#episode five is probably the worst so far imo

[dvilkings]

just finished the umbrella academy s4... i hate to admit it. but that was probably the worst season out of the 4

spoiler warning

i understand it's been awhile since we've gotten proper endings to shows like this. they've mostly been cancelled, so getting a proper season finale is great, and all... but then you remember that not all stories have happy endings (which is utter bullshit, like this is media and cinema and it's supposed to make us want to escape from reality)

anyways... the season finale of the umbrella academy, worst one yet IMO. it wasn't that it was far fetched - the multiple timelines make sense with everything that the og umbrella academy kids got up to. and it was nice to get an explanation to the jennifer incident and how ben died, but there was nothing else there. there was no explanation to why ben from the sparrow academy was drawing a jennifer in s3. or ben having memories of dying in s1 and s2. there were just a lot of plot holes in this one i'm afraid.

and don't even get me started on the five x lila x diego shit. that was widely unnecessary and just made me feel worse for five who never got even a speck of happiness or peace in the end. there was no other talk about reggie and abigail being aliens, nothing delving deeper into that. nothing about the newish/evolved powers everyone got. nothing about ray just up and leaving?? (assuming its cause the actor didn't want to return/wasn't asked to return, but still more explanation would've been nice).

oh and the whole episode count from a consistent 10 to suddenly 8?? that's bullshit too.

s4 had its moments, made me cry at the finale ofc. but i am not impressed nor am i happy with the amount of plot holes and missing information we'll never know or understand.

[coredrill]

br4vern thoughts, mostly just a stream of consciousness

this ep needed more bravern 😭 i mean it didn’t, it was rly good and i liked him relating well with isami but between the downer ending + lack of bravern + no fight scene i’d say it’s probably the one that clicked w me the least so far, i had to rewatch it a few times to figure out how i felt………..still really funny though and the campy post-irony is really gelling well imo, the sound design of isami in that fucking suit and getting punched killed me, and lulu chugging the water, and bravern with his fucking lei of wieners and the way he said JAAAAPAAAN!! 💀

to the surprise of Absolutely no one i am so so endeared to lulu and smith………there were so many sweet moments they got and gremlin lulu is so good 😭 it’s hard being a single father when you’re (googles) SMITH IS FUCKING 24?????? AND BORN ON VALENTINES DAY??????? HUH!!!!! i thought he was like. 32. okay anyways it’s hard being a single father when you’re 24 and . i forgot where i was going with this. but i am excited for her haircut and to see who gives it to her………….

miyu sweetie i love your enthusiasm but i. am not a fan of isami’s suit design LMAO. perhaps it will grow on me once i see it in action however the fucking. spine bracer? that seems like it is gonna be a Bad Time if smth goes wrong 😳

isami’s really just having the Worst time of his life and now he’s in his hater era beefing with a child LMAO, they should’ve just told him that she threw a jug at the guy who waterboarded him and i think he would like her more :] i do assume it’s gonna be more justified in the plot by like. lulu being Of Superbia and therefore the enemy and isami’s angry at smith for fraternizing with her (especially since isami’s whole “smith doesn’t do his job” thing kinda fell apart when bravern was like “smith will do his job” and isami was like “yeah i know” LMAO) but if they continue to also play it from the angle of Isami’s Gay Feelings i hope it doesn’t drag out too much longer………….if you like the dude just tell him (<- average kaworu enjoyer sentiment) ESPECIALLY since everyone else seems to understand that lulu’s smith’s kiddo lmao. was nice to see him making more friends though :]

if i were a theory maker i would be going bananas with this show but i am not so i am simply enjoying reading everyone else’s :] there was one from a jp fan that referenced the n3i scene and i am rotating that one in my mind rn…………..anyways i feel like if this show nails its middle and ending i am gonna look back and be like Damn that was some smart writing LMAO, like there sure is a lot of heavy handed building to Something. feels careful and deliberate and with a good amount of “thing you didn’t realize was important becoming the key to everything five episodes later.” excited for what’s to come :]

[mag-lore]

I know I'm late again, but I need to talk about episodes 4 and 5... Oh my god...

I honestly don't have that much to say on 4, except for the whole Elrond swearing an oath to Durin thing. Need I explain how wrong this is for Elrond's character?! The Oath of Fëanor messed Elrond (and pretty much everyone he cares about) up so badly in the First Age. Elrond is explicitly very against oaths in LotR, and I'm sure in the second age when all those memories are fresher he would be even more against oaths. Also, swearing any oath in general is a big deal in ME, and should usually be avoided since you can't break an oath without horrible consequences.

Adding to the oath situation, in ep 5, Celebrimbor acts like Elrond's oath is totally not a big deal. So does Gil-galad (we'll get to him). They're both like, "just reconsider or forego it" and it's just ... that's not possible guys, that's not how oaths work. Celebrimbor even has some line where he says that oaths can be a good thing, and I'm just thinking... which doomed family do you come from Celebrimbor? Why are your father, grandfather, and all your uncles dead? Oh that's right, because of an oath! The whole inclusion of the oath is stupid, unnecessary, and completely ignores major aspects of these characters.

Now for the mithril thing... oh my god. I could honestly make a whole post on this, and I still might, but I'll summarize here. Nothing about the mithril storyline is canon or even makes sense in the context of the story.

For starters, the dwarves did not first discover mithril in the Misty Mountains. Mithril exists in Valinor and probably Beleriand, as there are first age objects made of mithril, like portions of Ëarendil's ship (which I can never remember the name of, but that's not important rn). Mithril was found in Khazad-dum in large quantity, it made the dwarves very rich and it's part of the reason Celebrimbor built Eregion where he did. But in this show, they're making us believe that Durin was the first person in history to find mithril, when as I said above is not true. The elves (or I guess just Elrond, it's confusing as to who all knows about this) are amazed by it and act like it's the most amazing mysterious thing ever. Which is just wrong, as mentioned, there are objects made of mithril from a long time ago, so at the very least Celebrimbor (bing both a smith and from Valinor) would be familiar with it. I don't think this would bother me as much, if they weren't trying to make it a plot point.

Now onto the story about mithril... I honestly have no words. A lost Silmaril?? What do you mean a lost Silmaril??? Don't we know where all three Silmarils are, yes two of them were "lost", but in the sense that no one has them in their possession. We know where they all are, even if they're not accessable. And Gil-galad, Elrond, ans Celebrimbor of all people would know this. Mithril doesn't contain the light of a Silmaril, I really hope this stays a legend and doesn't actually become part of the story, but I doubt that.

And the whole situation about getting enough mithril to stop the elves from fading ... again I don't even really know what to say. That's just, not how this works. I get that they're trying to set up Celebrimbor making the rings of power, but this is a really weird way to go about it. Also, why is Gil-galad suddenly such a dick?? He's awful. He's horrible to Elrond and Galadriel and the dwarves. I really dislike this characterization of him

Okay, I'm going to do some quick thoughts and complaints next because this is getting long-

- Arondir shouldn't be speaking Quenya, he's a silvan elf, they have a different language. Also Quenya was illegal so no one speaks it anymore

- Galadriel trying to force Míriel to send people to fight a threat that she hasn't even seen in person. I cannot believe how stupid this is. Galadriel took a piece of paper, and then got a vague second hand account, and decided to force all of Numenor to fight with her. She has little to no evidence that Sauron is in the south, but she's going to manipulate Míriel into marching to war (hey, maybe Galadriel is actually Sauron)

- Elendil and Isildur are perfectly fine, I actually quite like Elendil. The daughter is kind of annoying and I think it's weird that Anárion is dead, but it all works just fine.

- I'm happy to see more of Pharazon's manipulation in these episodes, even though I still hate that he is not the king at this point. I also really don't like how he has a son. I talked about this in a previous post, but it just makes Pharazon's character arc not to work as well.

- the Meteor Man makes me really uncomfortable and I don't like him at all. I still think he's Sauron though. Or Sauron will be a character we haven't previously seen

- Celebrimbor talking all about knowing Ëarendil feels really wrong to me. Did he live at the Havens of Sirion?? It's possible I guess, if you go with the version that he lives in Gondolin for a time (which I don't for various reasons), but I still don't feel like he would live in Sirion. I don't think the survivors of Doriath would welcome a Fëanorian, so my thought is after Nargothrond fell he either went back to live in Fëanorian land or he went to the Falas. But my thoughts on the matter aside, the way he talks about Ëarendil to Elrond is so manipulative. I don't know why, I just really don't like that

- also he calls Ëarendil a mortal man... just, no. He's half elven, and he chose immortality

- Gil-galad pronounced "Peredhel" wrong

okay, I did it. I watched episode one. It's bad, it's so so bad. I have so much to say. But I'm going to wait until I've seen episode two to fully rant about this.

[thirddoctor]

I've seen you comment on how each Master should complement their Doctor. Do you have any thoughts about how Anthony Ainley pairs with each of the three 80s Doctors (and Tom Baker) and could you possibly rank the pairings?

Well, in terms of the writing, I don’t think he was specifically mirrored with the Doctor much, so I’m not going to claim any of this is intentional, but here goes.

1. Ainley and Six

I know Five is the Doctor most commonly associated with Ainley, because they had more episodes together and people view him as a more attractive shipping choice (they’re wrong; I continue to maintain Six is the hottest Doctor), but my hot take is that Six and Ainley have the best dynamic and actually complement each other really well.

Let’s start with the outfits. They’re both over the top - Six with his rainbow costume and cat pins, and Ainley with his puffy velvet sleeves and tailcoat - but opposite in terms of colour.

And in personality, Six and Ainley are both arrogant and pretentious, they both enjoy using long flowery words, they have a similar pompous attitude toward everyone around them, and Six is a darker-edged than usual for the Doctor, making Ainley a great example of what he could be if he let himself be led by his worst instincts.

Their interactions together are also lots of fun, because you’re pitting two very over the top, self-important people against each other, and I wish we’d had more episodes with them.

2. Ainley and Four

They only have one story together (unless you count Keeper of Traken), but they have a great dynamic. They’re not really mirrors or parallels for each other, though they have some nice visual contrast:

But there’s something interesting in the fact that the Master has just gotten a new lease on life, while for the Doctor it’s the end of a long era. I like the somber little themes of entropy in Four’s last season, and the Master ties into that in how he’s trying to hold back his own decay by taking this new body.

I’d probably have more to say about them if I felt I understood Four’s character better, but despite him usually not being one of my favourite Doctors, I really enjoy their scenes together. Also, they’re the only Doctor/Master combination where one succeeded in murdering the other (so far), so that’s fun.

3. Ainley and Seven

Look at them. What’s not to enjoy?

Again, only one story together, but it’s a good one, easily Ainley’s best performance. I wouldn’t say he’s necessarily the perfect foil for Seven - he doesn’t really highlight anything about Seven’s manipulation and scheming, because, yes, the Master is manipulative and scheming too, but that’s just a basic part of his character, and he’s not trying to do it for the greater good - but the scenes he has with Seven are still excellent. Their final confrontation where they’re both succumbing to the Cheetah virus on a dying planet, but the Doctor is able to snap out of it, realising the self-destructive nature of their actions, while the Master isn’t, sums up the two characters well.

I do have some issues with Rona Munro’s take on their relationship (which was tied to Cartmel Masterplan nonsense), but fortunately none of that made into the episode, and she later wrote a great scene with Twelve and Missy, so all is forgiven.

4. Ainley and Five

Controversial choice for last place, but I just like the other three better. You get the feeling that the Master is really trying to have fun and get the Doctor involved in his convoluted games and the Doctor is just having absolutely none of it (which, you know, is fair considering the Master did kill his previous incarnation).

There’s a general sense of disdain in all Five’s dealings with the Master, and I don’t think any strong parallels emerge between the two. The most interesting moment in their relationship, imo, is when the Doctor chooses to let the Master die in Planet of Fire. In fact, galaxy brain take here, but I think the character the Master mirrors, at least in Caves of Androzani, is Adric. Both are people the Doctor couldn’t or wouldn’t save, and in both cases he feels some level of guilt over their deaths. That’s why they both appear to him when he’s dying, one begging him to live and the other telling him to die.

So I think the Ainley influenced Five in various ways, but I don’t see a strong case for them complementing each other.

Anyway, fun question, thank you!

Disclaimer that it’s been quite a few years since I watched 80s Who, so I might be forgetting some things that would shift my opinions here.

[cornflowershade]

okay so I watched the Winchesters pilot (c’mon, it’s Jensen’s show. I had to, despite myself.) And considering I had negative zero expectations... I’ll say it was fairly okay. The pacing sucks (hopefully it’ll improve) but that could be because they had a ton of exposition to include. The filming and music are also nice. And it had a vibe it was going for, even if that wasn’t nailed all the way through the pilot. But yeah, pilots can be rough. BUT OOH I gotta add, Carlos is wonderful. (I’ll definitely keep watching for him.) Now as for the main characters..... John is actually great. I thought I’d be mad because he’s not Matt Cohen haha—and don’t get me wrong that would’ve been cool—but this worked. He’s written quite faithfully in personality to what we’ve previously seen of young John, and the acting is very good—he carried most of the episode. I’m also impressed his performance was so consistent, considering he was acting across a LITERAL BLOCK OF WOOD. Which brings me to the depressed part of my review, which is that Mary absolutely sucks. Not only is she written EXTREMELY out of character (falling more into a stereotypical “action girl” trap* rather than being her own person, who we’ve seen brought to the screen beautifully by two different actresses in the past), and not only does she look wrong (the hair. the makeup. the styling. I’m still crying over this), but she’s so annoying. Yes, not just cookie cutter, but actively annoying. And worst of all is that the acting for her is plain bad?? When she talks it’s like she’s reading off a script, without bothering to actually acknowledge that there’s other people around her in a scene. It’s like she’s walking around in an invisible box, and John and everyone else are on the other side of it. They may as well have green-screened her in. I wish she could be recast because Mary is the weakest part of the show, no question, and I’m happiest when she’s off-screen. Which makes me so sad to say. (Also side note, but this led to me musing that John and Carlos had five times as much chemistry as John and Mary did lol. Tell me I’m wrong. Two scenes and by the time they were in the back of the van I was like... okay yeah I’d ship that for fun.)

* @argentnoelle​ noted to me that it’s a bit like she’s acting in a different genre from the rest of the show. One part stock-cw-action-character and one part netflix-original-movie.

Also Latika is kinda stock and a bit over-acted. I kept going back and fourth on her. If they bother to improve her, I think that could be very possible. 

Ada on the other hand is already good imo. I like her and hope she will be recurring.

ANYWAY those are my feelings on it so far, and surprise, I will in fact keep watching. Yes, it’s kinda mediocre, but again? John and Carlos are both good characters, as is John’s mom by the way. Also I want to know how the canon-conflicting content will be explained away. (Probably something to do with angels? I think the magic box thing has to do with angels btw. It glowed blue, and for me that counts as evidence lol. Also speaking of effects, why do the demons have voice filters, that is such a bad choice. The visual effects are also kinda odd and not very spn.) But yeah it has just enough going for it that I’m gonna stick with it, especially because this is Jensen’s lil passion project. What can I say, it’s been 15 years and I wanna support the guy. 

*sigh* I’m gonna struggle sitting through more scenes of Mary, though. They did our girl SO dirty. In a show with generally good writing/characterization, and otherwise nice casting, I’m just so confused why Mary suffers from the exact opposite.

[traitor-boyfriend]

thoughts on last night's episode:

- the setup with garrison back in the class was a great start; i saw some people who felt it ran too long but imo it felt just right. has been quite a while since garrison was in play as a teacher again and i think that time was needed to reestablish his role since it seems he's back for good. genuinely i think the classroom scenes were probably the funniest parts of the episode -- something about the way he falls into the chair with his arm on the headrest really got me. and the whole inappropriateness of him introducing new lovers to the class and involving the kids in his romantic life harkened back to classic garrison and mr. slave era south park. a real highlight.

- the kids losing pajama day b/c of a misunderstanding on pc principal's part was a really promising plot. it could have been a great, lighthearted way to get back in the swing of things after two years without a regular season -- especially since it seems things are taking place in a truly post-covid atmosphere. speaking of which...

- as soon as people in town began wearing pajamas to "support" the class i knew where it was headed, but the pajama/mask metaphor was an imperfect comparison, to the point where i felt myself confused by what exactly it was trying to communicate at times.

i think this episode would have benefitted greatly by just not even incorporating this town aspect at all and simply focusing on the machinations of the kids trying to get pajama day back. if the show's universe itself has moved beyond covid, why even fold it in with veiled commentary? doing this simply stole run time that could have been better served elsewhere in the episode developing better jokes and making sure they land.

- on run time as well, the pajama song went on far too long. i think they may have finished the episode initially and realized they were short about 45 seconds so they did the whole pajama time montage to fill the gap. it was amusing for about 15 seconds, but overstayed its welcome quickly and mostly was confusing. 

- what a waste of wendy! my secret hope for this season was that we would get another wendy centered episode, which this episode seems to attempt, but with little success. pc principal appoints wendy in charge of rallying both the boys and girls and yet wendy has very little spotlight outside her visits to pc principal's office. super disappointing. especially given the very convenient “opposite day” end doesn’t really give the episode a feeling of true resolution, and a waste of wendy trying to connect with pc principal or of her cunning nature to think quick on her feet. 

- also, is it just me, or do the last five/aix seasons or so seems to have a *lot* of recurring focus on minor scenes with complete strangers as opposed to main/supporting cast? i'm really not a fan of this trend, especially when the supporting cast is already so large and diverse there really is no need to give time to nameless model filler characters.

- i like to read reddit live threads on episodes and the response to this one seems a little divided; some people think this episode is one of the worst of the whole series, others think it was an extremely strong and enjoyable welcome back. i'm not really in either camp; this episode *did* make me laugh at several points, however i think there was a lot of wasted potential stolen by the weak b-plot. i didn't hate it, didn't love it, i can think of season openers the last 5-10 seasons i cared for less and had a decent time watching but it is definitely not a particularly memorable episode.

this contrast is definitely made stronger though by the fact that there was a two year gap between last and this season, so to come out the gate with a lukewarm episode is a let down. however, how thoroughly i enjoyed the specials makes me cautiously optimistic for what the new season has in store, and maybe this is just a road bump to getting back in the swing of things.

closing thoughts:

- what was up with mr. mackey’s voice? it was oddly, like, deeper than normal, like the way mackey talks when he’s very shaken except it was his tone the whole time. an issue of maybe different recording conditions than before or has trey forgotten how to do his voice lol?

- this episode gets a major ding for the fact stan has three lines of dialogue and kyle has two (hardly that, considering the second line is simply one word). super bummed that this may be yet again another season where those two sit in the background after they were extremely prominent in the special. if this ends up being the case i am going to bite someone.

- pc principal calling pajama day “the met gala for children” and cartman’s dream sequence did get a chuckle out of me -- especially when cartman starts shouting about how he died; as did liane’s completely deflated look when cartman makes her dictated phone call to pc principal wrong regardless of what she says. 

- basement meeting was good: butters’ fucked up little smile when he suggest they shoot up the school and cartman calls it “played out”. craig telling cartman to lay off the matt damon jokes. cumfy wumfy vs. cozy wozy. the boys being appalled by the girl’s suggestion that they simply apologize instead of escalate things.

- matt damon cyrpto commercial was extremely cringe.

- that fairview show looks like shit.

[thestorytellersapprentice]

Why Do-yeok

I cannot believe I'm writing another one of this "Why" post. I thought it's a one-time thing with Love Alarm... But, here I am. Maybe because just like the previously mentioned Netflix series, Nevertheless causes huge discourse among its viewers. Team Potato and Team Butterfly. Jae-eon and Do-hyeok. Sanctuary or the gravitational pull.

And first off, an important note: my intention by writing this is not to seek any debate with anyone. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, so here's mine. Feel free to read it or definitely not to read it if you're firmly on Jae-eon's corner and you can't imagine Na-bi with anyone else but him. I just want to sort out my thoughts simultaneously through writing this. And this is gonna be a bit long, I suppose.

So, as the title already declares, I'm Team Potato all the way. And, yep, this means I'm thoroughly on Do-hyeok's side and I want him to be happy because he deserves it. (Still need to see what's in store in the final episode, but I'm perfectly okay with an open ending: Na-bi ends up not choosing anyone but herself, as long as her friendship with Do-hyeok remains intact.)

And this comes down simply because of who Yang Do-hyeok is as a person.

If Do-hyeok is real, then you can bet that I'll date him myself too. At the very least, I'd definitely like to be friends with him.

Why?

Because....

One. His whole vibe is just so....warm and comfortable. We often see Do-hyeok's cheerful sides. He smiles a lot (and boy, Chae Jong-hyeop's smiles are just so endearing, but we're talking about the character here. Ahem.) He's attentive, thoughtful, and open. And he's not only like this with Na-bi. He, by nature, is a very friendly person, as you can see from his interaction with Do-yeon, his cousin, also with Na-bi's friends and the hyeongs in the noodle restaurant that he works at.

And I like it a lot that even just after Do-hyeok confesses to Na-bi and she turns him down, the very next day, they're able to speak with each other normally and just talk about his videos and how she'll watch them and give him feedback. That night, Na-bi also answers his call with a smile on her face. They joke around and not even stopping after Do-hyeok throws her some arguably-cringey-lines (if uttered by other guys and not handled properly). Clearly, Na-bi's very on ease and comfortable with and around him despite everything that has happened.

She even says this on her own: "And most of all, I feel comfortable when I'm with him."

Two. With Do-hyeok, the communication is sterling. Honesty and communication is also very important in a healthy relationship. Your partner isn't a mind reader, so you gotta tell her/him what you feel and think about, especially when you're having a hard time, so you both can work on it together. And our potato guy is the perfect example of openness and honesty.

Even when he's having a hard time, he doesn't lash out (unlike a certain someone), but he communicates it clearly to Na-bi: "I saw you and Park Jae-eon going into your house together. I know I said that I could wait for you as long as it takes. But I felt so jealous."

Do-hyeok also casually throwing lines like: "It's nice to hear your voice. The whole neighborhood seems empty without you." which can be really cringey, but hearing these with Chae Jong-hyeop's delivery = it's just Do-hyeok openly sharing his thoughts. And, again, he's not just like this with Na-bi. That's just the way he is. He openly states his concerns and thoughts to people close to him.

After her first disaster relationship and Jae-eon (who's a master deflector on all personal questions and is truly opaque), IMO someone like Do-hyeok is what Na-bi needs. With Do-hyeok, she never has to guess where she stands. And Na-bi responds to his openness accordingly. She shares her worries and not-so-good moments ("I was spacing out because the critique went badly. I got scolded. This semester is really the worst. I didn't get accepted to the exchange program as well.") And of course, Do-hyeok responds by reassuring and encouraging her.

Three. They begin as friends. Childhood friends, even. And while some may point out that she friend-zones him, I beg to differ. The expression on Na-bi's face when she first sees Do-yeon and hasn't recognizes her is not the expression of someone who sees her just-platonic-friend conversing with a girl. You can practically see the gears in her head turning and she suddenly looks unsure: "Who is that girl talking to Do-hyeok?"

But anyway, iIluminatedquill has written here and here what I want to say and more, so I won't add any more here, other than this: it's my own personal preference as well. I'm just more drawn to romantic relationships which also evolve from friendship. I feel that lust will only get you so far, and the companionship aspect is what makes it long-lasting. (Even in my personal life, my boyfriend is not only my boyfie, he's my friend and partner in crime also.)

Four. Do-hyeok has good and normal relationships with his family. He obviously has good relationship with his Grandpa (judging from the way he's reviving his Grandpa's noodle place until his Grandpa feels better) and is close with his cousin, Do-yeon. While this is based on what's been shown and even though we never see or hear about his parents, I think it's safe to say that Do-hyeok most probably grows up in a loving family and he carries their values with him as he approaches his relationships with people as an adult.

Again, this is mostly personal preference, but as someone who highly value family, for me this is another point for Do-hyeok. I'm not saying that someone with dysfunctional family cannot form loving relationships, but it's what one aspires for.

Do-hyeok cares for people. He takes care of them (e.g. voicing concerns over Do-yeon's plastered hand, preparing umbrella and coffee for Na-bi, etc etc). And, sadly, Jae-eon's distant family background just makes him even more detached and non-committal towards people.

As for Na-bi, she wants to learn from her mother and not following in her footsteps. "I promise myself I would never date while watching my mom." It's heavily implied (and is practically confirmed by her aunt) that her mother dates around as well, and from the one scene we're shown during her birthday weekend, she always feels like her mother neglects her and she's upset about it. So, yeah, Na-bi wants to live differently, and it's clear who's a natural at it already.

Five. I can see them growing together. Yeah, Na-bi's mostly the one who needs to sort out her life, but she also can be a good influence to Do-hyeok. She gives him feedback on his videos (as an example) and he builds upon that.

From Na-bi herself: "I don't want to ever disappoint Do-hyeok." She sees him as such a good guy and always receives things from him. I interpret her line here as her desire to improve herself, to be better. And that's how a good relationship should be, right? It brings out the best out of each other.

That's it from me for now.

I guess some of the points up there can be different priorities for different people, and that's okay. As I've said at the beginning of this post, this is all mine, so feel free to disagree.

To me, Jae-eon is like this very strong gravitational pull: he's sexy, mysterious and very alluring, yet he displays oh-so-many red flags. It's all such a rollercoaster ride with him: very fun and thrilling, yet can also cause you extreme dread.

While Do-hyeok is like a sanctuary. He represents safety, stability and ease. With him, it's like strolling on a park somewhere under the sunshine: things feel warm, pleasant, and cozy.

Na-bi probably still feels the gravitational force of Jae-eon. It's hard to shake off completely on such a short span of time, but I hope she remembers that just like her namesake, she always have her own strength to fly and defy gravity.

[diueliz]

well now i wanna know your thoughts on m*dnight m*ss!

If you insist! Ok it’s a few things. Cons first and some pros at the end. (I didn’t manage to be very eloquent, sorry, but i tried my best)

For one this made me realize how much i’m not into this brand of “sentimentality” that is already present in other flanagan things but that here just knows no bounds. It’s a popular critique as far as i’ve seen (among the minority of people i’ve seen criticizing the show, in the midst of So much praise that i really don’t get), but the monologues are annoying to say the least, and boring too, and only bearable imo when it’s hamish linklater delivering them (i think he’s the only one who truly shines in this, both in terms of character and performance, probably together with beverly/samantha sloyan, she’s despite everything a pretty fun character and has a fun dynamic with the priest); those monologues are like, some of the longest minutes I've had to endure, empty and saccharine at best, and self-congratulatory wank at worst, though this isn’t something unique to the monologues but common to the dialogue as a whole. The guy is probably familiar with most of the feelings he’s trying to convey, especially as apparently this is his most personal work, and yet so much of it ends up feeling so artificial and flat. Honestly, i usually don’t like being harsh, but also when something frustrates me a considerable amount i have the urge to be honest about it, especially if most people are loving it anyway.

Another thing is the religion bit that sure tries to be inclusive with… questionable results. I don’t feel like i can confidently discuss how that was handled in the show, but i can say it felt largely performative, shallow, and not committed to giving the almost only Muslim character some real depth. Hell, the main character, a “i’ve read every major sacred text from the most well-known religions and it’s all meaningless” type of atheist (and a self-insert of sorts for flanagan), is… well, the main character, and his writing and performance are just as interesting and human as any business major you've met (mean?). There are some ideas connected to the religious/mythical stuff that i enjoyed, for sure; but there are only so many hymn singing scenes you can include. It also looks bland and boring, but that’s kind of part of, like, his style, so you know. And yeah, that’s what’s coming to mind right now, and i know i’m not touching on everything.

On a more positive note, i’ve already mentioned how much i liked the priest’s character and performance, because i really did. The angel was sexy, the blood drinking too, though there should’ve been more of it, and way more homoeroticism, but since they did give us lapping up blood from the floor like a pathetic beast, well i’ll take it. Good representation for the poor little moew moews out there. i enjoyed the glowing eyes in the dark, the whole thing about how the priest became what he became, the fetus just disappearing from someone’s womb, the cursed blood, the quality of kate siegel’s tragic screams in episode five, the few traces of characters being unhinged, etc. Like, if this kept the messiness on a “technical” level, purged the useless stuff like all the stupid dialogue, got rid of trying to ally like that, got rid of some other ideas that could be outdated or conservative, got rid of the main character and actually most characters, this could be something flawed but that i could properly enjoy; but i guess this doesn’t mean anything, since i’m describing a completely different show.

[amphtaminedreams]

Farewell to Spooky Season, AHS Style: Lookbook no.12

Hi to anyone reading,

Happy belated Halloween!

I capitalise it because if I'm gonna recognise any day as sacred, it’s the spookiest one of the year! Halloween 2020 obviously hasn’t been as exciting as usual, parties and club nights being banned has meant there’s been far less opportunities to dress up, but I still managed to get out for the night before they announced the upcoming second lockdown and do a couple of spooky movie nights (and carve a pumpkin!)!

I originally intended for this lookbook to be last minute halloween costume inspo but I was lazy and didn’t manage to get it out on time-a lot of these looks minus the makeup and maybe an accessory or two could work on any day or night out so I thought I’d go ahead and post it now anyway. Celebrating the fashion moments of American Horror Story is something I’ve wanted to do for a while; it’s probably not the first show you’d think of for sartorial inspiration but Mr. Ryan Murphy has fucking fantastic taste in stylists and the first five seasons of AHS in particular, which I’ll be focussing on in this post, have given us SO many amazing looks. The man may be guilty of many things-subjecting us to the character of Will Schuester, trying to turn Richard Ramirez into a thirst trap, embarrassing everyone who raved about how good Scream Queens was when he wrote season 2-but costume related laziness is not one of them. We see more consistency in a Ryan Murphy character’s wardrobe than we do in their story arcs and I respect that because honestly, as much as I love joining in when it comes to ripping into his ability to cohesively bring an AHS season to a close when it airs, I’d probably be the same; if you put Lady Gaga in front of me and told me to write her lines I’d probably end up getting overly invested in what her character was going to be wearing in the scene too. 

So! Enough Ryan Murphy bashing from me! I’ll get on with it! Starting with 3 season 1 inspired looks:

Murder House: Elizabeth Short, Tate Langdon and Violet Harmon

-striped jumper from caitlinlark on Depop, kick flare jeans from ellagray-

When it comes to reflecting on season 1 of American Horror Story, all I can say do is thank the internet overlords that Tumblr has moved on from the romanticising school shooters and wearing normal people scare me tops phase to instead collectively taking the piss out of the “GO AWAY, TATE!”, “YOU’RE ALL THAT I WANTTT! YOU’RE ALL THAT I HAVEEE!” exchange. 

In terms of fashion *moments*, whilst season 1 doesn’t stand out as much as the seasons that come after, Violet and Tate’s wardrobes did give birth to a bit of a 90s grunge renaissance with their oversized knits and faded jeans and layering of textures. It did also give us good costumes in the form of Alexandra Breckenridge’s Moira O’Hara and Mena Suvari’s portrayal of the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short; unfortunately, I didn’t have a slutty maid costume lying around so I did the best I could at giving the outfit Elizabeth wears when she makes that fateful visit to the Murder House a modern, more party appropriate update.

In terms of season rankings, Murder House isn’t my favourite. It starts off really great but lulls a bit towards the end and I could never get behind Violet and Tate as a couple because you know, one of them is a school shooter who sexually assaults the other’s mum, and that’s a hurdle that I think most couples might struggle to get over irl. That being said, it was the season that started it all and showcased some of the most innovative writing and directing on TV, and it opened up a spot for horror on primetime television which as far as I know was kind of unheard of before then. Back when I first watched it, I had no idea what to expect not only because I’d never seen horror in a serial format but also because it seemed to be able to get away with the kind of storylines you’d expect network executives to fire people over. It introduced us to Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters and Denis O’Hare who would go on to make the show what it is today and more importantly, through Jessica’s glorious portrayal of Constance Langdon, provide us with an endlessly versatile meme format for this trying time.

Asylum: ‘60s Lana Winters, ‘70s Lana Winters, and Sister Mary Eunice McKee

-afghan coat from louisemarcella on Depop, red AA skater dress from julietramage, pink gingham co-ord from zshamim-

I think we can all agree: Asylum would’ve been a perfect series of television if it wasn’t for the completely unnecessary alien storyline. Like, I get that they fit in with the whole good vs. evil theme as a kind of non-biblical alternative to the idea of a higher, all-powerful being but there was already so much going on that it just wasn’t needed. Aside from that, I think the general consensus amongst watchers of the show is that Asylum has the best writing of any season and I think I’d tend to agree. It’s not my favourite because it’s too depressing to rewatch but if we’re talking the first time round, this is the series that had me hooked. Lana Winters?

Iconic. 

Sister Mary Eunice? Iconic. The Name Game? Iconic. Remember when you couldn’t go a day on Facebook without seeing that one photo of Naomi Grossman as Pepper used as the go to “what I really look like” photo in one of those “expectation vs. reality” style posts on your newsfeed? Those were simpler times.

Because this season was mostly situated within the hospital, we didn’t get that many proper outfits but when we did, they were stunning; if I had to state my absolute favourite AHS character of the entire show I’d probably go with Lana Winters and the part her wardrobe played in her characterisation would 100% play a part in that. The late 60s/early 70s was such a wonderful period for fashion and through her character we get to see both of those explored a little. Of course there’s also *that* Sister Mary Eunice scene with the red slip dress and suspenders too which yes, could be a perfect halloween costume, but I also strongly believe should be a perfectly acceptable outfit for any day of the year. 

Coven: Misty Day, Madison Montgomery, and Zoe Benson

-chiffon dress from rags_to_riches on Depop, pinstripe corset from hanpiercey, and tennis skirt from mollie_morton-

I hate to be a basic bitch but I have to say it: Coven is my favourite season of American Horror Story. Once you get over the complete waste of Evan Peters’ acting capabilities that resulted from the *choice* to have him play Kyle, the unnecessary rehash of the Evan/Taissa pairing from season 1 in what I can only assume was an attempt to capitalise on the popularity of the questionable Tate/Violet relationship, and the subsequent sacrifice of any interesting character arc we could’ve foreseen for Zoe Benson beyond her obsessing over a resurrected, non-verbal frat boy, it’s a perfect season. A supreme (heh) balance of horror, humour, and character drama, as well as the stunning aesthetics and forever quotable dialogue, make it my go-to season if I’m ever considering a rewatch. And if you disagree, let me jog your memory with the most mainstream (not to get all “normal people scare me” and suggest AHS is not a mainstream show, I literally just mean in the sense that even those who have never watched the show will have seen this)  reaction GIF set any FX show has even spawned:

Buzzfeed employees had a field day, Emma Roberts enthusiasts (I mean me) finally saw her cemented as the pop culture icon Scream Queens has since showed us she deserves to be (because not enough people have seen Unfabulous, Nancy Drew or Scream 4) and the gays everywhere rejoiced at the year’s worth of meme fodder they’d been provided with. It was Madison Montgomery’s world and we were truly just living in it.

And the fashion! I mean, Stevie Nicks meets 21st century teenage witches! Come on! 

Freakshow: Dandy Mott, Maggie Esmerelda and Elsa Mars

-olive green satin skirt from morganogle on Depop, headscarf from tonijordan, platform sandals from elliefewt, PVC skirt from bethpin_, corset top from sadieflinter, beret from house_of_erotique, flame detail platform boots from mad_rags_vintage-

When people talk about the declining quality of AHS, they usually point to Freakshow as the beginning of the end, but I have to completely disagree. I wasn’t a fan the first time round but on rewatch it’s probably the most emotional season of them all; no, there aren’t as many “horrifying” moments as in other seasons and Elsa is probably Jessica’s worst performance (which is still an incredible one by anybody else’s standards), however it makes up for it with the most sympathetic bunch of characters yet, and on the flip side, also one of the most amusingly depraved with Finn Wittrock’s Dandy Mott. Fans usually argue that the season went downhill once *SPOILER* Twisty the Clown was killed off but for me, he really primarily served as the catalyst for the far more interesting devolution of Dandy, who, imo, is the show’s strongest villain to date, rivalled only by Bloody Face. Then there was the episode Orphans too which made me cry buckets, the sole AHS episode to do so. 

We got a lot of great fashion content in this season too: the theatrical opulence of Elsa Mars’ wardrobe, “Maggie”’s nomadic fortune teller costumes, and all those twee suits we saw Finn Wittrock in. Highly underrated if you ask me. It seems an odd choice for me to use Elsa’s Dominatrix look as an inspiration for one of my looks here when we have that Life on Mars performance outfit and all the extravagant robes Jessica got to waltz around in for reference buuuut I didn’t really have anything to do the vibrancy of either of those justice so I went with the black leather option which is much more me. Am I saying I moonlight as a dominatrix? Maybe. Lol, no. I wish. It’s not for lack of trying. WHERE ARE ALL THE GENUINE TWITTER PAYPIGS AT!? Your girl wants to insult creepy men and get some new clothes out of it xoxo

Hotel: Hypodermic Sally, Liz Taylor, and The Countess

-silk white bralet from xlibby_maix on Depop-

Hotel is another season that I liked a lottttt more upon rewatch, once I knew I was okay to tune out the (completely predictable and utterly nonsensical) Ten Commandments Killer storyline that so much of the season initially seems to hinge on. I love Chloë Sevigny but the fact that her and Wes Bentley’s wooden John and Alex Lowe are positioned as the protagonists at the expense of the far more interesting Liz Taylor, James March and Hypodermic Sally really does a disservice to what is an otherwise great season upon initial viewing.

The visuals this season are magnificent and I think if I had to pick one character’s wardrobe to steal from the entire cast of AHS characters, it would be The Countess (a toss up between her and Misty Day tbh, so I kinda just settle for low-key channelling both). No fucking idea where I'd wear any of her clothes to but I’d make it work. Liz Taylor and Hypodermic Sally have some amazing looks too-there’s just honestly so much to choose from; that being said, this post wouldn’t be complete without a specific ode to the vampire goddess Elizabeth Bathory, who is everything I want to be in life minus the murderous qualities:

Everything. EVER-Y-THING. LOOK AT HER!

Lady Gaga is really a fucking goddess isn’t she. And people were claiming before they’d even seen it that she couldn’t act? A patriarchal society doesn’t like women that can do it all. Just saying. 

Anyways!

That’s it for now! I hope you enjoyed the post if you did read til the end! Sorry I couldn’t get this out before Halloween, I was typing and Picmonkey-ing madly from 2 in the afternoon on the 31st but I taking fucking forever to get ready and had to abandon all hope of getting it out on the day by 4PM. I’ve got so much content planned and it sucks because a couple of them are lookbooks which now feel completely redundant given we’re heading into a second lockdown, but maybe I should just do it anyway? The grunge inspired moodboard I just did seemed to get a good reception too so I’ve got some more of them planned. 

As always, hope everyone is keeping well, and feel free to inbox me with any suggestions, queries or even just to say hi if you need someone to talk to! I check here quite a lot so I should see it. Lots of love to everyone in this time!

Lauren x

[feliciamontagues]

My Ranking of Every Hercule Flambeau Episode (S01-S08)

There are some spoilers for S7 and S8, but they are fairly vague and pretty much the sort of thing that you might see on the official press release. So not true spoilers as such. Also this is totally subjective and the result of my own personal biases. It’s also behind the cut because it’s looooonnng. 

8. The Two Deaths of Hercule Flambeau (s06e10)--

So, this episode is *fine*. It’s hardly the worst episode of the show, but it’s easily the weakest of the Flamby eps, despite their being a few isolated moments I enjoy. (Hercule getting a long overdue bedroom scene for one :P)

My main gripe is with this episode is the uneven way Lisandra Flambeau is written. The script seems to flip-flop over whether we are supposed to find her sympathetic or not.  On one hand,  many scenes imply that she genuinely loves Hercule despite them having a shotgun marriage after only a few days of knowing each other. On the other hand, she does not hesitate for a minute before poisoning an innocent (Fr. B) for no other reason than to hurt Flamby, which makes her lose a lot of sympathy points.

And as a result, it seems to make Flambeau seem like more of arse than normal for betraying her, while somehow also absolving him of responsibility for doing so, because she turns around and does *THAT.*

And ngl, it does make me a little uncomfortable that while the character of Lisandra (as an Italian) is possibly not meant to be interpreted as a POC, the actress portraying her definitely is. (Sara Martins is of Afro-Portuguese descent).  Which makes the uneven characterization (and underwritten-ness) seem even more glaring, especially  when compared to that of the other (white) women in Flambeau’s life (his first love Rebecca and his daughter Marianne, arguably Lady Felicia as well). It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth even if  in all likelihood, the part wasn’t written with Sara Martins in mind.

I think a much more interesting approach to Lisandra would be to have intending to betray Flambeau all along. Maybe she had her own agenda for seducing Flamby, meanwhile he thinks he’s the one using her for his plan. Maybe she does develop some feelings for him along the way, but it only makes her hesitate for a moment before going ahead with her original plan. That way, she keeps her agency and isn’t reduced to the “woman scorned” stereotype while also leaving the writers free to ship Flamby with others in the future without seemingly endorsing guilt-free adultery .

Other random note: I can’t take  parts of this episode seriously because the “Crown of Lombardy” is very obviously Guinevere’s crown from BBC Merlin with no attempt to alter or disguise it. 

7. The Daughter of Autolycus (s04e05)--

Not gonna lie, I am not really a fan of “character has long lost relative that we’ve never heard of until now” plots. And that goes double when said long-lost relative is a child or sibling. As such my low ranking of this episode is partly due to unconscious personal biases against that trope.

That being said, if we had to get a long-lost relative that we’ve never heard of until now plot, I’m so glad we got Marianne--even if it takes her another episode to really live up to her potential. 

I have to knock off a few more points for Nero Hound as a villain. For one thing, he was played by Nancy Carroll’s real-life hubby, but they didn’t let let him interact with Lady F at all. Such a *waste.*  Also Nero Hound is far too similar a name to Nero Wolfe, and I’ve definitely confused them on more than one occasion). He’s also rather generic in my opinion, even compared to some of Flambeau’s other “generic mobster” rivals/associates like the ones in S8.

However, there are some moments in this episode I genuinely like--particularly the theft “imagine spot” and Flambeau’s bishop disguise in general. Plus, the scenes where Flambeau and Marianne appear together are excellent, as are the hints that Marianne will become a redemptive trigger in Flambeau’s life.

6. The Judgement of Man (s03e10)--

Again, the low ranking of this one may be due to personal biases.  In this case, I’m still low-key bitter--five years later-- at the BBC marketing department for baiting me with the idea of Flambeau actually interacting with the rest of the squad (esp romantic tiems with Lady F)  and then giving me the absolute minimum of Felicia/Flambeau flirting and no Flambeau/Sid and Flambeau/Mrs. M interaction.

But there are other reasons why this is in my bottom 3 Flambeau episodes. 

Honestly, I feel like an equally compelling episode about the Vatican’s complicity in Nazi art theft could’ve been made without having to insert Flambeau in it. I mean I suppose it does make sense to have the art thief character  in the art episode, but still I feel like both Flambeau backstory and important historical lesson about Nazis, the Church, and Jewish art suffer from being crammed into the same episode. 

That being said, Mrs. McCarthy’s duchess disguise in this episode cleared my skin, watered my crops, etc, which is why I’ve ranked it higher than the previous two. 

5. The Folly of Jephthah (s08e05)

It loses a few points because I got very exited about the idea of Marianne becoming Bunty’s thief gf cool new friend, and yet in the episode itself, they only shared one scene and didn’t really interact much in it. That being said, I did like like that Bunty and Mrs. M had a bigger role in this episode than the squad usually gets in Flambeau episodes. 

Overall, I feel this episode works a lot better than most of the other “backstory-heavy” Flambeau episodes, because we’ve already gotten the Marianne-related exposition out of the way and can focus more on allowing her character, Flambeau’s and their relationship with each other to develop.

I’m also a bit smug in that I predicted (or at least hoped for) this exact character arc for Marianne within a few weeks of “The Daughter of Autocylus” airing and that my hopes came to fruition so beautifully.

It doesn’t particularly impact the ranking too much, but I do feel like this episode deserves a special shout out, because it has established a (hopefully-continuing!) pattern of Father Brown calling Flamby  almost exclusively by his first name, which is a major significant step in their bromance and deserves recognition as such. 

4. The Blue Cross (s01e10)--

As someone who was first exposed to Father Brown through reading the stories for a college course, I always find it especially interesting to look at the episodes that were adapted from Chesterton. 

This episode is neither the most faithful book-to-show adaptation (which is probably “The Three Tools of Death”) nor is it the best (imo “The Sign of the Broken Sword’) , but it is arguably the most significant. “The Blue Cross” was the first ever Fr. Brown story and is probably the most well-known. It’s also the first real look we get at the character of Flambeau, who (in the stories and arguably the show as well) is probably the closest thing we get to a clear character arc.

The show keeps some of the important elements of the short  story: Flambeau’s clergyman disguise, the switching of the packages. But it also has the challenging task of upping the relatively low stakes of the story, as well as introducing a major recurring character that resembles his book counterpart but remains distinct enough to justify the fairly different direction show canon is taking him. 

The show does this reasonably well--if not particularly imaginatively. I do enjoy some of the touches (I’ve written an entire meta before about Flamby’s reading material on the train and how it relates to his character)--particularly the show’s choice to have Flambeau fixated on religious art specifically (RIP for Flambeau’s Dairy Company though. It will always live in my heart).

Unfortunately in the adaptation, loses a few points for not really using the show-original characters particularly effectively. It loses still more for Flambeau’s characterization in this episode . He comes across as much more  serious and menacing in this episode than in all the others. It works okay when we consider this as a standalone episode but provides some glaring Early Installment Weirdness when we compare it to other episodes. 

3. The Penitent Man (s05e15)--

So as the rest of this list  will testify, I have strong preference for the “fun” Flambeau episodes over the more series ones. This is the exception that proves the rule--the  serious, cerebral, melancholy episode that simply “works” for me in the way that some of the others have not.

A lot of it is due to the more-intense-than-usual Flambeau character focus that goes into this. Sure, we’ve met his (presumably ex-by-now) wife, his daughter, and his first love by this point, but all of those episodes focused primarily on Flambeau as an extension of the relationships with others. (”The Judgement of Man”  in particular is far more Rebecca’s story than Hercule’s.)

Whereas this episode is very definitively focused on Flambeau himself and allows more nuanced exploration of two of the most defining facets of Flambeau’s character:  (1) his fascination with religion--and spiritual salvation in particular--  as  something he seems to resist and crave in near equal measure  (2) his almost masochistic streak of recklessness.

Even though Flambeau’s supposed “piety” is revealed to be all part of his heist plan, there are strong hints that his desire for redemption and atonement are at least somewhat genuine, even if he is not  ready to pursue them just yet. 

Off topic, but a few random things of note in this episode: this episode all-but-confirms bi!Flambeau, wet!Flambeau at the end is extremely relevant to my interests, Father Brown attempts to smuggle Flamby a lock pick from the beginning and has the audacity to say “ I only use it when I get locked out of the presbytery.”

Also, it has this iconic exchange:

Goodfellow: What is that awful smell?

Father Brown (covered in sewage): It’s me

2. The Honorable Thief (S07e10)-- So nearly all of the Flambeau-centered episodes from S3 on  have been a little preoccupied with filling in some of the gaps in Flambeau’s backstory, which is *fine*, but honestly, I feel like in doing so, they’ve really lost sight of why we fell in love with the character in the first place. 

 He’s vibrant and clever and funny and over-the-top. But most importantly, Flambeau is a lot of fun. Therefore, it follows that episodes that feature him should be a lot of fun too. 

And well... they are all fun in some way,  but they aren’t as fun as they really could be. John Light is insanely charismatic, but charisma can only go so far when the episode in question is a downer.

Fortunately, this episode is the furthest thing from a downer imaginable. It’s absolutely delightful from start to finish. The plot is serious enough to keep things engaging, but also light enough to keep us from getting too distracted by angst. 

I’m also incredibly biased in favor of this episode, because it finally gave me the Felicia/Flambeau ship tease I’d been passionately hoping for (if not really expecting to get after “The Judgement of Man” disappointed me). But it was so much and so good, and I wasn’t ready for it.

In a broader sense though, this episode really delivered with Flambeau/squad interaction in general--which was a key component that has been missing from most of the other episodes. And the Father Brown & Flambeau interactions were also has heartwarming and funny as they always are.

If I have one tiny little gripe with the episode, it’s that Daniel is not Sid. He has enough broad similarities with Sid that I can’t help but wonder if the episode was originally written with Sid and then hastily re-written when Alex Price couldn’t return. That being said, he was a likable enough guest character in his own right, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.

1.  The Mysteries of the Rosary (S02e05)-- Perfection. Not only is this THE definitive Flambeau episode, but is also one of the best episodes of the show overall. It has everything: the birth of bearded Flamby, bromantic road trips, a treasure hunt, great guest turns from Anton Lesser and Sylvestra Le Touzel.

I think part of the reason this episode resonates so strongly with me is that it’s really the first proper sense that we get of Show!Flambeau as a character. Sure we officially met him in “The Blue Cross,” but considering he didn’t show up until halfway through the episode and was in disguise for most of it, we didn’t really get much of a sense of who he is.

This episode changes all that and sets Flambeau up as the character we will know and love for the rest of the series--charming, urbane, funny, passionate, a carefree carpe diem exterior masking (or overcompensating for?) a sense of uncertainty and conflictedness.

Somewhat off topic, but as great an episode as this is for Flambeau’s character, it is nearly as wonderful for both Sid and Father Brown’s characters. We get to see Sid’s  ease with Father Brown, the casual camraderie that the two of them have--as well as Sid’s protectiveness (and jealousy) when Flambeau decides to gatecrash their bromantic road trip. 

Honestly, there are so many things that are great about this episode that I don’t think I could possibly list them--but one little detail that really struck my the last time I watched was that the first proper glimpse we see of Flambeau in this episode (we see him in shadow in a flashback before) involves him  saving Father Brown’s life.  Whereas the last proper glimpse we see of Flambeau is after Father Brown has saved Flambeau’s life.  Thematic reversals. Cinematic parallels. We love to see it. 

[calliecat93]

Top 15 Star Trek TOS Episodes (Part Two)

(Part One)

Continuing from the last post, here are the remaining seven episodes~! Also picking Number One was SUPER hard. I was stuck between it and two for a long while. But I finally picked, so here we go!

#7. The Trouble With Tribbles

Up to this point, I hadn’t been crazy over some of the goofier episodes of Star Trek. Shore Leave was a mindscrew that left me uncertain about what was even happening by the end, though my opinion has lightened up upon looking back. The Squire of Gothos had a villain that I found far more annoying than entertaining and it remains one of my least favorite episodes. The only more silly one I did like was I, Mudd which remains an utter laugh riot once everyone acts as illogical as possible, including Spock. But then this episode came along, and Dear Lord it is hilarious. Our heroes stop at a space station, but it’s also occupied by Klingons. But wait, it gets better! A sleezy guy convinces Uhura to buy a Tribble, these little puff ball things that are kind of cute... until they begin to reproduce so rapidly that they infest the ship and base. To put it simply, it’s not a good time for Kirk. Honestly Kirk is the best part just because of how much he LOATHES every single thing about this episode. The scene where a whole bunch of Tribbles just topple over him and he just resigns himself to his fate and later his epic death glare at Bones when he orders him to figure out what killed the things. And then there’s what makes him come aorund to them, their shared hatred of Klingons. Seriosuly, Kirk is just So Done in this episode and it is amazing~

But seriously, it’s a very entertianing episode. Far more than I thought it was going to be when I read the description. It’s not an episode taken seriosuly, but not in the ‘they just gave up’ kind of way like in certain S3 episodes. The cast seem to be legit having a fun time with this one. The brawl between Scotty, Chekov, and a few other guys against the Klingons was super fun as was Kirk sulking when Scotty revelas that he got provoked over the Enteprise being insulted and not the captain. Poor Jim XD Cyrano Jones was also just a fun delight with how scummy yet amusing he is. The scene with him and the drinks during the brawl had me laughing so much XD Seriosuly there’s just so many good moments. Spock not being immune to the Tribble’s comforting effect and being embarassed at this revelaiton, Spock and McCoy’s snark, the Klingons utter horror at the tiny little furballs, it’s just an entertaining ride from beginning to end.

Not anything to really note flaws wise to justify the ranking. It doesn’t have that emotional or philosophical umph that I normally seek out in shows like this, so it’s here at seven. But that ain’t a bad thing at all. Not every episode has to have deep meanings or complex stories. Sometimes it can just be something fun and amusing, and the effort was still there to make it entertaining. It’s one of those episodes that I would watch above the others on a bad day just so I can laugh. Probably the most fun episode I have on this list, and that’s nothing to snuff at~!

#6. The Doomsday Machine

Our heroes find a Starship where the only survivor is Commadore Decker, his crew having all been killed when he beamed them to a planet that a planet destroyer... well, destroyed shortly after. The destroyer is still active and now the Enterprise is in danger. As Kirk remains on that ship, Decker is determined to destroyt he doomsday machine once and for all, including taking command of the Enteprrise and risking their lives to do so. Yeah, this is a pretty intense one. Decker, while his sucicdal actions were wrong, is VERY sympathetic. His crew was killed through no fault of his own, the machine that did it is still loose, and the losses have left him utterly broken. He’s very much traumatized but as he is the highest ranking officer and they can’t officially prove that he’s too mentlaly unfit to be relieved (which imo is idiotic cause even someone who isn’t a psycologist can tell he’s mentally unfit, but whatever), they can’t do much to stop him. Spock DOES finally manage to do so, and it leads to Decker’s ultimate choice that leads to his tragic end.

This one really gripped me. There’s this tension throughout. We have an unstable, suicidal man taking control of the Enterprise and willing to get them all killed to stop the doomsday machine. It’s scary to see how broken the man is. Again, he’s wrong to be willing to sacrifice everyone on The Enterprise to destroy the thing even though none of them want to die, but you understand why. I mean imagine if that happened to Kirk, he’d probably snap too if his actions in Obsession is any indication of how he handles major losses like that. Then we have Decker’s final act. Once relieved of command, he steals a shuttle and goes at the machine himself. He knows that he’s going to die and accepts that fact if it means some chance, any chance of destroying the machine once and for all. While he fails to destory it, he DOES give Kirk the opprotunity needed to do so with the ruined ship. A move that almost gets Kirk killed, but still Decker’s act was not in vain. It’s a very interesting character study with themes of guilt, trauma, and desperation. Kind of like in Obsession in a way, only Kirk manages to survive and pull himself together before it was too late. Decker’s only goal was to take down the machine that took his crew’s lives, even if that meant losing his own.

As I said, these are the kinds of episodes I live for. I guess self-sacrifice is also genetic consideirng what happened with his son in The Motion Picture, haha. Flaws... ugh... I guess McCoy disappeairng after the first half sucked? But that’s a me thing that doesn’t affect anything. I just remember watching it wide-eyed despite fully well knowing that everyone I cared about were going to be perfectly fine. It really gripped me! A great episode with great character exploration and themes which for a one off character, is pretty dang impressive!

#5. Journey to Babel

Meet the parents epidsode! Yay! The Enteprise is transporting various ambassadors of various planets to the Babel Conference. This includes the Vulcan Ambassador Sarek and his human wife Amanda, aka Spock’s parents. Yep, it’s time for some good ol’ fashioned family issues! Sarek wasn’t exactly happy with Spock choosing Starfleet and their relationship has been strained ever since. But when Sarek has severe heart problems, the only way to save him is via blood transfusion with Spock the only one compatible. But to make it worse, Kirk gets stabbed and put out of comission, forcing Spock to take command... at the same time that his father needs the surgery. Yeah... it sucks to be Spock in this episode. I know that Sarek is a bit divisive, but I like Spock’s parents. Sarek comes off as good at his job, but not great as a parent. He’s far fromt he worst and we do see that he does seem to still care about his son, he’s just God awful at admitting it and his previous mistakes. Like father, like son I guess. Amanda was a delight, especially when she tells McCoy about the sehlat aka giant teddy bear. Anyone who can make Bones smile that big deserves our thanks. Spock trying to make it less embarassing only made it funnier XD But back on topic, they come off as interesitng characters. They ain’t ideal, but they seem to genuinely be in love, which is nice.

Spock was just great here as we see him in one of the roughest spots he’s been in. He’s naturally not happy about being around the father that cast him aside again, though after his heart issues it’s clear that he IS concerned. Leonard Nimoy once again does such a fantastic job at having Spock express so much but without breaking character. It’s all in the eyes and the strained tone of voice. Then when Spock is more than willing to go through with the tranfusion, Kirk is injured. He has no choice but to take command, knowing that in doing so his father will die. While he COULD give command to Scotty, with the VERY intense circumstances of an assaliant on board and a ship ready to attack wit a number of ambassadors on board, he’s the best bet in handling it. Amanda is of course upset and even smacks him which IS overly harsh, but she’s about to lose her husband and her son, despite clealry hating the fact, has to place his duty above all else. Sarek dying is the least worst outcome to everyone else being killed. It’s the most logical route. Fortunately Kirk is able to pull himself together long enough to take over and the transfusion goes through perfectly despite the fight making it more difficult. Which again, McCoy is the true MVP here for managing to pull that off successfully under those conditions and Thank God that the episode rewarded him by letting him finally get the last word. He earned that one!

It’s such a great episode for me. Family drama, Spock conflict, political tensions, and just some relaly fun bits. Seriosuly, the teddy bear bit will NEVER stop being funny. Hoenstly these last five were all pretty tight and this ende dup here cause the other four had just a little bit mroe to keep me invested for reasons. Spock and Sarek don’t really reach a resolution but we do see that it has the chance to improve, and the movies do show that Sarek DOES truly care about his son and even admits that he had been wrong. It takes a lot for a man, even a Vulcan man, to do that. Although I DID double take when I realized that Sarek is played by the same guy who did the Romulan Captain in Balance of Terror. Guess he was that good XD. But yeah, a really great episode and very much my favorite Spock-centric episode.

#4. The Empath

TRIUMVIRATE FEELS BABY~! Our heroes end up trapped by a duo of aliens and encounter a mute empath woman that McCoy names Gem. They try to figure out how to escape as the aliens known as Vians plan to use them for an experiment as they have others. Shenanigains happen while elad to Kirk getting totured p, and then given the ultimate sadistic choice in having to decide if either Spock or McCoy get tortured to the point of either death (McCoy) or permenant brain damage (Spock). Now the episode has it’s issues, like why the Vians needed to do this to decide that Gem’s people were worth saivng is..l really baffling. But I’m also not a Vian so what do I know anout their mindset? But due to those kinds of plot holes, it landed here at four. It also kind of reads like a hurt/comfort fanfic, which isn’t a surprise when you find out that this was written and submitted by a fan. Which is freakin’ awesome and I can’t complain tbh cause it’s a good hurt/comfort fic. What it fails in some plot tightning it succeeds at in emphasizing the relationship between the main trio and it’s themes of emotion and self-sacrifice. Because OF COURSE that would be relevant for these three numbskulls at some point!

The second half is really what sells it. Kirk of course can’t make a choice like that, so Bones hypos him so that he’ll be spared of it. But that means that Spock is in command and he fully intends to hand himself over to the Vians to spare the two. Just the scene where he looks at Kirk, knowing that it’ll likely be the last time he sees him and Gem touching him to feel his emotions. Her smile sums it sll up. Which sidenote, the actress for Gem was freakin’ fantastic in how she displayed so much emotion and character without saying one word. Excellent acting. Anyways, Spock’s plan seems full-proof... except that he forgot that he’s dealing with McCoy, who promptly hypos him as well and sacrifices himself to the Vians. That was when McCoy became my favorite character, the moment he chose to be tortured to near death to save his two best friends and an innocent woman and even took the time to try and comfort her before being taken away. When we see the ifnal result and are greeted to DeForest Kelley looking at the camera with the most dead expression that he can muster... yeah the image STILL haunts me. Then Bones is dying with the two unable to do anything but try to give him some comfort and Gem is just so distraught and... heah this episode mad eit this high simply because it hit the emotional beats perfectly. That’s not even going into Gem trying to heal him to drive home the themes of the episode, also done VERY well.

This episode really shows how much the three care for one another. They’re all willing to be tortured and die to spare the other two. Ultimately McCoy gets the ‘honor’, but Kirk and Spock were absolutely ready to throw themselves to the fire. The characterization, interactions, and dynamic are just done so well that it’s why I can forgive the plot issues. I’m a sucker for feelings okay?! So yeah it’s not perfect but what it got right it got right. As such, it managed to land here at Number Four with only those plot holes keeping it from Number One. And trust me, I was tempted.

#3. The Tholian Web

Season 3 hadn’t been doing it for me with only one or two episodes really getitng my attention up to that point. This one though? This was the best episode in the seaosn bar none. Our heroes end up in a subspace where they find a starship and it’s crew all dead. Whien they teleport back to The Enterprise, it disappears... and takes Kirk with it. Okay, doesn’t sound liek anythignt hat new right? Kirk goes missing, the crew have to deal without him and find him as quickly as posisble. But this one has a bit of a twist... they cut Kirk out completely. Yeah, from the moment he vanishes in the first act to the very end he is out of the episode. Not only does the crew not know what happened to him, but neither does the audience, this ramps up the fear and emotional weight big time as the longer the crew is int hat space, the influence of it drives them to insanity. Bones wants to get out because of this, while Spock is unwilling to leave Kirk if he is alive. Needles to say, things go off the rails quickly.

With Kirk out of the equation, we keep our focus on Spock and McCoy. Their arguing is probably at the most personal it’s ever been with Kirk seming dead, the crew losing their minds, and it looking more and more uncertain that they can both treat the crew and ge tout alive. While one can say that McCoy may be too harsh here, I think along with the space affecting him in a less intense way, he’s also stressed from all the patients as well as his grief about Jim. Spock is the only one that he can take it out on, especially since his chocie to not leave is why they’re now int he mess that they’re in. Spock is trying to perform his duties despite the hostilities and his own grief that he’s trying to keep a grip on with all the responsibility of the crew and whatever happens due to his choice firmly sititng on his shoulders. What finally starts to get them to resolve this? A tape that Kirk made for them in the event of his death. He gives them his confidence that they can perform their duties withiut him, but that they need to lsiten to and support each other. They CAN go on without him. It’ll hurt but they’re now all that they each have and they need to work together now more than ever. It’s a sobering moment for both with McCoy realizng how ovelry harsh he had been and Spock expressing genuine grief. They do still bicke rone more time, but McCoy catches himself before it goes too far, apologizes, and Spock simply says what Jim would: “Forget it, Bones”. Cue Bones fainting like the Southern Bell that he is, haha!

Now of course Kirk is alive and they manage to save him and get out of the situation fine. But I just loved this because of the focus on Spock and McCoy without Kirk. Why? Because Kirk is the one thing that can unite them. It’s not the only thing, but if anything can make them get over their disagreements quickly, it’s Kirk. So what happens when it looks like he’s gone and never coming back? How will the two deal with it now that that balance is gone? They don’t deal with it well, being at each other’s throats until they see that tape. But it DOES show that if they did lose Kirk, they CAN work together and go on. Like I said, I adore these two’s relationship and while not as slashy as All Our Yesterdays, this is such an excellent one for that relationship as we see that yes, they will bicker but they will also be there for each other when it all comes down to it. It’s such a great episode for that reason and the plot was just well done. Like I said, casitng out Jim and leaving us unsure of what happened to him was an excellent move for this one and I enjoyed the exploration that it allowed.

#2. The Immunity Syndrome

Out heroes are scent to investigate what caused a whole solar system to disappear just as they also receive a message from a Vulcan science vessel. Unfortunately, Spock senses he vessel’s destruction and the Enterprise finds itself against a giant space amoeba that will devour everything unless stopped. That may not sound like much, but it leads into what I think was the most intense situation that the Enterprise has been in. Everything, and I mean everything, is pushed to their limits here. This amoeba can outright destroy galaxies and utterly mindless, so there’s no reasoning with it. But it gets especially tense when, in order to understand exactly what’s going on, Kirk has to send someone in the space shuttle to observe, but in doing so, he’s sending someone to most likely die. And his choices? Either Spock or Bones... yeah.

This is what makes this episode great. Spock and Bones are already on rockier than usual terms due to McCoy treating the Vulcan deaths more like a statistic while Spock sensed all of it outright. That itself is an interesting observation on how we treat these kinds of things, not really understanding how horrific it is unless we’re involved in it outright, otherwise it’s sad and unfortunate but just another number. But then we have the suicide mission. Bones originally volunteers himself, after all he’s a doctor and would have the knowledge to make the necessary observaitons and likely the most fit for it. But Spock is not only also perfectly capable even if not specialized in medical science, but he’s also more fit physically and emotionally to undergo the risk and come out alive. In the end, Kirk picks Spock and McCoy ain’t happy about it. The scene with Spock about ready to go with McCoy still unhappy even when Spock asks him to wish him luck. He does... once the doors have shut and Spock can’t hear him anymore. It’s a very strong scene and it only gets more painful when it looks like Spock is truly going to die and his final words are that McCoy should have wished him luck. Bones’ face says everything.

The episode is just excellent. Great character moments. Great emotional weight. Great stakes that keep going up and up and it truly feels like the darkest hour for the crew. Kirk and Spock outright begin to record their respective final words. Even they’re convinced that this is most likely the end, which is just... dang man. I couldn’t look away during this one. They hit everything perfectly with pretty much everything. If I have any issues, none of them come to mind. It’s just an excellent episode and the best of Season 2. I had a REALLY hard time picking between this and my Number One for the top slot. The top one just had a little bit more emotional impact to get it, but it just barely topped this one. Regardless, it is still an excellent episode and one of the best by far. But what is Number One? Well...

#1. The City on the Edge of Forever

Yeah, yeah, obvious pick I know. I normally don’t go wth popular opinion... but sometimes it’s that way for a reason, and this one I can’t argue about. When McCoy gets badly drugged on accident, he goes into a derranged state and beams onto a planet. The crew is unable to stop him from entering a portal known as the Guardian of Forever that sends him into the distant past where he does something to change histry. In order to figure out what changed and to stop McCoy, Kirk and Spock travel into the 1930’s a few days earlier to cut him off and must now navigate their way though the time period where they end up at a soup kitchen run by a woman named Edith Keller. Which Edith is an excellent character. She’s kind, optimistic, charming, hard-working, ad caring towards those who need it. Kirk ends up falling for her, and... it’s legit really cute. Kirk isn’t being forced to make out with a woman or doing so for information. We see how Kirk is when he genunely likes someone, having been drawn to Edith’s optimism and hopes for a better future. A future that he is from and knows will be reality. He’s really sweet and it’s just cute... which makes what happens at the end all the more tragic.

The 1930’s were fun with Kirk trying to come up with an excuse for Spock’s ears having me dying from laughter. The acting was excellent with DeForest Kelley as drugged!Bones especially being both crazy and scary. I quit doubting that he played villains in Westerns after this episode, haha. But of course Spock soon discovers that the change that McCoy is to make is saving Edith form death, and in doing so she leads a pacifist campaign that delays America’s entry into World War II and... well, things go badly. They are in a time where sadly optimism and peace are simply not options, which is even crueler. In order for time to be restored, they have to let Edith die. Kirk is horrified by this and when the time comes (sidenote, the Triumvirate reunion is utterly adorable), he just grabs Bones, keeps his back turned, and can only listen as Edith screams and is killed via car colission. Whatever grievances I have about William Shatner, he absoluteley nailed Kirk’s utter heartbreak and pain as Kirk just looks utterly boken. His final wordds after they return to the 23rd Century simply being a bitter “Let’s get the Hell out of here” sums it all up perfectly. Bones’ horror at it, especially since he DID have to watch it and him being upset at Kirk is also heartbreaking as he asks him if he knows what he just did. Spock can only somberly inform him that yes, he does.

It’s one of those cases where I wish serialization was more of a thign cause DAMN this is some major emotional baggage for everyone but as per usual. It happens and they go on from there with no lingering development. I guess if I had to complain, that would be it but that’s jut the nature of these shows at the time. Kind of feel like Bones getting as bady overdosed as he did pretty much got forgotten after they enter the 1930’s, but I also know nothing about 23rd Century drugs so... ah well. But the rest of the episode is so good that I can forgive those issues and they clealry did nothing to impact the placing. It had a storgn story, great emotion, great acting, great pacing, and a heartbreaking but fitting ending. The episode has a LOT of history behind it’s making that could be a post all it’s own, but no mater how this episode came to be, it is very much the best of Star Trek TOS. It was fun yet sad and had me gripped form beginning to ed and just htinkign about it now still makes me sad. Thus, it earns it’s place as my favorite episode of Star Trek TOS.

And we are done! There were a lot of really good episodes and some i REALLY did consider. A Piece of the Action, The Enemy Within (that was skipped for... certian reasons), Is There in Truth No Beauty?, This Side of Paradise, and plenty of others that I enjoyed. There were others I.. well, didn’t, but I can’t recall outright hating anything. Regardless I came in apathetic at best, and I left a fan for it’s characters, interesting ideas, and I just had a lot of fun. It’s outdated in many ways, but still relevant in others. Overall, I’m glad to have finally watched it, and I hope that I enjoy TNG just as much. But if not, I’ll always have this~!

(Image Source: TrekCore TOS Gallery)

[kissofgallifrey]

How Disney Failed DuckTales | Opinion

Over the last couple of days, I’ve seen a lot of talk (mostly on “TV news” sites) about how DuckTales ratings were down and not living up to what Disney expected and a whole lot of nonsense like that. Now, I’m not saying it’s not true; I honestly don’t know (and I’ve literally spent the past half hour trying to find the ratings). I’m saying that if it is true, it’s Disney’s fault.

It’s so hard for me to write all this because I practically worshipped Disney most of my life. I grew up watching Disney movies and then Disney Channel shows; most of what I remember from the first 12+ years of my life (in terms of TV and film) is Disney. I think I’ve watched most of the Disney films and shows that came out anytime between 1990 and 2010. Seriously. Disney is more or less ingrained into my DNA.

But the truth needs to be said. Disney failed DuckTales.

I’m not talking about season 3, because I understand that was intentional (although that still says something about lack of proper organisation). I’m talking about the first two seasons. And to be more specific, I’m talking about how inconsistently those two seasons aired.

I’ve said it quite a bit after season 1 started, because it made no sense and it infuriated me. Disney spent a lot of time and money promoting the show, particularly before the opening two-parter. The couple of weeks before it aired, there were so many interviews and events and takeovers, it looked like they’re preparing their new lead animated show. Then we had a break we knew was coming (they announced in advance it’s going to start a few weeks after the special), and then for a few weeks we got an episode every week, just as you’d expect it.

And that’s roughly when Disney’s programming stopped making sense, at least as far as DuckTales goes.

To be honest, I thought waiting for your show to return from a hiatus following a cliffhanger was the second worst thing in the realm of TV (having your show cancelled on a cliffhanger being the worst thing, of course). In 2017, Disney taught me there was worse than that. Because you could be waiting for your show to return from a hiatus, not knowing how long it’ll take for it to return, how many episodes you’re going to get when it does, and how long a hiatus you’ll have after the few episodes you’ll get then.

When it happened the first time, after 1x08 (The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra), it made little sense, but it was near holiday hiatus (I will never understand American programming), so it could be argued it had something to do with that. Then in December we got an episode after about a month without any news, and again, Disney went silent. It took five very long months for DuckTales to come back. Five months without a word. Not a clue about when it returns or how long for. It was then that it moved from Disney XD to Disney Channel.

For basically the second half of season 1, it seemed like they’ve finally decided about what to do with DuckTales. The Disney Channel move was doing DuckTales good: the ratings were up, season 3 was announced before season 2 had even premiered, it aired more-or-less regularly and the fans were thrilled. Obviously, so was Disney.

Naturally, when season 2 started, about a month after that announcement, the mood was still high. Why wouldn’t it be? The season one arc was amazing, the finale was done spectacularly well, the show was finally in its rightful place on Disney Channel and we had a season 3 announcement already. Seriously, what’s not to be happy about?

And then they started playing the same game they did with season 1. Six episodes in, a supposedly-holidays-break. I say supposedly because holidays breaks tend to start in December and end in January. Not in March. Then an episode in March. Then two more months of waiting, not knowing when it’ll be back. Then suddenly it’s a daily show for a week and a half, and just as you start to think you’re finally getting to see the rest of the season, they take another 3.5 months break. The final 8 episodes get aired over two weeks in September, nearly a year after the season premiere aired.

Now, let me ask you something. Can you really be surprised if the ratings are down after this sort of programming?

I’m not a TV expert, not by a long shot. But it doesn’t take expertise to know this is really bad programming. All it takes is common sense. The whole American half-season-hiatus-half-season model is already frustrating enough as it is, but I get that that’s how it is. But what happened with DuckTales wasn’t even it. It looked more like Disney execs were throwing darts at a board with shows’ names on it than an actual, pre-built schedule. Seriously.

And all of this? Just true for the States. The rest of the world got it even more erratically than that nightmare. Disney+ hasn’t been up to date with anything either; as of May 2020, Disney+ UK (since that’s where I am) only had season 1 on (apparently they’ve got two now; nice to see they finally caught up with Disney+ US). And season 3? Well, so far it seems it’s been basically impossible to follow it legally in quite a few countries. US probably included.

So if the ratings are down, I think the only people to blame here are Disney. There’s only so much you can do as a fan when your gets pushed around and you haven’t a clue when you might get to see it again. I suspect ratings would be significantly higher if you included the people who watch it only when the season ends because they’re sick of this game, but... what do I know?

*I’ve seen a lot of talk online (in fan areas) saying it’s not really a ratings issue, but it’s because Disney doesn’t want to pay for more than 3 seasons of a show. They make up a ratings issue, but the real reason. IMO it’s more than likely, but I honestly don't know. But if that’s the truth and it’s their pattern... well, I absolutely agree with this comment in that respect; it’s a real issue. You can’t expect people to get invested knowing a show will be taken away from them two or three years later. It might work with kids, but in shows meant for adults as well... it just doesn’t work. And the DuckTales team said they’re appealing to viewers of the original show and to younger viewers alike from day one. That was literally half their promotion. So if that’s the case, this is something they should’v considered. Because... really, Disney, you're only damaging yourself when you’re doing that.

[blumeisms]

rules: pick  five  shows,  then  answer  the  following  questions.  don’t cheat.  tag  some  people. tagged by: @viceprone 🤪 tagging: @outoftheashcs, @notsogeniusgirls, @shadowyavuz and anyone else who feels like doing it!

1.  Charmed 2.  New Girl 3.  Big Little Lies 4.  Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 5.  Stranger Things

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER IN 2? nick miller always. i see to much of myself in him because he’s anti-social, a bit miserable, cynical and a complete old fogey. i am all of these things lmfao. that being said, i absolutely love winston too. it’s really hard for me to pick favourites lmao.

WHO IS YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE CHARACTER IN 1? billie. worst fuckin character ever. i can’t. no further explanation is needed.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE EPISODE OF 4? “getting over jeff” mainly because paula sings about the first penis she saw and that song never fails to make me cackle.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SEASON OF 5? hmmm probably season 2 I think. badass babysitter steve protecting the kids will forever be my fave. also poor bob. 

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE COUPLE IN 3? ehhh none really. i thought jane could’ve had something cute with the guy who owns the coffee shop in season one but he just completely fucking disappeared in season two lmao. madeline and ed have a funny dynamic, but i wouldn’t say they’re my fave couple bcos she cheated on him (with santiago cabrera and who fucking wouldn’t?????). i don’t feel like there are any healthy couples in big little lies tbh lmao.

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE COUPLE IN 2?   listen i love nick and jess and they have the whole grumpy ass meets literal ray of sunshine and i love it. but i also love winston and aly. i can’t pick because i’m too indecisive.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE EPISODE OF 5? the one with badass babysitter steve and the demodogs in seadon two. the season three finale was pretty good too.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SEASON OF 2?   idk, i’m rewatching it atm so i’ll say season one. it’s the one i actually remember most of.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU WATCHED 1?   a looong time. i watched it a little when i was a kid - i remember every saturday when i went to my granny’s she would have it on. i don’t think i really understood it much then tbh but i loved the fact they were witches. there are reruns on tv all the time now and i’m in the process of rewatching it all from the start but i’m slow af.

HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN 3?   i think my auntie told me to watch it? i’m shit at taking tv shows recs from people and it took me ages to watch but one day i was off work sick and i binge watched all of season one in one day. 

WHICH DO YOU PREFER, 1, 2, OR 5?   charmed trash forever lmao.

WHICH SHOW HAVE YOU SEEN MORE EPISODES OF - 1 OR 3?   charmed because there are more episodes of it than big little lies.

IF YOU COULD BE ANYONE FROM 4, WHO WOULD YOU BE?   oooh, that’s hard. probably heather because she’s by far the coolest.

PAIR TWO CHARACTERS IN 1 WHO WOULD MAKE AN UNLIKELY BUT STRANGELY OKAY COUPLE? okay, i saw something where someone had paired up prue and cole and i could sort of see it??? idk they were both v opinionated and feisty and they had that one ep where they went back in time to save phoebe and actually worked together. also, even though they were an actual couple on the show for a while, i loved piper and dan. soz.

OVERALL, WHICH SHOW HAS A BETTER STORYLINE, 3 OR 5?   i love both but big little lies is better plot-wise imo. so many good twists.

WHICH HAS BETTER THEME MUSIC, 2 OR 4? omg that’s so hard - both are great. i think crazy ex gf just about snags it though because they’re so creative with the music on that show.

[neverwatchedonepiece]

611-612: "A Small Dragon! Momonosuke Appears!" and "A Deadly Fight in a Blizzard! the Straw Hats vs. the Snow Woman!"

Caesar’s Minion: “Wait... Didn’t Vegapunk leave a man made Devil Fruit here.”

Felt the pace across this pair of episodes was a bit slower. Not a problem, though, because all the loose ends must be tied up. To to this, all plot threads must be lovingly prepared and set in place before the final, arc-ending knot is tied.

So far, Oda’s been great at that, so I’m not worried. Even if some threads are left loose, they’ll just be woven into a future plot because he planned it that way. At least Momonosuke, the last outstanding plot point, has finally wound his way onto the stage. All that remains are those elusive sea prism stone cuffs.

But there was one Huge Reveal here...

MAN MADE DEVIL FRUITS.

THEY ARE A THING.

WTF?

Your Dad Talked Through His Farts

I loved this weird little meeting between Luffy and Momonosuke.

Luffy worked on his past experience with talking dragons on Punk Hazard. First, he thought  Momonosuke would be edible (nooooooooo!) Then, he figured the child’s voice was coming from someone who was stuck on the dragon’s body and maybe Momonosuke was talking with his farts.

“How rude!”  Momonosuke seethed. These samurai are very proper people, Luffy. Gotta show some class around them, I guess.

Then little  Momonosuke’s tummy rumbled and Luffy realised the dragon kid was starving. That was sad. Instant empathy for dragon child right there.

But Momonosuke was a samurai child. They did not get hungry after only ten days of fasting. (Only ten.)  He asked who Luffy was and why he was there. When Luffy introduced himself, Momonosuke didn’t think he could be a pirate, as pirates were “all big, heavyweight men. More violent and strong-looking.”

I guess he is from an isolated island and has never seen Buggy the Clown and Galdino: the Dream Team.

Once they talked a bit more, Momonosuke said he wanted to get out of the garbage dump to help save the kids trapped in the labs. Why? He overheard Caesar saying something shocking.

On the kidnap ship bound for Punk Hazard, the other kids tried to make friends with shadowy Momonosuke. But he was a samurai type and didn’t appreciate their attempts to “give alms”. Crucially, this meant Momonosuke did not take any of the candy Caesar and Monet offered. (Nice one, Momonosuke.) In fact, he escaped and wandered the lab corridors, looking for an exit, because he had something he needed to do in his home land.

He happened to wander into the Secret Room (that everyone knows about, lol). Starving, he spotted a suspicious looking fruit in a glass cabinet. He took one look at it, smashed the glass and scoffed the fruit.

I knew it was a Devil Fruit. It was purple and had those spots on it. But I was not prepared for what Caesar’s minions would reveal.  It was a Man Made Devi Fruit constructed by none other than Vegapunk himself! The minions heard it was a failure. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, as Momonosuke morphed into a dragon, freaked out and scarpered. Maybe like Caesar’s drug, the man made DFs only work on kids? Or Caesar was lying about the fruit being a failure (seems more likely, knowing Caesar).

But... this is huge.

Man made Devil Fruits. This could turn the whole power structure of the OPverse upside down. Rich pirates could demand and receive whatever power they want. Hell, the WG could have whatever power they wanted at their disposal.

I imagine a man made Devil Fruit could go pretty wrong too. Maybe some wicked side-effects.

Caesar has some world-shattering stuff in that lab. Now I get why he has such a great booze collection. He’s probably swimming in cash from Doflamingo, who is the one who’s managed to secure his services.

And now I know what you guys were talking about when you said to look at the texture of the fruits.  Momonosuke’s man made fruit was SMOOTH. The true Devil Fruit, the one Smiley had eaten, was swirly and textured.

Luffy listened to Momonosuke’s fruit tale and was like, “You’re a Zoan type. Why don’t you just change back?”

Momonosuke didn’t know he could do that. (Maybe he can’t with the man made type?) Still, it wasn’t a priority. He had to get out to tell the other kids what he’d heard.

Caesar Makes People So Angry They Morph Into Popeye

As Momonosuke was skulking about in his new dragon form, he walked past an open door and heart Caesar and Monet talking. 

“We have another group of obedient kids. The others are growing bigger without problem. But after all, this is an experiment to see the limitations of drug dosing. I don’t think they can take it that long. I assume they’ll all be dead in five years.”

“So we’ll need more kids?” Monet asked.

“Well, experiments come with failures. It’s a necessary sacrifice. Those stupid kids can help the world’s greatest scientist and do good for the world. Even if it’s a short life, they have to be happy with it.”

Holy. Moly.

Those poor kids. It’s lucky Chopper and Nami met them when they did. Hopefully, Chopper will help them get off the drugs and they’ll be well enough to go home. I wonder about the giant kids, though. Will they be giant all their lives? Probably.

Flash forward again and Momonosuke finished his tale. All he wanted to do was save the other kids. He thought Caesar was a doctor but he was a bad man who would let kids die. Momonosuke was on his way to save the kids but fell into the trash heap. It would be a disgrace to his honour as a warrior to not help them.

Luffy’s eyes were shaded. You know when that happens, he is maaaaaaaad.

He decided to climb out of the garbage dump and take Momonosuke with him.

Luckily, he didn’t have to climb anything. Momonosuke had a weird, triggering moment when Luffy said, “Stay with me...” which unleashed a Goku/Monkey style golden cloud power. (Everyone knows from DB and Monkey that you can walk on golden clouds. “Born from an egg on a mountain top. Funkiest Monkey that ever rocked. If you’ve never watched that show, hook yourself up with an episode. It’s hilarious.)

The luck, alas, did not last. Momonosuke came to his senses and they fell back down into the heap. At least Luffy is stretchy, right?

BREAKING NEWS: Caesar Sets Morality Bar Even Lower!

Meanwhile, Caesar had kicked back in his lab, waiting for the bottleneck gas chamber carnage to unfold. Little Mocha was tearing away from the other kids, who wanted to attack her for the candy.

Naturally, she was distraught. The people she had thought were so nice: Caesar and Monet, turned out to be the worst pieces of actual shit ever.

The flashback of Caesar from Mocha’s point of view actually made my jaw drop.

Every time I think, surely Caesar can’t sink any lower? No, it’s not possible.

In true scientist fashion, Caesar continues to push the boundaries of possibility.

Mocha was one of the first kids to be transported to Punk Hazard, including the blonde kid who’s name I forgot. (Sorry, blonde kid.)

Caesar came to meet them personally when they arrived. He ramped up the charm and faux-concern, of course. “I’m glad that you made it! Good to see you. My name is Caesar Clown. Call me Master. (First red flag right there, imo.) You two are a part of my first generation of patients. I’m looking forward to working with you.” Brief interruption for a hug. I cannot believe he even hugged those kids. He is such a SNAAKE. xD  “I bet you were scared and worried when you heard you were sick out of the blue. But everything is okay now. You don’t have to worry about anything. I will treat you at any cost!” (Technically true but, kids, you will not like the treatment.)

Then he dropped the bomb that actually made me gasp.

“To tell you the truth, I lost my only son to this disease. I never want to see another child suffer from it. I don’t want to see another parent lost their child and have to grieve like me! Oh... Oh, I’m sorry. How embarrassing. I shouldn’t cry in front of you.”

I just... 

I can’t even.

I mean, Caesar is a great villain and all, but damn, Oda,  that is low.

The morality bar has not only been lowered. It is buckling under the sheer weight of Caesar’s evilness and will snap at any moment.

Why Has Zoro Not Yet Kicked Ass and Taken Names?

Monet pretty much said what I’m thinking right now. She wasn’t sure she could beat Zoro: a swordsman who uses Armament Haki trained by Dracule Mihawk himself. But for some reason, Zoro hasn’t made a move. All he’s done is parry and protect the other Strawhats.

Then again, it is a dangerous environment with a lot of friendly fire concerns. 

The Biscuit Room has devolved into a freaking riot. There are crack-candy addicted kids charging about. Mocha, the one kid who is off the candy, is an ally, so they need to be extra careful around her. Sure, they’re not in the Biscuit Room any longer, but collateral from the fight could take them out. Sanji and his G5 army of fans have appeared. Nami, Robin and Chopper are still around and have been sealed in the room by Monet’s ice wall. 

Plus, Monet is no slouch. She has some blade skills and a good logia fruit to boot.

Nami could be an asset in this fight. The Heat Egg attack has been the only one that’s really put the hurt on Monet so far. (Zoro, use that haki please.) If Nami could power up a strong heat attack, she could take out Monet.

I loved it when Monet was monologuing, debating with Chopper about her being responsible for the kids. Who planted that rebellious spirit in Mocha’s mind? Then Zoro mercilessly cut her short. He does not respect villain speeches. xD

Monet called out the Strawhats for acting like pirates. “Every day we treat the children nicely and allow them to live in great comfort. What you people are trying to do is take away these treasures from us foster parents. You people are like pirates.”

Laying aside the awful issue of gaslighting children,  experimenting on them and claiming you are anything like a foster parent (that could be an entire post in itself), Zoro’s reply was ice cold and straight to the point.

“So you have no problem with it, right?”

There’s the awesome main-character grey morality again. I really do love that about One Piece. Zoro is like Luffy in that regard. The Strawhats are pirates. They will “kidnap” kids if they have to. Though this time, the Strawhats are on the right side of the moral divide. They’re counter-kidnapping the kids to return them to their parents.

But Zoro had better hurry up and make that move against Monet if he wants it to happen any time soon.

The G5′s Grand Entrance

And I totally was not expecting a comedy gold moment to interrupt a boss battle.

Just as things were getting serious, Zoro heard the sound of Sanji’s voice in the distance. Obviously, this turned Zoro’s head and he was greeted with the sight of Sanji leading a charge of G5 soldiers.

“WHY ARE YOU LEADING THEM?” Zoro yelled.

“Oh, there’s Zoro!” Sanji shouted. “Alright guys, stick out your lower lip and make fun of him.” xD

But Zoro knows Sanji inside out, so he said, “Oi, Nami and Robin went that way.”

Unfortunately, Monet, the feathered siren, proved a distraction. Monet’s flirtatiousness is a big part of her character (she flirted with Law and Luffy for fun). It must be pretty lonely being stuck in Punk Hazard with Caesar, so it made sense that she enjoyed the attention for half a second before getting back to business.

She burned through a couple of fodders with her Ice Form (freezing and biting a chunk out of one’s shoulder was savage).

Then Tashigi made *her* grand entrance.

And she can use haki.

That was a revelation.

She has always been several steps behind Zoro. Teaming up with him to take down a villain might boost her confidence. I sure hope so, anyway.

Meanwhile...

Usopp, Foxfire and Brook (or should I say “Corpse-dono”) are still charging about, hunting for sea prism stone cuffs. Shinokuni gas is now following them, so they’ll be caught up in Caesar’s bottleneck gas chamber plan.

I’m guessing that’s where they’ll find the cuffs. If Tashigi and the G5 also end up there, Usopp could pilfer or borrow some cuffs from her. I’m just assuming captain-level Marines carry cuffs on them here. The fact Usopp willingly initiated a “let’s split up” plan and offered to work alone was pretty brave of him. Usopp definitely has got stronger and more confident in his abilities.

Must also say there was some really nice art in the Smoker vs Vergo short update in episode 611. Not an artist myself, so I don’t tend to notice or be very good at critiquing these sorts of things. But even I noticed the quality this time. Good job, whichever team worked on it. :)

There goes the morality bar again, slip slidin’ right into hell...

[latinalesbi]

Bradley and Peter admitted they knew in October re cancellation and spinoff. Awkward chat on the tv insider podcast. You were right!! Poor Sherri et al still pushing for season 6 back then. It was all money related apparently.

I keep losing the replies to these questions. I am going to probably be brief.

Yeah, these guys are liars. And it breaks my heart to think of Sherri still trying to get this renewed in January. They were committed to the show and I am happy to see them working because their talent was too good for all involved.

Anonymous said:                                                                      I’m excited for the eps the moms will be in. I haven’t watched the spinoff so far so i have no real context re storylines but I don’t care, just to see them back will be awesome. Maybe certain people will realise just how great and missed they are 😜            

I mean, I am not one who thinks that anything we do will bring them back more often or at all. But yes, I look forward to them being on and getting any kind of recognition. They deserve it. The problem I fear is that they have probably shared the best scenes. All we are going to be left with is the moms propping up this shitty cast. I think they will especially be targeted to prop up the new lesbian icon.

Anonymous said:                                                                      Why wasn’t Freeform and the producers of the Fosters not called out for the blatant ageism that took place? Older women clearly not welcome on the network even though their characters probably had more effect socially than anything else they produced. The Stef and Lena characters were groundbreaking imo. There was no reason for the cancellation as the ratings were good. The network won’t survive much longer with whomever makes the decisions in charge.    

It was blatant, and I tried to point that out. I read recently that Gen Xers are ignored by media, so this would def. fit that narrative. We are silenced. Stef and Lena were absolutely groundbreaking and for a couple to be the lead, married, solid for 5 years. You aren’t going to see that for a long time. Freeform is in a freedive to hell. No one there can run a business. The thing about Stef and Lena is that they were so socially relevant that they hit the nail on the head. Since then, they’ve been trying to be socially relevant and they just are pathetic doing it. Trying so hard, ticking all the boxes. 

Anonymous said:                                                                      Upsetting your fan base that you took five years to build up was never going to be a sensible idea. Then in promoting your new show you dismiss your old show by making it sound like it was for children. Madness.      

Absolute madness, where do they think they were going to get an audience? They had a base, but they just insulted everyone. Idiots.

Anonymous said:                                                                      I watched an interview Maia and Cierra did on KTLA re GT- They basically admitted they knew before it was going to happen ‘ we had an idea’ ‘we knew it was in the works’ ‘the opportunity had popped up’ lol… all the lies we were told this time last year, it’s funny now. The creators have been the same too. They just handled the whole thing so badly, was it worth it considering how their ratings are tanking - I’m sure they’ll put a ‘spin’ on it but nope!   

More proof. People doubted me when I said it but basically they were planning it from late summer, then they signed deals in October. Sherri is still tweeting about renewal in January, while the cows had stopped doing so. Then came both news and they announced it in the worst possible way. I hate them. I am glad it’s not looking good. Freeform has released a press release for every premiere this year, not for GT. There is nothing they can spin to look good. And they would if they could. Yesterday showed the precious demo dropping again, 12%. Awful.

Anonymous said:                                                                      Hypothetical question but if and it’s a big if GT gets cancelled (don’t think it will as it would be a big dud for Freeform) I wonder if the producers would regret having started the whole thing. I guess it’s a business at the end of the day and they get paid but all the sh*t it caused and still is they must have been affected by it I think. They had a lovely little fandom in comparison to other shows and they kinda ruined it. There is still so much animosity a year on from the decision. 

I think Freeform already has regrets about Noah. They should have signed him when they had the chance. They really hung their coats on the worst of the cast. Idiots. The producers won’t ever admit it. According to Joanna, I am not really gay, Johnson, working with the judge actor is the highlight of her career. Ok girl. Yeah our fandom was nice and small but active. GT can’t get GT trending at all. Not top 20 nationally, nothing.

Anonymous said:                                                                      The Fosters ratings were always good for Freeform that’s why it was so weird the cancelled it. They were always so stable. For a network struggling it was a strange thing to do. I’ve heard money was an issue, but apart from the casts wages they didn’t seem to spend anywhere near as much as they have done on the spinoff. Look at the director they chose for the pilot. Do Freeform hate family dramas that much?        

I think part of it was that Freeform didn’t own the show so they didn’t get as much money. The other part was that it was on Netflix, they didn’t have a deal with Hulu and it seems Freeform is exclusively on Hulu. They dumped us and shadowhunters, which was also on Netflix. I think that they would eat the loss if it meant the ratings and critics favor that the Fosters generated. But it’s clear, whoever runs freeform doesn’t know anything at all.

Anonymous said:                                                                      They can’t spin those ratings, they are sooo bad. All the money they spent on promotion I got sick of seeing it. Will people really not watch the moms episodes live do you think? I’m torn, I don’t want to give the show ratings considering how they treated the rest of the cast but I also want the ratings to go up to say ‘see look what you lost getting rid of the moms’ I have seen that those who have had advanced previews of the first 5 ep’s of Good Trouble says the moms episode is the best!!!!   

The ratings are so bad. And they spent tons on promotion. I think it doesn’t hurt the moms but if it goes up, it’s good things for Sherri and Teri. I am sure when they come in, they will give the show heart and then when they’re gone it will go.

Anonymous said:                                                                      Hated it too how they belittle The Fosters. If FF were so willingly to give them free reign for GT why not The Fosters. You chose the storylines. Instead we had repetitive Callie getting in trouble whilst trying to save the world-yawn! Weirdly the tweet that pissed me off was back in Dec, Joanna- Smthg along the lines of ‘didn’t think I could love a cast more than the Fosters but I do’ -you worked with those people, ur family for 5seasons you’ve been with those people a few months -fickle as f! 

Yeah, it sucks that they have chosen to bad mouth the fosters. It’s not helping them. There’s no need to do that. I think it just shows how all of them hated writing for Stef and Lena. Joanna is a traitor and a liar. No wonder she’s in such a frigid marriage. I don’t think it’s being fickle though, it’s more like fake. They haven’t worked for long and already a family. You want to hear Hollywood honesty? Listen to Teri and Sherri. Sherri will tell you that she didn’t know what to do with Teri for a long time, then it was like. bam, forever love.

Anonymous said:                                                                      I made an effort to watch the first good trouble episode but honestly made literally no effort to watch the second. I might watch it, if there’s nothing on tv that sounds good, but I’m not exactly planning on it.             

I am like on a forever boycott of Freeform. So, yeah, I would rather watch youtube than Freeform.

[chuckaf]

so, basically, i've been watching chuck and the end of the show (like what happens to sarah) just got spoiled for me i actually can't deal that they did that to her character and i feel like i'm going through my own breakup!!!! i'm actually devastated about it. is it worth it to keep watching through S5 or will that lead to more heartache?

Oh noooo! I’m so sorry you got spoiled, that’s the worst! Although, it’s probably hard to avoid spoilers for a six year old finale, and my blog is hardly spoiler free for it, so I probably didn’t help matters lol.

But yes!! It’s definitely worth watching the rest of the show, imo. I’m not sure where you are in it right now having learnt this, but I guarantee you there’s some goodness coming your way (unless you’re at the last three episodes, but eh). That whole It’s Not The Destination But The Journey spiel is super cliche, but it honestly fits with Chuck– you might like where you end up, you might not, but getting there is totally fun, with spies and nerds and cuteness along the way.In the end, though, it’s up to you. I mean, some people hate the finale, some people hate the whole of season 5, some people even think the show should’ve ended after season 2– which seems bizarre to me, but you do you, I guess. My sister got me into the show four years ago and she still hasn’t finished it, I’ve watched the last two episodes like ten times. We all just like stuff differently.

I’m not saying you’ll love the finale, and I’m definitely not saying there might not be some heartache involved– it was kinda devastating to me too, when I first watched it, and still kinda is lol. But as I’ve said before, to me, the ending has always been hopeful and optimistic, just like the show is, and I’m not someone who denies that it ever took place. It was tough, it sucked, but it also reminded me of how good those five years were, of how far everyone came, and brought the show to a heartfelt, if utterly heartwrenching, conclusion. (And actually, objectively, I really like the finale, lol, there’s some imagery and parallels I totally dig I just wish they also weren’t making me cry)

Like I said, it’s your choice, but I’d say it’s worth it. Feel free to come back and yell at me if you finish it and feel otherwise, though 😉