#he is STRUGGLING in s6

[wereoz]

spencer reid unnervingly miming stabbing someone while talking in a low raspy voice about it. i love you mentally healthy girl<3

[s0fter-sin]

one of my favourite aspects of supernatural that you very rarely see in paranormal shows is that sam and dean are already versed in the world they live in. there’s no sudden discovery of ghosts and demons and now they have to learn about them along with the audience; they are born into it and already know all about it. it allows the audience to follow their personal story instead of also trying to figure out this new world and its rules

the first season is full of knowledge we never see them learn; “w*ndigoes are in the minnesota woods or- or northern michigan. i’ve never even heard of one this far west.” […] “great. well then this [his gun] is useless.” (1x02), “you don’t break a curse. you get the hell out of its way.” (1x08), d: “it’s a god. a pagan god, anyway.” […] “the annual cycle of its killings? and the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. like some kind of fertility right.” […] s: “the last meal. given to sacrificial victims. d: “yeah, i’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god.” (1x11)

almost every episode in the first season is a monster they’ve faced before that they then explain to the audience in a way that should feel patronising; like it’s the same speech given over and over again but instead, the audience almost feels included in the knowledge. it’s stated with such an innate confidence and comfort in said knowledge that it feels like we already knew it too; “spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. if they want inside, they just go through the walls.” […] “the claws, the speed that it moves; could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.” (1x02), “it's biblical numerology. you know noah's ark, it rained for forty days. the number means death.” (1x04), “no no no, not the reaper, a reaper. there's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on earth, it goes by 100 different names.” […] “you said it yourself that the clock stopped, right? reapers stop time. and you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why i could see it and you couldn't.” (1x12)

they already know and, at least in the first season, already have what they need to kill whatever they’re hunting; already know to salt and burn bones for spirits, fire for a w*ndigo, exorcisms for demons, a silver bullet to the heart for shapeshifters. there’s only three times in the entire first season that they run into something new to them; 1x14 when sam gets his first vision that leads him to another psychic, 1x16 when dean calls caleb for help on the sigil he put together and he tells him about daevas, and 1x20 when they find out vampires are real- and they only don’t know that bc john thought they were hunted to extinction and not worth mentioning

(there’s also technically two half instances if you count one of them knowing something the other doesn’t - sam figuring out the tulpa in 1x17 and dean already knowing about the shtriga in 1x18 - but those still rely on sam and dean having prior knowledge)

even when they’re uncertain about facing something, it’s not bc they don’t know what it is; it’s precisely bc they know what it is and acknowledge that it’ll be a difficult hunt (“i don't know, man. this isn't our normal gig. i mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. this is big. and i wish dad was here.” 1x04)

so much of the tension in paranormal shows typically comes from the main character(s) not knowing what is happening to them/the people around them and having to find out how to resolve it. supernatural is unique in that it operates more like a police procedural. the tension comes from solving the clues and identifying patterns to figure out who (what) the killer is and intercepting before they can take another victim

it’s such a different tone to go for when compared to other shows that came both before, during, and after its run. it sets sam and dean on even footing with each other since they both have the same knowledge going in, and it puts them in a place of authority usually reserved for an outside character

the shows i compare spn to most is charmed, buffy and teen wolf; every main character in those shows are brought into the paranormal world knowing nothing, putting them on the same level as the audience, and they have their mc interact with others already knowledgeable about that world in order to overcome their problem/monster of the week. the audience organically learns about this new world as the characters learn about it. it’s a sound writing strategy that prevents “as we already know”-style exposition but something that complicates it is if your world building isn’t unique or intriguing enough, this slow introduction can become boring

we’ve seen shows like these before; sitting through the same tropes of characters learning to use their powers, struggling with no longer feeling normal/relating to the regular world around them, and not knowing how much they can trust the people already involved in this new world gets repetitive. all three shows eventually reach the same level of comfort with their new world that spn starts with but if the characters aren’t enough to draw you in, you can end up dropping it before they reach that point (and often, before the overarching plot can really kick in and evolve the show beyond the villain of the week format)

it’s the superhero origin movie in tv format; dragged out and overplayed. dropping the audience into an established world of course comes with its own problems but you also have the benefit of pre-existing established character dynamics that let the audience slot in like they’ve always been there instead of just getting to know all the characters while the characters also get to know each other

sam and dean already knowing about the supernatural lets the audience immediately get to the core of the story; the conflict between sam and dean, the search for their father, and the mystery of what killed their mother

[borgialucrezia]

i'm just thinking about arthur getting terrified of tommy when he broke down after the failed assassination of mosley and instead of approaching him and trying to reassure him, he sneakily took out the bullets of his gun while driving back to the mansion and let him roam wild in the field acting all suicidal. and by letting him run into the field alone at least he knows that tommy can't kill himself with an empty gun... it's batshit to me how his assumption of tommy killing himself turned out correct and he saved his life by emptying the gun...these two are so fucked up actually.

[solargeist]

thibking abt Mumbo always sharing his lunch with Grian or even making him snacks bc he forgets to eat sometimes

[mischiefbuckley]

I love rewatching eddie getting called out in the previous seasons like currently on my rewatch and I’m on season 6 and episode 8 “what’s your fantasy” when Eddie learns that Christopher has a crush and he wonders why Chris hasn’t said anything to him about it and then Carla goes “Oh, you’re suddenly in a hurry to give dating advice?” LMAO DRAGGING EDDIE’S ASS REALLY QUICK RIGHT THERE CARLA

[shrinkthisviolet]

“This was needed! Daniel needed to stop worshipping Mr. Miyagi and seeing he had flaws!”

OR maybe the writers/TB3 needed to stop acting like pacifist = passive, start writing Miyagi-Do with the same respect as they do Cobra Kai and Eagle Fang, and remember that KK1 already showed that Mr. Miyagi was imperfect and had grief and anger he needed to work through (he was human, imperfect, not always the perfect calm mentor—this is territory we’ve treaded in KK1 already!!)

[divinekangaroo]

Random thought that S1 could have instead had more consistent hinting/detail to it that Tommy *suspected* Grace in some way, and therefore his seduction of her wasn't entirely just the hearteyes it tried to be sold as, but rather attempting to sway her to his side. Because, given every other series has Tommy using his body/self/sex as a way to leverage influence he wouldn't otherwise have, it'd be consistent to have seen a hint of that with Grace.

And then to *still* have their revelation moment after the Garrison killings, because then how much more meaningful if he throws away his suspicions in favour of finding someone he feels sees him and gets him.

[timothyslucy]

thinking about that japril scene where april breaks down in tears when she tells jackson that they were having a baby boy, and how much i want that for chenford, but happy!!! like... they agree that they don't care about knowing the sex of their baby, but lucy accidentally finds out somehow, and in her excitement she stops by the precinct over lunch, or after shift to tell tim, "we're having a girl" with the biggest smile on her face, only to quickly go into a slight panic when his face drops like 😧 and she starts to ramble like, "l-look, i know you probably wanted a boy first-" but tim surprises her by interrupting her and crashing his lips to hers, only to pull away with tears in his eyes like, "no, i want this. i want exactly this."

[siren--squid]

Going Through It in a way that only danvis can fix I think

[camellcat]

girl in the fireplace is so funny to me. just seeing different people's reactions (and mine) to it. like, here's how I break it down:

if you love rose tyler and timepetals but maybe not as crazy for the doctor himself, this is the worst episode ever EVA!!!!! like hell on EARTH WHYYYY OH MY GOD ROSEEE MY GIRL I'M SO SORRY YOU'RE BEING TREATED LIKE THIS!!!!! DOCTOR go save ur girl goddamn don't just leave her so uncertain and feeling betrayed like that!!!! and don't PROUDLY KISS OTHER WOMEN 😰😰😰!!!!!

if you're a bigger doctor lover but still enjoy rose and maybe timepetals but eh it's whatever, this episode is very interesting and a fun exploration of the doctor, if a bit sad to see rose almost sidelined like that. ultimately one you quite enjoy

if you just care about the doctor and not rose or timepetals, this episode is the SHIT OH it's so good it's SO good oh my god yes please dive more into the doctor's fucked up psyche and life grahhHH!!!! ough. this man is FUCKED UP!! YEAHHHH!!!

[staliaz]

one thing about stalia is they have the most scenes together, meaningful and beautiful (romantically wise) so we are never gonna run out if scenes to edit bc there are always so many and i notice editors don’t use a lot more i love as well like they’re just soulmates ong.

[the-amber-raven]

Hi! I was wondering if you could explain to me about Buck's sex addiction in the beginning of s1? Did he do it as something he simply like to do? Or to seek something emotional? Or something to make his head clear?

I think it was most likely a combination of all those things.

I also think it's important to remember that Buck self-diagnosed himself with sex addiction - I am certainly no professional but I suspect a therapist wouldn't have diagnosed him as such but perhaps pursued the idea that he was either seeking a connection or engaging in self-harming behaviour.

I see his sex addiction as being his attempt to make a tangible connection (he even asks for that first lady's number so that they can meet again!) But it's also his way of dealing with his self-worth (or rather lack thereof). He doesn't know what he's good at but he does know he's good at sex so he might as well do that as often as possible because what else is he good for 🤷‍♀️

Following that idea, I also think it's interesting to look at what stopped him from engaging in those behaviours- because it wasn't Abby. He had already decided to try and stop before they started talking, he even tells her he'd rather not meet yet because he doesn't want to fall back into old habits.

It was the scare of being fired and the gratitude of getting a second chance that triggered his change in behaviour and I think that's particularly interesting when you consider the self-harming angle because it suggests that Bobby giving him that second chance gave him a boost of self-worth (the realisation that he can be a good firefighter, which then becomes his driving force for the next 5 seasons) which helped him stop his spiral.

[pumpkinrootbeer]

Something that really hits like a gut punch the older I get, as someone whose been actively suicidal the majority of my life, is how fucking. Young Sam is in the original 5 seasons. If it ended as originally intended, Sam never would have made it out of his 20s and I can't accurately describe how sad that makes me

[duskwood-by-daylight]

Just some of my season 6 litg commentary under the cut

I haven't been playing long and they made me go on the Roberto date. He's icky to me. He reminds me of my ex and I wanted to drown him.

I literally didn't have a choice, but you're welcome.

That's a damn shame.

The free option is to leave? Thanks for the savings!

She doesn't want your dessert. Go away.

Bonus: Ivy, I will literally break you in half. Step off. Let me be with my boring blonde dude. Go fuck on anyone else.

[l4dymarika]

My question is why aren’t they looking at their selves like looking at your hands while you’re on a date is just so awkward

[ancient-romes]

agent Washington for character bingo

HIII JUMPING UP AND DOWN!!! TY FOR THIS

Wash as a character makes me insane like i cant even put into words i just have to explode . everytime i see him on screen i have to physically calm myself down its so bad. i think he and tucker has just permanently taken over my brain.

he's been through psychological horror you couldn't even imagine, he became worse before he became better, he could be so so much worse, he could heal, he could be happy, he could break. I want to see him pushed to his limit but also i just want him to be safe and happy. giving him a smooch

NO BINGO :(