#guess who just watched episode 2x05

[ohno-elrond]

JUSTICE FOR VALANDIL

[ladyluscinia]

2x08 Reaction #7

Ok, last episode thing in this series I've finally circled around to being pissed about is framing Izzy as a mentor to Edward.

Because what the fuck.

When they had Stede do the whole "taught him everything he knows" bit in 2x05 I thought it was pure flattery, to the point I thought it was wild that Izzy even gave a little shrug like he might believe it. I thought we had established pretty clearly in S1 that Edward was the creative thinker and leader in their dynamic.

Izzy was useful - probably even essential - but he was the support. The tool. Good at the execution.

And he certainly seemed to know this. In 1x04 where they establish their pre-Stede dynamic, Izzy expects Edward to come up with a brilliant plan and tell him what to do. He only doubts him enough to try and take charge at the last possible second, seems mostly aware his own idea is "get shot fighting back instead of sitting and dying", and feels genuine regret for both having to shoot down Edward's first plan and insulting him at all once he saves them in the end.

Because Edward is brilliant. He's earned his place as the leader between them. As Blackbeard.

Which makes it absolutely infuriating that in pivoting him into a "wise mentor" role they have Ricky say to Izzy's face that he was the brains behind Blackbeard and Izzy doesn't even refute it??? Paired with killing him off as the mentor (supposedly), and paralleling him to Auntie as they really double down on the "mentor who has authority over strategy and is proud of you" thing, and the displays of respect in 2x07... it kinda feels like the show is saying Edward learned most or all of his shit from Izzy.

And, like... if they just meant swordfighting and getting an approving nod when he pulled off a complicated disarm that would be one thing, but they kept focusing on things like "brains of the operation" and "how to lead the crew as a Captain" lessons.

And Edward is so much less interesting if Izzy actually taught him how to be Blackbeard, or if he was doing things as Blackbeard for Izzy's approval.

Like I guess I'm glad they didn't flesh it out enough to make the implications fully textual so you can fudge them away from that direction, but they don't really tell you not to read it that way. The man is even giving emotional development advice for fuck's sake. The mentor thing is jarring enough because the authority and respect dynamic really never flowed in Izzy's direction, but it's also putting Izzy in a position where I feel like they are implying he made Edward the man he was for better and worse, and... no. Don't do that.

Stop giving Edward's anxiety-ridden henchman credit for his atrocities - he worked hard on those.

(Plus we literally already know the first authoritative figure in piracy he got round two of Daddy Issues and his fucked up ideas about piracy from. How many symbolic fathers pushing him in dark directions does one man need to kill / be visited by in purgatory / watch die before he can start addressing those???)

[booasaur]

You have me more than intrigued me. Do you know if anyone is posting Della Street scenes from Perry Mason? I gave up on HBO awhile ago but I may have to reup if this one proves engrossing enough. How procedural is the show on the whole? I love a good period mystery.

I couldn't find any scenes, of Della herself or of the ship(s). It's especially hard to find stuff about just the HBO series when the original was so iconic.

The show as a whole is....the first season started off as the most stereotypical cliched version of modern reboots as you could find, a dark, grim slow origin story where the thing the character is known for only happens near the end.

I'm not sure how much you know about the original series, well, we'll put aside the books, but the actual first show started airing all the way back in the '50s and it was really popular, and Della Street was a badass even then The show ended a few years later but was so popular, the same actors came back for a series of TV movies that basically acted liked more episodes, all the way from 1985 to 1995. So I guess the modern era isn't the only one doing these reboots. :P

But anyway, the original show was more of a classic procedural, each ep would have Perry, a defense lawyer, defending a client and figuring out a way to prove their innocence and get them off. The new HBO series has had one case a season so far, and there's no real guarantee that Perry'll be able to successfully defend their case, the tone is more cynical.

It is a pure mystery per season, though, as much as it may look like it's more a character introspection. It's a lot more realistic in terms of racism, sexism, and of course, with the changing of Della to a lesbian, homophobia. Perry himself is suffering PTSD after the war, he starts off as a private investigator so we see how it comes to happen that he becomes a lawyer.

Della's too main a character to do all her individual scenes, but I'd actually uploaded some of these short scenes for my friend (who then went back to watch the whole show herself) but maybe this will give you a good idea of what the show's about:

Season 1

1x01 - Della's first appearance: https://streamable.com/idap23

1x03 - This is when I first started to really like Della: https://streamable.com/pys6gf

1x03 - Again, being so awesome, I literally made a clip of this back when this first aired and made my friend watch, who forgot about the show again till this season: https://streamable.com/ezhcsu

1x04 - The first time we find out Della's into women, with her gf Hazel: https://streamable.com/uvzwpx

1x05 - Another sweet scene with Hazel: https://streamable.com/qi83ft

1x07 - Della with her friend Hamilton: https://streamable.com/dm6ezq

I didn't do every scene where Hazel was mentioned or appeared, though there's not much more.

And now in season 2:

2x01 - Della first sees Anita: https://streamable.com/yyttvi

2x01 - An extension of the scene above: https://streamable.com/lli2b1

2x01 - Della gives Anita a call: https://streamable.com/6b2enu

2x02 - Anita takes Della to a boxing match: https://streamable.com/7jm5mt

These last clips are the ones I used to make gifs from so they're not necessarily the full scenes. There are also obviously so many more scenes of Della in all, so if this does pique your interest, I'd go ahead and just watch the whole show, at least from season 2 onward. It's gotta be available to watch in places you don't have to pay. >_>

2x03 - Anita visits Della at the office: https://streamable.com/rl6870

2x04 - Della's still upset about their previous client's suicide, she meets up wiith Anita and they go on a trip: https://streamable.com/siiaw4

2x04 - Della waking up https://streamable.com/vws9kw

2x05 - Anita and Della's scenes this ep https://streamable.com/brv422

2x06 - A bit of Anita and a lot more Della individually, just figured it'd add more depth:

- Part 1: https://streamable.com/nur5ht

- Part 2: https://streamable.com/4h6m7p

2x07 - No Anita this week, but we did get a scene with Ham https://streamable.com/2x3xvv

2x08 - Not much Anita this week either, but a lot of good scenes of Della

- Part 1: https://streamable.com/csgm23

- Part 2: https://streamable.com/tu8h33

[raayllum]

For some S4 positivity:

I am loving the different outlooks on Aaravos we are getting! I know people were/are ranting about how Zubeia did an exposition dump on Aaravos’s backstory. But we have to remember: a) the entire arc of s4-s6 is called the mystery of aaravos, not the season. and b) she’s a bias party who does not have all the information (and at one point, she did like him too. since he was “respected and loved by all” she’s not excluding herself from this, notably). in contrast with claudia’s words to soren during their conversation, it’s so *chef’s kiss.*

it honestly makes me excited to see what other views we’ll get on aaravos, and his true motives.

I also really enjoyed terry’s coming out to viren, viren’s panic attacks and how they were handled, claudia being a badass and no longer passive, and all of soren’s scenes. aaravos’s single scene in episode 4 was also 👌🏻 delicious. the new intro is also fun to listen & watch to! i love going back just to analyze it.

i’m sure i have more to say, but this is what i can think of off the top my head!

Right, like S4 pushes what we already knew (there was a mutual history of some kind between the Draconic Royal family and Aaravos) and then just amplifies it

Then we S4 we get hints at both of their perspectives on how they felt about each other personally

Like all we learned was that

Aaravos may have been involved in getting rid of the previous dragon monarch, Luna Tenebris. This is not confirmed.

Aaravos was likely involved in getting rid of Queen Aditti but we already knew that thanks to be the audience in 3x07

Aaravos has done what he did to Viren (and is doing to Claudia) many times across history. This doesn't tell us much of anything new, merely that his current machinations aren't anything new, either.

The Orphan Queen exposed his treachery in some way, according to Zubeia. The Key of Aaravos was symbolically or literally involved in doing so

Claudia confirms that Aaravos did, or at least tells humans that he did, give him magic through dark magic. This was implied all the way back in 3x01. Now it's confirmed

And... that's it. We still don't know exactly how the prison was constructed, or what crimes he was precisely imprisoned for, or what exactly he wants besides Zubeia and Soren's best guesses that are vague, but communicate intense destruction and upheaval. There's still plenty of mystery, but given that 1) this information had to be communicated orally to some degree (as Aaravos' name disappears when you read it) and 2) Zubeia has been alive for 300+ years to know what happened, even if her mate wasn't involved, I'd take this any day over only hearing from Aaravos himself, because that's about as untrustworthy as they come

It makes me think about how we hear about the death of the Dragon King and Zym over and over again. In 1x02, Rayla claims that humans attacked them unprovoked and Callum doesn't dispute it, even if we only learn in 2x05-2x06 this isn't true at all, thanks to his mother's dead at Thunder's hands. We're led to believe in the 1x01 intro that something rivalling an army took Avizandum down, and then learn in 3x06 that it was literally just Viren and King Harrow with two big dark magic spells that are extremely rare and powerful to manifest. We learn about Rayla's parents fleeing in 1x05 and only get the truth of how that encounter (and how indeed how Viren played into it, after it was hinted in 1x08) played out in 3x08. The show loooves to recontextualize and build to / add to things and perspectives over time. At this point I don't think they have to spell it out

[purpleplaid17]

Jess Watches // Thu 19 Oct Synopses & Favourite Scenes

Frasier (with mum) 5x09 Perspectives on Christmas

While receiving massages for their holiday stress, each member of the Crane family relates the story of the last few days, with subtle differences based on their own perspectives.

Finally an ensemble episode this season! It a Christmas miracle. Hilarious that the neighbours explanation for Niles's ineptitude was that he is "Dr. Crane's brother."

Chucky 3x03 Jennifer's Body

Chucky's complex motivations are revealed; Tiffany is tried for Jennifer Tilly's murder spree.

Tiffany & Nica are back! Woo hoo! I always enjoy episodes more when they're doing a c t i n g. Tiffany with multiple tit-ilating outfit changes and Nica finally getting some justice.

The Consultant 1x06 Glass

Patoff continues his bizarre mind games, now including Craig's fiancée. Craig returns from sick leave to find changes in the office. Elaine discovers a disturbing trend in the newly developed computer game.

So the boy who killed Sang is Patoff's A.I baby and they're studying human behaviour by testing it's limits. idk at this point. No idea where the story's going but really enjoying the mystery of it.

Our Flag Means Death 2x05 The Curse of the Seafaring Life

As Blackbeard remains plagued by the distrust of his crew, Izzy schools Stede on how to be an effective captain.

Them actually talking about, and trying to process their traumas. And being more mindful of their harmful behaviour and how they treat others. Also, the proposal was so sweet and intimate. I love that it was a moment shared just between them.

Gen V 1x01 God U.

Since 1965, Godolkin University has trained some of the smartest superheroes the world has ever known, including three current members of the Seven. The university continues to offer support to all students.

I was about to stop watching a couple of minutes in because yet again Kripke &co. had killed the mother. And I didn't want another show of him traumatizing characters by kiling the women in their life. But literally a few seconds later the dad got killed too so I guess I'll allow it if it's equal opportunity traumatizing lol

[adamnablelittledevil]

P.S. This is an answer to your post, but I took the opportunity to talk about the fandom and my feelings in general because you made an interesting point.

So, the way I feel about this show/adaptation or these stuff in general is quite particular. And I wouldn't say it's better or worse, but it's different and I usually find myself being the unpopular opinion, even among other unpopular opinions.

I agree that they were probably trying to pave the way for it with 1x05, 1x07, 2x05 and 2x07, specially for non-readers. Those episodes were some of their best in terms of quality, but also the worst considering the heaviness. And they don't come close to the length or explicitness of Lestat's transformation. So, as awful as they were, I'm kind of glad they did it because I know what to expect and believe I can endure it. If this show was all sunshine and rainbows and then that happened out of nowhere, it would be way more harder to digest.

I'm always saying that people who watch or read the books should know what they're signing up for, specially for their own sake. If it's too triggering for you and might make you regress in your recovery/healing journey, just drop it. No entertainment is supposed to affect your own well-being. If you can deal with all the hard and ugly parts and like 50% of it, then yeah, consume it all you want. If you're mostly disappointed than satisfied with the content, then you should try something more enjoyable because that's just wasting your time and I don't see the point in it.

That said, I don't find reservations a bad thing. If people agreed with the writers all the time, it would just be lack of personality and critical-thinking. It's good and healthy to have complaints sometimes, as well as elaborating those arguments, imaging alternatives and solutions, it all makes the fandom discourse so much richer and stimulating for me.

The thing I want from the show as an adaptation and its own story is to have quality, make all the changes they're able to make without affecting the story, be unpredictable at some level, be sweet, romantic, dramatic, sad, painful, complicated, confusing, uncomfortable, understandable, keep being grey instead of black and white and keep me rooting for these characters and their relationships. I don't want them to be only monsters who spend immortality just emotionally, physically and/or sexually hurting other people because I'd probably end up hating them. I don't want them to be perfect, always showing love, knowing exactly what to say, never raising their voice, never having arguments etc because... It's just not realistic to the individuals or even species that they are and how their bodies and mind operate. And it wouldn't provide any conflict to keep the story going anyway.

I guess it's about finding the right balance. I'm perfectly fine with changing parts of the book if they don't make sense, or are too disturbing or even offensive, or if they just found a way to make it better (Louis is a good example of that). I'm okay even if they don't use some parts of the books at all. But what can be used on a television format, what can be relevant, what is indeed necessary... They could, should, have to or otherwise it won't be a good adaptation. An adaptation that is so loyal to the original source that you know exactly what will happen, how, when, what for and with whom is a bad adaptation. An adaptation that takes so much liberties to the point you don't even recognize the story anymore is a bad adaptation. Again, it's about finding the right middle.

I'm mostly neutral about horror and gore. I usually don't watch it because I find them lacking depth or even a point most of the time. This show made me accept and sometimes even enjoy it, specially on episodes 1x01, 1x07 and 2x06 because the way they did was so artistic that made me see the beauty in it. Still, while I embrace and admire a lot of this show, including the ugliness, I have some deal breakers. Not many, might be just two or three things, but I have them. Genre and style don't matter to me, there are qualities and flaws in every category and it's a proper execution that counts. I don't believe you're supposed to love everything about art. But you're not supposed to hate everything about it either. And, at least so far, they found a way to achieve that with excellence and exceed my expectations.

About Lestat's transformation specifically: They have to do this. They can use their freedom to make it a little lighter/shorter, but I'm afraid they can't change it that much or it will fail at explaining the character. They can also take liberties to make it even worse/longer and I find that possible (they already made it longer with Magnus keeping him there for a week). Do I specifically want that? No. Would I be against it? No. Because it would make sense and I'm confident the writers will properly explore the consequences of his trauma. I'm not asking them to add SA to it, but the undertones are there and they are so vivid that the lines get blurry and it feels like you're reading that exact kind of event, so I wouldn't condemn the writers if went all in. I would, however, criticize them if it 1x06 is all we get and we never fully explore it. Or if they showed a long, graphic, brutal scene, checked that box and never show how that affected and probably still affects him nowadays. Because either option would be a major disservice for the character and story as a whole. But so far they have given me good reasons to trust their work.

I once broke 4 toes all at once and it still was better than whatever the hell I just read

[loving-villanelle]

It was hard for me to pinpoint why I felt so disappointed this season because the show is still good but yeah that's it: s3 promised us something else and then it was wiped away like we were hallucinating it. And as a fan I feel betrayed. I tried to stay positive and hopeful but now I'm starting to think that this season really is just about their individual journeys instead of them figuring things out together. Eve with her darkness and V with her humanity. Then they meet somewhere in the middle in the last episode and that's the "place of possibility" Sandra mentioned. It almost feels like they are too afraid to actually make them be together. It's up to the fic writers to do the rest. In the interviews they were talking so much about the intimacy, deeper relationship, less resistance between them ect that I was really exited to see that but now it seems that that is all gonna happen in the very end and oh boy that is not gonna be enough after everything......

I completely agree. They repeated over and over again in pressers how this is the most time Villaneve have ever spent together on screen and how things become so much deeper and more intimate between them. Where?? We've had what, 5-10 minutes of screentime over 160 minutes so far. We had more Villaneve in s2 than I think we'll end up with in s4, because Villaneve were together quite a bit from 2x05 to 2x08. At this point, I think we'll only get significant Villaneve screentime in 4x07 and 4x08. And where's this intimacy and deeper connection?? Every interaction with them has been charged with hostility and disdain. I don't see the intimacy and deeper connection of a slap, or a rejection, or an arrest. And maybe, MAYBE I could get on board with the direction things have gone in if we had been provided with some sort of explanation, but we haven't! I'm honestly starting to think that they couldn't come up with a good reason to have things revert this drastically, so they just chose not to address it. I'll be more than happy for them to prove me wrong, but it just completely baffles me how they had the perfect setup to take Villaneve to the finish line as a team and just chucked it out the window!! Eve and Villanelle came to an understanding on the bridge that the Twelve had taken everything from them, so it would've made perfect sense for s4 to pick up with them preparing to take the Twelve down. Villanelle could be training with Eve, instead of hulk smasher Yusuf being introduced, they could be investigating and plotting together, but instead we're handed this and it doesn't even feel like I'm watching the same show anymore. I'd love to use the excuse of "well there's a new show runner this season" BUT LAURA WROTE THE FINALE. She retconned her own material! And I don't know why, because it was a hell of a lot better than what we've seen so far

I think you're 100% correct that the show was just too afraid to go there. There's part of the fanbase (that I strongly believe is in the minority) who don't see Villaneve as a couple, so KE is refusing to take that actual step and will instead leave us with "possibility". There's no reason they couldn't have had Villaneve still navigate these personal journeys while continuing to grow their dynamic. But I guess that was too much to ask for

[lannisterdaddyissues]

Mary and/or Thomas for the character asks!

ooooh thank you!!! i was hoping someone would do these two since they're very Controversial(tm) characters, i think

Mary:

do I like them: yes!!! she's a tough character to like sometimes because she can be so stubborn and coldhearted but she is a girlboss and i do just want her to be happy :( (not with henry talbot tho. anyone but henry.)

5 good qualities: oof but the way i can only think of like two LOL, anyway her loyalty (ill never be over how she cared for matthew when he was paralyzed), her wit, her resilience, her surprisingly open mind, and her incredible fashion sense

3 bad qualities: oooof. her spitefulness, her vanity, and her tendency to lash out at others to protect herself

favourite episode/etc: imagine picking just one... uhhh ok 2x05 when she was caring for matthew :)

otp: the only correct answer is mary/matthew obviously (but for her new suitors i'd say charles blake bc he was the only one who met my personal expectations of a suitor for her)

brotp: oooh tough question but i have to go with mary and anna because they are just so <3<3<3

ot3: honestly? mary/matthew/tom. if matthew had lived they would totally be a threesome. however i would also like to direct your attention to this post where i expound on the delights of a mary/matthew/charles blake ot3 :)

notp: i can't wait for mary to divorce henry in the next movie <3

best quote: there are so many quotes but to me the most memorable is "my life makes me angry. not you." knowing her history and contemporary role in society, that quote really hit different

headcanon: the little toy dog she gave to matthew during the war becomes a family treasure of sorts in the future. even though it was always hers and not matthew's it takes on great significance as a concrete reminder of their love for one another even decades after his death

Thomas:

do I like them: not as much as other people on this site do tbh. unpopular opinion but being a well-written, multifaceted character is not the same as being a nice or altogether likable character. i suppose you could say i have very conflicting feelings about him

5 good qualities: mmmm loves kids, cunning (in a good way), ambitious. i can't think of any more sorry, the characters on this show have so many layers lol

3 bad qualities: can be selfish, dishonest, and amoral (i guess is the word?)

favourite episode/etc: 3x10 i think?? its the one where he was at the county fair and saves jimmy

otp: hmmm i haven't watched the movie yet but ik he gets with another guy named richard ellis so him! but if his relationship with jimmy hadn't gone south i would've been invested in that

brotp: he and o'brien are mlm wlw hostility goals

ot3: i don't really have one i guess? him with jimmy and richard i suppose

notp: i've seen a frankly disturbing amount of thomas/matthew in the ao3 tag for downton and i just. Why. No.

best quote: "in my life, i tell you, not many have been kind to me. she was one of the few"

headcanon: hmmmm this might already be construed as canon-ish but he actually does really enjoy dancing. you wouldn't think it by looking at him but he knows a lot of dance numbers and he often practices in the privacy of his room so he can at least pretend at having a partner who returns his affections

[lambourngb]

re: your tags on that one post abt plotholes in rnm: what are the plotholes that make you lose the most sleep?

(this is my main btw, my rnm blog is @curlyguerin )

Hi! Okay... strap in, because there are a lot of little and big things that wiggle into my thoughts and makes me wonder ...am I the only one who couldn't follow that plotline?

In my opinion RNM suffers more from abandoned narratives and continuity errors than plot holes I guess, since we only have 2 seasons, with at least 2 more to go I guess I can hope they come back to these issues... but: [Under the cut plus some spoilers for season 3]

Things I would like explained :

1. What did Jesse Manes fund with family money in 1x08 ? I'm guessing it was surveillance of the town and the search for more aliens that could have escaped the military in 1947-1948. The idea that Jesse funded Caulfield is just laughable to me, along with how he was able to get his Army-assigned son moved from Germany to New Mexico for 5 years and no one noticed?? Caulfield has to be separate from whatever Jesse was doing in Roswell. Clearly there is still an ACTIVE military project focused on aliens because Flint isn't AWOL, Flint also takes Noah's body to Area 51, so where was Jesse in violation of his orders (Alex's threat to Jesse in 1x08 and then shipping him to Niger)? Surveilling citizens and setting up cameras all over town?

2. Did they ever build an Air Force base on the Fosters Homestead Ranch? (1x01-1x02) ...then it's never mentioned again.

3. I am aware I am the only one who cares about this little bit, but the show seemed to set up a narrative in season 1 about the spotlight Roswell shined white victims of crimes - like Katie and Jasmine, that the town of Roswell holds quite a lot of racism regarding justice- vilifying Rosa for over 10 years, ignoring the deaths of people around Ranchero Night, and then Noah kills Wyatt Long's best friend Hank Gibbons in 1x13. I dunno, I was expecting more from Wyatt in season 2 about this than picking a fight with Michael over Mimi's missing persons sheet and showing up with a crossbow in 2x04. And like, there was a theme of people going missing in season 2!! Mimi, Jenna, the weird twins from 2x06, Charlie -- but yet, no closer scrutiny by Sheriff Valenti other than her focus on Max Evans and the story about Mexico- Like this felt not like a plot hole, but a dropped narrative -- to wrap up the fate of Racist Hank in a missing persons sheet in 2x01. To treat him weirdly like all of Noah's other victims (who were women and men of color and poor), but for a few factors like he was white, he had actual lines in the show over a couple of episodes, and he's one of the few townspeople we learn his first and last name still sticks out in my mind as strange. The Doylist explanation is the actor wasn't available for season 2, but the Watson-perspective of this is just someone the in-show universe doesn't care about ...? Okay. I will keep that in mind, and try to ignore the fact that the town of Roswell swings wildly back to caring about white victims again in 2x13 with Jesse Manes.

4. The Alighting from 1x13 - just how far away was it from happening? Noah was ready to stick a sheriff's deputy, the town event planner and Michael (who probably would be been the only one to go missing without much fanfare, except maybe by Alex) into a pod...for how long? Months? Years? What was his endgame? how did he expect to go unnoticed by the town while he waited for his alien salvation/alien UBER to arrive? Could he just mindwarp everyone into forgetting about the pod squad? Since we didn't see any alien ships show up in the six months from 1x13 to 2x13, and no further follow up by any of our heroes about what Noah was babbling about... I'm going to say this should come back into play for season 3, otherwise it's the most egregious plot hole from season 1.

5. Why did Flint want to work with Helena? Jesse had this master plan that Helena knew all about apparently but she never shares the plan with Flint? Jesse never shares this plan with Flint either? Why? As far as I can tell from the plot of season 2, Jesse takes the console piece from Alex, he was going to kill Alex to keep him out of the way, use the console to blow up civilians, he created a paper trail that pointed the finger at Max, and then when everyone knew the truth about aliens, he was going to use HIS atomizer bomb to release the toxin that Charlie had already developed for Project Shepherd to kill all the aliens.... WHY would Flint want to stop that, especially since they fight in 2x11 over how slow Jesse was moving in his plans? Other than objecting to killing Alex, why would Flint turn Alex over to Helena to blackmail Michael into building a second atomizer bomb? He should have just kept Alex out of the way until it was all over and let Jesse proceed with his plans. Flint's desire to work with Helena Ortecho remains a plot hole to me, that is explained in the most flimsy way of he thinks his dad isn't serious about killing all the aliens even though he has the means? And if he takes Alex from Jesse's control so easily, why not steal the bomb Jesse had too?

6. These are more gripes about continuity, not really plot holes, but the fact we have this loose timeline of events but it doesn't match the weather of filming.... Like Heather Hemmens looked so gorgeous in that little silk outfit in 2x01, but she's wandering outside in Dec in Roswell New Mexico looking like that. I get that it was filmed in August/Sept of 2019 but come on... so my main frustration is I have no idea what season and month is supposed to be on screen. Universe timeline says Winter but filming schedule meant it was early fall with still having the heat of summer there...then the show ends in May/June in the universe, but we all know RNM wrapped in Dec 2019/Jan 2020 so they are all bundled up in winter again.

7. Also on continuity, small things like Rosa's birthday being wrong, the fact her astrological sign isn't Pieces for either date, openly letting Greg Manes see Rosa, not seeming to care that Liz's ex-fiance hears that Rosa is alive - like i'm sure her "dead" sister came up in conversation between Liz/Diego

- the show gives us this beautiful conversation with Michael sharing his background with Alex in 1x10, but then Alex completely forgets it in 2x04 by dropping some line like "this is what you do with family" when Michael expresses confusion about a height chart. Also, on the same note- the jabs about the Library being a dive bar, also felt like a drop in continuity because Alex knows that Michael just lost his mom (1x12) , the government IS studying aliens, and his brother is in a pod, so like, he has some very valid reasons to drink if that's what he wanted to do with in his life in early season 2!! but, also he knows Michael is a genius??

- Why Alex never mentions Rosa, Isobel's blackouts/why Michael gave up UNM, or even hint about what happened with his dad in the shed during his conversation with Maria in 2x05 is also beyond bizarre to me. It was an "information" dump conversation that Alex still doesn't share all the information he has about a situation and just ends up looking kind of judgmental in my opinion.

- the truck conversation in 2x06 between Maria and Alex, why Maria prompts a girl's name when Alex says he's never been in a real relationship INSTEAD of addressing the very real elephant in the room, Michael Guerin, that they had a conversation about in 2x05- also feels like a gap in continuity.

8. Science wise- the pathogen that Charlie developed? It was supposed to be so specific that it could kill a leader of Al Quada and all of their direct descendants but leave the rest of the population unharmed. [Which um, that's a war crime, but whatever!] How was Maria affected? the DNA they had at Caulfield to develop it - like, Maria was descended from Louise and Louise lived free. The only person that pathogen SHOULD have affected was Michael (if they used Nora to base it on) Unless you're telling me that there's some protein in "alien dna" that is so specific to aliens, that no other human shares it, but also so completely undetectable that Kyle couldn't find it in Maria's blood... ? I suppose it's possible. I hope we get more explanation about that in season 3. It makes me wonder why Caulfield/Project Shepherd ever let Patty Harris go after she volunteered for some study then, and remained content to just pay her medical bills through a fake insurance company? [But also didn't flag Mimi and all the doctors that Maria took her to???]

9. Michael's hand. I'm going to reserve judgment about this, because some of my salt on this is based on season 3 promo pictures, but I really thought that moment in 2x13 when he takes off his hat, while Alex is singing, you see him without the wrapping on his hand, that maybe he found some peace with Jesse dead and demolishing the shed with Alex. But then it looks like the hand-danna is all over season 3, right up until the finale of season 3, so... was that a mistake in wardrobe AND not a beautiful moment of character growth??? I wish I could extend some grace to RNM about that, but alas... see above for why I have trust issues.

10. Perhaps I wasn't watching season 1 closely, but I thought Noah's madness was brought on by the fact he was stuck in his pod? That it was "lower class travel accommodations" and Isobel's scream at 13 got his attention? I assumed that he stayed in the pod, possessing Isobel on and off, right up until he used her body to kill Rosa in 2008, absorbing enough power to break out. So how did Noah find Jim Valenti so quickly? If it was through Isobel's memories, then why did Jim not immediately have Noah, some random alien approaching him about his recently dead daughter, hauled off to Caulfield? Jim pays $1,000 for Rosa's body, putting her in a pod [Noah's broken pod??] and stores her, waiting for...something? An alien to come along to bring her back. So did Jim know about The Savior? Why would Jim work with Noah and vice versa? Again, I'm hoping we get more about this in season 3.

11. Was there a point of keeping Alex in the Air Force? He arranges a place for them to work on bringing Max back, but I feel like anyone could have done that? Like Isobel had money, she could have rented a storage facility. All of the equipment was borrowed from the hospital, not the military. The information about 1947-1948 was from the drives decoded from Caulfield or the AAR report left by Flint in the Project Shepherd bunker (which again was decommissioned, not an active military installation). I could support the decision if it had provided some richness to the plot or some conflict within the character, neither of which really happened. Alex hacking the government and going undercover in the Air Force to protect Michael is basically fanon. I love that fanon, but alas...

12. Finally, the time jump. What year are we jumping into? 2020? 2021? Why does it make me think none of those questions above will be answered.

[ladyluscinia]

I have been turning over the question of how I would "fix" S2 - more conceptually than with intention at the moment - and more and more my conclusion is just scrap it entirely and go a different direction.

Like as much as I enjoyed 2x01 - 2x03 (maybe even 2x04 and 2x05, too) from an audience perspective (specifically as someone who enjoys darker content, toxic relationships, black humor, and the potential of generally fucked up plot beats) it kinda hinged a lot on my expectation that they were doing it with intent to deliver a satisfying story resolution in the end. I couldn't guess exactly how on the spot, but that's not really my problem as an audience member - I can just enjoy guessing along the journey until we get there.

Whereas looking back as a writer, struggling with the lack of resolution (successfully executed or even just projected), those episodes are just too many problems built into the foundation. I very rarely say this but I will agree with the antis that watching Edward go on a multi-phase apology tour to try and make amends to each character would be tonally a disaster to deal with and not particularly satisfying on a character level, either. I mean, I like Edward? I don't want his primary plotline being him getting kicked repeatedly and wallowing in guilt? But I also don't see a clean way to wrap up all that with perfunctory apologies and then behaving better in the future AND to sell any kind of found family, "these people will be celebrating at your wedding"-energy between Edward and the breakup boat crew. Not while treating any of them as mentally ok, at least.

Handwaving Frenchie's box is not actually funny at all if it's explicitly full of unaddressed traumatizing memories of a guy he works for / hangs out with on a daily basis?

I think I was right in my pre-S2 thinking that Kraken era needs to be predominantly violence directed toward people outside the crew, and while the remaining crew can be unhappy they probably shouldn't feel abused. I'm still not sure if Izzy's leg could be made to work with some context changes, but the offscreen additional toes lines definitely need to be struck out. Like, fucked up Kraken era could be interesting in more trauma focused fics that explored it as whump or darker adventure stories, but I don't think canon benefits from the harsh genre shift. Especially not if we want to keep forward movement for BlackBonnet as the main arc of the show.

There's just too much setup baggage on the route they chose, and I can't figure out a satisfying answer for what to do with it that doesn't require temporarily dropping the romance, the comedy, or both from this romcom 🤷‍♀️

Better to remove the problem at its source and just reimagine Kraken era entirely.

[go-ldy]

I have zero self-control, so, if you're up to it: best and worst episode(s) of Riverdale?

I love this question! Sorry for the delay in answering, I have had to give this the deep thought and contemplation it deserves! Best episodes is easier for me tbh because there are only maybe one or two episodes of Riverdale that I did not like. I’ve decided to break it down into my best/worst for each season.

I’ve tried to approach this being as objective as possible but.... you know, I am only human, and I am easily swayed when Betty and Jughead make out a lot. 

Season 1

Best

1x10 or 1x11 with 1x11 having a slight edge. Obviously, the bughead angst content in both is A++ and what I am here for, but I also think that 1x11 in particular does a good job of moving the plot along while developing the characters at the same time (Riverdale is not always good at this ok so it is important to remark on it when it meets this bar!). We have Homecoming, and the incredibly awkward Cooper-Jones pre-Homecoming dinner, and Varchie sneaking into FP’s trailer behind Betty and Jughead’s back, and Veronica desperately trying to determine if her father had a role to play in Jason’s murder, and FP’s arrest (!!!) and Jughead running off at the end in a funk. There is a lot that happens AND everyone goes to a dance! It is sadly rare to have a Riverdale episode where everyone feels intertwined to the main story and where the Core 4 get to interact and develop. Plus, Jughead is so adorably excited about his and Betty’s family meeting even though they are 16 and have been dating for like two months. MY HEART. He was already planning their wedding.

Worst

1x09. It is the only episode of season 1 that felt filler. And I would still rank it higher than the other “worst” episodes on this list. But the main plot of Archie being used by the Blossom family is ehhhhhh. And frankly uncomfortable given his all too real recent past of being used by Ms. Grundy with no acknowledgment from the show whatsoever that these gross adults keep using this 16 year-old kid to serve their own purposes. So yeah, probably the worst of season 1.

Season 2

Best

I have to go with 2x14. Okay, okay 2x05/2x06 are probably better written and better plotted and have less dialogue that makes me want to end myself, but hear me out. 2x14 is the absolute essence of Riverdale packed into 40 glorious minutes:

Each couple has a spat with each other and then against each other, we get Betty versus Jughead, Archie versus Veronica, Bughead versus Varchie, and it is great???? yeah, you all fight over Hiram’s nefarious plot to buy up all the newspapers in town. 

Bughead listens to Varchie have sex and the vice-versa like an hour later as normal friends do.

Betty and Veronica talk about abuelita (I must know more about abuelita!).

An entire scene where Archie wakes up early to chop wood?? At someone else’s house? Even though he’s only there for a weekend?? Again, very normal, every day teenage behaviour. And Veronica pervs on him while sipping coffee. Get it, V.

Some of the worst, cringiest dialogue this show has ever had, and that is a HIGH BAR including: “A Vughead Kiss? Right now, in the present, might be precisely what it takes to save a future Bughead from imploding.” THIS IS THE WORST LINE OF DIALOGUE EVER WRITTEN, LIKE OF ALL TIME, I CAN BARELY WATCH. IT IS NAILS ON A CHALKBOARD, END ME.

Archie doing push ups in his bedroom, because OF COURSE ARCHIE RANDOMLY DOES PUSHUPS BEFORE BED AND ALSO WHEN UPSET HAVE YOU SEEN HIM. And then Veronica propositions him for sex and Archie, still mad about Vughead, turns her down. And this is an actual scene that takes up time in a 40 minutes episode??? I love it.

Lodge Lodge

They play monopoly

And then get attacked by home invaders!!!

Who Archie chases into the woods only for one of them to be killed by Andre so that Hiram can later frame Archie for a murder he didn’t commit.

anyway 2x14 is the best episode of Riverdale maybe ever, tell your friends.

Worst

2x11 for the reasons @arsenicpanda has articulated before - mostly involving the clumsy way that the writers tried to parallel the Serpents to the plight of Native Americans. And Jughead’s awkward white saviour plotline, eugh. Although bonus points for Archie trying to wrestle to impress Hiram for some reason?? I can’t hate it.

Season 3

Best

Season 3 has a lot of contenders. I’m torn between the parentale breakfast club episode (which also featured crazy-G&G-Jughead, a fave of mine) and the Prom episode, but I’m going to go with 3x20, Prom Night because this episode is a sheer delight from start to finish. Hal Cooper fakes his own death by cutting off his hand and then he replaces it with a hook - legends only. CHONI FOR PROM QUEENS until the dream is killed by Edgar. U KNOW that is when Cheryl started reconsidering the whole Farm business even with the whole being able to talk to Jason’s corpse thing. 

Bughead investigate shit and make great faces. Varchie go to prom as the least platonic “friends” ever and it is adorable. Everybody somehow wears the best outfits even though Bughead changed the Prom theme the night before. Betty being chased through the school by the Black Hood/her dad is legitimately terrifying. 10/10.

Worst

3x09, hands down. I have a lot of beef with this episode. My main beef is that 3x08 ends on this great cliffhanger and there is zero payoff? Jughead and FP come home to find the town is under QUARANTINE, no one is allowed IN OR OUT, and then in 3x09, he is snuggling in bed with Betty and it was like????? but what about the quarantine?? how did you get back in?? honestly the first time I watched 3x09, I thought I must have skipped an episode, but NOPE, the quarantine cliffhanger was waved off and I will never forgive them for this.

Secondly, most of this episode is spent in Archie’s feverish dream/hallucination and I just find dream episodes real dull, sorry Archie. I love that Archie tried to box a bear, I mean good for him, but the the dream sequences are boring.

Season 4

Best

A tie between 4x14 and 4x15. I just love these two episodes. The Preppies are legit the best villains this show has ever had (especially Donna, my love <333). There were real stakes for the Core 4, and even though I was pretty sure Jughead was not dead, I was still insanely happy to see him again in 4x15. Betty threatening Donna in the woods while wearing Jughead’s sherpa is a total bamf move, MARRY ME, BETTY COOPER. Jughead’s faux funeral is a+. Even the BA fake dating scheme (before it went horribly awry in the following episodes) is hilarious to me. Like, what kind of horrible plan is this?? if Betty seriously dated Archie following Jughead’s death, she would need therapy STAT, but the town of Riverdale is just like “oh ok I guess Jughead is dead.” Okay, sure. Plus Donna taunting Betty over the fact that she apparently can’t go two hours without needing to bone Jughead and therefore Betty’s plan was doomed to failure. How was this a real scene that happened. Oh my god, these episodes are so great.

Worst.

4x17. I mean, obviously. Please don’t make me have to explain.

[fanfoolishness]

Liveblog time!

Live-blogging for The Mandalorian 2x05, The Jedi, beginning now!

Almost forgot! This was my first piece of Mandalorian fanart, I think!

Calodan on Corvus is possibly my favorite planet after Sorgan. I love the misty color palette so much.

Also heeeey I’ve now seen nearly 3 seasons of The Clone Wars so Ahsoka will not be nearly so much a stranger this time around!

Calodan gives me such an Avatar-city under siege from the Fire Nation vibe, except Ahsoka’s the whole-ass Fire Nation and she’s here to save the day.

Why does the Magistrate have the beskar spear, anyway? And I wonder if it has any electronics in it the way everything else beskar we’ve seen has. I would guess not, but it would be kind of cool if it did, maybe something that actively keeps the spear well-balanced.

Look, evil lady, killing people doesn’t put the blame on Ahsoka. It just ain’t how it works. But bad guys always think that’s somehow an argument?

I wonder if the men of Star Wars are sad. Their hair is never very exciting but the women go all out.

So Din’s slightly testy with Grogu about getting back in his seat. Because... he’s fully expecting to go down to that planet and come back up again without the kid. I’d be testy too. ;_;

Oh God Grogu is even cuter than I remembered somehow. Like weeks and weeks of nothing but Mandalorian and every time I watch him he’s still just marvelous.

Love that shot of him focusing on the control knob with the pretty lights behind it. It really makes it seem magical, which to Grogu’s mind, it is

Love these weird giant creatures in the back, apparently just massacring these trees. CRONCH

I wonder how far they walked into town. I just love finding every little scrap of time between cuts that you could stuff a fic into.

I bet Grogu loves the smells of the marketplace, but can pick up on the tense atmosphere and doesn’t like it. He likes the kids, though.

I really enjoy the lighting of this episode because 1) we get to see those little lights on Din’s gauntlet easily and 2) it drives home the fact that not every world is going to have the same spectrum of light as our yellow sun. Reminds me of when I got to see the total solar eclipse in 2017. The sky seemed like daylight, but wasn’t. It was utterly unlike our world and I still get chills EVERY. TIME. I think about it.

I like her stupid guard droid. Cool color scheme.

God I wish I had a little water garden all my own.

Love the sound beskar on beskar makes.

Grogu: “Dad, this guy sucks. I can tell.”

UGH love those misty hills!!!!! So fucking pretty!

I love these trees so much. They remind me of buckberry.

Ahsoka: BABY???

Ugh the misty background is so gorgeous at night too!

Poor Din. He is so worried. Look at all this pacing when this is normally such a man of stillness and restraint.

Din: *pacing around anxiously* *kicks a cool rock* “I wonder if the kid would like this rock? MAYBE I SHOULD GO INTERRUPT THEM AND ASK oh never mind.” *back to pacing*

That smile that Ahsoka gives Grogu after she looks at Din — it’s so clear how many nice things he’s telling her about Din <3

Din is so worried. What’s she going to say? Is he doing this right? He doesn’t want to mess things up for the kid —

Can you just imagine everything in Din’s head right now? Relief at knowing the kid HAS a name, that Ahsoka can talk to him? Guilt at not somehow knowing the name before this? His heart going out to the kid, thinking of his home being taken away from him, thinking of him being in danger many times before Din could meet him or help him? Thinking this is time to say goodbye...

Awww thinking of Grogu curled up in Din’s cloak on the mossy ground while they sleep

Din is so worried Grogu won’t pass his test ;_;

Din is worried *he* won’t pass the test XD

So cute how Din kneels down to his level to encourage him to take the ball :)

Din is SO EXCITED

I love how when *Grogu* calls the ball to his hand, the musical cue plays *Din’s* motif with the recorder — a sign of their connection <3 <3 <3

Mando music is playing in the background. Grogu is NOT going to grow up to be a Jedi! I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again, the title of the show might refer to Grogu :)

Ahsoka: giggling at “laser swords”

Aww man, these trees aren’t this way because of the giant animals? The Magistrate did this? Goddammit. I was hoping it was just like, a life cycle of the planet.

I like that even though Ahsoka is grownup and serious you can still see all those little smirks <3 Love that Snips!

CAN’T BELIEVE DIN TRUSTED HER WITH THE MUDHORN PAULDRON

Hey! Din learned how to drop-kick someone with the Rising Phoenix!!! Good job Din! Learning from Koska, I see. (Not as graceful as her, though.)

Huh, he still has durasteel or something on his shoulder, from under the beskar. I don’t know WHY THEY WON’T PUT OUT AN OFFICIAL DRAWING OF HOW ALL THE ARMOR FITS TOGETHER.

Look dude, don’t even mess with Din Djarin, all right? And none of this “we’re a lot alike” bullshit. But I did appreciate this guy’s attempt to “I don’t even care, bro” as foolish at it was.

WHERE IS THRAWN AWWWWWW FUCKING YEAAAAAH I still only know him from the Zahn trilogy but I’m so excited they repurposed such an awesome character.

“Wait here, I’ll... go get him.”

Din rocking him gently in the hammock back and forth ;___;

... how... long did they stay there just... cuddling... I fucking CAN’T

Ahsoka: “...it’s been like four hours. I’d better go look for them. Either Mando’s not giving the kid up or the kid doesn’t want to go. Shoulda seen that coming...”

I totally got this wrong in one of my fics. I wrote Din flying the Razor Crest back to the town. I’d forgotten HE SITS THERE SO LONG WITH THE KID AHSOKA HAS TO GO AND FIND THEM when Din was the one who claimed “I’ll go get him, wait here.” OMG DIN. JUST ADMIT YOU WANT TO PARENT THIS CHILD FOREVER.

The concept art of Din and Grogu striding off into the sunset together? My HEART

Man. I’m enjoying the Clone Wars, but I’m just so sad at all the badness that’s going to happen to everybody in them ;_; And thinking of how many things Ahsoka has gone through by this point is just... the Star Wars galaxy just hates people not being traumatized, doesn’t it?

Do I have the strength to get through The Tragedy tonight??? I mean, there’s Boba Fett and Fennec Shand being badass, and the best opening of any media, ever, but then there is PAIN and CRUELTY and it ISN’T FAIR.

[woodchoc-magnum]

911:Lone Star 2x05 Hate Watch

Better late than never, hate under the cut:

Honestly it took me a week to build up to watching this bullshit.

She’s really pregnant huh

Why have they chosen to do this? Judd and Grace are literally RIGHT THERE

Does every storyline on this show have to revolve around Rob Lowe?

911:Rob Lowe

Paul’s a man after my own heart with his hatred of aoili

Aoili is BULLSHIT

Guardian Angle okay that’s comedic gold

Do you think Ronen knows he’s a terrible actor or he genuinely believes he’s good at it

Are they on a call WITHOUT ROB LOWE?

But who will DO EVERYTHING AT THE EMERGENCY

HOW CAN THEY MANAGE ON THEIR OWN

Oh SHIT Grace’s DAD well well well

I love these people who hide behind the Bible as if it cleanses them of all their sins

Married for 35 years wow SIR okay you’re a real piece of work

And your wife and daughter are too damn good for you

“My favourite son-in-law” you motherfucker

Mateo’s tattoo is 10/10 hilarious

I like Marjan so much

I am not one of those women who has ever felt clucky towards children, and shows like this make it seem like it’s all women want in the whole entire world - and it’s just NOT

Like it doesn’t make you any less of a woman not to have kids

I have no idea how old Gwen is meant to be - I do not understand why they’ve given this storyline to Rob Lowe

She’s meant to be the love of his life and they’re not communicating? Doesn’t bode well, just saying

Also again this show has completely forgotten there’s a pandemic going on

Austin is the best music scene in the country? Nashville? No?

Okay this is actually a really great emergency

Oh shit this dude is fucking IMPALED

Okay now I’m CRYING what the FUCK

Look honestly this show sucks but they do really tug at your heartstrings god damn it

Honestly I feel like Mateo could easily get this tattoo fixed?

And then Rob Lowe comes back on the screen and the show just fucking flatlines again

Okay he’s meant to be 50 but how the fuck old is she?

This is so fucking dumb - they had a storyline with these two trying to get back together, why complicate it with a pregnancy? fucking WHY?

You know they cast Lisa Edelstein because we’re supposed to care about her character, which is why they couldn’t cast a random

I actually love Judd so much

He would do ANYTHING for Grace

They’re the best characters on this show

Oh my god Grace coming in with the SAVE

I saw gifs of this scene on Tumblr but for some reason I didn’t realise it was in this episode?

The emergencies in this episode are REALLY GOOD

So much better than last week

Grace dropping hints like crazy and the chick just fucking FLYING off the balcony 10/10

Damn that was actually great

Oh shit she figured out that Judd was lying

God damn TEAPOT ENVY

Okay I guess they’re having this baby and why do I think it’s going to end badly

Told you they’d be able to fix that tattoo easily

Argh Judd and Grace AAARGH no ANGST babies no

Okay so overall this episode was pretty good, there was much less TK - god, he was hardly in it, they should do more of that - and the emergencies were both really compelling as well...

Fuck it, I’m feeling generous! 5/10

Bonus Eddie Diaz:

[itsclownhours]

okay so i don’t know if i ever mentioned it but while watching merlin i’ve used a google doc of weird title ideas to rename all of the episodes and now that i’ve finished the series i would like to share with the four people who always like my posts the absolute nightmare that is the contents of this google doc (spoilers ahead, technically, i think)

merlin Things Historians Pretend Aren’t Gay: The Unlikely Adventures of Bitchface and Go Fuck Yourself

1x01 the dragon’s call Neither Boss Nor Employee Paid Enough to Deal With Each Other

1x02 valiant Everyone Should Learn First Aid (This Has Been a PSA)

1x03 the mark of nimueh Let’s NOT Wipe Out Humankind

1x04 the poisoned chalice I Fell Into a Deep Hole

1x05 lancelot You’re Valid, I Support You

1x06 a remedy to cure all ills This Is Absolutely the Right Decision

1x07 the gates of avalon I Go For an Unwanted and Unexpected Swim

1x08 the beginning of the end The Small Child Is Annoying

1x09 excalibur Ya Dun Goofed

1x10 the moment of truth The Regular Fuckface Returns to the Town of Fuckface

1x11 the labyrinth of gedref Guys, It’s Been Three Weeks Since I’ve Eaten a Vegetable: My Destiny as a Bad Cook

1x12 to kill the king Ultimate Showdown: Murder Father versus Murder Daughter

1x13 le morte d’arthur Dreams Do Come True (And That’s Not a Good Thing)

2x01 the curse of cornelius sigan The Good, the Bad, and the Okay I Guess

2x02 the once and future queen The Broken Ribs Poked Our Lungs

2x03 the nightmare begins I Need an Explanation, What Is Going On

2x04 lancelot and guinevere I Approve (This Time)

2x05 beauty and the beast part 1 This Wasn’t the Family Meeting That I Was Expecting Tonight

2x06 beauty and the beast part 2 I Am Saved From Certain Death By Being Killed

2x07 the witchfinder Those Stories Aren’t Real

2x08 the sins of the father How to Traumatize Your Children: 7 Proven Methods to Help You Screw Up Your Kids Deliberately and With Skill

2x09 the lady of the lake Can’t Wait to Tell This Story to My Grandchildren

2x10 sweet dreams Getting Distracted by a Hot Girl Only Leads to Bad Things

2x11 the witch’s quickening The King Can Go Fuck Himself

2x12 the fires of idirsholas Everything is a Goddamn Ordeal in This Family: Top 10 Anime Betrayals

2x13 the last dragonlord I Turned Out Liking You a Lot More Than I Originally Planned

3x01 the tears of uther pendragon part 1 Ask and You Shall Receive...Sometime Next Year

3x02 the tears of uther pendragon part 2 In Which Everything Goes Wonderfully Wrong

3x03 goblin’s gold Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly-True Memoir)

3x04 gwaine This Is Why I Don’t Socialize

3x05 the crystal cave Man Miscast in Role of Father

3x06 the changeling Successfully Evading Responsibility

3x07 the castle of fyrien The Dumbasses Take a Road Trip

3x08 the eye of the phoenix Tone It Down a Bit, Geez

3x09 love in the time of dragons Hey, Look, Old People

3x10 queen of hearts Running From Your Dad: I Know Exactly What I’m Doing (No, I Don’t)

3x11 the sorcerer’s shadow You’re a Special Kind of Stupid, Aren’t You?: Merlin Makes a Rash Decision

3x12 the coming of arthur part 1 Orphan Does Her Best to Fit in After Horrible Childhood

3x13 the coming of arthur part 2 There Is Absolutely No Way It Can Get Worse (It Got Worse)

4x01 the darkest hour part 1 Oh, Look, a Ghost

4x02 the darkest hour part 2 Unfortunately, I Am Alive

4x03 the wicked day Didn’t See That One Coming

4x04 aithusa I Wasn’t Prepared For Parenthood

4x05 his father’s son I Stab a Bitch: Aggressive Negotiations Make Everyone Hate You

4x06 a servant of two masters And God Said, “Let’s Not Give This Bitch a Break”

4x07 the secret sharer Apparently, Agravaine Does Have Some ’Splainin’ to Do

4x08 lamia The Boys Are Here

4x09 lancelot du lac I Call Shotgun (Said the Dead Man)

4x10 a herald of the new age Possession or Obsession?

4x11 the hunter’s heart I’m Bitter and I Won’t Stop Whining (Solitude Was the Only Logical Ending)

4x12 the sword in the stone part 1 I’m Packing Up My Crayons and Leaving

4x13 the sword in the stone part 2 A Guide to Giving Up

5x01 arthur’s bane part 1 My Boy!

5x02 arthur’s bane part 2 My Boy! Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

5x03 the death song of uther pendragon Way to Go, Dumbass

5x04 another’s sorrow Live Every Crisis Like It’s Your Midlife Crisis

5x05 the disir Why Am I Like This?: Merlin Is a Fucking Bitch

5x06 the dark tower What the Hell? I'm in Hell (I Have a Heated Make-Out Session With My Lifelong Enemy. Who Would’ve Thought?)

5x07 a lesson in vengeance You Know That There Is Nothing That I Love More Than Just Chilling and Drinking Poison. Seriously. I’s Great

5x08 the hollow queen An Unexpected Visit Leads to a Change in Career Paths

5x09 with all my heart A Trip to Memoryville (I Hate It)

5x10 the kindness of strangers Don’t Accept Rides From Strange Relatives

5x11 the drawing of the dark Why Didn’t I Just Walk Away? Oh, Right. Because I’m an Idiot: In Which Merlin Fucks Up

5x12 the diamond of the day part 1 We’ve Been Tricked, We’ve Been Backstabbed, and We’ve Been, Quite Possibly, Bamboozled

5x13 the diamond of the day part 2 How to Mistakenly Assume You Have Everything Under Control

[nothingunrealistic]

another sorta jumping off prompt abt Billions In Full: thinking abt any & all instances of taylor's arcs having kinda Becoming Adrift or Struggling w A Quandary points that resolve into Turning Points & any such moments you might have especially had Thoughts Or Feelings abt in full context & knowledge of the series? a la navigating axe cap & axe's guidance vs their qualms in s2, the fancy watch saga, everything re douglas, anything re wendy, having plans to leave across s3, that kind of concept

hmm okay what Moral Quandary arcs do they have. let’s consider it

1. the sandicot fiasco (2x04-2x07): if you don’t count playing in the alpha cup / breaking krakow as a moral quandary (which taylor might, tbh) this is the first time they have to grapple with their principles. taylor is in on this from the beginning, researching the likelihood of sandicot getting a gambling license at axe’s request and telling axe there’s no reason to invest if they don’t get the license. when the license falls through, taylor is brought into the war room figuring out how to recover axe cap’s investment, and spells out both the repercussions of austerity and the reasons they think it’s the right choice. (people living in poverty? offensive. cities overreaching their budgets? MORE offensive, apparently.) mostly i find this arc boring & embarrassing to watch (libertarianism? in taylor? cringe), rather than compelling, but i’m still distraught over taylor telling axe “i find myself thinking in your words sometimes” in 2x05. (the words in question are “shit hole,” re: sandicot, which doesn’t help.)

2. the klaxon short (2x09-2x11): this actually starts out totally unrelated to taylor — dollar bill tells axe about klaxon, a company he is Not Uncertain will crash; axe hesitates to make this trade on inside information but decides to go for it. ben kim and mafee both fail to produce analysis that supports the short; taylor manages it because they analyze the situation from a different angle, and because they suspect axe has inside information supporting a short and just needs it to seem legitimate. coming up with this analysis, and signing off on it, gets taylor a promotion, a spontaneous bonus ($500k!) from axe, and thank-you money ($250k!) from dollar bill, but they’re conflicted enough about it to stop by the SDNY and find out what connerty knows first; seeing their signature on the report puts them under even more suspicion from connerty. this is the first arc that really Feels like a moral compromise for taylor, because they’re more obviously conflicted about it and get more material rewards for it.

3. their stance on fossil fuels (2x09-present): less a character arc than a character sinusoid. taylor’s reluctant to take a private jet given the carbon footprint, but axe insisting it’s fine if they buy some carbon offsets is enough to change their mind. they pitch ESG to grigor, an oil oligarch, as an act of sabotage because they don’t want axe cap to take his money, but they’re willing to take his money for mase cap, and to win over a sovereign wealth fund that gets its money from oil. they still somehow have an environmentalist reputation to preserve after all this, so they short fracking publicly and bait axe into legalizing fracking so they’ll profit privately. then from 5x03 onward, they’ve committed firmly to the Earth-Positive Approach, which somehow encompasses both convincing colleges to divest from fossil fuels and investing in fossil fuels themself while vowing to clean up the companies responsible. i don’t think this is taylor’s principles shifting so much as their commitment to those principles weakening when they’re in new and dire straits — torn between their personal and professional lives, desperate to break away from axe cap and make it on their own, or reeling from a rift in their family. in contrast, season 5 is about taylor (and everyone else) trying to get back on track & clean up the wreckage of their past choices — makes sense that it would include recommitting to the environmentalist approach. so i also have to wonder where it’ll go in the rest of season 5 — will mase carbon and its mission survive that long, or will some unforeseen crisis derail it?

4. having nice things (2x09-present): pretty much every instance of taylor purchasing some new & pricey thing accompanies another moral quandary, rather than the purchase itself being the only thing taylor’s torn about. for instance: reserving a flight on a private jet, as mentioned, while conflicted about the ethics of doing so and of Living Large more generally; signing the lease on a luxurious penthouse apartment after signing off on the klaxon short; buying the same $164k watch craig heidecker wore to quell their guilt over having profited from his death and wearing it every day, only taking it off when they’ve formally left axe cap and resolved to do business at mase cap The Right Way. similarly, though it’s never addressed in the show, i’m pretty sure taylor’s apartment in season 5 is a different, cheaper apartment than the one they rented in seasons 2-4 — the front door and interior layout we see in 5x02 are totally different from what we’ve seen before — and that this is another manifestation of taylor trying to get back on track / recommit to their principles in season 5. (it might also be that their income was reduced just a bit by mase cap crashing and burning and being forced back to axe cap and they decided to relocate to save on rent. multiple things can be true at once.) the only exception that comes to mind is axe offering to buy taylor a land rover to thank them for running axe cap: taylor turns it down, asks for a billion dollars of their own to manage, then changes their mind and asks for the car too once axe says yes to the billion. they’re not really in a moral quandary in that moment so much as a “wow it sucks that axe is taking the reins of axe cap back from me and undoing all my hard work, i’d like to have some semblance of control and power still, please” quandary, and we never see the land rover again after that, so it’s not exactly memorable. i still want to know what they did with it.

5. selling out oscar’s investment to axe (3x10-5x06): i would not count this as a moral quandary because i firmly believe that Taylor Did Nothing Wrong (in this case), but the 3x10 episode summary describes this incident as “taylor makes a personal compromise for business,” so i guess we have to consider it. taylor asks axe for a favor involving oscar and his business partner, then thanks axe for the favor and mentions the name of said business partner, as one might do when conversing with a trusted colleague / mentor. axe, who is scrounging for cash and should never be trusted, swipes the deal oscar was making; when taylor confronts him about it, he insists that they wanted him to swipe the deal, or else they wouldn’t have namedropped the business partner. it’s unclear whether or not taylor believes this / blames themself for what happened, but oscar certainly blames them — he refuses taylor’s offer of a conciliatory dinner in 3x12 because “after what you did, i could never open myself up to you again,” and tells the marithane ceo in 5x06 that taylor solving his patent issue actually proves just how untrustworthy they are, because “if they’re willing to do that for you today, they’re willing to do it to you later.” yet he was still willing to invest with taylor and have them make money for him, so long as axe’s name wasn’t attached. make it make sense, oscar!

6. selling douglas’s company (4x07-4x08): again, i don’t consider this a moral quandary because taylor was forced into a no-win situation by axe and wendy, and also because douglas just sucks, but again, the writing demands that we consider it. taylor was ready to partner with a VC on funding the development of douglas’s lattice fin design, but axe pulled some strings and got the federal government to demand the technology for national security reasons. with the VC and existing investors abandoning mase cap left and right, there was no way for taylor to keep both douglas’s technology and mase cap, so they chose to sell the tech to the government and keep their company afloat, at the cost of their already-crumbling relationship with douglas finally collapsing. naturally, axe then went on tv and spun this as taylor selling out their own father by flipping his company for their profit. much like what happened with oscar, this is yet another incident that’s more axe’s fault than taylor’s being described as a terrible choice taylor made that proves they can’t be trusted. (this only occasionally happens with actual questionable choices taylor made more freely — connerty prodding them about their new apartment in 2x11, danzig pointing out that taylor “led the charge in wringing cash from sandicot” in 4x01, axe also bringing up taylor taking grigor’s money in his tv appearance in 4x08.)

[teenwolfhasmeinagrip]

2x04 - Running thoughts

Damn, Derek. You brutal. The scene of him training the betas is hard to watch. Gage, Sinqua, and Daniel did a great job. 

Now, while the scene was indeed hard to watch I still put it in the same frame as Allison getting trained. I don’t get why people treat them so differently. maybe because we get to see more of it. 

So now everyone officially knows about the Kanima. 

We’ve also got the first appearance of young Peter. and Marin Morrell. 

“I’m everyone’s type.” still not a Jackson fan but he’s still very hot. 

They really had Stiles running back and forth when phones exist. Even knowing that Allison’s phone is a no go. Scott has one. Stiles has one. There are options people!

Matt was suspicious as soon as he stepped on the scene. Also, why is he allowed to take pictures during the game? And Stiles just slipped away with no one noticing until it was time for him to play?

I love that Boyd is like. “Bump, Derek. I’m doing this cause I want to.” as he should! but it really was not a great decision. he knew the risks. but Scott acting like he didn’t once do the same thing...please.

“The bigger they are. the. bigger. they. are.”

Derek popping the basketball is supposed to be...scary? LOL. Stiles has seen you kill Peter and render Issac into submission. I don’t think you had to do all that. i think he knew this though. it didn’t look like he had any intention of hurting stiles to get the information. (also love the way stiles talks to him once he pops back up with the kanima info)

I can’t handle Derek protecting Erica and Stiles (mostly stiles? cause it looked like he crouched down in front of stiles and not erica, but that could be the angle. it just seems strange that erica was the one to get hit when her and stiles were actually standing next to each other at that point. or maybe erica came to be beside derek.)

Okay. Stiles chose to jump in after derek rather than call Scott. Cue the “you need me to survive, which is why you’re not letting me go.” which, whether you ship sterek or not, is an absolute banger of a scene, and gives us more insight into who Derek and Stiles are I think. 

Funny that when Stiles tries to go for help. Scott fails him. (and stiles’ face actually pains me during this scene) and anybody can argue against that all they want. but the facts are the facts. had Scott not gone to the school he wouldn’t have known that stiles and derek were in the pool until it was too late. 

“it’s like a...” “an abomination.” exactly stiles. you can’t really compare the kanima to a werewolf other than the shapeshifting. they don’t have the same purpose. 

Now Scott wants to work together and he wants the Argents in on it. Just an episode ago he was calling people idiots for wanting to be a werewolf because of the argents. hm. 

i...don’t get the whole kumbaya thing. the argents and derek may have the same end goal i guess but working together seems like a bit of a stretch. and i dont think anyone should be surprised or can even blame derek because he doesn’t want to. the last time he saw them one of them put two arrows in him and the other shot him. 

and the hunters whole goal is to kill werewolves, gerard at this point has already declared war. not a strong case for working together.

and (excuse me for jumping ahead) he’s actually proven later on in the season that this decision was right. what with victoria trying to kill Scott, Allison and her vengeance, and Gerard and his plan. 

It never surprised me that gerard knew about scott. the man has been around for forever. and he’s evil. 

Going back to the beginning. I don’t actually think that Derek is that brutal. I think he’s doing what he feels he needs to in order to keep his pack protected. He looks scared. he obviously wants the power that he can get from having a pack but i think if he were just focused on that he wouldn’t be so insistent that they learn how to defend themselves. 

onto 2x05!