#but hoo boy did the quality of pretty much every aspect of that series take a steep nosedive in between s2 and 3

[uhyeahnoabsolutelynot]

new mando pretty bad btw

[bloodraven55]

A Study of Intimacy in the DC Comics

Hoo boy, this is going to be a chunky analysis but I have many things to say so grab a snack and let’s get started.

When I was reading the issue about Blake and Adam’s relationship I got a similar sense of closeness between the characters as I did when I read the issue about Blake and Yang’s relationship, but with a vastly opposite tone. And I want to look at how the two comics make the emotions behind these relationships clear while also making them feel totally dissonant from each other.

To begin with, there’s the first time that one of the characters sees the other within each of the comics, which is important for establishing the dynamic throughout the rest of the story. In the former case, it’s Blake who sees Adam first, and it’s framed to make her seem incredibly small and young. Emphasis is placed on her terror and discomfort with the close up of her expression and the harsh, striking colours that remind you of fire or an explosion. Not to mention that we only see his almost demon-like mask, not his eyes or his expression.

Now compare that to Yang getting distracted by Blake at Beacon. Unlike with Adam, we see Yang’s eyes and her expression, complete with a slight blush dusting her cheeks to create an even softer atmosphere. And instead of bold, aggressive colours Blake is surrounded by flowers to convey a sense of beauty and peace, with the look on her face calm and unbothered instead of petrified. It’s also worth noting that although Blake is of course five years older here anyway, the way she’s framed also makes her look much more like a woman than a girl with her features and posture, highlighting the power imbalance between her and Adam that doesn’t exist between her and Yang.

The message here is clear right from the start. Adam is presented as an imposing figure of fear who Blake is afraid of, and someone who sees her as a child rather than an equal, On the other hand, Yang is presented as a teenager with a crush whose attention doesn’t in any way make Blake uncomfortable, and someone who sees her as a peer.

Now let’s move on to another common element that the two comics share: a montage of sorts showing the bond between the two characters growing. In both cases there is a series of panels skipping through significant moments in their relationship, but they’re markedly different.

The examples of moments for Blake and Adam are primarily them fighting together in the White Fang which I haven’t included since there isn’t as much to discuss, representing the violent core of their relationship and again reminding you of the power that Adam has over her with his superior position in the organisation, with Blake being saved by him multiple times and given little to no agency in the action, and even when he walks her home in what should be a pleasant moment the palette is drowned in his crimson red with only Blake’s clothing standing out as he talks of “monsters in the dark.” The monster is him, in case you didn’t catch on before.

But the part I want to focus on is the fact that their single instance of physical contact, or indeed anything approaching a show of affection that you might expect from a couple, is entirely cast in shadow. One more, we can’t see their expressions or their eyes to read their emotions, and the whole scene feels distinctly dark as a result in more ways than one.

In contrast, all of the activities that Blake and Yang do together are not only in bright, vibrant colour with not a shadow to be seen anywhere, but we’re shown their expressions in nearly every case too. It provides a sense of earnestness to the emotions with Blake looking wholly and sincerely happy in two of the panels and outright giggling in a third. And that’s before we even get to the “May I help you, please?” with the words that give Blake a choice in the matter in striking bold so they can’t be missed, another demonstration of the contrast between Yang and Adam’s methods of “helping” her.

Adam might have helped Blake physically, but he didn’t allow her to make her own decisions and he destroyed her emotionally, whereas Yang offers both physical and emotional help without forcing either of them onto her.

Nowhere is the disparity between these two relationships more obvious, though, than in the series of panels in each comic where the dynamic shifts into something else— something different to how it started.

On one side, you have Blake realising that Adam was never the man she thought he was, and that all of the good qualities she believed that she saw in him were just an act of manipulation. The colours are all dark and somber, and even as Blake tries to pretend that everything is normal it feels wrong. When she repeats her promise from earlier in the same story it now has a totally different meaning, and the way that Adam’s red takes over the dull background as they hug before becoming all-consuming as he shows his true self is a sign of how he attempted to reduce Blake to something broken and empty that he could mould into whatever he wanted.

But when Blake is spending time with Yang not only is there no reveal of ulterior motives or any kind of pretence—just two happy people enjoying each other’s company—but in the decisive moment where the path of their relationship is sealed the background changes from the same dark-ish murky blue that it was in the scene with Adam to a radiant gold instead of a blood-soaked red. We get the same close up of Blake’s face during a defining moment with her partner, but rather than the numbing dread that she experienced with Adam, with Yang she’s simply happy.

Where Blake and Adam’s relationship goes from bad to worse, Blake and Yang’s takes a step forward instead, towards something better and brighter.

This is hammered home further by the fact that the only time Blake looks joyful and carefree while she’s with Adam is right at the beginning of the comic, while it ends with her at her lowest point emotionally and mentally, yet at the end of the second comic if anything Blake is more relaxed and content than ever as a result of the progression of her and Yang’s dynamic. There’s also more colour symbolism, with her wearing a red cloak to indicate Adam’s influence smothering her at the end of the first comic, and Yang’s colour again taking over the background to make everything sunnier near the end of the second comic.

Something else that’s worth discussing is how it’s not just Adam that Blake is thinking about in the panels where she’s on the boat to Menagerie, but Yang as well. She speaks of the dangers of “intoxication,” as she calls it in an effort to distance it from love, while clothed in Adam’s colours as she throws away her last physical piece of Yang into the ocean. The imagery is, uh... not subtle in the slightest.

Further things of interest would be that Adam is still hiding his eyes behind his mask even at the start of their relationship, while focus is placed on Yang making eye contact when she tries to apologise, and also Blake covering her own eyes as she leaves Yang behind because of Adam’s actions but covering her mouth while laughing with joy instead as Yang shows understanding and respect for her boundaries.

This brings me to something which I want to briefly note since it’s a recurring motif throughout both comic: hands. Blake touches Adam’s face and mask several times, Blake and Yang’s fingers brush meaningfully when Yang hands over her drink, Blake pockets the bottle cap as a memento, and Yang’s finger runs idly along the back of the booth like she wants to touch Blake but isn’t sure if she’s allowed to.

It’s a simple but effective way to build a sense of intimacy as well as romantic tension without being too blatant, and it works incredibly well here. The aspect that’s most telling, however, is that while with Blake and Yang the suggestion of that longing for physical contact goes both ways, Adam never touches Blake, which is a reason why their relationship ends up feeling so one-sided and cold and off in comparison.

Finally, I want to cover how the bond between the characters is expressed even when they're physically separated. With regards to Blake and Adam, the red cloak and her narration where she repeats his toxic victim blaming narrative to herself are pretty easy to discern. But with Blake and Yang it’s a little more subtle, as Yang finally finishes reading the book that Blake lent her earlier in the issue and quotes the closing lines before adding her own wish to share a story and a life with Blake one day. The setting of her looking out at the moon, something Blake shares some symbolism with but which can also represent a cycle of rebirth like the repairing of a relationship, only adds to the atmosphere of pure romantic pining that permeates the panel.

To summarise, Blake’s relationship with Adam and her relationship with Yang are made to feel intimate and powerful through a variety of techniques in their respective comics, but that sense of intimacy is used in entirely opposing ways to show how the former was an overwhelmingly negative influence in Blake’s life while the latter is an overwhelmingly positive influence.

[kob131]

https://rwdestuffs.tumblr.com/post/625278536172879872/done-dirty-shipping

Maybe it’s because I’m still not over how the writers just up and offed Clover and are trying to use the ship he had with Qrow for marketing purposes, but still.- If they hadn’t done that, maybe there wouldn’t be as much backlash for what they did?

*looks behind Dudeblade to see all the Arkos shippers still trying to burn RT to the ground for sinking their ship.*

I highly doubt that.

They promoted Qrover (And that’s the name I’ll be using to avoid getting into the proper ship tags) for the sake of merchandise. They do the same with Blang (The name I’ll be using for the Blake x Yang ship to avoid getting into their tags as well), it simply seems as if these ships are just there to keep an audience invested in the show for the hope that their ship will become canon before the final episode of the series.

Ah huh-

Let’s check RT’s merch store shall we?

https://store.roosterteeth.com/collections/rwby

This is the store showcasing RWBY merch by the ‘Featured’ selection. Notice something...unusual?

Yeah, the front page of their ‘featured’ section (which would tell you how they market the show) has three pieces of possible shipping merch...and it’s Renora and White Rose. NOT Bumbleby OR Fair Game. And I do mean ‘possible’ because one could debate that since Ren and Nora are always paired together and considering White Rose is so ignored by the fandom equally ‘shippy’ moments are widely ignored- it’s not inherently romantic.

In fact, none of the three given pages have Bumbleby merch. The closest is the Yang Vs. Adam hoodie...which excludes BLAKE. SO it’s closer to Yang X Adam merch.

But maybe that’s not enough for you. Let’s switch to the ‘Best Selling’ selection. Of that we have...one shippy piece of merch. The same Renora piece from before. Odd, considering if they’re using shipping to sell the show: Why isn’t the merch, the open support of the show, flooded with shipping merch? Why is both the stuff they are pushing people to buy AND the stuff people are buying NOT showing up?

Seems rather counter intuitive ...unless they AREN’T doing that.

This post was made about a month after the finale. If miles pulls the same thing that LoK did with the LGBT+ characters in his show, not only is that hypocritical (As he would be doing the exact same thing that LoK did), but it would also be significantly worse.

Actually he fundamentally can’t. Because Miles wrote in at least three LGBT characters already into the show. So he’s being better by your standards.

Not only was LoK screwed by the network numerous times in regards to their budget, but they were also forced to not make the relationship between Korra and Asami as overt as they would have liked.

And so was RWBY screwed with budget AND resources by Gray. Andd yet no word from you on that...

And again- Already showed at least three characters being lesbians, if not five since Scarlet and Nolan are gay in Before The Dawn, a book written under Miles and Kerry’s supervision.

What network is keeping the writers from doing the same thing with stuff like Blang, Qrover, or whatever the ship name is for Terra and Saphron? Why do they only get hand holding, soft looks™, and confirmation outside of the canon show?

Bumbleby- Canonical status unconfirmed.

Fair Game- Never intended to be a ship. It was just a reference to the waitress back in Volume 4 along with the usual shipping exaggeration.

Terra X Saphron- They literally have a fucking child together.

Other shows like She-Ra, Steven Universe, and Black Lightning managed to have LGBT+ Representation in their shows despite the networks trying to reign them in. So a show that has no such restrictions can’t do it because…?

They have. You’re choosing to ignore it.

To say nothing of the quality of these since Steven Universe is the only respected one and is rather unique in comparison.

Nora and Pyrrha can forcibly kiss Ren and Jaune respectively, but Same-Sex couples have to settle for elementary-school crush stuff?

Terra and Saphron have a fucking kid. And two of your examples are bullshit.

Meanwhile, how are those ships fairing again? ... One is permenantly sunk and wasn’t even confirmed considering Jaune’s feelings for Pyrrha are not confirmed to be romantic and the other is having massive issues that could sink any romantic connections?

And how do people like you react to any kind of strife regarding same sex stuff? ... Called Illa a psycho lesbian despite being significantly more stable, regretful and safer than her straight counterpart Adam?

Yeah, why don’t YOU tell me why a fanbase known for being abusive towards the creators and hounded them for YEARS about this shit isn’t being fed?

Also, this is a dick move. $16.00 for a sunk ship? Not only that, it’s a sunk mlm ship. A kind of representation that hasn’t gotten any real representation outside of Scarlet? And even then, that was confirmed in a different book.

More like a set of pins that can be used for cosplay.

TBH, mlm shippers have every right to be upset about this.

Straight shippers have had the biggest ship sunk and permanently in limbo (Arkos) and the second one is going through a massive rough patch (Renora) while the third and fourth are regularly decried as pedophilia (Lancaster and Rose Garden) if not outright abuse (Tauradonna).

The others get confirmed ships but not the ones they wanted. Boo fucking hoo.

Whether the writers intended to or not, Qrover was coded, and they queerbaited.

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment[6] in which creators hint at, but then do not actually depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ representation.[7] They do so to attract ("bait") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion of relationships or characters that appeal to them,[8] while at the same time attempting to avoid alienating other consumers.[6][9]

They literally CANNOT do that by definition. There are same sex relationships AND characters to connect to. If you try promoting this vague and broad definition of queerbaiting-

Well, what’s to stop the Snowbird shippers from claiming they were straight baited with Winter and Qrow or Blake and Sun?

Do you REALLY want to cross that threshold?

P.S. ‘Coding’ effectively means ‘I see stereotypes’ so you’re kind of being a douchebag here.

Let’s also remember that Pyrrha’s entire existence literally revolved around Jaune and she was meant to die to further his development. Jaune x Pyrrha was literally made to develop Jaune and pretty much only Jaune, with the other characters’ reaction to her death being an afterthought.

*cough* Ruby has gotten more development from Pyrrha’s death than Jaune *cough* 

Then there was also that one Blang bag that cost like… $60.00. The writers are using these popular ships for merchandising usage and to try and reel in fans who are wlw or mlm with these ships.

Which is why they...don’t...show...up on...the...merch store...

Fun Fact: Dudeblade never shows the so called 60 dollar bag despite CLEARLY being able to screen shot images. So we’re expected to take his word for it despite not being honest in this very video.

They didn’t even have enough self-awareness to feel bad about it.

So how exactly are we supposed to trust them when they don’t realize what they did to the community?

He says as he ignores aspects of LGBT rep in RWBY, outright called a lesbian a psycho for daring to be an antagonist despite a much more unstable person to compare to and ignores the LGBT rep in other RT shows, including Camp Camp which has two heroic gay married men in the show.

Whether you ship Qrover or not, this was a massively dick move to pull. And these idiots have a lot of things to make up for it. If they choose to do it at all.

You know, that dick move you forced onto them.

And yet you doing worse (’Hey when is Miles gonna die so he can be replaced?’) deserves no making up?

Where were the guys who said that revealing that Pilot Boi was gay before offing him was a bad idea? Why did the writers not realize that this sort of stuff was going to come off as queerbaiting?

Probably because Eddy did it himself and didn’t know about this.

But really… Way to go RT. Your dumbass decision has now turned off members of the LGBT Community and caused some of them to cancel their subscriptions.

Hope that shock value was worth it.

Just like with Pyrrha, something you yourself even said before.

I fail to see how this is RT’s fault outside ‘you dared to exercise free will!’ considering that your logic would dictate changing the show the minute an LGBT ship becomes popular.

Even as you’ve spoken out against this kind of thing with Death Battle (accusations of sexism).

Way to go with the hypocrisy Dudeblade.

[agentelmo]

The X-Files MSR Analysis Series: Season 1 Episode 9

“Space”

Previous episode analysis - 1x08 Ice.

What can I say about Space.  Other than “oh dear”, quite frankly.

But let’s not focus on the quality of the episode - we’re here for the MSR! 

Eh...

Ok, so in terms of the MSR, this episode isn’t much to write home about either, but it has a moment or two.  The most significant aspect of it overall is how it shines a bit of light on how Scully can respond sensitively to Mulder, even when he might not deserve it.  In this instance, it’s regarding his childhood hero-worship of Colonel Belt.  She teases him about it at first, but when the shit starts hitting the fan, her tone changes and you can see she’s much softer with him by the end.   

There are other elements of their relationship on display here, such as their working dynamic - again - each holding their own half of the truth that when put together solves the case.  But that doesn’t happen until the very end.  Throughout the majority of the episode, Mulder and Scully are on the same page - there’s no obvious paranormal involvement from their perspective until the final act.  It’s a very strange episode...

So we start with Mulder and Scully just chilling on a set of stairs as their contact arrives.

That’s not an awkward pose at all, Mulder.  I feel like he could be seconds away from letting one rip.  Sit down again - quick man!

As in most season 1 episodes, there is always a little scene of mundane ordinariness that fascinates me.  I like seeing Mulder and Scully really rooted in the real world, and just chilling on some steps in Washington D.C. on a sunny day feels plausible.  This is what an FBI agent might well do.

Also, hello there oral fixation.

Was it David Duchovny that first pointed this out about Mulder?  That the guy must have an oral fixation because he’s always tonguing a sunflower seed?

Ya. Tonguing.

It is also established (much later in season 2′s Aubrey) that it’s something his dad did when he was a child, so it seems this is a habit Mulder has adopted - in a way it’s quite interesting that the episode starts with a link to Mulder’s father, as another father figure to Mulder pops up later.  

Anyway, this munching on the sunflower seeds is one of his many idiosyncrasies that we learn of over the years.  

Still, if it is an oral fixation no one is gonna complain about the fact Mulder is substituting titty for sunflower seeds... I’m sure many a fanfic has been written based on the premise that Mulder is quite adept with his tongue as a result of all that “practice”.

Or it could just be that he really likes sunflower seeds, but hey ho.

So next Mulder and Scully head over to Houston and the NASA Space Centre to investigate the apparent sabotage of the shuttle Orbiter.

Pfft... Orbiter.  Atlantis was always my favourite.  You ever see the movie Space Camp?  Would totally recommend.

They are driven around on a little golf buggy thingy-mah-jig and there’s some straight up inappropriate staring going on.  

Right at the beginning Scully is staring at Mulder’s mouth as he talks.  I think all that sunflower seed tonging did a number on her.  She’s been reading those titty-lickin’-good fanfics, guys.  

I won’t subtitle the gif, because Mulder is just waffling - think of it as what Scully is hearing when she stares at his mouth.  Seriously, just look at her eyes.

“Hoo boy, he is pretty cute...God damn it.  Wait, what has he been saying?”

Also, look at all the space Mulder has beside him, and yet they’re sitting squashed up like this - very much in each other’s space.  I think what happened there is that Scully got in first, and Mulder just scooched up as close as possible, because Scully, amirite?

Don’t worry, Mulder gets in on this inappropriate eyeballing too.  The eye line suggests to me he’s checking her out.  See it?

EYES UP HERE, MULDER.

I like that he immediately looks away too. Smooth move, Mulder.  Don’t want to get caught checking out your partner’s “assets”.

Don’t give me that withering look, I haven’t got much to work with in this episode, so let’s make the most of every last second we can find!

The scene itself is quite nice in terms of their dynamic, because this is typical Mulder-Scully fare.  She asks a question and Mulder goes off on a spiel answering her in the form of Mulder Story Time.

Bless you, naive 1993!Scully.  Forget the X-Files, oh what geopolitical horrors lie in store for you.

Then of course we get to the meat and potatoes of it - why might Mulder be interested in a case like this?  The clear NASA involvement in a cover up of the existence of certain “evidence”.

I love how Mulder pauses with a knowing smile.  He anticipates her snarky response, but there’s no malice.  I’ve pointed this out in a few of the episodes thus far, and I love it every time.  Just the ease that they have with each other, they’ve already become each others best friend at this point - especially Scully to Mulder.

The next scene is all Mulder regressing into a 14 year-old boy again as he walks the halls of the Space Centre.  This makes me kinda sad now, because this child-like enthusiasm and glee for space exploration is everything he wanted to share with his son - William.  

Which we see in season 10′s Founder’s Mutation.

I’m just never gonna be okay with the fact Mulder and Scully missed out on being parents to their own child.

Never.

The fact Mulder dreams that he passes on this passion to him, and that William himself dreams of going “up there some day.”

Really, it does kinda make this next scene in Space a tiny bit heartbreaking with hindsight.  Look at how excited he is.  

He’s such a puppy.  So excited.  If he had a tail he’d be wagging it right now.  Why is it heartbreaking?  Because we’re getting to see a little bit of how he would have been as a dad.

It’s okay, take a moment.  I know I am.

Scully is being a bit of a stick in the mud here, but it’s fine I guess.  She doesn’t share his interest.  Her little smiling eye-roll seems to suggest she finds this behaviour from him to be a mix between endearing and pathetically cliché.  But it is actually kinda strange that Scully wasn’t interested in the space program growing up herself since, you know, she did her undergraduate degree in physics!!

So they meet this Colonel Belt and oh my word, Mulder acts like an utterly embarrassing fanboy.

Like, seriously... he can’t stop himself.

Mulder, you do remember you have a job to do here, right?  I find this little bit quite amusing since Scully is utterly no-nonsense with Colonel Belt and Mulder is one step away from clapping his hands over Scully’s mouth and then dragging her out of the room all the while profusely apologising.

“I have no idea who this person is; she is nothing to me.  I love you.”

Poor Scully is not enjoying being backed into a corner by the Colonel’s belligerent attitude...

...and is even less impressed with Mulder’s lack of support as he stares doe-eyed at Belt complete silence.

He knows he’s effed up; look at his face as he closes the door.

If I was to look a little deeper into why Mulder might idolise Belt to the point of making a fool of himself, I’d say it might have something to do with the fact that he came to idolise Belt at roughly the age of 14 - two years after Samantha was taken.  We come to know later in the series, that Mulder’s father was never around much after Samantha’s abduction, and I suspect not much before that either considering what his job was.  

His relationship with his father is strained now, as it was then, and I believe in season 1 they are totally estranged.  So after two years of having an absentee father, Mulder would have understandably needed another father figure; a hero to look up to.  Perhaps that’s what Belt is for him?  A heroic figure he looked up to in place of his father.

It would explain why he is so dismissive of the idea that Belt could be involved in sabotage when, so far, all evidence points to him.  He can’t conceive of his hero not being who he thought he was - the betrayal wouldn’t be to his adult self, but the 14 year old boy he was.

They head over to Mission Control to watch the launch of the shuttle Orbiter, and I have to mention this, it’s totally not relevant to the MSR but the music during this sequence is very strange - go back and listen to it.  It sounds very similar to the X-Files opening theme played slower and off-key.  Weird!

The launch is a success and Mulder is still being a huge nerdy fanboy.  Look at how happy he is, geezus, I don’t think we’ve seen him this happy about anything, ever.  Scully is completely unmoved - c’mon, lighten up, Scully.  Still feels a bit silly that she would be this disinterested. 

He’s so happy to have had one of his boyhood fantasies fulfilled, but he’s getting nothing out of her - she’s just so full of snark.

Why, Scully?! Chill out, woman!  I guess it’s because I would totally find this as exciting as Mulder does.  When I was a kid I definitely did have that dream of being an astronaut.  Went to college and studied physics myself (and psychology - I was trying to choose which direction I wanted to head in, and ended up being more Mulder than Scully) I didn’t have posters of boys on my bedroom walls, I had star maps; the shuttle Atlantis; one of my favourite movies of all time is Contact.  I totally get Mulder’s enthusiasm.

Her attitude here kinda reminds me of the season 7 episode First Person Shooter too, where Scully starts ragging on video games as being pointless, violence-inducing, clap-trap while Mulder tries to get her onboard with his childlike enthusiasm.  I also love video games, so I was always on Mulder’s side in that episode too.  So yeah... sorry Scullz, but I’m with Mulder on this one!

What’s so endearing about it though, is that this stuff is important to him and he keeps trying to get her to be excited about it along with him - he wants to share that joy with her.  

But before they leave and drop the case, something has gone wrong with the Orbiter and they’re called back to Mission Control.

On the way, there is a car accident where the contact from the beginning of the episode - Michelle Generoo - flips her car after seeing a ghostly grotesque face come at her in the fog.  

It’s the first hint of the paranormal about this case to Mulder and Scully, but they seemingly pay it no mind at all.  Not even Mulder, which is surprising.  I guess he just thinks she lost control of her car.  But he doesn’t say so... it’s just treated like she didn’t say it at all.  Odd.

Then back at Mission Control, Mulder starts to do something that grates on me just a tiny bit.  He starts explaining everything to Scully after it’s already been explained by the other characters.  I mean, it’s not like you need to be a NASA nerd to understand what they are saying, so it comes off as a teenie tiny bit like mansplaining  - sorry Mulder!

And again, Scully has a physics degree!  I think she would pick it up just as well as Mulder does.  

I get that in the context of this being a TV episode he’s explaining it as much to us, the viewers, as he is to Scully.  But still... perhaps it should have been a conversation between them, giving Scully the opportunity to show she does understand what is going on rather than him just talking at her like a complete ignorant.   I could write it off if it just happened once, but it does happen several times in the episode.

Wait, I’ve worked it out.  Coming over to explain everything to Scully gives Mulder an excuse to be a space invader -  whispering in Scully’s ear.  Cracked it!

Ok that’s fine, I’m totally fine with that.  Mansplain away, Mulder.

Whilst trying to work out who is sabotaging the shuttle, Mulder and Scully start running around the Space Centre waving their guns about.

Mah badass baby Agents. Pew pew!

But when they return to mission control they look like they’ve just been caught having a fumble in the NASA stationary cupoboard.

Now that things are going seriously wrong with the Orbiter and peoples lives are in danger, Scully seems to soften.  When Mission Control successfully reestablishes communication with the astronauts everyone in the room goes wild, and Scully finally allows herself to feel it... a little bit, at least. 

She’s still holding back compared to other people in the room, though.  Perhaps after all the ribbing she’s been giving Mulder, she feels embarrassed about just letting go and enjoying the moment with the same joy he does?

Don’t wanna give him the chance to lay down an “I told you so!”

Which would fit a pattern of behaviour we see from Scully as the show continues.  A reservedness that she can’t fully let go of; she can’t always fully let Mulder see her and how she’s truly feeling - she’s not good at being vulnerable with him.  But I don’t think this is anything specific to Mulder.  She does it with everyone - her family too.  As we come to know Scully, we come to realise she doesn’t like letting things in... or letting people in, either.

Admittedly, this is a very minor example of it, as we see her totally embrace the joy of the mission’s success later.  Wait for that gif... it’s literally the best moment of the episode because Scully is just so painfully beautiful.  

Mulder is just insane to not be going after this woman.  ANYWAY...

Before we move on... since we focused so much on Scully’s reaction, lets check out Mulder’s too.

♫ I’m a little teapot short and stout ♫  Come on, sing along everyone!  ♫ Here’s my handle and here’s my spout! ♫

♫ Tip me over and pour me out! ♫  Please, Mulder... never change.

Colonel Belt then gives a press conference to update the media on the mission’s progress, and he lies.  He tells the reporters that everything has been plain sailing and there were no issues at all.  Upon hearing this, Mulder is clearly feeling let down and naively disappointed.  But this is 14 year old Mulder, not 32 year old Mulder’s feelings here.  He’s still looking at Belt the way he did when he was a kid.

“When all my childhood dreams are being crushed to dust, I make this face.”

Alright, Scully... no need to rub it in.

Look at her face, I think she’s probably disappointed for Mulder, as much as anything, but that comment did feel a bit brutal.  I think it might have clicked for her by now why thinking this guy isn’t who Mulder believes he is, is so painful for him.  It’s not just about a childhood hero being a disappointment.  It can’t just be that, because Mulder really is pushing back against the idea Colonel Belt is a bad guy for no other reason than “he’s an astronaut too” - the evidence just keeps pointing to him.

Mulder chases down Colonel Belt and questions him about why he lied to the press.  The answer is already pretty obvious really, as Michelle has already told them - the government is looking for any reason to shut down the space program.

Belt explains that the astronauts do what they do for no other reason than the progress of mankind. Mulder’s response to this got me thinking.

True American heroes.  

Mulder worships these people, and sees them as not just heroes, but American heroes.  I think Mulder is actually quite a patriotic person.  There are odd comments here and there throughout the series which points to this.  His defending the American position during WW2 in Triangle; baulking at Scully’s preference for no butter on her popcorn calling it “un-American” in Je Souhaite.

I’m sure there’s many more I am just not recalling right now, but I think Mulder resists acknowledging Belt isn’t the hero he thought he was, because doing so not only kills the heroic figure of Belt from his childhood, but also erodes his view of America.  The positive patriotic view of America that NASA and the space program helped to instil, particularly in the 1960′s and 70′s when NASA was at it’s height, which is when Mulder grew up.

I suspect this is something you can only truly understand if you are American yourself, which I am not.  Patriotism is a funny old thing in Britain, mostly frowned upon.  So I have a certain view that I can’t deny when watching this episode - Mulder being patriotic is kind of jarring.

I know this is not MSR related exactly, it’s more to do with Mulder as a character, but it does come back up again later towards the end of the episode in a conversation with Scully, so... that kinda counts??

As another crisis on Orbiter unfolds, Mulder and Scully run around looking for Colonel Belt like a pair of errand monkeys.  They really do have nothing to do this whole episode.  Belt arrives at Mission Control and chooses to risk the astronauts lives to continue the mission to deliver their payload.  

Mulder looks like Belt just kicked a puppy, while Scully silently judges you.

I always thought this face was something she perfected over the years, but you know what?  She’s actually got it down pat already.

Michelle rushes out of Mission Control believing her fiancee aboard Orbiter has just been sent to his death and Scully agrees; Belt is acting very strangely and taking unnecessary risks. 

This is where we have the classic stalemate between Mulder and Scully, where she is right, but so is he.  Belt is compromised and “losing it” as she says.  He does know what is going on, and has known about it from the beginning, she believes he’s covering it up so that the mission can continue despite the obvious risks to avoid the space program being shut down.

She’s pretty much correct on all accounts, funnily enough.  But so is Mulder, who says Belt isn’t sabotaging the mission, he’s desperately trying to save the astronauts.  He wants to believe that Belt is a hero, and that what he’s doing he’s doing because he wants to save the men.

Amazingly, the paranormal aspect of this episode has still not been fully revealed to Mulder and Scully and we’re 30 minutes in at this point.  They both now need to prove whether or not Belt knew about the sabotage of Orbiter and so they start to go through all the documentation they can find.

I have no idea why this picture of them sitting cross-legged on the floor makes me happy, but it does.  I love it when they look like baby Agents!

Now Scully points out that finding any documented proof of Belt’s involvement is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but apparently looking for a needle in a haystack isn’t as difficult as one might imagine, because they find the proof of his involvement pretty much immediately.

Within seemingly a few hours, Scully not only finds proof that Belt knew about the faulty components on Orbiter, but Mulder also finds that he was aware of the fault that led to the Challenger explosion.  Yikes.  

But before they can do anything with this information, Michelle informs them that Belt has collapsed in his office.  They rush off to find him.

Why hello, hello, hello, there.  If it isn’t our good friend Back Touch with a side order of Helping Hands.  Please, no, touch me more, Mulder, I insist.

They arrive to discover Belt babbling like a loon.  Then Mulder says...

Ummmmmm... Mulder?  You do know that your partner is a medical doctor, right?  I wonder if this is the reason why she feels the need to state this fact quite so much as the series goes on.

Why he needs a doctor I don’t even know, because it turns out, Mulder is secretly a doctor too??

He must be since he disregards the opinions of both Scully and the paramedics to do this focus your pain on my finger mumbo jumbo.  Why those paramedics didn’t just tell Mulder to get the fuck out of the way, I have no idea.  Scully, the actual doctor, says that what Mulder is doing is killing him.  But he just ignores her.  

I suppose this is a sign of the trust that she has in Mulder that she allows him to continue this, because if she didn’t think the information Mulder was trying to get was worth the risk, I don’t think she would have let this happen.  Belt does, in fact, almost die and they have to break out the defib to get him back.

Scully took a huge risk there, if he had died, she and Mulder would be on the chopping block.  Even when they have diverging viewpoints on things, when the shit really hits the fan they tend to have each others back.  So this is another example of the faith Scully has in him, even when it seems like he might not deserve the benefit of the doubt - something we learnt she is prepared to do in Ice.

The weirdest part of this whole scene though, is that Scully is finally allowed to see something paranormal - she witnesses the ghostly image appear over Belt’s face, but doesn’t seem to react to it at all!  Even Mulder doesn’t focus on that aspect of it, he single-mindedly keeps trying to get the information needed to save the astronauts from Belt.

Although, maybe Mulder saw the cruddy Pac-Man ghost SFX used for the space possession sequence and decided that shit is bananas.

B.A.N.A.N.A.S.

Mulder somehow gets what he needs from Belt, so he and Scully rush to Mission Control.  Fortunately, they get there just in time, and the shuttle comes down to Earth safely.

Then, as promised, the best 1.5 seconds of the episode.  Which I have slowed down for your viewing pleasure.

Honestly, she is so beautiful.  How does Mulder resist that smile?

After all the drama is over, we see Belt in his hospital room, still being terrorised by the ghostly entity.  Seemingly not being able to take it anymore, he throws himself out of his hospital room window, and to his death.

The last conversation between Mulder and Scully is quite a tender one, it’s the most they interact in a meaningful way throughout the whole episode.  There’s no more reproachful teasing, Scully understands that Belt meant something to Mulder and so she is very gentle with him - even her tone of voice changes.

I’d like to think that at some point during this episode, Scully recalls that Mulder’s childhood wasn’t especially great past the age of 12.  Mulder had specifically pointed out earlier that his hero-worship of Belt started at around the age of 14.  

Even though Mulder is basically suggesting that Belt was possessed and whatever possessed him forced him into sabotaging the shuttle, Scully doesn’t really challenge him on it.  There’s no point anymore since the case is closed, but also I think she is being kind to Mulder. 

Mulder suggests that Belt gave his own life to kill whatever it was that possessed him. 

With that reverent look on his face, Scully can no doubt see that Mulder wants to keep looking at Belt as a true American hero, and as a result Mulder is somewhat twisting Belt’s actions into some kind of heroic self-sacrifice, when actually, from what we see of his suicide, he was simply so tormented by this entity that he just wanted it to end.    

Mulder seems incredibly reluctant to see Belt as anything other than the true American hero he grew up believing him to be.  Perhaps it’s too painful for him to do otherwise.

Immediately after this scene, we’re at Belt’s funeral with the American flag draping his coffin shown prominently on screen.

The episode even ends with a close up of the flag.

There is something intrinsically linked between NASA, the space program and American patriotism.  It’s not something I ever really thought too much about with regards to Mulder’s character before, but he too, is an American hero.  Being the product of the 60′s and 70′s, Mulder grew up with the national pride and euphoria of NASA’s heyday.  As a result, Mulder too, carries the American pride that was symbolised by Belt and the space program - these were people who do what they do for nothing more than the betterment of mankind.  Isn’t that, in some ways, a little bit like Mulder himself?  Sacrificing so much to his pursuit of the truth to - in the end - save humanity from an alien invasion.

Belt would be proud.

In the end, though.  It’s not really explored.  Just left as another thread that makes up the tapestry that is Fox Mulder.

Next up... 1x10 - Fallen Angel.

[you-did-well-my-love]

Drama Review: Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

There are a few grievances I have with the drama, and unfortunately they’re not small grievances, but overall I really enjoyed the drama.

Rating: 4/5 I rated it a 9/10 on mydramalist, but i’m thinking about lowering it to an 8.5 tbh...

OST: I wasn’t a fan of the superpower girl song they played, but I know that some people really liked it and were dying for the song to be released. Just depends on your taste I guess.

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Synopsis:  Do Bong Soon is a woman with superhuman strength. With her strength she gets hired as the bodyguard of the spoiled CEO of the gaming company Ainsoft, Ahn Min Hyuk. Min Hyuk is being threatened by an unknown enemy, and is determined to solve the problem himself out of his distaste and distrust of the police. In Guk Doo is a policeman and Bong Soon’s crush since childhood. When series of kidnappings occur in Bong Soon’s small, quiet neighborhood Dobong-dong, their little community is thrown into chaos. Combined with the job of protecting her boss’s life, Bong Soon’s already unusual life has gone wild. However, she must be careful; if she missuses her strength, she could lose it forever. (this is the mydramalist description which... hehe... i wrote)

Trigger Warning: Domestic abuse. Bong Soon’s mom was abusive towards her dad. The writers obviously intended it in a comedic way, and I think part of it is gender roles like they didn’t see the problem because *mocking tone* “men can’t get abused right?” *eye role* but it was really uncomfortable to watch. And I’m pretty sure they saw the negative comments about it because they tried to go and take it back in the finale, but even then it was still problematic. She was still verbally abusive too. 

Thoughts/Review: (no spoilers maybe a little minor general stuff)

Although I absolutely adored the cast, I went in with really low expectations because I thought the plot was ridiculous. It exceeded my expectations, and I really thought this would make my favorites list at the start, but the drama became kind of messy towards the end. Particularly with their “comic relief” side plots, which I will rant about later.

Park Bo Young, in her typical cute nature, plays a super strong badass. The writers, I thought, did a nice job introducing her powers. They clearly stated the family history and how she must use them for good, and I appreciated the straightforwardness.

It wasn’t just her abilities, the writers set up everything you needed to know quickly and cleanly:

Our two leads have an indirect history with each other

the women in her family pass down this power of super strength that cannot be abused or there will be punishment

Our female lead’s desire

The CEO needs a bodyguard

And the story moves on from there.

The effects weren’t very high quality, but they were done in a cheesy and comedic way so it didn’t really matter. I mean this wasn’t a dark, gritty, Goblin/City Hunter/Hearer/Descendants of the Sun action-type drama. It was cute and comedic with lots of bright colors and ridiculous characters.

It didn’t stop at the super powers; cheesy effects would appear around the characters too. I.e. hearts appearing around the boy she likes. 

The drama was just really extra, but in a cute way.

I also really appreciated the wit in the dialogue. 

Okay so confession: I adore boss/employee romances. There’s something about them that I find thrilling; it’s why I enjoyed Just You so much. And Introverted Boss. And Rich Man Poor Woman.

Love. Them.

So while this isn’t your typical office romance, and it is by no means a business drama, it still had a few of those romance in the office elements that I like.

But before I jump completely into the romance, I want to talk about the characters.

Park Bo Young, I have loved her since A Werewolf Boy, and I am so glad she was the lead in this drama. She fit the character perfectly and her acting was phenomenal. Her expressions and emotions were so real. The way she cried was so realistic I was thoroughly impressed. Shame on the people who complained about her crying, it was 10x better than those actresses who worry about looking pretty when they cry, or just make the face but don’t release a tear. 

And I just loved the character Do Bong Soon. She was a sassy, quirky, bundle of joy. I loved how she didn’t take anyone’s shit, she helped those who she saw in need, and she was caring of those around her.

Hyungsik. This was the role I had been waiting for him to get. I fell in love with him during High Society, and I saw his potential for a good romance drama as the lead, but that drama overall was shit. When he was cast as the lead for this, I was thrilled, and he did not disappoint. Plus the way he strut around everywhere was just hot. The boy is just so good at acting.

And his character. Ahn Min Hyuk, the boy was whipped by Bong Soon the first moment he laid eyes on her and it was fantastic. Half-an-hour into episode one. HALF. AN. HOUR. AND HE WAS WHIPPED. He accepted Do Bong Soon for who she was the moment he saw her; all of her. He respected her. And he waited until she was ready and came to him first before he made any moves. I don’t think any writers will ever be able to top the masterpiece that was Ahn Min Hyuk. (In the chaebol category at least, I’m still not over Eun Hwan Gi or Seo Jung Hoo for that matter. Sorry not sorry.) Ahn Min Hyuk is truly one of a kind.

In Guk Doo bugged the shit out of me. There. I said it. It sucks because I love Ji Soo, but this was not the role for him. Tbh, I don’t think he suited being a cop, but I hate the type of character he played in general. Those guys who start getting controlling of the girl after she starts to shift her crush to someone else. Always yelling and getting angry. Entitled bleeps who think they can decide the girl’s feelings. He was always cold to her even when they were supposed to be “friends.” I could go on, but I made my point. He became more tolerable towards the end of the drama when he started to actually do his job. Needless to say, there’s no worries for sls here. *thumbs up*

Also he was a terrible cop and should have had his badge suspended for excessive force.

I will admit: while Guk Doo annoyed me, the three of them really had good chemistry together.

The romantic chemistry, though, was off the charts. If you’re reading this and have only minimal knowledge on what this drama is about, I can almost guarantee that minimal knowledge is about the romance because it’s all anybody’s going to be talking about for the next century. 

Right from the beginning Park Bo Young and Hyungsik had amazing chemistry. You could tell they were really comfortable with each other. Their energy was always so high and bouncing back and forth; it was addicting. When they bickered, it was really quick, so the timing was perfect and then combined with their expressions it had this amazing effect.

Then their relationship started to progress and it was such a sweet, innocent slow-burn. Confession, confirmation of feelings, hug, kiss. Innocent and gradual.

All of their scenes together were phenomenal, and I will never get over the fact that Min Hyuk’s eyes just dripped with honey every time he looked at Do Bong Soon. Never.

The plot was interesting. The kidnappings were thrilling, and the mystery behind Min Hyuk’s attacker held my attention. Then about halfway through the drama, it seemed like the writers got lazy.

There were fillers. Bits of comedic relief that were kept minimal in the beginning. But then towards the middle/end they developed into “plots” of their own except they weren’t sideplots, they didn’t have a conflict nor did they do shit to actually move the story along like a sideplot is supposed to. They had no purpose. None. Yet by the end of the drama, they took up half of the airtime. I am so beyond annoyed at all of the wasted time. I thought they were pretty funny at first, but by around episode 12, I was done. This is the main reason why I can’t give the drama a higher rating, because of the hill the writers tumbled down.

There were other aspects of the plot I found lazy, things were I thought “They couldn’t come up with a better way to do this or reveal that?” but I’m not going to specify because they’re major spoilers.

Now I’m going to address the elephant in the room: the implied sexism and implied homophobia. 

So obviously you get a drama about a literal strong woman, there’s going to be some feminist vibes. And that’s what they were totally going for with Do Bong Soon and all the women in her family. There was this one time she faced some sexist dude with his car. If my memory serves me right, there was also a time she talked with her mom about how women have it harder. BUT there were also many times the dialogue had, like, implied sexism, if you know what I mean? Particularly whenever they mentioned the kidnapper. OR, the big one, how weak women are more attractive to men. Which brings me back as to why Min Hyuk was so amazing, because he constantly found Bo Soon’s strength attractive.

And now for Min Hyuk’s sexuality. This bothered me for a number of reasons, not because of anything Bong Soon or Min Hyuk said, but because of everything surrounding them. Bong Soon wasn’t bothered whatsoever by what she thought Min Hyuk’s sexuality was, and I appreciated that. But there were comments from other characters that I felt held implied homophobia. Particularly in everything Bong Soon’s mom said. And I get it “Korea’s a more conservative society” “the older generations would think that way” blah blah blah. Doesn’t change anything. Also I saw a lot of talk about queerbaiting when this was going on, which is entirely problematic on its own. Sure some of our leads’ interactions were funny, and I was fully convinced Min Hyuk didn’t care about his sexuality, but all of the context (the setting, the other characters, and the dialogue) all embody the reasons I am hesitant to watch Personal Taste.

Continuing on with the homophobia: THE DAMN DOPPLEGANGER. This actually fits into two sections: homophobia and the laziness of the writers as this character was one of the pointless “comedic relief” “sideplots”. This character was completely unnecessary. Completely. I couldn’t stand him. His character was based entirely off of exaggerating and making jokes about gay stereotypes and it seemed like a complete mockery of gay men.

I’ve tried to push all of these agitating bits out of my mind and only focus on the good: Park Bo Young and Park Hyungsik who did a fantastic job carrying this entire drama.

The ending was sweet. I was proud of Bong Soon. It felt a bit rushed in my opinion; they forced a lot to happen in a short period of time (episode length-wise not drama timeline). They also just completely tossed aside main characters. 

I’ll end it on a high note: I adored the use of symbolism with Bong Soon and the closet. Those of you who actually made it to the end of this long-ass “review” and have already seen the drama will know what I’m talking about. I legitimately thought it was beautiful. 

~~~

Finished on 4/15/17

[lordfluffyvoice]

Iron Fist review

Let me just sum up iron fist non spoiler wise with this shitty MS Paint image. cause hoo boy. if you think you gotta spend 13 hours watching this shit so you can be caught up to defenders, don’t bother, its honestly not worth it. Iron fist’s first season is an absolute slog, and it does so much wrong its hard to call anything in it (except the last couple of episode) anything but boring. Spoilers under the cut along with the full criticism

My first issue is Finn Jones as Danny rand. not because of anything race related, but because of how completely awful his performance was in this series. Finn Jones had as far as i can tell no martial arts experience before this show and it shows in the cinematography, as much of the fights scenes he’s involved in uses Rapid-fire camera angle changes used to mask his clear inexperience. its bad cinematography too as its grating on the eyes to watch and if it was on a big movie screen, would likely subject people like myself to motion sickness because of how rapid-fire it truly is. the other problem is how Finn Jones seems to be unable to portray emotions correctly without whispering every goddamn line. every other character in this show speaks, sometimes they mumble, but they’re speaking. Danny(Finn) is whispering almost everything and its clearly masking his inability to convey emotion properly (as noted by the often unconvincing grunts of pain or outbursts of anger) through his speaking. Finn has good body and facial expressions, but hearing him deliver his lines often kills any belief that his body is feeling what he’s saying. Can i also just say how goddamn criminally underused the actual power of the iron fist is? because honestly i think they truly made you understand just how damn crazy this power is a total of ONCE in a THIRTEEN HOUR SERIES. every other time the “power” is “displayed” is doing shit that luke cage can do, that jessica jones can do. it makes it look like the iron fist is just super strength, and coming from those two much better executed series, its underwhelming. The actual power of the fist needed to be used much more than it was because otherwise all you got was fight sequences that (generally, at least with Danny rand) weren’t that great, and had been done in daredevil several times over and better. it makes you ask yourself why you weren't just re watching daredevil instead of watching this. The bright side on the matter is the fight sequences that didn’t use Finn Jones were all executed way better, but its a clear extra sign of Finn’s inexperience shining through more.

a lot of this could’ve been forgiven if the story was engaging, but there is so much filler and wasted time in the first 9 or so episodes that you could honestly condense it into 5 and tell the same story with the same impact you gave in those 9, and it feels like a god damn waste, especially when you consider how fragmented certain sections feel as well, you got unnecessary filler, and not enough content for an ark in the same show which goes to show the clear lack of consistent direction the show has getting to the last 3 episodes. there’s at least two noticeable plot holes, several unanswered questions, a clusterfuck of face and heel turns and no clear understanding of the path to the direction they wanted to take the climax of the series and it shows through all of the first 10 episodes. when the writing DOES give you an idea, you’re left asking the question “but why though” way too often and its genuinely frustrating. Being fair to the series, the last three episodes did get its head out of its ass and created a genuinely engaging climax to the whole season, but how it ended was nothing short of disappointing, with a confusing climax related to the eventual final villain of the season, a rushed ending sequence, an obvious sequel bait ending that left way more questions than answers, and those questions being very important plot points. usually i can forgive these types of endings in the long run if the product was good, but considering how bad the series started and how underwhelming the climax was, this is completely infuriating.

I think the biggest offender in this series was how genuinely uninteresting a lot of the scenes with Danny Rand were, considering this show is called “Iron Fist” and that he IS the Iron Fist. He was honestly the hardest character to like and its pretty bad that when the scene doesn’t have the main character in it, it was significantly more likely to be an entertaining scene than it wasn’t. the returning characters to the Netflix universe all portrayed and entertained like they did before which is good, the writing didn’t affect them at all due to having established good ground to work on, it just sucks completely that the new characters introduced suffered for the most part because of the interactions with Danny Rand. Not even all the acting from people not named Finn Jones was forgivable either, even considering acting with Finn or the circumstance the character portrayed was in, there were several moments where all i could think was “wow.....you’re really delivering this badly.” 

#stopforcingromanticrelationshipswheretheydon’tbelongmarvel

At the very least, Positives do exists. fight scenes not involving finn jones are Choreographed and filmed much better and engaging, the business aspect of the show has some of the most gripping and enjoyable scenes, and David Wenham was excellent throughout the majority of his performance as Harold Meachum. also previously mentioned, episodes eleven, twelve and thirteen all for the most part did their job in actually being engaging, (save the ending) and there were moments of genuine hilarity that weren’t locked behind the awkward humor that too many shows try to use. (never found awkward humor funny ever, it doesn’t work for me) these positives however, really don’t come close to equaling out the bad stuff in Iron fist, and its a genuine shame considering the quality that was pushed out of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Daredevil before it. In Netflix rating? 2 stars. In my rating? 3.9/10

[auburnfamilynews]

What you see is what you get

The Tiger-Eye Review looks at the games that all SEC teams play throughout the season.  I’ll review the week’s games, highlight points of interest, tendencies and potential issues for the remaining season for the premier conference of NCAA football and any future games these teams may play against the Auburn Tigers. Coaches and their staffs spend most of the summer months looking foward to the season opener. This effort is not just for the particular game preparation related to their opponent’s strength and weaknesses, the film review of previous games or even the scripted offensive plan for the first two series. Oftentimes the real benefit of the first game of the season is the opportunity to achieve a ‘big picture first look’ at how their teams can interact with each other, deal with live game situations, and if they are lucky enough, how they rise to adversity and challenge. Are they disciplined enough to stay focused, do they act as they have been coached in drills, set plays and scrimmages? Do they run their routes, block their man, perform their function on the field with precision? How is their specific task execution? Can they cover their man without drawing a penalty? Can they tackle abruptly and with good form? Is everyone blocking with proper technique and timing? Is the ball handled well, passed efficiently, held onto upon tackling? All of this is under their gaze in a true ‘live ball’ game, with a clock, referee oversight in the noisy embrace of 85,000 fans.

It is for each coaching staff, after a lengthy off-season of limited scope the first real view at their team’s potential.  Additionally, their future opponents are an ever-present focus concerning this vision. How a team plays against the opponent today is a key measure to be judged for the future. Do they take their tasks seriously even if their opponent is unranked? Can they been seen applying themselves to the preparatory tasks and still execute regardless of the what the opposing side does? These are the questions every coach collects in his mind’s eye from the first day back from the recruiting trail until the opening kickoff on that first day of the season. 

  As such, this first view is some of the most important visual information he will have for the rest of the season. For some teams whose offense and defense showed near perfection and efficiency against an un-ranked opponent far inferior in talent, the coaches this week were still were able to collect valuable insight into that potential. To view what their offensive and defensive schemes were capable of is still a measure of achievement and an accountable return on investment of their time and energy all summer.  While not a true test of their full potential, talent and capabilities, it is still a chance to extend their August scrimmages into an early season warm-up under game conditions. Teams like Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M and LSU fall into this category this week and for the most part the visual test of each of these teams confirms their and most fan’s expectations – a couple of hiccups, but overall highly successful. For other teams, mistakes and miscues against a non-conference team allowed a glimpse at more critical weaknesses that might be significant in a noticeable way during game conditions, but were still not severe enough to allow an upset. Kentucky and Mississippi State fall here and both their coaching staffs have much to review. All things being equal, both teams learned a wealth of information by which their teams can work to improve. Coaching staffs at Auburn and Florida had much different observation opportunities. Yes, they had the luxury of victory and clear views of severe problems on both sides of the ball. But inherent in both team’s weathering of mistake prone games with clutch plays and last second heroics, are rare glimpses of player potential and resolve when the game and season are on the line. While there is much to be said of avoiding the miscues that put them in those critical situations, having that knowledge of heart, steadfastness and toughness on a team-wide basis is also a key insight into the character of a team. I’m pretty sure Dan Mullen and Gus Malzhan both know this and are already leveraging this on their approach to this week’s practices and for follow on games throughout the season. It is a golden opportunity for both coaching squads. The next teams to consider are those in obvious turmoil, who through a narrow win or a catastrophic loss in which they held an commanding lead only to watch it evaporate there is an added burden on the coaching vision. Those staffs now have to deal with disunion and dismay by their players at having games slip away to teams they should have outmatched entirely. Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina, and Ole Miss fall into this category. While some aspects of their games were worthy of note, other critical failings allowed the players to be overwhelmed in the moment. This now impacts every facet of their focus to such a degree that the path back to confidence will take a monumental effort of leadership and coaching acumen to accomplish. It is usually a very hard path for teams to follow in order to recover from early losses or narrow victories like these and exquisite care is needed if the season is to have any success at all. All other considerations and concerns for the season are now blurred while this loss is the entire focal point of all time and effort in team preparation.

And then far back in the dim distance is Tennessee. Watching the Volunteers play before a home crowd at that level of ineptitude was simply shocking, no matter how problematic the Tennessee program has become in the last two decades of scandal, coaching changes and disappointment. With the level of talent visible on their roster sheet it is inconceivable that this team would allow an opposing running back to go from the line of scrimmage outside the 20 yard line into the end zone in the fourth quarter untouched by any defender with the game on the line. 

  When it happened twice in successive possessions? There is simply is no way to unsee that. With that lasting vision burned in the retinas of the fans and administration, Jeremy Pruitt might have just as well given his one month’s notice. Both he and they would have to be blind not to be aware of it. With BYU visiting next week, and a string of four ranked teams in five weeks on the schedule starting the 21st of September, I’m having serious doubts whether Coach Pruitt will finish the season still wearing orange. As one commentator mentioned after seeing the fans walk out of Neyland Stadium before the fourth quarter even started, ‘There is one A-word concerning fans most feared by all administrations in college football, and it isn’t anger. It’s apathy.’ As Neyland stadium emptied in those last few minutes Saturday, that might be the epitaph on Coach Pruitt’s stay in Knoxville. We shall see as the season progresses.

The standard of excellence

  Second half adjustments make all the difference at this level

  SEC West Offense

The good news is the top three SEC West offenses are playing strong and fast behind returning starting quarterbacks. The bad news is the top three SEC West offenses are playing strong and fast behind returning starting quarterbacks. Gus Malzahn’s influence in terms of pace, zone read, deep passing and downhill running has had a growing effect on the SEC West. This season there is the addition of the Brady-Ensminger offense joining the ranks of Texas A&M and Alabama as those most-likely-to-copy-the-Gus-Bus-at-Auburn-under-Cam-Newton in the West. Case in point, Joe Burrow just tied the LSU record for passing touchdowns, in little more than 30 minutes of game time without a single huddle on the field. 

  It worked here and it’s now working there and seemingly everywhere.

  The rest of the West? Questionable, to include the two Mississippi teams and Arkansas. Where does Auburn fit? Only time will tell. Bo and Company have passed their first test, but there are more and harder tests on the current schedule and much work to be done before the clear picture of potential and impact emerges. Watch this space.

  SEC West Defense

With the exception of a strange performance by the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the SEC West defenses performed much to the expected standard, even in the case of Arkansas.  Auburn played a very capable offensive talent and still shut the door in the second half with authority. So did most of the other teams, albeit against much less quality opponents. 

  But the Bullies? Tough as nails one play and then whiffing tackles or coverage the next. The Ragin Cajuns burned them so badly on play after play in late game scoring drives that it’s hard to say they were dominant. They could be, but just weren’t at key moments in that first game. Again, watch this space as the season progresses. Starkville isn’t Knoxville, but let this tendency play out, and it could be.

  SEC East Offense

Hoo-boy. Look what the cat dragged in. Of all the statistics I had to look at this weekend, this was the butt-ugliest of them all. Guess which team had above a 50% third down conversion rate in the East last weekend? If you said the the Volunteers without checking the stats sheet above, I’ll give you a green bean, and a first class reservation at Bellvue with your own padded room. This is just that crazy.

  Granted, Georgia’s numbers are skewed by the fact they didn’t have too many third down conversions to make as they seemed to make first downs at two-play intervals throughout the game, but if the Commodores ever put them in a third down situation Georgia punted just about every time. Will it be enough to win the East? Probably, without even breaking a sweat. But if this continues, don’t count on the Dawgs getting to the CFP this year, as they won’t stand a chance at this rate, even with an easy schedule. Watch this space too.

  SEC East Defense

Where to begin? Outside of Georgia and Florida,five of seven SEC East teams had more than three touchdowns scored on their defenses. This is equal to the pitiful ACC Coastal Division with only the Mountain West Mountain Division out of the entire FBS division structure being worse in that respect. Of course, both of those other divisions contain teams that upset an SEC East opponent this week –  North Carolina and Wyoming, respectfully. 

  And to add insult to injury, the Sun Belt West Division had fewer 21+ point defensive performances, a better opening day division won-loss record than the SEC East and yes, a surprise upset over an SEC East team (Georgia State). Thank you, Knoxville.

  State of the Conference

There isn’t really much to crow about in the Southeastern Conference as a whole this week. When you start the season off just 20 seconds shy and 10 points away from losing half your opening day games (11 seconds and 4 points in the UF-UM game, 9 seconds and 6 points in the AU-OU game), there isn’t much credence to the mantra that the SEC is the top conference in college football top to bottom. The surprise losses all point to a sad reality that there is a short list of premier teams in the league that sit at the top, a small handful of contending teams scrambling at the next tier and a host of deeply troubled teams that are already in a tailspin weeks before conference play even begins to heat up. 

  Only one victory this week was against a ranked team and three of the five losses were against un-ranked teams from non-Power Five conferences. That level of have and have-not in the Southeastern Conference has never been so wide in the time I’ve been tracking these numbers (2013 to present). It is potentially a very disturbing development that if it plays out as the season progresses will have severe consequences in the race for the College Football Playoff, and more importantly in next year’s recruiting.

  I realize this is just the first week. I’ve said before the first few weekly numbers won’t really pan out as a true picture of the conference until inter-conference play heats up in late September and early October. However, this year’s season start wasn’t that great and if it continues on this current trajectory, look to see the various fan bases and administrations come to the similar conclusions for those coaching staffs across the league that are struggling to find answers after a tumultuous beginning.

  Like that  commentator said about Knoxville, the scary word is apathy, not anger.

  Now you see me, now you don’t

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