#and when the rest of the boy squad are all taken conventionally attractive white guys... that's a big issue too

[norgestan]

Hello! I was wondering how would you have liked dani to be and how would you have liked the damira scenes to be ? (the changes you would have made to actually enjoy and ship damira)

okay quick bucket list:

recast dani with a muslim actor of color

rewrite the entire s4 script

done :)

with the funny answer out of the way... there’s simply no way that i could’ve shipped damira, i am sorry. it’s truly beyond me. nothing about their dynamic charms me or makes me think they’re better or any different than the superior option for a white/non-muslim love interest, aka amiris. i can even enjoy virihugo despite really disliking the way they got together and most of their clips anyway. (also this is a good post that explains why dani being amira’s endgame LI is a bit of a fucking joke)

however, there are a couple of ways in which i could’ve enjoyed damira narratively. and that requires heavily tweaking dani as a character as well of how their entire dynamic works. i’ve made plently of jokes of how i am Not an og purist but, if eskam had chosen at least one relationship to develop super closely as it was in og, then i would’ve wanted that relationship to be yousana. they’re my favorite pair in skam for a bunch of reasons and most of them have to do with yousef being so in contact with sana’s culture. one big example of that is the last clip of episode 9 where they go on that iconic date: it’s both a slideshow of their chemistry and sensual/romantic tension as a couple, and a showcase of the thing that makes me love them the most, which is their super long conversation about faith and their future. to me, those were the moments lacking in damira because they got too caught up on painting dani as this hyper-realized version of a LI which turned out to be a self-congratulatory asshole who disrespected amira in various ways. there were never instances in which they seriously discussed dani reverting to islam in the future, or actually conciliated their visions of their faith to really show where they were in sync and where they disagreed to start working on it. after watching the yousana date clip, i left with the impression that yousef reverting to islam was a real possibility, but i can’t say the same for dani. the damira ending in particular rewards dani for being the way he is, and the worst thing is that amira practically encourages him to never be a muslim because she loves him the way he is (what the fuck!). moreover, he never showed any interest in following amira’s conditions, never tried to familiarize himself with her culture and friends (he took her to a BAR to meet HIS friends but he’s never even shown bonding with las labass?), never really cared about anything that wasn’t to get amira to be physically intimate with him. see, when i think of the yousana dynamic i see the yousef as someone who can read the sana and therefore know what to say and do, not because he only wants to charm her but because he genuinely cares about her. even sofianne showed some of that on the earlier episodes of skamfr s4, but that’s completely lost on damira and dani in particular. and i’m not gonna pretend that this task is possible to do with a white, christian-raised love interest. for this to work, whoever sp!yousef is has to be way more in sync culturally with amira.

a way to partially solve that issue is to make dani be honest to amira throughout the season. i don’t doubt he’s genuinely into her but then he doesn’t communicate her his doubts about the relationships and lies to her about the whole “the only problem in our relationship is the haters <3″ bullshit that he spews out for three entire episodes. moreover, dani being honest from the start would’ve given amira enough hints (red flags) that dani didn’t really take any of her conditions seriously and he was just waiting for her to be less strict about the terms that he agreed on, and maybe there would’ve been a real critique to the character that 1) didn’t make amira look like an “annoying religious fanatic” (which she wasn’t at all lol) to most of the white audience who sided with dani when the relationship started falling apart, and 2) taught an actual lesson to amira about how would a relationship between a white dude who has no intentions to be muslim in the future would go like. i can understand why eskam still left the question pending on the air as they wanted to give amira an endgame and they probably didn’t want to make it seem like muslim/christian relationships don’t work in the slightest when this is the first mainstream show with a hijabi protagonist in spain... but eh. fucking cowards.

if it’s not obvious by now, to me, the ideal version of damira is the one where they’re not endgame by any means, even going to the point that i really dislike that dani even likes amira back. i would’ve really loved if dani stayed in amira’s daydreams throughout the season, where her idealized version of a childhood friends to lovers story is quickly replaced by a more realistic relationship with someone who actually makes efforts to be with her (cough cough bi!kasim anyone?). in that case, dani can be as douchebag-ey as he was for the entire season, idc, but now the show would really acknowledge that and drive the message that amira deserves someone who’s attentive and respectful and genuinely loving of her. and hopefully say that without making it seem like it’s impossible for muslims to date non-muslims: more like, it’s unlikely for amira to date dani in particular, and only because he clearly has no interest on following on the things that she values the most - which is a message that applies to every relationship, honestly.

if i had free reign on completely redesigning dani’s character and the damira dynamic, then i would make dani way more understanding and have his clumsiness be acknowledged and criticized instead of both the characters and the audience using it as a justification time and time again. he’d show genuine interest in islam, he’d thoroughly discuss boundaries with amira to assure that they’re both comfortable, he’d made sure to safely insert himself on her spaces and not just drag them to bars and basketball courts on every date, they’d have SO many conversations of faith that truly make him a nuanced character and also help flesh out the reasons of why amira loves being muslim. which i think are just ways of dani respecting amira’s agency and showing genuine interest on her besides his initual infatuation, as all the other endgame LIs of the show have done it. i’d completely erase the stupid “uwu islam won’t let me kiss dani/viceversa” plotpoint from existence, for SURE. with all of those changes i would be neutral on the existence of damira as i am with virihugo, i think. but also the thing that truly holds me back is that... just, the lack of characters of color in the show. with the way kasim was only used as a plot device and dounia was written out off her best friend role very early in, we truly don’t even have a significant presence of muslim people of color in amira’s season. whitewashing yousef is a big part in that too, and that’s why people were so eager to believe that kasim could’ve been amira’s endgame for this season.

[milquetoast-on-acid]

Heart Failure, A Reactionary Post

Going with season 5a's theme (connections) this episode is concerned with... The Physical Heart The Moral Heart The Romantic Heart

and I talk about all of them...

The Physical Heart

Andy's Heart Attack Since we haven't been given an actual name (on screen) as yet of what happened to Andy. I am going to call it a heart attack since that's what was alluded to and spoken about in Tony and Greg LaVoi's FB chat. It's pretty frustrating that they ended season 5a on such a shocking note and it's become barely a footnote in the returning episode. It's months later and everything is kind of old hat about the attack.

I personally know nothing about blood pressure. But it seemed like he was taking it several times and wasn’t happy with the results. Is this something that he could fake to get back on full duty? Could he perhaps do that? And that maybe cause some friction between him and Sharon?

The Moral Heart

Buzz It seems that Buzz has gotten a letter from his father's killers son Gabe. It seems that Buzz's pursuit of his father's killer has produced some unexpected results. And there's some parallels between his own life and that of the killer's son. Buzz has unknowingly put him on a very very similar path that his own life has taken. 

I am curious if we will get to see Bill Jones' family again. At this point there's nothing that Buzz can do. That I can think of. As far as I know Buzz pushed to have them put Bill Jones in a prison close to his family so it would be easy for them to visit him. I wonder if Buzz and this boy will connect eventually on some level.

Rusty Rusty was fretting over a text that Gus sent. And was trying to be more present in his relationship with him. It was really good to hear him say that he was watching himself for bad behaviors that have caused problems between the two of them in the past. It felt good that we have had some character growth with him. Hopefully this will continue with the rest of the season of him being more mindful of himself and others. 

Rusty's concern over Buzz. In 5a, we got a Rusty that pushed Buzz and stepped over his feelings in the pursuit of his story. Now we've got Rusty here noting Buzz's somewhat depressed demeanor and reaches out to him. I love it. We need more of this Rusty than the selfish one. Please continue with this Rusty. 

I love Rusty here telling Buzz that it's not his fault over him taking Gabe's father away. Buzz certainly cares a ton of guilt over it. And while yes he did blindly pursuit it but at the same time. Bill Jones killed two people and he should have to answer for that. And as Provenza said in White Lies. Justice doesn't care who gets hurt.

I also love Rusty being protective and noting the way that Day is standing next to Sharon simmering with Anger. Buzz has to hold Rusty back from flying into the room. Where that’s the last place that Rusty should be with some unchecked emotions. Andy is also someone that should have been held back but Sharon seems to have done just fine on that front. 

Deputy Chief Whiny Davis or as I like to call her Deputy Blowhard So this looks familer and at the end of it all we just may end up liking her the way we did Sharon. As of right now, we are very far from that. So for the two small scenes that we get from her we can't really get a good handle on her character. She's got a bug up her ass, that's for sure. I'm not sure if it's just the promotion and that Sharon's her rival for it. Or if there are other reasons as well. 

I've got to say I love the idea of this storyline but some of it feels kind of juvenile to me. I think we got some great stuff between Sharon and Brenda. And their rivalry/odd friendship worked really well. I suppose I'll just have to keep watching to see where this goes. "Headphones, Buzz. Headphones. I mean how do you expect us to hear them?" Typical Provenza wanting so badly to snoop.

"Why are you publicly challenging my authority"? I feel like Davis provoked Sharon into an argument in the middle of the squad room. In part because she wanted her squad to see them argue/repermand their Captain. She's got her right outside of the media room where everyone can see and hear them. 

If she didn't want any of that she would have taken Sharon to her office or the conference room where no one would see them. This was a deliberate move on her part. She wanted them to see her take Sharon down a step and to be seen doing it. 

I love Sharon's response to her. First she trys to defend herself in saying that she didn't challenger her but quickly switches gears. She falls to what she does best. Procedure. I'm following the rules. And if we fall the rules there's no real reason that you have to question me/us.  

One thing that I will give Davis. Is that yes, I do agree about the training. Sharon should have the team redo their training. Since Provenza did cheat in it. 

"Go ahead. Your Boyfriend's calling you."  - that is some glorious head cocking there!

Just another way for Davis to try to rattle Sharon. I wonder what else she's going to try to throw at her. When I saw a gifset of this scene on tumblr before the broadcast of the episode. I deliberately scrolled past it so when I saw it last night for the first time. It did get a gasp out of me. I really didn't expect her to dig Davis claws in that kind of hole. Also Sharon is Sharon and she's not going to show Davis' that she rattled or more likely knowing Sharon that she's pissed off to her face. And of course she doesn't. Not until she turns around do we get that glorious look on her face.

One thing that I do love is that Andy very deliberately called Sharon by her rank when addressing her in front of Davis. When Andy hasn't used her rank since season 4 in front of the squad. It's really great because it really shows that Andy (as we have seen since they have gotten involved) is totally committed to making their relationship work in the office.

So that when it comes to someone of a higher rank that's not in their circle it's Captain all the way. He also probably figured that it would just be more ammo for Davis to sling at Sharon. But it didn't even seem to matter that he followed protocol on that front. 

"Thanks for your advice, sir. But in the absence of firm leadership I have a duty to prevent this department into breaking up into self interested factions." Davis thinks Sharon is too soft with her squad. That they are pushing their agenda for cases over what (in her mind) should be priority. She thinks that Sharon is letting the cheating in the train exercise go and not punishing Provenza correctly. Also that She's dating and living with one of her lieutenants. Davis thinks that Sharon is too close to her squad to lead them out letting her feelings get in the way. 

Davis obviously doesn't know Sharon very well.

Sharon and Fritz

I really love this scene between the two of them. Both of them are watching out for the other. Fritz who has been aware that Stroh has possibly returned and gives Sharon the file that has been gathered on him. And Sharon telling Fritz to watch himself around Davis. I have to say that Sharon is a pretty good read on people. So that makes me nervous as to what Davis will end up trying to do to either one of them. As of right now Davis is out for blood and she seems determined to get the job and to take down anyone in her way.

"The Past is never really over." Stroh. I was really hoping that this storyline was over. Since we've had so much of this guy now. I really don't want him to be back but it seems that the show is determined to have some kind of resolution to his character. Also because I'm sick of serial killers coming after Rusty. We've had 2 years and his introduction into the show for that. I'm pretty done with it.

The Romantic Heart The Love Triangle; Allie King/Jeffery Day/Trent Meyers The two men in Allie's life were seemingly so different. One was kind of dorky, smart, uber rich, orderly and not conventionally attractive. The other one was handsome, blue collar, messy, surfer and sports fan.

So what was it about this guy that attracted Allie (besides the money)?  It's pretty clear from the interviews that Day was pretty controlling in his relationship with Allie. He's got a GPS on her phone and he's got a temper. Sure signs of an abusive guy. Which is the link between the two men. We are introduced to her past boyfriend Trent by way of Jeffery telling the squad that Allie had a restraining order against Trent. Allie's got a thing for violent, controlling men. 

Turns out that Jeffery killed Allie because she wanted to leave him for her ex Trent. Which brings us to the parallels. From Allie King's relationships with Jeffery and Trent. Sharon's relationships with Andy and Jack. And Rusty's relationship with Gus.

Trent originally lost Alie because he was selfish, immature, had a temper and drank too much. Things that we see in Rusty in the way that he treats Gus in his selfishness and immaturity (although hopefully Rusty is turning a new leaf. He seems to be more aware of himself in his relationship with Gus). Much in the way that Jack treated Sharon when they were married. His needs always came first. Hell that's the reason why Sharon became a police office in the first place. Not to mention that his drinking addiction and temper got in the way of their relationship. And while I never would call Jack violent in the physical way. He was most probably verbally abusive. 

One thing about Trent is that he tries to make amends with Allie and she seems like she wants to give it another go. He seems to realize just what he lost. In the way that Rusty thinks maybe it might be over between him and Gus. Immaturity, a bad temper and drinking addiction are also all bad traits of Andy as well. Most of which he's gotten control over. We even see his temper flair when Day punches Sharon. And I would have no doubt if Sharon hadn't stopped him that he would have 'beat him to a pulp'. Andy is the Trent that's seen the error of his ways and just what he lost and how much he hurt those he cares about.

Rusty and Gus I'm not really sure what this move will mean for their relationship. Since there may seem to be some contention later on in the season in their relationship. And we don't get Rusty's reaction to Gus' asking Rusty to move in with him. Perhaps Rusty says no to moving in and that pushes them apart? Maybe Rusty may not be mentally ready to leave Sharon just yet. Or perhaps he may think that it's too much on his plate with finishing college and the later law school. I do love how they ended the episode without Rusty giving Gus an answer and the doors closing on us.

Sharon and Andy

"Relationships were so complicated at that age." So far from what we've seen of their relationship. The biggest point of contention between the two has really been their protective nature towards the other. And Andy pushing their relationship forward with Sharon lagging behind. In those two ways the two of them seem to be in different gears. 

We’ve got a protective Andy here when Sharon provokes Day into loosing his temper onto her face. I love that the first thing that Andy does when going into the interview room is to look towards Sharon to see if she’s alright. Quickly seeing that she is turns is focus and anger out on Day. I have no doubt that Andy would have followed through on his threat if it weren’t for Sharon. He gives her that look of total frustration at having to stop. But he just can’t help himself and lets Day know just what he missed out on. 

So now that Andy threatened to beat up their suspect. I would bet that this is just more ammunition for Davis to push at Sharon. And I wonder if it will become a point of contention between the two of them this season. 

Also I just love the camera work in the ‘punch’ scene. The camera starts to zoom in on each of the characters and builds up speed until the suspect blows. 

Just look at these two cuties! With Andy sticking to Sharon like glue while escorts her to the break room to attend to her face. 

The Running theme of Marriage There seems to be an awful lot of talk about Marriage in this episode. From Rusty fret over Gus's bizarre text, on thinking that it's a breakup to Andy thinking it's a marriage proposal. To the victims relationship with Day and Provenza's lovely comment... "It's always the fiance." He was right actually. 

I want to point this out because of the press release on the storylines in 5b. And Duff talking about a possible engagement between Sharon and Andy in 5b. And as us fans know MC loves to foreshadow when it comes to Sharon and Andy's relationship. Provenza's comment to Sharon makes me think that Andy has talked proposal to Provenza. And with Andy thinking that Gus wants to propose to Rusty, it may just seem that Andy has marriage on his mind.

They Raydor/Flynn/Beck Family

One of the things that I loved about 5a was the developing family unit between Sharon,Andy and Rusty. Which seems to be continuing here in 5b as well. I really love seeing them interact as a family and not just Sharon and Rusty. Here we've got them having a family dinner. Who has those anymore? I'm sure that Sharon and Andy are both super busy at work on some nights. And Rusty has college plus his internship with Andrea. So imagine this is probably pretty rare. And they seem to go all out here. Also it's really cute because it seems that Sharon and Andy made dinner together. 

My thing here is why is Rusty calling Andy "Lieutenant"? I know the two of them are not really close but they live together so it just seems weird that he still wouldn't address him by name.

Also I 100% love the face that Andy gives Rusty. When he thinks that Gus wants to ask him to marry him.

Snark of the Night goes to Julio. You have to give it to Ray Cruz and is fantastic delivery when it comes to snark. You have to love his dry humor. 

"Who died?"

"No we didn't cheat. The Lieutenant sacrificed himself for others." - hands down my favorite line of the episode! And Provenza's response. "As is my nature."

"Gaeta Fletcher" - How many people have the name Gaeta? Only one person that I can think of Felix Gaeta from BSG. Could this perhaps be a BSG reference? Wouldn't put it past knowing that Duff is a huge fan.

What I liked about this episode...

Pretty much everything was great in this episode. I didn’t think that it was an amazing episode but it was a pretty great episode for a premiere. We got a suspect provoked into physical retaliation against Sharon which is something I never thought that I’d actually see on here. It’s always been Sharon comforting her squad. So it’s really nice to see the other side of that here. With Andy, Provenza and Julio (mostly in particular) go all uber protective on her. 

There was lots of Shandy without it being a big focus. So I really loved that. I mean I’m always for it being a big focus but I think you catch my drift. It’s pretty great to see Sharon have a foil. She really hasn’t had a big one since Jack. There was Emma but she was a huge let down and was pretty disastrous as a foil.

What I didn’t like about this episode...

The lack of addressing Andy’s Heart Attack. They didn’t even give it a name. Just something that happened so now he’s on light duty. And everyone knew that he wasn’t dead. There were pictures of him on set and in costume. It’s not like they kept it a secret so why the reveal of him in the morgue?

And yeah I mentioned my mixed feelings on Davis. I’m excited about the rest of the season for this storyline but at the same time feels kind of juvenile. I am glad that there is some discord in the workplace after years of having so much harmony. I am hopeful for the rest of the season.