#cuz his theories on this ep is what got me so invested in this show in the first place

[overdramaticly-dying]

Man vs. Sewer

“Alrighttttt, here’s the next one (as requested by @dabibliophile)!!! Man vs. Sewer is a great episode, but it low-key caught me off-guard the first time I watched it... Like Raph genuinely lost it, and it wasn’t played off as a joke or anything which is how it’s often is in cartoons. I know rottmnt has its fair share of plot-related episodes, but tbh when I first watched Rise, I was seeing it more as a fun tmnt show, but this episode was what made me realize how good this series actually was... 

anywayssss, let’s go

-Donnie’s apparently the designated texter of the group

-”Sweet, sweet Angelo”

-Donnie’s boardshorts, and how Leo just looks done with him while Mikey looks on in awe... Mikey is so precious I love him

-”I’m not a useful member of society”  

-Leo’s genuine concern for Raph

-Dr. Delicate Touch

-”Where did you get that?” “Uh... borrowed it? from Splinter?” “Splinter. Who only owns robes and a shady past, let you-” 

-the fact that they consider Splinter to have a shady past, and apparently make jokes abt it with each other 

-Donnie is trying so hard to look angry, but he can’t help but smile when Mikey pulls on his tube

-”What? no, where do you think we are?”

-look at the teetlez in tubes. they cute. so smol.

-sports pass

-Raph saying that Lace Face has been in the family longer than Donnie leads me to believe that Baron Draxum gave smol Raph a football when he was in the lab even though I know that’s not true cuz it would’ve been exploded too. But still

-SPORTS

-”OUR FOOTBALL” *Leo slightly glares at him* “OH AND RAPH”

-”Then why doesn’t he has Splinter’s rugged good looks like we do?”

-Leo is Very Concerned abt Raph... idk, it’s really sweet, but his word choices can be worrying: “You know how savage Raph is when he’s alone. He’ll totally lose it if we don’t find him fast- clocks ticking.”

-Particularly the “you know how savage” and “clocks ticking” parts. They know this about him. They know it doesn’t take long. And it’s not played for laughs.

-How Raph starts taking deep breaths and his eyes look glossed over like he’s trying to avoid crying

-He didn’t even notice how much damage he did to the room...

-”Don’t lose it Raph! please...”

-THAT SOFT ‘please’ RAPH SAYS AT THE END GETS ME EVERY TIME??? HE KNOWS WHATS COMING??? 

-And while this is exaggerated, as someone who frequently has panic attacks, can I just say that this episode display’s the progress of what it feels like very well? You can feel it coming, and try all the deep breathing you want, but with every moment you feel more lost... idk I just really like this ep, ok??

-”He’s one of those turtle-jerks we hate y’know for... reasons I can’t remember... leTS EaT hiM!”

-”YES! well, actually, full disclosure, I dunno”

-”Today’s vibes were supposed to be chill, so I went ahead and filled my battleshell with refreshment.” “Just one, Donald?”

-”Then give us ice, for our horribly mangled bodies”

-*sounds of ice machine* “it melted.”

-”Raph was here.” “Leeeet’s not jump to conclusions Leon-” *points to graffiti stating ‘Raph was here’*

-Raph automatically called them ‘sewer monsters’... just an observation

-”I’M nOt as tOuGH aS i PReteND tO BE”

-”Someone could get really hurt on this... LET’S SEE HOW FAR IT SWINGS”

-This screenshot is cursed

-”Once again, I’d love to help bail us out with my undeniable and prestigious genius, but-”

-”That’s Donnie’s tire! I mean- Raph’s tube!”

-”Well Leo, since you sell the fewest action figures, why don’t you go ahead and jump first”

-”Leo, chill, we can’t freak out, nobody freak out, stOP FREAKING OUT DONNIE”

-Ok, but I do think Mikey somewhat relies on Raph to keep him calm and safe, after all, Raph is the mother hen and the most protective- especially of Mikey. It makes sense that Mikey is having a hard time too, and I think a lot of his flippant concern is just him trying to ignore that he doesn’t currently have one of the most stable people in his life, and they’re the ones trying to save Raph... it’s probably taking a lot out of all of them

-Mikey tried to cling onto Donnie while falling

-”MAKE A HUMAN SHIELD AROUND MEEEEE” Leo. you’re a turtle. you’re all turtles.

-”100% not Raph, staking my life on it, shorts” “RAPH. ALOOOOONE” “it might be Raph, but who’s to say anymore?”

-Raph may be savage, but he’s still got requirements for his taste, so he puts lemon on the crabs. But then again, he put it directly in their eyes???? was that supposed to be torture???

-”Are you barbequing villains?”

-Raph’s comment about having ‘no brothers’ makes me wonder if he remembers his years as a turtle somewhere deep inside and the time he would’ve spent alone... idk man...

-”No one’s gonna shout the answer at me and make all my problems disappear!”

-They aren’t scared of him after... They just immediately go to hug him... it’s very important

-”Aw, I love you guys” SAID SO CASUALLY BY RAPH I WANNA CRY

tl;dr this episode is really sweet, but surprisingly serious. It has its fun moments, but a lot of it feels like its hinting at more to come, and even if it isn’t, it’s still a really interesting look into Raph as a character

(also sorry this was a bit longer and slightly more serious than the others, it’s just a really great ep- check out @davids-cartoon-corkboard​ he has some really great theories on it!!)

[dvva]

i’m not gonna be a voltron blog by any means but since some people keep pestering me about my opinions re: s3 n 4 and i hate typing in that dweeby little IM box i’m gonna have to make a post about it

(^ me, complaining)

s3 was literally just a group therapy session and exposition dump with some action thrown in and s4 was just rapid fire plot over and over and over with maybe 1 episode’s worth of breathing room. it gave me whiplash. i’m actually glad they split this into half-seasons bc i dunno how people woulda handled this amount of weird pacing

i know a lot of people (including me lol) were upset allura didn’t get to be black paladin after shiro disappeared but honestly? seeing her in blue and bonding with blue and just being a paladin doing paladin things alongside the rest of the team WITHOUT having to carry the burden of leadership constantly was... a breath of fresh air compared to the first two seasons

it’s like they’re moving away from showing her as this ethereal being of pure light who is above such trivial things as trauma & instead portraying her as something vaguely human

also RIP all the fanfic of allura not interacting with the paladins ever, you will not be missed

speaking of not missing things, i honestly wasn’t too sad about keith being absent from a majority of s4

like i don’t hate keith but lbr he’s just the white boy protagonist who falls into success by having the right connections and has respect and plot relevance handed to him on a silver platter. he’s gone from the team now so @ s5 Prove Me Wrong but the keith-centricism that made me hate s2 still seems to be spreading across the series like a viral plague

WHY’D THEY EVEN MAKE KEITH THE LEADER IF ALLURA AND LANCE WERE GONNA CORRECT ALL HIS DECISIONS AND DO IT BETTER. DW JUST GO ALL OUT AND MAKE ONE OF THEM BP

i did like keith’s scenes in these seasons tho. at least i liked them better than the ones he had in s2, except for that one scene in the evil alteans ep where he said notallgalra ad verbatim. that shit was uh White

i wouldn’t call myself a klance shipper by any means but their s3 shit was cute. i kind of hate how lance does like 99% of the emotional labor esp since keith’s 1% of input also falls mighty flat but. whatever i’ll take it

i didn’t like allurance in s1-2 cuz i felt like they both had a really reductive view of one another, but it seems like the swap has enabled them to bond enough to remedy this and tbh? i’m here for that, and i’m NOT here for people denying he loves allura at this point lol. he loves the black princess guys!

i can’t get myself to be invested in lotor or his generals. like they’re a step above zarkon “generic doomsday villain” zarkon but they’re not really my thing & lotor is a bit snapey for my tastes

sexy young haggar being brown saved 2017

i kinda like matt in the same way i kinda liked my old neighbor’s 7yo son who insisted i come see his ant collection every time i got home from work. he was cute at first but i tired pretty quickly

RIP shatt 2016-2017

i’m super on the fence re: clone shiro but i’m leaning towards “nah”

feels like every time shiro is anything less than completely perfect and gentle and understanding at all times people jump to shout “SEE the real shiro would NEVER do something like this!!” like... sis

his new haircut sucks though. i didn’t like long hair on shiro either. i know i made fun of his abomination of a hairdo back in 2016 but i’ve opened my third eye and accepted that undercut shiro is the only valid shiro

the milkshake scene was amazing

LOTOR HAS NO RIGHT TO CRACK HIS ARMS LIKE THAT ON A CHILDREN’S SHOW!! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT

hunk proceeds to not get any character focus. disappointed but not surprised. also tangentially related: who else is super bitter the “alfor was the yellow paladin” theory was jossed? wasted potential tbh, and i’m not a fan of pushing a hierarchy among the lions

the original paladins were kind of wasted potential in general but i love blaytz the gay merman and his cute galra boyfriend

that alternate reality episode can eat my ass but sven’s awful accent and the “take me to space hospital” were honestly so funny

did hunk really say “imma firin my laser” because if he did i’m gonna have to disown him immediately

allura’s magic saving the day in the finale broke me apart and rebuilt me anew & also how fire would it be if she becomes an actual magician à la haggar

[lance voice] allura remember in season 1 episode 9 when y

alfor creating supernaturally advanced one-of-a-kind war ships of unprecedented power and randomly making all of them cats is solid proof altea was a world of cat people. no wonder allura misses it

my prediction for s5 is keith and allura getting into kin drama

that is all