#god we are so SO lucky to have him as our showrunner

[xoxoemynn]

Dad is retweeting everyone's OFMD ink over on Twitter and it's reminding me of Stede flying all the crew's flags and it's making me feel very 🥹.

PERMANENT INK!!!!

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The Giggle - Part Three

From Entertainment Weekly (Dec 2023 by Clark Collis):

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies tells EW that the American actor was completely unfamiliar with the beloved science fiction series when the executive producer approached Harris about playing a villain called The Toymaker on this Saturday's final 60th anniversary special episode, "The Giggle." "He’d never heard of it in his life, bless him," Davies says with a laugh. "I was lucky enough to work with the great man on a show called It’s a Sin, about the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and working with him was such a joy. The Toymaker, he's kind of the god of games, so he shuffles cards, he does magic tricks, and all of that fits Neil Patrick Harris. If you go through agents, they often tell you to go away. I was able to send just a text saying, 'Do you fancy reading this?' He read it and literally phoned me up going, 'Let me get this right, so the Doctor’s an alien, right?' I was like, 'Oh my god, you really have never heard of Doctor Who!' But he couldn’t resist it, and he came to Cardiff, and we had the most spectacular time." Davies explains that, "it's very hard to find the villain who can match David Tennant and Catherine Tate. To have a character who can be in danger of defeating those two is very hard to find. Sometimes on Doctor Who, you need armies of a thousand robots who could do that. This is just one person, so casting them was absolutely crucial and this becomes a pivotal event in the Doctor’s life. We needed that man, and, god, we had a glorious time. It’s so lovely working with Neil. When I text him now, [we ask], what’s our third project together? We’ve got to keep going!"

With huge thanks to all who shared set photos (including @TomWrenPhoto on Twitter)

For other posts in this set, please see the #whoBtsGiggle tag. The full episode list is [ here ]

[fluffywolverine]

percy jackson tv show airs tomorrow.

it's been 3,5 years since the announcement. 3,5 years of waiting. we were getting scraps of information - that it will be developed by disney+, who the showrunners will be.

2020 turned to 2021. still waiting.

then 2022 came. we saw percy for the first time and we loved him immidiately. then we got more and more. annabeth, grover, other campers. the gods.

we got the first teaser trailer. it showed us barely nothing, but we couldn't have been happier. it showed camp half-blood. it felt like home.

2022 turned to 2023. still waiting.

we got another teasers. a full trailer, which finally showed us more, which made the anticipation even more anxious. we had our doubts, but we were hopefull.

the release date dropped. we feared we'll have to wait till 2024, but it seemed like the christmas came early - quite literally, 20th december to be precise.

the actors strike was long, we were sad and angry we might not see our precious, wonderful actors promoting something they loved so much. but the studios bowed to the creators. actors won. we all won.

2023 almost came to an end. november, the last month ever without percy jackson tv show, ended. still waiting.

and then december started. we got posters, clips, photos. so much content we craved for when the only thing we had was an announcement. we were suddenly spoiled with so much content, that we weren't even able to see everything.

the nyc premiere took place. first reviews came. the critics approved it. the lucky fans, who saw the first episodes, loved it. we were ecstatic.

and suddenly it's december 19th. the wait is almost over.

percy jackson tv show airs tomorrow.

so prepare your camp half-blood t-shirts. wear your beat necklaces with pride. have some blue snacks. celebrate the way you want.

rejoice, demigods, this is our time. we made it.

[denimbex1986]

'Call it How Neil Patrick Harris Met Your Favorite British Time Travel Show.

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies tells EW that the American actor was completely unfamiliar with the beloved science fiction series when the executive producer approached Harris about playing a villain called The Toymaker on this Saturday's final 60th anniversary special episode, "The Giggle."

"He’d never heard of it in his life, bless him," Davies says with a laugh. "I was lucky enough to work with the great man on a show called It’s a Sin, about the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and working with him was such a joy. The Toymaker, he's kind of the god of games, so he shuffles cards, he does magic tricks, and all of that fits Neil Patrick Harris. If you go through agents, they often tell you to go away. I was able to send just a text saying, 'Do you fancy reading this?' He read it and literally phoned me up going, 'Let me get this right, so the Doctor’s an alien, right?' I was like, 'Oh my god, you really have never heard of Doctor Who!' But he couldn’t resist it, and he came to Cardiff, and we had the most spectacular time."

The Toymaker first appeared on the show back in the '60s, when the character was portrayed by Michael Gough and the Doctor was played by William Hartnell. This time around, Harris' villain will face off against David Tennant and Catherine Tate, who are reprising their respective roles of the Doctor and Donna Noble for the three anniversary episodes after many years away from the show. Davies explains that, "it's very hard to find the villain who can match David Tennant and Catherine Tate. To have a character who can be in danger of defeating those two is very hard to find. Sometimes on Doctor Who, you need armies of a thousand robots who could do that. This is just one person, so casting them was absolutely crucial and this becomes a pivotal event in the Doctor’s life. We needed that man, and, god, we had a glorious time. It’s so lovely working with Neil. When I text him now, [we ask], what’s our third project together? We’ve got to keep going!"

Tennant agrees that Davies made the right choice in casting Harris as the episode's villain.

"Oh, he’s good," the actor says. "I don’t quite know if he knew what to expect, but he dived in with such gusto and brio. This part requires a lot of skill sets and Neil turns up with them all. I don’t want to give away too much about what might be required of the Toymaker, but you need a sort of an all-round entertainer to play that part and a very good actor, so there aren’t a lot of people who could have ticked all the boxes required. We were really excited when Neil said 'yes,' and actually it’s impossible to imagine who else it might have been. He’s a sort of theater animal, so he’s got that bit of graft about him that my Scottish Presbyterian soul rather enjoys being around. And he’s got a twinkle in his eye, which is sort of the combination of elements that you need for Doctor Who, I think."'

[whatyoufish4]

Episode 1 - “Glorious Purpose”

“Do a lot of people not know if they’re robots?”

Here’s the thing about being a fan of MCU!Loki (and, really, about many of the MCU’s characters) -- we have to keep getting lucky with the creative teams.

I’ve mentioned before that I didn’t really take notice of Loki until The Dark World, and my love of the character was sort of exponentially grown by both Ragnarok (and arguably Infinity War, in its weird way), as well as by Ewing and Garbett’s comics run on Agent of Asgard. I know of loads of fans, though, who love Loki best in his Avengers 1 appearance, or who loved him from his first appearance in Thor 1 -- and their mileage varies on their feelings towards The Dark World and, especially, Ragnarok.

And -- without getting too far side-tracked -- this makes sense, to me. While there have been some repeat writers on the Thor movies, Loki has been written by numerous people -- and the director of every Thor movie (as well as Avengers 1) has been a different person. It’s almost inevitable that every Loki fan is going to find some Stories better representations of “Their” Loki than others, because, hey -- what’re the odds that that new writer that comes along is going to write Loki in a way that made the character originally resonate with you? 

I mean, granted, we’ve got one massive asset in our favor, and that’s Loki himself -- Tom Hiddleston. Hiddleston has, I think, worked hard to keep a through-line of logic to Loki; the character may have bounced from Shakespearean Tragedy to Supervillain With Pathos to Snarky Walking Shoulder Chip to Redeeming God of Mischief -- and onward to Heroic Sacrificial Avenger and Trickster Escape Artist -- but Hiddleston’s care and effort and very presence help tie it all together. (Also, there IS a logic to Loki’s ultimate character arc, there really-truly is -- but that’s a whole other post.) Still, the fact remains: if you’re a Loki fan, every next chapter of the character’s story has an element of luck to it. You have to be lucky, as a fan: that you keep getting writers that are not only good writers -- but that can tell a Story with this character that, on some level, resonates with what the character means to you.

All that said?  I was hopeful, with Loki. I’ve never watched Rick and Morty, but the showrunner did at least have a comedy background (and I wanted desperately for Loki to actually get some comedy; he’s the god of Mischief, please let him have some comedy) -- and the showrunner and director Kate Herron both seemed to be invested in the project. Hiddleston was back, of course-of course, but there were other actors I enjoyed showing up (more on that in a minute). Best of all, the trailers looked right up my alley: I liked the time-traveling premise a lot, loved the quirky otherworldliness, the surrealness of it. (I’m a massive Alice in Wonderland fan.) So I had hope.

But I was well aware that, at the end of the day, the writing was either going to be good, or it wasn’t, and so I crossed my fingers and waited.

So I’m so excited to be able to truthfully say that the pilot wasn’t just better than I’d expected -- it was better than I’d hoped for, better than I’d dared to hope for.

One of the things I’ve been saying about my excitement for this series is that, as much as the Thor-and-Loki sibling friendship is my favorite relationship that Loki has in his life -- I was super-intrigued to see more about who Loki is when he’s not around Thor. It wasn’t until I was watching the pilot a second time that I realized that this is also the first time we are really seeing who Loki is when he’s around himself. I mean, we’ve seen glimpses of it, sure -- Loki reading his book for real in his cell when he gets the news about Frigga in TDW is still the moment I point at as the moment I officially became a Loki fan -- but still. Overall, it’s a rare thing.

And in many ways, this episode is all about who Loki is when he’s with himself. Not just in serious moments (like when he’s by himself and watching his own future play out on the TVA recording) -- but in littler aspects. The beginning of the show was almost surreal (we have waited so long, I can’t believe it’s really here, that I’m WATCHING it) -- and man, is it quirky and surreal and weird -- but I was pretty sure they had me hooked when a worried Loki is considering the sensor in front of him and murmuring to himself, “Do a lot of people not know if they’re robots?”  Partly because it made me laugh out loud -- but also because I was so happy. We have not, to my knowledge, ever heard the god of Mischief make a joke almost entirely for his own benefit (I mean, I know the TVA clerk is there -- but Loki is really rather talking to himself). This was the moment Loki became the protagonist, for me, and in a quirky, funny, whistling-in-the-dark surrealist-humor kind of way.

In a weird way, the show almost has to create Loki as a character. Of all of Marvel’s non-main characters, I would argue that Loki is among the strongest of personalities; you know who he is, even averaging 20-30 minutes of screentime at the best of times in the films he’s appeared in. But while he’s had growth and regression and change and arcs -- he’s never been a main character before. That’s something new, and it gives the character a new feel -- while still being Our Loki -- and I was really impressed with that.

... and that may be because Waldron (showrunner Michael Waldron, that is) did something I kind of basically didn’t dare hope for -- he grounded the character in his Story up to this point. Not even just in Thor 1 and Avengers 1, which is all the Story that Loki has lived through up to this point -- but Waldron, kind of surpassing my wildest dreams, is also able to find a way to have Loki experience the rest of his Story, even though it hasn’t happened in his timeline yet. Loki gradually learning the events of TDW, Ragnarok, and Infinity War are a wonderful meta move, because -- while, no, the events haven’t happened to him, he hasn’t experienced them -- he at least knows about them, and has had a visceral emotional reaction to them, and been changed for knowing them, at least to some degree (subsequent episodes will tell us how much). That’s important to me because we, the audience, know about them, too, and completely erasing them in all aspects from this show would make for a kind of cognitive dissonance between the main character and the audience. I was grateful, grateful, to Waldron for making the events of TDW, Ragnarok, and IW matter, even if they weren’t experienced by Loki first-hand. But they’ve impacted him, as they’ve impacted us.

All that isn’t to say that Waldron and Herron don’t put the emphasis on the events of Avengers 1, and Loki’s actions and choices during that film, which is, of course, timeline-wise, the most recent things that have happened to Loki. I honestly expected the show to take up the Ragnarok baton of having Loki redeem himself partly through arcing (the Elevator Scene, choosing to be more, choosing to come back for his people and for Thor), but also partly through re-toning who and what the character is (ask me about the This One Time He Turned Into a Snake story sometime, because I have thoughts about that scene).

Never in a million years did I expect the story to actually interrogate Loki, and flat-out ask him: did you hurt all those people because you enjoyed it?  As much as it’s not what I love about the character, or why I love him -- Avengers 1 is still Loki’s most famous, iconic on-screen appearance, and I give major props to Waldron and Herron for deciding to do something with that, to interrogate the character and get at the heart of why he does what he does. We need to check in with Loki, establish that he doesn’t hurt people for the joy or the pleasure of it, but rather because of what his own twisted philosophy has led him to believe about what it means to have power and courage and choice. This scene -- and his ability to (I think, sincerely, given what he’s seen?  I know it happens fast, but: c’mon, y’all, they only have six episodes to play with) his ability to drop his bravado and his guard and admit honestly that it’s not want but fear that made him choose to be a monster -- is what, I think, opens the door into Loki being able to be, not just a protagonist, but a heroic one.

... and a shout-out goes here to Owen Wilson, who, wow-geez, just COULD not have been a better choice for Mobius than any other actor in the history of Marvelling. I will freely admit some bias here -- I’ve been a fan of Owen Wilson’s since the early 2000s -- but I kind of can’t get over how lucky we are to have him here. Because here’s the thing about Mobius: he’s here to be Loki’s friend. He’s here to be the guy that sees potential in Loki to be something more. And he’s gotta find it and see it at a point in Loki’s timeline when Loki is at his very worst -- when even Thor has given up any hope “of finding my brother still in there somewhere.” He’s also gotta see that hope without coming off as an idiot -- and I appreciated those moments where he uses the time-looping devise to keep Loki from, y’know, punching him in the face, or even when he comes back into the viewing room with a TVA “melt stick” at the ready in case the previously-escaped Loki has designs to do him in. Mobius is not shown as a fool ...

But he’s also incredibly kind and affable, and his patience and compassion with Loki seem genuine. Wilson has always played his characters with a kind of laid-back geniality, and I’ve always enjoyed it -- but here it becomes an incredible strength of this character. I can buy that Mobius is a timeless agent of time, I can buy that he has studied Loki and he knows him ... and I can buy that he is smart enough to be on his guard while also kind enough to approach Loki with empathy. The scenes with Loki watching his history and his future play out in front of him, while being interrogated about who he is and who and what he has chosen to be, don’t work without an interrogator who we feel is on Loki’s side while also not being blindly trusting of him.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the clear fact that they’re doing some version of Agent of Asgard, a Story that is desperately important to me. It’s a version that has different shades to it, of course -- Agent of Asgard’s Loki is trapped by the universe’s perceptions of him, and his perception of himself, while Loki-Series Loki seems trapped by time itself: the timeline happens how it happens because it has to happen that way, and what does that say about choice?  (Indeed, Choice Vs. Fated-Timeline seem like a driving force of the show, thematically -- right up to Loki bitter acknowledging that his once-vaunted boast I am burdened with glorious purpose has become a cold truth that he has existed up to this point to cause suffering and destruction so that those around him can become “the best versions of themselves.”)

Of course, being inspired by Agent of Asgard (right down to thanking Ewing and Garbett in the end credits Marvel at some point you gotta start paying these creators for their ideas tho), the journey of the Story -- and of the character of Loki -- is probably in line with the idea of refusing to fit in the box the universe (or the timeline) wants to stuff you into, because -- as a wise god of thunder once said -- you can choose to be more. Whether or not the streaming series sticks the landing for me the way the Agent of Asgard comic did remains to be seen -- but, for now, I can honestly say I’m pretty psyched to be along for the ride of finding out.

[clio-just-clio]

The Riverdale 102(?)-Day Sprint, Day 9: “Chapter Twenty-Eight: There Will Be Blood”

Soap Opera Blues

Aaaaaand we’re back! Hopefully this “two-episodes-in-a-day” thing is a one-time deal, because no matter how enjoyable I find these episodes... they’re still Riverdale, a pretty bad show. So here we are again! And there’s no need for a recap or deciphering what’s going on this time because we are lucky enough to have an actual contiguous episode for once. So! Let’s see how our heroes will react to hearing that the Register has been bought out by the scheming Hiram Lodge. I’m sure it’ll be a very well thought out plan that makes total sense, even though it was conceived by high schoolers.

* * *

Ugh.

Well, I knew this double-feature had to happen because I missed yesterday, and I thought that given how much I enjoyed the prior episode (relatively speaking), I’d probably not have any issues with this one. How wrong I was for thinking Riverdale is a show with any kind of consistency.

In this episode... things sure do happen. Jughead tries to break the story of Hiram Lodge’s master plan, while Archie completes his transformation to the Dark Side. Also the Blossoms do things, Hermione Lodge becomes mayor, Cheryl laughs at her uncle’s gay joke, and Chic Cooper acts vaguely sinister. I’d go into more detail but I’ve realized it really doesn’t matter, because aside from some jabs at the beginning of the episode this one was a stinker. There’s no internal consistency to characters’ loyalties. In this episode alone Archie is adamant that Veronica stop manipulating him and his father on behalf of Hiram Lodge, yet later in the episode he seems very quick to throw away his reservations and join a blood pact with the Lodge patriarch, even as his father (who he was trying to protect) turns away from the scheming family. Similarly, Jughead’s dad is ride-or-die for Hiram Lodge after he had stopped wanting to tear down their trailer park and evict the Serpents, but then later in the episode he’s suddenly willing to go on-record for Jughead’s hit piece. It’s just such a nothing episode.

So that’s where we are. My biggest challenge isn’t watching the show, it’s finding new things to say about every episode beyond simple observations. It’s so bland while simultaneously having a dozen insane plots happening at once. Aren’t there musical numbers at one point? Who knows. It’s late and I’m tired. This show has bested me once again. But in the end, after this series has been catalogued to death, who will have the last laugh? Probably the showrunners because I stuck to this absolutely pointless project but whatever.

Tomorrow: “Chapter Forty-One: Manhunter”

quick notes

- from the recap: “Chick is a male gigolo, an e-boy” AHAAHHAHAHAHA EVIL E-BOY EVIL E-BOY

- so I know that Hiram Lodge’s eventual plan is to become mayor and unincorporate the town, destroying it (because he does just that), but like... how does that tie in to SoDale? what’s his current plan? can his face get any more punchable? (he is the best character in this show)

- what’s the deal with Mr. Jones? wasn’t he dead at one point? doesn’t he become a sheriff or something? isn’t he a gang leader?

- of course all the parents of the gang hung out together

- why is Betty being like... kind of really weird about Chick? sure he’s a bit odd but he hasn’t done anything antagonistic yet. maybe if you backed off he’d open up to you in his own time, Betty. and yet, she decides to catfish him to extract information. how sisterly

- and Kevin has to be the bait because he’s the only gay guy they know. of course. god this is awkward and badly written

- HA and Hiram Lodge wants Mr. Andrews to be the puppet mayor. sure whatever isn’t he going to die soon?

- as horrible a thing as this is to say, Mr. Andrews should’ve died sooner. Archie’s shtick of being gloomy all the time just doesn’t work because his life is completely perfect – his dad supports him, he has plenty of friends, and he’s popular. that angst he has needs a reason, or else he just seems kind of self-centered

- Hal wants a divorce, definitely not so that he can put more time towards his hobby of serial murder (you’ll see he’s 100% the black hood has to be)

- why are they getting a divorce anyway? something to do with Chick I guess? this is really the first time I’m seeing Hal in a speaking role (besides seeing the Black Hood, who could be a different character but let’s be honest it’s Hal)

- heehee he calls the divorce “setting him free” what a nerd

- wait how did Hiram Lodge and Hermione get back together? weren’t they divorced earlier?

- “If what you’re telling me is true, everyone is in danger [because of Hiram Lodge].” yeah but how?

- is Veronica working with her dad now or what? how is she back on board with him after wanting nothing to do with him in S1? their relationship flip-flops as much as Archie’s tired “will-they-won’t-they” with Betty

- it never stops being hilarious when Betty walks in and sees Chick in her house, and a horror movie sting plays as if it’s a jumpscare... again, this guy has done nothing evil or particularly sinister except be kind of reserved (and also an e-boy); similarly, the spooky exhaling sounds that play as his leitmotif are incredibly funny

- Archie’s best argument against Veronica manipulating him and his dad is him telling her it’s “not cool”. great work Red

- so... the Coopers are related to the Blossoms? and the Blossoms are... inbred? interesting interesting

- Madchen Amick’s half-hearted delivery of this ridiculous line makes it even funnier: “Shut your face, you half-melted ten-cent trollop.”

- SECRET TWIN BROTHER! this really is a soap opera

- and the Blossoms have a curse, that one twin shall die at the other’s hand. this reminds me of something but I can’t quite put my finger on what

- wait Polly references The Farm – so they’re already in play? how? why?

- alright calling it now – Chick is refusing to have his blood tested because he’s not really a Cooper, but is faking it for... some reason

- Mr. Andrews is quite similar to Archie in some ways, mostly in how he’s apparently utterly clueless and can be easily swayed one way or another just by talking to him once

- so correct me if I’m wrong, but Hiram Lodge’s master plan is to bulldoze the South Side and then turn it into some kind of literal gangster’s paradise? but why? how does that benefit him? does he really have enough people who are loyal enough to him to just go with that plan and not immediately stab him in the back?

- why does Alice side with Chick so easily?

- turning the South Side into a for-profit prison!!! that’s his real plan? why? how does this benefit him? is he building an army or something or is he just turning Riverdale into the next setting for an Escape from New York sequel?

- WHY DOES ARCHIE STAY IF HE WAS SO CONCERNED ABOUT –

- wait so the Black Hood plot already happened??? who was he?? why the personal connection to Betty?

[littlemisssquiggles]

...So...about that RWBY V8 season finale episode...

I knew it. I knew there was a catch to all the Penny focus that happened throughout this season.

[YEAH YEAH SPOILERS AHEAD. YUH KNOW THE DRILL. LET’S GO] 

 I knew in my kingdom of hearts that they were going to kill Penny off. I just had that feeling.

Hoooooooooowever, I’m at least pleased that Penny got the chance to die nobly and the Winter Maiden powers instead went to the person who should’ve rightfully gotten it in the first place: Winter Schnee.

I am so happy that the showrunners corrected this because the way in which Penny became a maiden was an issue.

That being said, I would like to change the title of this season. It’s not RWBY V8. It’s actually PENNY V8.. 

V8 was Penny’s season. It was NEVER about RWBY or Ruby. It’s was all about Penny. V8 was her season. 

Even the ending theme was about Penny and…honestly...it was aight. I dug Penny’s last theme. It suit her. 

I’m also happy that the showrunners OFFICIALLY confirmed for the final time that the bond between Penny and Ruby is, has and ALWAYS will be a friendship. The title of Penny’s final theme is even called “Friend” and it’s a great theme that I believe encompasses, not just Penny as a character but her relationship with the two people who mattered to her the most in the end. It was Ruby who was Penny’s first friend and Winter Schnee who was her last friend that she willingly gave her powers to as her successor.

I was so pleased with that moment between Penny and Winter that I actually clapped. That scene was perfect and believably a fitting end for Penny.

The only gripe that I have is that…WHERE THE F***K IS PIETRO AND MARIA. No seriously, I’m starting to get worried right now. What happened to them? They didn’t even show up for the finale? Are Pietro and Maria okay? Are they still alive?

The thing that saddens me about this is for the second time in the series, Penny has died while away from her father. Pietro didn’t even get the opportunity to spend the few minutes of Penny being alive. Pietro was nowhere to be found. That’s sad.

 Also…they REALLY did Ruby Rose dirty. Here I was expecting Ruby to be a focal point of the finale and she wasn’t even a factor.

Ruby got taken out of the finale episode so quickly that I’m wondering why they even bothered showing her on the thumbnail. 

Ruby didn’t really do much for the finale. She didn’t even get to be the one to tragically kill Penny so that the maiden powers would go to Winter.

Speaking of which...

...And now for a squiggly rant...

 WHAT THE HELL SHOWRUNNERS? RUBY DOESN’T GET TO BE THERE DURING PENNY’S FINAL MOMENTS???

DESPITE BEING PENNY’S FIRST AND CLOSEST FRIEND, RUBY DOES NOT GET TO BE THE ONE TO BE WITH HER ONE LAST TIME BEFORE SHE DIES? THAT MOMENT GOES TO JAUNE????

 JAUNE ARC! THE GUY WHO BARELY HAD ANY INTERACTIONS WITH PENNY UP UNTIL THIS SEASON?

MUCH LIKE HOW JAUNE WAS THE ONE WHO GOT TO LEAD THE CHARGE TO SAVE OSCAR DESPITE THE FACT THAT RUBY WAS THE ONE CLOSEST TO OSCAR, JAUNE IS THE ONE TO SPEND THE LAST FEW MOMENTS OF LIFE WITH PENNY? NOT RUBY. HER BEST FRIEND. BUT JAUNE.

DON’T THE SHOWRUNNERS THINK IT WOULD’VE BEEN MORE FITTING TO HAVE PENNY BE KILLED BY RUBY???  

I mean yes I know it sounds bad but…it would’ve FIT. Penny wanted to die in that moment. In that moment, she CHOSE death for herself and wanted to be killed. So again, WHY WAS THIS MOMENT GIVEN TO JAUNE???

Ruby, as I will say for the umpteenth time is PENNY’S BEST FRIEND AND CLOSEST ALLY. THIS MOMENT. THIS FINAL PENNY MOMENT SHOULD HAVE GONE TO RUBY AS PENNY’S FRIEND.

BUT IT GOES TO JAUNE??

THEY REALLY DID MY GIRL DIRTY. RUBY DESERVED BETTER YA’LL. V8 IS RUBY’S WORSE SEASON. THEY DID NOTHING FOR HER.

RUBY, DESPITE BEING PUSHED AS OSCAR’S CLOSEST ALLY ON THE HERO TEAM MORE THAN JAUNE, DOESN’T GET TO LEAD THE RESCUE MISSION TO SAVE HIM FROM SALEM, HEREGO MEETING SALEM IN THE FLESH AND GETTING TO ACCOST THE WICKED WITCH HERSELF FOR KILLING HER MOM.

RUBY DOESN’T GET TO SPEND PENNY’S FINAL MOMENT WITH HER AND DELIVER HER FINAL WISH AS HER FRIEND TO DIE AND HAVE THE WINTER MAIDEN BE PASSED ONTO WINTER. THAT AGAIN GOES TO JAUNE.

AT LEAST WITH OSCAR, THE ARGUMENT COULD BE MADE THAT JAUNE WAS THE SECOND CLOSEST FRIEND TO OSCAR. BUT NOT WITH PENNY. FREAKING JAUNE STEALING RUBY’S DEVELOPMENT WITH HER CLOSEST GREEN ALLIES AGAIN. 

 I’M SORRY. YOU MIGHT THINK FROM HOW I’M SCREECHING THAT I HATE JAUNE. WRONG. I ACTUALLY QUITE LIKE JAUNTUS. BUT THIS SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN HIS MOMENT. IT SHOULD’VE BEEN RUBY’S WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUDGE NUGGETS WERE THE  SHOWRUNNERS THINKING????  

THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN RUBY’S MOMENT WITH HER FRIEND BUT AGAIN, SHE GETS SIDELINED. SHE DOESN’T EVEN GET TO FALL NOBLY. SHE FALLS AS A RESULT OF CINDER DOUBLE CROSSING NEO---BIG F***ING SURPRISE.

The one interesting consolation is that Ruby fell to the Other World with Neo. So…I’m assuming that…this means that Neo will be an unwilling companion to Ruby while she’s in the Other World?

I mean…that’s unexpected but at least it could potentially provide Ruby and Neo with the opportunity of becoming allies---maybe. Neo has lasted this long so let’s see how this goes.

I still can’t get over the fact that Ruby got taken out of the finale fight so soon. SERIOUSLY, THEY DID HER SO BAD THIS SEASON.

Speaking of being done dirty,  R.I.P. VINE.

Wait a second…RIP VINE? Why do I get the feeling that there is going to be a meme about Vine’s death. 

But in all seriousness, VINE WAS NOT THE ACE OP I EXPECTED TO DIE. I expected Harriet to die honestly because she’s been god awful whole season but…yeah, she’s alive. The lucky rabbit. 

So now we have Robyn, Qrow, Marrow (Thank God the God Boi made it), Harriet and Elm together. I hope somewhere on their way to…Vacuo, I’m assuming, they run into Maria and Pietro. SERIOUSLY WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TWO OLD PEOPLE. I AM SCARED NOW. WHERE THE FUDGE  ARE THEY AND I WILL KEEP ASKING ABOUT THEM UNTIL THEY SHOW UP HOPEFULLY IN V9.

Overall, that’s the finale??? That’s...all folks?

Was it good…well, for the most part, I’m okay with where it ended things for certain characters. Mainly Penny and Winter.

I’m happy that Winter got to become the Winter Maiden. As for Penny, I’m sorry but…you guys know how I feel about how Penny was used this season. From the minute they kept shoving Penny in our faces, I KNEW something was up. I KNEW THEY WERE GONNA KILL. Ya’ll didn’t wanna believe me. BUT I WAS RIGHT.

At least Penny’s death wasn’t a gruesome one though. At least Penny got to die the way she lived---doing it the way she wants to and spending it with her closest friends. NOT RUBY but at least Winter cause I did like their friendship from V7.

Penny Polendina got to live the life she wanted and she also got to die the way she wanted and I think that’s a satisfying ending for her in my opinion.

I just pray there isn’t another backlash from the FNDM as a result of Penny being killed off. 

Sorry to all the people who were hoping Penny would live past this season but I’m not mad because it fits for me. The one issue I had with Penny’s death is that neither her father or her best friend Ruby were present during her last moment. 

You guys realize they sorta killed Penny the same way again, right?  Kind of? SHE DIED WHILE AWAY FROM HER DAD AND BEFORE RUBY COULD DO ANYTHING TO STOP IT.

Shit, RUBY DOESN’T EVEN KNOW THAT PENNY IS DEAD YA’LL…

JUST LIKE HOW SHE DIDN’T KNOW THAT OSCAR WAS KIDNAPPED BY SALEM AND TORTURED FOR HOURS BY HAZEL, RUBY DOESN’T EVEN KNOW THAT PENNY ASKED JAUNE TO KILL HER SO THAT WINTER COULD BE HER SUCCESSOR...

RUBY IS OMITED ONCE AGAIN AND I AM WAITING TO SEE WHO IS THE PERSON TO TELL HER ABOUT PENNY.

I HOPE IT’S WINTER. Or rather once she sees Winter, she’ll probably put two and two together.

STILL SAD THOUGH. THEY DID HER SOOO DIRTY. THEY MASSACRED MY GIRL THIS SEASPM, I’M SORRY. THE SODIUM CHLORIDE IS RETURNING. 

Overall, this finale was something else. I don’t know what to think of V9. But one thing’s for sure...

I cant AT LEAST say that I am EXCITED to explore this mysterious OTHER WORLD.

Already it looks interesting  and of course, I’m going to make the obvious joke---They’re not in Remnant anymore.

I just want V9 to open up with Ruby saying “Neo, we’re not in Remnant anymore”. If that ain’t in the V9 trailer, I will be thoroughly disappointed.

But…I really feel like V9 can be about Ruby having her own “Wizard of Oz” type of adventure with…Neo of all characters. 

Either way, already I like the LOOK of this Other World. Is it just me or does the ground look like bricks…and it’s yellow?

 YELLOW BRICK ROAD YA’LL???  FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD TO OZ?

Aww man, I’m interested. I’m really interested in where this story will go. Either way, let’s see how V9 will turn out. And with that, my ramblings about RWBY V8 are done.

See ya’ll next season for more squiggly commentary. Peace. 

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

[otp-armada]

You support the pair that provides representation to an under-represented community, of which you are a member. It's understandable and fair. 

As for me, it's about the narrative. 

If a show has a centralized romance at its heart, then in all likelihood, this will be the one I support. It's the one I am most likely to endorse for the same reason why main characters tend to be my favorites. The story we watch is about them, often told from their POV. We spend the most time with them, and they get the most development. Every element of a story is filtered through the main characters. The events and characters always connect back to them. How can you fall in love with a story when hating its most crucial facets? 

To me, when distinguishing among various ships, the same principle applies to premier romances. You can have Bellamy and Clarke genuinely fall in love with other people and still have those ancillary arcs fall under the umbrella of a Bellarke love story. These interlocking segments don't have to be exclusive. It's in the narrative we see that they aren't. One might even say they are supplementary to Bellarke, in a roundabout way.   

It irks me when some insist Bellarke is an illusory invention our fandom made up from a de facto platonic friendship. Because, in the simplest of terms, I respond to what a showrunner portrays onscreen. If you choose to put forth a slowburn romance with the complimentary bells and whistles, expect it to enthrall (at least a portion of) your audience. Expect your audience to pick up on the cues you lay. The yearning and the longing and the suffering. Tropes, those beloved instruments of storytelling, galore. And if you're lucky to reach the point of culmination, expect your audience to want a worthwhile resolution to the journey you took us on. 

It was Jason's choice to do none of this. And I'm not going to argue with Bellarke's naysayers. No amount of analysis will ever persuade them if they simply don't want to be swayed. “I don’t understand why people like them so much when they were just best friends,” said the disbeliever. The only ones who believe in that best friend drivel are the ones who wanted it to be true long before Jason’s subtlety took shape as a club to the head.

What a surprise it is to have our word-of-God pour salt in our wounds by lying through his teeth. It's not as if he exploited one underhanded trick after another to eradicate Bellamy and Bellarke from the narrative, taking Clarke with him. No, no, his word is law. We Bellarke shippers, the audience without brains or eyes, would do well to treat it as such. If not, we've always got his adoring fan club, the trusty pineapples, to keep us in check. 

[thecrownnet]

Photo from left: Charles Dance, Erin Doherty, Helena Bonham Carter, Peter Morgan, Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies and Josh O’Connor attend the premiere of The Crown and tribute to Peter Morgan at AFI Fest in Hollywood.BY ARAYA DIAZ/GETTY

'The Crown' Boss Reveals Why Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Are Off-Limits

The Hollywood Reporter Aug 18, 2020

Creator and showrunner Peter Morgan shares the unofficial feedback he gets from the royal family and why characters based on Prince Andrew and others won't be making an appearance in the Emmy-nominated series: "I'm much more comfortable writing about things that happened at least 20 years ago."

Peter Morgan was nearing the end of a lengthy shoot for the upcoming fourth season of Netflix's The Crown when the coronavirus took hold in the U.K., halting production. While he was ultimately able to wrap the season with what they had, he still lost a couple weeks of filming. "I can see where the gaps are, but I'm hoping that you won't," says the showrunner, who adds that he feels "lucky" that they were able to get as far as they did. In the wake of the show's nine Emmy nominations, including one for best drama series, the London-based Morgan shares what caused him to change his mind about the number of seasons the show will run, the unofficial feedback he gets from Buckingham Palace and why present-day royal scandals are off the table.

How did you celebrate your Emmy nominations?

I'm not sure I did celebrate, to be honest. I mean, I was relieved. I'm not sure that relief is a celebration. This just feels like such a strange time. Jumping around punching the air and lighting cigars feels like something I look forward to doing again, but at the moment, it just would feel weird to be doing that.

Having lost a couple weeks of filming on the upcoming season, is there any chance that you could reconvene everyone once it's considered safe to do so and get those final shots?

In order to hit the release schedule for season four, we needed to start editing and lock episodes, which we've been doing throughout this time. And everything takes much longer under these new social distancing regulations and rules, [even post-production.] So if we'd, for example, waited until next month, when a number of people are starting to film again in late August, beginning of September, to pick up these extra scenes, I think a) everyone would have been out of the rhythm of it and it would have felt very strange, and b) I think it would have compromised our post schedule. And we had to weigh up, "Is it worth it or not?" And, actually, that we're still able to hit our release schedule in November for seasonal four has been worth it.

It was announced recently that the fifth season, the one you're currently writing, won't be released until 2022. Was that a decision impacted by COVID or was that always the plan?

It's a normal schedule for us because what happens is, as you've noticed, we filmed The Crown in two season chunks, so we had Claire Foy for two seasons, we've now got Olivia Coleman for two seasons. And there was a gap year in there in which I frantically do a draft of all the scripts, and then I re-write the scripts and polish the scripts after that — but at least we have a roadmap of where we're going for the two seasons. And I said that there was no way that I could possibly do that and be showrunning the seasons if they were in production. You do need a gap year to get ahead with the writing.

This year, you said that the show was going to run five seasons instead of the expected six, but you recently reverted to the original plan. Why the change?

That's me being exhausted, and the truth is people have just been so supportive and so kind. They were so kind to go with me on the five-season version. That was an act of generosity because it was always pitched as being six seasons and always imagined to be that. And then I think they just looked at the state I was in, which is a classic showrunner look. You look slightly green and yellow and you have bags under your eyes, and you look at least 10 years older than you actually are. At that point, people say, "Just let the poor man out of his misery." But then in the course of meeting the actors, they were all furious they were only getting one season. (Laughs.) They were like, "Well, that's not fair. How come Claire Foy gets two and Olivia Colman gets two and I only get one?"

Are you writing that next season with COVID protocols in mind or are you hoping that the virus will be a thing of the past by the time you're in production again?

I think so. I'm writing it exactly as I wrote it before. I'm making no concessions whatsoever in terms of international locations, in terms of extras, in terms of size. If anything, the show's getting bigger. So I am absolutely banking on there being not just a vaccine but that the vaccine has had global dissemination by that point.

What was the most challenging scene for you to write last season?

If there isn't a challenging scene to get on paper in every episode, I'm not doing my job. If it doesn't feel to me like I'm climbing without a rope, then I don't see [the point]. I remember in season one when Claire Foy comes back to find her father dead, she cries when she sees his dead body. And I said to everybody then, "This is the first and the last time we're ever going to see the queen cry. She will never cry again. There'll be many times where we imagine she's crying, but no tears come." When you have the queen in scenes of extreme emotion, those scenes are very difficult to write because she's not a person of extreme emotionality. So you're constantly having to find ways to make the audience cry without, as it were, the queen crying. In other words, it's all about inability and restraint and being blocked, because she herself is blocked because it's wrapped up in this package of being the queen — and the queen is in itself an abstract concept rather than Elizabeth Windsor, who she is underneath. So any scenes that really push to that are always a real challenge.

You've meet with royal aides to brief them on what's to come in the show. How do they typically respond, and what do you hope to get out of those meetings?

I meet on an entirely informal and impersonal basis with a couple of people who used to work at the palace and who I imagine still have contacts with the palace. It ends up as one of those rather ridiculous conversations in which everybody is slightly tiptoeing and saying something other than what they mean, but you're still finding a way of getting some information out while at the same time everybody has the most important thing, which is deniability.

Do they ever come to you and say, "No, it didn't happen this way," or "That isn't accurate"?

Occasionally they might come back and say, "I enjoyed certain aspects of the season," and by that I know that he or she probably means other people enjoyed that. And then they'll say, "There were one or two things that I personally found disappointing," which probably means that somebody else found them disappointing.

Does that feedback influence how you write the show at all?

No, nor would they want it to. No one's trying to censor me. No one's ever tried to correct what I do or censor what I do. No one wants anything to do with each other. I don't want anything to do with the palace and the palace wants nothing to do with me — again, so that we all have the most important thing, which is that they can say, "I don't know what they think they're doing." And we can say, "We have no interest in making them happy." That's really important because different people have different attitudes. Some people could say, "Oh my god, it's outrageous what The Crown has got away with saying," and other people could say, "The Crown could have said it a lot worse." So depending on your perspective, if you are a rapid anti-monarchist then no matter how critical I am, it will never be critical enough. And if you are really staunch establishment monarchist, then just about everything I say is pure treason. You will never make those two extremes happy. And there's no point even trying to. I only write what I want to write.

You've said the show won't get into modern royal subjects like Meghan Markle or Prince Andrew. Why?

I just think you get so much more interesting [with time.] Meghan and Harry are in the middle of their journey and I don't know what their journey is or how it will end. One wishes some happiness, but I'm much more comfortable writing about things that happened at least 20 years ago. I sort of have in my head a 20 year rule. That is enough time and enough distance to really understand something, to understand its role, to understand its position, to understand its relevance. Often things that appear absolutely wildly important today are instantly forgotten, and other things have a habit of sticking around and proving to be historically very relevant and long lasting. I don't know where in the scheme of things Prince Andrew or indeed Meghan Markle or Harry will ever appear. We won't know, and you need time to stop something being journalistic. And so I don't want to write about them because to write about them would instantly make it journalistic. And there are plenty of journalists already writing about them. To be a dramatist, I think you need perspective and you need to also allow for the opportunity for metaphor. Once something has a metaphorical possibility, it can then become interesting. It's quite possible, for example, to tell the story of Harry and Meghan through analogy and metaphor, if that's what you want to do. Because there've been so many examples in the past, whether it's Wallis Simpson or Edward VII, or whether it's Diana and Prince Charles. There have been plenty of opportunities in the past where there have been marital complications. There've been wives that have been married into the Royal family that have felt unwelcome and that they don't fit in. So there are plenty of stories to tell without telling the story of Harry and Meghan.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

[9or10allgood]

I'm indulging in the Doctor Who marathon on BBCAmerica. It's been wonderful. I'm in the middle of Twelve, now, which is - next to Ten - my happy place.

Thirteen is looming.

Now, before anyone has a knee-jerk reaction and thinks I don't like the Thirteenth Doctor, you couldn't be more wrong. I love her to bits. Jodie Whittaker is awesome. She has poured herself into being the Doctor, heart and soul. I love that she travels with an entourage - going back to the First, the best Doctors do. She's had some really good stories, courtesy of Chris Chibnall - in fact, I give her first series a B+/A-. The second series, however...

Stick with me for a bit.

I like - no, I looo-ooo-oove fan fiction. Partly because it is a fairly consistent reaffirmation of creativity and literacy (yes, I said it!) and courage and daring - because it takes guts to put yourself out there for public critique without getting paid one red cent. But mostly because it is a way of indulging in flights of fancy within a bubble. Because fan fiction is, even when it is "canon compliant", still shading or filling in the blanks or expanding on what the original author set down. And the bubble is a safe place, where everyone (mostly) respects those boundaries between source material and fan fiction.

The perfect example of this is everything that happened in Pete's World post-Canary Wharf. We assume that the Doctor was going to tell Rose he loved her before time ran out, and copious amounts of fan fiction has been written about that. We assume that TenToo rectified that issue at Bad Wolf Bay the second time around. But we don't know, and that's okay because the veil was drawn on Pete's World with the disappearance of the TARDIS, and Pete's World became a creative goldmine. Thank God.

Back in the day (and I swear I still have a point) I belonged to a fan fiction site based on Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. (Not "Dragonmount", thank you very much!) Between twenty and thirty writers, drawn together by our love for that amazingly complex series of books, we wrote - individually and in small groups - epic fiction based on the Age of Legends and the Trolloc Wars, because neither era was portrayed in the books, other than very brief glimpses. Even so, there was a canonical framework that we existed in, and we respected it. For example, there were hints of Aes Sedai being able to fly during the AoL, but that didn't mean that the Sisters during the TW were going to do it, because canon told us that the miracles of the Age of Legends had been lost with the Breaking and were not recovered until the timeline of the books. As long as the canon was respected, the writing flourished - for years. Eventually, though, lines were blurred and the stories suffered, and it's been years since anyone has written anything there.

And now I'll get back to my point.

When Russell T Davies brought Doctor Who back to television, he respected the canon that had been established. He didn't change Gallifrey, he removed it. It had given us the Doctor and the Master and the TARDIS and a running potential of planets and races affected by the Time War that could keep the Doctor occupied for a long, long time. It's purpose had been served. It's *nebulous hand waggle* demise fuelled the great engine of angst that powered the reboot. It heightened what had become a bit of a stodgy "oh, no, it's the Daleks, again" sensibility regarding a cross between a pepperpot and a wheely-bin, and gave them a renewed sense of villainy. It's what made the episode, "Dalek", such a gut-punch. It's what made seeing a mighty Dalek armada when there was only one Time Lord to stand against it so dramatically Quixotic - in an end-of-all-things sort of way.

It should have stayed that way.

I love RTD. I do. He was an awesome showrunner and he, with Julie Gardner, shepherded the reboot through possibly the greatest comeback in entertainment history. But I wasn't comfortable with the (temporary) return of Rassilon et al as his farewell to the show. And, sure 'nuff, it cracked open a door that Moffat bulldozed through with "The Day of the Doctor". And by the time he was through, the Doctor was popping "home" for soup and a bit o' sedition, and the next thing ya know, Chris Chibnall is turning the whole thing on its ear with the Timeless Children business and a convoluted plotline that would've needed an entire series to unravel and still would have read like fan fiction based on a poorly remembered fever dream.

Yes, I know that "Doctor Who" has been "fine-tuning" itself from the beginning. The First Doctor invented his time machine that his granddaughter named "TARDIS" - for Time and Relative Dimensions In Space. Today's canon has TARDISes grown, sentient, and having numbered in the thousands once upon a time. But there's a difference between an adjustment, here and there, and re-inventing the Time Rotor on the fly, as it were. One is a tweak to make the whole better. The other is throwing a bucket of yellow paint across a classic portrait of the Queen just so you can paint galloping horses on it. Why would you do it?

I'm really sad that Graham and Ryan are leaving. I'm really looking forward to the return of Captain Jack. I hope that bringing back someone as integral to the days of Russell T Davies will remind Chris Chibnall that the basic story of the Doctor has always been that an ancient alien from a fabled world travels throughout space and time with a lucky human or three, faces down injustice, rescues those who need it, and dances around fixed points and moral dilemmas with (occasional) alacrity.

And if Chibnall needs inspiration, I can point him to any number of fan fiction writers that totally get it.

[detectiveplease]

Lucifer finally casts God onscreen

Entertainment Weekly can exclusively reveal that Dennis Haysbert is joining the Netflix-Warner Bros. TV drama as God — yes, the God — and will appear throughout the fifth and final season. In other words, the rebellious Lucifer (Tom Ellis) and his angelic brother (and God’s favorite son) Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) will be spending some quality time with with their father in the farewell season. (Neil Gaiman, whose Sandman comics inspired the series, voiced the character of God in one of season 3’s bonus episodes).

“We did like the big crazy list of [possible actors for the part], and he was my top choice,” Lucifer co-showrunner Joe Henderson tells EW. “We were lucky. It was our first and only offer.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time Haysbert and Woodside have played family on TV. They previously starred as brothers (and presidents) David and Wayne Palmer, respectively, on Fox’s 24. In fact, Woodside played a small part in helping Lucifer land Haysbert for this heavenly role.

“D.B. had actually come up to us and said, ‘Have you thought about Dennis?’ We were like, ‘Do you think he’d actually do it?’ And he’s like, ‘Well, I’ve already talked to him and sort of brought it up.’ And so we just went straight on at him,” says Henderson.

Getting to work with Woodside again was one of the reasons Haysbert said yes to the part. “Every time I see D.B., there’s always this fondness and this connection…We worked on a show that was arguably one of the best shows ever produced in television, so you’re going to have a kind of camaraderie,” says Haysbert, before adding with a laugh, “I don’t know how I went from brothers to father. We’re celestial. We can do that.”

- Entertainment Weekly

Dennis Dexter Haysbert (born June 2, 1954) is an American actor and voice actor. In the U.S. he is known for his appearances in commercials for Allstate Insurance. He portrayed baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the Major League film trilogy, Secret Service Agent Tim Collin in the 1997 political thriller film Absolute Power, and Sergeant Major Jonas Blane on the drama series The Unit. He is also known for playing U.S. Senator (later President) David Palmer on the first 5 seasons of 24 and has appeared in the films Love Field, Heat, Waiting to Exhale, Far from Heaven, and the science fiction series Incorporated.

- Wikipedia

[grrlinthefireplace]

Hey so I’ve been seeing you post a lot about La Casa de Papel recently. What exactly is it? It looks kinda interesting.

Thank you so much for asking!

I am delighted beyond reason to have the opportunity to tell you - and by extension the entire world - why this show has cleared my skin, watered my crops, and legitimately healed my soul after this particularly soul-crushing season of Grimdark White Man Television almost broke me as a human being.

I will attempt to keep this as spoiler-free as I possibly can, because this is a show that should be experienced in the moment, but in a nutshell, La Casa de Papel is a heist show set in present-day Madrid which follows both a found family of thieves who rob the Royal Mint of Spain, and the law enforcement officials on the outside who are chasing them.

If that is enough for you, go right to your TV or computer, fire up the ol’ Netflix, and don’t waste any more time.

If, however, you need a little more, here are the top five things I flail about to every single person in my life to convince them they need to start watching this show like immediately and then come back and tell me all about it.

For visual flair, we’ll intersperse them with some gifs of ladies, because I know my audience.

5. character driving plot > plot driving character.

You know that infuriating thing lazy TV writers do where, in order to to hurry up and get to the big explosion or battle scene or dragon attack or whatever, which is the only bit they really care about, they handwave away the whole concept of motivation and make some character do something that any halfway-attentive viewer will immediately clock that they would never actually do?

There is none of that bullshit here.

In its simplest form, the plot of La Casa de Papel is as follows: a brilliant criminal mastermind devises a heist which cannot possibly go wrong, and then we proceed to watch all the ways in which it goes wrong.

This is a fantastic setup for an action story, made even more breathlessly exciting by strategic use of my favorite heist movie plot device (as perfected by Ocean’s Eleven): namely, “scene where it looks like our crime heroes have been outsmarted and are now threatened by a completely unforeseen disaster” immediately followed by “flashback to the team prepping for the heist where we learn that of course they prepared for this exact scenario.”

But from time to time, things do actually go wrong (as they must, or else there would be no story); and, when they do, it is never because you can tell a writer just wanted to write a scene where bullets go flying, and didn’t care how he got there. These characters are so clear, their behavior so consistent, that when gasp-worthy plot twists happen, they happen because of course that character, in this exact scenario, would do that exact thing.

I’m telling you, I came to this show for a ship (more on that in a minute) and I stayed for a swooning, heart-eyes writer crush on the impeccably-designed plot structure and characterization.

4. High stakes, low gore.

Tone-wise, on a sliding scale of Heist Film Intensity where a really fluffy episode of Leverage is a 1, Reservoir Dogs is a 10, and the Ocean’s franchise is somewhere in the 3-4 range, I would place La Casa at a 5 or a 6, which is perfect for me. I love action, suspense, drama and adventure, but I hate gratuitous violence (especially when it’s pointless and masturbatory and doesn’t contribute anything to the plot) and have a very low tolerance for blood and gore. So I kept waiting for the story to eventually take a hard left turn into Tarantino Land, until eventually it was all just one huge pile of dead bodies, and was genuinely surprised when it didn’t.

This is how I learned just how badly my brain has been fucked up by lazy showrunners who think shock deaths are the only way to raise stakes. During the first season of this show, before I had figured out that it was a Flawless Gem of Television Which So Far Has Not Once Disappointed Me, there were probably a dozen moments where I was absolutely convinced that some character was about to be gruesomely killed for shock value … and I was wrong every single time.

Reader, it was fucking wild.

Every single time I was convinced that person A was going to shoot person B in the head because blah blah maximum angst over here in this part of the story and then it will motivate person C to do this other thing, the show did the hard work of finding a smarter, more unexpected direction to take that character’s story. That means that when deaths do come along - and there are a couple - they feel genuinely earned, and they matter deeply to the story and to us.

3. I would die for these women.

This show loves women. Like it truly, authentically, uncompromisingly loves women in all our fucked-up messy glorious complexity. There are no “types” or cliches here; no one is forced to be only one thing. Fuck your one-dimensional Strong Female Characters, lazy writers.

For one thing, on many shows you might be lucky if you get maybe one mom who is given a personality and a story outside of motherhood. Often, on shows written by men, the fact of her motherhood diminishes her strength or her agency. On this show, nearly every one of the central female characters is both a mom and an action hero simultaneously. Seriously. By season 3 there are four different battle moms. They’re all different, they’re not all on the same side, they have different perspectives, and their role as mother impacts the story differently, but that’s the joy of having a whole lot of different kinds of women - no one has to be everything to everyone.

These women are complicated. They laugh, they cry, they crack dirty jokes, they get laid, they have babies, they fight, they make mistakes, they fall in love, they grow. Men pull sexist shit and they shut it the fuck down. Some of them have love stories, some of them don’t, but they are never defined by or triangulated around relationships with men. They get to have relationships with each other. All of them are excellent at their jobs.

Tokyo is the kind of hot mess antihero protagonist we’ve been watching middle-aged white men play for decades.

Allison is such a realistic teenage girl it’s genuinely painful to watch.

Monica has one of the best arcs I’ve ever seen on television, this is not a drill.

Alicia is terrifying. (A pregnant black ops interrogator! ON WHAT OTHER FUCKING SHOW!?!??)

Nairobi is unlike any other character you’ve seen on TV before; she’s got a little bit of Parker from Leverage, a little bit of Raven Reyes from The 100, but she’s entirely her own creature and you will fall in love with her instantly.

And Raquel. Oh, my love, my angel, my hero, Inspector Raquel Murillo. Love of my goddamn life. A fierce, kickass hostage negotiator swimming upstream against a tide of workplace misogyny who sometimes has to make the frustrating little male-appeasing compromises we all have to make to get through the workday. A beautiful, sexy, powerful heroine over 40 whose femininity isn’t diminished based on some bullshit notion that, for example, pairing your tough-bitch suit and gun holster with red toenails and a lacy blouse detracts from your strength. A loving mom and daughter who has to juggle raising a small child and caring for an aging parent with the stress of, you know, trying to stop the biggest robbery in the history of Spain. A domestic violence survivor (TW for those who need it; nothing is ever shown onscreen, but it’s discussed several times) who is given the space to discuss the things that have happened to her and how she has worked through them with such dignity, accuracy and respect that you can tell the writers did their homework.

This is a show where you can tell there are women in the writers’ room.

2. The Professor and Raquel. I don’t want to spoil a single thing for you here except to say that I myself was lured into this show by the promise of electric sexual chemistry between a criminal mastermind and the police inspector hunting him down, and my God I was not disappointed.

1. Love.

This show came into my life at a period where I was so weary of cynicism on television - so fucking furious at showrunners who dangle hope in front of us and then crush it, who only care about building anything if they can tear it down later, who treat love and fun and joy and hope and family and happiness like they’re intellectually lesser than grimdark nihilism with no soul - that I was honestly kind of broken by it. I was just so. fucking. tired. Tired of “the way we show this heroine is strong is to kill off her love interest.” Tired of “sorry but all this rape and murder is NECESSARY because of REALISM” (particularly rich when coming from shows featuring evil A.I.’s or dragons and ice zombies). Tired of getting invested in relationships - whether ships or friends or found families - only to realize that the show I was watching was always going to sacrifice character to force plot mechanics into place, and those relationships were never going to get the kind of care and focus I wanted them to get.

But that is not this show.

The single most revolutionary thing, to me, about La Casa de Papel - the thing that sets it apart from every other rollercoaster action thrill ride on television - is that every single thread of the plot is tied to love.

Every.

Single.

One.

Love of all different shapes and sizes - parents and children, friendships, doomed crushes (straight and queer), toxic exes, blossoming romances, siblings - and over it all, a deep, deep love for humanity.

The thing I said before, about how when things go wrong they go wrong in character-driven ways? It’s this. Love is why everything on this show happens. Love is what makes children want to live up to their parents and what makes parents fight to leave a better world for their children. Love is why deaths have stakes. Love is why we spend so much screentime lingering on small moments another show might ignore, like all the thieves at heist camp sitting down every night to have dinner together and argue about paella techniques. Love is what causes chaos in the middle of the heist; when there’s one person in the room you care about more than the others, you can get distracted and take your eye off the ball. Love is how your enemies can get to you, by leveraging or blackmailing the people who matter most, knowing that you’ll crack if they’re in danger. Love, gone wrong, causes toxic men to develop possessive and controlling behavior towards women. Love is how the Professor gets the idea for the heist in the first place. The plan is flawless on paper, but it doesn’t account for the human variable, and over and over again we see that relationships and connection and sex and family and love cause people to behave in unpredictable ways and throw the whole plan into chaos, which is what makes for a dynamic and compelling story.

How refreshing to see a show simply refuse to grant the oft-repeated premise that a show cannot have both high-octane thrills, and a big soft squishy heart, at the same time.

ANYWAY, I’VE TAKEN UP ENOUGH OF YOUR VALUABLE TV-WATCHING TIME, GO JUMP ON BOARD THIS TRAIN AND COME SCREAM ABOUT IDEALISTIC SPANISH ROBIN HOODS WITH ME, AND LET THE GOOD SHIP SERQUEL INTO YOUR LIFE, YOU WON’T BE SORRY

THANKS FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK

[chid-sen-gan-blog]

My Reaction to GoT 8.03 (”The Long Night”)

Hello! I’m back for another recap/review! 

I’m so sorry this took so long, but I was a bit… uninspired. But it’s here now, and I hope you enjoy! 

Once again, featuring running commentary from my Dad and Brother because I love them and their witty remarks. (all thoughts and quotes are from our first time viewing it, per usual)

WARNING: Spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen the episode yet, though this warning might be irrelevant at this point.

WARNING 2: My family and I (namely me) weren’t really fans of this episode, so things get… pretty snarky at some points. Also, there’s a lot of shade - no pun intended - thrown at the lighting throughout. A lot. All these are just the opinions of three people, however, and not meant to offend anyone. If you enjoyed the episode, then lucky you more power to you - you do you! :)

And last, but certainly not least, a huge thank you to everyone who supported the first two installments! Now, time for part three!

So… the new opening credits still haven’t grown on me. But the inclusion of the crypt for this episode is a nice touch

(I have a sinking feeling that taking refuge in the crypts is going to backfire for those hiding there and really hope I’m wrong)

Yay! Sam! Please don’t die on me. Please…

Pre-battle preparation montages always puts me on edge. Now is no exception

Another Alys Karstark shot and I’m still not sure why the crew keeps including them…

“So, the showrunners keep giving us glimpses of Alys Karstark, but do they actually plan on doing anything with her, or…?” - My Wonderful Brother; so I guess I’m not the only one curious

“With D&D at the reigns, she could be there for anything from the kidnap theory to a faceless man revival.” - My Wonderful Dad

“True. Let’s hope they get their story right right tonight, though.” - My Wonderful Brother

“I don’t see how they couldn’t. They already have all the pieces in place. All they need to do is not try anything random.” - My Wonderful Dad

Awwww. My children! D&D, don’t you dare kill off Jaime, Brienne, or Pod. I will find you if you do!!! And no CGI dragons will be able to save you!

(I’m super worried about Pod. He’s right up there at the top of my list with Theon and Grey Worm. And possibly Jorah, but I’m 50/50 with him)

(Maybe 60/40; if Dark!Dany’s a possibility, she needs to suffer a huge loss in this battle. And considering Jorah’s her morality pet/conscience, he would fit the bill)

(basically if Jorah dies this episode, then my confidence in the show going the Dark!Dany route rises)

Tormund! I’m guessing you’ll live. The writers need some fan favorite B characters to make it through the night…

Ooh, Beric. Yeah… you’re probably not one of them… 

And the Hound will be needed for Cleganebowl, so he’s safe. No way they’re writing off the guy with all the hype surrounding him and his bro’s one-on-one

Actually, he’s one of the few people I’m absolutely sure will live past this episode

Gendry… 50/50 on you, too, sadly. I hope you make it, though

Darn it, knowing I’m never going to see some of these characters again is making me emotional. And it’s not even ten minutes into the episode!!!

Awwww. Poor Edd. You’re definitely a goner, since you essentially doomed yourself last week

Aaaaaaaand now I”m tearing up. Darn it!!! It’s too early to cry!

My new mantra: Please let Sam live

Wow, that shot is… dark. I wouldn’t have known those were horses if not for the whinnying 

GHOST!!! Are we going to see him fight this episode? Because Im so here for it!

My wonderful Dad and Brother are just as pumped to see him as I am. Bless them

“But, seriously, why is Ghost with Jorah and the Dothraki and not with the Northerners in the crypts? Wouldn’t that be more practical” - My Wonderful Brother; taking time from his celebration to ask the tough questions

And here’s Dany to ruin my mood. Absolutely spectacular

“So, do you think she’ll abandon Jon and co during the battle?” - My Wonderful Dad

“Nope, she still wants the North to see her as their hero. It’s more likely she’ll rush in at some point and ruin the plan.” - My Wonderful Brother

Sansa!!! Arya!!!

Hey, remember when Dany stans said that Sansa’s S8 hairstyle was based on their kween’s? Good times, good times

Oooooh. A rider in the night? But who? The gang’s all here, except for Cersei and Euron

Is it Bronn? Kind of bad timing if it is…

No, wait, Carice von Houten was in the credits. It’s Melisandre, isn’t it?

They’re zooming in on Davos, it must be…

Yep. 

“So, let’s none of us question why she’s here or how she got around the undead army marching on the North. Deal?” - My Wonderful Dad

“Deal.” - My Wonderful Brother and Less Wonderful I

And, once again, everything’s super dark, even for this show. Is it supposed to be intentional, or…?

I love how Jorah’s like: “I don’t know who the heck you are or what you want or why you’re here, but sure I’ll do what you ask, weird pretty red lady” 

FINALLY!!! LIGHT!!! Thank you, Melisandre! 

I’ll admit, that was a beautiful shot

I have a real affinity for how Liam Cunningham portrays an angry Davos. I’m not really sure why, but I do

Okay, so Melisandre’s going to die before the dawn. Why do I feel somewhat emotional about it?

(I’m still not over Shireen, so I really have no clue)

Ooooh, that look shared between Melisandre or Arya. Is Arya going to kill her? Maybe because of what happened to Gendry?

Ummmmmm…. Dothraki. What are you doing?

Seriously, what are you guys doing?

Don’t tell me these knuckleheads are actually charging at an enemy they can’t even see…

Oh, shoot. That’s exactly what they’re doing.

………… and now were’s firing the catapults. Umm, hello, don’t we kind of need our supplies for later?! What are you dimwits doing?!?!

No, really, this is idiotic. Why are they lighting things up and charging all gleefully like it’s a 4th of July cookout?!?!

“No, Ghost. Turn around. You’re too smart for this.” - My Wonderful Dad

Well lookie there. The Dothraki charged right into the army of the dead. Who could’ve possibly predicted that? *sarcasm, sarcasm*

“And just like that, the Night King’s added tens of thousands more soldiers to his army. Everyone say “thank you, Dany” for bringing your men who apparently have zero impulse control.” - My Wonderful Brother

“So this is why God didn’t give cavemen fire.” - My Wonderful Dad

You just know that Jaime’s watching this display thinking “why did my men have such a hard time fighting those guys again?”

Aaaaaand the screen’s nearly pitch black again. Dandy 

Oh, look, slow-mo Jorah. At least I think it is. It’s kind of hard to tell…

Ugh. Dany. I’m not in the mood for you

Wow, astounding. She’s not going to stick to the plan. I’m sure this will work out just fine

“Told ya’.” - My Wonderful Brother

Nothing screams true love quite like yanking your arm out of your boyfriend’s grasp and snapping at him. 

(Anyone else ever get CerseixJaime vibes from these two? And I’m not just talking about the incest…)

Grey Worm putting on his helmet is somehow one of the best parts in this episode so far. And I don’t think that’s a good thing

But still, it’s too early to judge, so I’ll shut up

Why hello, Army of the Dead. How was that 4th of July cookout the Dothraki ran into?

And now it’s time for my favorite game - count the fallen red shirts! Let’s see… 1, 2, oh, there’s a third…

And there’s one red shirt who just realized his name’s never been said on the show and booked. I respect his genre-savyness

Meanwhile, back with the important characters…

No!!! Brienne!!! No!!!

Jaime’s “wench sense” prevails again. That’s my boy

Dany’s “ruin-my-mood sense” is also as strong as ever, apparently

Well, at least the dragonfire shone some light on things

Sansa looking awed at Jon on a dragon is so far one of the best shots in the episode

I will forever hate Jonerys, but Ramin Djawadi always knocks it out of the park with his score - even with their theme.

I wonder if he’ll have anything new to present for this episode…

Jon’s gotten a lot better at riding Rhaegal. That could be very useful in upcoming conflicts… *grins wickedly*

Lovely, now Jon’s stuck in a snowstorm. *sighs* Really, I give him one compliment… 

“I just hope that Dany remembers she has to light the trench and doesn’t follow him in.” - My Wonderful Dad

“You’re asking for way too much, Daddy.” - My Wonderful Brother

Aw, Sansa. I’m so proud of you. And this is why I love the Starks - no matter the dangers they face, they’re loyal to their people first and foremost

… Arya, no offense, but your sister’s not much of a fighter. Don’t you think you should give her more than just one tiny dragonglass blade? 

Ah, callbacks. But, seriously, give Sansa another weapon 

Seeing Jaime, Brienne, and Pod together in any capacity gives me all the feels. All of them. Even when they’re fighting literal zombies

And now Dany’s also lost in the snowstorm. Well, on the bright side, at least she didn’t fly directly into it

Theon!……… yeah, you’re a dead man. I’ll sincerely miss you

And we’re back to the battle. That was… interesting editing

16 red shirts… 17 red shirts… 18 red shirts… 

So it’s twenty minutes in and no named characters have died yet. I’m surprised…

And there goes Edd. *cries* Why did I think I was safe?!?! Why?!?!?!?!?!

So that’s one death I guessed. I wonder who else…

Okay, is it even possible for Sophie Turner to look anything but beautiful? I mean, even with this episode’s lighting…

I forgot Tyrion was alive Oops

Still have a sinking suspicion the crypts are going to be overrun with wights…

I honestly admire how calm Tyrion is. If my brother was out fighting an army of undead popsicles, you could bet I would be anything but

Jon and Dany bumping into eachother on dragonback is really making me smile. Even though I know it wasn’t intentional this time

If Jorah doesn’t die, Lyanna Mormont will. I’m calling it now

Grey Worm is so far the MVP of this battle. Now I’m really worried about his survival odds…

Soooooooo… are the dragons just going to be lost in this snowstorm the entire episodes? I mean, they have to play a bigger part than that, right?

(if they don’t then Jon really went through some serious guff for nothing)

Jon calling Dany by her nickname again despite knowing she doesn’t like it gives me life. So what if I’m petty?

And back with Theon and Bran after… nothing really happened

“Is it just me, or does the editing this episode feel a little… off?” - My Wonderful Brother

“Not just you. It has been so far. Strange, considering that’s usually one of D&D’s strong points.” - My Wonderful Dad

Aaaaaaand back to the battle after nothing really happened

“….. really?” - My Wonderful Brother

Brienne checking on Pod is what I live for. Honestly, I’m so far more interested in my J-B-P Family Trio than the actual battle 

(Though I don’t think I’m supposed to be)

And the lighting is pitch black again. Huzzah

Unsullied don’t feel fear, huh? Welp, Grey Worm’s quickly realizing that most Unsullied don’t usually fight dead men

Really, though, this scene is on-point. Kudos to everyone involved

And now Dany can’t see the signal to light the trench. Yippee…

“YOU HAD ONE JOB, DAENERYS!!! ONE!!!” - My Wonderful Dad

On another note, I think I finally figured out why Melisandre conveniently strolled back into the picture when she did

 And there we go

You know, everything has played out so predictably thus far that I feel like D&D are going to pull a huge, random move at some point

One that likely won’t make any sense, knowing them

Oh, I hope that’s not the case

Alright, that shot when Melisandre finally light up the trench is beautiful. I must admit

…………………………………………………………………………. wait, so Jon was just chilling right next to the trench when he could’ve lit it up this whole time?!?!?!?!

Ugh. So far he’s been utterly useless this battle. I mean, I love the guy, but really?

Please tell me they’re just saving his potential for when he fights the Night King. Or, even better, fights him so Bran can take him down

(D&D wouldn’t honestly butcher my boy like this without a reason, right?)

Oh, great. I forgot the Hound has PTSD when it comes to fire. This should be interesting. With any luck, he’ll overcome his fear this episode

Back in the crypts which are still somehow safe

And it’s times like these, when Tyrion touts his own greatness, that I remember he’s much more like Tywin than I’d care to acknowledge

Yes, Tyrion. You would make all the difference out there in the battle. When not even your swordsman brother should, logically-speaking, be near it, given his one hand situation. But, sure. You keep on thinking that. 

Sansa laying some truth down. I stan 

I really do enjoy her and Tyrion’s chemistry. And it’s actually nice to take a bit of a break from the battle

Oh, look at that. Sansa and Dany aren’t besties after their talk last episode after all. Odd, I could’ve sworn some stans said they were

One of which was, apparently, Missandei

Gee, I love you, Missandei, but that comment was totally uncalled for. They weren’t even talking to you

“And maybe if it weren’t for the dragon queen, the wall would still be standing and the dead wouldn’t even be here.” - My Wonderful Brother

“The girl didn’t even light the trench. Which was, again, her one job!” - My Wonderful Dad

*sighs* I really hate brainwashed Missandei. But I’m sure Dany’s stans will find a woman of color being blindly devoted to a white woman totally empowering

(And, before anyone bashes me, I’m speaking as someone who’s got the blood of all walks of minorities in my veins) 

Ad back to Theon and Bran. Are they actually going to do something this time?

Oh, they are! 

So, Bran’s “home” quote was said to Theon. Odd, and here I thought he was supposed to have said it to Dany… oh, well

Ooooh, warging Bran. With any luck, he’ll warg into a dragon at some point in this episode

I don’t even care anymore, just let the poor guy be useful in this battle somehow

So… when the army of animated corpses have better battle plans than your armies, exactly how screwed are you?

Jorah ushering Sam to the walls is actually really heartwarming

As is surrogate dad Jaime checking on his adopted son Pod en route to their battle stations

…… Jon has been sitting on the walls of Winterfell for who knows how long doing absolutely zilch. Not burning wights, not guarding Bran, not even brooding. And I’m ticked about it

What the heck, D&D? I thought you loved CGI dragon stuff

Well, finally. Yes, go fight the head popsicle, even if you don’t kill him. Go, my boy, and redeem yourself

The J-B-P Family Trio dynamic is my favorite thing in this episode thus far. Fight me 

And Sam and Jorah. I want a spin-off named “Mormont and Tarly” with these two just hanging out

So, it’s almost halfway through the episode and only Edd has died out of the named characters. I have a feeling things are about to get bloody

Well, there goes another red shirt. What was I up to? 42?

No no no no no no no no. Bad wights. Not Jaime. Get off my problematic child! Get off him, darn you!!!

Brienne has “Kingslayer sense” confirmed

Who needs plot armor when you have your totally platonic not girlfriend watching your back? 

My children fighting together… *tears up* I’m so proud…

And who needs plot armor when you have your totally platonic not boyfriend watching your back?

Jorah saving Sam with Heartsbane is all kinds of right. That is all

And the Hound is not making any sort of progress with his PTSD. I’m rooting for you, Sandor

Aaaaaaaaaaand…. I’m really tired of ninja!Arya already. I’m sorry. Unpopular opinion, I know, but it seems like the show’s going out of their way waaaay too much recently to make her seem all BAMF. I don’t know, call it personal preference, but I like it when there’s some vulnerability to a fighter

And maybe that hit to the head will take her down a peg. Knowing D&D, though… not likely

Oh, boy. The Hound’s really got it bad. I feel for him….

The fact he cares so much about Arya takes me back to S4, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Ah, the great seasons…

My wonderful Dad and Brother have taken to trying to adjust the brightness on our tv…to  limited success. And this isn’t even the darkest the episode’s been…

Okay, I got over Lyanna Mormont in S7, but I have to say, she got the coolest death ever in the show by far. And I’m glad

Also, another predicted death. Makes me wonder about Jorah’s fate now…

So… the dragons above the clouds is a pretty shot and all, but are Jon and Dany just playing hide&seek with the Night King at this point, or…?

Oh, there’s the head popsicle!

(oh, if only fire could burn the unburnt…)

(speaking of which, how does Wightserion manage to breathe fire if he’s a wight and fire kind of kills them all over again? I’ve been wondering…)

“And after less than a minute of the dragons looking like they’d actually do something, we’ve now transitioned in to a game of tag, you’re it.” - My Wonderful Brother, getting fully annoyed with this episode

“At this point you could put Little Sam out in the field and he’d do more than the dragons.” - My Wonderful Dad, getting fully annoyed with this episode

And now Arya’s playing hide&seek with the wights. What is this, buy none get three day?

So… this scene is going to contribute something other than more bad lighting, right? Please say it is…

And nothing’s really happening…

And nothing…

Nothing….

Okay, so I have a feeling this is supposed to come off as a horror movie kind of thing, but it reads more like Tom&Jerry, imo

Wights have better hearing than me. I’m a little jealous

*shudders* Alright, the way that wight re-died (coining that term as of now) when Arya stabbed it was really gross. I tip my hat to the special effects and make-up team

Arya’s running like mad. And I’m happy she seems human again

(On another note, all this focus on Arya is really making me wonder what D&D are planning on doing with her. I can guess it’s something important…)

Too dark to see too dark to see too dark to see too dark to see…

I’m still surprised the crypts are safe. Maybe I’m wrong and they won’t be taken over by the dead after all

“This episode needs more Sansa. I said what I said.” - My Wonderful Brother

The Hound and Beric’s buddy cop adventures continue

Sweet move, Beric. We should enter you in javelin-throwing

Arya fighting just fine with a head wound. Even though I’m pretty sure she must have a concussion. Oh, what the heck, it’s a fantasy show

Beric sacrificing himself for Arya and the Hound in an honestly brilliant scene… that I could hardly see… -_-*

Beric dying to protect them also means that I was probably right before when I said Arya’s going to play an important role in this fight. Or the Hound

But my money’s on Arya. They’ll want a girl power shield in case their plans fall through

Really, the lighting on this episode looks like the contrast effect I add to my Sony Vegas-made AMVs before filtering the colors

So… Melisandre’s alone in this room surrounded by a bunch of doubly dead wights. Did she kill them all herself? Did she flambe them? I would really like to know

And blue eyes. Wait… no.

“They’re going to have Arya kill the Night King. That’s their big twist” - My Wonderful Brother

“But that wouldn’t make any sense. I mean, what about Bran? Doesn’t his whole story revolve around taking down the Night King?Didn’t Uncle Benjen say in no uncertain terms that without Bran they lose everything?” - Me

“Yep. But it’s still going to be Arya.” - My Wonderful Brother

“But what about Jon?! Doesn’t 90% of his arc center around facing this guy, too?! What about their stare down in “Hardhome”?” - Me

“Maybe Jon gets a crack at him, but it’s going to be Arya who finishes him off.” - My Wonderful Brother

“They wouldn’t!” - Me

“Remember Joffrey’s funeral  scene in “Breaker of Chains” and how they changed it?” - My Wonderful Dad

“……… oh, no. They would.” -Me

And now I’m worried

I mean, I love Arya, I really do. And I love girls being great. But something like that would just feel so… out-of-the-blue

Please don’t let that be the case

(But then again, my wonderful Brother’s always right)

Theon and the red shirts going to war and I can’t even try to appreciate it

Oh, well, I couldn’t see much of it anyway

And there goes Rhaegal and Wightserion fighting in the sky. And I can’t even see what’s happening. Wondrous

*squinting*

No! Not the cloak Sansa made for Jon! Bad dragon, bad!

*more squinting*

… did Drogon just bite Rhaegal? It looks like it. But I won’t jump to any conclusions just yet because I CAN’T FRICKING SEE!!! 

Jon has to be hurt after that fall. There’s no way he only got a few scrapes

Then again, the damage to his body is probably far less than the damage my eyes have taken straining to see the screen

And back to the battle. Time to see if anyone I love is still alive…

*even more squinting*

Ya’ know what, I can’t tell

Oh, great. Dany and the Night King. Well, let’s see if she’s going to kill him and become the heiress of a million more prophecies

Bet you ten bucks she’s going to smile when she burns him

And knock knock I’m here to collect my money

Well, Jon’s staggering around like he’s hurt, at least. That’s good enough for me (at least someone seems to be affected by bodily wear-and-tear)

And the Night King’s not burnt. Oh, this is great!!!

AND THAT SMIRK!!! I CAN’T!!! *falls off chair laughing* 

“Can we stan the Starks and the Night King at the same time? Is that even possible?” - My Wonderful Dad

“Well, Dany, your purpose here is done. Time to go back to Meereen.” - My Wonderful Brother

“Excuse me, but what did the people of Meereen ever do to you to have you wish such a thing on them?” - My Wonderful Dad

“Nothing. I just really want Demanding Tourist out of Westeros already.” - My Wonderful Brother 

Yes, head popsicle. Get the dragon brat!!! Yeeeeeeeees!!!!!!

Aw, darn it. He missed

Oooh, Jon running at the Night King. Here we go! One-on-one!!!

Oh, shoot. He’s running towards him as the guy’s reanimating the corpses?! Is he really planning on sacrificing himself?!??!

(you know what, never mind. It’s Jon - we already know the answer is yes)

Okay, sweetie, all you need is a few good jabs and I’ll be happy. Just get a couple hits on this guy and I’ll be satisfied

Immediately has “Satisfied” from Hamilton play in my head and chooses to ignore it

Ummm… Jon. Why are you stopping? The path is still clear? Just run through!

Oh, shoot, everyone that was killed is coming back

Oh, hey, look, Jaime and Brienne are still alive… and they’re probably not going to be in two more minutes so I better enjoy it. Good thing I have both Wench and Kingslayer sense, or I might not have been able to tell it was them in the dark

Now where’s Pod? *activates Squire sense”*

And there’s the crypts not staying safe. I fricking called it and I wish I hadn’t

Don’t you dare touch Gilly or Little Sam or Sansa, wights!!!

On another note… how did the wights manage to punch through solid stone with their skeletal hands?

My boy Theon still stepping up. *sighs*  I’m really going to miss him… and back from a quick cut, Jon squinting at that dragonfire is me right now, after nearly a whole hour of watching an almost fully-black screen

Giving credit where credit is due, Dany just saved my fav. Thanks for that, but don’t get used to it

Ooooooooh Dany stuck in the middle of nowhere without her dragons surrounded by wights… *pulls out White Walker paraphernalia and foam finger* Team Wights forever!

(What? I did say don’t get used to it)

No Jorah! Nooooooo! Why?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

“WE COULD’VE HAD IT ALLLL!!!!” - My Wonderful Brother

Also, kind of hate how the sword belonging to the family Dany burnt alive is now being used to defend her, but who cares what I think, right?

Jon running past Sam is so wrong on so many levels

On another, however, it shows that he prioritizes Bran - his family - above all else. So, maybe I’m giving D&D too much credit here, but if that’s what they were trying to convey, I can see where they’re coming from

This tunnel run is the most fighting Jon’s actually gotten to do in the episode thus far, which is actually pretty dissapointing

Y’know, considering he was all gung-ho about fighting the Army of the Dead and all

Theon , my boy, you make me proud

Also, what is Bran actually doing? Something important, I hope…

Wow. Dany can magically wield a sword. Where did this sudden skill come from, I wonder…

Are Sansa and Tyrion taking refuge behind Ned’s tomb? *heart breaks into a million pieces*

“YES! WE’RE FINALLY GOING TO SEE SANSA IN ACTION!!!” - My Wonderful Dad

*scene cuts away*

“Hey, I said in action, not inactive! I want to see my girl kill some wights!” - My Wonderful Dad

He’s been a full Sansa stan for only a week yet he gets how awesome she is. I’m so proud of him

Oh, great, Wightserion almost killing Jon

Oh, great, wights almost killing my J-B-P Family Trio

WHY DO PIANO SCORES NEVER MEAN ANYTHING GOOD IN THIS SHOW?!?!?!?!

Yet I’m already loving this score. Let’s see just how much of a next level Ramin Djawadi takes it to

No, bad wights! Don’t kill my children!

No! Don’t make Sam cry!

Noooooooooooo! Don’t say thank you, Bran! Now he’s really going to die!

NOOOOOOO! THEON!!!!!!! *cries hysterically*

Jon… just can’t catch an awesome break this episode, can he? Now he’s got to deal with the dragon he already faced again… *sighs*

And yep. Ramin Djawadi outdid himself with this score. And that’s the hill I die on

Jon, sweetie… why are you randomly screaming at a dragon? Did you hit your head when you fell off Rhaegal? Has the stress of obsessing over the undead finally caught up to you? Did Dany finally break you?

Okay, a white walker’s hair has suddenly turned into a Maybelline commercial

And it’s…

Arya. Oh, boy. Here we go…

Aaaaaaaaand… it’s over. Just. Like. That.

We never even got to know anything about him and that’s it

They Snoke’d him

And Bran was utterly useless, to boot

*left eyes strained from too much squinting twitches*

“They really did it…” - mMe

“Called it.” - My Wonderful Brother

“Well… I guess good for Arya. Right?” - My Wonderful Dad

“No. Not good. Not good. I’m glad she got a chance to shine and I don’t even care about her hitting the final blow. I don’t care who hi it, honestly!!! But Jon and Bran were both completely useless?! EVEN BRAN?! ARE YOU  KIDDING ME?!?!?!?! BRAN’S ENTIRE STORYLINE WAS THE NIGHT KING!!! NOW WHAT’S HE ANY GOOD FOR?! TELLING HIS FAMILY THAT JAIME PUSHED HIM OUT A WINDOW?!?! DON’T GIVE ME THAT! I DID NOT SIT THROUGH SEVEN ENTIRE SEASONS OF GAME OF THRONES AND PUT UP WITH SIX OF THEM WATCHING BRAN’S BORING-AS-ALL-HECK VISIONS JUST FOR HIM TO BE PLAYING WARG THE RAVENS THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE EPISODE AND HAVE NO SAY IN TAKING DOWN THE POPSICLE!!!” -  Me, with an unpopular opinion that will get me in so much trouble later

“True. His lack of involvement was… dissapointing.” - My Wonderful Dad

“You know, there’s a way it all could’ve worked. All they had to do was have Bran warg into the Night King to try and keep him at bay to give Arya the chance to finish him off. Show a bit of struggle between all three of them and ultimately have Bran be the deciding factor. Maybe throw in a bit of flashbacks to the guy’s past, while they were at it” - My Wonderful Brother

“Yeah, but that would require making the guy look like a legitimate threat in terms of fighting.” - Me

“Oh, that’s an easy fix. They should’ve let Jon fight the Night King before and get royally owned. That would’ve established him.” - My Wonderful Brother

“Not only that, but it would also heighten the expectation that Jon would make a huge comeback, which would really throw the viewers for a loop when Arya comes to save Bran instead.” - My Wonderful Dad

My family, everyone. Also known as my bright spots in the abysmal world

To be fair, the one thing I like about this is that the knife originally intended to kill Bran eventually saved him. Bravo

Welp, there goes Jorah. My heart is already in pieces, so a few more breaks won’t do anything

*cries anyway*

Guess Dark!Dany is probably coming. At least I hope so. And then we’ll have Bronn fight her or some other nonsensical decision. Who cares anymore?

I can’t bring myself to feel a shred of pity for Dany or an ounce of compassion. Yet even I know Emilia Clarke’s acting in this scene is fantastic

And now at the end of the episode we finally have light. And my eyes actually are having a hard time adjusting to it

So long, Melisandre. I’m surprisingly emotional about this but maybe that’s just because I’m still crying from Jorah

That’s it? Huh. That’s it. Who lived? Who died? Don’t ask me.

I’m going to go work on my AU now. It may suck, but at least I put real effort into it. Maybe I’ll be a screenwriter. It seems to require very little

I’m bitter and ready to be unfollowed

Sorry

[truthbeetoldmedia]

American Gods 2x01 “House on the Rock”

Season 2 of American Gods is here, everybody! Finally! Two years after the first season premiered, we’ve been graced with the second season. After a couple different showrunners, Neil Gaiman himself took the helm. I’ve got to say, if the rest of the season is anything like this episode, it’s going to be pretty amazing!

The season opener picks up right where we left off. Mr. World (Crispin Glover) and Technical Boy (Bruce Langley) are recuperating after the showdown between the old gods and new gods at Ostara’s house in the finale. While Mr. World gets himself together and tries to track down where Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) is, he sends Technical Boy out to find Media, who had disappeared after the confrontation.  

Meanwhile, Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) and Mr. Wednesday are back on the road, and this time Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber) and Dead Wife Laura Moon (Emily Browning) are along for the ride. The trip is several states in and the awkwardness in the car is stifling. Here’s a recap: Shadow Moon works for Wednesday, who is the All-Father, Odin. Mad Sweeney, a leprechaun, is one of Wednesday’s men, meaning he works for him occasionally. Laura is Shadow’s dead wife, who cheated on Shadow when HE went to jail for HER plan to rob a casino. Laura is only “alive” because Sweeney accidentally gave Shadow his lucky coin and, in turn, Shadow left the coin at Laura’s grave. The only reason Laura was actually in the grave to begin with was because Mr. Wednesday had her killed in order to get Shadow to eventually work for him. Sweeney, Wednesday, and Laura know this, but Shadow does not. So an “awkward car ride” is putting it lightly.  

Where are they heading? To the House on the Rock in Wisconsin. Mr. Wednesday has called a meeting of the old gods to prepare for the upcoming war. The Jinn (Mousa Kraish) and Bilquis (Yetide Badaki) have already made themselves comfortable while waiting for the rest to arrive. Mr. Nancy (Orlando Jones) arrives just as our protagonist(s) show up. Mr. Nancy stole the show this episode! He was absolutely hilarious! Sarcastic and flamboyant. The back-and-forth he had with Shadow made my night.  

The House on the Rock might as well be its own character. It presents some stunning visuals and made for a fantastic season opener! Nothing I love more than seeing a bunch of grown adults having the time of their lives on a carousel! It certainly led to one of my favorite scenes to envision from the book! Riding the carousel was the key to entering the meeting of the old gods in Mr. Wednesday’s mind. Czernobog (Peter Stormare) and Zorya Vechernyaya (Cloris Leachman) have returned and we’re introduced to Mama-ji (Sakina Jaffrey), who is an old Hindu goddess of war. Along with several other old gods, the conclusion of not wanting to fight the upcoming war is reached. Mr. Wednesday is trying to get them to rise up, but these old gods are cocky that these new gods will just disappear like a fading trend. Bilquis steps forward and informs them of how one of the new gods showed her their ways and her power is stronger than ever. You’ll remember Technical Boy threatening her into his service. He gave Bilquis her power back through technology. This has us wondering if Bilquis is actually recruiting for the new gods or if she’s just trying to convince the old gods to give in to them and accept change. In her own words, “Evolve or die.” Judging by the way Bilquis left the episode, I’m thinking that’s the case. I’m really excited to see Bilquis’ arc this season for that very reason.    

The episode ended with the old gods hanging out and drinking in a diner at Motel America. Laura reminded Shadow that Mr. Wednesday is dangerous. He doesn’t really seem to care because, for once, he’s actually believing in something for HIMSELF. He feels a part of something bigger than him. However, things don’t stay jovial for long. Mr. World has located this gathering (probably because of Bilquis, as she seemed to be doing something on her phone) and one of his lackeys starts shooting up the place. Shadow runs out to take the gunman out and gets abducted in the process. While there are a couple of casualties, the one that hits the hardest for our dear gods is that of Zorya Vechernyaya. She turns to Mr. Wednesday before she dies and says that he’s a bad good man and that she doesn’t want to say goodbye. I got emotional. Mr. Wednesday got emotional.  Czernobog got emotional...and vengeful. It would seem that now we have some old gods looking to go to that war now.

One thing I’m really sick of is Laura Moon and honestly? Kudos to Emily Browning. I hated Laura in the book and I just can’t stand her even more in the show. There’s a certain cockiness to her that I can’t stomach and it definitely helps that this beautiful young woman is decaying right before our eyes. Laura Moon didn’t have much of a presence in the book. That is certainly different in the series and the only good thing about her in the show is her antagonistic co-existence with Mad Sweeney. I know some people ship them and I know some people ship her with Shadow. I say just let her rot already. They both deserve better. Also? Stop calling Shadow your “puppy”. He’s not a dog. He’s a person. He’s a person who went to jail for YOU. He’s a person who you CHEATED ON with his BEST FRIEND while he went to jail for YOU. He’s also made it clear that he is no longer your puppy. I appreciate Laura saving his life, but she also wrecked it to begin with. I’m not bitter or anything. (I totally am.)  

Also, really not a fan of Laura being the first Moon to be kissed by Bilquis. I unabashedly ship Bilquis and Shadow because they’re beautiful and I adore Ricky and Yetide and their chemistry. Not really sure how that relationship would work, seeing as how Bilquis has a people-eating vagina, but I love it nonetheless and I’m feeling really disrespected that she kissed the rotting corpse of a dead wife before Shadow.  

While I’m still on the Laura train here, I am begging this show to give us more Sweeney without Laura. While I love their antagonistic relationship, because it’s honestly really fucking hilarious to see them go back and forth, he can have that kind of relationship with anybody. Pablo has chemistry with everyone in this cast. We got a glimpse of that in this episode with Mr. Nancy and we saw that last season with Mr. Wednesday, Shadow, and Salim. Laura ain’t special, yet the writers of this show seem to think she’s worth something. Can’t say I agree.  

All that saltiness aside, I’m actually really looking forward to this season! I can’t wait to meet Sam Black Crow (Devery Jacobs) and New Media (Kahyun Kim). Last season’s Media was played by Gillian Anderson and she was only signed on for one season. I think it makes complete sense to have the goddess of media be an ever-changing face. I am excited to see what Kim brings to the role and don’t even get me started on my little queer baby, Sam Black Crow! I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for her and we’re finally getting her! They couldn’t have picked a better actress! I’m eagerly anticipating both of their introductions to Shadow!    

American Gods airs Sundays at 8/7c on Starz.

Sarah’s episode rating: 🐝🐝🐝🐝

[gayasinstupidpodcast]

What’s up gamers!!! Our fourth episode plowed through the chaos of thanksgiving holidays and is Here w/ some Facts and Opinions about creating shit and being LGBT and how being LGBT influences creating shit. HEADS UP we recorded this while I had a cold so my voice is probably a little off, but ik Isaac put SO much work into the editing so it would be ready on time and we have recorded statements from some amazing artists (transcriptions under the cut below!) & this is honestly one of my favorite episodes we’ve done so far, so give her a listen if you’re gay or enjoy fun things!

BIG thank you once again to everyone who participated in this month’s episode!! Your contributions are so valued and so beautiful!!

You can find us on the Itunes Podcast App/Webpage at Gay As In Stupid Podcast! You can also find our episodes uploaded to Youtube and Soundcloud!

You can also follow us on twitter at gayasinstupid!

Further Reading on LGBT Artists

Montage of a Queering Deferred: Memory, Ownership, and Archival Silencing in the Rhetorical Biography of Langston Hughes

The Political Provocations of Keith Haring 

Pop art politics: Activism of Keith Haring 

E M Forster’s Gay Fiction

Alok Vaid-Menon Tells Us What It’s Like To Be Femme In Public

Shea Diamond Speaks Her Truth

Aaron’s 2018 November Recs!

Alok Alok Vaid-Menon is one of my favorite poet/activist/performance artists out there! Their writing and stage presence is gorgeous and witty in a way that’s SO clever and still feels like you’re in a room trading jokes you don’t need to explain with your closest trans friends. The way they balance their art creates a real, deeply touching experience that feels very essential to our world.

Miles (2016) Miles is set in 1999 and is a coming of age story about a gay teenager trying to get a volleyball scholarship for college in Chicago. It’s not revolutionary and it’s not over the top dramatic, but it’s funny and honest and it makes me feel nice. Definitely the movie to watch when you’ve just been through something emotionally taxing and need a light crying session and some mediocre pastries.

Isaac’s 2018 November Recs!

The Adventure Zone I know half of you already kin the Mcelroys while the other half either don’t know or don’t care, but the Adventure Zone is one of my most favorite things in the world. It’s a DND podcast (yes, all episodes are transcribed, and they have a graphic novel for the first arc of Balance with a second one on the way!) by three brothers plus their dad, and not only does it have the most amazing story and is ungodly funny, but TONS of gays (Griffin went ape with those Lesbian NPCS)! And just because they can! Same with trans characters. It’s a story where they just exist, and that’s really important to me because in a lot of media LGBT have to almost prove why they deserve to take up space. And it’s not just something that goes on in their first campaign, Amnesty also has those sweet sweet gay! I could talk about this podcast for hours, so if you needed that final push to give it a listen, THIS IS IT!

Stardew Valley You get to farm and be gay. And if THAT hasn’t sold you on this charming video game, then maybe the super cute graphics, beautiful soundtrack and a handful of interesting characters will! TBH I spend so much time playing this game it’s concerning. It’s just such a fun way to relax, and I just really REALLY like video games were I can chose to be gay. Like. God Tier. YOU CAN HAVE CROPS AND CHICKENS AND BE GAY C’MON YALL!!

The Amazing Quotes And Artists Featured!

Meg | instagram | esty

“My identity as a bisexual woman influences my art in many ways. As a woman, i create art about the issues that effect me, such as abortion and gender equality, in order to resonate with the people that matter most to me. As a bisexual individual, my subjects often appear from a gaze that falls outside of the stereotypical eye. My figure drawings and portraits all come from a place of admiration, and don’t fall into the stereotype of the male gaze or womanly care- they are the space inbetween, equally sexualized and normalized. I feel lucky to be a bi gal in the art world because it is a place that is my own to create in. There are so many queer artists that i look up to such as Mapplethorpe and Warhol, and many female artists i can cite as influence (Jenny Holzer, Kiki Smith, and Louise Bourgeois to name a few). My identity gives me a whole new world of content to draw from and allows my work to resonate with a wider audience, and I really think that any artists goal is to reach and touch as many people as possible.“  

Cameron | twitter | instagram 

“I don’t think that it influences the form really, but it definitely influences the subject matter! (Much as I hate to admit it, my identity influences the majority of choices I make in life.) I write a lot of poems about lgbtq related things and religion, as well as other stuff too. I was raised catholic, so realizing that I was “different” at more than one point in my teen years was scary AF. Being a member of the lgbtq+ community and also trying to still feel like I belong, or wanting to, in a religious community is hard, the two things are usually at a crossroads in my life so writing about them makes it easier for me to get through. My hope is that someday someone reads what I wrote and finds some peace in their own life/experience.” 

Vince | art instagram

“Well, being transgender I feel like I’m constantly aware of the lack of representation of my community, and I feel like it might be because of that I tend to experiment with showing all sorts of different type of people in my work. Because there’s so much diversity in the world, why not showcase that?”

Fox | art instagram  

“Oof…I’m gay so my characters always be gay. Gotta Fill the void in media w my own bullshit so I don’t have to rely on straight showrunners who will inevitably discard the character since they themselves seem to have no personal attachment and treat lgbt characters as disposable extras. Bc if I don’t at least attempt to create representation in the field I’m going into then I can’t rlly complain about the lack of it right? If I don’t try and change it I can’t complain about the lack of change so being an lgbt artist is lowkey Big Pressure to be revolutionary in your work but sometime…..I just wanna draw funkey animeal and that’s aight too”

Jen | twitter | instagram

“As a female bisexual poet, I worry often that my poetry and art will be too niche to be appreciated. I’ve spent years editing my poetry down to its barest bones in hopes that someone will relate to it. Changing pronouns back and forth because I worry that if I do talk about a woman, the poem will be stripped of its context and suddenly be about my queerness when in reality it never was. When I write about love and people I have dated and have crushed on, I want the poem to exist outside of the gender of who I love. I fear my authorial death will result in a complete misinterpretation of what I mean. When I write, it truly does not matter to me if I am writing about a woman or a man. If I feel what I write and I can make someone else feel it too does it matter that I also love women? I write what matters to me overall, regardless of gender, I try to make my poetry as true as possible. Sometimes, when I catch myself over editing I try to take myself back to the moment, to the person, what I loved about him or her. “

Lain | art instagram

“My LGBT Identity has significantly impacted almost all of my art, especially my work over the last two years. Ever since I have allowed myself to accept that I am trans and began my transition (6 months on T!), the impact that my Roman Catholic upbringing has had on my bisexual trans identity has bled into my artwork. Because of the way I was raised, accepting and allowing myself to be authentic has been an upward struggle. And what better way to process and document struggle than art?  

Much of my recent work has had a focus on the trans body, particularly the “sanctity” of self-actualization and the god-like power that comes with accepting and creating yourself in the unique and exceptional way that LGBT people must in order to live authentically. Two of my pieces on this topic were actually recently exhibited at UWM in the Trans-lucent exhibition, and will remain there until December 15th (I think). I got sick and tired of never seeing trans representation, so now I am creating that space that I crave in my own work.”

Kobe | instagram | soundcloud

“My art from is very influenced by my LGBT identity. It is very influenced by my LGBT black Identity. I think that whenever an artist makes their art (in my case writing music, singing, dancing) they should incorporate as much of themselves as possible. I think my LGBT identity definitely adds a sense of representation as well. I want people like me to listen to my music to know they aren’t alone. So it influences my work a lot. “

Nat | art instagram

“I think the fact that I am part of the LGBT+ community influences my art directly. Even though I don’t draw as often as I wish, I believe both my drawings and college projects (I am a 3d art/animation student), and my creativity in general is inspired by my personal experiences as a gay woman and common things experienced by the community. I try as often as I can to bring representation of some kind in the things I do, mainly personal projects. I also feel that it influences me on my motivation to keep creating; whenever I listen to, see drawings, watch movies or see whatever form of artistic expression from LGBT+ artists it gives me the energy to keep going, to keep creating.”

[novarasalas]

Second Look Review: The Feud

*This post is very graphics heavy. Use caution. Sorry*

Nnnnggggg…..

…..I hate game shows.

And you know what I hate more than game shows?

1970s game shows.

…..yay, this episode.

But I’m gonna power through it, because there’s a lot of throw backs and references here that you may not have noticed the first time around. There’s also some good plot happenings, too.

But really….

Pictured: my two moods watching this episode.

So the first reference people got almost immediately is in the Garfle Warfle Snick logo.

It’s a classic 70s design. While the asterisks and colors of the GWS logo aren't present in the original Dating game logo, they do feature in the set.

That’s Farah Fawcett, by the way.

The first game is called Pictation. It’s obviously a play on Pictionary, which had it’s own game show in 1997. The original drawing game show, however, was “Win, Lose or Draw”.

This is an episode from 1987, featuring Burt Reynolds, Annie Potts, Dom Deluise, and…

Betty White!

And now Keith is lucky enough to play.

The hair tie is to keep his emo bangs out of his face while the pacifier is to bite down on in frustration.

I know this from experience, as I was in art school starting in 2005, which was a prime year for emo kids, and they made us play Pictionary one afternoon.

Everyone’s pretty much already said it, but yes, I can confirm, Keith is a good artist.

None of us were that day, though.

Several instructors pulled all of their students into one room and broke the news that we’d be playing a game. As socially awkward and socially anxious weirdos, the news also broke us. Half the students didn’t even participate, the other half were doing what Lance is doing here: yelling random stuff that doesn’t even come close to making sense.

And we were terrible at this game. All of us.

After the 3rd round, a cry came from the back of the room:

“hOW Are wE SO BAD aT ThiS???!!!”

I wish I knew, random art kid.

What I do know is that Keith is doing far better than I did. I mean, he didn’t start crying, not even a little bit.

In the end, Team Voltron loses, giving Team Galra a chance to steal. That’s a game mechanic from The Family Feud, and it’s the only one, even though the episode is titled “The Feud”.

It’s more in the overall design of the set, really.

….

I’ve never liked “The Family Feud”. I claim legacy on that: back in the day before remote controls were standard, my sickly grandpa would drag himself out of his chair to turn the t.v. off because he hated Richard Dawkins so much.

Richard Dawkins was the original host of the show, and he was one in a line of 70s game hosts that always made me feel like I was about to be sexually assaulted.

...can’t imagine why I’d ever feel that way.

To be fair, he’s not kissing those women without consent. They asked them before the taping if they were ok with it. But still….ick. And Richard Dawkins wasn’t even close to being the worst in terms of smarmy game show hosts.

Back to the episode at hand though.

(This is a great loop, btw. I suck at gif making myself, so thanks op.)

Everything about Team Galra is delightful. I just wish there was more of it.

With a steal and a win, Zarkon chooses Lance to play.

Zarkon is so thrilled to call Lance dumb. It’s hilarious. Also, Lance fans, please enjoy this endless loop of that moment.

I kid, I kid. I like Lance. We’ll talk more later.

I don’t know what Faces from the Past is referencing, but that isolation shield seems awful lot like The Cone of Silence from “Get Smart”.

What is The Cone of Silence? It’s a class A security procedure, used to transfer top secret intel between two agents.

Demonstrated here:

The next game is more familiar.

It’s the Garflator, or otherwise known as...Password!

...wait….is that…?

Yes! It’s Betty White again. Also seen here in an episode from 1963.

Doing this research, I found out that Betty’s done a lot of game shows in her time. That’s news to me, because I still don’t like game shows.

After the dumb one is the smart one.

And everyone knows it.

Pidge plays miniature golf here.I don’t think it’s in reference to anything else, though maybe you could see a game from The Price is Right if you squint.

And then Pidge gets things done about, by calculating a shot that takes out the camera and the crazy, demi god like creature known as Bob, tackling him to the ground.

The ambition, drive and self assurance that Pidge has is amazing and no one talks about it nearly enough. I want to be her when I grow up.

So now it’s down to a vote: who ever gets voted for the most gets to leave while the rest stay for eternity. It’s kind of like a reverse “Survivor” situation, really.

And now everything gets very heartwarming as they vote for each other, but one stood out to me: Lance, voting for Keith.

Lance: He’s our leader, plus he’s half Galra, so I think he’s, like, the future.

That….was so sweet. I mean it. That face, those words. I didn’t expect Lance to say that. He’s come so far since those first episodes where he was just an unmitigated asshat to Keith. It’s growth. It’s good.

Keith, what say you?

Keith: I just don’t wanna be stuck here for eternity with Lance.

Oh no! Keith...hahah...Lance gives you something so heartfelt and that’s what you go with? Aw man…

Really, though, his ire’s not directed at Lance, not really. It’s more like he’s just done with everything that’s happening, he’s frustrated, and Lance is the only one he’d take anything like this out on.

But buck up, kiddos, your love and friendship won the day!

And lastly, one more reference, this time directly from The Price is Right:

At the end of each show, host Bob Barker would turn to the camera and say “Help control the pet population: have your pet spayed or neutered.”

Bob Barker has fought for animals rights for decades, and while I don’t necessarily agree with everything he’s done, good things have come from his work. I’d link some info on it here, but...I can’t. Channel you’re inner essay writer and go find those sources.

So, that episode was a trip. In all, it more reminded me of “Let’s Make a Deal”, where costumed contestants would be chosen from the audience to play games for cash and prizes.

Bob himself is most like Bob Eubanks, as played by Q from Star Trek. I believe the showrunners even mentioned Q while talking about Bob in this episode

That’s Bob Eubanks up there. He was the host of “The Newlywed Game” and “Hollywood Squares”.

Q, on the other hand, is:

“He is an extra-dimensional being of unknown origin who possesses immeasurable power over normal human notions of time, space, the laws of physics, and reality itself, being capable of violating or altering them in unpredictable ways with a casual thought or hand gesture. Despite his vast knowledge and experience spanning untold eons (and much to the exasperation of the object(s) of his obsession), he is not above practical jokes for his own personal amusement, for a Machiavellian and manipulative purpose, or to prove a point. He is said to be nigh-omnipotent, and he is continually evasive regarding his true motivations.”

This is him:

So...I still don’t like 70s game shows. But, I gotta say, not everything is terrible about them.

Gene Gene the Dancing Machine is fun. This is from “The Gong Show”.

Fun, if your definition includes “pure chaos”. 

The uh….energetic...host there is Chuck Barris. He’s the creator of “The Dating Game”, “The Newlywed Game” and “The Gong Show”. His shows seem to have pioneered the whole look and feel of most of these 70s game shows, and thus is my sworn enemy.

…

Don’t even think of talking to me about “The Match Game”.

In summary:

I actually had fun with this episode, as much as I don’t like the aesthetic.

And apparently Josh Keaton said that this episode foreshadows something and I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS AND I’M SCARED SO VERY SCARED.

Next up: Wow! What a call back! -and- Kolivan’s been having a bad time.