#basically just a possession-episode-idea. think it could’ve happened in season 2/3

[wynandcore]

Season 2, episode 17: Clipping

[jade-marie]

GG 2x04 Rewatch

Not gonna lie, this is probably going to be the only episode I rewatch. The rest has been kinda tainted by 2x13 and s3.

Generally, my opinions tend not to line up with the majority of the fandom - sorry, not sorry. 

1. What was your favourite scene of the episode? Tell us why!

It’s a tie between the bathroom break and the vette smash. Bathroom break - for obvious reasons - I’m a hoe and I live for that shit. The vette smash - I just vibe with Rio’s petty energy and the way you could see how much he was enjoying himself, Dean being metaphorically castrated by the guy who just fucked his wife... chef’s kiss. 

2. Was there any scene that missed the mark for you? And if so, how?

I WISH beth would’ve bit back when Dean brought up the shooting. It irks me so much that she contnually rolls over for him. She spitefully gets payback, but rarely puts him in his place (if it were up to me, his place would be by boomer-jeff’s side in the dumpster)

3. This episode starts with each of the girls trying to make amends in their own way – Beth through her family, Ruby through charity and Annie through Marion. What do you think this tells us about each of them?

I feel like Beth and Ruby’s attempts at making amends always feel incredibly shallow and I can never tell if it’s down to shitty writing or if its because they genuinely don’t feel guilty. If’it’s the former - I’m not surprised. If it’s the latter - I hope the girls own their lack of remorse, in future. 

Annie strikes me as the one who feels genuine guilt over a lot of this, and it’s been pretty consistent - even when Lucy died in S3. I think it makes sense for her to be the most cut up about it because she always struck me as someone who’s ruled by her emotions - she doesn’t exactly think before she acts, and is typically pretty impulsive.

4. Rio offers Beth the keys to the kingdom! This scene is always hotly debated in the fandom! What do you think he meant in the moment of it? Do you think he ever actually saw or even wanted Beth as a partner?

Straying from the general consensus, as usual - I don’t think he was playing her and I don’t think he planned to take a cut of whatever Beth came up with. 

Personally, I don’t think it makes much sense. He’s already learnt that he gets further with Beth through praise and reward, as opposed to intimidation - more flies with honey, yada yada yada. 

If the whole thing was just a manipulation it would have made more sense for him to convince her that he had faith in her and offer her a 25% cut of any cash washing operation she could come up with. She would’ve bit his hand off at the opportunity.  

I think he was telling the truth when he said that he was done, I think he was genuinely flipping his game from cash to pills. At this point, Turner was looking closely and so it would make sense for Rio to want to distance himself from the counterfeit operation. He literally explained back in season one that it’s how he avoids being caught, he flips his game before the feds get too close. 

I get the feeling that he probably didn’t intend to have much contact with Beth going forward and was going to leave her to do whatever she wanted with the rest of the money. It’s not that I think he wouldn’t manipulate her, he absolutely would. I just don’t really think it makes sense in this context. 

5. Do you think Marion had any idea that Boomer was taking advantage of her?

I think it was probably similar to the situation with Beth, regarding Dean’s cheating: the thought was there, but she never really confronted the idea and lived in a comfy little denial bubble.

6. Dean’s attachment to the corvette is played in many different ways in s2! How do you interpret this?

I think it’s the perfect display of his narcissism and toxic masculinity. The car is as grandiose as his ego and he thinks it’s going to save the dealership, much like he thinks he’s going to be the one to save his family from ruin.

7. Why do you think Beth kept the money from Ruby and Annie?

I think she’s hugely manipulative and likes to be the be the one holding the cards. She only wanted to rob the store when she had her own problems to worry about and then convinced the girls to go along with it, she went to Rio to ask for more work back in season 1, she asked him to up their drops, the list goes on.

She tends to call the shots and drag them along for the ride, so it seems consistent with her personality that she’d keep the money to herself until she needed it, and then inform the girls. 

8. The birth of the cars for cash business! Is this Beth’s best idea? Her worst? How do you rank it, both in general and among the girls’ other schemes? And do you think it could’ve worked longterm if Turner wasn’t so fixated on Beth?

Probably the best idea she came up with tbh. The others were pretty poorly thought through, as far as long term strategising goes. It could’ve worked really well if they had an accountant keeping the books looking kosher. 

9. The Beth and Dean arc this episode is perhaps one of their most frustrating (in spite of the extremely cathartic resolution, haha). Do you think Dean’s belittling of Beth and his feelings of Beth emasculating him are new to their relationship or have been around for a long time? How do you think they really see each other?

I think they lived in a state of blissful ignorance and their initial interaction (love you, tunafish) was really indicative of that. Him belittling her was probably prevalent in the beginning of the relationship, but I think she probably just placated him and got on with her life. Now she’s clearly growing tired of his shit, just not. fast. enough.

I don’t think they’re in love though. I think Dean’s feelings for her are fuelled by narcissim. She’s obviously good looking and from the outside, he has it all. The house in the burbs, kids, hot wife, family business etc. That’s what he cares about - the image. I don’t think Beth is too dissimilar. I think she probably looked up to Judith as a teenager and idiolised that life, which Dean could provide. I don’t think she ever had deep, romantic, feelings for him. But she probaly does care for him, to an extent.

10. The Annie and Beth arc is also pretty telling of the characters’ history. It’s also one of the few times we’ve deliberately seen Beth seek out Annie for comfort (often it’s incidental that Annie’s there). What do you think this tells us about their relationship, both historically, and where they are at this point in the series?

I think it’s one of the few moments that their sibling bond is believable. It’s pretty accurate that, as Annie is maturing, she becomes less of a fuckup baby sister who needs everyone to clean up after her and grows into someone that beth can turn to for comfort/advice. Makes sense that this happens later in life, considering the significant age gap.

11. Ruby’s scene at the Quick Cash with JT is really significant – both in terms of it being a generally delightful scene, but also as a touchstone demonstration of Ruby’s increasing unwillingness to swallow her pride. Do you think Ruby prior to the series commencing would’ve reacted to JT’s goading in this way? And how do you think this scene compliments the scene earlier in the episode with Stan admitting he’s taken another loan too?

I thinks she would’ve wanted to, but literally couldn’t afford to. She had the means and opportunity to give him a dose of karma. But it’s always been in her nature to talk shit - diner dickweed in season 1. She refused to swallow her pride and apologise.

That, along with Stan taking another loan, seems to fit in well with the Hill’s entire arc of trying to be good people and being consistently shit on for it.

12. THE. BATHROOM. BREAK. That’s it. That’s the question. Please elaborate on your thoughts and feelings.

Am i supposed to be able to form thoughts or sentences that adequately express my feelings?

Petty king is also king of consent, he let beth take the lead - love it.

Judging from the papertowel dispenser, stroke game was strong.

Penis levitation is now a part of my vocab, thank you for your service, Rio.

10/10 - would definitely recommend being railed in a bathroom by this man.

13. Greg and Annie have what’s their last break-up in this episode (at least up until now). Why do you think this particular one stuck? And do you see any sort of future for them?  

I feel like the key difference was Annie putting her foot down and saying “no”. Idk if I can see them getting back together, becasue I don’t think she’d have another affair when there’s a child in the mix and he’s too much of a pussy to divorce Nancy unless he has a guaranteed backup plan aka Annie. Still kinda ship it though.

14. Annnnd lastly, what do you make of the final scene at Boland Motors? What do you think Rio thought following both the bathroom break and this moment?

I think that Rio was genuinely flipping his game and moving away from cash and, in turn, Beth. But the bathroom break changed his mind, so he got curious and wanted to know what she came up with for the money, only to find out that she gave it to Dean. Given how possessive Rio is of his money, in combination with the feelings for Beth which had just been stirred up, I think his jealous side came out and he took back the money. 

Up until this point, the entire Brio dynamic was him holding the power and exerting it whenever he saw fit. The second he followed her into that bathroom, he gave up whatever semblance of control or power he had left. The man is a very obvious control freak and so I don’t think he does well or feels secure in those situations. Him smashing up the car was basically an attempt to re-establish dominance and convince himself (and Beth) that he was still in control; with the added bonus of emasculating dean and making money.

And daaaayyyyyyyuuuuuuummmmm if I don’t enjoy watching that scene. The emasculation of Dean, Rio being petty, Beth malfunctioning at the possibility of Dean finding out she got dicked down in the bathroom, while he sat outside trying (and failing) to get the waiter’s attention. I DIE

[maliciouslycreative]

So I’ve mentioned a lot of times over the years that I used to be fandom famous in a small anime fandom and I spent a lot of my time running damage control to an anti however I’ve never actually recounted the whole tale for you all. Buckle up and crack open a lemonade because we’re going on a journey (more under the cut).

The year is 2004, I’m 17, and in my final year of high school. I wrote a lot of fanfic back then, mostly for anime fandoms and around the time I joined Gaia I started posting my fanfic “Several Blows to the Head” which became unexpectedly extremely popular. But before I go forward I feel I should give some back story because some of you will probably get extremely confused very fast otherwise.  

For those of you who don’t know about gaia online let me give you some history. Gaia was pretty much THE SHIT back in the mid to late 2000s. It was an anime themed forum website where you had a little avatar you could dress up.You gained gold by posting, playing mini games, posting in polls, or even just browsing in general. There were hundreds of subforums and in each of them a tonne of active threads. Another feature was the guild system. Basically anyone could create a guild which was pretty much your own themed subforum that  the guild admin could decide the rules and who was able to join as long as they still followed Gaia’s ToS. 

The anime I was into was (Bakuten Shoot) Beyblade, which at the time was an ongoing series. For those unfamiliar with the series a bunch of teenagers use battling tops possessed with the spirits of ancient mythological creatures and even gods to fight each other. Let’s just say it wasn’t winning any awards for amazing writing but it was a lot of fun and I LOVED my small corner of the fandom. It was pretty much your average shonen series of the time which meant that it had a main cast of 5 male characters (with a female lead added in the second season) and then very few minor female characters. The only actual canon ship was only made canon in a post canon addition to the manga that was not even released outside of Japan. So I bet you all are coming to the same conclusion that yes, there was incredibly bad shipping drama. The breakdown of shipping pretty much looked like this

10% slash

70% canon male/OC

20% canon male/canon female

Now to resume our story. I joined Gaia and headed over to the anime forum and found the main Beyblade thread. I posted an introduction and in it made mention that I was a fanfic writer and I liked slash. This was when I met C. I’m not going to drag her name as all of this went down over a decade ago and I hope that she’s grown as a person since then. If any of you are REALLY resourceful I mean the threads still exist. You can go find them and see just how awful it got.  

C was a year older than me and apparently the authority in these parts on all things Beyblade. She was also a writer but in her own words did not write fanfics, she wrote and posted novels. She was pretty well known in the canon/OC circles and had a pretty enthusiastic following. 

So when I came in to that thread and introduced myself I opened a can of worms. I was told that we did not discuss slash ships in this thread because it was not canon and it made some people uncomfortable. And ok, I can see that. It was cool. I was there to have fun and chat with people. I mean anyone that wanted to chat slash I could add on YIM, MSN, or LJ. However, 2 things started driving the knife into the wound.

It was not ok to talk slash but it was perfectly ok for C to discuss in depth her fanfics because it was an OC and obviously did not contradict canon as the stories were post (a currently unfinished) canon

People kept recognising me because my fanfic was exploding in popularity. So people kept bringing up slash and I’d get dragged into it as my fic was usually a catalyst for discussion. 

To keep things from escalating us slash fans decided to make our own thread to talk Beyblade slash. Now, there was some divide in the slash fandom and people pretty much shipped only Kai/Takao or Kai/Rei but for the sake of everyone’s sanity we put our shipping differences aside in the thread and aimed to make it a positive space for everyone. I mean, most of us were multishippers so we tended to just be excited to read anything that wasn’t one of the 9000 OC fics we had to wade through to find any slash. 

Whenever people would come into the main Beyblade thread now if they happened to mention slash they would get an extremely cold message from C if one of us didn’t manage to intervene first and direct the new member to our other thread. 

The other crux of the problem was Kai. Kai was probably the most popular character in the English fandom and Kai was C’s favourite character. She had an extremely specific idea of how people should interpret Kai. If anyone came into the thread and made a post like “I LOVE KAI <3 <3 <3” she would be rather unkind to them making back handed comments about how the person only liked him because he was attractive or a “bad boy” or that if they didn’t have anything to add to the thread they should leave because we didn’t like spamming in the thread. If we ever started character analysis on Kai then C had to have the last word. After all she shared some characteristics with Kai and obviously that meant that she therefore knew him the best. 

You all can probably imagine how well conversations went in this thread. I did my best to kindly welcome people to the thread, redirect them when they needed to be, and tried to calm down discussions when they got too heated. And if things got too bad in the main thread we’d just move to the slash thread and be super excellent to each other. There were days where C became so unbearable that her friends that didn’t even ship slash would come into the slash thread to hang with us because we were just really nice. 

She was also extremely pushy with her fics. Whenever fanfics would come up shed be the first to suggest to anyone that they should read her novels. She even tried it repeatedly on the slash fans. Being completely fed up I one day made her an offer that if she read one of my fics I’d read all of hers. I didn’t even specify which fic. So she could’ve chosen one of my under 5k fics and I would have agreed to read like 200k worth of her fics. She never agreed to this in all the years of me dealing with her. 

The worst part of it all was we couldn’t even really report her for harassment or anything because she was friends with a lot of moderators. The last thing any of us wanted was to get banned over some petty grievance since we’d lose all our hard work to making our avatars look fabulous. 

If the whole mess in the forums wasn’t bad enough there was 1 Beyblade guild and guess who the guild admin was. The atmosphere in said guild could best be described as… tense. Anyone that wasn’t one of C’s rabid followers ran under the constant fear that they’d be booted for saying something that didn’t agree with her narrow view of things. My best friend and I were honestly surprised that she even allowed us into the guild. But she probably couldn’t afford to outright deny us as I was a pretty prominent writer in the english slash community then and my friend was also a prominent writer and artist. 

Eventually we got tired of walking on eggshells constantly so some of the other slash fans and myself pooled our resources together and I created a second Beyblade guild. Our message was simple, we were just there to be a safe haven for ALL fans of the series. We were expecting pretty much the people from the slash thread and then maybe a handful of other people to join.

The entire fandom on Gaia over the course of a couple days abandoned C’s guild and joined ours. Whereas before we created ours hers was on a steady traffic decline our guild was BOOMING with posts. 

Unfortunately the oldest mail I have is from 2007 on Gaia so I don’t have any screenshots of this but C was understandably upset that we’d sniped her entire user base. We did try to smooth it over with her saying that that was never our intention but it ended with her sending me a message that literally said “ok, you win” and this is something I still think about over a decade later. It forever shifted how I perceive antis. 

My whole time in fandom I’d just been here trying to have a good time. I didn’t intend to become fandom famous. I didn’t intend to be in charge of one of the most active Beyblade forums at the time. I wasn’t trying to change C’s mind or fight her. And this whole time she’d thought I’d been fighting against her because we had different views on the series. 

The last episode of Beyblade G Revolution aired in September 2005, her guild officially closed in 2006 and the fandom eventually started drifting into other things. I stayed active in it until probably 2008 when personal stuff drew me out of fandom and then officially took a leave from fandom in 2009 when my best friend passed away. I don’t know what happened to C but I know she was still writing her novels at that point. Whenever I see fandom drama brewing I always think back to her and how frustrated she used to make me and then I think of the “ok, you win” and I’m just left feeling sad for her and people like her. I just don’t understand how people can let their hearts be so consumed by hatred and self righteousness that it poisons their entire fandom experience. I guess that’s a conversation for another time.

One final comment that I would like to make here since I didn’t know where to fit it in above is that my one friend was completely DONE with C one day and we were talking to each other and she was like “she acts like her fics save lives in Africa!” and honestly this is the most perfect description of C’s attitude. Like good for her for believing in her writing but there is sometimes a point where you need to chill out with self promotion. 

[almaasi]

reaction post typed while watching SPN 14x02 “Gods and Monsters”

Cas gives the softest, most loving advice, full of character growth, and hello yes where’s the petition for me to adopt him as my angel dad

03:13pm

the title reminds me of Lana Del Rey’s song of the same name, and/or the cover of the song from American Horror Story, and by extension, that song has reminded me of Cas in purgatory ever since purgatory became a thing. i used to sing that song to my rat Barty, definitely up there in my favourite songs of all time

-

oh no this is a deadly duo episode

immediate dread

hrhrhhhhhhh

please don’t make me hate the song

-

03:15pm

here we go

-

03:18

michael!dean: “yyeeesss... good boy”

on the one hand, yes dean please do praise other men like that while giving them something to drink, please do that a lot

but on the other hand NOT THEIR OWN BLOOD PLEASE and it would be great if you had their consent and you weren’t possessed while doing it

in other words: yes but NO but yes

file thing under sexy things i would rather came with a different context

-

03:22

bobby: "voracity”

mmm good word

-

03:24

sam: “cas you know why you can’t come with us, right?”

cas: “my angelic presence will be sensed by michael, thereby nullifying your hopes of a sneak attack”

okay while that’s probably true, WHAT a buLLSHIT REASON TO KEEP CAS AWAY FROM DEAN BECAUSE IT’LL END UP BEING ANOTHER “I LOVE YOU PLEASE FIGHT THIS AND COME BACK TO ME” SCENE

like i know people were complaining cas was kind of useless last episode but THIS TAKES IT TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL

YEAH LET’S JUST DO A SNEAK ATTACK AGAINST A SUPER-POWERED ANGEL MANIAC WITHOUT THE MOST POWERFUL ALLY WE HAVE

great idea

last episode’s uselessness was kind of explainable and excusable but this one was just like “hey let’s point out exactly what we’re doing under the guise of a real reason”

-

03:28

cas: “nick is *chuckles* just a mess”

sam: “it’s not his fault”

H

WHAT

HOW DOES CAS NOT ALREADY KNOW IT’S NOT NICK’S FAULT

CAS IS MADE OF EMPATHY

WHAT

unless the squint is cas’ surprise that sam understands nick’s predicament

-

03:32

nick: “i don’t get how i could let lucifer possess me”

um.... victim blaming much

cas: “you were in a lot of pain, and lucifer saw a vulnerability, and he exploited it”

this is probably destiel tbh, given lucifer possessed cas for half a season and basically used that time to mess with dean’s feelings

-

03:35

bobby: “if they were doa, do you have an eta on tod?”

i probably watch too many murder mysteries if i knew what that meant before i even realised he was using acronyms

LIVER TEMP

-

03:38

aww but isn’t this cute?? sam gets to run a case with his mom and his kind-of-dad <3 <3 <3

FAMILY BONDING OVER DEAD BODIES

...i.e. my family yesterday

-

03:40

you know, i just realised what bothered me about sam saying “you know why you need to stay behind, right cas?”

it’s not the fact cas stays behind, because he’s clearly needed here in the bunker, and he gets his story, and he gets to do stuff, and we get to see soft caring cas. so i’m not mad.

but what bothers me is the... i guess condescension from sam? not in his voice, since jared acted just right, but in the script. the fact sam had to give a reason, and ask if cas knew why. and it could’ve just been cas saying “hey you know what, i don’t wanna screw up your mission, i’ll stay”

and maybe sam could’ve argued a little and then cas puts his foot down and say no (and maybe cas doesn’t want to see dean possessed because it’ll hurt too much)

 that would’ve read better to me

-

03:45

how the hell do they have old books on angels in the bunker library??? before angels showed up in season 4 nobody saw them for years???? and i thought there were no books on them

how does jack come up with figures like “a month” to replenish archangel grace

-

03:47

jack: “what did you have left?”

cas: “well - i had sam and dean”

the way he says that makes me smile

and i love that this season they seem to be going for a “cas knows he’s loved” thing

cas: “just basic me.... as dean would say, without all the bells and whistles”

<3 <3 <3

-

03:49

“the past... is important, but it’s not as important as where you’re going”

can cas be my dad pls

-

03:51

oh nick has muscle memory defence mechanisms leftover from lucifer

-

03:52

cas: “even though he’s departed, there may still be some of his influence within you”

i snorted... “influence”

spn conventions ruined that word

i can’t imaging misha got through that line without making dirty jokes at least 5 times

-

03:57

*crosses fingers* pLEASE LET THIS ELEGANT BROWN LADY IN THE RED DRESS NOT DIE HORRIBLY and/or be raped or something

i don’t trust a red dress, too close to a red shirt

-

04:00

micheal: “now... summon your master”

oh no is this gonna be another one of those familiar-is-a-brown-person-and-the-white-master-has-sex-with-them things

(sidenote edit after watching this episode: i feel like the deadly duo has been sliiiiightly less racist and sexist in recent episodes they’ve written? i mean a woman died this episode and a background black dude, but i wonder if they’re Trying Hard and i’m (we’re?) ignoring progress because of past mistakes. still not a fan, but... i sense something a little different here. just a bit??? mayhaps. could be wrong. time will tell.)

-

04:04

cas: “in all my thousands of years... what happened to jimmy novak.. is my greatest regret”

for reasons unknown this became my favourite cas moment this season so far

-

04:06

there’s a lot of jensen in michael’s expressions, it’s weird

-

04:08

also feeling weird about the fact michael seduced a woman to get to her male boss??

if he could track down that lady, why wouldn’t he just straight-up track down the dude instead? i mean, besides heteronormativity and establishing michael as Straight

but then again, maybe it’s a bisexual subtext

he acts like he wants the woman but actually wants the man

okay, that makes more sense, way less weird now

-

04:11

jack: “mrs kline?”

HE JUST MET HIS GRANDMOTHER

I IMMEDIATELY WANT GRANDMA & GRANDSON ADVENTURES AND BOSS BATTLES

-

04:18

i love this shot

thank u richard speight jr

-

04:21

NO DON’T TELL CAS THINGS ABOUT DEAN DYING IT WILL HURT HIM A LOT

-

you know what, at some point this season i wanna see cas bawling his eyes out and ugly crying because of dean

but then being happily reunited with him and everything is fine

(and then they kiss)

-

04:24

oooooh boy maybe nick’s friend was the murderer, that flicker in his face gave it away.........

nick’s gonna murder him isn’t he

and then trigger something and have some kind of ex-lucifer power

which is gonna cause a huge fuss but at some point is gonna be directed at michael

-

04:32

oop no, nick was maybe the murderer, and his friend saw him coming out and was trying to protect him.

fffffffffffffffffffascinating

-

well it’s over~

not a bad episode? favourite bit was cas imparting good advice, and jack being jack, and then dean talking to sam at the end

probably not an episode i’ll remember a single thing about in 2 months, besides gifsets of cas from this episode showing up in character growth compilations on my dash for the next 5 years

but a decent bridging episode between the last part of the story and the next, i think

i guess this season’s starting slow and working up to something, and it’s clearly going somewhere. i await more lady characters having episodes of their own, and fun monster of the week episodes with team free will ?? please and thank. in general they’re the best ones imo

also... i thought of this while jack was talking to his grandparents: i kind of feel like they’re trying to wrap some loose ends up, just a bit. the season-4-onwards story seems to be coming full circle with michael and lucifer, i think sam will probably end up being some sort of vessel for lucifer (?) at some point, again

but that’s a theory and there’s no telling what direction anything is gonna go in, given the track record of setting up plots and then not following through

not as bad as merlin though, nothing will ever top the lack of follow-through like merlin did. still salty so many years later

but ?? i am not disappointed by this episode so that’s good right

8.5/10 maybe

OKAY COOL

[beanymachine]

Voltron Season 6 Review

Hello, welcome to my Review! I hope what I say makes you think and see a different perspective on the show. If you want to say what you think I’d love to hear it! 

Anyways I’m going to list a lot of stuff I thought was well executed. The episodes did a good progression of an eerie feeling grow more and more. The first episode helps start this tone with Shiro getting headaches from Haggar, Lance dying and being revived, and Hunk learning more about the Galra’s history and culture. This and other parts of the episode help set up some important stuff throughout the season:

-What’s up with Shiro?

-Lance and Allura’s relationship and well as Allura and Lotor

-Culture

-And power (quintencess or however you spell it)

The second episode of the series then talks about Keith and his past, to start finishing the development of his character and the problems he had. Keith’s journey is also important as it leads to Lotor’s backstory and motives. Another thing the episode does is bring in a major theme of the season: Love.

Throughout the season we see how Lance deals with the fact that he IS in love with Allura and how Allura and Lotor are getting closer and closer. And we see how love can hurt when it doesn’t work out between two people, or when it isn’t reciprocated.

You know, like how Allura called out Lotor and made him flip his lid.

But we also deal with familial love. In Keith’s past we see how he was when he had a whole family and how they all loved each other (Keith was a baby so he’s really just goo goo ga ga). And how Krolia loves Keith and at one point hugged him to try to shield him from a wave of whatever.

There is also the very big and impactful scene where Keith and Shiro are battling and he tells Shiro to please stop because he’s his brother and that he loves him. It made the Possessed Clone Shiro twitch and hesitate, and then tried telling Keith to give up on him. And Keith even decides to die with him because he won’t leave him alone or give up on him, just like he did for Keith. And luckily the original Shiro and Keith are able to reunite.

Back to the tone of dread, the season does well building up to multiple climax points, like how Lotor’s dirty secret is found out, Clone Shiro being discovered as a clone and him and Keith fighting, the big battle with Voltron vs Lotor and how Lotor losing his mind, and him eventually being left to supposedly die in the quintencess realm.

The Animation was stellar (Haha get it? I’ll go now) with the fight scene of Clone Shiro vs. Keith, Lotor going mad, and the big Voltron fight.

Also it was a good choice to put Monsters and Mana for a breather episode right before things start going downhill.

Lotor’s fall into madness was excellent too along with his animation and expressions.

I’m also glad Hunk got a bit of spotlight. I know people say he doesn’t get much of a chance to rise and shine, but honestly do you really want to see him go through possibly a lot of emotional or physical pain? Plus it seemed like he was developed basically in the first season and pretty much fully developed I think. I can understand if people want more chances for him to shine. He did use his canon a lot in the last battle of this season so hopefully that will be enough for some. It’s enough for me at least.

With this being said, I’m now going to point out some things that I think could’ve been improved.

1. Keith’s abandonment issues and the two year timeskip, as well as the message sends.

Keith I’m sure is almost done developing and is almost whole like Pidge and Hunk. But the way it was done was good but left some stuff out.

First, the last season left off Keith’s relationship with his mom to be a startling new one that most would expect to be in anger and why Krolia left and the demand for answers. And we get that at the beginning of Razor’s Edge. However Keith doesn’t freak out as much as I’d suspect he would when he sees visions of his past. But what I do not like most is the two year time skip.

Keith apparently spends two years with Krolia on that space whale. That leaves many questions as to how he and Krolia talked about Keith’s issues. How did he deal with his fear that he’ll be abandoned or he’s not wanted, or that he thinks he has to prove himself useful and fast in fear of not being wanted? How did Krolia react and try to parent Keith in their strained relationship? Was their relationship even strained for long? If I found my space mom I never met before and she left me as a baby, and didn’t tell me immediately why she left, I’d be really upset and demand answers as fast as I could get it.

Also in this time Keith matured and grew. He became less hasty and when he case back to the team he immediately took the Black Lion without being scared of being a good leader or replacing Shiro. He grew that much! He went from point A to point B, but we never saw it. It’s a vital thing to see how he learned and healed from whatever he was dealing with, not just for viewers, but to perhaps reflect real life as well. I think we should’ve seen it in case anyone was dealing with the same problems as Keith and understood him as well as his thinking from the help of his mom to grow, live, and move on.

Instead we get a timeskip and miss out two years of Keith’s life. And we STILL don’t know his relationship with his mom! Are the cool now? Does he understand and forgive her? Is he at least comfortable being around her or are they at least friendly? Or are they on good terms and on the path to having a good mother and son relationship?

Also, WHAT’S THE DOG’S NAME??? Keith basically took a two year vacation with his mom and had a dog of his own. Like he got to live a little bit of the childhood that he lost without his mother. And I think that’s pretty important. It is a nice thought of how Keith got to be happy, heal, and relax with a dog he got to have and probably loves, while spending time with his mom. But we don’t know if it’s really that or he just was stuck on a whale with his unknown mom and his dog as his closest thing to a friend in a very awkward situation.

Not only that but there’s another message I don’t like as well. Maybe I interpreted wrong. It also may be a situation where one message can be sent or the other and both are equally important.

The idea that you need to know your past, who was in it, to find out who you are. Sure, the past crafts us into the person we are today, and anyone who is an orphan has the right to find out their past. But what you do in the present, and how you move on from you or others’ past mistakes to move forward is what makes you who you are. If you are trying to become a better person from mistakes you made, then you’ll slowly change into the person that you want to be.

It is good to know what runs in your blood and what race you are- Galra or Altean. But it matters to you as a living being what you do, what you want to do, how you need to get there, and if you are going to change or need to.

I thought Keith would learn about his past and see that his real family was with Shiro and the Voltron team. They were with him in a lot of life and death battles. I thought he was going to see more of how important they are to him. But it’s also the fact that no one stopped him or mentioned they missed Keith. I mean I’m sure they did but no one vocalized. Either meaning that they thought it was something they thought that wasn’t needed to be said, or that he wasn’t that important. Which is a lie since many of them hug him goodbye and some tear up when Keith is leaving for the Blade of Momora.

Hopefully they’ll tell us what he did during the two year timeskip for Keith in the next season or in the future and this is all part of their plan for the show. If not... I don’t know what to say yet.

2. The Altean Lady

The Altean Lady, or Romelle is the one that tells us of what Lotor did for the remaining Alteans and what he did with them. I would be fine if she was just introduced to bring his backstory and not be another in depth side character. But the thing is, I’m not sure if the writers were trying to chracterize her by giving her her side of the past or not.

Romelle is supposed to be a survivor and tell the crew what’s up with Lotor. She does this while telling of how her brother was caught up in it and how she reacted to it. And if this is her backstory or another one then it’s fine. But the way Keith introduced her to team Voltron made me think she was going to be a kinda important or at least a vocalized side character for the rest of the season. She takes the light for one episode, but then is just in the background later on. She reacts the same with the paladins when Shiro is on the ground in the last episode, but they way she is shown makes it seem like she is reacting strongly. Why should she? She doesn’t know these people. And yes I’d be sad or upset at seeing someone die, but it made her seem like she knew him when she didn’t.

And she’s still in the background and looks a bit plain but has enough detail on her for you to think “oh, her design makes her seem like she’ll be important this season as not just a reason for Lotor’s motivation and crimes, but as a person too) but that doesn’t happen. Maybe I’m confused on all this and maybe they’ll do something with her next season and characterize her. I hope they don’t think by giving her backstory will be enough characterization.

3. I want friendship darn it!

I wanted to see more friendship between Keith and Lance. I honestly thought these two would reunite and join together to somehow find the real Shiro. Maybe this is my own fault.

It’s just there were that red and blue star in the astral plane and I thought “oh hey, it’s foreshadowing that they are the only two that will be able to save Shiro”. I also thought that because they were both having issues about their place on the team and whether they think they are valued as not just teammates but as people and friends too. I thought the two would become closer as friends and be there to support each other and figure the puzzle pieces out as to why Shiro is acting weird and be the main characters or this season. That’s what I predicted anyway.

Also maybe I interpreted the trailer for Season 6 wrong because it made it seem like Keith and Lance’s reunion would be significant to the plot of the season. And maybe the trailer was going for that. Either way I don’t think it would’ve been the writers and animators fault but maybe the people who edited the trailer instead. But it’s not a big deal.

But now after this season, perhaps the red and blue star forshadowed the candidates closest to contacting Shiro and finding out about the Clone stuff. Or maybe it was foreshadowing Allura and Lances relationship to possible become romantic since they pilot the Red and Blue lions (I saw someone say something about this, I don’t know who said it but if you know please tell me. Just know I didn’t think that up myself or got inspired from it!)

But the stars appeared during season 2 right? So maybe it was referencing the red and blue lion switching pilots. Or the thing it’s foreshadowing still hasn’t come yet and it’s still possibly about Keith and Lance since those are their basic trademark colors.

To add to this I wish I could’ve seen more on how Pidge and Hunk reacted when they saw Keith’s return and change, as well as his family and some random Altean. It seemed only Lance really noticed which now makES ME FURTHER THINK THEIR RELATIONSHIP WILL DEVELOP MORE! ARE THEY FRIENDS OR WHAT?! SEASON 3 MADE IT SEEM LIKE THEY WERE BECOMING CLOSE FRIENDS AT LEAST AND NOT DUMB CLICHÉ RIVALRY!!!

I don’t know we’ll have to wait and see... again.

One last subject I want to note is how people are fearing Lance will be a rebound to Allura’s fast relationship and breakup with Lotor.

I know I don’t discuss ships on here, but if it’s strongly implied one character loves another one, then I’ll probably talk about it or do art on it.

Anyways, there’s no evidence Lance will be used like that from Allura of the creators yet. Allura knows Lance loves her, and knew he really, really does (or maybe did?). Not a crush but a love that can blossom into a romantic relationship. She knows this but still goes after Lotor. And I’m okay with that.

She chose Lotor because she had stronger feelings for him at that time. She didn’t feel the same way about Lance, but during Monsters and Mana, I think she saw Lance in a different light. And she didn’t really try to create feelings just because she knew Lance has some for her since those wouldn’t be true feelings and just pity, at least that’s how I saw it. After the whole thing with Lotor, perhaps she’ll think more about what to do about the two of them later.

The thing is now there are two paths. Down one, Allura deals with her breakup at a normal time and moves on, so that if she does have a romantic relationship with Lance, it will have a hopefully healthy start and actually grow to be a strong healthy one.

One another path, is the one where she tries to get over Lotor immediately and some time passes and grows to fall for Lance, but it can possibly lead to issues as to whether or not she does love Lance or had strong feelings for him, or is still confused and not completely over Lotor, or has some feelings for Lance but it hasn’t let them grown enough yet to let her possibly be in love with him and they try to date but it ends when the her feelings haven’t grown strong enough and the chances of them being together die out.

Or, there’s the third out-of-no where path where it’s nothing we guessed and we are all wrong and it’s something maybe we should’ve seen coming, or it’s an out of no where development.

Either way, we’ll probably know next season if Lance and Allura’s relationship will be endgame or stay friends, or happen but won’t work out and hopefully stay as friends.

Well, that’s my review of the season. It was my first time waiting for a new season of the show, and I guess now I’m more attached to the characters and the show. At first I really wanted to watch it just to know what’s going on and see people’s reaction to the season. It’s still that and I’m happy and laughing at some reactions because they resonate a bit with me and let me feed on their emotion (mwahahaha) but it’s also that I wanted to see if I would like the show more when getting hyped about it or people’s reactions and the payoff it would give. And I’d say it was pretty good!

So, uh... yeah! Thanks for reading! If you want to talk about stuff you can comment on this post! I’d love to hear what you have to say about the season and what you think is in store or what to expect.

Well now I hope we get the release date for the next season soon! But that’s probably wishful thinking. I just heard that they did that after the last season was realeased immediately. But that’s okay. The crew deserves a break after their hard work. And there’s so much art, comics, memes, and more we can make from this new season, so we’ll live for now. Heheh.

Thanks for reading! Bye! Have a nice day!

[katara0524]

RWBY Speculation: Will Ruby Be Captured in this Volume (or in a Later Volume)? *UPDATED*

So, I’m not a theorist in any way, shape or form, but I really felt like I had to get this off my chest because literally NO ONE has seemed to mention anything about Salem’s intentions for Ruby. So I brought it upon myself to put together this post for ya’ll. You’re welcome. (I think.)

DISCLAIMER: This post is mostly speculation, and not everything is held up by evidence. Some inspiration/speculation for this post came from some of @calxiyn‘s videos.

With Volume 5 now in full swing, fans will be piecing together theories 24/7. But, one theory that I haven’t ever seen talked about is the fact that Salem has plans for our favorite Silver-Eyed warrior (SEW), yet we don’t know what exactly what these plans are. I’ve watched countless theory, reaction, and analysis videos, and read pretty much every speculation thread I can, yet no one has seemed to mention anything about Ruby possibly being taken off to Salem’s castle (is it a castle? I’m calling it a castle.) in the near future, whether it’s in this Volume or a later one.  Of course, there ARE going to be 14 episodes this season, so anything’s possible, I guess… 

Anyways, seeing how things are currently going for Ruby and the gang, we can safely assume that she could very likely be captured this Volume, most likely by someone other than Tyrian since he already failed in retrieving her once.

Even in the last moments of the V5 intro, as RWBY is running towards Salem, Ruby looks a little bit afraid of her, while the rest of her teams just looks determined. Of course, the intro should be taken with a grain of salt, since several things from the last intros never made it into the show (like Weiss vs. Emerald in V2 and V3).

So, I’m basically going to present 4 different scenarios of what could go down once Ruby is taken to Salem’s castle. 

Scenario #1: Cinder will attempt to kill Ruby.

We’re all too familiar with the infamous scene in the Volume 3 finale. Upon seeing Pyrrha’s tragic death, Ruby activates the power of her Silver Eyes in sorrow, unleashing it onto Cinder and Kevin the Dragon.

Then, in the Volume 4 premiere, we see that a now severely debilitated Cinder is itching to get revenge against Ruby, even expressing intense anger towards the other members of Salem’s faction whenever they poke fun at her misfortune. 

Later, in the finale of Volume 4, we see that Cinder’s hatred for the protagonist hasn’t faded one bit. Emerald creates a hallucination of Ruby for Cinder to practice using her Maiden powers on. Even Salem herself watches this, and appears to express some satisfaction in the brutal murder of the vision (though it could be that she’s simple pleased with Cinder’s progress). 

Now, in this scenario, I believe that Ruby will be brought to Salem’s castle (obviously), and thrown into a battle against Cinder. Cinder will go on full-on Fall Maiden (aka “Avatar State”), while Ruby will use the full(?) extent of the SEW powers.

Because of each character’s desire to seek vengeance on the other, this scenario can make a lot of sense. But before we come to any conclusions, let’s take a look at some other probable situation that could explain Salem’s intentions.

Scenario #2: Salem will somehow steal Ruby’s powers.

Now, I know what ya’ll may be thinking:

“Marii, now you’ve REALLY gone crazy! There’s no evidence for this!”

I hear you, comment section. Just let me state my case. Besides, this is all just speculation, so chill out. XD

If you’ve ever seen any theories about Salem, you may know of one that suggests that Salem was once a SEW herself (according to her supposedly having Silver Eyes in the concept art she was seen in).

In this speculation, Salem somehow became corrupted and turned into the evil ruler of the Creatures of Grimm we all know today. It is also theorized that she gained the power to “absorb” or even “steal” the SEW abilities from other Warriors. Some even believe that this is what could have happened to Summer Rose. Perhaps this is what Ruby’s fate could’ve lead to if she wasn’t the main protagonist.

It seems very unlikely, but it’s still a plausible outcome.

Scenario #3: Salem will possess Ruby in order to gain her powers.

This one is pretty similar to the previous scenario, but instead of Salem simply taking Ruby’s powers, she could possibly just straight-up possess her, or absorb her soul in some way.

Much like the last situation, there are many theories about Salem possibly being a former SEW. Some of these theories state that Salem could have the ability to absorb the souls of other SEW’s, or even just possess them. This could also possibly explain Summer Rose’s fate.

If you look at one of Salem’s hands, you can see a ring or bracelet resembling a beetle of some sort. This might be just the thing that Salem could use the possess other SEW’s, much like the glove (which might I add also had a beetle in it) that Cinder used to steal the Fall Maiden powers from Amber in V3.

But, of course, we won’t know until more information is revealed about this mysterious villain before we can come to a conclusion like this.

Scenario #4: Salem will manipulate Ruby, and turn her over to their side.

Now, this is the scenario that I’m most on board with. It also seems the most probable to actually happen.

If you recall the World of Remnant episode about the huntsman and huntresses, the final seconds of the video could very well be foreshadowing this exact situation…

Ozpin, the narrator of the V2 WoR episodes, says this: “…all are expected to serve humanity, and never succumb to the darkness.”

As he states this, a silhouette of Ruby in front of the moon is shown on screen. This moment here has to be foreshadowing if I’ve ever seen it. After all, why would RUBY of all people be shown during a statement like this? Seems a little fishy to me… :/

What I predict could happen, is that when Ruby is taken to Salem’s castle, Salem will “push her buttons” and manipulate her into joining Salem, forcing the girl to use her SEW abilities against the rest of our heroes.

In the V4 director commentary (which I had the privilege of seeing during V5 premiere in theatres), Kerry himself talks about Salem being really good at getting others to do her bidding, and she does so by hitting a the “weak spots,” so to speak. For example, she can easily manipulate Tyrian by using his obsession with pleasing her, and she only has to tell him that she’s disappointed in him to set him off, and he’ll punish himself and make sure he doesn’t fail her again.

With this information, we can predict that Salem will use this same tactic on Ruby in order to get her to “succumb to the darkness,” as the WoR episode states.

So far, I can definitely say that this one is my favorite. It has a lot more evidence to back it up than the others do, as well.

If/When Ruby is captured, what will it mean for the others?

Now that I’ve gone through the different scenarios of what could happen to our protagonist, let’s talk about what  Ruby’s capture will mean for the rest of our heroes.

To start out with, Ruby could very well be the only one who’s able to stop Salem, for all we know. And if Ruby’s gone, Salem wins. So, if (or when) Ruby gets taken away, the rest of the crew will HAVE to go after her, no matter what. Even if it means losing a few battles along the way (like the Fall of Haven?). If their only hope of saving the world disappears, then Remnant is royally screwed. (Now, obviously she won’t die or join Salem’s side permanently, because she’s the main character, but that doesn’t mean she’s necessarily invincible, either.)

What will be most interesting to see, however, is how everyone copes with Ruby’s kidnapping. Surely they’d all be sad or angry. Some might even hit a breaking point. However, Miles and Kerry might have other ideas in store for us…either way, it’ll be really interesting to see how our main cast deals with this tragedy, and how they plan to get their friend back (seriously tho i rlly wanna see them all unit and rescue Ruby as a team; make it happen, RT!)

More Evidence *SPOILERS FOR V5C2*

Also, I think Chapter 2 hinted at Ruby’s capture.

Whenever Cinder asks Salem about keeping Ruby alive, Salem says this:

“Never underestimate the usefulness of others. Take Leonardo; he was one of Ozpin’s most trusted, and yet, now…”

“…If Ruby Rose has learned to harness her gift, then you must take care to protect yours.”

Not only is it interesting that Salem says Ruby’s name (though she probably just got it from Cinder), but she also talked about how Lionheart was turned against Ozpin. Sure, she may just be referring to using the bandits to get the Spring Maiden, but I’m pretty sure she means that she’s going to use Ruby against the rest of our heroes. (also I want to know what she meant by Cinder protecting her Maiden powers; maybe it’s the same reason why Cinder got messed up by Ruby?)

Also, the RWBY banner for the RT Site depicts Team RWBY, but the background is of the Grimmscape. I may be looking too far into this, but if Ruby DOES in fact get taken off the Salem, really the only place she’d be is IN the Grimmscape, right?

Now, do I WANT any of these to happen? Well, yes and no. Yes, because it means we’d get some much-needed development for several characters. No, because each scenario involves hurting my favorite character (and all the others, too), which hurts my heart. T-T

What do ya’ll think? Is Ruby going to be capture by Salem and her forces? If so, when do you think it’ll happen; in Volume 5, or later on? Which outcome do you think will come to fruition? Do you have any ideas for other scenarios? Am I just another crazy RWBY fan who needs  to chill out? Let me know in the comments below! Sorry for the super long post, but I hope ya’ll enjoyed my rambling anyway. :)

-Marii

[theenetflixnerd]

Th1rteen R3asons Why: Prepare to Be Obsessed.

SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

I thought for this recap/review  I would stick to the theme with 13 reasons of my own.

13 reasons why I LOVED  (or Not Loved) THIS SHOW (and BOOK)

The Loved List

1. The Cast - Katherine Langford (Hannah) is amazing (some Aussie pride over here!) and I feel she does total justice to the lead character, she made it completely believable and relatable.  I also loved seeing Ross Butler (Zach) in another role, as I already love him as Reggie in The CWs Riverdale! Only wish we could’ve seen more of him. It’s always an honour to have Kate Walsh (Hannah’s mom) grace the screen, I’ve been a fan since Private Practice. I felt that all the cast were perfectly chosen and brought their characters stories to life in a magical way. I couldn’t imagine any of the roles with another actor. They were amazing and a great fresh young cast who I am sure will soon be taking Hollywood by storm! 

2. The Narrative Format - I absolutely LOVE Jay Asher’s narrative concept for this story. The tapes, the voice, the whole idea and concept just adds to the whole kind of 'thrilling’ feeling which perfectly suits the haunting story of Hannah Baker. I think it’s an extremely unique narrative and it works so well with this particular theme and topic by adding so much more depth and emotion to the story. I don’t reckon that such an important and serious theme could’ve been addressed half as well or as appropriately with any other narrative. It worked perfectly together.

3. The Storylines - The storylines are all fabulous. The book and main storyline about the suicide of Hannah Baker and what lead her to her decision is something I think is extremely important to tell in today’s society with teen depression and cases of teen suicide scarily on the rise and being one  of the leading causes for teen death. It’s haunting, it’s honest, it’s raw, and most importantly it’s so damn real.  Also the individual story for each ‘character’ / ‘tape’ / ‘episode’ are so incredible. Each character has their own unique storyline of how they fitted into Hannah’s life and became a part of her final decision. Most of the stories were exceptionally well suited to their respective character , but some of them left me sad as I really expected more from those characters (especially Zach & Justin but more on them later). Having said that though, it was all fitting to the main story, and wouldn’t have been the same otherwise.

4. The Characters - All of the characters were relatable and wonderfully portrayed. One of my favourite characters was Zach -  mainly because he is played by Ross Butler, but I honestly think he was one of the nicer guys and I really feel like Hannah could’ve come to a different outcome if she’d given him more of chance instead of just brushing him off - but I do also understand she had her reasons for reacting the way she did. I really enjoyed watching each character’s story unfold through out this series as they each had an extremely unique and definite personality, and story. Justin was a character I also enjoyed as I could really feel his pain, and I think he was not a bad guy, but his life lead him to make a couple of bad decisions himself. Everyone has their own demons that they’re battling against and I think that this show perfectly portrays this how all of us are dealing with our own personal issues which cause things to work out the way they do. (I love how the show focuses on each of the characters and also explores the aftermath of how listening to the tapes affected each of their lives (whereas the book only really concentrates on Clays thoughts as he is listening to the tapes and doesn’t really give us much background into the other characters, the show really gives us insight into each of their personal lives and their relationships with one another).

5. The Interweaving -  I also loved seeing in the show how each of the characters were connected to one another and how their relationships are affected by the demise of Hannah. Of course all of them have played some part in her final decision and it’s heartbreaking for them to realise the consequences of what they had done, even though for most of them it was unintentional. They now also become connected by all their secrets as the 13 of them are now fully aware of the secrets of each other and they have to work together to try and keep Hannah’s accusations and their guilt from going ‘public’ which they’re all afraid the ‘stand up, good guy’ , Clay might do - as even Hannah admits - ‘one of these things is not like the others’ and Clay in a sense doesn’t really belong on the list - but I guess Hannah feels she owes him a kind of explanation.

6. The Acting -  The acting is mostly brilliant in this show. I have to give special recognition to the actor Justin Prentice in this segment as I think he did a phenomenal job. Justin Prentice played the character of ‘Bryce Walker’ who is basically the ‘villain’ of the season, he is pig headed and absolutely disgusting , typical jock type guy with less than ZERO respect for women (and his friends) who thinks his money can buy him out of any problem and get him whatever he wantes. He honestly had me HATING him at the end of this show, and I had developed kind of a personal vendetta against him wishing he’d been the one who was dead in Hannah’s stead. Only a few days later I was watching an interview (13 reasons why: beyond the reasons - special available on Netflix under trailers and more) and I realised - ‘Crap. Like he’s (Prentice) a hot, genuinely cool guy. Bryce is just a character.’ He explained how hard it was to bring this character to life. It was a real challenge as it would’ve I’m sure hit a few nerves and touched on a LOT of raw emotions, and sensitive issues. So major props to him for creating such a believable character!

7. Tony & His Mustang -  Tony, played by Christian Navarro, is like half the reason to love this show. Man, Tony is just so effortlessly suave and sexy (but sorry ladies - he’s gay!) and he just happens to continuously appear at the right place and at the right time. I love his kind of mysterious, guardian angel aura that portrays on the show as he follows Clay around and supports him as he tries to get through listening to the tapes. Not that he needs another reason to be sexier but he drives and adores his vintage, red MUSTANG! Dayum! (I’m not sure if I loved Tony or the ‘Mustang’ more to be honest haha) .... He was a major part of the shows success and It wouldn’t have been half as incredible without him in it. 

8.The Messages-  I think that all in all the message that this show tells is one of EXTREME importance : It needs to be heard. It raises awareness of a very important issue which should not be hushed out and kept silent. It’s a shout out to a number of groups too. To Depressed Teens : SILENCE IS NOT STRENGTH!!! PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. OPEN UP TO SOMEONE. If you’re thinking sad, depressive and suicidal thoughts, don’t keep them bottled up inside your mind, speak about them, say them out loud, admit your feelings don’t hide them away from those around you. People can’t help you if they don’t know what’s going on inside your head. Some one will always be willing to listen. You just have to speak to the right person. To Teenagers (Humans) in general : DON’T BE AN A**HOLE. You never know how what you do may affect some one and slowly be chipping away at their identity. Be kind. Show Respect! and LISTEN. Read between the lines, be there for people, and provide a ‘safe space’ and an opportunity for them to reach out. Don’t ignore subtle hints! Take EVERYTHING seriously, let them know they are loved. Let them know you CARE! To Adults , Parents and Councellors. Be PRESENT. Be AVAILABLE. Don’t undermine their feelings. If something is troubling them - it’s troubling them for a valid reason - don’t make them feel silly, or like they are over reacting. If they are upset they HAVE THE ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO FEEL THE WAY THEY DO. Help them overcome it, help them deal with it and remember: the worst thing you can tell someone who is hurting is to ‘MOVE ON’. Their emotions are ALWAYS justified - don’t disrespect their feelings by minimising them. To EVERYONE - whatever we say or do can affect someone else in ways we could never know or imagine. Pay attention to how you treat others! 

The Not so Loved List

8.  The Sexist Themes - I really was affected by the sexism portrayed especially as it’s not just a show and / or story - this is happening IN REAL LIFE. Boys today (and I’m sorry for generalising here, I admit I know it’s not all of you, I know there are still stand-up, genuine gentlemen somewhere out there, they just happen to be the exception rather than the rule these days) have such a little, if any respect for the female body. In this show particularly, it’s as if the girls are viewed as a trophy or a plaything and nothing more - they are not treated as respected, independent, strong individuals - but rather they (girls) are expected to just be taken advantage of allow the boys to ‘take’ their own pleasure from them ( I say this because of two separate rape incidents within this story where the girls did NOT give consent and yet the boys went ahead anyway taking advantage of the vulnerability). Girls are viewed a prize or possession something which can be owned and just because they ‘have the hottest ass’ or the ‘best lips’ now every guy has the ‘right’ (sarcasm here) to just grab the ass, or make out with her whenever he feels like it. It’s absolute rubbish. Any guy who thinks like this is madly flawed in his reasoning - under NO CIRCUMSTANCE should a girl EVER BE TOUCHED UNLESS SHE HAS GRANTED HIS PERMISSION TO DO SO. (And the same goes for guys! Girls shouldn’t throw themselves over them unless the attraction and desire is MUTUALLY acknowledged). It’s a two way thing and BOTH PARTIES involved should have an EQUAL say! Mutual respect is important in any relationship. It doesn’t take much longer to take the time to say, ‘this is what we’re about to do? Is that okay with you?’ make them feel secure and supported.

9.  The Teenage Stupidity -  I was horrified once again by the realisation that this is how teenagers actually treat eachother. More than just in the book or series this is REAL LIFE. It’s so sad to think about how stupid, and naive and unintentional actions can have such harsh, and permanent consequences. I am so glad I am no longer in high school right now - if I had to see these things going on around me I’d be crushed. When did our generation become so cruel? so uncaring? This is not the kind of future we want to raise our kids into .. is it? Let’s get some respect and healthy relationships back into fashion. Let’s raise our girls to be strong, confident, loving and trusting and our boys to be protective, caring, kind and respectful. We are the future and it starts with us! Let’s not just ignore overlook the seriousness of these issues. BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD, have a little chat with the (WO)MAN in the MIRROR!

10. The Selfishness - There are more than one areas where I felt selfishness could’ve been avoided and Hannah’s story could’ve had a different outcome. First instance is with the other characters - each of them performed selfish actions (Alex selfishly wrote the list to make himself feel better and get his revenge on Jess, Ryan selfishly published Hannah’s private poem, Bryce, Marcus and Tyler all used Hannah to selfishly satisfy themselves in their own ways). Second instance is Hannah herself - she was extremely selfish in her final decision. Suicide is a selfish choice, and a selfish action. I know it may sound cruel and harsh - but it’s true. When you decide to take your own life, it’s something you want to do to end your pain because you feel that you can’t go on with life anymore. But do you stop to think about those who are left behind? After you’re gone - they’re the ones who will be left struggling with the aftermath, with a hole in their hearts and an emptiness in their life because of what you CHOSE to do. It’s always a choice. Another interesting point brought out in the special is that suicide of a friend / classmate can affect people so much that it often drives another person to suicide. (As happened in this show when Alex also shoots himself in the end). It’s heartbreaking for those left behind, and do you really want to make your loved ones suffer a pain worse than what you yourself has been going through? Especially if you haven’t really given them the chance to help you overcome what ever it is you are facing.

11. The Lack of Support -  I was especially disappointed in Hannah’s parents, Mr. Porter and Hannah’s “Peer Communications” class and teacher. All of these groups had a chance to support / help Hannah. She tried to talk to her parents, but because they were so worried about the business all the time, she felt like she would only be burdening them unnecessarily, she thought she was strong enough to do it without them, and they were too distracted to notice that she was going through some really rough things. They didn’t make themselves available and Hannah didn’t feel like she could talk to them.  Hannah made a reach out to her ‘Peer Communications’ class in the anonymous discussion bag with a note about suicidal thoughts but the class laughed it off, and thought it was some one looking for attention, the teacher didn’t realise it was actually a cry for help (but in all fairness Hannah refused to come forward - so what was she expected to do?). Hannah however did come forward and try to reach out to Mr. Porter, the school councellor, after she was raped by Bryce and what did he tell her ‘If she didn’t want to report it, or confront him, Bryce would be leaving the school in a few months and her best option was to ‘move on’.’ What an absolute disgrace!! It’s no wonder he became the 13th Reason why! She said in so many words that she just ‘Wanted life to stop’ but he didn’t take her seriously enough and that same day she went home and did what she felt was the only thing she could. 

12. Clay - I found myself getting annoyed with Clay ALOT through out the series (he was a little less irritating in the book) ... He felt like a weak, pointless character other than being the one to deliver the contents of the tapes to us. I felt like he didn’t have much depth, or wasn’t all to interesting to watch. He was trying to fight the tapes instead of just listening to them and getting the full story for Hannah. Luckily Tony (the hero of the story) was there to set him straight at every turn. I do like the fact that Clay stood up to Mr. Porter at the end as he so wisely said ‘It’s got to change. The way we treat each other.’ I did also respect that he was probably the only guy spotlighted in the series that didn’t try to take advantage of Hannah.

13. Hannah’s Choice(s) - This may seem a little unfair and I know Hannah had her reasons for her final choice, and I understand why she felt like she had to do what she did, I do, but I also think that there were a few instances where she could’ve made a different choice and all in all this could’ve lead to a very different outcome for her. In a sense I feel that she set herself up for failure. She made choices which allowed her to justify her decision.  One mistake I think Hannah made was not giving Zach a chance, I might be wrong here, and maybe he would’ve used her like all the other guys, but he seemed genuinely concerned for her after Marcus’ stunt! She made him look like a fool in front of everyone and then expected him to stand up for her when she ‘tried’ to call out for help? Maybe if she’d just given him a chance and opened up to him when they were in good standing he might have been able to hear her cry for help and respond accordingly. Another missed opportunity was that with Clay - when they were making out at the party she asked him to stop she felt the hurt from all the accusations against her reputation up until that point. He listened, he respected her , he stopped. He was confused, he asked her what was going on, she could’ve broken down and opened up to him then, but what did she do? She pushed him away. She chased him out. If she’d opened up to him, if they’d begun a relationship, she could’ve regained her self-respect and she wouldn’t probably have found herself in a shady situation with Bryce. Bring me to her third mistake NOT REPORTING BRYCE, yes she blamed Mr Porter for telling her ‘move on’ but she did not want to report it or confront Bryce- she didn’t want to see him again. She could’ve and should’ve reported him. She had witnessed Bryce previously rape a barely conscious Jessica (and Justin had seen too)  and if she’d paired up with them they could’ve taken him down and found peace. But Jessica didn’t even know, Justin covered for Bryce and Hannah never told Jessica the truth or confronted either of them until the tapes. If she’d spoken sooner, the outcome could’ve been a different one.

Anyways an AMAZING story completely haunting, gripping and thought provoking! Definitely recommended!!! Even the points on my NOT SO LOVED LIST made the story what it is - and I wouldn’t have changed a single thing - as if Hannah’s story were any different it wouldn’t leave such an important lesson for every single one of us!

[theclacks]

Buffy (Season 4) & Angel (Season 1) Thoughts

Whoo, so watching two seasons at once makes a giant dent in my viewing speed, but it’s kind of awesome. The “new series” rush I had in season two is mostly gone I think, replaced with a steady comfortability, which is good, because whenever a series is short enough that I reach its end/catch up before the rush fades, then I feel incredibly listless.

Anyway. Thoughts below the cut.

Buffy - Season 4

On how it compares to other seasons...

So season 2 is still my all time favorite. I think season 4 is tied with season 3 for me on like-ability. I think season 3 was strongest toward its end and season 4 was strongest towards its middle (hello, Spike pseudo-redemption arc). I think killing Professor Walsh as early as they did was a mistake; she and Buffy had a great antagonistic relationship. The greatness of season 2 was the relationship between the heroes and the villains, especially once Angel turned darkside. My biggest problem with the mayor was that he and Buffy never met until the very end of the season and that’s kind of my same issue here. They traded out an AWESOME antagonist (works for “good” like Buffy, but sees her as a uncontrollable threat! there’s some age/generation issues going on, defined career woman vs unranked youngster! science vs magic and prophecy! they used to hold each other in high esteem but now don’t!)... for, well, Adam. Who was very season one-ish in terms of flat personality and “I SHALL RULE THE WORLD MWAHAHA.”

On Oz leaving + Tara entering...

I read an interview/comment part way through that said Joss’s original plan was to string the Oz/girl!werewolf/Willow drama over the whole season, but then Seth Green nope’d it out of there and thank fucking god. I hated girl!werewolf. I don’t even remember her name and I’m fine with that.

I loved the introduction of Tara. I loved the episode where Oz came back (although I spent the whole episode fearing for his life) and Willow came out to her friends and Tara expecting Willow to leave her and asking if they could still be friends and I WAS CRYING DURING THAT SCENE. I HAVE NO SHAME. I think it was first scene in Buffy I cried at. Willow and Tara’s actresses just knocked it out of the park.

Also, it was weird for me since all I’ve ever heard from people about Willow is that they retcon’ed her sexuality into being a lesbian, and... unless something changes in the future, that’s totally not the case because she’s obviously bisexual. Like mentions loving Oz AND loving Tara in the same episode? And if talking about retconning her into being bisexual, umm... that shit doesn’t need foreshadowing... unless people are talking about something that happens in a later season with Willow saying straight out she doesn’t like men... and you know what? I’ll just see it when I get there.

On Riley...

He’s okay. Like, just, okay. I liked the episode where he told Buffy not to hold back during sparing, she kicked him across the room, and he’s like “it’s okay, i told you not to hold back”, and later she confesses (to Willow?) “.......I held back.”

IDK. I didn’t like the episode where the frat house sucks them into being a kind of sex battery thing... well, I liked the Xander, Willow, Anya, and Spike parts, but yeah.

On Spike...

I think the weirdest character development thing was him hooking up with Harmony. I mean, really? BUT it was awesome seeing Harmony eventually kick him to the curb, so there’s that. I got spoiled for the headchip thing, but I didn’t know it was coming this season, and his conversation with Willow immediately discovering his “impotence” was one of the best things ever. Oh, and “Something Blue” I didn’t know that episode was going to be a thing and it was AWESOME. I also liked how he didn’t immediately turn good and was mostly an annoying hinderance to the main characters; that fit him much better than a straight heel-face turn.

On college vs high school...

It’s weird. I have more nostalgia for college than high school, so I really enjoyed the first few college eps. Like, the way I’ve seen people talk about their love for the high school era of Buffy... I think that was me during this season. (People who used to hang outside the student union delivering flyers for whatever, I MISS YOU.) I did like the episode where they revisited the high school’s ruins. That was a nice touch. And I like Faith a lot better this season, especially when she realizes it’s been months and months since graduation. (Oh, and speaking of the Faith/Buffy bodyswitch episode, their actress did such a good job.)

On Giles...

Nothing too much to report. I do think more than any of the other characters, he’s lost his groove. Hopefully he’ll re-find it in season five.

But enough about Buffy, it’s time to discuss...

Angel - Season 1

General thoughts

OH MY GOD. I think I actually ended up enjoying Angel more than Buffy for these two seasons. I thought it was going to be something I’d slowly have to sit through episode after episode until I grew to like and then LO AND BEHOLD Charisma Carpenter’s name popped up in the credits. And suddenly Angel went from “Angel interacts with random LA strangers I don’t know” in my head to “OH MY GOD CORDELIA IS IN LA BEING BROS WITH ANGEL AND FIGHTING DEMONS AND SHIT.” And it’s been awesome since.

On Doyle and Wesley (and Cordelia)...

I was not expecting them to switch season mains halfway through, and although I’m still sad that Doyle left the show so early, I’m kind of cool with it because it meant Cordelia getting his visions. And honestly, if you’d told me after the first episode of Buffy that Cordelia Chase was eventually going to become bros with Angel in LA and with god-given vision superpowers and a ghost as a roommates, I’d... well, I don’t know what I would’ve thought, but it definitely would’ve spoiled the wild, amazing journey. Of course, Cordelia was already my favorite character about four episodes into watching Buffy, so... yeah.

One of my lesser favorite parts of season three was having Cordelia vanish for a whole bunch of episodes after her breakup with Xander, so seeing her rise like this and be a central character and have AMAZING heart-to-heart conversations with Angel... like, Buffy and Angel have their super love but at this point I feel like Cordelia and Angel are stronger friends? Like they treat each other as brother and sister and it is the best damn thing ever.

Also along that line, the reintroduction of Wesley was great. Probably the best replacement they could’ve gotten for Doyle. It really strengthened the team, especially for the Faith episodes since she was someone they ALL had history with. And since the Cordelia/Wesley UST got resolved in the final season 3 buffy episodes, his friendship with cordelia was awesome too. JUST ALL THE FRIENDSHIPS FOR CORDELIA KTHXBAI.

On LA vs Sunnydale...

If college era of buffy is nostalgic, angel’s LA setting is straight up “THIS IS MY LIFE RIGHT NOW”. I’m past Buffy’s concerns about class schedules and straight in the thick of Cordelia’s concerns about finding a decent apartment for a decent rent, balancing work that pays the bills with the true passions you live for, having to pay bills, be an adult.

And I think Cordelia really is angel’s greatest strength right now because of how much different her life is from all of her classmates’ back in Sunnydale. She’s had to grow up the fastest. Even Xander who’s ostensibly in similar shoes (straight to work/no college) has a kind of flat dotted-ness to him. He picks up random weekly jobs, he stays in his parents’ basement, he feels the world moving on without him because it is. Contrast that with Cordelia, moves to LA, gets a rad (albeit possessed apt), gets a job with Angel’s firm (basically starts Angel’s firm), gains Doyle’s visions, making her an even more integral part of the team... Their respective paths over the course of the same year couldn’t have been more different.

On “I Will Remember You”...

Holy damn that was an awesome episode. I knew it wasn’t going to last because Angel being a vampire is, like, his whole thing. I was like Buffy going “let’s wait before diving into all this” but then they crumbled and then they were in bed eating ice cream together and it was THE CUTEST THING EVER. And then even after Angel decided to turn back, I was like “that’s okay because at least they’ll have their memories and then it was suddenly all NO. NO. NOOOOO. THIS IS NOT OKAY, ANGEL NO. BUFFY MY BB, NOOOOOOOO.” The juxtaposition between Buffy in tears, clinging to him, and then 180 degrees, being back in his office completely tense and cold was traumatically beautiful and well-done.

And a part of me really eventually wants her to remember down the line, but I have no idea whether or not that would ever happen.

On Faith...

So. I’ve decided that my favorite part of Faith is when she completely breaks down into self-loathing. It happened when she was in Buffy’s body and then again when she was squaring off against Angel in the rain. She sold it so well, that I’m cool with her again.

On evil!Angel...

Evil!Angel is my favorite, the humor that just drips out of him while he’s killing everything. And I love that there are hints of it even when Angel’s “sober” so to speak. And while I never want him to turn fully evil again (season 2 played that the best way it ever could), I do like the way the writers are able to tease it back. First with the buffy season three episode where he faked it, and then again in this season of angel where it was kind of drugged out of him. And once again, I’m super happy that Cordelia and Wesley are his buddies because they can recognize that history of his in an instant (granted, Cordelia more than Wesley).

On Gunn and Lesley and Wolfram and Hart...

So Buffy/Angel crossovers excluded, my favorite episode of the season by far was when Angel and Lesley joined forces to infiltrate Wolfram and Hart and they also pulled in Gunn for good measure. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for heist episodes, but I think (I hope) that episode marked a turning point. Like “this is the world of angel. these are angel’s allies and these are his foes and this is way it comes together.” I’m looking forward to more with all them.

On Kate...

I have conflicted thoughts about Kate. I like her as a character. She’s been used somewhat inconsistently re: episode and screentime-wise, and still very distant from the main characters. I hope she’s used more in season two.

On LA’s demon sub-culture...

The thing I’ll end with is that I love how angel introduces us to a whole bunch of other demon, both good and evil and somewhere in between. With the exception of Willie’s bar, buffy doesn’t have that? Like I feel half the demons from LA could wander into Sunnydale and Buffy would start beating them up before they could talk. Or like if they put one toe out of line, she’d try to kill them.

Take for example the episode with Doyle’s ex-wife. Her fiance tried to eat Doyle’s brains, but the ending to that wasn’t “kill the fiance” it was just “that’s not okay, demon, and you broke my trust by trying to do it and if that’s a requirement for us to get married, then the engagement’s off.” And lo and behold, they broke off the engagement and thus ended the episode. No killings. And I don’t know, there’s just something ridiculously refreshing about that.