really have no reason to believe it is) it says filming could begin as early as this fall. Which means we’d have to have an announcement by then because no way is our cast--with so many social media junkies in their ranks--is going to keep that under wraps for long. So we’d know by then.

And maybe I’m being whimsical, but let’s look at Isaiah’s post from yesterday again:

See where they are?

That’s the Jade Wolf mock-up that was featured at New York ComicCon last year.

Why would Isaiah use that picture, of any of the cast that he could have used, to send us the message “don’t give up”?

I think if this thing is going to happen, we may hear it announced at NYCC.

EDIT: 8/24/18

There has been some interesting activity that has sort of slipped under the radar this week, but I’ve been watching and noting. I haven’t been making a big deal about it, because I don’t want to give people false hope, but I’ve already shared this theory so it really can’t hurt to keep it up to date. Just remember that all of this is really the stretchiest reaching of all stretchy reaching. It’s flimsy and probably entirely in my imagination. 

On August 13, after the Teen Choice Awards victory, Bryan Q. Miller tweeted this:

I didn’t notice it until about a week later, when I noticed that Todd Slavkin had liked it. When queried, Bryan confirmed that the reference was exactly what I thought it was:

So...something about the TCA victory triggered thoughts of the lyric, “I can feel it coming in the air tonight.” It had him feeling either anticipation (or possibly foreboding, and possibly of someone who had done something wrong getting a come-uppance.)

Then there’s this: 

On Monday, August 20, Matt Hastings used the tag #ShadowhuntersLives.

On Thursday the 23rd, he was unusually active and pretty much ALL about the show, except for one tweet: 

Why spend the morning making Shadowhunters tweets, drop in a single mention of The Originals, then go back to making more SH tweets?

Obviously Paul Wesley has a Shadowhunters connection (didn’t he direct an episode ;-P ?) but if he was just wanting to share memories of Paul Wesley and Shadowhunters, there was plenty of material to choose from.

Again, I have to reiterate that this is flimsy, because Matt doesn’t really need a reason to delve into nostalgia for ALL the shows he’s been involved with. It may not go any deeper than that.

But he wasn’t being nostalgic about ALL his shows. He was being nostalgic about THIS one.

So it immediately made me think of the connection @saadiestuff made when I was talking about the #ShadowhuntersLegacy tag, which is that it could be that Shadowhunters is getting a spin-off featuring the same characters, the way The Originals is getting the Legacies spin-off.

Because, as @malecficlibrary just said to me, #ShadowhuntersLives is a REALLY strange hashtag to use for for a cancelled show that has no hope. Like...?

Maybe Matt Hastings didn’t know about the #ShadowhuntersLegacy hashtag on Monday, so he used #ShadowhuntersLives. Then someone clued him in, so he dropped a The Originals/Legacies hint. 

Like I said, flimsy, but I’m putting it out there anyway. Because why not?

[thebestplltheories]

PLL 7x19 Farewell My Lovely - Thoughts

- Brilliant episode from start to finish.

- Got it right! Mona killed Charlotte. I loved the entire scene with Charlotte and Mona. It was really intense because I actually was not sure if Mona would back out, like Charlotte was provoking. I loved the whole reveal. I will admit though - during the 8 month hiatus between 7A and 7B, I saw some pretty damn intricate theories as to why Charlotte was killed. I think the motive they went for was pretty generic, and absolutely safe. We can't find a single plot hole with this. “You never did get better, I want to protect the girls from you so I can prove my worthiness, I want to prove I am stronger than you” is so simple, it’s almost bland. But, it does work. And as I’ve always said with this show, I’m no longer looking to be shocked. I’m looking for logic. And there is logic, so I can't and won't complain. On balance, I did like this reveal.

- I understand red herrings, I really do. This is a mystery show, and every single one of them needs red herrings to survive. But seriously - this baffles me. What. are. the. odds. that. Melissa’s. suitcase. handle. broke. AND. that’s. the. size/shape. of. the. object. that. crushed. Charlotte’s. skull. The odds of that are 0.01%. There has to be more to Melissa’s story. I liked and I have accepted that Mona killed Charlotte, but Melissa’s story can't be explained as a coincidence like that. I get red herrings, but this one is just so damn corny. 

- The “he’s coming for you” scene was pathetic. I despise the way that played out. I find it hard to believe that a nightmare was always the original plan. I feel so mislead. I really wanted there to be a “him” coming after Ali. I guess they lead us down that path in 610 because they had just revealed ChArlotte and they didn’t want us to think that the story is over. They wanted us to keep watching for the time jump, and to know that there is another villain. So I can see why they lead us down a false path. I get it. But I hate this feeling anyway. It was a good scene, but what it represented... not too happy. (Side note: laughing that they spelt Varjak wrong... c’mon writers, lift your game.)

- Another anticlimactic moment was that the mystery location on the board game was Aunt Carol’s house. Yawn. 

- I thought Caleb could’ve played it smarter when he sat down with Mona at the 2 Crows Diner. Rather than asking her “who are you going to meet?” he should’ve just said “I’m here. It’s me” and pretend that he is the one she is meeting. And then see where the conversation goes. He could’ve got answers out of her then and there.

- I really really really enjoyed the girls’ fresh new attitude this episode. “Leave it alone, or else our graves will get dug” is the approach they’ve needed for a while. I’m so glad we got a glimpse of that before the show ends.

- Literally zero romance in this episode, which suits my personal preferences. So I loved it in that regard.

- I thought this episode was filled with nice light humour. “To whom?”, Aria talking to Dunhill’s body and taking an answer in terms of the body ‘moving’, Ezra saying he can do anything with his Masters in literature, etc.

- Mary Drake, oh my god. Forget all my theories where I proposed this is Jessica, and Mary is really dead. That can't happen now. This is truly Mary. I love her so much. Giving her the Lost Woods was a nice gesture. She said it was to pay for lawyers, but then she goes and saves Spencer anyways by confessing to Archer’s murder? I thought that was a bit inconsistent. Unless she thought of confessing after she gave Spencer the Lost Woods? Whatever the case is, I loved her gesture and when she told Spencer that she owes her a lifetime. We actually got to see her repay that and I love it. And I also loved how Spencer felt sympathy towards her and didn’t see it as “good, you owed me”.

- So Ali found out who killed her own mother just like that? They brushed over that really quickly. I guess Ali never showed any emotion to her mother’s killer because at the same time, whilst Ali may hate Mary, Mary did just take the bullet to save Ali (and the others). So maybe that’s why the writers waited for Ali to find out now in 719 rather than 714 when Spencer found out, because now Ali might not be as angry about it.

- AD knows the girls killed Archer. AD knows Mary is covering up. So why is AD ending the game when he/she knows that the incorrect person is being arrested? Is Mary AD? AD isn’t a very good death-avenger so to speak. AD has the videos of the girls burying Archer, why not release them? Why not free Mary? Why is AD accepting this nonsense of Mary taking the blame!?

- So the puzzle pieces ended up meaning nothing? Other than signalling game over, the actual contents of the pieces meant nothing. Anticlimactic at its finest.

- I enjoyed seeing Mona revert to her prior nerdy-self. I thought that was actually sad. I loved her line about warning Hanna not to get involved. She knew it was coming. And I can see why Janel said 719 is her favourite Mona episode to date. She got to play so many sides to Mona in just one episode.

- Tanner’s line about the girls not being criminals was a really good way for the show to end its constant negative relationship between the girls and the Rosewood police. I liked how Tanner didn’t admit to believing that Mary killed Archer. Either it’s because she still thinks the girls did it and that Mary is simply covering for the girls, or, she just doesn't think Mary had it in her to be a murderer. Either explanation is interesting, and I like that element of never knowing.

- We are NOT getting answers in the finale. The writers spoke to us through Tanner when they made Tanner say that the DA likes simple answers, rather than theories for loose ends which no one can prove. That’s literally us, the PLL fandom. They’re telling us we aren’t getting answers to our loose ends.

- I loved the final scene. It reaaallllly hit me that the show is ending when the lights on the board game went off. And then the music rolled in and that's when I got a bit teary eyed, especially when the camera panned across the board. I loved that sense of the girls having won and finally being able to move on with their lives.

- I think AD is off to go kill Mona, since she killed Charlotte. But I really liked that final scene with AD driving off into the sunset. It came across like “my work here is done, I know who killed Charlotte”. (How does AD know Mona did it? Microphones or some shit. Somehow AD heard Mona’s story time.)

- I pressed start on the episode, and within what felt like 10 minutes, it was finished. It went so damn quick. I think that means I enjoyed it so much, or that they tried to cram too much into one episode. Can confirm now that I’ve spent longer on this post, than watching the actual episode!

-  I did get Twincer vibes throughout this episode!!! When I do a re-watch I’ll come back and post them. I never take notes whilst I’m watching, it ruins the experience. But I do remember one thing. Mona was sitting in the diner waiting to meet someone, and then lo and behold Spencer rocks up at the diner. Spencer, out of all people? Was that Twincer, going to meet Mona? Why didn’t the writers make Emily show up? Why Spencer? It could’ve been Twincer. And Lucy’s comment “A is a lot closer than you think, you guys” has me thinking that the place-swapping between Twincer and Spencer is happening this frequently. If Haleb mention them being married, Spencer may react like “what, since when?” and Caleb will say “I already told you” --- “no you didn’t? When?”

- Normally at the end of these posts I do a reaction to next week’s promo too, but I have a feeling I’ll have more than usual to say for the finale’s promo so I’ll do that in a separate post, this is already long enough!

- Overall, for a non finale episode it’s clearly a 10/10. You cannot compare an episode of this quality to episode 619 for example where the most action we got was Alison falling down the stairs. (I still laugh about that.) So, 7B is a massive step up. A couple things annoyed me this week, but taking them for what they are, and the overall pace and raw emotion, it was PLL at its best. Which is good to say for another week, because 7B has been killing it recently. 

- 7 MORE DAYS.

[dangpankoozie]

My thoughts on 7x19 and the promo

1. Aria…what is with the bad lying fml 2. Lucy literally just KILLED that scene with Dunhill omg (I love Lucy so much) 3. "glad you agree" gave me chills fml 4. Listen Spencer I literally give 0 shits about your Mary drama people are dying 5. Why would the daughter of a politician and the daughter of a real estate company owner need money? It's not money that's in the Lost Woods for Spencer to find is it (calling IT!) 6. How much can a ratty haunted motel cost anyway 7. Gas leak? Why? What's the point of trying to kill them? What do they have against bilaurentis? 8. …….it's just a dream sequence….the most hyped up scene is a goddamn dream sequence (good job, Mar!) 9. Emma Thorwald? Who dat? 10. Both fell asleep while watching the game,,,,disappointed but not surprised 11. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. THAT'S ALL OF THE NAT WE'RE GETTING? 12. "How did we both fall asleep" idk you tell me Alison lmao   13. DON'T IMMORTALIZE SPALEB LIKE THAT SPENCER WTF 14. Kind of digging this spaleb bromance,,,, kind of not 15. Caleb and Ezra? What 16. Kind of creepy if you realise Ezra used to teach at the school Caleb went to (and now they're bromancing!?) 17. But who cares that Ezra used to be a creepy stalker-teacher who exploited little girls right (love is love, innit?) 18. Side note: IAN PORTRAYS EZRA SO WELL AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH 19. The way Ezra literally pounced? On Aria? Wtf? #shady stalker-teacher right there 20. Ezra and the "body in my trunk "moment was much needed comic relief 21. That frozen …oh tf expression IS LITERALLY ME 22. Sudden appearance of the Two Crows Diner is…sudden 23. "did he go back to the car?" yes Spencer in his invisibility cloak,,,clearly he is in the car 24. Why do Caleb and Mona have a chemistry that just…is good? It's natural but WHY 25. FIRST IT'S THE COFFEE, THEN IT'S THE PIE, THEY'RE HANNA'S #PARENTS CONFIRMED! 26. "we swim around in this fishbowl like we're in control,,, we are NOT" killed me. This is the line that made me like this episode. Janel Parrish deserves so much more than this show has given her 27. Hanna and Caleb: bickering 28. Me: oh my GOD! Who. THE HELL. CARES? 29. Mona is Houdini #confirmed 30. AD sending messages like that. THIS IS THE AD IM INTERESTED IN not the one that used emojis for the lols 31. Alison apologizing to Aria signals character development and I AM HERE FOR IT   32. The petals falling on Hanna….i literally died 33. Can we just. All take a moment. To thank our lord and saviour for giving us that amazing scene between Charlotte and Mona. Just. OH MY GOD. This is the quality acting that used to prevail on PLL. THIS IS WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR. THANK YOU VANESSA RAY AND JANEL PARRISH. I didn't even have any words. HOLY HELL. I LOVE THIS. 34. THIS IS HOW YOU DO A REVEAL, PEOPLE! 35. But what I don't get is this: if Charlotte just wanted to fool everybody so she could play the game again, what was the point of revealing herself in 6X10 in the first place? 36. Mona killed Charlotte so that her friends won't get hurt again 37. Said friends continue to exclude and hurt Mona 38. #give mona better friends 39. Spencer and Hanna taking such good care of Mona is my aesthetic 40. Wait…..so there is literally no significance in the result of that puzzle? It's not a mask, or a grave, or a map or an ultrasound or anything? It's just a stock image? Good job, PLL! 41. Aria being wise but also being too late is literally me 42. THAT MOMENT WHEN THEY JUST WALKED OUT OF THERE AND BUSTED THEM WAS AMAZING. LINDA TANNER IS THE SAVIOUR THAT THE ROSEWOOD PD NEEDS BUT CANNOT HAVE 43. Okay so Mary Drake taking the fall for them is literal PROOF that she gave Alison and Spencer the Lost Woods not for the money but because there is something important inside 44. So Archer Dunhill was just a con man? That's it? I don't like this irrelevance 45. Why was he British then? What's the point of riling Wren theorists up like that? 46. Mary doing the shush…I still don't trust her. 47. Alison finding out who killed her mom through a live interrogation. Why do they hate her so much? And how did Spencer conveniently forget to tell her friend who killed her mom? 48. You guys I really love how empathizing Spencer, #1 Anti-Mona Stan is being right now. She knows how it's like to be pushed over the edge and to need help. I really like this. This is so heartwarming and beautiful. 49. Why the hell is Toby not here? Why are they making him so shady suddenly? What is the Purpose? 50. I thought Wren was going to be in more episodes? Where is he? I think he filmed scenes but they didn't make the final cut; probably because he was too shady and they revealed too much (hopefully) 51. Okay I honestly think that hyping up the blunt weapon was such a clever move. They made us get so worked up over it and threw hints everywhere but then they SIKED us in the BEST possible way. I LOVED that little tidbit of detail, how the evidence was right there. It's just such clever writing, something this show hasn't exhibited in such a long time. 52. MOST IMPORTANT: WHERE. IS. JASON. The writers haven't said shit about Drew coming back YET they SAT DREW DOWN and told him the whole story before the others knew. Is it because they wanted him to empathize with AD and portray him better (yes please!) I did hear he would be coming back for 7B? But he's not here? And Drew himself didn't really say much about it? Shady shit. 53. I mean, Jason literally did get the worst life out of every character in the series, and he got the least help for his problems. So honestly, it makes sense if all of that pent-up anger results in AD. And he's out of the country all the time, but he still is always in New York when Alison wants to meet him? 54. Ezra being plenty shady too. Writing another book? DYING? Hopefully lmao 55. So Lucas' relevance to this story is over? Arcturus was his big reveal? Why? And what's the explanation for sharing that look with Aria? 56. Mona saved this show you guys. THEY BETTER TREAT HER RIGHT AND NOT KILL HER OFF NEXT WEEK ISTG. 57. Yup! Just leave the game game there why don't you? Best decision ever! 58. A riding into the sunset like that was very LOL and very why?? At the same time   59. THAT PROMO? KILLED ME. 60. Snowglobes? snOWGlobES? TOBY AND JENNA! RELEVANCE! YES! 61. Lmao see I TOLD YOU Mary was shady. Attacking (? I think) her daughter like that lmao 62. Melissa's scene is probably a flashback. The mood of that snippet is different and she's smiling and was that a horse (?) and the filter is less stark than the rest of the snippets in the promo 63. Addison? And Jenna? ?????? 64. Listen listen listen if they make a spin-off starring Addison as Alison II and her minions LITERALLY NO ONE WILL WATCH IT so just don't waste your money Freeform 65. "I cant marry ezra" hate to say I told you so but I told you so 66. "I can't marry ezra" LITERALLY WHAT WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU SINCE SEASON 1 EPISODE 1   67. OMG what if halfway through the Ezria wedding Aria realizes she didn't forgive Ezra for the book and she pulls out halfway which is when AD swoops in and steals the show ??? #yes 68. WREN. WITH A GUN. GUN. IN WREN'S HANDS. WREN HOLDING GUN. GUN HELD BY WREN. I really think Ezra is going to die yallz 69. Don't think they're going to make Wren AD anymore though, if he's in the promo like that. Still rooting for him, but probably not. 70. Okay what if Ezra wrote another book and kept it shush from Aria and AD got hold of it, and saw that Ezra actually got something right in his life for once, and hence sent Wren (assuming AD is Adynamic Duo/team) to shoot him!! BUT NOT BEFORE they sent the liars a draft because the #truth is important and hence making Aria stop short of the worst life decision she ever made lmao

Best episode in a long time but that's because of Janel Parrish, Ian Harding and Vanessa Ray. Lucy Hale did good too. But Janel Parrish stole this episode. LOVE HER SO MUCH. If she does anything after PLL I will 100% watch it      

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... Riverdale /S01\/E10\ Chapter 10: The Lost Weekend Airdate: April 13, 2017 @cwnetwork Ratings: 0.872 Million :: 0.32 18-49 Demo Share Score: 8.5/10 @riverdaleseries @archiecomics TVTime/FB/Twitter/IG/Tumblr/Path/Pin: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** Four Months late isn't too bad, right? See, in Miami, it's never cute to be the first person at the party, and really the party never ends until someone actually says it does... And clearly the Riverdale Party is still very much in full swing. So consider this 10th Entry 'Riverdale Revisit'; the after party to end all after parties. Of course, we're going to be set up for S2 when it goes live. This is definitely not one of the tv shows that Spotlight Saga will be dropping in the coming, world famous, 'fall tv' season frenzy. But don't get it twisted, there are many on the chopping block... OUR chopping block. We're looking at what gets our blood pumping and our thoughts racing, giving us something more to talk about than "Last Night on ___insert uninspired show number #45 here___." 'Riverdale' has made a massive stir across social media and of course on The CW & their worldwide dominating partner, Netflix, as well. I love that due to streaming, the new large amounts of cash pouring in from its subsequent deals, and actually several generations full of 'cord cutters', there are no longer rules to watching and writing about television series and films... Get to them when you can, some will watch them live, some will stream them later, some will wait until they can binge them all at once like a Weekend Warrior with a pocket full of Ecstasy and a head full of hallucinogens. It's our world now, and CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and more (or less) importantly 'Nielsen Holdings', no longer control what, when, where, why, and how much. Smell that? That's the sweet smell of change... And the remnants of murder and sticky maple syrup, obvi. Ive been extremely careful not to overpraise 'Riverdale' in the past. Similar series have only led to frustration or feelings of complete frustration. Its hard to know what to expect from a show like this in the near future... We all saw the demise of similar series like 'Pretty Little Liars' and other shows that run through the same type of vein... Kind of like many of the other ones attempted over at the now defunct ABC Family where PLL first started. Like The WB, UPN, and now The CW, ABC Family has also gone through a newly rebranding process that didn't do much to help the sinking ship they now call Freeform TV... A network that only 'The Fosters' and its cheesy sister show 'Shadowhunters' seem to be keeping afloat. We aren't being negative, we're being real... And when you're at a party, or in this case, 'After Party', you've got to be real. You just gotta... Even if no one ever wanted the party in the first place. If you don't know what I mean, let me spell it out for you. Ready? Set? Spell! Ah fuck it, we'll just spill the tea... 'Let's have a Kiki! Lock the doors tight!' I sometimes wonder if my obscure pop culture references I often sneak into these articles ever actually connect. They probably don't, but to that one person that got it, FUCK YEAH! It's the birthday of Jughead (Cole Sprouse)... And much like the very similar, fellow female counterpart, Sheila the She-Wolf, another introverted style character from 'Riverdale's sister show on Netflix, 'GLOW'... Jughead is not really into parties and/or making a big fuss about a birthday or bringing any unnecessary & unwanted attention to his person. Unfortunately for Betty (Lili Reinhart), Jughead isn't really big on camaraderie, most definitely not in the spirit equivalent to the 'Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling'! The reasons behind throwing these two characters' each their own impromptu birthday bashes on their respective tv shows are done for totally different reasons. With 'GLOW', it was slightly annoying at first (for Sheila, anyway), but eventually it turned from an apprehensive & anxiety filled event to a touching, sweet moment, where a closed off character had a major breakthrough that was captured in the perfect beam of light, allowing a significant development and enabling an insight into another character's backstory, bringing the whole cast together for the most part. In a great juxtaposition, on 'Riverdale', the psychology behind this one is actually much, much different... It's still got the 'trepidatious yet possible potential for a surprise moment of gratification' aspect down to a certain degree, but it doesn't go down the path of the balmy & charming. The reasoning behind Betty's sudden obsession to give Jughead the party that he never wanted, and the background as to why he's so against the idea in the first place certainly doesn't inspire camaraderie or any kind of 'feel good' moments, especially at the party itself. If anything, the intent is slightly bordering on the side of creepy. Riverdale?! Creepy?!? Yup! Keep up! It's only getting creepier. You see... We've been up on 'Riverdale' and then back down, and then back up and down again... And I think everyone here will openly admit that it's mostly due to a shaky CW track record, as well as similar networks just like it, though there has been a few inconsistencies outside of this oddball tone & beautiful color scheme we're always raving about. However, when the show fully embraces its complete and total anomalous, almost freakish eccentricities, we all just fall right back in love with the show again. It's episodes like 'Chapter 10: The Lost Weekend' that completely make us forget about past network follies and shows like PLL completely losing their way after gaining our trust and enthusiasm in its beginning stages. Reinhart is effortlessly serving up 'Bizarre, Bilateral, Betty Bananas' like a full-on, award ready, seasoned vet. Seriously, I don't want to blow too much smoke up the kid's ass, but I'm pretty sure her breakthrough performance here would even make the likes of decorated actress such as Nicole Kidman proud. Betty Cooper has a duality that Reinhart not only highlights with strong, hearty performances... But it's also the efforts of Director Dawn Williamson, a phenomenal Art Department (you guys KICK MAJOR ASS), Cinematographer Stephen Jackson (this guy was award-worthy in this episode), and Costume & Wardrobe (hell, everyone involved in the smallest, minute details) framed from shot to shot... The absurdity of how tight & perfectly situated her ponytail is, how hard she clenches her hands (leaving scratch marks on her palms), even the way she holds the cake & dawns the signature 'Jughead Crown', to whoever made the call of having those weirdo party goers in horse masks in the background - Good call, guys! That was freaking CRAZY! It's all those little things that make the picture such a pleasure to watch... Turning what seems like a normal teen drama at first glance, to a finely tuned, surprisingly compelling theatrical spectacle. The crazy is in full on abundance, though... It's not just Betty. Suddenly after a string of a few disappointing episodes, I come back after a break and either see things in a totally different light, or it could be that this was just slowly building right under our noses the whole time, or *the most plausible of all three options* is that the ironically lowest rated episode of the series, according to the great analysts over at Nielsen, is actually the most technically sound, character driven, insanely atmospheric entry of the entire 1st Season. Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) finally lets go of some deep resentments she's been bottling up and goes after Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch). This is a task that I wouldn't suggest to any person of sound or capable mind to attempt in any way, shape, fashion, or form. The act is crazy in and of itself, and pissing off the 'Ravishing Redhead' that literally wears the letters 'HBIC' on the back of her cheerleading uniform, that's 'Head Bitch in Charge' for anyone too young or too old to remember Tiffany Pollard of VH1's 'I Love New York', is obviously going to lead to a backlash that Veronica won't likely forget. Sure she might get her big 'W' now, but we must remind you... There's no 'W' in 'HBIC'. Meanwhile, Cole Sprouse & Skeet Ulrich, who plays Serpent Gangster FP Jones & Jughead's father on the show, are literally close to actually convincing me that they are really father and son in real life. The little ticks and nuances that they share are out of this fn' world insane. Either these two have spent a week in a trailer together mirroring their every move or we seriously need to ring in Maury Povich for a DNA Test! Oh, and apparently there's some guy on the show named Archie Andrews (KJ Apa)... The only drawback is that they've failed to make the main protagonist (is he tho?) even remotely interesting. He's good looking, but he's not a convincing redhead, and I'm still not hooked into his arc. Hey, that's ok... Enter Mary Andrews (Molly Ringwald - ChaChing!), Archie's long lost mother. So nice of you to finally drop in, Molly! Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) is ready to finalize the divorce, but we're just biting on all the possibly juicy dramatic scenarios! Who is Archie again? Back at the party, that burgeoning rivalry between Veronica and Cheryl hits its boiling point when Veronica gets a bit too carried away and accuses Cheryl and her deceased brother Jason (Trevor Stines) of having an incestious affair. Ah, gotta love seedy underbelly of the United States! The more money, the crazier the family!!! Oh but there's more! Good ol' All-American Chuck (Jordan Calloway), who actually WAS almost boiled alive, attempts to out Betty on her 'Dr. Jeckyl/Ms. Hyde' issue that surfaced when a hot tub prank got a bit too out of hand earlier in the season. To our surprise, and viewer delight, Jughead and his Dad actually had a moment, which was completely unexpected, yet felt completely real. Like I said before, Ulrich & Sprouse have stellar chemistry, and the writers seem to know this and obviously derive great pleasure in giving us this moment where the two aren't at total odds and Jughead not only carefully considers, but actually takes his biological father's advice... Providing solid proof that the series isn't trying to meander or stretch out any unnecessary storylines at all. No disrespect to fans of other series broadcast on The CW, but clearly this isn't 'The Flash'. These storylines seem to be heading into important territory at a reasonable pace, and not just hanging around to fulfill an episode number requested by an executive to make sure ad-space quotas are filled... Although I have considered that this could be an issue that the show could run into in its expanded 22-Episode Run that it's been greenlit for S2. There's plenty of juicy drama to go around, but when we see that drama making moves instead of being drawn out, then you know you've got a potentially good show on your hands. For now, 'Riverdale' is back on a solid trajectory, delivering what appears to be a set-up episode for the impending S1 finale... A set-up episode that was easily the most consistent entry to date from start to finish. The impression that an episode as good as this exists to move its characters like chess pieces, seemingly just to put everyone in place for the final three episodes is an exciting notion for the last 3 hours of S1 of 'Riverdale' to come!

[dawnasiler]

Shay Mitchell, Before and After

Shay Mitchell may be best known for starring in the hit TV show Pretty Little Liars, but more recently, she's played another role: beauty influencer.

Ever since the show ended in 2017, the 31-year-old actress has been repping brands like Bioré, La Mer and Buxom on her social media channels. That means she shares a lot of sponsored content with her millions of followers—and it's not always positively received! 

Take this ad, for example. As reported by Buzzfeed, her fans called it "the fakest thing they've ever seen"...

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That's not the only thing she's faked. Refinery29 also documented evidence of a "fake-cation" on Shay's Instagram, with the star posting other people's Hong Kong travel photos as her own.

So this all got me thinking... WHAT ELSE might be fake about Shay?

Let's take a look at her beauty evolution over the years and find out!

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Shay in 2010

Shay Mitchell at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards.

This is a 23-year-old Shay on one of her first-ever red carpets, just a couple months after Pretty Little Liars premiered. Her style was completely different back then—this was before the "Kardashian look" would become an actual trend! But even with the dated eyeshadow application, she seems fresh-faced. 

Shay Mitchell at the Lili Claire Foundation's 2010 Benefit Luncheon.

And here's an even more natural look from the same year. This is her natural hair texture (which she described to Byrdie as "super-wavy"), and we can also see her natural brow shape... lip shape... and nose shape. All of those features ended up changing later on!

Shay in 2011

Shay Mitchell at QVC's 2011 Red Carpet Party.

With a classic black cat eye and red lipstick, this looks nothing like the Shay we know now. But is it just the makeup, or something more? I'm noticing a wider nose and thinner upper lip in these early pictures, for starters. Also, she had a very monolid eye shape thanks to her Filipina heritage.

Shay Mitchell at the Somaly Mam Foundation's 2011 Project Futures Launch.

Another thing to note is how much fuller Shay's face was during this time. She was 24 in this shot, so was it baby fat that she later lost? Or did she have a little nip and tuck to get the sculpted jawline she has now? One thing's for certain: she really loved her false eyelashes and shimmery shadow!

Shay in 2012

Shay Mitchell at the 2012 Daily Style Sessions with Stella & Dot, H.Bloom and HPNOTIQ.

Then, there was this surprisingly bare-faced look, which I love. Sans false lashes and heavy eyeshadow, you really appreciate her natural beauty. She also lightened the ends of her hair for a subtle, tone-on-tone Ombré effect. 

Shay Mitchell at the 2012 ABC West Coast Upfronts.

Shay's hair and makeup really did improve in 2012, as this shot also demonstrates. (It makes sense—celebs always get access to better hairstylists and makeup artists as their fame rises.) In terms of her features, I think this photo clearly shows that her nose was more prominent back in the day.

Shay Mitchell at the 2011 world premiere of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.'

And here we can see what her original nose looked like from the side. It's certainly flatter than the nose she has now (not that there was anything wrong with that!). In fact, I think she looks really beautiful here. Her skin is flawless, her hair is healthy and shiny, and I love the smoky eye makeup.

Shay in 2013

Shay Mitchell at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards.

In 2013, Shay rocked these beachy, warm blonde highlights, which give her a brand new look. (I think the key was keeping the roots dark, to match her brows.) Compared to 2011, her face is noticeably thinner. But since her jawline still has the same shape, I think it's just weight loss.... for now!

Shay in 2014

Shay Mitchell at GQ's 2014 Men of the Year Party.

By age 27, however, Shay looked even more different. She went back to dark hair, for one thing. But it's also the more confident pose... and a newly chiseled face! One of the procedures I suspect is called submental liposuction, because it looks like fat has been removed from her lower face and jawline. The other is a rhinoplasty, although the next few photos will make that even clearer!

Shay in 2015

Shay Mitchell at Lupus LA's 2015 Orange Ball.

Before Shay fully committed to the Kardashian aesthetic that she adopted from here on out, there was one last natural-ish look on the red carpet. (Other than the Instagram brows, that is!) The major change here is in her smile. If you compare and contrast with 2010, it's obvious that she had veneers done along with whitening. I also feel like her eyes may have changed, but it's hard to tell with makeup!

Shay in 2016

Shay Mitchell at the 2016 Outfest Legacy Awards.

Right when Pretty Little Liars was wrapping up filming for good, Shay debuted her new grown-up beauty vibe. I suppose if she's going to make her living off Instagram now, she has to look the part?! With so much makeup, it's hard to tell what's real, and what's just contour and highlighter. But I think it's fairly obvious, seeing her profile, that the bridge of her nose is not as flat as it was before (despite the stripe going down the middle).

Shay in 2017

Shay Mitchell at the 2017 Variety and Women in Film Emmy Nominee Celebration.

A few months after the PLL series finale, Shay lightened up her look (she was 30 years old at this point). I actually like this a lot... but there's still something about it that comes across as very "done." I think it's her lips—which are overdrawn with lip liner, yes, but also appear inflated. Her cheekbones may have been enhanced, too, because they appear to be projecting out more.

Shay in 2018

Shay Mitchell at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2018, she continued with the Instagram brows and false lashes, along with lots of contouring (which was actually quite well done). But the "ring around the lip gloss" is very Jennifer Lopez! Since she's facing the camera, we have a good view of her nose, and I think you'll agree with me that it's more petite and defined now. Also check out her upper lip, which strikes me as being plumped with filler.

Shay in 2019

Shay Mitchell at Entertainment Weekly's 2019 SAG Awards Pre-Party.

That brings us to 2019, and Shay's most dramatic red carpet appearance of all! This is the look that prompted my investigation—she's just SO sculpted, I had to find out if it was makeup or something more. Now, I'm convinced it's the latter! Even with all the shading and highlighting, there's been a major change in her nose and jawline. Her forehead is as tight as a drum, so I'm guessing she has dabbled with Botox, too.

Shay Mitchell Before and After

Shay Mitchell in 2010 (left) and in 2019 (right).

Shay Mitchell in 2011 (left) and in 2018 (right).

When I started to research Shay's beauty evolution, I had no idea that the changes would be so dramatic when I put them side by side. 

Yes, I believe that clever makeup techniques and a little weight loss were involved—but that's not all.

Like the overwhelming majority of celebs we've examined in the Before & After series, Shay appears to have undergone a rhinoplasty. Her nose, which was wider and flatter before, now has a narrower shape, a more refined tip and a built-up bridge. I do think it was good work (and in case you're wondering, this surgery is par for the course in Hollywood!).

There's also been a huge change in her jawline and chin area. I mean, she has no fat there whatsoever now! There is a procedure that can achieve this: submental liposuction! (This doctor describes it as "a powerful technique for sculpting the lower face.")

I also see evidence of a little filler in her upper lip (and in 2017, her cheeks), although she didn't go overboard and it has started to deflate. Even though she's only 31, she may well have done Botox, too, since her forehead is so incredibly smooth. And let's not forget the porcelain veneers on her teeth.

As for her eyes, she is rumoured to have undergone eyelid surgery, but I just don't know! In some shots, her eyes do seem less heavy-lidded, but given her penchant for false lashes, it's too hard to tell.

One thing is for certain: Shay looks NOTHING like she did a decade ago!

How do you feel about Shay's beauty evolution? Which of these looks is your favourite? What "beauty work" do you think she's had done?

Shay Mitchell, Before and After syndicated from The Skincare Edit

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... The Fosters (S05E01) Resist Airdate: July 11, 2017 @freeform @thefostersseries Ratings: 0.872 Million :: 0.33 18-49 Demo Share Score: 5.75/10 TVTime/FB/Tumblr/IG/Twitter: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** Annnnnd we're back. I want to say it's a miracle that I'm still here, trucking along, keeping up with a Freeform tv series in its 5th Season... But who am I kidding? This isn't the only one I've stuck with on this network even recently... And when it comes to 'The Fosters', it's less about 'a job', or a fan request, than it is about just kind of being stuck in the middle of the Adams Foster drama. Not all the arcs, storylines, or subplots are all that compelling, but even on a bad day there's that one angle on 'The Fosters' that feels at least worthy enough to check in on. Even in its 5th Season, 'The Fosters' has managed to stick its landings more than the network's prized pig (that's literally alive by the grace of God, tho finally completing its 7th & final season) 'Pretty Little Liars', the once critically hailed, now meandering series who only got a final season because of what it did for the network in its beginning stages before creator and Showrunner Lizzy Weiss lost her damn mind, 'Switched at Birth', and tween-teen, action/adventure, fantasy cheese sensation 'Shadowhunters' all combined. If it sounds like I'm being harsh, that's because I am. When you've watched as many hours of ABC Family, now Freeform TV, as I have... At my age... I earn the right to call a spade a spade. 'The Fosters' may not be taking in oodles and oodles of live ratings (not that any tv show aimed at younger audiences is in 2017), but it's the only show on Freeform that didn't show massive losses recently. PLL dropped another 35% in both live viewers & the 18-49 demo, as did 'Shadowhunters', and 'Switched at Birth', a show that ended on an almost unrecognizable note, saw losses of over 50% in both categories. The Fosters averaging out just 4% loss in both, not too bad right... Considering! That's tells me that 'The Fosters', even when making mistakes, isn't driving off their audience in droves. There's something about this show that people sincerely like... And like I said, I honestly like 'The Fosters'. For what it is, this can be one helluva compelling family drama and when it's firing on all cylinders, it's one that is definitely worth your time. Not that 'The Fosters' doesn't have its downbeats. Callie's (Maia Mitchell) storyline with Diamond (Hope Olaide Wilson) and her pimp, Russel 'Daddy' Ortega (Joseph Julian Soria) was truly head shaking, teeth grinding, cringe-tastic nonsense. Truly. But with 'The Fosters', and especially with the character of Callie, it's often less about the angle at hand, than it is about the big picture. Maia Mitchell is young, talented, and capable. The 23 year old Australian Native has a bright future ahead of her, and Showrunner, Writer, and Director Peter Paige is building an epic storyline that's been bubbling to the surface for pretty much the entirety of the show. Whether it's jumping in last second and swapping places with lost girl Christina, or taking on cold murder cases (technically one that is already solved, however poorly done) that are literally none of her business to begin with, to running away at the first sign of trouble when her dreams of officially being in a family start to rear its ugly head, Callie is ALWAYS pressing that 'self-destruct' button. Sometimes it's over the top, but at its core, its continuously relatable... Addicts, those living with depression, purveyors of the human condition; Almost everyone understands what it is to not value their life at one point or another. Poor Stef (Teri Polo) is always there, rushing to clean up Callie's messes... And seeing her break down in the car and finally relay the toll that it's taking on her & the rest of the family and at the same time expressing how much she truly cares about Callie, is one of those extremely honest & vulnerable moments of the show... Special moments like that surprisingly do come often, but they are almost always fleeting. Fosters Fans continue to watch faithfully, because those moments are captured so well and pack such an emotive force, that we're left watching them, deep in our feelings, as they slip through our fingers like sand, leaving us eager for the next one to peak around the corner. Then we have Jesus Adams Foster (now played by Noah Centineo, since S03E10 in August 17, 2015). As a collective, Fosters viewers were all a bit skiddish by the mid-series casting change from former 'Jesus', bad boy Jake T. Austin, as any fan of any series that recasts a major character midway through would be. Slowly but surely, not only has Centineo won our hearts, he's truly become the real Jesus Adams Foster. I honestly couldn't even imagine Jake T Austin in this role anymore, let alone packing the emotional weight and overall nuance that Centineo brings effortlessly to the character, and in a mentally diminished state at that! How impressive! There are times when I don't believe certain characters would make the decisions we're led to believe by the writers that they would make, but Centineo always brings a believability to the Jesus character that acting craft and series veterans, Stef and Lena (Sherri Saum) consistently bring to the table... That's saying something. The kid is good, period, and he's only getting better as the family & teen drama progresses. Paige clearly sees that Centineo has that 'it factor' and that fans are responding because he appears to be taking on a larger role heading into S5. He has storylines and arcs literally circling him, pouring out from every direction. His issues with Brandon (David Lambert) are clearly not over. He's just getting started with live-in biological dad, Gabriel (Brandon Quinn, who's also appearing to step into center stage)... Not to mention whatever breathes naturally from those storylines as everyone in 'The Fosters' tends to affect everyone else somehow, someway. Jude (Hayden Byerly) was literally a footnote in the episode. Although fans tend to enjoy storylines he's involved in (particularly in the relationship category), he's technically the most green actor of the main cast... But he's young and has plenty of time to hone his craft. He's just simply not ready to take the majority of the camera's time. Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) lent him a bit of her spotlight through her fight with privatizing Anchor Beach, another storyline that's clearly just warming up. I never thought I'd say this, but besides my obvious enthusiasm for 'Everything coming up Jesus' in S5, I'm really excited to see what road is taken with Callie's character. She clearly had some type of epiphany in the S5 opener, 'Resist', and I'm really hoping that instead of continuously pressing that self-destruct button like she's been doing for the entirety of the series, she finally blossoms as a character and learns that you can't help others if you can't help yourself. Cheers guys, by the end of S5 'The Fosters' will be hitting 100-102 episodes... If you're still with us at this point, you better not be going anywhere!