#elsa caplan

[sydneybristowvaughn]

women’s friendships outlast jobs, parents, husbands, boyfriends, lovers, and sometimes children

[femslashrevolution]

Popular Pairing List Update

The following pairings have more than 10 recent posts in their pairing tag, and are therefore too popular to be posted on Rarepair Thursdays:

Aerith Gainsborough x Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy)

Amelia Collins x Zoe Miller (Class of '07)

Anaïs Davis x Bobbie De Bruyn (wtFOCK)

Aninlaphat Sawetwarit x Pilanthita Kasidit (The Loyal Pin)

Anna x Elsa (Disney Princesses)

Applejack x Fluttershy (My Little Pony)

Azula x Ty Lee (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Barbara Holland x Nancy Wheeler (Stranger Things)

Bérénice Leblond x Carla Furiani (Ici tout commence)

Blaze x Kristina Corinthos Davis (General Hospital)

Buffy Summers x Cordelia Chase (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Cady Heron x Regina George (Mean Girls; Mean Girls Musical)

Cate Randa x May Olowe Hewitt (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters)

Clary Fray x Isabelle Lightwood (The Mortal Instruments)

Darcy Lewis x Wanda Maximoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Delia Ketchum x Jessie (Pokemon)

Dorcas Meadowes x Marlene McKinnon (Harry Potter)

Dorcas Meadowes x Narcissa Malfoy (Harry Potter)

Earth x Sun (23.5)

Eileen Dunlop x Rebecca (Eileen)

Eve Unwin x Suki Panesar (Eastenders)

Falin Touden x Marcille Donato (Delicious in Dungeon)

Fluttershy x Rarity (My Little Pony)

Ginny Weasley x Pansy Parkinson (Harry Potter)

Gwen Runck x Nikki (That 90's Show)

Gwen Stacy x Mary Jane Watson (Marvel Comics)

Jack Danvers x Keeley Jones (Ted Lasso)

Kristi Miller x Marielle (From)

Harper Row x Stephanie Brown (DCU; Gotham Knights)

Harumoto Itsuki x Hayashi Fuyu (Chaser Game W)

Ink x Pa (Bad Buddy)

Jamie x Marian (Drive-Away Dolls)

Jiang Zhaoyun x Lan Ze (Legend of Yunze)

Lady Hideko x Sook Hee (The Handmaiden)

Luce x Rachel (Imagine Me & You)

Margaery Tyrell x Sansa Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Padmé Amidala x Sabé (Star Wars)

Prang x Warang (Love Senior)

Sabine Wren x Shin Hati (Star Wars)

The following pairings have been posted less frequently recently, and have therefore been removed from the popular pairing list:

AJ Campos x Paige Evans (Crush)

Alex Cabot x Olivia Benson (Law & Order: SVU)

Amalia True x Penance Adair (The Nevers)

Amanita Caplan x Nomi Marks (Sense8)

Ana Servín x Mariana Herrera (Madre sólo hay dos)

Anne Shirley x Diana Barry (Anne of Green Gables; Anne With An E)

Ava Coleman x Janine Teagues (Abbott Elementary)

Beca Mitchell x Chloe Beale (Pitch Perfect)

Becky Baker x Imogen Moreno (Degrassi: The Next Generation)

Bette Porter x Tina Kennard (The L Word)

Casey Gardner x Izzie (Atypical)

Deena Johnson x Samantha Fraser (Fear Street)

Eleanor Levetan x Gabbi Broussard (Do Revenge)

Frankie Bergstein x Grace Hanson (Grace and Frankie)

Frannie Langton x Marguerite Benham (The Confessions of Frannie Langton)

Héloïse x Marianne (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)

Imogen Temult x Laudna (Critical Role)

Jen Harding x Judy Hale (Dead to Me)

Jules Vaughn x Rue Bennett (Euphoria)

Keeley Jones x Rebecca Welton (Ted Lasso)

Malini x Priya (The Jasmine Throne)

Maria Hill x Natasha Romanoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe; Marvel Comics)

Riri Williams x Shuri (Marvel Cinematic Universe; Marvel Comics)

Shelby Goodkind x Toni Shalifoe (The Wilds)

[littlenahsstuff]

Requests open!

What I write:

Only x reader

No male reader but all will be gender neutral unless specified otherwise when requested

No smut for now

Fluff

Angst

Darkfics (again no smut though)

Poly

Who I wrote for: (if not on this list you can still ask me)

-Disney Descendants

Red

Chloe Charming

Bridget

Ella

Evie

Mal

-MCU

Natasha Romanov

Wanda Maximoff

Agatha Harkness

Kate Bishop

Yelena Belova

Rio Vidal

-Resident Evil: Village

Alcina Dimitrescu

Donna Beneviento

Bela Dimitrescu

Cassandra Dimitrescu

Daniela Dimitrescu

Mother Miranda

-Slashers

Tiffany Valentine

Amanda Young/The Pig

Laurie Strode(ik she ain’t but she’s in the genre)

-Abbot Elementary

Melissa Schemmenti

Janine Teagues

Ava Coleman

-Mean Girls

Regina George

Janis Caplan

Cady Heron

-Sarah Paulson

Pretty much any character besides Bette and Dot, TB Karen, and Mamie. Not exclusive to AHS

-Avatar the Last Airbender/ Legend of Korra

Azula

Katara

Kuvira

Korra

Asami

Lin Beifong

Kya

-Stardew valley

Abigail

Haley

Leah

Emily

Robin

Caroline

Sandy

-Once Upon a Time

Regina Mills

Zelena Mills

Maleficent

Emma Swan

Belle French

Anna

Elsa

Tinker bell

Ivy/Drizzela Tremaine

-MISC.

Nadja of Antipaxos (What We Do in the Shadows)

Kara Danvers (Supergirl)

Lena Luther (supergirl)

Evelyn Deavor(Incredibles 2)

Other, I might do the character you want if I’ve heard of them

[juliareed]

Sydney Bristow + Women

[atethyreal]

new  tags  bc  i  didn’t  do  the  last  ones  properly.

[edourado]

Another tag game. Featuring the things that consumes us all: ships 🛳

Hell yeah. Thanks dear @portia77 ❤️

1.First ship you remember: Way to make me remember I’m old btw. But I think that the first fictional couple that ever got me thinking was Wendy and Peter Pan, when I was an itty bitty girl;

2.Your newest ship: Oof. I had to think about this one. Fleabag and the Priest??? Why am I shipping a priest? Because of Andrew Scott, that’s why. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s writing helps A LOT;

3. Favourite ship ever: Kastle. The sheer volume of writing I dedicated for them speaks for itself;

4.Favourite m/f ship: Kastle and Kalagang;

5.Favourite m/m ship: It’s between Lito and Hernando, from Sense8 and Omar and Ander from Elite;

6.Favourite f/f ship: Nomi Marks and Amanita Caplan ALL DAY EVERYDAY;

7.Most fluffy ship: Huh. Maybe Tim and Mary, from About Time? Perfect example that you do not need conflict to have a GOOD ship;

8.Most angsty ship: DEFINITELY KASTLE ARE YOU KIDDING;

9. Most smutty ship: The whole of the Sense8 cluster;

10. Ship that you would never have wanted in canon but like in fanworks: Hmm. I don’t know. I think I can only indulge in fandom shipping if I can see it in canon;

11.Character that you can only imagine in one ship: I’m almost afraid to type this, but Ross and Rachel. None of that Joey nonsense. None of that. Please don’t hurt me;

12.Most shippable character: Even though I walked away from TVD a long time ago, and even though im still firm on Klaroline, miss Caroline Forbes. Girl has chemistry with everything and everyone;

13.Character that you can’t imagine in any ship: …Groot?;

14.Favourite poly ship: I had a strong Kastledevil phase. Also, again, the Sense8 cluster;

15.Characters that you kinda ship but prefer as brotp: Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes;

16.Characters that you ship and can’t imagine to be friends: Karen Page and Frank Castle. Have you seen the looks? Have you seen the TENSION? Have you seen the dedication and devotion? The ANGST?! The sweetness? I’ve gotten carried away;

17.Favourite ship for hurt-comfort: I don’t know if I have one for that. Most of my ships have an angsty angle, but idk if any of them qualify as strictly hurt-comfort. Maybe Outlaw Queen;

18.Ship that you never expected to ship: Natasha and Banner, from the Avangers?! I know y’all love to hate on them but I was ON BOARD;

19.Ship that you liked but don’t anymore: Bella and Edward. My Twilight phase lasted until that last book, and then I started thinking about it. But, to be fair, even then I leaned towards Team Jacob;

20.Ship that one day you were thinking of and thought “wait, when did I start shipping it?”: Klaroline. I was never about the villains, but one day I was fawning about the word “love” and “I fancy you”s. Also Nina and Matthias from Shadow and Bone;

21.Ship that you immediately fell in love with after one scene despite not considering it before: Richonne. ONE LOOK through the prison gates and I was like “OH!”,

22.Poly ship that you ship despite not shipping some of the characters in it outside of poly ship: One more time, say it with me: Sense8 cluster. Tbh it’s less about shipping and more about chemistry and trust and the occasional orgy, ok?;

23.Biggest notp: Snape and Hermione???? Like ????no????;

24.Favourite crossover ship: Oh, I know I know! Elsa Queen of Arendelle and Jack Frost. Can you imagine? (Even though she’s definitely a lesbian);

25.Ship that you have a kinda love/hate relationship with: Matt Murdock and Karen Page, aka Karedevil. All Matt’s fault. Also Frank for showing up and sweeping me and Karen off our feet.

Ha! I love this. Tagging @ejunkiet @carry-the-sky @ninzied @devilbunnyking and whoever wants to join.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Alias s02e19 ‘Endgame’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test? Yes, three times.  

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Five (31.25%).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Eleven (68.75%).

Positive Content Rating: Three

General Episode Quality: It has its moments.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel: Sydney asks Elsa if she would undergo regression therapy.  Sydney talks to an imprisoned Elsa. Diane apologizes to Sydney.  

Female Characters:

Sydney Bristow

Irina Derevko

Elsa Caplan

Diane Dixon

“Francie Calfo”

Male Characters:

Marcus Dixon

Arvin Sloane

Sark

Jack Bristow

Neil Caplan

Michael Vaughn

Trailer

Weiss

Morgan Nickovich

Will Tippin

Marshall Flinkman

Additional Notes:

Alias’ timeline has always been a mess, and this episode, which supposedly takes place two months after “A Free Agent,” does not help. 

It’s taken a while, but we finally got our first few hints about what makes Sark tick—although honestly, I’m not sure they say much.

I really don’t care for the suggestion that the only way Elsa can prove that she’s on the level is by showing just how much she cares for her family, particularly since the alternative is “she’s a monster for being a spy,” which is a bit rich.  

I really don’t get why they needed to make Neil Caplan an ass-kicker this episode—it feels inconsistent with everything we’d been told before, and his connection to the NSA isn’t enough to explain it. It feels, more than anything else, like something they felt they needed to do because Christian Slater is a big-name male guest star.

Alias continues to be…not good when it comes to guest characters. Here, we have the return of Elsa and Neil Caplan, whom the show attempts to use as prisms through which to look at our regular cast. Unfortunately, like James Lennox before them, it does so in an exceedingly clumsy manner. There is creating parallels between guest characters and main characters, and then there’s making it so that Elsa is a Russian spy sent to marry Neil, who, we learn this episode, is actually an NSA asset, so that SpyDaddy can play the exact same emotional beats he’s been playing all season. Not only that, the device the episode uses to add stakes to the episode is exceedingly contrived; why has Russian intelligence decided that now is the time to kill Neil Caplan, and not at any other point during the supposed two months he has spent kidnapped? 

Still, the episode is not without high points. For one, it features an uncommonly competent Sydney. The sequence where she improvises a costume at a convenience store is fun, as is the idea of a cowboy bar in Russia. In the end, though, it feels like filler—just a way to give closure to their big-name guest-star.  

[tabloidtoc]

Us, June 1

Cover: Julianne Hough -- My Best Body 

Page 2: Red Carpet -- Adeam -- Lilly Singh, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Storm Reid, Suki Waterhouse 

Page 3: Angela Sarafyan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lizzy Caplan, Samira Wiley, Yara Shahidi 

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Brian May on managing to injure his butt while partaking in some over-enthusiastic gardening, Dakota Johnson on her longtime experience with depression, Whoopi Goldberg clapping back after being criticized for rewearing the same jacket on The View, Tina Fey’s response to Seth Meyers after daughter Penelope dressed in a colonial-style dress and pulled the loser sign during her interview, Gwyneth Paltrow the mother of Apple reacting to Elon Musk and Grimes’ unique name for their son

Page 8: Contents 

Page 10: Hot Pics -- Kate Beckinsale walking her dog Myf with boyfriend Goody Grace, Kristen Bell donates blood 

Page 12: Eva Longoria and son Santiago making lemon sorbet, Priyanka Chopra cuddles with pups Gino and Diana, Ariel Winter throws boyfriend Luke Benward a birthday party in her driveway 

Page 13: LoCash members Chris Lucas and Preston Brust, Thandie Newton, Demi Moore shows off her haul from a morel mushroom treasure hunt, Dean McDermott helps his son Beau play golf 

Page 14: Natural Instinct -- these celebs embrace their true beauty -- Tracee Ellis Ross, Vanessa Hudgens, Amber Heard, Kesha 

Page 15: Jessica Simpson with daughter Birdie, Salma Hayek, Demi Lovato, Tyra Banks, Hailey Bieber 

Page 16: Stars’ Kids They’re Just Like Us -- Kate Hudson’s daughter Rani gardens, Princess Charlotte gives back, Hilary Duff’s son Luca does it for Instagram, Kylie Jenner’s daughter Stormi plays tennis

Page 17: Brie Bella’s daughter Birdie reads a book, Michael Phelps’ son Boomer sips a warm drink, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade’s daughter Kaavia talks on the phone 

Page 18: Love Lives -- Busy Philipps and husband Marc Silverstein strength in solitude 

Page 19: Shay Mitchell and boyfriend Matte Babel a quaran-team, Courteney Cox and Johnny McCaid are quarantining in separate countries, Ben Platt and Noah Galvin couple alert 

Page 20: Hot Hollywood -- It’s over between Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy and it’s getting nasty 

Page 21: Khloe Kardashian’s baby daddy Tristan Thompson served a woman named Kimberly Alexander with a cease-and-desist letter to immediately stop defaming them after she claimed Tristan was her baby’s father and that the Kardashians falsified the paternity test results, after Megan Fox was spotted getting takeout with Machine Gun Kelly her husband Brian Austin Green confirmed that they have decided to end their decade-long marriage, after first denying it Bachelorette Hannah Brown apologized for using the n-word while singing Rockstar by DaBaby on Instagram Live 

Page 22: A Day in the Life At-Home Edition -- Matt and Amber Barnett of Love Is Blind 

Page 23: Don’t Worry Be Happy -- stars give us a reason to smile during these trying times -- during an episode of Some Good News John Krasinski enlisted his former Office castmates to re-create Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly’s wedding dance for a Maryland couple’s surprise Zoom wedding

Page 24: Hollywood Moms -- Kimora Lee Simmons on expanding her family by adding son Gary whom she’s adopted

Page 25: Golnesa “GG” Gharachedaghi was anxious ahead of son’s Elijah’s birth but motherhood comes naturally for her, Brittany Aldean says she has a big sister relationship with Jason Aldean’s daughters, when a social media troll questioned the intelligence of Jade Roper Tolbert’s 2-year-old Emerson she clapped back 

Page 26: Body Language -- Kate Hudson, Tracee Ellis Ross 

Page 27: Khloe Kardashian 

Page 28: Julianne Hough 

Page 29: Couples Get Fit Together -- Nicole Scherzinger and Thom Evans, Elsa Pataky and Chris Hemsworth, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes, Britney Spears and Sam Asghari 

Page 30: Jennifer Lopez, Brooke Burke 

Page 31: Adele, Jessica Alba 

Page 32: Kacey Musgraves, Halle Berry, Jessie James Decker 

Page 33: Dwayne Johnson, Ellie Goulding 

Page 34: Demi Lovato, Carrie Underwood 

Page 35: Chris Pratt, Kate Upton 

Page 36: No Quarantine 15 Here -- Gabrielle Union, Kourtney Kardashian, Helena Christensen, Kaia Gerber 

Page 37: Dascha Polanco, Bella Hadid, Hannah Ann Sluss, Ireland Baldwin 

Page 38: Zoom Hairstyle Inspo -- Bryce Scarlett tells how to re-create his celeb clients’ looks -- Miley Cyrus, Billie Lourd, Camila Morrone 

Page 39: Hailey Bieber, Kaia Gerber, Lily-Rose Depp, Charlize Theron 

Page 40: Us Musts -- twenty years later Dawson’s Creek’s Kerr Smith, Adam Kaufman and writer Gina Fattore reflect on the liplock that transformed TV 

Page 42: Marcia Gay Harden on Barkskins 

Page 43: JoAnna Garcia Swisher on Sweet Magnolias 

Page 46: Fashion Police -- floral edition -- Lili Reinhart, Greta Gerwig, Kaitlyn Dever 

Page 47: Charli XCX, Bel Powley, Halsey 

Page 48: 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me -- Hilarie Burton 

[potatoesrawesome]

10 Favorite Female Characters

Rules: List your top 10 favorite female characters from different fandoms and tag 10 people.

not really tagged but @cersell invited anyone ♥

in no real order:

1) Poussey Washington - Orange is the New Black

2) Nami - One Piece

3) Sun Kwon - Lost

4) Nico Robin - One Piece

5) Rose Nadler - Lost

6) Skyler White - Breaking Bad

7) Kim Wexler - Better Call Saul

8) Amanita Caplan - Sense8

9) Sun Bak - Sense8

10) Nomi Marks - Sense8

11) Kala Dandekar - Sense8

12) Daniela Velazquez - Sense8

13) Marie Schrader - Breaking Bad

14) Miss Claudette - Orange is the New Black 

15) Elsa Mars - AHS: Freak Show

16) Clementine - The Walking Dead Game 

17) Ellie - The Last of Us

16) Riley - The Last of Us 

17) Marie Laveau - AHS: Coven

18) Delphine Lalaurie - AHS: Coven

19) Misty Day - AHS: Coven

20) Ma Petite - AHS: Freakshow

21) Sophia Bursett - Orange is the New Black

22) Sister Ingalls - Orange is the New Black

23) Andrea Cantillo - Breaking Bad

24) Jane Margolis - Breaking Bad

25) Francesca Liddy - Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul

anddd @ignaciovarga, @shyans, @tonari-no-trico, @madaniss, @pwnyta, @chaveztodds, @jcssepinkmans, @ all my mutuals i’m def blanking on usernames, and anyone else ♥

[catherinepl1996]

Diamond Jubilee Day 3: Attending The Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace by pacqueline-ngoya featuring a blue purse ❤ liked on Polyvore

Diane Von Furstenberg purple dress, £320 / Gianvito Rossi pointed toe pumps, £220 / Blue purse / Susan Caplan Vintage clip on earrings / Vera wang ring, £3,310 / Elsa Peretti bracelet, £1,265

[theoldgods]

So over the course of 2016 I decided to try to make a list of all the good female characters I enjoyed in media I consumed throughout the year. Some are recurring from earlier years (mostly in the case of TV shows), some were first met in 2016. Personal Special Faves bolded.

Csethiro Ceredin (The Goblin Emperor)

Kiru Athmaza (The Goblin Emperor)

Susan Cooper (Spy)

Nancy B. Artingstall (Spy)

Rayna Boyanov (Spy)

Elaine Crocker (Spy)

Joy Newsome (Room)

Eilis Lacey (Brooklyn)

Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)

Judy Hopps (Zootopia)

Clarke Griffin (The 100)

Raven Reyes (The 100)

Abigail Griffin (The 100)

Lexa kom Trikru (The 100)

Octavia Blake (The 100)

Indra kom Trikru (The 100)

Luna kom Floukru (The 100)

Elise Wassermann (The Tunnel; The Tunnel: Sabotage)

Laura Roebuck (The Tunnel; The Tunnel: Sabotage)

Eryka Klein (The Tunnel: Sabotage)

Louise Renard (The Tunnel: Sabotage)

Katherine Powell (Eye in the Sky)

Elizabeth Jennings (The Americans)

Nina Sergeevna Krilova (The Americans)

Tatiana Evgenyevna Ruslanova (The Americans)

Martha Hanson (The Americans)

Claudia (The Americans)

Paige Jennings (The Americans)

Sarah Manning (Orphan Black)

Siobhan Sadler (Orphan Black)

Rachel Duncan (Orphan Black)

Susan Duncan (Orphan Black)

Cosima Niehaus (Orphan Black)

Delphine Cormier (Orphan Black)

Rosalee (Underground)

Elizabeth Hawkes (Underground)

Boo (Underground)

Ernestine (Underground)

Pearly Mae (Underground)

Susan Vernon (Love and Friendship)

Alicia Johnson (Love and Friendship)

Hope van Dyne (Ant-Man)

Natasha Romanoff (Captain America: Civil War)

Wanda Maximoff (Captain America: Civil War)

Helena Justina (Marcus Didius Falco novels)

Jean Grey (X-Men: Apocalypse)

Ororo Munroe (X-Men: Apocalypse)

Holly March (The Nice Guys)

Piper Chapman (Orange Is the New Black)

Galina Reznikov (Orange Is the New Black)

Suzanne Warren (Orange Is the New Black)

Taystee Jefferson (Orange Is the New Black)

Poussey Washington (Orange Is the New Black)

Dayanara Diaz (Orange Is the New Black)

Gloria Mendoza (Orange Is the New Black)

Sophia Burset (Orange Is the New Black)

Crystal Burset (Orange Is the New Black)

Tiffany Doggett (Orange Is the New Black)

Carrie Black (Orange Is the New Black)

Alex Vause (Orange Is the New Black)

Cindy Hayes (Orange Is the New Black)

Nicky Nichols (Orange Is the New Black)

Janae Watson (Orange Is the New Black)

Maria Ruiz (Orange Is the New Black)

Brook Soso (Orange Is the New Black)

Jane Ingalls (Orange Is the New Black)

Judy King (Orange Is the New Black)

Lolly Whitehill (Orange Is the New Black)

Jane Porter (The Legend of Tarzan)

Erin Gilbert (Ghostbusters)

Abby Yates (Ghostbusters)

Jillian Holtzmann (Ghostbusters)

Patty Tolan (Ghostbusters)

Jed Marshall (The Night Manager)

Jaylah (Star Trek Beyond)

Nyota Uhura (Star Trek Beyond)

Commodore Paris (Star Trek Beyond)

Elsa Fennan (Call for the Dead)

Nancy Wheeler (Stranger Things)

Barbara Holland (Stranger Things)

Eleven (Stranger Things)

Joyce Byers (Stranger Things)

Ailsa Brimley (A Murder of Quality)

Liz Gold (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold)

Bridget Jones (Bridget Jones’s Baby)

Miranda (Bridget Jones’s Baby)

Dr. Rawling (Bridget Jones’s Baby)

Darlene Alderson (Mr. Robot)

Angela Moss (Mr. Robot)

Dominique DiPierro (Mr. Robot)

Joanna Wellick (Mr. Robot)

Krista Gordon (Mr. Robot)

Shama “Trenton” Biswas (Mr. Robot)

Whiterose (Mr. Robot)

Shayla Nico (Mr. Robot)

Phiona Mutesi (Queen of Katwe)

Nakku Harriet (Queen of Katwe)

Misty Knight (Luke Cage)

Claire Temple (Daredevil; Luke Cage)

Mariah Dillard (Luke Cage)

Deborah Lipstadt (Denial)

Hong Thi Pham (Dragonfish)

Tuyet Phan (Dragonfish)

Mai Thi Pham (Dragonfish)

Karen Page (Daredevil)

Madame Gao (Daredevil)

Vanessa Marianna (Daredevil)

Doris Urich (Daredevil)

Elektra Natchios (Daredevil)

Elena Greco (Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels)

Raffaella Cerullo (Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels)

Joan Watson (Elementary)

Christine Palmer (Doctor Strange)

the Ancient One (Doctor Strange)

Nam Sookhee (The Handmaiden)

Izumi Hideko (The Handmaiden)

Elizabeth II (The Crown)

Princess Margaret (The Crown)

Teresa (Moonlight)

Paula (Moonlight)

Louise Banks (Arrival)

Porpentina Goldstein (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)

Queenie Goldstein (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)

Alessandra Cecchi (The Birth of Venus)

Moana (Moana)

Keiko Kimura (Allegiance)

Jyn Erso (Rogue One)

Mon Mothma (Rogue One)

Lucrezia Borgia (Blood and Beauty)

Vannozza dei Cattanei (Blood and Beauty)

Giulia Farnese (Blood and Beauty)

Rose Maxson (Fences)

Sun Bak (Sense8)

Nomi Marks (Sense8)

Kala Dandekar (Sense8)

Riley Blue (Sense8)

Amanita Caplan (Sense8)

Daniela Velasquez (Sense8)

My top 5 overall were probably roughly

Elizabeth Jennings

Stoic but with a beating heart, vicious, competent as shit, loving in her own manner, deeply gray and amoral, Complicated “Emotionless” Bitch™️ in a way women on TV aren’t often allowed. And hot as shit.

Lena Greco and Lila Cerullo

Let me tell you, if you want some complicated fucking female friendships (slash borderline more if you squint), these two, from Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet, are Good Shit. Two girls growing up in a whirlwind of poverty, misogyny, unequal educational opportunities, and crime in Naples, from the 1950s to the present day: the ways in which society fucks them over, they fuck themselves over, they fuck each other over (intentionally and unintentionally), they scheme to make their positions better, they love each other, and they hate each other are breath-taking, and the world they inhabit is insanely rich and atmospheric and wonderful. Probably the best books I read this year.

Abigail Griffin

Tenacious, hopeful, loving, gritty at times, competent as hell, a leader amongst all men and women. A Mother Character™️ who’s allowed to be a lot more, and 10/10 would bang, to boot.

Elise Wassermann

Competent, bad at reading and interacting with most people but good-hearted and in search of justice nonetheless, awkward and endearing without being made overly precious or having her competencies and intelligence downplayed.

Siobhan Sadler

Competent, another Mother Character™️ allowed to be more, scary at times and loving, violent and scheme-y at times, can be amoral, but gorgeously so.

(I...might have an Older Woman Competence Kink, love Italian fuckery/stories about girls fighting for education, and love awkward smart women...)

Anyway, here’s to more excellent women in media in 2017, may I find and love you.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Alias s02e15 ‘A Free Agent’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test? 

Yes, three times.  

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Five (23.81%).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Fourteen (76.19%).

Positive Content Rating: 

Three

General Episode Quality: 

Fine—not bad, not great.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel: 

 Sydney and Irina about the former graduating and leaving the C.I.A.  “Francie” congratulates Sydney on graduating. Elsa Caplan asks Sydney her name.

Female Characters:

Sydney Bristow

Irina Derevko

Elsa Caplan

“Francie Calfo”

Diane Dixon

Male Characters:

Michael Vaughn

Kendall

Jack Bristow

Aaron Caplan

Neil Caplan

Sark

Will Tippin

Arvin Sloane

Marcus Dixon

Marshall Flinkman

Mr. Johnson

Tobias Dennet

Antonyn Vassily

David

Claude Sheurer

Peter Kunz

Additional Notes:

Like Ethan Hawke’s role last episode, the major guest star role here appears to have been conceived with the perception that a big enough name—in this case Christian Slater—would render unnecessary the act of actually making him interesting. No, dude, I don’t actually care about your random family or marital troubles. 

Sydney going from still taking classes in season one to graduating in season two—a time span that, regardless what the series claims, should actually comprise only roughly three trimesters—is the second least plausible “real world” thing in the series, after Francie’s restaurant. 

Fake Francie is reeeeally bad at pretending to be real Francie. 

While I’m really glad both Dixons are getting time to not be okay with the truths that have been kept from them, I feel that they should be waaaay less okay about it than they actually are. Diane mentions that Marcus worked for the people who made America less safe, but doesn’t mention the obvious implication: that he himself might—and most likely did—make America less safe.  Diane should be considering the absolute worst possibilities: that Dixon actually knew about SD-6. That he’s killed and might kill again. That he has another family elsewhere. Similarly, Dixon should be second-guessing everything he did while at SD-6. While the things we’ve seen him actually do have been largely innocuous, the truth should have made him question everything. His reaction feels far too muted.

While it is real fun to see Marshall take to the actual C.I.A. like a fish to water, I do wish things had been less easy. Not for him, specifically, but for someone who made the leap from SD-6 to actual C.I.A.

I really wish more had been made of the fact that multiple people in Sydney’s life—people who are ostensibly on her side—openly tried to emotionally blackmail her into doing their bidding.

See, show? You can make a convincing disguise for a character without resorting to brownface or yellowface. 

After the tangent that was “Double Agent,” we now return to the main story, in what is largely a transitional episode dealing with the consequences of the big SD-6 takedown. It kind of works, in that the things that it explores it explores well. Still, the problem here—which is a problem with the larger series—is that this should all feel bigger. In keeping its focus squarely on the main cast, the series takes what should be a huge deal—SD-6 is no more—and makes it seem much smaller than it actually is.  

We’re told that Dixon and Marshall have been cleared to work for the C.I.A. Is this an offer that was made for everyone else at SD-6 without knowledge of the truth? Was the only consideration knowledge, or did they consider individual agents’ actions?  Did anybody take into account the fact that Dixon killed several C.I.A. agents in the previous season? Was anybody prosecuted, or were they all left in the wind?   Nikita got an entire season out of the question of what happens when an organization like SD-6 is taken down but you still have to deal with its people: I would have liked to have seen Alias explore that for at least one episode.  

[tabloidtoc]

OK, December 16

Cover: Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Christmas on the Farm 

Page 1: Contents 

Page 2: Contents 

Page 4: Meadow Walker’s life without dad Paul Walker 

Page 6: Justin Timberlake’s shady behavior 

Page 7: Sienna Miller is happy to play matchmaker for pal Bradley Cooper, Carrie Underwood is moving to Hollywood to do more TV and movie projects, Alia Shawkat and Brad Pitt are just friends but Alia hopes it could turn into more 

Page 8: Hannah Brown wins DWTS after heartbreak with Jed Wyatt, Kate Hudson tamed by motherhood, Hilary Duff shedding for the wedding 

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Chloe Grace Moretz vs. Olivia Wilde, Lizzy Caplan vs. Amanda Seyfried, Emilia Clarke vs. Erin Doherty 

Page 14: News in Photos -- John C. Reilly

Page 15: Kaia Gerber and Pete Davidson, Tori Spelling, Cameron Diaz, Betrayal costars Tom Hiddleston and Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox 

Page 16: Autumn Calabrese, Lizzo at Disneyland, Christina Milian and Matt Pokora at Disneyland Paris 

Page 17: Diane Lane arrested in climate change protests, Ben Simmons 

Page 18: Jennifer Garner, Ellie Kemper, Cara Delevingne and Olivier Rousteing 

Page 19: Chris Hemsworth at Tokyo Con, Eva Longoria 

Page 20: Ciara, Kristen Stewart and Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska

Page 21: Schitt’s Creek stars Sarah Levy and Emily Hampshire and Rizwan Manji, Elsa Pataky, Ben Platt 

Page 22: Harry Styles singing while zip-lining on James Corden’s The Late Late Show, Jamie Foxx and Katharine McPhee and David Foster and Michael Milken 

Page 23: Victoria Beckham and Jimmy Kimmel, Katie Couric and Kristin Chenoweth 

Page 24: Inside My Home -- Scott Disick revamped residence 

Page 26: Amal and George Clooney at odds over adoption 

Page 27: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith separate lives, Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman engaged

Page 28: Sophia Hutchins spending Caitlyn Jenner’s cash, Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause what went wrong, Love Bites -- Freida Pinto and Corey Tran engaged, Zach and Tori Roloff welcomed their second child, Will Arnett and Alessandra Brawn made their red carpet debut 

Page 30: Cover Story -- Chip and Joanna Gaines holidays on the farm 

Page 34: Hallmark secrets and scandals 

Page 36: Jennifer Garner finally done with Ben Affleck 

Page 38: Christmas according to Mariah Carey 

Page 40: Daisy Ridley opens up about her fame, her future and her upcoming film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 

Page 42: How Kristin Cavallari stays healthy and fit 

Page 46: Style Week -- Elizabeth Hurley 

Page 54: Entertainment 

Page 55: Q&A Adam Devine 

Page 58: Taylor Swift took aim at her enemies during her performance at the American Music Awards 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Sagittarius Hailee Steinfeld 

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Pete Davidson