#but i also understand that she HAS to be wrong about this. the show subverts our expectations that caitlyn is right

[the-hot-zone]

the imagery and audio of the opening scene of s1e1 of arcane is just insanely well done for the set-up of the show’s themes and central conflicts. this is just a quick analysis (that spiraled) of what i notice as i’m re-watching, but—

a) the POV of “jinx” with the scribbles overlaying the aftermath of destruction and devastation lay the groundwork for not only what represents her POV to us, the audience, but also to where it originates. this is one of the first things we see in e1: the scribbled faces appear on the enforcers and on the dead bodies even as powder herself has her eyes covered. the echoes of violence reach her even as she tries not to look. retrospectively, we are meant to notice how "jinx" was already forming years before she started “jinxing” jobs with vi and the gang—the violence of her circumstances and the impact they have on her as a child played a key role in what the show calls her "instability," in what we understand as her development. her scribbled vision is first associated with violence done to her and those around her before it is associated with her later choices, which arguably can be rooted in her circumstances (more on this later). this is central to what arcane as a show wants to establish wrt their commentary on violence as a cycle and consequences that cannot be undone regardless of one's actions.

b) the most striking imagery to me: blood running down the faces of the statues on the bridge between piltover and the undercity, being made to look as though they are crying. the bridge is a key piece of imagery introduced in this opening sequence that arcane returns to throughout later eps. the expression of these statues is still, solemn, and silent. they are guardians of the bridge between piltover and the rest of the city. the tears of blood, however, have moved the unmovable. this can be interpreted in a couple ways, but here's mine. the blood as tears represents the ongoing mourning for those lost to violence. vander's resistance failed in multiple ways in that it did not end piltover's rule over the undercity, nor did it save those who fought in the resistance. moreover, this bridge is revisited in e2, and we see the bloodstains never left. they cannot be washed away; the memorial to those who were lost—vi’s parents—remain, and we see vander ask vi if she’s willing to lose powder to a war, just like she lost her parents. later on in the ep when vi approaches deckard, a drop of blood runs down her face like a tear. she, too, steps into the role (or tries to), as a stone-faced guardian, but violence moves her. particularly, it moves her out of powder's life, contributing to jinx's development.

c) when vi is about to cry, it looks like she’s holding herself back before she breaks down, and only then does powder also cry. there are a couple subtle moments throughout this first scene that express the extent to which powder revolves around vi, and this is one of them. powder takes her cues from vi: just minutes ago in the scene, powder only looks at the bodies because vi stopped. so we have this interpersonal level of reliance between these two, but the show doesn't want us to forget where the cues for vi come from. powder looked because vi stopped. vi stopped because the devastation around her made her stop.

d) throughout this scene, music is the dominant auditory experience. however, there is one sound that breaks through the music: the weight of vander’s gauntlets dropping to the ground. the break in the music is meant to express the weight of this decision. it's the only sound of an action that reaches the viewer as he throws the gauntlets down in favor of picking up the responsibility of vi and powder. with this action, he attempts to abandon his cause in hopes to protect vi and powder,

e) but vi looks back. we see her glare back across the bridge towards piltover, her eyes narrowed, and we understand that a key part of her character will be resistance. and to cross that bridge, she must put on vander’s gauntlets. we see her try to embrace this legacy throughout the first ep and beyond—“this is the exact job vander would’ve pulled when he was our age” is what vi says to her friends when on that first job to steal from jayce's workshop. and throughout the first few eps we see vander’s legacy called into question, with a focus on his legacy of resistance against piltover. that's the legacy those around him prefer, including vi herself. but it’s also a legacy he’s rejected in favor of another: his work to protect the lanes through non-violent means. silco’s later criticism of “you’re willing to die for a cause but not fight for it” towards vander perfectly encapsulates vander’s decision to put the gauntlets down, and why he still fails to prevent violence, particularly against vi and powder.

overall: the opening sequence is vital for establishing the link between vi's and powder's relationship and the violence enacted against the underground by piltover. the show's theme expresses that the former would not exist without the latter. the tragedy of jinx isn't just an interpersonal tragedy. it's a circumstantial one. it's an environmental one. it's a societal one. remember: mylo first drops the name jinx when he says powder jinxes every job. but there wouldn’t be any jobs to do--the coins coming into the lanes wouldn't be "only from crime"--without the violence piltover has enacted against the undercity.

there’s a lot of pain in asking ourselves the “if only’s” of these first few episodes. but if the alternative for powder killing claggor and mylo was for her to come on the mission to save vander anyways, to fight anyways, then there was never a choice. when powder says, “I’m not a fighter,” and vi responds, “you don’t have to be,” vi fails to understand the consequences violence has already had on her sister. in powder's mind, you don't have to fight translates as you don't belong here. the only way powder knows how to help is to fight--it's what vi (and everyone around her) taught her, even inadvertently. the show tells us that there was never a real choice in any part of this sequence. the real legacy was the violence topside enacted and continues to enact against the underground. what prevents vi from coming back to powder is ultimately marcus, regardless of his motivations.

what the opening sequence, and those first three eps, tell us about the show’s defining conflict is this. in a system built on inequity, its defining characteristic will always be violence, and whether those subjected to that violence try to fight it, live within it, or take advantage of it, the consequences cannot be undone. there is no going back.

[squidthoughts]

collected thoughts on the creloise matter (Big And Detailed Spoilers Ahead):

if it’s dual character assassination, it’s dual character assassination and irredeemable and frankly uninteresting and unfortunately the show becomes unwatchable for me personally. if it’s purposeful setup? it’s bloody brilliant. i mean it could actually be bloody brilliant. there are a few lines that feel very purposeful: pen’s “did you ever truly like her?” and the moment with cress and her mother when cress protests being cruel to the btons. both of which come after the creloise breakup and, you know, the uhhhh cessation of scenes together. creloise was dead. there was no reason to continue to examine the corpse. unless it wasn’t truly dead. ok, so there is now incredible potential in the CreloiseSituation(tm).

they hate each other. perfect! cressida was suffering all season and eloise was a truly terrible friend - i mean, comically selfish and villainous - that is to say, cressida’s actions (antagonistic as they were) were explained and justified within the narrative and eloise’s were not. ok! that’s fine. in the past, cress has been the unjustifiably cruel one. if anything, they are now on equal footing in terms of illogically hurting each other. so, they hate each other. which just means their growing back together could be that much more satisfying.

eloise’s choices didn’t make sense. they just…don’t. if her arc this season was to show her growth separate from pen, and it ends with nothing mattering to her but pen, it’s just nonsensical. (dont get me wrong- i’m glad they made up! their friendship is a core pillar of the show! but taking a season of development apart and introducing new dynamics into eloise’s life only to end her precisely where she was in season ONE is just…huh??) that is, unless elosie’s decisions don’t make sense YET. unless the point of her abandonment of a friend IS the abandonment. unless this is precisely the base a following season would need to portray el from a starting position of moral inferiority- a facet of her character not yet explored.

creloise both out of mayfair now. coincidence? well…maybe! i guess! but also, outside the set and setting of society. idk, that just screams landscape of possibility to me.

they’re both on the cusp of substantial development! cressida at rrrrock bottom and eloise striving to find experience and purpose. we’ve never seen cress this low and tortured or el this alone and unsure. idk. parallels.

nothing that made us love them so much in the first place has changed. they’re still mirrors. they’re still unflinchingly honest with each other - often the only ones who are. they’re still (deliciously) (occasionally) mean. the foundations are still there. and tbh, if all of this was purposeful, there is SO much conflict and strife between them that i actually really love it. the angst! the tension! the possible banter! eloise abandoned cress at the worst possible time in her life and cress betrayed eloise (out of desperation but facts are facts) and neither of them got an explanation. and for a summer and a season they were very much alone together and enjoying each other and the betrayals sting because the friendship mattered in the first place. and that broken dynamic is just. so yummy. and the hate is there because the embarrassment is there and the embarrassment is there because….i liked you. and you burned me. and i cant believe i was stupid enough to like you. but i did like you, i did.

also, i’m sure the showrunners were understandably wary about how the audience would react to cressida this season. up until now, she’s been a glorified extra; the personality-less stereotype of the loveless, callous debutante bridgerton’s grand love stories exist to subvert. in s1 she was a joke (daphne and simon laughing about her scripted flirting) and in s2 she was the hopeless and petty mean girl. there was no reason for the audience to like her, because she was hardly a character and certainly not a person. i imagine suddenly linking her to everyone’s fan favorite eloise was seen as a huge risk— in case of a negative reaction, cress could hardly be established as a romantic prospect as well, possibly guaranteeing a large portion of screentime to someone the audiences don’t even like. creators obviously shouldn’t feel the urge to cater to an audience’s whims of how they think a story should go - this would be very bad!! - but i do think the extreme outpouring of appreciation for cress this season might enable the writers to utilize her more in the future. she’s a real character now with depth and her story has established loyalty in fans- narratively there is freedom there for some satisfying payoffs.

all this to say, this season reduced my expectations to not quite zero, but somewhere around one. the finale was crowded and unfocused and more than a few things just did not make sense and the queer rep felt very sudden and trite - for shock value, practically - and we were forced to watch creloise hacked to pieces….but, i maintain, if it was all purposeful….idk. i personally don’t think all hope is lost.

[machinesheart]

(spoilers for ONE, since I know some people that follow me haven't watched ONE, there will be a cut before the spoilers)

plain text: spoilers for one, since i know some people that follow me haven't watch one, there will be a cut before the spoilers

-

something really interesting about ONE is that when people tell you it "subverts the original object show formula" They arent lying. Like, at all.

Its obvious that "hey! this show is kinda messed up actually" as soon as you learn that the first six contestants had actual lives outside of being teleported to The Plane.

They all have or had jobs, they have family, and they have names. Airy assigns them a name that's solely based on their object, which is normal for shows like this, but Scenty and Moldy were definitely Not Happy, and its understandable, basically being reduced to your object is not the best. and for Moldy, being named after a infection she has on her is also pretty shitty too, but we were guessing that Ary was just lazy

I love this show, dont get me wrong! but holy hell dude!!!!! this show is fucked up, and it messed me up but in the best way possible.

this show is downright slightly terrifying at times, this show tackles mature themes you don't see in many object shows, and the only other show that handle stuff like this is LOVE OF THE S*N!

obviously all object shows handle things differently, and they are becoming more mature as time goes on, but its amazing to see.

spoilers below, but know that this is a long post.

In the later episodes, that is it really when it breaks the formula for these shows. Backpack is eliminated and brought back to the real world, and it's shown that he's literally homeless and jobless. He sits in an alleyway as it starts to hail, and he spends weeks riding across the United States to Bridgeport to find Soda Bottle.

Put yourself in Backpack's shoes (or lack thereof, I guess??). He's newly homeless and most likely got fired because of his absence at work.

He has nothing but some notes and maybe some money if he had a wallet in there. He travels in multiple cars across the US, only for Bryce to slam the door in his face! It's understandable for him to panic, he was eliminated so much earlier than Liam, and he never even expected to see Liam again.

When watching the show, I was, at first, confused as to why Soda Bottle slammed the door on Backpack, but then I realized, "Oh my god. Of course, he doesn't want to see Backpack. That's the last person he would expect to see. Soda Bottle would have no idea how Backpack even got his address too."

I don't have much to say about this portion of the show, so lets move onto when Soda Bottle is taken back to The Plane and Backpack is left alone to find out more about ONE.

Backpack, who is very obviously struggling (in more ways than one) is left alone, and Soda Bottle was basically the only person in the real world who was there to witness the show with Backpack, so they could talk about it, but now that he's alone, Backpack, in a way, lost that crutch that Soda Bottle provided. He's got nobody to talk about this with now!

When he gets to see Airy, Backpack has basically "lost it", he's spent so much time and effort looking into the show only for nothing to show up, so when he pushes Airy to the ground, its like all his rage and pent up emotions bubble up and he just attacks Airy.

It's understandable to attack him, to me. Being forced to compete in a show you want no part of, being taken away from your life and, in Charlie (Tomato) 's case, being taken away from his mother.

I'll probably add onto this when I feel like it, but let me know your thoughts!

[cjbolan]

Just finished watching Disney’s Percy Jackson. SOOOO much better than the movie!!!!….

1) CGI is kept to a merciful minimum, with plenty of cool practical effects and set design.

2) The few CGI scenes looks pretty realistic, one of the rare cases where barely-visible CGI actually makes the story better. Adds a layer of extra mystery. The Minotaur scene gave major Jurassic Park vibes.

3) The Camp Half Blood cabins are god-tier set design. Each one has a bold unique look , on the inside and outside. It reminded me of the different magical rooms from Encanto. You could easily tell just by looking which god each Cabin represents, without being told. 

4) There’s a much greater sense of danger when the monsters look more real (again thanks to minimal CGI) and the kids in danger are much younger than the 17 year olds in the movie.

5) Percy’s godly abilities being much more ambiguous helps strengthen the author’s intended neurodivergence allegory. Is Percy really a demigod? Or is Percy just seeing things? And unlike the movie, we see his godly powers long BEFORE finding out he’s half god. Which means just like Percy, we’re also wondering what the heck is going on.

6) HUMOR. I actually laughed out loud. Especially during Episode 2.

7) Sally Jackson is a badass with a personality !!! Unlike movie Sally who sounds like she’s just reading her lines all in one take, Sally shows so much real emotion in every little tone and action. She’s not going through the motions, nor is she overacting. When she says she understands and cares about her son, she SHOWS that. Also a major badass in how she not only stood up to Gabe, but also helped defeat the Minotaur. Movie Sally’s “sacrifice” was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This Sally truly sacrificed herself , by deliberately putting herself in danger as it’s the only way to keep her son alive. (Seriously this is how I want Mary Penelope Windsnap to be played too).

7) None of that rushed contrived enemies-to-lovers BS between Percy and Annabeth. This show cleverly subverts the trope. While Percy dislikes Annabeth, Annabeth likes and helps Percy but only for her own selfish reasons.

8) Gabe is a much more subtle asshole. He’s still an asshole, but no immediate threat to Percy or Sally so it’s easy to see why Sally stayed married to him. In the books she married him to keep Percy safe, but that’s hard to believe in the movie version when Gabe gets physical with Percy.

Will definitely stay tuned for more episodes.

[lilxmoo]

Little things Amie and Jay did in AC that are actually quite important and I think deserve recognition

KAL👏 NOT 👏 BEING 👏CREEPY 👏 like guys he could have been a weird Jacob from Twilight "i imprinted on you" SO EASILY. But instead, by offering to leave and by always respecting Auri as a person before all else (throughout the whole series btw, it didn't stop once they're together), they actually show that he genuinely loves her rather than just being creepily attached to her against her will. Every step in their relationship is decided by Aurora, giving her full autonomy, but she ALSO asks for consent from him so they don't just assume he's ok with whatever just because they're bonded. It could have been so weird but they dodged that bullet really well

SCARLETT IS NEVER SLUTSHAMEDDD!!! I didn't think about til recently, but having a female character who is sexually active, sexualizes herself and has many partners is never a joke in this series, which is wonderfully refreshing. In fact, it's a subtle but really helpful insight to her character, with her desire to be loved instead of just loving, how detached she feels from her dad and her general desire to experience attachment that she hasn't always received. It's also not something she does simply because "she has to", she genuinely likes it, and that's never painted as a bad thing.

Having a queer character be religious. The whole United Faith thing is never really explored (which is probably good, it could have gotten way too political way too quick), but it's clearly inspired by Christianity. With Finian being both part of what is essentially a Christian and also a bisexual man is such good subtle representation that I WISHH there was more of in media. Just a silent acknowledgement of, "hey, these things don't have to be separate, being both is ok "

No alien species is wrong, and no conflict has a clear right side. Again, kinda under explored for the sake of trying to not be super political, but there is a silent yet pretty pointed show that every conflict is pretty grey. They don't justify murder or racism, but they kinda show, "hey, terrans and Syldrathi BOTH did good and bad things in this war. Terra attacked innocent Syldrathi, but Jericho Jones was a peacemaker. The Syldrathi did not ask for war, but Caersan was still a mass murderer anyways." Just an extra tiny layer of depth which helps with it feeling more real.

Subverting the, "I can fix him/her" trope. The characters aren't "fixed" by their love interests. Their growth is inspired by their partners, but also by their friends and experiences, which is much nicer. They say, "you CAN'T fix them. But you can encourage them to grow", and I really like that, I think its much healthier.

Neurodivergency. I'm not sure if Zila is actually meant to be autistic, but as someone on the spectrum myself, I definitely see her there. And her not understanding social ques isn't painted as something she needs to learn, it's painted as something EVERYONE ELSE needs to accept. Not change themselves for, that's important, but accept. Whenever someone criticizes her for her lack of social awareness, it's not a joke or a narrative criticism of her, etc the "You understand how everything works except other people" line. If anything, they are showing us that she does have feelings, that empathy is still important for her even if that's not something that's actively shown, and that these types of statements are hurtful, not helpful.

Trauma has consequences. Amie and Jay have talked about this in interviews, but they have always said that they stop believing a story when a character dies and then everyone just moves on, because that's not realistic. And that really helps the story and characters feel believable. Cat's death isn't only shown through Tyler being kinda sad. Every single character grieves her, not because they were close but because they knew her, which is very realistic, and for Tyler specifically she quite literally haunts his narrative, just like real death does, especially of such a violent kind. His grief drives him to make decisions which end up changing the course of the story, as does Kal's trauma with his dad, and everyone's past experiences, they all matter, and drive the storyline forward. Very realistic and very well-done.

They end the story where it needs to end. I'm a big advocate for not stretching out stories beyond where they need to go, and they do it well. Like, it's a sci fi space opera, they could've made it fifteen books long if they wanted, or made sure they had enough books for every squad member to have a cover of their own (which i wouldve loved to see, but anyways), but instead they said, "this is where and how it needs to end, and we're not gonna milk it."

Representation is subtle. The best kind, in my opinion, is when it feels real, and here it does. Fin and zila aren't constantly discussing being queer, they just have a conversation about if Saedii is hot, similar to Scarlett teasing Auri about Kal. Aurora being half Chinese isn't more important than her being half Irish, they both matter but neither overshadow her as a person. They become reminders of home, not reminders of her differences.

This was WAYYY too long, I apologize, but I was tryna think on why this story doesn't feel weird where in a lot of places it normally would. So here's my ramblings :D (noone is gonna care but oh well I put it out somewhere lol) anyway amie and jay know how to write surprise surprise

[fortuna-et-cataclysmos]

On Katara and feminism in NATLA

I grew up with ATLA. I was exactly Katara’s age when ATLA started to air in my country, and this cartoon has taught me more about life than I’d like to admit. Among them, was feminism.

I was absolutely obsessed with Katara as a kid: back then strong female characters - who were BOTH girlish and strong! – were still quite rare in mainstream media. I absolutely loved to see this girl who was raised in a patriarchal society similar to mine, who was both girly and an absolute badass even in days she didn’t know how to properly waterbend.

Back in those days, they were airing the episodes in order and I was super excited to see her FINALLY learn how to properly waterbend once they reach the North Pole. So when Paku refused to teach her for BEING A GIRL, as a preteen girl myself, I was ENRAGED.

Then Katara did something crazy. She freaking defied a waterbending master, knowing that she had no chance of winning whatsoever. And guys, I swear that fight became a core memory for me. On our crusty Windows XP’s desktop, there was a gif downloaded over several minutes of that exact fight. And I would watch it. On loop. When Katara defied Paku, I felt empowered, and that feeling never left.

Now that I am done with my lame ass backstory, back to NATLA.

You can imagine how EXCITED I was to finally see that fight in 4K. At that point, I was already pissed that they removed Sokka’s sexist flaws and subverted his dynamics with him, rather than Katara being “the parent” of the group (which was outrageous, if you ask me. One of the main character traits of Katara was her being a mother figure at an early age, which explained why she always felt like she HAD to be the responsible one, and why she had so much repressed rage).

But Katara’s struggle with the Northern Tribe over her right to learn how to use waterbending for fighting? That, in my opinion, was epic! Why?

Katara’s fight with Paku was a premediated act

In the original series, Paku says that girls can’t learn how to waterbend, and in a moment of rage, Katara whips him in the neck. I agree that it was a totally badass move, and it made especially sense given her drive to learn waterbending for fighting.

But I also really liked how NATLA approached that: in NATLA, when Katara learns that she cannot waterbend to fight, she doesn’t immediately attack Paku. No, she takes the time to think about it, talk about it with Aang, with Sokka. Then, she decides to defy Paku.

In a way, her action is a protest: she isn’t angry at Paku personally, she is angry at the sexist rules he perpetuates. In a way, this calculated way of deciding to fight shows a certain emotional maturity and dedication to the cause of feminism.

I really liked it.

The resolution of the fight

One thing that really disturbed me in the cartoon was how that fight scene was resolved. My preteen brain couldn’t make sense of why Paku suddenly decided to teach Katara how to fight after realising that her grandma was his ex-fiancé. Like, where is the connection??

My adult brain understands that Gran Gran had fled the Northern Water Tribe because of their sexist rules and hence Paku understood that him abiding to those sexist rules was wrong. But still, it feels so odd. Tell me which 60-70 year old boomer would suddenly change their mind about basically 90% of their world view because their ex happened to have fled from them because that world view? You tell me that Paku didn’t have enough time to rationalise in his wicked brain why Gran Gran left with a more nefarious motivation, or hell, just because she didn’t like him enough to get married?

Whereas in NATLA, we see that Paku’s approval doesn’t come all so easy: he does acknowledge Katara’s waterbending talents (a feat that also happens in the cartoon), but he still refuses to teach her. Because it isn’t about talent. It is about principle. And he is a dinosaur with sexist principles.

On the other hand, who is more open-minded to new ideas and social change? Who circles Katara following her defeat and admire her for her fight with Paku? It’s the youth! Social change is usually driven by the youth, and here we see that while the old rulers of the Northern Water Tribe are still sexist af, the young people are the ones who are ready to embrace a more equalitarian society.

Women in war

So then, when does Paku change his mind on letting women fight? During the attack on the Northern Water Tribe. They are outnumbered and they need more benders: lo and behold, Katara has the brilliant idea of bringing in the women. Now, I don’t say that that was actually a brilliant idea: strategically speaking, it is kinda stupid sending your HEALERS to the FRONTLINES to die while they could be much more useful saving the wounded. Nevertheless, I like the inclusion of the women into the battle in a symbolic level: in history, we see that most women’s rights were obtained during and in the aftermath of big conflicts. When men are fighting and there is a shortage of manpower, you employ women to work at the factories, or in the direst cases, you let women fight. This was a cool nod to that phenomenon happening. Also, if literally every man was already wounded or perished, it kinda makes sense that women take up the arms, so the “healers fighting isn’t strategically sound” argument doesn’t hold perfectly either.

Women of patriarchy

Lastly, one thing I really liked about NATLA is how not only Paku, but also the female healing master was sternly against women learning how to fight with waterbending. The healing master in the cartoon was softer, gentler, whereas here, she was even more vocal than Paku in grilling Katara for wanting to fight. This is such a great display of internalised sexism, but also how women in power in patriarchy may be vehement defenders of the status quo because it helps them to keep whatever power they have.

Oh, and in a final note, Katara’s reply to Zuko’s “you have found a waterbending master!” was absolutely horrendous. I may have liked how most of that arc was treated, but GOD, somebody give that girl a proper master to learn how to waterbend, because I don’t believe one second that a child with only ONE waterbending scroll can become a MASTER with self-study. The way Katara was managing to become a waterbending master in the span of weeks in the original series was already weird (and for those who weren’t fans before, it did attract quite some criticism in the fandom spheres back when it aired), but NATLA just took it and made it worse.

Nonetheless, I think that NATLA tried their best. And I appreciate that they tried to give ATLA a new twist, even though it didn’t land perfectly.

Everyone seems to be focusing on the bad of the show, so I felt compelled to share my two cents.

[that-ari-blogger]

What Do I Want?

Wicked has a thing with dreams.

The land of Oz is a land of fantasy. I mean this in the sense that it isn't exactly non-fiction, but its also a place where dreams come true. This is a place and a story in which if you wish really hard, good things can happen.

But Oz was never what it seemed, and where the original The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz used smoke and mirrors for a big reveal towards the end of the story. Wicked leans much further into deceit and scheming to lean into its theming, and that is set up in The Wizard And I.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

A key part of storytelling is making the lead character empathetic or understandable. It isn't essential (Watch Deathnote for a good counter example), but it is a strategy for getting the audience invested. In musicals, where most important plot beats are sung, this often takes the form of an "I want" song that establishes quickly and efficiently the goals of the protagonist. Think Part Of Your World from The Little Mermaid for an example.

The Wizard and I is Elphaba's "I want" song, and that honestly made this post rather difficult to write. Because I don't think that's an unobvious take and I wanted to do something out of the ordinary. But I think Elphaba's song is fascinating because of how it subverts the premise.

Wicked is a satire, and the key to writing good satire is to understand the core text and tropes and to take them both in a wildly different direction. Most notably, Elphaba is on the verge of getting what she wants. This isn't an "I wish I could", it's a "this is what I'm going to get", and because this is a story about dreams colliding with reality, which sets up that theme rather neatly.

The plot of Wicked centres around the falling apart of Elphaba, and the breaking down of her ambitions. But it is a story about hope throughout, and I think it is important to set up how relentlessly hopeful she is.

Although, Elphaba's hopefulness is in direct contrast with the rest of her demeanour. Once again, the theme of deception is on display, this time through her false face. She has to please everyone, especially her father, so she puts on an incredibly restrained and abrasive personality. But what she wants truly is to be "unlimited".

Don't get me wrong, Elphaba is abrasive, and that's not a flaw, she's just not that social. What I'm saying is that there is a difference between being awkward and actively pushing people away. Elphaba does the latter to disguise from her true self.

"Unlimited

My future is unlimited."

I have extremely limited musical knowledge here, so bear with me. There is a key change here, to sell the importance of this line, because it keeps coming up. I will point it out when it comes to it. But the change from A Flat Major (should I use the flat symbol here? I have no idea) to G Flat Major emphasises that this is the point of the song. If I've got those keys wrong, please tell me.

Everything else is superficial. When boiled down to it's barest principles, Elphaba wants to be free. To be free from prejudice and expectation, and she spends the rest of the show achieving this. She defies gravity, free from the laws that keep her down; she defies death and lives her own happy ending; and she defies the wizard to pursue her own path.

I watched Wicked live in Sydney, and I am using the official video from that show of this song as images. What is interesting there is how Sheridan Adams, who played Elphaba in that show, chose to act out that character.

She became slowly more expressive throughout the course of the song, starting very closed in and spotlit against a background that couldn't help but contrast with her appearance. But she got more relaxed and more open with the audience as she sang, realising she was finally getting what she wanted.

And as she sang, the world changed, with the sky going from the sunrise of the opportunity to the bright day of a new world, to a green tint to match Elphaba, letting her still stand out. But now she isn't a sore thumb, she belongs in the world and is free to do whatever she wants. As she gets freer, the world becomes hers to explore.

It's also notable that as Elphaba imagines more, and as she continues to hope, the set opens up. No longer is she boxed in by the school, now the world is her oyster.

But that isn't the only recurring theme set up by this song.

These notes form a motif that comes back in Dancing Through Life. Specifically, from Galinda, when she is falling in love with Fiyero after decieving Boq into dancing with Nessarose, and again when she and Nessa retrospect about those relationships. The flourishes are different, but the core pattern is the same.

"Help me meet the wizard"

"We deserve each other."

Neither of those two relationships work out, by the way, because everyone involved was deceived in some way. They all thought the relationships would work out in different, contradicting ways.

I'm not going to go into too much detail on that song here, as this is a post about The Wizard and I, but it's interesting that a motif with themes of deception, false beliefs and and misguided aspirations, gets used for Elphaba's most achievable goal. She wants to meet the wizard, why is that misguided?

Well, because the wizard isn't what he says he is. He cannot do any of the things Elphaba hopes he can be. The plot twist of the original story becomes central to this one in a much more psychological way. Elphaba has pinned all of her hopes on something, and the music is telling you from the start that this isn't going to work out.

The song also tells you through the lyrics.

"If you work as you should

You'll be making good"

First up, conditional acceptance. Not what Elphaba is after, but she's at such a low point in terms of belonging that this is enough to sway her. This is a fault that she gets over. She doesn't want the bare minimum; she wants what everyone else has. To be unlimited.

There's also the fact that the opening of the musical, No One Mourns the Wicked, went out of its way to break down the concepts of good and evil in this world. The story reenforces this with Wonderful later, but here it comes up and Elphaba accepts it uncritically.

But whose definition of "good" is Morrible using here. Good for whom?

So, here is where my reading of the story as a whole comes in. I will elaborate further when we get to it later on in the musical. But, in my opinion, this is a fundamentally queer coded story.

Elphaba is born different, outside of the norm of her society. All she wants is to be unlimited, for people to not see her and have their minds filled with prejudice.

I brought up Part Of Your World earlier, because the queer theming there is all but explicit, but The Wizard and I has this coding in spades. Obviously, being green is something that others her, and something she wants "cured", only to find that people like her for it, or like her for other reasons and the greenness is just who she is. She can't and shouldn't change it.

But, an angry mob is an angry mob, and people are small minded. People see something they don't understand and cast it as a villain for their own narratives.

Alternatively, she gets told that she can be accepted despite being green, if she contributes to society in the way that the leadership wants her to. Her personhood is contingent on her usefulness, rather than being assumed like everyone else.

Let's, talk about me for a second. I am a queer individual. I am neither heterosexual nor cisgender, and I can definitely empathise with Elphaba here. I have felt that same antipathy towards me for something I could not control, and I have wished that I could be "normal". I have definitely been given that "contribute to society" ultimatum.

But as I have matured, I have learned to respect myself enough to understand that these are parts of who I am, and that I am deserving of respect and dignity just as much as anyone else.

All people are deserving respect, queer or otherwise, and those that take issue with that are the problem, not us. I hope that one day, all of us can feel free to be who we are.

One day, we will be "unlimited".

Final Thoughts

The Wizard and I is my second favourite song in the musical, and I will reveal my favourite later on. But its fascinating how much setup this song does for the worldbuilding of Oz.

The audience gets told just how powerful everyone thinks the wizard is, and even if you know the plot twist, you empathise with Elphaba after the betrayal because you have seen how much of her heart gets put into this.

This is part two of a series on Wicked, with part three coming next week, centring around What Is This Feeling and continuing with the queer analysis of this very queer musical. So, stick around if that interests you.

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[cupcraft]

Feel free to completely disagree w me i just want 2 share my thougjts after rewtaching bombshells last night: As much as Cuddy wants to believe that she left House because he couldnt be there for her in the way she wanted to (which is valid but its rlly not what happened imo) She ultimately broke up w him because he relapsed. Forgive my poor memory i may be recalling wrong but the end of the episode vicodin relapse reveal hinted that house had been back on vicodin since before cuddy’s cancer scare, and the moment that Cuddy found out she dropped him. The vicodin was the catalyst in a sense she saw him relapse back into drugs and she was like Nopeee. like it was the longest he’d been sober since he developed the addiction which is a good thing but its like. the expectation that you will relapse at least once. and yeah cuddy had just gotten a big death scare but she had also found out her boyfriend had fallen back into his addiction and instead of allowing them both to comfort eachother on their respective issues she left him liek broo😭😭😭youre dating a known addict and the minute he starts addict-ing you turn away. Also ntm even though cuddy told him outwardly she didnt want him to change, she definitely had inward hope that She could he the one to change him, that he’d love her so much he wiuld change for her and that didnt happen so she quit

No your 100% right and now I'm going to rant about huddy and a missed opportunity for her character's writing.

Cuddy historically has been a character who has understood House's addiction and thus in turn his chronic pain and disability almost the least. She has a repeated history of ableism in the show towards House, but I am going to focus on her lack of understanding around House's addiction and how that ties into why she dumped him and ultimately was a failing on character growth on behalf of the writers.

In season 7 it is implied House has relapsed before the surgery date, and it's implied that he relapsed because of his intense fear of losing Cuddy due to cancer and he loved her and WANTED to be there for her, and in a way this triggered a relapse. In the world of addiction relapse can happen as addiction is a lifelong chronic illness and moments of stress, loss, etc can be a common trigger for relapse. And the fact House wanted to be there for her without panicking, definitely also makes sense why he considered relapsing. Cuddy's problem here, is that she moralizes it. It's understandable she doesn't address her subconscious thoughts on "huh, I wonder if House has relapsed..." because she's actively undergoing a panic of "am I going to die", so it makes sense she doesn't address it until she's finished surgery. But her problem is she MORALIZES this action. Think about what she tells House. She does think House couldn't "be there the way she wanted" and that "he'd never change", but those are the excuses to rationalize how she feels being in a relationship with an addict. She tells House by "being high" he wasn't "REALLY there" for her when she had the surgery/medical scare. Though House might have been pretty high (which is hard to confirm it's never really stated, and House does have a high opiate tolerance to consider), but in the end it doesn't matter if he was. Cuddy thinks House being on Vicodin is in a way subverting his love/care/attention away from her. Instead of seeing the relapse as a concern, as her terminal illness scare, fear of loss of her, wanting to be there for her, she sees it as a means of NOT being there for her. That of course, in the end, House chooses "drugs" over her. Here's a few notable quotes:

Cuddy quite litereally says the pills mean something, as in his addiction is a moral choice in which House chooses to be a careless loveless asshole who is selfish and only cares about himself and in turn cares only about avoiding pain instead of "being there for Cuddy" which is an insane way to look at someone's addiction, and blatantly fucked up. She quite literally dumps him because of this, the relapse, of because he is an addict.

Because the reality is, like I stated, House wasn't afraid Cuddy would hurt him. House isn't afraid to be there for Cuddy. House has also gotten to a point in their relationship by season 7 that he isn't afraid to love Cuddy. He didn't fear experiencing pain, he feared losing her. And he knew, and he WANTED to be there for her in her potentially dying moments because he loved her. And that in turn triggered relapse. Cuddy's interpretation here is that House never changes, but in reality we should see this as Cuddy has never changed. She's never changed since season 1, not understanding how addiction operates.

Early seasons in which Cuddy has a history of the following: Making House go cold turkey and being cruel when he experiences withdrawal instead of intervening to help him, Cuddy telling House his "pain" is just made up in his head and worsened by the Vicodin (not in a medical sense, in a moralizing sense) such that she ignores his bad pain day and tricks him into getting a saline shot and then uses his brief "distraction" from the pain as confirmation it's in his head/drug seeking behavior (again not from a nuanced position of how mental health and chronic pain intersect, instead moralizing it), she doesn't at all ever understand how opiate addiction operates nor how to treat someone's addiction (ie with methadone...foreshadowing for later) and again moralizes his choice to remain on Vicodin (The entire tritter arc), she is ANTI methadone entirely a known medical treatment for opiate addiction enough that instead of recommending House go to a methadone clinic for increased safety and monitoring threatens to fire him unless he agrees to let her control everything about his methadone treatment plan, and etc.

The writer's have posited Cuddy as someone who cares about House, who loves House, but at no point takes a moment to understand his disability, chronic pain, and his addiction. She moralizes it. And when he enters a relationship with her sober just nearly avoiding relapse, she's almost ashamed to be with him. She enters this relationship, ashamed she could be with someone like House. She takes that scene intervening in his relapse as a moral commitment he will prioritize her over drugs, thus entering the relationship without ever really wanting to understand or be compassionate dating someone who has a history of addiction. This is a missed opportunity for her to develop as a character.

Instead, the writing goes as Cuddy doesn't get to change but the narrative wants us to believe it is House who never changed or cared about her enough, because drugs and addicts bad. Which is really fucked considering they took a lot of time making Wilson grow more understanding of addiction. There's that one episode he fears House has relapsed and he says "relapse is common!" ready to help him and when he relapses after the breakup he recommends House get help instead of moralizing it. He even yells at Cuddy for leaving him, not just as a partner but as a friend.

Sorry this is long but I hope...this makes sense

[0zeeraa0]

A little Fnaf Movie rant (don't kill me, I also want this movie to be good)

(this post is pretty big, i understand if you don't have the patience for it)

(if you see any typos: no, you did not.)

Am I the only one who thinks that the fnaf movie isn't gonna live up to the hype...? Like I don't think it's gonna be bad, but I doubt it's gonna be as spectacular as we hope it will be.

One of the reasons that I'm a bit worried is the little girl. Michael's sister. Like in the trailer she's shown wondering around the pizzaria, and than in a TAXI with GOLDEN FREDDY, like????? HUH???? I have a feeling that the movie is gonna make her befriend the animatronics and like prove to Mike and Vanessa that "they just misunderstood🥺" Which like... THEY ARE, but that would be a horrible way to go about that plot line. And I kinda feel like they shouldn't be intelligent enough, or self aware enough to make friends y'know?

Also Vanessa. This one's gonna be shorter. I hope to god they're not gonna have a romantic plot line between her and Michael. One thing I really like about the fnaf games (haven't read the books yet, sorry) that there's absolutely no romance. And I feel like it should stay that way.

Now the "horror". I KNOW that the original games didn't have any gore. And I'm not saying the movie has to have it. I just want it to be SCARY. Or creepy at the very least. The games didn't have gore, but they were still HORROR GAMES, y'know. They're 16+. I remember that the movie makers tweeted something like "we're not gonna hold back on the gore" or "I'm not sure if we can even show this". But... The movie is going to be 13+... So that was a fuckin lie. Because what the hell is a pg13 HORROR movie supposed to be??? Like IT 2017 is rated R, but theres a surprisingly little amount of actual gore. And despite the R rating, sooo many teens and preteens love the move. So who is the Fnaf movie's target audience with it's pg13 rating. The same kids who ONLY played/watched Security Breach? Be so FR.

I feel like (based on the trailers) that the movie is going to take a more comedic approach, wich wouldn't be a problem, but it seems that it's going to be more significant then the horror aspect.

You know how Stranger Things stared out in s1 as a mystery/horror, and by s4 it got derailed into... that. I'm just worried that the same will happen to fnaf... Like it ALMOST happened with SB, but that's a game. It's a lot harder to access, so it still mostly stayed within the fnaf community. Like, 'normal' allistic Jessica (this isn't an actual person, just an example) is a lot less likely to watch a SB gameplay, or more so, play the game. But she might watch the movie because it's popular. And I REALLY don't want Michael to get "Eddie Munson-ified", okay??? I don't want the thing that shaped my entire childhood to get the TikTok treatment.

Sorry this post got really out of hand by the end. I just had to get this out of myself, otherwise I just might explode.

If the movie turns out to be a Masterpiece of fiction, that makes all original fnaf fans weep at how absolutely perfect it is, than y'all can come back here and laugh at me in the comments all you want. I will admit that I was wrong, and I'll do so with pure happiness, for having my expectations subverted in a positive way

And if I'm right.... well.... I will not be happy about it, or proud. I will not say "I told you so". I will keep my mouth shut, and I'll wallow in my misery in silence. Mourning what it could've been.

(theres so much more that i could say about this movie that hasn't even come out yet, but i think this is more than enough)

[hotvampireadjacent]

Hey, just wanted to preface this by saying that you’re a cool dude, and obviously I’m not trying to attack you or say you’re wrong or need to agree with me or anything! I just wanted to make this ask to hear your perspective and potentially show you a new perspective on Madoka Magica.

You recently reblogged a post about how Gen Urobuchi wrote a subversion of a genre without showing respect to it, and clown me if I have made the wrong assumption, but was that post about Madoka Magica?

I won’t speak on Rebellion, but Madoka as a show seemed to me like a reinforcement of the themes of the Magical Girl genre. It uses its subversions, not to disrespect magical girls, but celebrate them and their ideals. And that’s only if you consider Madoka a subversion at all, as many people make the argument that it doesn’t actually subvert the genre.

Clearandsweet has a great series on YouTube dedicated to analyzing Madoka through this lens. (The spoiler thesis is that Madoka’s character is a Magical Girl, with all the themes that entails, in a story that’s constantly trying to prevent her, and the show itself, from being one. In the end, she overcomes this the way a Magical Girl would, ultimately celebrating magical girls and their ideals. Everything that goes wrong in this show is not an edgey indictment of magical girls, but rather an exploration of how things can go wrong without them, and therefore a reinforcement of why we need Magical Girls and their themes.)

Sorry if this ask felt out of nowhere or rude! I just wanted to make this ask because the anime-bro discourse about Madoka has seriously lost the plot on what the show is even about. To the point that Madoka ripoffs (that also fail to understand Madoka) plague the genre. I was even someone who felt similarly about Gen Urobuchi and Madoka until I did a rewatch as an adult.

It’s a really well-directed show that was mired with the stupid “deconstruction” discourse of its time, so I definitely recommend watching or rewatching the show with this in mind if you’re ever bored or need something to do. Obviously this interpretation is not objectively correct or anything, but I just wanted to open this up to you because this revelation was something I really enjoyed (and something I felt cheated out of by the stupid anime-bro culture surrounding it), and maybe you’d enjoy it too. And I’d love to hear your perspective on it, too, as I love reading different interpretations of Madoka!

I’m sorry that happened to you or happy it’s 2023 I’m not reading an essay on madoka.

Did read the end tbh I haven’t watched madoka since it aired I don’t remember enough to even give a perspective. Honestly I just hate gen urobuchi bc of fate/ zero.

Anyway it’s almost my birthday and almost midnight here

Only slightly related he said some insane shit about a minor gundam characters death

[whateverthedragonswant]

Part 2: there was a lot GA scoffing at the idea of Sansa’s political acumen but this scene really shows how clever and skilled she is and it’s not recognised as such. She sussed out Dany’s true feeling on Jon, that she’s a hypocrite and not a liberator only seeking peoples freedom, that the iron throne is her one goal. Sansa figured out in one conversation what Jon took weeks to figure out on Dragonstone and Tyrion and Varys even longer. Sansa clocked it in like a day. True Queen material there

I don't know if this was connected to the previous ask or not but I apologize if not.

The GA really didn't get Sansa's character and I blame D&D for that quite a bit. They tried to bait people to watch by promoting some huge power struggle about to take place between Sansa and Jon, now that he's been made KitN, right before season 7 aired, knowing full well that Jon was a fan favorite. They even had the actors themselves doing their dirty work for them while promoting the new season. So that already planted the seed in several minds of Sansa doesn't want Jon to be King and she's Littlefinger 2.0 and all that stupid bullshit. And they did it not only to get people to come back for the new season but also to get the audience to expect something that they could subvert, which had become their MO at that point. Even though Sansa told Jon and the audience that she's not looking to undermine him, and telling their siblings how much she can't wait for him to come back in so many words, they still spend the whole season trying to convince everyone that Littlefinger is playing her, she wants to be Queen, and she's waiting to betray Jon at any moment she can. So this way in 7x07 they could have the student surpass the teacher and go 'Ha ha' to the audience when Sansa executes Littlefinger. Subvert, subvert, subvert!

And as if that wasn't enough to prove Sansa's political acumen to the GA, to show that she actually has some smarts (in case they missed it all season, from KL as a matter of fact), they not only (purposely) missed the things you mentioned in 8x02, but that she did the exact same thing she did in 7x07 with Littlefinger when she sussed him out. His goal was the IT with her at his side (him really just wanting to use her to get the North). Dany's goal is also the IT and she doesn't intend to let the North go. So not only did Sansa see Cersei-like qualities in 8x01 but now she's seeing Littlefinger-like qualities in 8x02. Which is cemented in 8x04 when Dany pulls the Gendry move. I truly believe had Littlefinger survived, Dany would have executed him eventually because I don't believe she would have been fooled. I think she would've seen right through him. But that's a post for another day.

But yeah, it's a shame the GA discounts the brilliance and talent for political strategy that Sansa was displaying those last two seasons. It was right there in front of their faces but as usual, they purposely ignored it (well, most of them did, some people didn't genuinely see it and that's where my blaming D&D comes in because viewers shouldn't have to do a Rubik's cube to figure out a character and their true motivations, thinking process, and actions) and some brilliant moments for her character and some brilliant writing actually got missed (dismissed). Which I believe does somewhat of a disservice to Dany and Cersei too because they shared that brilliance as well despite any wrong choices they may have made. Cersei miscalculated when it came to Dany and went past a line she couldn't come back from and Dany miscalculated that everyone would want her new world and she crossed a line she couldn't come back from. They both wanted power for different reasons. As we know, Sansa didn't want power, only freedom and the ability to keep her family and herself safe. So it made sense that she was the only Queen in the end and not of the 7K

Like you said, true Queen material right there. I wish more people could gain a better understanding of her character and appreciate the brilliant woman she actually is.

[cosmics-beings]

posting twitter thoughts here - again.

You know, I really do think that Starscream deserved better idw and to have an actual, fleshed out redemption arc that gave him respect. Idw had such an amazing opportunity to expand on him because it expanded on other evil, later turned morally grey/good characters. Especially Megatron, but I just don’t understand why Starscream didn’t get that same love and depth.

Part of me thinks its because the writers, like  a lot of people were just stuck on the fact that Starscream himself is an incompetent leader that doesn’t deserve redemption because he will always be evil and unstrustworth. And that REALLY sucks because a.) other continuums have shown us otherwise and b.) in idw where so many characters got to have better written nuance and unique characterization that subverted what we believed their intentions were, how come Starscream couldn’t have that?

I think it was 100% possible, the writers didn’t want to commit to it. I am not saying that he had to be redeemed or made into this innocent, flawless person. By all means, keep him flawed, make him struggle with what is right and wrong, but actually give him growth. Make him be the leader that he imo deserved to be, but also make him prove it and show us that he can be a great leader.

And I would’ve loved for him midway to find out that prophecy was bogus – which to be fair he thought it was, but actually develop as idk a good leader and a decent person.

A lot of people say his sacrifice was his ultimate redemption and yeah—but I also think he deserved better. I think we deserved to see him be redeemed and get an actual character change where he isn’t written as an unapproachable idiot who is just determined to being evil and pushes people away. Any by change i mean someone who is just like, a better leader and a better perosn. Still make him sly, still make him have questionable thoughts, make him tricky and wicked - but like also make him have an actual narrative where he changes, where he leads, where he is good when he's supposed to be and more importably is a loved and appreciated leader because he cares.

What would've been great too is that when optimus talked shit about stascream to windblade, starscream completely subverted most of what optimus said to her and she saw that he was actually struggling and growing to be a good person and she helped him with it and they actually became really good friends and she vouched for him, same with bumblebee.

like yeah he isn't 100% goood but he changes.

Starscream’s greatest enemy in idw was the writing because from the trial (which made starscream a joke) to his ending they didn’t really know how to handle him. And I think writing him as an incompetent leader and not giving him and clear nuance outside of him being morally ambiguous but actually a shit, and not giving him the same amount of redemption care and arc as megatron got is just unfair to his character.

Its why, as much as I love IDW and what it does for other characters I think I hate what it does to him. But it sucks because idw star is my fave.

i get 'not everyone has to be redeemed' and that's true, but also when you have a character that has been through a lot and the writing is possible because it HAS happened before, and other characters who have done far worse than and to that character get redemption, then what's so wrong with that?

and it goes without being said but no im not excusing starscream's actions or acting like he's an innocent person. i just wish he got the same redemption arc quality/writing as megatron did. and i dont even dislike that megatron got a redemption arc, for all that happened to him i think he deserved one, but why not starscream?

[gayofthefae]

Acceptance is a GREAT culmination of Will’s arc! But here’s the thing...

He got that. Jonathan accepted him. You can increase the quantity of acceptance from here or make it more explicit but we still have a season to go.

In fact, I think a lot of the misunderstanding is that arcs don’t finish one season early and then the last season is for the supernatural loose ends. Because that would imply that the stories were entirely disconnected or that the supernatural aspect were somehow the “main” thing. Which just isn’t true.

If Will’s arc was acceptance. And Mike’s arc was communicating his feelings. And El’s arc was being loved by Mike in a different way than Brenner etc.

The show would be over. We wouldn’t need another season. THAT’S where the confusion lies and always has: in the idea that the show could have ended at any season just because there was closer. It couldn’t have. Seasons 1 and 2 would have had no hero’s journey. Season 3 ended in a place of loss: loss of Hopper, loss of the Byers (including El) through moving away, overall separation of the party and a general sadness.

 And season 4, obviously, ended with the big bad still at large - but emotionally, one would think it ended okay on the surface: Robin is implied to get the girl, Jonathan and Nancy are back in the same place, Mike said I love you to El, Lucas and Max are back together (she is in a coma but we’re separating the supernatural plot out remember). 

And I think that’s also why they’re accused of plot holes so often - this idea that some level of closure = ending. It doesn’t. This isn’t 5 separate mini series with the same cast. It’s one show. They aren’t meant to tie up everything in one season and then create new setups. And they’ve never been trying to, not fully anyways. They’ve done it a lot with the supernatural stuff and I think that’s the confusion. It feels like that chapter is over so any loose end must be a plot hole, right? Because next season is a new chapter and they’ll forget about everything from previous ones. But saving payoffs is different then a pattern of forgetting, though I understand why they’re confusable.

M*levens are happy. That’s fantastic. Genuinely, I like it when people are happy, believe it or not. But that’s actually a bad sign for them. Because there’s more. The show isn’t over which means more has to happen. And if this was it, they would have ended it.

And this happens often enough in storytelling when a plot point is subverted: the assumed arc is ACHIEVED. And they deliver the blow of “...now what?” The characters ask, “why didn’t that fix everything?” (as demonstrated quite literally by the giant gate in this case). What you thought it was all building up to happens and...it doesn’t...end. And the mere fact that it doesn’t end is proof that that wasn’t supposed to be the ending (in the case that the creators have the integrity to tell one story and aren’t just trying to run on cable TV as long as possible* *although I acknowledge there is also financial privilege to be able to have this “integrity” and decide to stop).

When you get everything you’ve ever wanted and nothing happens. You get the magical stone or whatever but the wind doesn’t lift up and the prophecy doesn’t come true. Because you were wrong about what it was that you needed.

El feeling real love as opposed to being used and obsessed over is a GOOD ARC. Will being accepted is a GOOD ARC. Mike expressing his feelings is a GOOD ARC. If those were their arcs. But the mere fact that there IS a season 5 tells us that these are just tools, stepping stones towards their true arcs.

El being genuinely loved and supported will allow her to be supported into her independence. 

Mike learning to express his emotions better will help him to when the time comes for him to express them in a scary situation - such as queerness - and take that risk for what he really wants because he will believe he is lovable enough that he might actually have a shot rather than taking what he can get.

Will feeling accepted is the first step to realizing that he can be safe and have a happy future and will allow him more confidence to accept that the idea of him getting to experience romantic love is real.

This does not mean that the season 4 endings were bad. This does not mean they were false. They were not “fake outs”, they were important steps towards their finales - just like every other season arc’s ending. And they don’t only function for that ending. El being loved by Mike and Mike telling her he loves her and Jonathan accepting Will are still beautiful and important in their own right outside of just being narratively useful.

But they aren’t the endings, if only because this isn’t the end.

[raayllum]

One thing I love about TDP is that while it can be genre subversive (i.e. Ezran going home at the end of S2 for example) it doesn’t break its own narrative promises / set up and payoff. 

For example: despite Soren being more of an outward dick in S1 (step-prince, dumb jock, etc) and Claudia being relatively much nicer (Callum’s crush on her, hasn’t done anything as bad as Soren yet on an emotional level), the show makes it pretty clear that their moralities are very skewed in a few key ways. Moments after Claudia sent smoke wolves after the boys, Soren is saving Callum’s life. 

Soren intends to kill Runaan (upon the assassin’s own request), while Claudia believes that it’s worth keeping Runaan alive for “more practical uses.” She also doesn’t see anything wrong with the switching spell and thought of it herself, while even Viren can at least understand some of Harrow’s reservations. Soren is ultimately always a crownguard and Claudia is decidedly a dark mage. These are some of the reasons why I always figured that if either of them did break away from their father, Soren would be the one while Claudia would spiral further, and I know S2 cemented this for a lot of us going into S3. 

Which is to say: the show isn’t interested in yanking the rug out from under our feet to subvert expectations. If something is repeatedly alluded to in a negative light, it will follow through on it (even if it may reveal more depth later). Even things where we are purposefully misled are very brief and the clues are obvious (i.e. Ava’s moonstone collar, but we didn’t know moon magic was primarily about illusions until then) in retrospect. A perfect example of this is when Claudia kills the deer in 2x09; although it’s an act that is far easier to swallow and understand, it’s still very symptomatic of what sorts of mindsets will continually be her undoing in S3 and S4. 

Which is to say anyone that knows me knows I adore the Game Motif in the show, largely surrounding the Key of Aaravos in S1-S3 and then extended more explicitly to Aaravos himself in S4.

The Key is immediately connected to Callum’s arc as a mage and a sense of compulsion, but also as something that stirs up trouble. He gets them to go to the Banther Lodge for it believing it will be safe, but it’s too late to back out when humans like Amaya show up. Callum forgets about the cube entirely, surprised that Rayla has it by the end of the episode, and cites that “We should’ve never come here.” Moreover, the cube often foreshadows things that will cause problems for the group: the giant fish that makes the Ocean rune glow almost eats them; the Moon rune glowing as they walk up the Caldera and Callum’s notice of it foreshadows that Lujanne will not be the miracle healer they hope for. 

The one big exception in terms of the cube being legitimately, plot relevantly useful is in 3x08 when it helps Callum realize his necklace from Rayla is a moon opal, and thus can be used to help find the truth of what happened to her family (and hopefully mean she won’t think she has to, y’know, die and stuff). 

More than four seasons later, we see his attitude toward it has soured again.

And it would be one thing if it was just foreshadowing from the other characters (which, Rayla and Soren tend to foreshadow the most, mouthpiece wise, I think) or in Callum’s mind

But we also have 2x08 called The Book of Destiny in which Callum’s tormented by the dark magic cube (as opposed to Claudia’s literal book) and his father in chains, asking for him to reject the very gift Harrow gave him just two episodes ago, muddling the Key’s few positive associations further. Rayla calls it a glow toy in 1x05 and we see from the 4x04 intro that’s precisely what it is. And even more than that, the 4x04 intro that exists within the story’s narrative but outside the main cast’s conception of events.

If the cube had no negative affect in store for Callum, it would not be here in the intro because it doesn’t need to be. It’s here for sorely symbolic / foreshadowing purposes, like the way a book cover operates. It’s a direct clue to the audience, and the audience online, that more than the Key is a piece of Aaravos’ games, and that the two are intrinsically linked: a loaded die, a smoking gun. A game that Callum already unknowingly lost - a long time ago. 

[horizon-verizon]

What do you think of the accusation that Rhaenys is hypocritical when talking to Alicent, specifically the "service to men" line? I never saw it myself. I always saw it as a comment about the meaning or potential of "queenship" and independent power as it's a response to Alicent calling herself a true queen.

I personally read this scene as Rhaenys feeling Alicent out to see how really good of a queen she would be if she had both the mettle and the brains for it.

*EDITED (10/6/23)* I agree completely with what backjustforberena says HERE, in regards to what the writers wish to convey. I'm saying that this is the Watsonian reading. I just don't agree with the writers. Instead, it felt more like Rhaenys was just trying to mess with Alicent's head bc yes she is doing what Alicent does, let men rule her while discouraging Rhaenyra/a woman who can do more when she cannot.

Excerpt:

Rhaenys, during the course of the scene, is trying to see what Alicent is made of, trying figure her out and then, ultimately, trying to unbalance her. It’s a comparison of power, yes. It’s a comparison of position, yes. And a comparison of ambition - Rhaenys once imagined herself on the Iron Throne. Alicent never has because she doesn’t see it as possible for herself. But Rhaenys has spent so much time never really paying attention to Alicent, and this is the scene where Rhaenys sees Alicent as a player, as someone who understands the order of things (albeit not to subvert them, but that’s by-the-by) as someone who sees what Rhaenys’s true wishes would be in order to make that offer. She sees Alicent is wise. Now she needed to figure out what Alicent is going to do with that awareness.

That this is what the writers were going for.

*EDIT* 8/20/23: IDK about the definition of "wise" here, though. I don't think it is "wise" to usurp Rhaenyra, to try to conciliate with her using a page from their youth after harassing and endangering her kids lives for 10 years and the expecting to ever be truly civil much less friends. When said page is about Nymeria, the woman who basically established equal primogeniture through violence and war bc she wanted to conquer. Alicent is all like "stop the violence, and just accept Aegon's rule", and if the argument for why she chose Nymeria of all things from that book they read together as kids, she definitely show wrong, since though Nymeria used violence/waged wars in conquest, we cannot argue Dorne is worse for it not was it impossible to uproot years long traditions, much less "all the ceremonies" that legitimize Aegon's ascension. Alicent asking-demanding Rhaenyra stand down "for the realm" doesn't make sense, and her methods also do not make sense.

If anything, following the events and basic human psychology, Rhaenyra should have more reason to go after the greens after that damned page.

So no, Alicent was not wise, nor should Rhaenys believe that she was. Once more, no matter what Rhaenys thinks, Baela and Rhaena are both Daemon's children. Even if Baela wanted to sit out this war, Rhaena is with Daemon AND the greens are not going to give Driftmark to her by patriarchal male-over-women privilege. The same thing they are using to get Aegon to rule over Rhaenyra!

[fourthwonton]

Fourthwonton freaks out over the Our Skyy x Bad buddy episode 1 (real)

Squealed at the very first sec of the preview(I don’t rewatch my top shows so it's quite helpful)(and I got the feels)

The preview really reminded me exactly why I fell in love with this world

Ugh great (rolls eyes) Wai’s back yaayyyyy

Drake is really good at playing himbo

Wait… are Wai and Korn continuing the feud’s legacy?

Really a great start… the whole show began when Wai was cornered so it’s fitting that the special episodes start with the feud too

The staredown lol rofl…. The BGMI can’t

Right off the gate with the expectation subversion I can’t with P’Aof

The students really need group projects to hold them off from fighting

Why is Korn praying like Pat and Pran have died? Or is this P’Aof poking fun at all the romeo and romeo clown theories?

Prom really is accurate with the tea huh

Lol WaiKorn trying their best to get them all off the right track

Going off the track but damn Ohm’s eyes really shine at 5:06

They’re back at it lol just riling each other up

Never knew bickering could be foreplay but here we are

Lmao the stark difference between on screen and behind the scenes(hah get it)

I could swim in nanon’s eyes(swoons)

Aaa dimples is back

Neck cradle seemed like a chokehold lol well, Pran does have Pat in his chokehold

I’m so glad that the curtain drop has been redeemed

I freaking lost it when the intro started to play

I love the parallel so much! In ep 1, when pat punches Pran and he gets a bruise for which he gave him a balm. Now, it’s Pran who punched Pat and he’s the one icing the bruise. Ok guess I began rambling

The “I told you to punch me on one cheek and you punched me on the other” never gets old

Also pa knocking the door when they’re getting up to something is always funny

And she has got not even a shred of remorse for that XD

INKPA!!!!!!!!!!!!

A brother always has to be annoying to his sister. HIA PAAAAAAAN is so hilarious

I love the found family dynamic of theirs. They’re getting dinner together! Ahh it reminds me of ep 9

Feeding shrimp to your loved one is always a win

Love Pa teasing them

And Ex-macho man Pat calling himself Nong is so funny

The moment Ink advised them to find a neutral party to help them decide was when I felt sorry for Ajarn Pichai

We really need more than crumbs!

Give me more InkPa!!!!!!!!

Is he doing a counting-out game to decide? What’s next, a game of rock paper scissors or an arm-wrestling battle between Pran and Pat?

I choked on my coffee when Pat said that Korn will play a dwarf

Ooh they have to get a sponsorship (evil Gru laugh)

Ooh Pat is sneaky

“Phuen khab? Phuen” and “Khab, Phuen”, very un-subtle title drop right here

Pran still has his high-school photo for his id

And we’re back with the crowded elevator(love everything about it)

I forgot that Pat’s sense of smell is as good as a golden retriver’s

Another rendition of just friend!

I don’t understand if Pran is trying to encourage Pat or scare him more

Also did he just say dog Pat?

I love their faculty pride

I knew something was going to go wrong when Korn mentioned downloading the porn

I snorted out loud at this scene

Damn Pran was really dying holding his laughter

Loved the lesson on perspectives.

I love the parallel to when Pat helped Pran visualize the bus stop

Aah Secret’s back

Nanon looks angelic at 13:09 part 2

Pat really be there convincing Pran for a honeymoon

Wait, Tian wrote a book?

The fistbump’s back aaaaaa

Pat really is a hopeless romantic. So sappy!

The fairy lights OwO

They really said me gustas tu

Pran really looks at Pat like he’s his world T_T

Fierce eyes became puppy dog eyes

Why do they have so many close kisses ughh

NONG NAO SLEEP MASKS!!!!!!! Soon available at GMMTV Shop pre-order yours now

Architecture students may plan an attack on me, but only elevators can bring me down

Poor Pran promoting skincare alone T_T get back here Pat!

Damn! Another eavesdropping misunderstanding? Please subvert this trope P’Aof T_T

Really subverted it in a moment thank lord Aof

Pran’s gone into plotting mode huh, I already feel sorry for Pat

He really saved Pran as Dimples such a sap

Why the fuck was Wai in there? XD they really traumatized each other

Really ran off to Chiang Mai to serve Pat a good bowl of lukewarm revenge

Really loving Pran’s fit again

Getting onto the wrong bus is so like Pat

No wait

I take it back

Making Pat get onto the wrong bus is so like Pran

Ohh Champ’s here!

Not the best thing to say in such a light-hearted tone, Yod. Pran’s already nervous about this

Pran really grabbed a walking cane off a fence XD

This is really the most crossover to ever crossover

Love the piano when Chief Phu turns

Did the sturdy looking Chief just faint?

Did Pran just shoo away Tian?XD

OMG Nanon’s just killing it with his eyes

The preview’s giving me life

Did the boys just strike up a fight between Phupha and Tian? And took it upon themselves to make them make up?

The top-notch face down is so funny

The way I cried all this time damn I missed this world