#but I fear it's gonna be like the world viewer update. make it harder to get a clear overview of what's what because everything is so big.

[darknymfa]

my favorite worldbuilding website keeps changing its UI, and every time they make it worse (for me, at least) :(

[lovecanbesostrange]

There was no reason for Station 19 to go that hard on all fronts, but wow they did. I honestly watched S1+2 mostly out of habit, but S3 was like cleaning house, setting everybody up as a character with their personal flashback gave them far more layers and now I truly care. Thanks. Well, and then Grey’s happened and I cried for like half the episode...........

Maya and Jack have definitely profitted the most from the shift in tone and the character development overhaul. And I liked both their storylines. Maya dealing with all that crap from her father and coming to terms with why she maybe isn’t 100% ready for this very steady relationship and sharing all her emotions was great. Can she tell Carina everything she told Andy? In almost exactly this way, please? Because being afraid of slipping and finding these moments and naming what she has trouble with adjusting to - that is all good. And Carina is one of the most compassionate and patient people (from the limited scenes we have had with her over the years). Dear Maya, if you communicate, she will be there for you.

And wow, Carina than talking about her home and her own fears. Magnificent. Early days of covid? All the horrible, horrible news from Italy come to mind. So thanks writers for building that international bridge. (I wonder how any Italian tv shows that will incorporate the pandemic will deal with this. Every country has their very unique story in this.)

Of course we will see nice side characters getting covid and probably die. Gonna keep my fingers crossed for Marsha nonetheless. Jack having this make-shift family did wonders for his character and I don’t want him to take a blow. It’s a found family on the side, not bound by trade and I like it. I love that thanks to Marcus the masks with plastic windows were mentioned (even tying back to Dr. Riley’s visit to Grey-Sloan. Good job.

Well, Miller and Sullivan. That all happened. And I am exactly 0% qualified to discuss the issues raised. I do empathise with Sullivan a bit more (not that I dismiss Miller’s points, because like Sullivan and Warren say, he is right). Because I absolutely hate this thing were being part of a (minority) group makes you the spokesperson and you get judged far more harshly. And then also taking in-group crap about it. Yes, it is how the world is. But it’s unfair. (And tbh luckily Sullivan hurt mostly himself and he did stand up and face any consequence coming his way. And yes, he was the kind of person to always tell everybody else to better not make mistakes *blablabla* and look, he fell down that high horse... I do think that is something Miller pointed out very rightfully.)

Glad Travis talked to his dad. And I do like the way he did. Just letting him know he knows and leaving that door open. His breakdown about how the church/religion is letting gay people down, while so many sins are just forgiven... damn. Hard to watch. And if just one viewer watching suddenly went like “huh, fucked up”, it was worth it.

Vic is the unsung hero of this episode. I loved how she kept defending that drugged up dude. Yes, he is stupid and it’s horrifying that he stays with his obviously abusive wife, but also keeps drugs around and just... lives like this. But she kept talking about how he didn’t mean to hurt anybody else and that he needed help far more than punishment. Travis and Vic are both good people, but in that situation I think most of us would react more like Travis. Being annoyed, mouthing back and wanting those two shut the fuck up. It’s a normal reaction. What Vic said is the harder choice. And it felt like there was an untold story there.

Okay, wow, much to say about Station 19 for once. But oh boy, Grey’s...........

I remember the “early” episodes we met Bailey’s father. And then we barely talked about her parents. They were somewhere in the background. Until in “(Don’t) Fear the Reaper” we met her mom, got that whole thing with her dead sister and got this picture of her early home life. It was really good. And last week her parents get mentioned again, because hey, elderly people. AND NOW THEY TELL US HER MOM HAD ALZHEIMER’S AND THEN SHE DIED............................................................... it was so fucking heartbreaking start to finish.

And I love all the quiet scenes we got out of this that are just so human. Sad and human. Bailey talking to Meredith, saying she misses her and relating to the whole seeing your mom withering away (so dying twice in a way). I like the use of the beach, because Meredith is semi-conscious, she hears it all, but she just can’t wake up long enough. And then Maggie and Bailey on that bench.

Two people sitting on a bench, talking. Nothing special happens. They don’t need to distract by having them in a busy hallway or somethng. It’s a whole ass conversation with no shorthand. Showing all the emotions. Having Maggie go back to that time her mother died and how she views it all in a different light now. Talking about dying with dignity. Chandra Wilson was so good in this scene. (Her best performance to me will probably always be when Charles died in front of those elevators, I can cry just thinking about that.) And she was allowed such a variety of feelings. And the pain of it all brings up joyful memories. Thanks so much for that hilarity that her scholarship came from the fucking Daughters of the Revolution. HA!

I don’t get people who still watch Grey’s and the relationship drama is the thing they care most about. This is what I’m here for first - the personal lives and relating to all these emotions (and also the mistakes and the way to do better next time).

Well, at least Tom got better quick, I guess. Nice way to give Amelia a reason to get to work for a day and thus have her confronting Teddy. Look, I am done with storylines involving cheating and all. Teddy as a character is often hard to like. But the way she is isolated and like the most contact she has is with DeLuca when he updates her on Meredith’s vitals... it’s harsh. And I liked that Amelia can talk to her without making her feel more terrible. And then I did like Teddy talking to Tom, who was his charming self in the end. Bonuspoints for mentioning that the kids are with Owen’s mom. And hey, I give this to Owen, I believe this must be hard for him, because being a dad is the biggest deal for him. Actually something to make him more likeable - if handled correctly - and this situation sucks for him as well.

Which brings me to Link. Who was left at the Grey home. With Zola, Bailey, Ellis and Scout. Wow. Who would have thought? Amelia’s pregnancy was a good thing, I guess, to give them the excuse of baby time and also Link sorta moving in to deal with all the kids. (Shipping all of them off to their own living Grandma isn’t an option. lol ) Link is a good dude. So please, okay, it was news to him, no need to hate on Tom, push through the irritation, Link! Ahahahahaha.

Jackson being so nervous about his mom being a bit too proud to always keep her mask on - wonderful. Sure, she’s a doctor, she’s also stubborn and he was so scared of losing her not that long ago. Family drama everywhere! I always like seeing Jackson and Webber together. And then they had another big talk, hammering home the fact that people are affected differently. That it’s worse for poor people and not by accident, but systemic problems, most of them are PoCs. So many black and brown patients dying left and right, and it’s clear where the problem starts... I do believe for some viewers this is actually news, because the “news media” they consume won’t talk about that.

So, well, and then there is the Jo of it all. OMG where do I even start? Now, first off, Levi and Jo living together is still hilarious and thanks so much for getting two scenes at the loft. Especially that first one with Levi pretty much pushing her out of bed. Now, I do want Levi to talk to his mom, I desperately need to know how things are. I’m sure the pandemic has shed some new light on what’s important. Second I’m also glad Levi is with Jo, so she is not alone, which makes it harder for her to fall into really bad habits and down that depression hole.

I kinda freaked out seeing Val again and was sure she’s gonna die (might still happen aaaaah). They have a tendency to kill the nice ladies. Still haven’t forgiven Grey’s for killing CeCe. So it was cool that the surgery was a success and wow, did I love when Jo sent Levi out to just listen to Val and connect. And then the baby delivery happened and....... what is going on? Jo even just casually thinking about switching specialties? TO OB?????????? WHAT?????? Dear writers, you dropped the ball on her entire medical journey so often, giving her a bonkers fellowship, having her residency take way too long and shoving her into general, because oops no mentor or anything. And now you give me this? Please, so this is how I would accept this as a set-up for an actual carthartic moment:

Let Jo stalk Carina, play out this thought “what if this thing that made me happy for a day is the thing I am supposed to do longer”. And then let her have joyous moments, but also something complicated, and finally a very distressed woman in labor. And Jo feels for the woman, is compassionate and all and when the baby is there, the woman struggles to connect. And this joyous second is withheld from Jo. And boom, full circle, this woman feels like shit for not loving that baby instantly, for the feeling of resentment and being out of her mind. And finally Jo can forvige Vicki. And that’s the end of that particular journey.

I mean we all pretend that we have forgotten that time Jo stole a baby, right? Because that was the S16 hiatus and there was a storyline set in motion that blew up with Justin leaving like that. And we have had Jo interacting with babies and new moms so often over the course of the show. While also staiting that Jo’s self-worth is tied to being in an OR, which is also her safe space. So this whole thing...

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Addison was the attending OB/GYN once upon a time. (”I’m being stalked by pregnant women!” “You are an obstetrician.”) She was also a fetal surgeon, which was what Arizona eventually became. So it’s not like when Meredith wore pink scrubs for a few weeks and got made fun of. There could be a long interesting road that eventually does include  surgeries. But it’s just so....... dumb. In a way. Especially with Jo having so many issues. And the writers - who give out pregnancies and babies like halloween candy - constantly skipping a potential Jolex-as-parents-storyline.... which kinda bites them in the ass now. ugh F R U S T R A T I O N......... I could write a five page essay just about Jo so far this season, I’m sorry. (Also if I ever have to see Jo in pink scrubs, a part of my brain will explode thinking back to Jason for sure.............)

Oh, and then there was Ben Warren. Just existing. Being a good man. Thanks. :3

[jinlian]

ideal season 2 as an optimistic finale critic we can do this guys

All right, so. I’ve had some time to dwell on my own (frequently conflicting, contradictory, seesawing) opinions of episode 12, and I’ve had the time to see a lot of other fan opinions on the matter as well. There seems to be a conflict between “episode 12 was perfect and everything I wanted” and “episode 12 was horrible and destroyed the show.” If I had to choose, I’d definitely fall more into the category of critical fans of that finale, but I have said over and over that there are a lot of things to love as well and that as poorly executed as I believe ep12 is it absolutely does not spell disaster.

Quite honestly, I think it’s extremely easy to address my narrative frustrations without spelling doom and gloom for anyone. Victuuri wasn’t ruined (left with some dissatisfactions, sure, but not ruined). Victor’s return doesn’t mean that he or Yuuri are inevitably going to have to be miserable with their career. And believe me, I absolutely think the coaching-while-skating thing is ridiculous, but honestly at this point if it’s a choice between happiness or suffering gay men? I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense or if it’s narratively inconsistent. I really don’t. Let them have their cake and eat it, too.

But how could s2 be written in a way that deals with narrative frustrations without sacrificing happiness? Easy. And it relies mostly on what happens with Victor.

We’ve been reading Victor’s return as either he did it for Yuuri, which returns him to the role of a tragic white-haired anime boy who will wordlessly suffer for love and be a manic pixie dream boyfriend, or he genuinely wanted to go back, which takes away from his skill as a coach and role as Victor the human being and implies he really just wanted to train Yuuri to be his competitor, which is stupidly selfish. And, like…… why do these have to be our only choices?

Victor goes back for Yuuri. It wouldn’t have been his first choice, given the option of remaining a coach or going back to competing, but he’s also not really that upset about it, either. He left figure skating on an uninspired, bored season. Yeah, it was still going out on a high note, and yeah, I think he honestly should have left it that way, but if he goes back for a season or a half-season he’s honestly capable of just making last happy, blissful memories in the sport that defined him for over twenty years.

Victor keeps winning against all those people who wanted to drag him back to defeat him.

Victor wins, including beating Yuuri. Yuuri’s not upset — he’s motivated. he wants to win. he wants to win against Victor, has admitted he wanted to do it in his first Grand Prix Final. He expects Victor to beat him, but that’s part of Yuuri’s journey in s2—to stop expecting anyone to beat him at all. We have a Yuuri who wants to win against Victor at his best. He’s proud of Victor, and he’s determined to keep working hard and take it—and eventually he does.

(Yeah, I know, there’s some bullshit with his mindset on this in ep12. Whatever.)

Victor ultimately takes silver to Yuuri at Worlds/Olympics.

This…. definitely does not mean that Victor returns to disgrace himself. I honestly don’t even think that if it’s Yuuri Victor would really even care. He’s already been a living legend. He always will be. His legend really can’t ever be discounted, even as the sport moves forward. Victor takes silver at Worlds, and the person who beats him is the person he pulled out of a career slump and coached to a world record, an incredibly successful comeback career, and a world championship title.

Yuuri’s victory is also Victor’s. And we have seen how happy Victor is when Yuuri succeeds. And if he’s really happy about it, we can have that moment we didn't get when Victor should have been crying with joy at Yuuri’s world record.

And then he can retire for good.

Honestly I’m just tired of people wanting to see gay men suffer??? In the name of “narrative consistency” like believe me I get the criticisms I really, really do but can you stop it? I care way more about seeing a happy mlm romance just for once, for once. Even if it means some narrative bobbles. I don’t really give a fuck.

So, ideal story progression?

It’d be kinda nice to pick up from directly after the GPF and have s2 finale be that season’s Worlds. This is unlikely to happen because of the narrative significance of Yuuri’s programs as well as viewer fatigue for everyone’s programs, but if we did it would have to go like this:

Episodes settling in, showing how Yuuri and victor are adjusting to training in Russia.

Victor is tired, and this is not glossed over (by the narrative. Yuuri doesn’t notice yet, but we’ll get there). But he’s still happy. He’s very happy. This is important. He’s tired, but he’s happy.

Open with the results of Russian and Japanese nationals: Victor and Yuuri both crush it. Yurio is salty. Georgi is probably crying.

Yuuri gets back to Russia. He and Victor are sharing a bedroom.

Competitions throughout the season are 4CC and Europeans. More time is devoted to competition episodes in order to extend narrative pacing.

JJ wins gold at 4CC, Yuuri takes silver, Phichit takes bronze.

Victor wins at Europeans. Yurio is salty.

Yurio’s body is changing. He begins to push himself harder, even harder, to try to win.

Victor notices this. He’s worried about Yurio. Yurio snaps at him and points out how hypocritical this is of Victor to say, when he’s pushing himself to inhuman levels to coach and compete.

Victor legitimately begins talking to Yuuri about marriage, planning an actual wedding. Yuuri freaks out. They table the discussion.

Victor is a little tired.

Worlds - Yuuri skates Eros with a desire to resolve his fear about his relationship with Victor and prove to the world and to himself that he doesn’t just want Victor for skating. he wants Victor for life. (and in his pants)

Updated!Eros breaks Agape’s WR.

Yurio is not happy.

Victor gets Yuuri’s message, but this time post-short program they actually talk. And I mean, talk about everything. Marriage. Victor’s exhaustion. Victor’s love for skating, but his love also of being a full-time coach. That their love is not only tied to the ice, and that Victor can continue to find love and happiness even if he is not competing. They say “I love you,” in words and not in metaphors. They cry. They’re happy.

Victor promises he’s not going to go easy on Yuuri in the free skate, and Yuuri wouldn’t have it any other way.

Yurio, meanwhile, has a problem. Unfortunately, Yurio still has to complete the narrative journey of “people will stay with you even if you don’t win” (this was Yurio’s lesson to learn, never Yuuri’s, as Yuuri already knew it!!) and it’s time for Chekhov’s gun to go off about his changing body and his stamina.

In an attempt to update his free skate to beat Yuuri, he pushes it too hard and injures himself, though he completes his performance (with visible struggle but with grace). He’s upset, obviously, but he has the support of Yuuri/Victor/Otabek/Mila/everyone around him to help him through. He’s the one who needs to have an understanding that people won’t leave him if he loses, that his career and successes aren’t diminished if he doesn’t win.

This parallels Victor’s final free skate. It’s not about total dominance. It’s being the best he can be and loving everything on the ice which he does. He so does. He ties Yuuri’s current WR

One last Yuuri on Ice. It’s an internal monologue about believing in himself, his love for skating, his ability to overcome and keep going. His love for his family, for Victor, and for himself. His desire to get married, and his desire to achieve everything that he knows he can.

He re-breaks the WR one more time and takes his penultimate gold at worlds.

Yurio gets bronze

Victor can’t stop crying of joy and kissing Yuuri’s gold medal. He’s happy. And he retires, because he’s tired, and Yuuri loves him and just wants what Victor wants. He had a great last season. And most importantly, they talked about it.

Yuuri’s ready to continue kicking ass. Set up for season 3 and the Olympics.

A secondary ideal season 2, and one that’s more likely to happen, is pretty similar in terms of development but revolves around the Olympics being the final competition instead of Worlds, throughout the next figure skating season. We have new music, new programs, and new themes.

Victor’s theme is life and love

Yuuri’s is triumph. Short program represents his triumph in figure skating, and free skate is triumph/pride in everything in his life, everything that he is.

Same story progression during the final competition. Everyone talks. Everyone’s full of love. Victor retires. We’re happy and resolved.

I mean I do think you have to have a bit of a willingness to let some things go for this to be satisfying. I understand. I really do. But for me the happiness comes first. And it is possible to address Victor’s career/success as a coach and Yuuri’s triumph and how deserving he is of winning big this way, as well as the communication problems in the romantic relationship left in ep12. You have to be willing to be patient and set it off for a while. But this anime isn’t about suffering. It’s not, it never has been. I even understand the writers’ wish-fulfillment in keeping some favorite skaters from retiring. But they can still write a happy emotional and narratively better season 2 without sacrificing anyone’s happiness, and I’m pretty optimistic about whatever story we’re gonna get.