#angela walsh

[astolfocinema]

Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) ------------------------------------ dir. Terence Davies cin. William Diver, Patrick Duval cou. UK

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things (1x04): “The Body” Review

A big reason why these reviews take a while to write (and are lengthy in nature) has to do with not just analyzing the characters and the overall story (both pertaining to how they unfold in each episode, and what elements might factor into season 5), but also looking into references and inspirations from various movies, other TV shows, and 80s media that can be found in the structure of Stranger Things. Some references are simply shout-outs with little to no plot relevance, but there are others where it's clear the Duffer Brothers intentionally wove them into the show. This was even was planned from the beginning when they pitched the Montauk Script (which carried over to Stranger Things):

Some of these references are given brief nods to in season 1, but play a bigger role in later seasons.

Take John Carpenter’s The Thing and The Fog for instance. Both have been cited as inspirations for season 1, and plot elements from those movies are present in subtle ways: The Fog's titular supernatural element was initial inspiration for pairing fog with the presence of the Demogorgon in the original Montauk script. Likewise, The Thing’s arc of MacReady and Childs being at each other’s throats during the crisis at the Antarctica base parallels the conflict between Mike and Lucas in this season (as mentioned in my review of the first episode).

However, both of these movies and their significance to Stranger Things arguably have better connections in future seasons. The element of ethereally fog is something seen in season 2, with it being present when the Demodogs attack military personnel in the tunnels at the Mind Flayer's direction, and later in season 3 with Billy’s vision of the Upside Down. Likewise, The Thing’s themes of body horror and people being assimilated by an abomination are interwoven into season 3’s Meat Flayer arc.

So when it comes to these reviews, it’s about striking a balance between acknowledging what references and inspirations are relevant for the given episode being analyzed, and which ones are going to be important to talk about later down the line.

Two such references get brief homages in this episode: The Shining and Videodrome.

The parallels between Joyce Byers and Jack Torrance from The Shining are obvious, and I’ll let the visuals speak for themselves.

Both Jack and Joyce are respectively in an inhospitable environment with malevolent beings trying to drive them insane, resulting in both their mental and physical health deteriorating. Both of them also use an axe as a weapon. This is where the similarities end though. Unlike Joyce, who actively resists the gaslighting the Upside Down inflicts on her, Jack succumbs to his madness and starts taking directions from the spirits at the Overlook Hotel who want him to murder his family. Even the context for the scenes above are different: Jack is breaking down the door to butcher his wife, whereas Joyce is breaking through the wall to try and rescue Will. In regards to the characters relationship with their families, Joyce arguably shares more similarities with Wendy Torrance in that both are loving and supportive mothers to their sons, but also resourceful and willing to fight back when in danger. Contrast that to Jack’s cold and resentful attitude towards his family, as well as his inability to take responsibility for his behavior, all of which eventually explodes into homicidal rage on his part. Joyce may have a dark side, but it’s one that’s directed at those who try to hurt her family and loved ones.

In fact, with the number of similarities I've seen between Jack Torrance and Billy Hargrove, and how Dacre Montgomery mentioned the Duffer Brothers based part of Billy’s character on Jack, I’ll be talking more about The Shining’s relevance to the show when I review seasons 2 and 3.

There’s also the Videodrome homage when Will and Joyce communicate through the wall with a flesh-like barrier preventing them from reaching one another.

This is in reference to a scene from Videodrome when the main character, Max Renn (played by James Woods), hallucinates a woman named Nicki Brand (whom Max briefly had an affair with before she went to work on the mysterious Videodrome project and never came back) appearing on his TV, with the TV itself taking on flesh-like qualities as it seduces Max:

Both scenes play with perception and reality for both Max and Joyce. In Joyce’s case, she has enough self-assurance to believe what she’s seeing when she communicates with Will, and it only drives her resolve to rescue him. In Max’s case……..it’s a lot more complicated, and involves a convoluted conspiracy he’s forced to unravel.

Just like with The Shining, Videodrome’s themes and story (particularly its connection to the body horror genre) play a bigger role in Season 3, and will be discussed more in-depth when that season is covered.

With that being said, let’s look at each of the stories present in this episode:

Part 1: Hopper and Joyce

There is a tenderness to the Joyce/Hopper scenes at the beginning that I appreciate. He’s careful not to entirely dismiss Joyce’s belief that Will is alive, he doesn’t belittle her by assuming she’s crazy like so many other characters are doing, and he assures Jonathan later that Joyce is tougher than people give her credit for. Which is true, and proves itself time and again in the later seasons. She may not understand what’s going on around her yet, but she’s secure enough in herself to know she was communicating with Will, that he isn’t dead, and there are things about the situation around her that don’t add up. It’s a similar feeling Hopper’s had since Episode 2 when he found Benny’s corpse, and it only gets confirmed in this episode when he discovers the truth about Will's fake body.

And this is where the parallel between their story and the movie that inspired it comes into play:

The Duffer Brothers have been specific in interviews about how a movie called Prisoners inspired the premise of the show, and by extension Hopper and Joyce’s characters.

For those who aren’t aware of this movie’s plot, Prisoners is a 2013 crime thriller, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki and Hugh Jackman as Keller Dover, centering around the disappearance of two girls in Pennsylvania during Thanksgiving, and the desperate attempts of the police and the parents to find them. One of the girls is the daughter of Keller, who becomes convinced that a certain suspect named Alex Jones, who had been in the area where the girls disappeared and attempted to flee when police found him, is behind the kidnappings. This only gets reinforced when Keller confronts Alex in the parking lot of the police station, and the man cryptically says “They didn’t cry until I left them.” However, since Keller’s the only one who heard it whereas the police did not (with Alex later denying having said anything when questioned by Detective Loki), Alex is freed because of the lack of evidence against him. What follows are two interconnected stories: Detective Loki’s attempts to track down the girls and find the kidnappers, and Keller’s subsequent kidnapping and torture of Alex to get information about where his daughter is and how Alex is connected to her disappearance.

Unlike other references and inspirations, Stranger Things doesn’t pay direct homage to Prisoners, and yet this movie is entwined into the DNA of season 1. I know Clue (1985) has been cited for how the atmosphere and cinematography were structured for this season, and while I believe that’s true to some extent (the scenes with Mike and the Party at the school in this episode, and the quirky and campy way they’re filmed in spite of the horrific circumstances for these characters, comes to mind), the tone of Stranger Things derives itself from Prisoners, and there are certain shots in this movie (to say nothing about the lighting and cold overcast setting in a small town) that I wouldn’t be surprised factored into how the Duffer Brothers arranged for these episodes to be filmed. Prisoners is a DARK movie. I would even go as far as to compare it to crime thrillers like Seven and The Silence of the Lambs. The movie isn’t as explicitly gory as those two, but it is disturbing, and features a heinous villain with a nihilistic mindset similar to Vecna. And both this movie and season 1 of the show are based on a similar premise: A kid is kidnapped, and their parent and the police are desperately trying to find them before it’s too late. Take out the science fiction elements of Stranger Things, and the main story becomes grounded the same way Prisoners is.

Just like with how the Duffer Brothers made comparisons between Roy Neary from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Joyce, Keller’s character in Prisoners also has similarities to Joyce. Both are parents whose child is kidnapped, and both go to extreme means of getting them back, no matter what the cost. In Keller’s case, it leads to him making morally questionable (and outright illegal) decisions that cause the audience to feel conflicted about whether his actions are justified. In Joyce’s case, it’s less about moral ambiguity, and more about whether she is correct in her assertions about Will being alive, or if this is all in her mind. The closest we get to moral ambiguity is the argument Joyce and Jonathan have downtown after she storms out of the morgue.

Prisoners also had a similar scenario with Keller and his son, Ralph (who shares some similarities to Jonathan) where they get into an argument about how they’re both dealing with the situation. The difference is Keller shoulders Ralph with the responsibility of watching over his mother while he disappears to interrogate/torture Alex, whereas Joyce isn’t asking Jonathan to shoulder any responsibility on her behalf because she doesn’t truly believe Will is dead. Jonathan FEELS like he needs to take the reins for the family because of how unreasonable Joyce’s behavior appears on the surface (somewhat like Ralph’s dilemma where he believes his dad is going out to get drunk and is kept in the dark about what Keller is really doing), and in any other circumstances, he’d be right to do so. However, Jonathan doesn’t have the perspective the audience does (at least not yet) of knowing what Joyce knows. And unlike Keller, where there’s a serious question about whether his vigilantism is causing more harm than good to the investigation, we know that Joyce ignoring the insinuations of everyone around her about Will being dead is the only way she’s going to get him back.

Then there’s Detective Loki’s connection to Hopper: Both are cops who appear aloof, but are more perceptive and pick up clues and cues that others miss. Detective Loki, for instance, doesn’t disbelieve Keller’s claims about what Alex told him, but he also doesn’t have the jurisdiction to hold Alex, and has enough foresight to realize Keller will fixate on Alex once he's released, and demands that his Police Chief keep a watch over where Alex lives. Unfortunately, because they don’t have the resources and are already spending what they have trying to locate the missing girls, that doesn’t happen, and Keller takes advantage of the lack of police presence to kidnap Alex. Loki comes to suspect Keller is behind Alex’s disappearance when it’s brought to his attention, but he’s also dealing with the investigation into the missing girls, and also doesn’t have any evidence to charge Keller yet, so he’s forced to press forward with what his job allows him to do (at least until Keller inadvertently becomes a person of interest, and unintentionally leads him to where Alex is being kept).

In Hopper’s case, he’s in a similar situation to Loki where he’s pursuing the leads he’s given while also dealing with Joyce’s current behavior (though at least with Joyce, nothing she’s done up to this point has been illegal the way it was with Keller). There is more history between Hopper and Joyce that allows them to be open and vulnerable with each other, in stark contrast to Keller and Loki who barely knew one another and were constantly at odds despite having the same goal of finding the kids.

As for their methods, while Loki does make every attempt to follow procedures, the one time he engages in police brutality with a suspect (who was in possession of clothing from the missing girls), it ends badly and almost derails the case. That doesn’t happen with Hopper in this episode:

I almost find it comical how many fans got their knickers in a twist over Hopper’s use of police brutality and unethical behavior in season 3 when that’s EXACTLY the kind of behavior he was engaging in during season 1. Two state troopers beaten up, desecrating a corpse (which turned out to be fake), and ending this episode with breaking and entering into a government facility.

Fan opinions always seem to be a contradiction: People complain about moral ambiguity and shades of grey in characters (wait until I talk about Steve as we near the end of Season 1, or even Kali/Eight from season 2, and the way fans initially reacted towards those two) and will either whine about it being “bad writing” or “out-of-character” or “not realistic” or straight up dismissing any nuance or complexity presented in the character’s behavior. Then, when the show moves away from that because of fan complaints, you hear a whole barrage of new criticisms about ‘simplifying’ the story and characters. 🙄

Let’s get something out of the way right now: Stranger Things has ALWAYS had morally ambiguous characters who have acted in ways that are either criminal or make them unlikable. Moral Purity doesn’t exist on this show, and the fact is characters have said and done things that have been hurtful and mean-spirited. There will be always room for debate about whether lines have been crossed, and whether you can look past how characters have acted before. Lord knows I have my share of characters I despise (Billy, Angela, Brenner, etc) whom I will not let off the hook for their behavior under any circumstances (especially when these characters flat-out refuse to take responsibility for how their actions have hurt others). At the same time though, I have little patience for the pearl-clutching this fandom engages in when it comes to the main characters doing things that are wrong or morally questionable.

In Hopper’s case, this was a character written with heavy shades of grey who was always going to act in ways that would cause the audience to raise an eyebrow. Some people might have problems with this. I am not one of them. Hopper has never been my favorite character on the show, and I’ve had my own issues with how he’s been written (especially in season 3), but stuff like his beating of Steve O’Bannon (the state trooper who “found�� Will’s body and turned out to be in the pocket of Hawkins Lab) or even his attack on Mayor Kline in season 3 doesn’t bother me. I could not care less about the injuries he inflicted on them.

Speaking of moral grayness, let’s talk about one of the inspirations for Hopper’s character and his costume design: Bernard Osterman from the Sam Peckinpah movie The Osterman Weekend:

The Osterman Weekend is an espionage thriller centered around a television journalist named John Tanner (played by Rutger Hauer) recruited into a CIA operation by Agent Laurence Fassett (played by John Hurt) who tells Tanner that his close friends are Russian agents from an organization called Omega. One of those friends is Bernard Osterman, a television producer. Believing they can get more information about Omega if they get one of Tanner’s friends to turn on the others, Fassett arranges for Tanner to host his traditional “Osterman Weekend” gathering at his house with his friends, all while creating a tense situation to inspire one of said friends to confide in Tanner and give the CIA the information they want.

Contrary to what the premise might suggest, this is a BAD MOVIE. The Eight Deadly Words (I don’t care what happens to these characters) are in full effect here, and the movie itself is a mess. The story is needlessly convoluted, there’s a plethora of plot-holes that don’t add up, certain shots in this movie come off like they were filmed for a sleazy 80s porno, and it features an incredibly stupid twist that causes the entire movie to fall apart in the last act. I had little patience for the film the first time I watched it, and even though I viewed it again to take notes on Osterman’s character, I would not recommend it (not even as a "So-Bad-It's-Good" kind of movie). Even having legendary actors like John Hurt and Rutger Hauer couldn’t save this turd.

In regards to Bernard Osterman’s character (who looks eerily like Hopper from season 3), while he isn’t likable, he’s probably one of the few characters in the movie I did NOT have as big of a problem with. I see his similarities to Hopper, both in how they observe their environment, the people around them, and the situations they find themselves in. Like Hopper, Osterman’s good at hand-to-hand combat, and is even shown training early in the movie in martial arts (which allows him to evade the CIA when they target him later in the movie). He’s also quick to see through Tanner’s deception, similar to how quickly Hopper catches on to the state trooper business and the suspicious circumstances with how Will’s body was found. Unlike Tanner’s other friends, who turn hostile towards Tanner and his family, Osterman keeps his cool and only reacts when Tanner attacks him. Even then, he doesn’t kill Tanner (as Tanner expected him to) and demands an explanation about what Tanner is doing. As it turns out in the twist, Osterman has nothing to do with the Soviets, and his biggest crime was tax evasion via a Swiss Bank Account. When he finds out the main villain set him and Tanner up, he aids Tanner in helping to take the villain down and rescue Tanner's family who are being held hostage.

Osterman is a grey character who engages in morally dubious actions, but just like Hopper, he is loyal to his friends, and is the kind of person you’d want in your corner when the going gets tough. Craig T. Nelson, who plays Osterman, manages to elevate the character in an otherwise terrible script. And unlike other characters, whose motivations and personalities are all over the place, Osterman is one of the few characters to remain consistent, which at least makes him bearable.

As for Hopper………..we’ll discuss more about the direction his character went in season 3 when I cover that. For this episode though, I didn’t have any problems with him.

Part 2: Nancy and Jonathan

I’ll start this off by saying I’m one of those rare breed of fans who has shipped Jancy since season 1 AND likes Steve (or at least I grew to like him past season 1). Contrary to what my reviews might suggest, I preferred it when Steve and Nancy separated in season 2 and both pursued their own respective arcs. I’ve also maintained that Jonathan and Nancy not only had more chemistry as a couple, but also could relate better to one another without worrying about social stigmas and have more common ground regarding their upbringings and the fact their younger siblings (Mike and Will) are close friends.

I am curious if season 1 is really the first time Nancy and Jonathan truly interacted. Given that Will and Mike were inseparable from a young age, and were frequently visiting each other’s houses (as well as how Karen and Joyce seem to have a close friendship), I’d have to image Nancy and Jonathan’s paths crossed more than a couple of times. The fact Nancy felt comfortable enough to talk with Jonathan two episodes ago to offer condolences over Will’s disappearance (despite the presence of Tommy, Carol, and Steve in the background) gives the impression they’ve at least made awkward small talk in the past, but it hasn’t been until now that they’ve really gotten to know one another.

I’ve seen people speculate Nancy had a crush on Jonathan before she ever met Steve, but it initially didn’t go anywhere because of Jonathan’s reluctance to talk to people, his closed-off personality (which he admits to having in the next episode), and being more focused on providing for the family. I can see that. I can also see how that likely factored into why it took a while (season 2) before these two really ended up in a romantic relationship, with Jonathan dealing with what he needed to deal with, and Nancy continuing to live her own life.

Last episode started the ball rolling, but this episode is where Jancy really took off. Even without Nancy’s fears that something horrible happened to Barbara, it was clear from the camera-breaking incident that Nancy wasn’t happy about what Steve did, and the conversation she has with Jonathan in the dark room implies she would have preferred to talk to Jonathan first about why he took the photos before she jumped to conclusions. Contrary to what some fans have said about the narration glossing over the ethical implications of what Jonathan did, I can understand why Nancy would give Jonathan the benefit of the doubt regarding the photos, especially with the close relationship the Wheeler and Byers families have because of Mike and Will. To his credit, Jonathan does apologize for it, and I think it’s clear to anyone with a brain who isn’t reading this situation in bad-faith that Jonathan’s intentions weren’t malicious.

It also helps that Jonathan is the only person who listens to Nancy in this episode. When Nancy brings up Barbara’s disappearance to Steve, his reaction is self-absorbed, being more concerned about getting in trouble for the pool party than about what happened to Barbara. Granted, Steve doesn’t know at this point about the Demogorgon or the Upside Down, and likely came to the same incorrect conclusion that Powell and Callahan did about Barbara running off, but it’s not surprising Nancy is unimpressed and frustrated with his reaction. Add in the later probing that the cops and her mom do into the circumstances regarding Barbara’s disappearance (with all the implied victim-blaming of Nancy sleeping with Steve to accompany it), and it’s small wonder that she storms off after calling it all “bullshit” (the exact word she would later use to describe her relationship with Steve in season 2).

Also, that alley where Steve and Nancy have the argument about Barbara in this episode is the same one where Steve breaks it off with Nancy in season 2 after the Halloween Party. Keep that in mind because I will specifically reference this location (and how both scenes are filmed) when I cover the circumstances of their breakup.

Poor Jonathan goes through the wringer in this episode, from believing his brother was dead, to dealing with his mom’s apparent irrational behavior, to preparing for Will's funeral all on his own. To be clear: I don’t blame Joyce or Jonathan for how either of them reacted during their fight downtown. The show does a great job demonstrating each person’s perspective. From Jonathan’s view, Joyce’s behavior DOES look unhinged, like she’s struggling to accept the idea that Will is dead despite the presence of a body, and it doesn’t help that he feels alone and unsupported in his grief while he's once again having to act as man of the family. However, because we the audience have been following Joyce’s story and seen the things she’s seen, we know she isn’t crazy, and she’s pushing back against being told to accept the lie regarding Will’s fate. Unfortunately, she can’t communicate that with Jonathan in a way he understands, and the result is he feels abandoned and is forced to cope on his own.

So it’s a relief when Nancy comes to him, even if she’s initially doing it to get clarification on what happened to Barbara. He finally has someone who’s listening to him, and Nancy throws him a lifeline by not only validating Joyce’s story about the figure she’s been seeing, but also giving him hope that Will was still alive. He even returns that by giving her hope that Barbara might be alive as well (even if we know that she isn’t).

Also, the entire time Nancy, Jonathan, and Joyce were describing what the Demogorgon looked like…………

…….was I the only one who was reminded of the creepypasta Slenderman?

I know the phenomenon of Slenderman was after the time period Stranger Things is set in (2009 is when the Slenderman mythos was first introduced), but I can’t help but notice similarities between Slenderman and the Demogorgon: Both monsters are described as tall thin humanoid figures with no faces who are responsible for the disappearance of people who cross their path. Both cause electronics to go haywire and become distorted whenever they’re nearby. Both have (so far) been glimpsed briefly by people, or even appear in blurred pictures (see the photos above) but manage to evade detection (at least for the moment). Difference is while Slenderman wore a suit and only seemed to target children and teenagers, the Demogorgon has no qualms about going after adults. And while the Demogorgon is a wild animal being controlled by a malevolent entity (The Mind Flayer), Slenderman was the malevolent entity who could drive other people into doing his bidding.

In addition to the chemistry Nancy and Jonathan share as a couple, Jancy in many ways can attribute its popularity not only to the idea of teens investigating paranormal occurrences, but also to how the relationship calls back to famous teen detectives novels like Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. Even TV shows like Eerie Indiana, Archie’s Weird Mysteries, and Lockwood & Co. understood this, and feature premises center around kids and teens investigating horror-esque mysteries and constantly having to evade danger while also juggling relationships and friendships.

I know the Stranger Things spin-off will likely focus on different characters, but if they were going to subvert expectations and center it on characters from this show, I wouldn’t mind seeing a spin-off of Nancy and Jonathan leaving Hawkins to investigate other mysteries, urban legends, and horror-related phenomenon around the world. Imagine how they would have dealt with Slenderman if they had encountered it, or the kinds of stories you'd get from the pairing of an investigative journalist and her intrepid photographer. :)

Part 3: The Kids (Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and El)

For anyone curious about whether I’d ever bring up Stephen King’s Firestarter and its connection to this show, I am planning to talk more about it when I cover seasons 2 and 4 since there are plot points from that story that tie better into those seasons. I will say there are multiple nods to it in season 1, with the premise of a girl with dangerous powers being hunted by the government at the center of both the show and the Stephen King story, and even in the scene where the Heathkit Ham Shack radio catches fire when El uses it to channel Will and let the others know he’s still alive.

For the most part, the scenes featuring the kids are the lighter part of this episode. Contrary to what Mike initially thought, El didn’t technically lie about where Will was. He is at the Byers house, albeit in the Upside Down. Just like Nancy gives hope to Jonathan about Will being alive, El does the same thing for Mike. She isn’t prepared to lead them into the Upside Down, and for good reason: She knows about the monsters lurking there, that Mike and his friends will get eaten up and spat back out by the Demogorgon if they encounter it (which almost happens in the season finale), and she’s worried that she might not be able to properly deal with this monster, even with her powers.

I wonder how much of El’s powers are limited because of her age and the energy she uses (similar to how Henry/One/Vecna was drained after killing his mom and sister) and how much of those limitations are because of past trauma. She’s still blocking out everything about Henry/One/Vecna so far, but considering her frightened reaction to contacting the Demogorgon, how much of that is because of the Demogorgon itself, or because she could somehow sense Henry/One/Vecna presence within the Demogorgon (and he could sense her back)?

There is a recurring theme of El being cruelly put down by others for being perceived as weak (Angela, Two, etc) or for not doing what they want her to do (Brenner, Vecna, the military), but when she does exert power, it scares those people badly enough that they try to regain control by suppressing her further. In all those cases, it goes horribly wrong for those people. It reminds me of what happens in Firestarter to the government agents at The Shop who try to manipulate and control Charlie’s pyrokinetic abilities, only for her to cut loose at the very end and burn her captors. If El can overcome the mental blocks put on her mind, both by others around her and by herself, she could become unstoppable, like Jean Grey/Phoenix from X-Men. One specific example that comes to mind is what happens in X Men #134 (the comic mentioned in the first episode that Will races Dustin for) when Jean takes back control from Mastermind and fully embraces the Phoenix persona:

I did appreciate the subtle nods to Clue (1985) in this episode, both in the costume El wears to the school (similar to the over-the-top costumes worn by the characters in that movie), and the suspicious way the kids act at the school when they pretend to be sad for Mr. Clarke’s convenience and are very unconvincing about it. That’s also including Dustin and Lucas showing El how she’s supposed to cry:

Just…….the way the kids act here reminds me of how the guests from that movie behaved when the cop shows up and they’re all trying to cover up the 3 murders that have already taken place. It’s people trying to not make their behavior look suspect, and it’s hilarious:

The mandated assembly for Will went about as well as anyone would expect it to. I don’t completely disagree with Lucas and Mike about most of the people there not giving a shit, but with the exceptions of Troy and James, some of the kids there looked indifferent at best but weren't being cruel about it, and I wonder how much of that is more based on being required to be there. There was Jennifer Hayes (i.e. the same girl from the Montauk Script whom Mike had a crush on before the Duffer Brothers changed that and cut her part out of the Pilot) crying at Will’s funeral in the next episode, so I’d have to imagine there were kids outside of the Party who didn’t hold any ill feelings towards Will and were sad over his death (even if they didn’t express it at the assembly).

Speaking of Troy and James, Mike’s confrontation with them was a long-time coming, and I’m not surprised Troy’s disgusting and homophobic comments about Will spurred Mike into finally fighting back (with help from El). The scene was reminiscent of Let Me In, and its Swedish predecessor Let The Right One In, where the main character in both movies, who’s spent most of the time getting targeted by bullies while he passively accepts the abuse, is finally inspired to hit back after encountering a vampire child named Eli/Abby who encourages him to stand up for himself. Even the bully from Let Me In has many similar physical and personality traits to Troy (though both characters are not portrayed by the same actor).

It's interesting rewatching this scene because of how much it parallels El’s confrontation with Angela at Rink-O-Mania in season 4. Unlike Angela, who seemed to have the full backing of everyone there to humiliate El, no one else aside from James is stepping in on Troy’s behalf. He and James are the only ones who are openly snickering about Will’s death during the assembly whereas everyone else is silent. The impression I get is, unlike Angela, Troy and James are low on the totem-pole of popularity (an impression that’s reinforced in the graphic novel The Bully), and they are just as much outcasts among their peers as Mike, Lucas, and Dustin are. Their way of dealing with this reality is to punch down at people like Mike, whom they assume will passively take the abuse, in order to give themselves the feeling of superiority in being “above” someone in the social hierarchy. However, just like when Angela was stupid enough to mock Hopper’s death to El’s face, and how that was the final straw that caused El to strike back hard, Mike finally reached his limit with their comments about Will, and the rest is history. Only difference is while everyone rushed to coddle Angela when the brat was bleeding and crying on the floor, no one is offering sympathy to Troy for his humiliation. Not that I feel bad for either of them. They both deserved it.

Part 4: (Brenner)

It was already obvious from the previous episode that Brenner's pursuit of science was more important than the lives of his employees (something that contrasts with Dr. Kurama from Elfen Lied), but given the revelation in season 4 that he’d been using El to try and locate Henry/One/Vecna in the dimension she sent him to, the scene of Brenner sending Shepard through the Gate makes his actions look even worse in hindsight. It’s already bad enough that a monster is on the loose (which Brenner undoubtedly knows about given the scientist who was killed by it in the first episode), but if he actually believed Henry/One/Vecna (someone who’s already demonstrated multiple ways to mutilate humans with his powers) was on the other side, and he’s sending an ordinary person with no ability to fight back if they encounter Henry/One/Vecna, that’s just despicable. The fact Brenner can do this while safely behind a control panel while Shepard has no guaranteed safety except for a cable (which does nothing to help him in the end) only demonstrates how much of a dirty coward he is.

It's ironic how the suits Brenner wears in season 1 were influenced by the suits Cary Grant’s character, Roger Thornhill, wears in the Alfred Hitchcock movie North by Northwest, considering the fundamental differences between Roger and Brenner. Roger is an everyman who, through a case of mistaken identity, is roped into a conspiracy where he’s targeted by those who believe he’s a secret agent for the United States Intelligence Agency. Brenner meanwhile is a government employee, one of the overarching villains of the show, and the one who set off the chain of events that has caused so much grief for the main characters. Roger spends the movie trying to evade being captured or killed, and gradually grows a spine in the process where he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Brenner meanwhile is the kind of person who directs others to get their hands dirty first, all while coldly manipulating them like a puppet on strings. And while Roger undergoes character development, Brenner never does, and later dies under the delusional belief that he did nothing wrong. In fact, there’s an argument to be had Brenner shares more in common with the antagonist of North by Northwest, Philip Vandamm, and the callous way he disposes of people in pursuit of his own agenda.

Final Thoughts: Song Choices

There is one prominent song featured at the beginning of this episode following Hopper and Joyce's talk, when Joyce gets the axe from the shed and Jonathan is mourning Will in his room: "Atmosphere" by Joy Division.

Like "Hazy Shade of Winter" by The Bangles, "Atmosphere" has a very eerie quality to it that's intertwined with a melancholic feeling of life moving on. Whereas "Hazy Shade of Winter" was about time passing in general and the regrets that can come with it, "Atmosphere" focuses on grief and trying to move past it. Peter Hook, the bassist for Joy Division, even admitted this was the kind of song that got played at funerals often. Considering where this song is placed in the episode, its lyrics almost serve as an ominous warning ("Don't walk away, In silence. See the danger, Always danger") that Will's fate isn't sealed yet, and there's something darker looming on the horizon for the characters.

On a final note to lighten the mood, here’s a Funko Pop Demogorgon for your entertainment:

[tiallussims]

Give me 6, erm 9, Townies to Make Over

During my Tumblr break, I was active on Pillowfort and lurked here. Inspired by @hauntedtrait, I did the townie challenge on Pillowfort.

Here they are, the six, erm, nine Townie makeovers. Thanks to everyone who suggested a townie. I hope I did all of them justice.

Yuki Behr (MelTC)

Alika Kahananui (Simproper)

Meredith Roswell (m0rd1ns01us)

Lilith Pleasant (@ellemant)

Angela Pleasant (@ellemant)

Vidcund Curious (MelTC)

Darling Walsh (taiey)

Bonus:

Bob Pancakes 

Eliza Pancakes

Why did I add the Pancakes as a bonus to fill the template? Well. A few days ago, screenshots of a perma-paywalled "Beautification Mod" made their rounds on Tumblr. As usual, a lot of whitewashing was going on. And they did the Pancakes dirty. Bob was whitewashed so much that he turned into Robert Waffles. Eliza was a blob of white paint. Come on, Eliza is light-skinned but not #ffffff kind of white.

All screenshots were taken in CAS with @rebouks Nightgaze Cas lighting, @vyxated Black Mirror Floor CAS background, and Possumsim's Hermes reShade preset that adds some oomph to the colors and sharpness to the image.

PS: If you want to look up the usernames on Pillowfort, do so if you're 18+. Some of the bloggers's contents aren't meant for minors. Don't tell me later, I didn't warn you.

[letterboxd-loggd]

Letter to Brezhnev (1985) Chris Bernard

December 29th 2024

[milton-dammers]

The Frighteners [1996] dir. Peter Jackson

[lordicusyay]

U guys probably don’t care but heres a bunch of fake tweets of my characters

(First two are pjo OCs, 4 is from one group of characters and the rest are from a different group of characters)

[comparativetarot]

The Moon. Art by Angela Intriago.

[hayleythesugarbowl]

omigoshh hellooo, I just found your blog and I adore your ian fics!! I also saw that you're taking requests, so can I please have a story ( ? ) request with ian and like a bubbly enthusiastic crew member? she's very sweet and always have a smile on her to make everyone's time at work better <33. but when she's on camera, she's a bit shy especially when on tntl gauntlet! but everyone just loves her like a mom hehe. sorry that this is long, no pressure in writing this btw! love you and your work lovely💕 <3

Roasted || Ian Hecox x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • smosh masterlist  ⋆˚｡⋆୨୧⋆

summary: you, a crew member at smosh, appear on your first TNTL gauntlet and have a surprise for your boyfriend ian

word count: 1.3k

warnings: none

a/n: ok so sorry for the delay darling but it’s here! i took this idea and turned it into a full on tntl bit + roast. hope u enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     “Up next is (Y/n)!”

     People clapped as Emily called out from behind the camera.

     You walked out from behind the divider, a smile on your face as you approach the six people on the stools. 

     You had been working at Smosh for nearly a year now, but you had yet to appear on camera. When you had been asked to appear on one of the TNTL Gauntlet episodes with the rest of the crew, you were hesitant but had ultimately agreed.

     You looked at your friends waiting for you to begin your bit. Your eyes lingered longer on Ian, your boyfriend of nearly four months. He gave you an encouraging smile and thumbs up. 

     “Hey guys,” you waved awkwardly, “Wow this is so exciting, I’ve never been on camera before!”

     Shayne turned to face the camera from his stool. “(Y/n) is one of our writers and producers, for those of you that don’t know.”

     You nodded as Ian said, “And my girlfriend!”

     Everyone clapped and you felt yourself blush. “That’s news to me,” you teased.

     “(Y/n), you’re making me look bad on camera,” Ian stage whispered.

     “Doing that all on your own buddy,” Angela said, patting his shoulder.

     Shayne, who had already started to take a sip of water, spit it out, laughing at her comment.

     This made Courtney and Damien spit their water out and soon everyone was laughing.

     “Ok guys, shut up, let (Y/n) do her bit,” Ian said, nodding at you.

     “Ok, dad,” Angela rolled her eyes.

     Once everyone had water in their mouth you answered him. 

     “Funny you should say that Ian,” you said, smiling sweetly as you looked at him. 

     He raised an eyebrow. You shot him a wink. Now that everyone’s attention was on you, waiting to see what you would do, you were suddenly nervous. You focused on Ian as you continued, 

     “So, um, as Ian told you, we’ve been dating for a little while now. And so I wanted to make this bit especially for him.”

     “Oh my god I can’t wait for this,” Amanda said, around the water in her mouth. 

     “Since I wasn’t a part Smosh yet when Ian had his funeral,” you continued, still smiling brightly. “I thought I’d take this opportunity to give him my roast.”

     Shayne clapped loudly and you looked at everyone’s widened eyes. Ian shook his head at you, eyes smiling.

     “Ian don’t worry,” you turned to him. “I’m going to keep it light. I’m not going to say anything offensive or inappropriate—which I know is something you’re not familiar with so let me explain it in terms you’ll understand: 9/11, Columbine, that’s what she said, and something about Luigi Mangione?”

     Shayne spit out his water, looking shocked. Ian played along, shrugging. You tucked your hair behind your ears—you were just getting started.

     “But Ian isn’t all dark humor and Challenger’s references. As I’ve gotten to know him, I’ve really gotten to see who he really is. Which is some combination of the kid from Toy Story and Jared Bailey if he was depressed and looked like Matt Walsh.”

      Everyone else spit their water out now, except for Ian who crossed his arms at you, feigning offense. 

     “This is so good!” Angela yelled. You continued.  

      “No, but Ian is amazing. And he’s a really great boyfriend. He’ll tell you that you look gorgeous and give you lots of affection and he’ll make you feel so loved and desired—

     You paused for effect. 

     “—or so Anthony’s told me.”

     Ian spit now, laughing with everyone else. “No need to out me like that.”

     “This is insane,” Shayne wheezed, wiping his eyes.

      “But all jokes aside,” you started. “Ian is really special and he’s contributed a lot to society…and to science. I mean, as the only person to breastfeed until the age of 13, he’s  been so useful to so many studies.”

      “This,” Amanda said through her laughter, “is actually so crazy.”

      “You’re getting owned,” Courtney shoved Ian’s shoulder playfully. 

      You smiled, feeling encouraged by their laughter and not feeling nearly as nervous as you had at the beginning.

     You glanced at Ian. He was shaking his head at you, a proud look on his face. 

     You cleared your throat.  

     “And I know everyone likes to give Ian crap for his fashion sense—probably because of the gum-ball machine chic chains and the ‘piña colada threw up on me’ vibes—”

     “Hey, that shirt is fire,” Shayne defended.

     “Thank you!” Ian exclaimed.

     “—but I think Ian does have a good fashion sense. I’m sure all the bi girls are so happy that you stole their style and somehow made it so much more white trash.”

     “It’s too real,” Angela said through tears of laughter as Damien blew out an astonished breath. 

     “What I’m trying to say, Ian,” you said, turning to him. “is that I’m so glad we’re together and I know you would never cheat on me—or at least I think. Last time I asked you about it you just shot yourself with a water gun so I’m not really sure what…”

     You trailed off as Ian threw up his hands. 

    “Anyway,” you said, smiling brightly at Ian as he grinned back at you. “I love you Ian and I can’t imagine my life without you in it and I’ll always want you around—even if Angry Birds 2 didn’t.”

     As you finished, the cast on camera and the crew off camera burst into applause and you felt your cheeks warm as you did a little bow.

     “Damn,” Shayne cursed once the room had quieted, looking shocked and impressed. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard 

(Y/n) say anything bad about someone ever.”

     “Ian how do you feel?” Damien asked. 

     “Yeah my guy, you were just annihilated,” Courtney giggled.

     Ian looked at you as he answered them. “I’ve never felt better.”

     “Awww,” Amanda cooed, nudging Angela. “They’re weird and in love!”

     “Ew,” Angela joked. “That’s mom and dad you’re talking about.”

     You laughed, catching Ian’s eye as you walked backwards off the set and back behind the divider. 

     “Seriously though, that shirt slaps, dude,” you hear Shayne saying as you walk away. 

     You beamed to yourself. All in all, you’d say your first TNTL was a success. 

     ₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

     You found Ian immediately after the episode was finished filming. As you passed people, you were showered with praise and comments about your roast. 

     It felt good, having your first time on camera go so well. For so long everyone had known you as the shy, quiet type. Always having something kind to say to someone, an encouraging word to offer. It was nice knowing they all now knew this side of you too. 

     You walked up to Ian, grabbing his hand. “How’d I do?” You asked him. 

     He leaned in and kissed you. “Mmm, you were perfect. I’m questioning my whole identity.”

    “Yeah? I didn’t go to hard on you,” you mumbled against his lips.

     “Nah, everything you said was probably true,” he joked in between kisses. “And I love you even more because not only is my girlfriend sweet and caring and incredibly sexy, she’s also insanely funny and one of the most talented people I’ve ever met.”

     You smiled against him. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

     He pulled back, his hand trailing down your arm. “Really? I thought I was immature and unstylish.”

     “And I love you even more because of it,” you teased.

     “Hey, (Y/n)?”

     You turned to find Amanda standing behind you. You grabbed Ian’s arm, pulling him close to you as you focused your attention on her.

     “Don’t mean to interrupt but—can you write my roast for Angela’s funeral? You’re so good at it and I can’t think of anything that rhymes with ‘drank paint’.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ˋ°•*⁀➷ this is me manifesting an angela (and arasha and chanse and spencer and trevor) funeral roast 🧘‍♀️

[dwellordream]

Best Reads of 2024

this year i read 300 books. which i think is impressive but not as impressive as it sounds bc many of these books were very short, easy reads meant to be like, stuff you read at the airport or sitting by the pool on vacation. so it's not like i was tackling the harvard classics. i also read extremely fast; it only takes me about an hour to do 300 pages unless it's a super dense complex text. that said, here is a list of all the books i read this year that i would rate 4 stars or higher, separated by genre: Fantasy/Magical Realism: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett Highfire by Eoin Colfer Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi Chlorine by Jade Song The Passion by Jeanette Winterson The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter Realistic Fiction: We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent Only Child by Rhiannon Navin Movie Star by Lizzie Pepper Prima Facie by Suzie Miller Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg Piglet by Lottie Hazell The List by Yomi Adegoke A Winter's Rime by Carol Dunbar The Resurrection of Joan Ashby by Cherise Wolas

Mystery/Thriller: Queenpin by Megan Abbott Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley The Guest by Emma Cline Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti Kala by Colin Walsh Descent by Tim Johnston Wahala by Nikki May When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff We Could Be Beautiful by Swan Huntley Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll Nothing Can Hurt You by Nicola Maye Goldberg Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon The Lagos Wife by Vanessa Walters Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage Cape Fear by John D. MacDonald Sea Wife by Amity Gaige Last Seen Wearing by Hilary Waugh The Black Cabinet by Patricia Wentworth Historical Fiction: Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen Gilded Mountain by Kate Manning All You Have to Do is Call by Kerri Maher Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt Payback by Mary Gordon A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley The Affairs of the Falcons by Melissa Rivero Longbourn by Jo Baker The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson Go to Hell Ole Miss by Jeff Barry The Divorcees by Rowan Beaird Consequences by Penelope Lively Iron Curtain: A Love Story by Vesna Goldsworthy Homestead by Melinda Moustakis Not Our Kind by Kitty Zeldis Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Teddy by Emily Dunlay Science Fiction: Prophet Song by Paul Lynch Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom Fever by Deon Meyer The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet Briefly Very Beautiful by Roz Dineen

Romance: Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson American Royalty by Tracey Livesay The One by Julie Argy The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin Queen of Urban Prophecy by Aya de Léon That Dangerous Energy by Aya de Léon The Dove in the Belly by Jim Grimsley Fatima Tate Takes the Cake by Khadija VanBrakle Faro’s Daughter by Georgette Heyer Horror: Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian The Parliament by Aimee Pokwatka Cujo by Stephen King Night Watching by Tracy Sierra The Garden by Clare Beams The House of Ashes by Stuart Neville The Suicide Motor Club by Christopher Buehlman True Crime: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Columbine by Dave Cullen Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou While Idaho Slept: The Hunt for Answers in the Murders of Four College Students by J. Reuben Appelman The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age by Michael Wolraich Fatal Vision by Joe McGinniss Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope

History: Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era by Laurence Leamer The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel The Burning Blue: The Untold Story of Christa McAuliffe and Nasa’s Challenger Disaster by Kevin Cook The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House by Sally Bedell Smith As Long as We Both Shall Love: The White Wedding in Postwar America by Karen M. Dunak Babysitter: An American History by Miriam Forman-Brunell Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin All She Lost: The Explosion in Lebanon, the Collapse of a Nation and the Women who Survive by Dalal Mawad Psychology: Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff Misdiagnosed: One Woman’s Tour of -And Escape From- Healthcareland by Jody Berger Stolen Child: A Mother’s Journey to Rescue Her Son from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Laurie Gough Zig-Zag Boy: A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood by Tanya Frank I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy Us, After: A Memoir of Love and Suicide by Rachel Zimmerman Everything Is Fine: A Memoir by Vince Granata Juliet the Maniac by Juliet Escoria

Memoir: Upstairs At The White House by J.B. West A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold Goodbye, Sweet Girl: A Story of Domestic Violence and Survival by Kelly Sundberg This Boy We Made: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown by Taylor Harris I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell Fragile Beginnings: Discoveries and Triumphs in the Newborn ICU by Adam Wolfberg The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team by Kara Goucher and Mary Pilon Remedies for Sorrow: An Extraordinary Child, a Secret Kept from Pregnant Women, and a Mother’s Pursuit of the Truth by Megan Nix Brazen: My Unorthodox Journey from Long Sleeves to Lingerie by Julia Haart Minding the Manor: The Memoir of a 1930s English Kitchen Maid by Mollie Moran Love in the Blitz: The War Letters of Eileen Alexander to Gershon Ellenbogan by Eileen Alexander Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story by Lis Smith The Apology by Eve Ensler Wild Game: My Mother, Her Secret, and Me by Adrienne Brodeur One Way Back: A Memoir by Christine Blasey Ford Biography: The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty by Susan Page Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson by Rebecca Boggs Roberts King: A Life by Jonathan Eig Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas American Girls: One Woman’s Journey into the Islamic State and Her Sister’s Fight to Bring Her Home by Jessica Roy Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR by Lisa Napoli

Gender: Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to CoverGirl®, the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement by Andi Zeisler All the Rage: Mothers, Fathers, and the Myth of Equal Partnership by Darcy Lockman Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks Enslaved Women in America: From Colonial Times to Emancipation by Emily West You’ll Do: A History of Marrying for Reasons Other Than Love by Marcia A. Zug The Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History by Ilise S. Carter Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America by Lillian Faderman

[panelshowsource]

britcom comedians & panel show personalities who share your sign

AQUARIUS ♒ dara ó briain • frank skinner • glenn moore • guz khan • hugh dennis • lucy porter • maisie adam • mark watson • phil wang • vic reeves

PISCES ♓ aisling bea • alan davies • dave gorman • ed gamble • jenny eclair • katy wix • michael mcintyre • rose matafeo

ARIES ♈ andy parsons • desiree burch • ed byrne • gary delaney • jamali maddix • john kearns • josh widdicombe • josie long • roisin conaty • romesh ranganathan • rory bremner

TAURUS ♉ al murray • alex brooker • catherine tate • greg davies • joe wilkinson • john robins • mae martin • milton jones • morgana robinson • rhys james • rob brydon • sally phillips • sandi toksvig • sean lock • stephen mangan

GEMINI ♊ alan carr • bob mortimer • david baddiel • fern brady • judi love • julian clary • london hughes • mel giedroyc • noel fielding • paul sinha • rich hall • richard ayoade • sara pascoe • sarah millican • shappi khorsandi • sindhu vee • tom allen

CANCER ♋ adam hills • alice levine • david mitchell • katherine ryan • harriet kemsley • ian hislop • jack whitehall • joe lycett • paul merton • peter serafinowicz • phill jupitus • rosie jones

LEO ♌ bridget christie • cariad lloyd • chris ramsey • daisy may cooper • frankie boyle • isy suttie • lee mack • jo brand • nish kumar • victoria coren mitchell

VIRGO ♍ alex horne • dane baptiste • darren harriott • ivo graham • jimmy carr • johnny vegas • lolly adefope • miles jupp • nina conti • stephen fry • sue perkins • tim key

LIBRA ♎ diane morgan • harry hill • jack dee • jon richardson • limmy • nick helm • rhod gilbert • robert webb • tiff stevenson • zoe lyons

SCORPIO ♏ angela barnes • chris addison • elis james • ellie taylor • holly walsh • liza tarbuck • jonathan ross • kerry godliman • kevin bridges • matt forde • mike wozniak • sofie hagen • susan calman

SAGITTARIUS ♐ adam riches • david o'doherty • jessica knappett • larry dean • miranda hart • richard osman • seann walsh • simon amstell • steven k. amos

CAPRICORN ♑ ahir shah • angus deayton • bill bailey • claudia winkleman • james acaster • mark lamarr • paul foot • rob beckett • suzi ruffell

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things The Bully Review

Synopsis: It’s been a year since Troy had his arm broken by Eleven. Still struggling with nightmares over the encounter, Troy enlists James’s help as he attempts to prove that what happened to him was only a trick. However, as he becomes entangled in events beyond his control, he begins to realize he might be way in over his head........

Observations:

Of all the tie-in comics, books, and graphic novels related to Stranger Things, this is by far my least favorite. I didn’t have high expectations when I first heard what the premise was going to be, and reading it did nothing to endear it to me.

I’ll say right now that the only thing I liked about this graphic novel was the artwork and coloring. This is by the same team that did Stranger Things Zombie Boys and Stranger Things Erica the Great, and it looks amazing. Sadly, that’s all it has going for it because the story, and the main character they chose to focus on, ends up bringing this down.

This will be a short review because there isn’t a lot to talk about. Nothing that takes place here will likely play any important role in season 5, and it's seriously doubtful the Duffer Brothers are bringing back Troy and James for the final season.

The entire time I was reading, there was one persistent thought going through my head: What is the point of this?

I get the comics, graphic novels, and books are meant to expand the world of Stranger Things and flesh-out aspects and characters that the show didn’t have time to focus on, but this particular instance felt pointless and time-consuming. Troy and James are not characters that have appeared since season 1, and they’ve had absolutely no role in driving the plot forward since that time. They were just there to exist as stock bullies who made the main characters lives a living hell (similar to Angela and her ilk from season 4). Once they served their purpose (and got a humiliating comeuppance for their behavior), there was no need for them to be on the show anymore.

So you’d think if they were going to bring those particular characters back, they’d do something meaningful with them. Unfortunately, they don’t.

The story is set during season 2, with the major difference being we get to see it from Troy’s perspective as he witnesses key events: Will getting bullied on Halloween Night and (unbeknownst to Troy) hallucinating the Mind Flayer, the pollywogs, the rotten pumpkin patch, the demodogs attack in the junkyard, and so on. Troy and James basically act as observers during all of this.

It’s a similar premise to the Stranger Things Summer Special comic that came out last year: It rehashes the events of a certain season, except they stick in unimportant side characters who coincidentally happened to be there when those events were taking place. The difference is the Summer Special focused on Officers Callahan and Powell and was set during season 3.

Like Callahan and Powell in the Summer Special, Troy and James don't have a purpose here. You could cut all of their scenes in The Bully, and it would have no impact on the overall plot of season 2.

It doesn't help that Troy is extremely unlikable during all of this. If you despised him in season 1, you're not going to think any better of him here. He spends most of the story being an asshole, continues to harass Mike and his friends (and at one point is about to slash their bike tires out of sheer spite), throws rocks at squirrels because he can, and repeatedly treats James like shit (to the point James starts to get fed up with him).

They try to give Troy a Freudian Excuse in the form of his parents (similar to what they did with Billy on the show) with Troy's mom being a Karen and Troy's dad being one of those "Don't Apologize, It Shows Weakness" type of guys. However, it still doesn't do anything to make Troy likeable because the problem is Troy doesn't have any other redeeming qualities to fall back on. He's still a bully, and whatever measly attempts there are to make him look sympathetic fall flat. I remember this was discussed on the Stranger Things TV Tropes page at one point when someone tried to put Troy in the "Unintentionally Sympathetic" category, rationalizing that it's hard not to feel bad for him even if he's irredeemable, to which other users pointed out that since Troy is irredeemable, he isn't sympathetic.

The ending is where the graphic novel completely falls apart. Long story short, Troy and James end up near the same junkyard the night Steve is fighting off the demodogs to protect Dustin, Lucas, and Max on the bus. Despite James's meek suggestion that maybe they should go help Steve and the others (bonus points for that I guess?), Troy flat-out refuses. Both Troy and James later get chased by demodogs, and James ends up tripping and falling down as one of the demodogs closes in on him. Troy initially looks like he's going to help James, but chooses to save his own skin instead. Just when the demodogs are about to attack them, the Mind Flayer calls them back to raid Hawkins Lab. In the aftermath, Troy begins berating James again, and James finally reaches his limit with Troy, gives him a scathing "Reason You Suck" speech, and leaves. The next day, just before Troy is set to move out of Hawkins with his parents (because his dad lost his job), he goes to apologize to James and they briefly reconcile before Troy heads out.

Putting aside how the ending glosses over the severity of Troy leaving James to the mercy of the demodogs and expecting us to buy that James would ever want to be his friend again after that, the biggest problem is the moment doesn't feel earned. You can't spend 99% of a story having your main character be this awful, have him do the bare minimum to make up for it, and still expect the readers to care about him.

It doesn't help that this small, pathetic reconciliation Troy has with James doesn’t address the issues audiences had with Troy in the first place. Fans were angry and disgusted with him because of things he'd done on the show: Bullying Mike and his friends, making homophobic (and in Lucas's case, racist) remarks towards them, mocking Will's death when it supposedly happened, and threatening to cut out Dustin's teeth with a knife if Mike didn't walk off a cliff that would have inevitably led to Mike's death had El not intervened. They made Troy too much of a Hate Sink to the point it's borderline impossible to make him redeemable, and this graphic novel does nothing to alleviate that.

If Troy's story had been about realizing how awful of a person he'd become and making a genuine attempt to atone for his treatment of the Party, from apologizing to them to putting in the hard effort of making amends and maybe even trying to become their friends (similar to the arc Steve had in the first 2 seasons), that would be one thing. I don't know how many people would have bought it or cared, but there would have at least been a purpose in that. It would have given Troy some much needed character development, and it would have added depth to a character who was pretty one-dimensional to begin with. But the way it's done here doesn't work. It also doesn't help that other comics (like Zombie Boys and Dungeons and Dragons) demonstrate that Troy really hasn't changed and is still the same bully he's always been:

Imagine if they came out with a comic or graphic novel centered around Angela from season 4 that had Angela continue to be a vicious bully to others (even after El smashed her face in with a roller-skate), gave her a flimsy sob story to justify her cruel behavior (which would do absolutely nothing to make her look sympathetic), enlisted her friends to get revenge on El by following her all the way to Hawkins, consistently treated her boyfriend Jake like shit during all of this, ran afoul of Vecna's monsters by chance and proceeded to abandon her friends to save herself like the coward she is, and then offered a measly "I'm sorry" to them later which would get treated as a heartwarming moment. All the while, Angela would have no further role in the show and wouldn't ever appear in season 5.

Would anyone care about this story? Would there be any point to this? Would it change anything about how awful of a person Angela is?

If your answer to these questions is a resounding NO, then you can understand the issues I have with The Bully.

I wouldn't recommend this graphic novel. It's a shame because, as I said before, the artwork and coloring is pretty, but that arguably makes it worse. At least with the Summer Special starring Officers Callahan and Powell, it was a one-shot comic that's currently available on Kindle for a low price. This graphic novel clearly had effort put into it, it's pretty pricey to buy, and the result only highlights just how mediocre and inconsequential it is.

And to be clear: I've liked other graphic novels Greg Pak has written (Zombie Boys is one of my favorites). I don't know if this was a story he decided to write, or if it was mandated from the higher-ups at Netflix and/or Dark Horse, but either way, it's a major miss.

[swayhere]

canon starter call - open to anyone !

i have a strong urge to write some canon muses, so if you would be interested in writing against any of the canon muses listed under the READ MORE below, please comment/IM me and i can send a starter your way or reply to one of your starters.

i do not require you to know anything about my muse's canon, but i'm more than happy to tell you about it if you ask. i'd be happy to write canon muses against your ocs! also, mixing fandoms is 100% ok with me unless your canon muse is problematic and makes me uncomfy. my canon muses do not have all their memories or relationships from their life unless we plot it, but they will have the same general personality/ambitions.

if you are willing to write against my canon muses but don't care which, just like this post, and i'll take a look at your open starters and/or send you a closed starter at random with a muse i think fits the vibe.

*please don't agree to write against my canon muses if you're one of those picky weirdos that will be up in arms if i don't write a cannon muse exactly how you would.

( if you'd prefer to write against an oc muse only, check this post. )

canon muses i'd like to write: bold = extra big muse rn. strikethrough = exclusive, so not rn.

muses from tv shows: 

911 — eddie diaz , evan buckley , athena grant , bobby nash , karen wilson

911: lonestar — carlos reyes , grace ryder , judson ryder , t.k. strand , owen strand

as the world turns — dr. reid oliver , luke snyder

boy meets world — shawn hunter , jack hunter , angela moore , topanga lawrence

chuck — sarah walker , chuck bartowski , bryce larkin 

degrassi — jimmy brooks , sean cameron , ellie nash , marco del rossi , sav bhandari , drew torres , zoe rivas , miles hollingsworth iii , tiny bell , esme song , 

gilmore girls — jess , luke

good trouble — gael martinez , jamie hunter , callie adams foster , mariana adams foster , evan speck , joaquin perez , dennis cooper 

how i met your father — sid , ian , sophie , jesse

how i met your mother — marshall eriksen , lily aldrin , victoria

how to get away with murder — laurel castillo , connor walsh , oliver hampton , michaela pratt , frank delfino 

jessica jones — jessica jones

lost — kate austen , juliet burke , daniel faraday , desmond hume , sayid jarrah , sun-hwa kwon , claire littleton , walter ‘walt’ lloyd , charlie pace , hugo ‘hurley’ reyes , shannon rutherford , miles straume 

new amsterdam — lauren bloom , elizabeth wilder , casey acosta

new girl — nick miller , winston bishop , cece parekh

one tree hill — nathan scott , lucas scott , keith scott , chase adams , brooke davis 

outer banks (obx) — jj maybank , kiara carrera

please like me — arnold 

rosewell, new mexico — michael guerin , maria deluca , isobel evans

scandal — olivia pope , prezzy fitz

scooby doo — daphne blake

stranger things — robin buckley , steve harrington , jim hopper , chrissy cunningham , eddie munson , max mayfield , eleven , mike wheeler 

superstore — jonah simms

the 100 — finn collins

the bear — richie jerimovich, carmy berzatto , marcus , sydney adamu  

the mindy project — danny castellano 

the office — ryan howard , jim halpert , pam halpert , kelly kapoor , holly flax

the politician — river barkley , astrid sloan 

the young & the restless — sally spectra , adam newman , chelsea lawson , phyllis summers , lily winters , sharon newman , chance chancellor , victoria newman , tessa porter , amanda sinclair , cole howard

younger — josh , kelsey peters

muses from books: 

along for the ride ( book version only ) — eli stock , auden west , maggie  

one of us is lying ( book version only ) — cooper clay , nate

red white & royal blue — alex claremont-diaz , prince henry , zahra bankston

we were liars — gatwick ‘gat’ matthew patil

muses from movies: 

dead poets society — neil perry , charlie dalton , todd anderson

harry potter — lee jordan

les mis — enjolras , grantaire 

super 8 — joe lamb , martin , preston

twilight — irina denali , jasper cullen

[beepbeepdespair]

before the next taskmaster lineup is announced, here's my list of people i'd like to see do it

- richard ayoade

- ria lina

- literally anyone from ofmd

- susan calman

- david mitchell

- diane morgan

- sandi toksvig

- literally anyone from wwdits

- ralf little

- harry hill

- martin clunes

- angela barnes

- jen brister

- suzi ruffell

- holly walsh

- any of the six idiots that haven't done it already

[milton-dammers]

The Frighteners [1996] dir. Peter Jackson