#i hope they arent making the actors smoke so much

[darkangel1791]

Okay, seriously though, smoking straight up kills you, it's not a pretty death, and cigarettes are one of the most addictive things out there. Don't even try a single one. It stains your teeth, makes your breath bad, and ages your skin at twice the rate of a non-smoker.

But Goddamn it looks so cool and sexy when Louis and Lestat do it! Like why?!

And when Louis lights his cigarette off of Lestat's? That shit is hot, man, in more ways than one!

Devil magic!

[thoughtfulpaperback]

Charmed 03x03 Spoiler Review!!!!

What was that? No really. I hope the whole me just complimenting the entertainment value of an episode but not seeing value in its place in lore doesnt become the norm from here on out. Entertainment wise it was a solid 8/10. Its place overall in the series as far as lore building or cannon compliant id say 5/10.

So let's start with the dislikes and just get them out of the way.

DISLIKES

1. Abigael's demon face

Okay so I could be wrong but, my understanding is that abigael's demon side was locked away in that figure. Which is why she hasn't (in the entire season 2) had a full body demon form like Parker and her dad. I actually like the demon face as far as design goes it sort of -but not entirely- reminds me of one of the demons in the OG Charmed. What I dont understand is that, if Abigael was at some point Overlord of the Demon world and before then she was working exclusively with demons, how the hell did she do this without every needing to show her demon face???

I guess maybe they only needed blood (see season 2 episode 2) but come on. Also, if apparently you can lock away your demon form, why the hell didn't Parker find that out? Granted in season 1 his daddy was using the fact his demon side was eating at him as leverage, so not like he was going to tell him about it, but Parker literally left season 1 to find a way to tame that side of him and get away from demons you'd think he would have asked one witch who might have known this between then and when he became overlord.

Also, does Macy then have a demon face? He eyes have gone black (season 1) and she had her demon powers. Apparently demon powers and demon face aren't tied together if Abi can have one without the other, so who knows.

They better at least go hard with Abby as a villian or else I am going to be unsatisfied. Charmed has been lacking in the villian department since season 1. The writing needs improvement.

2. Jimmy's Anti climatic and non sensical death.

Okay, so the fight scene was amazing and RE is like the best actor ever, but this whole thing made zero sense. For like so many reasons:

1. It was sloppy lore wise

So the established (poorly established btw) rule was that thier lives were tied together at a magical and molecular level. Magic could put them together not sever them. They established that a little after mid season. The other rule was that they could not kill each other, but others could kill them. Death by Suicide apparently would kill them both which now that they ended Jimmy like this makes that whole situation in episode 12 totally unnecessary and even more gross than it was (we do not support the indulgence of romanticizing suicide on this blog).

They literally just delt with all the tangling up they did with the Jimmy and Harry connection by having Jimmy say "well now that there is no magic we arent tied together anymore". Which again makes no sense since the before they made a deal about them being molecularlly tied hence the dna helix when macy creates a potion to merge them.

Also why was that a thing if it was never going to be used?

On top of that, they bond is apparently gone but apparently Jimmy and Harry are still missing halves because Jimmy didn't just turn human and die. He vanishes in white smoke. Which is different, but not different since smoke is smoke and Harry didn't vanish in white (to our knowledge) when he was stabbed the first time.

2. It was unnecessary story wise. Especially if by some want they decide to write Jimmy back in.

Why bother sending Jimmy away for an episode if you are going to kill him off in the next?. He was away, safe and happy, was it necessary to bring him back to die?

Yes I get it magic was wearing off so apparently his memories came back. But was it necessary to make it a thing where Jimmy with his memories just wants to come back and kill. Especially when the whole season 2 was about him wanting to be free. Wanting to live and not be a servant.

3. Shallow sisterhood

Okay so I am going to be careful in how I say this, but season 1 (for all its flaws) was the best at writing the sisters bonding. At having them on individual archs but still connected and growing with each other.

Season 2 had them pretty much seperate from each other and that was fine as I understood it to be leading to an eventual come back and uniting.

.... except it really didn't. There is a pattern of seperate jouneys but not the same connected feel of season 1, and then some big declaration of sisterhood, but not true reunion. I assume it is just the writing. So maybe these writer just aren't able to write the same sort of sisterhood which season 1 had. Sad, but if that is the case it's just something to expect here on out. I am curious if the destruction of the sisterhood was that they have to be apart now (convenient physical distancing wise) or if next episode it will be forgotten as a side effect that only lasted the initial moments afterwards.

LIKES

1. Maggie's growth

For my complaints about shallow sisterhood writing and how romances and villians are handled, Maggie's storylines this season have been 100% amazing. And looking at the whole series it feels solid.

Maggie starts off the series very much not into magic unless she can get some personal gain from it whether its a magical glamorous party or some fantasy time with a magic orb. She very much wants a normal party girl life although by the end of season 1 she seems to accept some responsibility to the magical world. Season 2 sort of unraveled that in the beginning as Maggie seemed not accepting of her role in the magical world as she was the last episode of season 1. But she is shown to be the same party girl with a lot of heart. Every episode she grows up until she no longer likes the person she was, and I love how Jordan tells her that growing up isn't about moving on and hating who you used to be but living who you are now (I swoon with him). Thats very Maggie season 2 arch confronting old self and ideas and trying to grow up. She is and she does but not in the ways that she think. When she "tries" to grow up she is actually making bad decisions or pushing down her trauma and pain, when she allows herself to just be, she is at her best. I love it.

2. Hacy

It was all angst and indulgent but still I love anytime a couple can still be going through a tough time but not make unnecessary drama. Macy wasn't being unrealistic or dramatic thinking about her being the one to die, and Harry wasn't being unrealistically bratty about the situation. They were as calm as could possibly be in that situation and he respected her choice although hoping it wouldn't happen. I appreciate it.

3. Mel

So season 2 was so bad for mel writing wise, for some reason the writers have trouble developing Mel outside of other characters considering her most significant and well written character development moments are either in relation to Abby or to Maggie and Ray.

But I liked seeing some of the old mel. The Mel willing to do whatever to save others and her family. Mel as an activist (confident and self assured) is the best Mel. I feel like season 2 didn't have that same Mel and I like the glimpse of her this last episode.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

Sick Abby

Ruby at the grave

The Maggie

Island Dance

Jimmy the florist .... adorable

JimmyxHarry fight scene

Demon Abby

[youcantfiremebecauseiquit]

i dont think most Want to be effy or cassie, i think its more that mentally ill folk relate to them. watching effy overcome her issues helped me with mine in dark times. on nights when i scratched my skin until it bled or ripped my hair out id turn on skins and feel like i wasnt alone, that other people felt that way too. when my eating disorder worsened id put on skins and watch cassie in hospital getting better. skins helps struggling people, i think most people arent romanticising they relate

I literally came across LOTS of blogs tagging skin stuff “omg she’s so perfect i want to be effy/cassie soo bad”. They tag Effy as “pro-ana” and “goals”. They use those characters as beauty/bodytype goal boards and, simply speaking, AESTHETIC GOALS. These aesthetic goals are mostly lying drunk/drugged on the floor or smoking cigarettes. Sad truth is that people are enchanted with that heroin chic skinny girls doing drugs/drinking and simultaneously looking fucking sexy, which is funny cause doing drugs/vomiting as a bulimic/sleeping drunk in the bushes is never sexy. And it’s not only young impressionable teens, it’s also 20-30 year old girls. I’ve seen/heard a lot of stupid comments on this show, like normal happy people i used to know wanted to be like skins, cause “it’s so cool they just go to parties and drink and fuck”, while depressive people want to be beautiful and to make their own problems appealing and movie-like. Like “Skins” or “Euphoria”. It’s just the biggest fantasy, someone in the world really thinks these things look like that...)

Life is not a movie with beautiful actors playing out aesthetic tragedy. I get irritated with tv series and movies portraying all that teenage tragedy spiced with beauty and fake images of depression, for example film makers think depression means ~~sitting gloomily in a warm bathtub surrounded by glowing scented candles, crying mascara tears and then tragically yanking your head under the water, letting out delicate fragile bubbles from the nose. Cut.~~~. I know how it’s like to be a morphine addict. And how it’s like to have cuts on arms too. I’m just irritated with people that think depression and drugs and cutting are cool personality traits. Or with films trying to soud deep but actually showing stereotypes of issues like Requiem for a Dream. Maybe it’s too americanized for me, Europe is different.

It’s hard to find actually good movies portraying illnesses, depression or cutting. Things that i can remember right now are not even about teenagers. I liked “Manchester By The Sea” - it showed the story of a man who lost his family. I like how it showed depression - he just doesn’t want anything. Doesn’t want relationships, anything. He just exists and goes on. It doesn’t show him decaying in his room, but somehow this movie is logical - he doesn’t want a lot of things anymore, idk, it somehow felt convincing. I also heard that German film “White Sound” shows schizophrenia very convincingly, so much that actual schizophrenics admit it shows it as it is. (Idk, i can’t tell cause i don’t have schizophrenia, also i’m yet to watch the film cause i can’t find it with English or Polish subtitles). 

I realize not everybody romanticizes Effy and some might genuinely find this character helping. In what way, I don’t know, cause this show is a fucking shit. You’re in fact looking at the romanticized, fake version of your illness. I’m more skeptical and i think there’s more people who romanticize it rather than feeling connection - even if they have similar experiences, their sympathy towards characters often turn into something weird. I understand that film characters can be helpful and there are people out there that don’t think these struggles are beautiful or desired. But Skins are fake and ignorant in terms of presenting serious issues. 

Sorry if i sound harsh, i don’t like the way some people treat it. I haven’t seen entire series  so i don’t know what happened to Effy or Cassie in the end, if they got better it’s good, whatever.  I didn’t have eating disorders so i can’t say if the series actually presented this problem correctly. Then again, i never bothered to watch that shit outside of 1 or 2 episodes. If this film helped you then good i guess. I kind of identified with Dr House because of pills addiction, permanent leg problem and not being able to have any normal relationships, even though these series also weren’t showing everything perfectly and seemed like naive sci-fi in a lot of ways. In the end it’s all TV and stuff meant to entertain people, oftentimes people that don’t have any problems.

I’m writing a book and one character has mental illness and addiction, i hope to show it convincingly.

I’m just kind of bitter about people who treat tragedy, pain, depression and addictions as something desirable or beautiful, and making careers or internet fames on that, while others would do anything to rid of that. “Sad sells”. Tumblr is full of that. Because i have these problems for real and i wish i felt better, there’s nothing to be proud of.