#being able to give your character the sendoff that you want is important

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Alright, here we go

First and foremost I want to talk about what flying bark's animation has meant to me.

In a world where every day I see 2d animation being rejected for cheaper 3d and puppet animation at every turn, Monkie Kid's animation was the one of the first things that gave me hope for the future of 2D animation. I can't tell you how long I've been wanting a 2D animated show, growing up I wanted one so desperately, I craved good animation amongst the stiff 3D and flat storytelling, so when I got it, when Monkie Kid happened, I was so unbelievably happy. It was everything I wanted in a show, gorgeous animation, excellent voice actors, romance free and friendly to my desperate friendship-craving, romance-overstimulated brain and written in a way I enjoyed so much. I struggle to describe exactly how much I’ve adored everything this show has been up until this point. It truly is a masterpiece.

Monkie kid has kept me company during the lowest and roughest points in my life. I got to such a bad place mentally but Monkie Kid’s fast-paced, snappy, detailed, colourful bright animation brought light into my darkest mental times and not only helped me stay connected with people but kept me creating even when I wanted nothing more than to lay on the floor and never move again. I'm aware most of the flying bark team is active on the bird app and none of them are gonna see this most likely but I still just wanted to say thank you. Thank you so much for animating this show, thank you so much for giving it your all. Thank you so much for giving me something I’ve always wanted so perfectly. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for keeping me company at my lowest, thank you for sharing your joy of animation so I could catch some of those rays of sunlight and feel a little of that joy too. Thank you for your positivity and good vibes, thank you. 

I know so many people have gotten inspiration from flying bark and I have to add myself to the infinite list. My art has improved so much thanks to their inspiration. My style has developed, I’ve had so much fun, I’ve written some of my favorite works ever based off of expressions that the characters make alone. My last amv I made because I was so grateful for the animation that we'd gotten up to that point. I wanted to showcase, to thank, to appreciate. I didn’t know it would be a goodbye. Words can't describe all that flying bark's animation and even their storyboards have done for me. When nothing could make me happy, monkie kid wormed its way into my brain and somehow kept me in one piece. I know that wouldn’t have been possible without the animation that left me at the edge of my seat, breathless and laughing over how incredible it really was every single time. Every new clip, every new episode I’d pause and rewatch again, I’d rewatch over and over, I’d take screenshots of every goofy background character, I’d screenshot every expression I could, I’d go through episodes frame-by-frame, literally one at a time for hours on end just so i could catch every detail, I’d open my eyes wider and wider to try and take in every bit I could in a way I’ve never been able to do before because there is nothing else out there like monkie kid. There was nothing as fun and as joyful as every single frame that flying bark gave us. And I am going to miss that so much.

The fact that season 4 was a sendoff is so heartbreaking to me, it's hard to describe how devastated I feel knowing something that kept hold of my hand when I was facing hard hard things in my life is suddenly gone. I don’t know how to ever express how important this show has been to me, it’s kept me going and helped me get to a place where I could breathe again. It’s connected me with some of the greatest people I know. It’s given me incredible experiences, introduced me to what animation could be and I can’t lie and say it doesn’t hurt having to say goodbye so suddenly. 

I know this isn’t the end of Monkie Kid as a show. I know season 5 is still coming. And I also know Monkie Kid has lost a huge part of what made it unique and special, a huge part of its heart and soul. Without flying bark it feels like half the show is missing and although I hope I can still support the show, no one can deny the cavern-sized hole that is left by flying bark’s absence in it. The animation team has such an incredibly positive atmosphere around them that just absolutely radiates from the things they create. I am going to miss that so desperately in monkie kid. I’m going to support every other show flying bark works on, I’m still going to love their animation wherever it goes, but I am going to miss it in monkie kid like nothing else I’ve ever missed.

I do have some other thoughts regarding the new changes in monkie kid but I wanted to keep that separate from the actual farewell, so that’ll be it’s own post and I just want to end this by saying thanks for everything Flying Bark you’ve been a real one. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You’re already being missed so hard it hurts. Keep those good vibes and keep up what you’re doing. You all really are incredible and an inspiration to artists everywhere. We love this show because of the voice actors, because of the writers, because of the music but a great deal of people loved this show because of you. You’ve inspired a community of artists, you’ve inspired me. Thank you flying bark for everything you've given us, you gave it your all and I’m gonna carry the impact you left on me for the rest of my life. 

LOVE YOU FLYING BARK. Here's to a bright future. Thanks for everything <3 

[ageofpiracyrp]

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Laurie Vexen, an Umbra Mate played by Ash

Please send in your account! Looking forward having you and your character join us here!

[hopefulobjectmiracle]

Since you mentioned Heart as your favorite Brittana episode instead of Season 6, what are your other top 5 eps for them?

hello anon! i don't know if i have a solid top 5, because there aren't that many eps where i like every brittana scene in the whole episode, but i'll do my best! this is in no particular order (except 3x13 is the best). 

season 3, episode 13: heart

this was obvious given that we just mentioned it, lol, but yeah - imo, this is the quintessential brittana episode.

we get precious background moments, multiple scenes of them dancing together, a precious and unique gift from brittany to santana, a serenade given by santana to brittany, cute hand kisses, santana feeding brittany chocolate strawberries, the two of them standing up for their relationship against bigotry, and...oh yeah!! their first real kiss 🤩 i just really, really adore that whole entire episode bc it contains everything i love about their relationship and none of the things i don’t like. to me, 3x13 is brittana at their best and i thank our queen ali adler every day for it. 

oh, and it also has santana shading finchel...bc same, girl.

season 4, episode 22: all or nothing

i just think all of the scenes in this ep are precious. and santana telling her that she still cares about brittany as a person and as a friend was really, really nice to see. i love how santana was able to convince brittany to take a chance and go to MIT, and i especially love this particular final moment for the two of them. i know that back then fans were afraid that this would be brittana’s last episode, and while i’m really glad that it wasn’t, i think the writers did a pretty good job giving them that sendoff (that thankfully turned out to be temporary). 

season 2, episode 20: prom queen

this is kind of a copout because brittana aren’t that heavily featured in this episode compared to klaine or quinn, but santana does have a neat little arc that is pivotal in her character development, and this ep also contains my absolute favorite brittana scene in the whole show: the one where brittany talks to santana in the choir room. 

brittany was kind and reassuring and supportive of santana, while also reminding her that her friends needed her and that she should go out and support them. she said exactly what santana needed to hear, and she gave santana the courage to go back out there and be there for her friends. that is the brittany that i wish had been present in the entire show. 

season 3, episode 19: prom-a-saurus

like the previous episode, brittana aren’t all that heavily featured...and the overall episode isn’t the best. but the limited brittana content we got in this ep really is lovely and i’d say that it’s some of the most wonderful brittana fluff in the series. 

brittany making a heart in the air while santana sings, and santana winking back? precious. smiley!santana grabbing brittany away from kurt and blaine to come dance with her? adorable. santana repeatedly calling brittany’s dinosaur theme genius? so cute. their prom picture? incredible. and santana saying that she didn’t want to be queen if brittany wasn’t king? that’s true love right there <3

the only thing that would've made this ep better for them would've been santana and brittany getting elected prom king & queen, but i’m not going to get into it here bc that deserved its own post. 

season 5, episode 12: 100 - i really, really like the whole storyline of santana recognizing that brittany is being taken advantage of and overworked at MIT and helping her find her passion for dance again. santana was the only one who really noticed that brittany was behaving oddly, came up with a plan all by herself to help brittany snap out of her funk, and she recreated one of their very special moments (valerie) to convince britt to get up and dance with her. i wrote this a while ago about the importance of the song valerie:

It just feels so significant to me that Santana chose this particular song to get Britt out of her funk. Valerie is special to both of them, it’s the first competition solo Santana ever got and it was the first time we ever got to witness the dance skills of one Brittany S. Pierce.

It was the first time Brittany got to show off how talented she was and how she was so much more than the dumb blonde everyone thought she was. Now, however, no one thinks she’s dumb. Now everyone sees her as just another statistic for MIT.

Santana, however, sees right through that and sees her for who she really is - not dumb, not just a genius, but Brittany, the girl who loves to dance. So Santana picks the same song from the first time Brittany got to show off her dancing to prove to her once again that dancing is what she’s meant to do.

...and i think it still holds up. that whole storyline was just so great for them, and to cap it off they have their hottest kiss at the end of the ep. like, damn...the chemistry 🥵

now i don't like the solution of her ditching MIT altogether and santana leaving her understudy job...but that's in the next episode, not this one, so i'll ignore it for now 😅

honorable mentions to 2x15 for being the ep where it started it all and to 4x04 for having a breakup that makes me cry. not to mention, these two eps have my some of my all-time favorite brittana songs (mine and landslide).

[chibifuyuu]

Levi vs. Zeke & Why Isayama Focused on that Conflict Analysis

Wanted to talk about "The Promise" (aka Levi's vow to take down Zeke) because a) I see it critiqued a lot as a narrative choice for Levi post-time skip, b) I don't think it's well understood as a narrative choice or even what it means in canon by the fandom, and c) I haven't seen people analyze it and thought why not me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So why did Isayama have Levi focus so much on the promise, and by extension Zeke, post-time skip?

1. Levi and Zeke are set up as narrative foils

This is established super early and is pretty evident even before we know much of anything about Zeke. In his introduction in the "Captain Levi" side chapter, Levi's character basics are quickly established, and one of the very first things we learn about him is how much he values the lives of his comrades and wants to make their sacrifices/deaths meaningful, regardless of any personal connection he has or doesn't have with them. We also see Levi very concerned about the Trost citizens starving in the Uprising arc, which leads Dimo Reeves to say in a pretty on-the-nose dialogue that Levi is "awkward yet kind" and trying to save Trost even though he "doesn't really have to".

By contrast, something hammered home to us very quickly is that Zeke is relatively indifferent to lives lost in his quest to achieve his goal, the euthanasia plan. That isn't to say that he's completely devoid of empathy so much as he views the lives lost as inconsequential or necessary and doesn't dwell on them because he doesn't even really understand the value of life- "I saved them, the lives of those children from this cruel world" is what he says to Levi about turning his squad into titans. There's also moments like when Colt begs Zeke to hold off on screaming so that Falco could be spared, Zeke acknowledges that pain, understands it, and then screams anyway.

We get a panel post-time skip to quickly establish that contrast right away:

This indifference is actually what drives a lot of conflict between Levi and Zeke- Levi makes it clear he doesn't trust Zeke partially because as he says to him, even if he is unsure if Zeke wants to help Paradis, he can tell that Zeke doesn't really care about Ragnako village (and keeps bringing it up because he can tell "[Zeke] doesn't have a speck of guilt... those people's lives meant nothing to [Zeke]"), that he doesn't respond to the idea that his grandparents may die, etc. Levi also responds violently to the idea that Zeke "saved" his squad by killing them. The euthanasia plan is something that is so opposed to Levi's values that these two were always going to be in conflict- it's almost like Zeke's goal is the exact opposite of what Levi fights for.

This is kind of important for the overall themes and story for a couple reasons like:

Zeke's character arc is partially developing an appreciation for life's purpose beyond procreating and the small moments of connection and joy that make up the human experience, as evident by his conversation with Armin and actions in 137; the contrast and callouts by Levi help establish early on this inability to appreciate the inherent value of life before we even know Zeke's end goal

Indifference towards loss of life as long as it fits your personal goals is kinda contrary to what the story wants to tell you via the Rumbling and protecting lives that have no value to you is treated as a narratively good thing

There's also the fact that both of them have parental/fraternal relationships with Eren. They're both protective of Eren and give him advice; Eren also in turn has sought their knowledge as they are more experienced than him in certain areas (Levi as the Survey Corps vet, Zeke as the one most knowledgeable about titan/Ackerman history), so it's a mentorship relationship, too. Eren also takes their advice and knowledge in ways that I'm pretty sure neither intended (like I doubt Levi was thrilled that him encouraging Eren to make his own decisions turned out this way...)

There's also a contrast there- Levi calls Eren a "monster" who won't let anyone stop him from doing what he wants to do early into their relationship (correctly identifying who Eren is at his core) whereas Zeke sees Eren as a victim that Zeke needs to save for a really long time (which is how Zeke ends up so easily manipulated by Eren despite being so intelligent).

2. Levi / Zeke parallel Mikasa / Eren

While the relationships are very different, Levi/Zeke and Mikasa/Eren actually do parallel each other- there's a kind of Ackerman vs. Yaeger contrast set up. Despite the different relationships, they both end very similarly: Mikasa and Levi behead Eren and Zeke respectively in something of a partially wanted mercy kill that is necessary to better the world (stop the Rumbling, end the titan curse). There are even more parallels there, like how both Ackermans experience a moment of understanding of the respective Yeager before killing them, how both of them had recently had a moment where they were thinking- for different reasons- that they couldn't kill the Yeager brother and then ended up doing so, etc., but the point is the moments appear back-to-back (137 and 138) and are treated as pretty narratively similar.

There's a lot of reasons we could speculate as to why Isayama did this- I don't think it's an Ackermans are amazing, Yeagers suck message for the record- one of them could be as simple as illustrating the similarities of the Ackermans vs. Yeagers by generation 

Or it could even be because Mikasa as a character reflects Levi in many ways and her character arc is partially illustrated by her evolving opinion of Levi. She begins as someone with no appreciation for authority and prioritizing her own people/interests (usually Eren) over the greater good/mission, which is illustrated by her respect, or lack thereof, of Levi. She lashes out at him, ignores his orders and then gets saved by Levi in the Female Titan arc, then in Uprising she doesn't want to at first and can't help but be snarky about it but she shows how she's able to see a bigger picture and respect Levi's leadership by defending it to Jean, Connie, and Sasha and allowing Levi to gamble Eren to make his deal with Reeves, and by the time of the Rumbling, when Levi tells her they can't be concerned about Eren's safety, she doesn't lash out and while upset, doesn't even argue.

It's not really a surprise that Mikasa is the one shown comforting/checking in on Levi right after he kills Zeke and Levi is the one spurring Mikasa on, saying "there the only ones left who can kill Eren" before she finds her resolve to do so (and also literally clears the way via thunderspear so Mikasa can kill Eren).

3. Levi's narrative purpose- or what even is the point of Levi post-explosion?

I've seen like ten thousand posts or comments saying something to the extent of "Levi should've died in the explosion, he has no point afterwards". I completely disagree, but beyond how dumb of a death that'd be for a character that's the most featured (most "screen time"/panel time) after EMA pre-time skip and EMA+Reiner post-time skip and story contributions that Levi brings (like leadership and direction for the Alliance with Hange dead after Armin is taken), Levi as a character embodies certain important themes/narrative messages for the story. Several of them are illustrated through his conflict with and contrast to Zeke.

His desire to protect people and preserve life even if they are strangers, or even in conflict with him, is highlighted through his juxtaposition to Zeke as discussed above

"Your deaths had meaning, at last I can prove it."

The big thing about the promise is that Levi wants to make the deaths, all of the sacrifices (Erwin but also all of the recruits that charged to their deaths), mean something. All of them sacrificed themselves to give Levi the chance to take down Zeke and Levi is tortured with guilt that he didn't finish the job because he views it as making their sacrifices meaningless. The promise serves to remind the reader that Levi cares so much about giving meaning to the fallen Survey Corps members' lives.

In his intro, Levi says to the Survey Corps rando that his death isn't worthless and it's not the end of his contributions to humanity because Levi will take up his resolve, that his death will inspire Levi, and Levi promises to end the titan threat with that resolve. One could argue that the promise is to remind us why Levi does what he does, what's driving him, the pressure of living with the need to make every sacrifice worth it- and in turn how Levi views/viewed ending the titan threat, a "world without titans", as the ultimate way to prove the sacrifices of the Survey Corps had meaning and his fallen comrades' lives weren't wasted. That's important because of Levi's ending, after the titans leave the world partially because of his efforts and him having seen through that mission until the end and getting a sendoff to the fallen Survey Corps members.

His focus on the next generation

A big theme of AoT is about protecting the next generation, and all of the OG Survey Corps believed this- we see many vets die to ensure recruits survive- but we see it articulated through Levi a lot. He seems to have a soft spot for children in general (getting concerned over the starving mother and baby in Trost, supporting Historia's orphanage plan, saving Ramzi after he pickpockets him, etc.), but he is also shown thinking about "getting the brats to the sea" as the purpose of the OG Survey Corps in 136, aka serving the dreams of the future/next generation- that's part of an internal monologue that begins with Levi focusing on Zeke and the promise.

The euthanasia plan is sharply at odds with Levi's "get the brats to the sea"/next gen protection mentality given it prevents a next generation of Elidians.

The contrast of Falbi and Zeke vs. Falbi and Levi. Zeke callously calls Falbi "miscalculations" in front of them- and Levi- not long after Levi meets Falbi for the first time, Levi spends the end of the Rumbling arc with Falbi after they arrive and they're the only two with him when Zeke calls out to Levi to end his life, Levi and Zeke actually discuss Falbi in the forest, etc. There's a weird sort of arc here since Falbi admired Zeke and felt betrayed by him (and he was indifferent to them when he screamed and knowingly turned Falco into a titan, killing Colt in the process, while Gabi desperately screams for Falco) while Falbi see Levi for the first time in the terrifying staged takedown of the Beast Titan and then end up spending more time in the end of the Rumbling arc fight with Levi than anyone else and Levi's last panel has him depicted as being with them, kind of like a reversal.

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 184

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 36 - “Go for the Goal! Marathon Race” Date watched: 13 May 2020 Original air date: 14 October 2007 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/hrE6zQT Transformation Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/6k6SzS0 Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Gamabunta is that you?

This show has been on a pretty good run lately. We had the vacation arc, haunted school, our festival fun, a day in the life of Urara, some romantic developments, Rin entering the wedding industry, and Karen as a knight. The defeats of Girinma and Arachnea were both suitably epic and inspiring. Well forget all that because it’s a Gamao episode and in true Gamao form, he ruins any goodwill we may have had for him. He can’t even do a last chance black mask monster transformation episode well. Let’s take a look.

The Plot

Cinq Lumieres Academy is having an all-grade level 4 kilometer race, and Nozomi is trying to get out of participating, but Rin keeps insisting she practice. Rin doesn’t have a lot of time TO practice with Nozomi, between her responsibilities to the Futsal Club and having to tend to the family store. More on this later, because it’s time to flimsily set up Nightmare’s scheme this episode.

Gamao is sitting on a bench when he’s approached by Kawarino. Gamao begs the senior executive for a management position at Nightmare but Kawarino remarks that his accomplishments so far amount to nothing. He says maybe he could change his mind if he were to obtain the Dream Collet, and considers giving Gamao the black paper, but decides not to before he disappears. However, Gamao discovers that Girinma "accidentally” left it behind for him, and is convinced he’ll be able to get into upper management. As he runs off to enact his plan, Kawrino reappears and snidely remarks to himself that he doesn’t have much faith in the frog.

We return to Nozomi and Rin’s running practice A few key shots of Rin show that she’s extremely tired but pressing on, because she really wants to repeat her first place title from last year. Karen notices this and decides that they should all join in the practice, so the next day when they run the practice course, all five girls and even Coco and Nuts are present. They begin to climb to a hill that could rival anything in San Francisco, and Nozomi starts to give up, but as she stops to encourage her friend, Rin succumbs to fatigue and collapses.

Everyone gets Rin back to Natts House and when she’s feeling better, she opens up to Nozomi, saying she wanted to do for Nozomi what Nozomi did for her when they were in elementary school. We flash back to a time in their youth when the school had a race, and Rin was the favorite to win, but she tripped and fell and almost gave up running entirely until Nozomi caught up to her and encouraged her to finish the race together. Nozomi promises to do her best in the race for Rin’s sake.

It’s important to note that the route for this race leaves the Cinq Lumieres campus and gets into the town (which I am realizing has never been named). There are signs along the route that point the way, and Gamao has taken a position as a sign holder at a junction. When he sees the Precures coming, he turns the sign to divert them off the route away from the other students, and when he has them all gathered in a dead end forest, he turns the ground into a beyblade arena crater and makes his presence known. When they naturally refuse to hand over the Dream Collet, he transforms and so do they. He tries to mow them over like Tasmanian Devil, zooming around the pit like fat beyblade.

I’m not kidding that’s his plan

The Precures are understandably tired as they’ve been running, but after he mocks them for running for no reason, Dream gets riled up and retorts that trying hard at something isn’t pointless at all, and then they all kick his ass. He pulls out his black paper, but clearly he wasn’t aware of the side effects when it latches onto his face and turns him giant. Now a giant, mindless toad monster, he leaps into the air and comes crashing down on Lemonade, Mint, and Aqua. He smooshes Rouge as well, and then tries to attack the fairies, who are watching from the edge of the pit.

Dream manages to catch his tongue before he can hurt them, and the other Cures emerge, one beneath each foot, lifting him up and throwing him into the wall. With Milk’s help, they summon the Symphony Set and perform Precure Five Explosion, finishing Gamao off once and for all. He will not be missed.

They make their way back to the race route and realize as they turn back into the school grounds that they’re in last place, ruining Rin’s chances at a repeat victory. However, she’s happy enough that she gets to finish together with her friends, just like she did all those years ago. Nozomi declares a race to the finish and sprints across the finish line ahead of everyone else as the episode closes out.

The Analysis

As you may have gathered from my introduction, I don’t have a very high opinion on this episode. Sure, it has some nice character beats, but it doesn’t introduce anything new or build on any facets we haven’t seen before, except to give us another reason why Nozomi and Rin are close friends. It’s not offensively bad or anything, I don’t think there’s any episodes that I outright hate in this franchise, but it’s bottom tier for this show. There’s very little narrative payoff to Rin’s plot in the episode. She overworked herself to the point of collapsing to motivate Nozomi, and ultimately Nozomi did internalize the importance of the race from Rin’s perspective, which she repeated during the battle. It’s nice but I’ve grown to expect more meaningful declarations during these pivotal villain defeat episodes than “I helped her as a kid and she wants to help me now.” The whole point of Five Explosion is a manifestation that they’re stronger together than apart, but this episode isn’t about the full team’s unity, so it falls flat. If it hadn’t been Gamao’s send-off I might have liked it a smidge better, or if it had been Hadenya attacking instead, or even Bunbee, then it may have made sense.

Moving over to Gamao, for a black mask final battle, this fell far short of what Girinma and Arachnea put the girls through. He didn’t seem any more threatening than a strong Kowaina, he only really got in one attack on the girls as a monster before they took him down with Five Explosion. He had a pretty cool effect of being so massive and fast that he generated really fast air currents but they didn’t do any damage to anyone. This battle is a ton of wasted potential. The best part of the fight was actually before he used the black mask. Spinning around the arena like he did was clever, and it worked better than just about anything else he’s ever done. Gamao’s shortfalling is that he’s lazy and shortsighted, he wants to take the easy way out, his plans amount to simply beating the girls up and that’s it. Compare this to Bloody from the previous episode, who nearly talked Nuts into just handing it over, and well, Gamao comes out of this unfavorably. About the only good thing I can say about him is that his black mask form looks really cool, and it’s huger than any we’ve seen so far. I really wish they’d used it more. If they’d swapped him out with Girinma in episodes 23-24 I would have liked that a lot more, it would give Gamao a better sendoff and it feels more appropriate that the weakest villain is the first to go. Alas.

Lastly, the art quality in this episode is in the toilet and that might be the biggest factor in making it seem underwhelming. The characters appear grossly deformed and oddly proportioned a lot.

Even when they’re kicking Gamao’s ass in the fight, which is a series of dynamic still frames, the quality is poor. There’s a shot when Coco and Nuts step in to announce that they’ll be running with the girls, and their models just bounce into the frame like they leaped into the air and landed, rather than stepping. It was bad and kind of hilarious by the same token.

This episode feels like an afterthought on both the writing and animation standpoint. The last few have been so-so in visual quality and if you’ve been following along, you know that’s normal for this point in the show, and of course it’s nowhere near as bad as Max Heart could get, but this is an episode that should have had weight to it, and to see it squandered like this makes me sad.

On the upside I will say I enjoy the little back and forth between Nozomi and Milk, ever butting heads. Milk tells Nozomi that they can all do their best in the practice run, while sitting comfortably in Nuts’s bag being kind of a slouch herself. It was amusing.

Speaking of slouches, Coco probably should go for more runs, because next episode he’s putting on some weight after eating a diet of nothing but cream puffs. Look forward to more on that!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 Kettei!

P.S. dear Pretty Cure Splash Subs: your meme subs are not funny.

[arrowdaily]

Monday night’s all-new hour of Arrow is not only the season seven finale, it’s also Emily Bett Rickards’ last episode as Felicity Smoak on The CW’s superhero drama.

The twenty-seven-year-old actress revealed the news of her departure with a sweet collage and poem on her Instagram at the end of March. “Felicity and I/ are a very tight two/ But after one through seven/ we will be saying goodbye to you,” she wrote to the dismay of longtime fans.

Rickards’ exit means that Arrow’s eighth and final season will not feature Felicity, a character who has been a fan favorite since her endearing “babbling” with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) in the IT department at Queen Consolidated in the series’ third episode.

Her vast technological knowledge proved invaluable as one of the three original members of Team Arrow, and Felicity’s journey defied comic-book canon’s expectations when she later became Oliver Queen’s wife, and then the mother of his child, Mia (Katherine McNamara).

After seven seasons of near-death twists and heart-pounding turns, Felicity’s time is coming to an end, so ET called up Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz to get the inside scoop on Olicity’s final scene, and if the girl with the red pen could ever come back to our screens.

Entertainment Tonight: All of Arrow’s season finales are monumental events, but this one is especially important to fans because it’s Emily Bett Rickards’ last episode. What was your goal when you set off to  create this last hour of season seven? Beth Schwartz: Well, definitely it was to honor the whole season and make sure that we end the redemption story that we began with, as well as giving Felicity a major sendoff, which was really important to me.

You and Emily have such a great working relationship and an off-screen friendship as well. When she came to you and said she wanted to end Felicity’s journey on Arrow, what was your initial reaction? BS: As a friend, I fully support Emily and her new chapter and what she wants to do—but creatively, I was definitely very sad because she’s one of my favorite characters to write. So yeah, this finale was definitely bittersweet in that sense that I feel really happy with what we came up with, but very sad that it’s the end.

I love that you bring up the dichotomy of wanting to supportive to her as a friend, but that this decision throws a wrench in your plans as a showrunner. Was there ever a conversation where you asked, “Can you just hold out for one last half season?” BS: [Laughs] No, I don’t want to pressure her. She has to do what’s right for her and, obviously, I’d be more than happy if she came back at some point next season, so we’ll just have to see.

And that leads us to the the number one questions that fans have been asking: Is there a possibility that Felicity could come back for the series finale of Arrow? BS: I don’t know. I hope there is a way that can happen. She’s welcome to come back whenever she wants.

When you were approaching this episode���knowing it was going to be the last one for Felicity—did Emily have any last wishes or Easter eggs that she wanted to make sure were included? BS: I don’t think so. I think that we were on the same page as for her exit from the show. I know that Stephen had some. It was really important to him, and we had a lot of conversations about her ending as well. So between the three of us, I think we were all very happy with the outcome.

Felicity Smoak’s fans are so passionate—not just about her, but about her friendships as a member of OTA and her romantic relationship with Oliver. How will this last episode honor this character that fans know and love? BS: I think this whole season, in a sense, honored her character. She was so prevalent in our future storyline and [through] her relationship with Mia, you got to see what she went through in the future and also some of her successes as well. And then in the present day, we get to see the origins of Smoak Tech and that that was super important to her besides just being part of Team Arrow. And then with her relationship with Oliver, [we saw her] getting pregnant and then sort of trying to figure out how to be parents when you’re superheroes and danger has always been around the corner.

Fans love Original Team Arrow so much. Are we going to be getting a special OTA moment in this final episode? BS: Yeah we definitely honor the OTA in the finale. There’s a lot of really nice homages to where the series started between the three of them and as well as between Oliver and Felciity.

Olicity has become the most powerful shipdom we’ve ever seen. What can fans expect from Felicity and Oliver’s last scene together? BS: I feel like we honor the relationship from where they started to what they’ve gone through over the entire series, not just this season where they started separate when Oliver was in prison and Felicity being able to take care of herself. I think the fans will be very satisfied with the ending. That’s all I can say.

What are the chances that we’ll get the see Oliver and Felicity share a scene together in the future storyline? BS: Oh, in the finale? Low.

Seeing Felicity as a mother has been such an amazing addition to this season and her dynamic with Mia has been so great. How would you describe Felicity and Mia’s interactions in this final episode? BS: You see in [episode] 16 where they had such a great relationship, but then Mia felt betrayed. They’ve had a little bit of a bumpy ride, but by the end, that will all have been resolved.

As we look toward the end of Arrow, fans are already clamoring about the crossover. What can you tease right now as you’re trying to piece together another massive Arrowverse crossover? BS: We’ve already started talking about it, which is crazy. Last year we said it was the earliest we’d started talking about it, but this year we started talking weeks ago. It’s pretty massive and basically it’s going to affect every show, which is really cool. So yeah, there’s a to to look forward to.

What last message to you want to say to the Arrow fans before they embark on this final episode for Felicity Smoak? BS: It’s definitely an emotional ending and it is a lot to process. I just think they’ve been such a great and passionate fandom, and I just hope it will honor this character that everyone loves that everyone has been watching for the past seven years.

[emilybettsource]

Oh, frack. It’s time to say goodbye to Felicity.

Monday night’s all-new hour of Arrow is not only the season seven finale, it’s also Emily Bett Rickards’ last episode as Felicity Smoak on The CW’s superhero drama.

The 27-year-old actress revealed the news of her departure with a sweet collage and poem on on her Instagram at the end of March. "Felicity and I/ are a very tight two/ But after one through seven/ we will be saying goodbye to you," she wrote to the dismay of longtime fans.

Rickards' exit means that Arrow's eighth and final season will not feature Felicity, a character who has been a fan favorite since her endearing “babbling” with Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) in the I.T. department at Queen Consolidated in the series’ third episode.

Her vast technological knowledge proved invaluable as one of the three original members of Team Arrow, and Felicity’s journey defied comic book canon expectations when she later became Oliver Queen’s wife, and then the mother of his child, Mia (Katherine McNamara).

After seven seasons of near-death twists and heart-pounding turns, Felicity’s time is coming to an end, so ET called up Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz to get the inside scoop on Olicity’s final scene, and if the girl with the red pen could ever come back to our screens.

ET: All of Arrow’s season finales are monumental events, but this one is especially important to fans because it’s Emily Bett Rickards’ last episode. What was your goal when you set off to create this last hour of season seven?

Ben Schwartz: Well, definitely it was to honor the whole season and make sure that we end the redemption story that we began with, as well as giving Felicity a major sendoff, which was really important to me.

You and Emily have such a great working relationship and an off-screen friendship as well. When she came to you and said she wanted to end Felicity’s journey on Arrow, what was your initial reaction?

As a friend, I fully support Emily and her new chapter and what she wants to do -- but creatively, I was definitely very sad because she's one of my favorite characters to write. So yeah, this finale was definitely bittersweet in that sense that I feel really happy with what we came up with, but very sad that it’s the end.

I love that you bring up the dichotomy of wanting to supportive to her as a friend, but that this decision throws a wrench in your plans as a showrunner. Was there ever a conversation where you asked, “Can you just hold out for one last half season?”

[Laughs] No, I don’t want to pressure her. She has to do what’s right for her and, obviously, I’d be more than happy if she came back at some point next season, so we’ll just have to see.

And that leads us to the the number one questions that fans have been asking: Is there a possibility that Felicity could come back for the series finale of Arrow?

I don’t know. I hope there is a way that can happen. She’s welcome to come back whenever she wants.

When you were approaching this episode -- knowing it was going to be the last one for Felicity -- did Emily have any last wishes or Easter eggs that she wanted to make sure were included?

I don't think so. I think that we were on the same page as for her exit from the show. I know that Stephen had some. It was really important to him, and we had a lot of conversations about her ending as well. So between the three of us, I think we were all very happy with the outcome.

Felicity Smoak's fans are so passionate -- not just about her, but about her friendships as a member of OTA and her romantic relationship with Oliver. How will this last episode honor this character that fans know and love?

I think this whole season, in a sense, honored her character. She was so prevalent in our future storyline and [through] her relationship with Mia, you got to see what she went through in the future and also some of her successes as well. And then in the present day, we get to see the origins of Smoak Tech and that that was super important to her besides just being part of Team Arrow. And then with her relationship with Oliver, [we saw her] getting pregnant and then sort of trying to figure out how to be parents when you’re superheroes and danger has always been around the corner.

Fans love Original Team Arrow so much. Are we going to be getting a special OTA moment in this final episode?

Yeah we definitely honor the OTA in the finale. There’s a lot of really nice homages to where the series started between the three of them and as well as between Oliver and Felciity.

Olicity has become the most powerful shipdom we’ve ever seen. What can fans expect from Felicity and Oliver’s last scene together?

I feel like we honor the relationship from where they started to what they've gone through over the entire series, not just this season where they started separate when Oliver was in prison and Felicity being able to take care of herself. I think the fans will be very satisfied with the ending. That’s all I can say.

What are the chances that we’ll get the see Oliver and Felicity share a scene together in the future storyline?

Oh, in the finale? Low.

Seeing Felicity as a mother has been such an amazing addition to this season and her dynamic with Mia has been so great. How would you describe Felicity and Mia’s interactions in this final episode?

You see in [episode] 16 where they had such a great relationship, but then Mia felt betrayed. They’ve had a little bit of a bumpy ride, but by the end, that will all have been resolved.

As we look toward the end of Arrow, fans are already clamoring about the crossover. What can you tease right now as you’re trying to piece together another massive CW Arrowverse crossover?

We’ve already started talking about it, which is crazy. Last year we said it was the earliest we’d started talking about it, but this year we started taking weeks ago. It’s pretty massive and basically it’s going to affect every show, which is really cool. So yeah, there’s a to to look forward to.

What last message to you want to say to the Arrow fans before they embark on this final episode for Felicity Smoak?

It’s definitely an emotional ending and it is a lot to process. I just think they’ve been such a great and passionate fandom, and I just hope it will honor this character that everyone loves that everyone has been watching for the past seven years.

Arrow’s season seven finale airs Monday, May 13 at 9 p.m. EST/PST on The CW.

[calamity-bean]

what are your feelings about this interview with pablo? io9. gizmodo. com/pablo-schreiber-opens-up-about-what-american-gods-king-1834177161

This is really a great interview, imo… I’m always struck by the way Pablo talks about Sweeney, you can really feel how much thought he’s put into this role, both intellectually and emotionally, and how deeply he connects with and cares about the character. (I’ve been riding a big wave of emotions lately about how lucky we are to have gotten him in this role and how grateful I am to him for how beautifully he’s portrayed Sweeney; I was fond of the character even in the novel, but it’s truly incredible what Pablo’s performance and the show’s writing have done with him. 😭 ) I especially love this bit:

I think one of the really important things about Sweeney is that he’s a guy who feels fundamentally misunderstood. He feels unappreciated and let down by modern culture and society. He doesn’t like the way that things have progressed and the developments of the modern world, and his frustrated by it all.

And I love that he confirms once again that the 2.05 sex scene revealed Laura’s feelings for Sweeney:

When the two of them go to New Orleans, and Baron Samedi tells them that he deals in truth and that Laura’s going to have to give him truth in order for him to bring her back to life—and it turns out that her truth is that fantasy of her and Sweeney being together. What happened in that smoky “other space” was all fantasy, and so we don’t know that anything was confirmed regarding his yearning for her, but there’s clearly a connection between them. There’s a draw.

But as for the issue of whether he’s coming back or not, which I suspect is the main reason you’re asking (after all, it’s the question we’re ALL asking right now, ahaha)…

io9: Let’s shift into a speculative space for a quick second. Season three is coming, and let’s say Mad Sweeney comes back from this death. How do you think the entire experience of becoming involved in Wednesday’s war, dying, and being resurrected might change his perspective?

Schreiber: I…don’t know that I want to get into a speculative headspace because I don’t know that any of that is going to happen. I’m not saying it won’t happen, it’s just that we don’t know. What I do know is that Sweeney is dead and for the time being, I think that’s entirely appropriate. We gave him a great sendoff, and we’ll let him rest in peace for now.

Is it possible that Pablo himself isn’t certain whether or not he’s coming back? Maybe… But also, here and elsewhere, I think Pablo has been making a point to be intentionally vague, intentionally evasive, possibly even intentionally misleading, and that even if he does know for sure whether this is his last season, I doubt he — or anyone else — is going to say so outright until after the finale at least. He was similarly evasive in his interview with The Wrap a few days ago:

Asked whether fans could expect to see Sweeney in the finale or Season 3, Schreiber played coy.

“Yes, you can expect anything , totally fine,” he said. “You won’t always get what you expect.”

It gives me a little hope that he brings up Laura’s potion, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll get used on Sweeney, so, can’t put too much weight on that. And last night, he said he’ll be doing a Q&A on Instagram Live tomorrow (April 23), so maybe he’ll drop more hints then. But unfortunately, I think we’re just gonna have to suffer in suspense until at least the finale. If Pablo knows that he’s leaving the show, I hope he will be able to tell us after 2.08. But I’m also still hoping 2.08 will give us a strong indication that he’s not leaving, so… It’s gonna be a suspenseful week! XD

[douxreviews]

The 100 - ‘What You Take With You’ Review

"Things are about to get weird."

Aren't things always getting weird??

If you showed up this week like I did thinking we were getting a filler episode, I hope you held on to your hat. We went for a ride.

The episode does remarkably well juggling multiple plot threads and character points of view. Even within each sect the performances are layered and felt on more than one front. That's not easy to do. I mean I was even starting to feel something for Josephine at one point.

Pike: "The path to the future goes through the past, Miss Blake. Psychology 101. We are what we've done and what's been done to us. I'll ask you again. Who are you now, Miss Blake? Your brother's sister or the monster who would have watched him die in this very arena?"

I really hate that she's still widely labeled by other people (brother's sister, monster, girl under the floor, Blodreina...) but the first order of business is Octavia's redemption. Not that she's redeemed herself with anyone really, but acknowledging that she wants it is at least a start. I've been looking forward to watching her let her walls down for weeks now and secretly hoping that it wasn't a sloppy after school special. I wasn't disappointed. Taking her back to the moment that she decided to kill Pike in cold-blooded revenge and not one of the 97 tragic things that happened to her was genius, if you ask me.

Pike said that we are what we've done and what's been done to us. For Octavia, killing Pike was maybe the only choice she ever made on her own. Being stuck under the floor or forced to fight to the death for your people or watching the love of your life die (just to name a few) were all traumatic events that shaped who she is, but she more or less had no wiggle room in the corners that she was backed into. Killing Pike, though, that was a calculated decision. He saved her life and fought along side her looking for his own redemption and Octavia made the decision to end his life. Going back to that moment and seeing Blodreina as Pike and Pike as Lincoln, she was able to make peace with the fact that he, Pike, was a person that (maybe) deserved to live just like Lincoln was and her mother was and she is now.

Everyone deserves a second chance and when she made the decision to take his away, that was when Blodreina was really born. When she gave into the violence and anger, that was the moment she had control over and could have made a different choice. I never liked Pike and was glad to see that mustache-twirling villain get the boot, or axe as it were, but something about that being the moment that Octavia needed to redo in her mind resonates with me. If Lincoln had shown up to whisper sweet encouragement in her ear, it wouldn't have played as well. If her mom had shown up to give her a pep talk, it wouldn't have carried the same weight. But Pike pointing out the moment she became the dictator that she never wanted to be and Octavia being able to figuratively prove that she would make a different choice was really beautiful. Love love love. You go girl.

For whatever it's worth, I was mildly thrown off for a while thinking that because Octavia lived under the floor that she wouldn't have taken earth skills with Pike so it was grating my nerves that he was being so teachery with her. Later I remembered a flashback episode where he was brushing up the OG 100 before they got shipped to the ground and felt better about it, but it's not a great sign to be distracted so easily.

The next order of business is Abby and Kane and the case of the missing bottle of ooze consciouses.

Indra: "On the Ark, you floated people for stealing food. On the ground, my people cheered as children fought to the death to lead us. Is this so much worse?" Marcus: "Yes, lives have been lost in the worshiping of false gods before, more than can be counted. But if we let it stand when we could stop it, then our new world would be no different than the one we left behind."

I love that we didn't listen to Abby and Raven whine about what a stellar moral compass Kane is just for him to show up and embrace this new body-snatcher reality. I love that he, like so many others, recognized that taking peoples lives is downright rude and unlike Gabriel and that other mechanic prime dude (Striker?), he didn't ignore his skeevy inclinations and keep his consolation body prize. More than all of that though, I was so, so happy to see Indra back with us and very happy that these two bffs got to have once last powwow. And how on point was it that she was barely fazed by yet another ridiculous turn of events. I mean she and Kane did live through cannibalism and cage-fighting to the death. I can see how this could've easily been written off as just one more atrocity on the list. Not on Kane's watch!

I appreciate that three-way conversation hammering home why they can't stand for this. Why it can't be weighed against other horrible things and why it's important to stand up now and push back. Be the good guys. Do better. Now that he's gone, though, who is going to make sure that the next thing gets addressed and not simply added to the list? I don't love the idea that everyone that puts their money where their mouth is on the moral high ground finds themselves dead. I prefer a little levity in my TV.

RIP, Kane. Again.

Josephine: "My father was a fool for letting you people stay. All that time spent building a sanctuary for the human race, and he destroys it because of the most human thing of all – love."

Was letting them stay really the big mistake here? Because my money would've been on the attempted murder of Clarke Griffin. If Russell hadn't let them stay, they would've taken Sanctum by force, right?

And while I'm harping on unreliable characters, there was the moment that Josie seemed genuinely upset at the thought of seeing Gabriel and taken aback at Bellamy's declaration to Clarke. Why? She had to wonder if Gabriel was still alive somewhere in the weird woods and Bellamy didn't say anything that he hadn't already said. And Josephine is a master manipulator.

My love for the dynamic duo that is Clarke and Bellamy knows no bounds. They were part of this episode together for such a tiny speck of time, but I still lived for it.

Solid 3 out of 4 ghosts of massacres past

Bits and pieces

Do we know what was in Octavia's green box? Any guesses?

There was something particularly heart-wrenching about Octavia being chained to the fighting pit that she created. It made me think of all the time she spent under the floor and confined to that tiny room practically chained to the wall there as well. Marie G. played it very, very well. It was my favorite choice in a very well acted scene.

Octavia had to make a choice between a red box and a green box. Red is the color of blood and violence and anger. Green is the color or nature and renewal and peace. In the pit there was a small green light surrounded by a lot of red smoky light. Blodreina has a lot of red blood on her hands. The woods have a lot of greenery going on. Was the swirly green too? Is any of this relevant? Also, do I have to start calling the swirly the anomaly?

Kane came completely full circle floating himself to save humanity. When we met him, he was mercilessly floating people – also to save the human race.

Exceptionally lovely that Indra gave Kane the SpaceKru and Grounder sendoff. Her whole thing got me in the feelings. Much more than Abby snotting on the glass. Why am I so annoyed with Abby? Even Raven is cutting her slack.

Kane: "Everything is wrong."

Kane: "I am not one of the sheep you raised to follow you into oblivion." Wow.

We're all meant to blindly accept that Kane needed to be holding the serum to get it to fly into space, right? Okay. Okay, fine.

Josephine: "I’ve been in love with Gabriel for 236 years, the last 70 of which he’s been trying to kill me. You know, relationships."

Bellamy: "When the people we care about are in trouble, then we do what has to be done."

Bellamy: "I won't let you die."

Are TPTB going to do anything with the Children of Gabriel?? They're so one-note.

Gabriel: "Things are about to get weird."

---

Laure Mack