#bbc ghosts season 4 spoilers

[the-names-kam]

no wait i’m not done talking about this

THOMAS NEVER HAS A MOMENT OF TRUE EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY AND SELF ACTUALIZATION.

the closest we get, i believe, is in Gone Gone. he is clearly mourning the loss of mary, but instead of focusing on her and his actual feelings about her, he instead turns the focus back on himself, and talks about how much he has left to give, and his circumstances when he first met mary, and, of course, how much he loves alison.

and obviously part of that is just who thomas is as a person. that’s just one of his flaws. but.

i can’t help but feel like he’s deflecting, talking about things that we already know are upsetting to him (being unable to create his art, the circumstances of his death) instead of how mary’s death is actually affecting him.

he does have his moments, obviously. telling alison he wants her to be happy when he’s in the bath (i do believe that that was genuine lmao), him realizing he’s making everything about himself once alison points it out, the memorial to mary he helps alison come up with.

but. they’re very brief, and, imo, they don’t give as much insight into his character as the others’ reactions do.

even in his backstory episode (and in a few others as well, like the camping episode), he has his moments of brief vulnerability, but it’s nothing groundbreaking for his character like the others.

and it FEELS like he’s being vulnerable all the time, constantly talking about how he feels at any given moment, but. he’s not�� saying anything.

like it’s all just… surface level. “oh, the tv show they’re shooting is about byron, his nemesis, that makes him angry! oh, and alison has a crush on the actor, that makes him sad!” y’know what i mean?

but like. i don’t even know if this is intentional or not because i can’t help but feel like the show doesn’t really. try with thomas.

like they’re just kind of like, “oh, yeah, thomas is obnoxious and overbearing and not good with boundaries, that’s just how he is” rather than giving him the depth the other characters have. (absolutely no hate towards the actors/writers tho !!)

idk i’m just kind of. fascinated by this now.

something that i find interesting about thomas is that i feel like he never really complains about things that actually negatively affect(ed) him

like he laments about how his mother took a little too long to come feed him that one time, but never mentions being addicted to opium (and presumably going through withdrawal), which is obviously an incredibly awful thing to go through

and aside from his “OH GOD, IT BURNS” line when presented with the musket ball, he also never talks about getting shot, even though getting shot in the gut is an extremely painful way to die

idk maybe i’m reading too much into him but it’s just. interesting

[varietysky]

when you're in a "kitty higham character development" contest but your opponent is a Christmas special

[caeran]

SAD HAVERS FANART... I'M SO SORRY

[mixedfandomer]

Something I noticed about the intro of Ghosts is that characters with ghostly powers are using them in the intro (exception Fanny who only appears as a painting in the room with Kitty and Humphrey) Robin uses his light powers (or well is seen with flashing lights), Mary has smoke rising from her, and when Julian appears a cup falls off the table, I also noticed The Captain appears in the mirror so what if he gets ghostly powers involving appearing in mirrors (that would also be a fun way for Mike to actually see one of the ghosts)

[capswarmedals]

BBC GHOSTS: DEEP DIVE

"You're a bloody fool, James!" - Ben Willbond, Inside Ghosts: A Christmas Gift.

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CHRISTMAS EPISODE AND SEASON 5. BE WARNED.

Okay, just before we start, I WILL be referring to BOTH James and The Captain. Wait and see, your poor little dumplings.

We all know The Captain. Brave, stern, always has a stiff upper lip and of course, most obviously, he's an ABBA loving star. Joking (not really though)!! The most obvious part is that he is gay, but he hides it deep down inside himself. You'd have to kill him to find out or well, you know what I mean (/ref). That part deep down inside himself is James. James. The real person, the person under the mask, the villain, the mastermind of it all. Except that... James isn't really anything like The Captain. James is not brave, not stern, never has a stiff upper lift, but he's still an ABBA fan and gay. Incredibly, incredibly gay.

We know that he had a very, VERY strong crush on Havers (Anthony as I will be referring to) as evident in the Cricket Report in the Button House Archives and in Redding Weddy/Carpe Diem. Throughout the series, we see James fall for men. Mike ("Yes, he'd make a very fine soldier."), Adam, the director ("Yes, though I might just... Check."), Pat (even though it's not as obvious, but it's certainly there).

Many people, including myself, head canon James/The Captain to be autistic, and I can very much add some reason and proof to these reasons.

1. A very strict routine. This man will NOT let go of routine, and it is clear in 4x02 (Speak As Ye Chooses) where he states: "It's all very well saying 'At ease', but what do you do for the rest of the day?" and visible expression of shock and anger to finding out that a club was cancelled. As we come to the end of episode, where we see the man casually without his jacket on, he says "We've got forever" before immediately re-settling himself into his strict routine when being reminded of Film Club. But of course, this could be either that James is attracted to Captain America or is just reminded of his strict routine. This links into another point about change. In 3x05 (Something To Share?), this silly man agrees with Pat about how it is frightfully important to have an extremely strict routine. DON'T get me started on his almost coming out. (I will talk about this.)

2. Hyperfixations. This man has a hyperfixation/special interest in tanks, birds and basically anything remotely military related. He made a club solely dedicated FOR birds. He values his hyperfixations over secrets ("This is outrageous, I'll simply have to tell Fanny-" "No more war documentaries, then." "Your secret is safe with me, she'll have to kill me first- Well- You know what I mean."). 1x02, watching Hitler's Secret Superweapons "It's Christmas! I mean, it's Christmas Morning!" and when Mike turns it off... "What the bally heck do you think you are doing? Where the bally hell are the tanks?" "If you were dead, I would thrash your bottom, sir!". As like other autistic people, such as myself, taking away our hyperfixations isn't a good thing. We don't like that.

3. Masking/easily overwhelmed. (Basically what this deep dive is about). James is the true individual. The Captain is his mask, his shell. And he's been living in it for far too long now. He does not like change, and hates loud noises. This is clear when a club is cancelled in 4x02, and when he realizes the Queen's speech is televised in 2x07. He stress stims by using his swagger stick (Or Anthony's) and twirling it around in his fingers, he bounces a lot, he hums a lot, and whenever he matches about the place, he swings his arms depending on what arm the swagger stick is under (usually the right), and yes, I know that military marching is very exaggerating on the arms, but STILL, it's an output of energy that he does CONSTANTLY. I don't think I've seen anybody talk about the fact he hums. He does it SO MUCH.

4. Tone. Because of his ridiculous amount of gayness inside of him, this man cannot always understand straight jokes. 5x04, where they play Blankety Blank and he does not understand the word "saucy" (I mean, it is late 20th century/early 21st century slang...) and does not approve of the meaning. He gets jokes late, but that's alright because I do too.

ANYWAYS. Back to his pining.

In the first GIF, you see James check Adam out. This also happens in another scene with the quote "Do you find yourself to be distracted?" where he takes the moment to check Adam out yet again. In this second GIF, you see James slightly creep out when he realizes that he's openly saying he'll miss a man, with that look down, almost ashamed of himself.

But why does he fall for these men of order? Because it reminds him of Anthony, not because they're bossing everyone about - it's as if they're doing the bossing about for him, so he can relax and be himself. During Redding Weddy, we see Anthony order the unit around whilst James is looking outside the window (suppressing stims, but bouncing slightly on his feet) trying to spot Germans. I could see why James fell for Anthony. Despite everyone else, Anthony does not see these stims as annoying or his remarks to be unfunny. We see him SMILE when James makes a joke.

As we know, their love for each other was mutual.

He knew.

Anthony smiles after saying "James" and saying "I know". Why? He knew he was dying, he knew that James loved him, he knew why James was here. He wanted to be by James' side as he died to comfort him. To just be together, maybe once. Maybe twice. We don't know if they've held hands, kissed, but still. This is a very significant moment.

Additionally, Anthony's knowledge of James' intense crush is during their talk in James' office in Redding Weddy as it starts to reach a conclusion. Anthony subtly hints to the fact that if James should say anything, the moment is now ("Well, if that's all?").

He raises his eyebrow slightly, communicating to James that he is eager to hear what he really says, and that it's okay to be them because they're alone together. But no. The Captain completely hides James away. Anthony understands, he always has. The Captain probably hid James away because of Anthony's reaction to "I shall miss you, Havers." (his smile drops).

But... "I say, Havers?"

The way Anthony turns around. SO QUICK.

His smile. It's so ridiculously warm. But he knows because he saw that hesitancy, he saw James' sad expression. James is bally well sad that Anthony is leaving!!

Masking is clearly shown in this conversation. The Captain is preventing James from speaking the truth. And just like how he buried the limpet mine, he too, buried his feelings. And it became a ticking time bomb to Carpe Diem, where that emotional bomb finally explodes.

He leaves it to the last second. Literally. Let me show you proof.

Ben is absolutely AMAZING at micro-expressions, one of the many reasons I love to delve into The Captain so much. Carpe Diem (5x05) is an excellent example of some of the best James scenes.

Right here, what I am personally reading is that James is attempting to unmask, or is in the process of doing so. He deciding whether he should tell his story or not. This frame is important as it comes just after the quote "When I died, I never got to be surrounded by the people I loved." Blatant foreshadowing here because well, it shows that James loved Anthony and still does, despite it being 83 years since Anthony left of that year, he still holds him very dear to his heart. Of course, he has Anthony's swagger stick, which I love because he's always been there with James to help him out through moments. I love that and I love everything about that. How I ADORE Simon Hynd's directing here of the camera position, openly hinting to the fact that James died with Anthony next to him. God, everyone in that show is a mastermind!!

I also think that he is remembering here. Perhaps remembering the good memories? That Sunday afternoon stroll, or that certain Cricket Report? He's trying desperately to remember Anthony so he doesn't forget him when he moves on. For all he knows, he doesn't even know if Anthony thinks of him. All he knows is that he knew, and is most probably dead. He doesn't know what's beyond the veil. He doesn't know if he'll see Anthony. It's worth it.

This "desperate searching" facial expression is the same as the expression he had when glancing at the gate a few scenes prior to this, eyebrows furrowed and mouths slightly agape. It cuts to the gate, where we know, that in Redding Weddy, Havers walked out of. Anthony. Yet again, he's remembering him. James is obsessed with the memory of Anthony, the good times they had yet the good times they never were really good as laws about homosexuality were extremely strict. You could even say he is clingy.

Another thing is that, The Captain is one of the most favourite characters and people have been demanding to see how he died for ages! Why is it near the end of the last season? Well. I may have an idea to why it is in the last season.

James leaves things until the last second, he leaves the real explanation to things until it's too late. I saw someone on tiktok quote that James is as pretty as poppies because his love sprouts up in the wrong times and wrong places, which I think is amazing. I personally believe that his death was purposely the last one because you needed to see that he's more than just a stern WW2 CO with no feelings. He's an anxious man who's terrified of the real world so decides to seclude himself in a time and place where he was loved. World War 2. 1940. When Anthony loved him. We needed to see this inner secluded character within him to make the death sadder, which is what Ben likes, the silly man.

This also explains why he says "Is it? Is it, Alison?" during Redding Weddy because, well, with his mindset and attitude, he doesn't believe the war is over. He wasn't very good at keeping a unit of alive people under control, but perhaps he could try at keeping a whole bunch of dead people under control to keep himself busy from accepting the fact that Anthony is gone and he should emotionally move on.

In 4x04 (Gone Gone), the episode where Mary moves on, we see that James' coping mechanism is to keep himself busy. Keep himself busy so he doesn't have to focus on his feelings, but when he's given the time to pause and process it... He completely breaks down. Imagine that with Anthony when he left for North Africa.

But why does he like Pat?

Well. It isn't canon. But, the most recent Christmas special definitely hints at it. Pat introduced James to the amazing thing of baby talking, attempting to teach him just as Mia is put to bed. But once again The Captain's hard shell is back again and gives him a monotone voice and tone, rather making him seem like a robot. But at the end of the episode. He learned, and the glance he takes towards Pat is "Did I do it?" and Pat gives him a warm smile and a subtle nod. HUSBANDS I TELL YOU!

The Woodworm Men (3x03): Pat outbests The Captain with camping, yet they are still both very keen. The Captain trudged back though!! In this episode, James is awarded the teamwork badge from Pat, and when you see the scene, you can tell that he is smitten and in love. Because, now rewatching that scene with the context of his death, he must've been the happiest he had been in a while to achieve and properly earn a badge. James, I think, personally likes Pat because he still has all the leading roles (being a scout leader) and that reminds him a lot of Anthony hence why we see them working together in a lot of episodes (2x06, 2x02, etc). It all leads back to Anthony. Who knows what would've happened if they didn't meet.

I also think that Getting Out (1x06) is a good episode that represents self growth as well as debating with the issue of being mocked, as James is mocked in the episode.

This is him overhearing the conversation. Confusion. Anger. This episode is where James learns that not everybody will adapt themselves for him, not everybody will accept the way he acts. It's pretty clear that he cannot control this mindset he has, it was probably drilled into him, the poor soul. The way he brings himself back into the group is through a secret weapon (Kitty, because she's the most likeable and their relationship is mwah).

This episode is also important because of the scene in the library with James and Kitty.

"What matters more? Keeping Alison here, or letting her be happy?"

Now imagine that question but Anthony. James has sacrificed his life and soul towards Anthony, and even has a piece of him with him. This man is obsessed with Anthony. Crazily in love. He can't control his feelings for people. It just... Happens.

After Carpe Diem, it took me only a fraction of a second to see how comfortable he was. He was free to love who he wanted! I was stimming so crazily when the last scene of Season 5 (disregarding the Christmas special) was him being gay. Fanny comforted him after he came out, and every one supported him. He feels safe now.

The mirror and the draw in the intro.

Personally, I believe that the mirror represents the fact that his medals are the right way, meaning that the man in the mirror is The Captain and the man looking at his reflection is James. He's looking what he could've been. A hero. Yet now that he's come to terms with himself, James knows that he can be himself now. Free of judgement. Free of secluding himself away. I believe that the drawer represents him ever searching for more memories to grasp onto, more things about Anthony to remember. I also think it represents the fact that there is something inside of him that is worth looking for, and that thing deserves to be looked for and looked after. The draw is pulled out as far as it can go, so this could point to the fact that there is something buried within the house that needs to be found and given back to him. Could be the limpet mine. Or perhaps that William letter truly was a love letter.

OVERALL:

James is a different man to The Captain. The Captain is merely a costume or a nickname James wears knowing full well of the man he is underneath those perceived images of him. James is a coward. James is obsessed with Anthony. His heart has bled so much he has to rely on the small amount of attention from someone so he can carve it out and then offer it to those people who attention has been wasted on him. Ben is an amazing actor and writer who threads things together so subtly and sneakily it's insane. James won't let go of the military mindset, just incase he meets Anthony when he moves on. He thinks that no one will fall in love with the present him so he tries his best to act like his old self. Ben is right. You certainly are a fool, James. But oh, how I love your character.

[thekingofspin]

‼️ BBC GHOSTS S5 EP5 SPOILER ‼️

(you have been warned)

so in episode 5 we learn the captain and havers names.

havers name is not William, it's Anthony.

in season 4 the caption keeps talking about

"Lord brigadier sir ANTHONY Barthomlew rasinby jones"

SIR ANTHONY

HES TALKING ABOUT HAVERS.

[an-honest-puck]

a collection of highlights and viewing notes from 'Fools' because I don't have the time to liveblog while watching but I do have thoughts

HUMPHREY CAUSING MISCHIEF?!?!!?! WE LOVE TO SEE IT!!!!! <333

~and other bbc ghosts s5 ep1 spoilers ahoy!~

I love that Larry is the lone writer of this ep and Humphrey therefore gets to have the spotlight XD

fr tho, watching Humphrey giving Alison ideas was so deliciously cheeky and fun to watch!!!

that one camera movement where Humphrey plays the angel and devil on Alison's shoulders was *chef's kiss* brilliantly well played!!!

when the Captain realises that Alison's picking them off one by one and then immediately falls for her prank lmao

look! they let Ben run in the woods again! huzzah! he must have been so pleased they let him lol

we love a Ben Willbond take on the classic "clever girl" line 👌🏼

Thomas's prank was absolutely ruthless but the little shit (mostly affectionate) deserves it LMAO

actually as a sidenote, with any other characters (or perhaps in another show lol) this is potentially a rather romantic scene lol

but yeah nah the little shit deserved it XD

I love when the Captain describes Alison's 'next victim' as being "guileless, gullible, open-hearted to a fault" (patcaps stans were fed with this line alone lol) and cutting to Pat, as if Cap isn't sitting in the room with the most gullible ghosts of the crew- i.e., himself, Thomas, and Kitty XD

I'm sorry but Pat reacting to Alison's first attempt at pranking him by pulling out the word 'veracity' and how he describes how to cross-check your facts????? king shit XD

but also, that was lowkey the most intimidating thing I've ever seen Pat do wtf?! like the way he says "I'd hate for you to have the wool pulled over your eyes." and then the "ok?" freakyyyy lol

oh Julian you nincompoop lol I love all the time Alison's invested in these pranks btw- like making that video and somehow rigging something up on a laptop so that when Julian clicks the specific button, the video starts playing? is there an app for that or is that just Alison flexing some coding skills??? XD (I am personally fully on board the 'Alison flexes her coding skills' train lol)

0/2, Cap is not making any good calls in this ep XD

my fam and I like to play the game 'how many takes?' and that scene where Alison tries the finger-chop gag and Pat gives her a talking to is prime fodder for that game XD

ayo, gotta give a shoutout to the B-plot of Mike with the insurance investigator for recapping the end of season 4 because I was rusty tbh lmaooo

Fanny's two-part-prank was so good but also gotta love the permanency of permanent marker XD

OMG Humphrey's idea for Robin's prank - i.e. Larry just talking to himself LMAO but the way Humphrey showed Alison his plan was so deliciously devious XD

"DAMN YOU, COOPER!"

yo the way the A-plot and B-plot crash into each other is hysterical XDD

Alison, caught red-handed lighting a fire: *in the most level voice I've ever heard come out of Charlotte Ritchie's mouth* Hi, I'm Alison-

"Sorry. Sick in a bush..."

good onya, Joy Kielty! you da real one! and props to the soundtrack composers for that beautiful little piano interjection :')

ah man almost got all of them...

BUT OH MY DAYS SHE PREG-AN-NANT!?!!?!?! I can't believe the fandom was right on that one!!!!!! I'm anxious for her!!!!! pregnancies are scary!!!!! (I mean, I'm probably projecting because a friend of mine is pregnant and currently dealing with all the appointments, equipment, and physical symptoms of pregnancy, but still!!! growing new life is hard!!!!)

very very interested to see where them there are going with this...

but anyways this is a Larry episode and so of course the last word comes from Humphrey:

"did we get him?"

(my poor boi, someone pls pick him up :') )

[tropical-kabuki]

30 questions tag

No one tagged me because I'm not really active in here, but this popped up on my "for you" page and I thought I would do it because why not

1. name/nickname: Kira. That's a nickname, I keep changing my mind on whether to share my real name around here or not

2. star sign: Virgo. And then it's Virgo Rising, Taurus Moon, Venus in Leo and I forgot about the rest (I'm not particularly into astrology, but after doing so many of those "pick an image according to your sign" things on twitter I've ended memorizing some stuff lol)

3. height: 164cm

4. birthday: September 7th

5. favorite band: Nowadays it's a split between Ghost and Poets of the Fall. I'm also listening to Voyager and Lord of the Lost a lot since Eurovision (yes, I'm an eurofan of sorts)

6. time: 4:50pm

7. favorite solo artist: ... I can't really think of any at the moment? I usually listen to bands more than solo artists, but I suppose either David Bowie or Freddie Mercury are always a very sensible choice (and very true because I love them both)

8. song stuck in your head: Buddy Holly's ‘Everyday’. Blame Good Omens for that #is it July 28th yet

9. last movie you watched: I rewatched 'Murder by Death' for the first time in many years. There's a few actors I love in that movie but... it hasn't aged too well imho.

10. free space!: Watch BBC Ghosts if you haven't yet! The last season comes out later this year, it's a wonderful show (truly funny and wholesome) and the fandom is *lovely*. That's it, that's what I'm using the free space for, you'll thank me later.

11. last show: I'm currently jumping between several (very different) shows, but the last episode I watched was 'The Thick of It' 3x01

12. when i created this blog: February 2023. I have been on Tumblr before, but for several reasons I decided to start over

13. what i post: I mostly reblog stuff about my favourite actors and fandoms... I should make a list I guess, in the meantime feel free to check my archive page to get an idea of what I like :)

14. last thing i googled: I searched about known side effects for some medication I've started with recently, because I'm feeling much more tired and sleepy than usual. Doesn't seem like it's related to the meds though.

15. other blogs: not really, no. I've thought about starting side blogs for some stuff, but I would only neglect them because I don't really have the time. I'm neglecting this one enough as it is.

16. do i get asks?: not very often and I'm terrible at replying in a timely manner anyway :') really sorry about that

17. why i chose my url?: When I watched the first season of The White Lotus I fell in love with Armond (Murray Bartlett's character) and the [SPOILER] tragic trainwreck of sorts that he goes throughout the season [END OF SPOILER]. The whole introductory scene to Armond and The White Lotus resort has him telling Lani, a new trainee, that the White Lotus experience is nothing more than “tropical Kabuki,” with the staff serving as “pleasant interchangeable players”. I thought it was brilliant and so funny and for some reason my immediate thought was that it would make for a great social media username. So that's exactly what I used it for a few days later, when I was picking a url for this blog. I've ended up using it in a couple other places, too.

18. following: 66 blogs at the moment, mostly people that I share interests with or blogs about my favourite celebs/fandoms.

19. followers: 16. I'm not very active in here so I'm thankful for every person that follows me despite of that.

20. average hours of sleep: 6-7 if I can. During the Summer months that number is significantly lower tho :')

21. lucky number: I don't know if I have one... I like 7, 9, 6 and 13.

22. instruments: I sort of can play drums and keyboard, but I'm self taught (I've learned mostly by ear) and a bit clumsy. I own a bass guitar but I've barely touched it, I hope I can make time for it soon because it's the instrument I've always wanted to learn (yeah, I know; bad mental health era and so on, it will get better)

23. what am I wearing?: tank top and underwear because it's too bloody hot to wear anything else, tyvm.

24. dream job: there's several, but poster illustrator/designer is the first one that always comes to mind.

25. favorite food: almost any chicken dish, I think.

26. tea or coffee: both! It depends on the occasion

27. nationality: Spanish

28. favourite song: I can't pick just one, so I'll give you a classic choice from my 'On repeat' spotify list: https://open.spotify.com/track/2Y7ndoyiIm0IaFJa13gV3H?si=ded0711cd472473e

29. last book i read: I'm currently reading 'Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War I'

30. top three fictional universes i would like to live in: this question is way more complicated than it would seem at first glance, so let me just settle for: Middle Earth, the Shire in particular, during a peaceful time.

[thepunkmuppet]

genuinely really surprised that more people don’t ship mary and annie after this season (especially episode 2 obviously). these two scenes in particular, i was genuinely going “lesbians?? 👀🤪 ….wait seriously oh my god wait LESBIANS?!?!!” i read these moments as very queer-coded as opposed to the friendship we’re told they had, and the actress playing annie really sold it by doing those (not) subtle little looks down at mary’s mouth, touching her arm for reassurance, etc. i just think they really work, on so many levels, and i want to see more art and general content about them because they’re perfect

[spineless-lobster]

It makes me feel better that the reason why Humphrey is not on Mike’s Ghost Board is because he has a big ass portrait in the stairwell

Our king deserves nothing less 😌

[soppybitorag]

in tears

[pulchrasilva]

Just watched episode 2

(Also Mary deserves the world and Annie is the awesome)

[elderpoptart]

I LOVE HIM SM…

[pinballlizard]

So yeah how we feeling about Thomas x Kitty everyone?

[viola-halogen]

So the Six Idiots were originally going to have a “ghost on the next door property” character called Pete. In season 4 they included this concept with a character called Maddocks.

In Yonderland Debbie’s husband was called Pete Maddox.