#but like fuck all i want is for leighton to have a proper story why people gotta act like this was well written

[tuiyla]

this one’s a long one but saw you talking about the tslocg finale and i have to some things to say (if u don’t mind)

im really upset with how they handled the leighton x tatum situation. like fine, maybe tatum was always meant to be a steppingstone for leighton’s eventual understanding for who and what she’s really looking for in a partner. i never really imagined them to be endgame, especially because leighton’s a freshman and she has plenty of time to explore relationships. break ups happen and their split is really far from the actual issue. a lot of actions just felt very out of character/unfair and the rushed pacing really didn’t make anything settle any better. i mean really what was the purpose of building up tatum’s (jackson’s tbh) characters and qualities just to rip them away in literal minutes.

obviously the show’s pacing has always been a major issue, but there’s never been a mention of the women’s center ever since leighton and alicia ended things so why are we acting like leighton and the other volunteers (employees ?) were so close. it just doesn’t make sense that leighton, who was literally so awful toward the women’s center last season, would be so quickly to dismiss someone who wasn’t fully understanding the significance of it/its members. i mean leighton, of all people, should understand that the environment is one that takes getting used to especially coming from such a privileged, conservative background. perhaps it was the annoyance of having to volunteer there, but leighton’s initial reactions were arguably worse than tatum’s little comments.

it just sucked to see tatum being so patient and willing to work things out with leighton even when she was closeted (which yk, bar is on the floor but still very sweet in comparison to alicia’s reaction) and tatum’s reassurance to leighton lying about the gallery party and doing so much to impress her. but god forbid tatum show some poor qualities, and now leighton immediately dismisses her and their relationship. it’s just really cruel for her to have zero grace for tatum’s ignorance when she was, again, far worse last season. i really don’t mind alicia, but #justicefortatum because leighton really just ignored the literal heartbreak and trauma that alicia caused her but drew the line at tatum making some (distasteful) comments when she really could’ve shown her the same patience everyone at the center showed her last sem.

all of the sensitivities she learned about the members of the center and the relationships she built with everyone there took time!!! but she refused to give tatum that :/ she really had more patience with that conservative kappa alumni than she did her own girlfriend.

(and just realistically it made sense to keep tatum around because at least midori is busy with grey’s now, gracie deserves to be booked too!!)

ps: maybe it’s the santana lopez/quinn fabray supremacist in me but a mean girl never really hurt anybody so my girl tatum deserved a better ending

By all means preach away Anon because I'm clearly not over it either. So frustrating when a story could work but it's so lazily done. And I am starting to call it lazy because I know they can do better and I don't see why the writers weren't willing to leave Leighton's story on a sort of cliffhanger like with the other girls. Why did we need a speedrun of this in two episodes? Really cheapens her character and I hate saying that because I love Leighton and I would love to be wholeheartedly happy for her.

I agree, it didn't seem fair and you're so right that Tatum was hardly anything like Leighton was beginning of last season. And okay fair, maybe Leighton doesn't wanna put in the emotional labour of educating someone like she was educated. But then bitch patiently explains inclusive language to gen x Kappas! And it's not like this was Tatum's third strike or anything. Hate to say it but the way it was written makes Leighton seem like she was looking for a reason to dump Tatum because Alicia reentered the picture. And I know it in my bones that wasn't the intention, but intentions don't mean much to me when you lower your standards of writing. Can you tell I'm really mad when writers choose laziness haha.

It's so convenient for the show to act like it's been building on where we left Leighton at the end of season 1 but it hasn't and it can't lie to me. Leighton has not been missing the women's center or its peeps, that's a big fat lie. Not once did she indicate otherwise. And to be clear I don't have an issue with Alicia nor do I wanna get into the dead horse convo of her breakup with Leighton, but it's true that Tatum proved herself to be understanding, patient, and reassuring, only to be discarded like that because she's a fraction of how rude Leighton used to be.

Had they portrayed her as a bitch all this time and gave any signs that Leighton was uncomfortable with that, fine. I'd still find it a little uninspired but I would have bought the whole "foil to Leighton" thing. But that didn't happen! They just pulled that out of their ass at the last minute. I mean ffs they discussed a safe word 😭 Cause Leighton presumably knew very well that this wasn't Tatum's scene. And you won't hear me say that Tatum wasn't being bitchy, but my god was it really that bad that with no preamble she deserves that talking to and dumping? I don't think so. The writers didn't create the bitch they thought they did in Tatum, not in her relationship with Leighton. And if one more person says we were just "blinded by the chemistry of Gracie and Reneé" I'm THROWING HANDS. Fuck you, I know what I saw, I know what was actually written. I care about storytelling and this was ain't it.

So you could say I also have some things to say, Anon. Idk where they're going with this, if Leighton and Alicia are gonna breakup early on in season 3 anyway. I truly don't much care for that because I think the damage to Leighton's ch has already been done and it's not like Alicia was the cause of that or anything. I'm just bummed that instead of seeing her arc unfold organically in season 3 we had this lackluster speedrun and now, what? I'm sure they have plans for her but now every time she gets on her high horse it will feel empty. Unlike her friendships with her roommates, Leighton's change of heart here did not feel like a natural progression at all. And I love me a bitch with a heart of gold, like, loooooooove, but goddam give her time.