#i lowkey loved their scenes and chemistry in the episode and hope he makes a return in this season <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[inafieldofdaisies]

Elsbeth (2024—) | Season 2, Episode 2 "The Wrong Stuff" | Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and John Behlmann as Fire Marshal Jake Turling

"I could be Watson to your Sherlock."

[red-balloon12]

I just “watched” episodes 7 and 8 of Hazbin and I have a lot of thoughts.

But let’s start off with episode 7

Rosie and Camilla were EVERYTHING this episode. I love them both and I didn’t really have much to say about avails before this episode but like…I loved them a lot. Rosie is an absolute sweet heart (despite her being a cannibal)

Vaggie has wings now….Y E S. There’s SO much visual potential for this. I can just imagine her carrying Charlie bridal style through hell and her expressing with them as. I know a lot of people were confused but I’m gonna give explanations now: Lute ripped off her wings, she didn’t cut them with an angelic weapon which means Vaggie was able to grow them back through “The Power of Love”™️ and sheer will power.

At first I was a bit disappointed that Charlie and Vaggie didn’t actually properly and I was a bit underwhelmed by Charlie’s reaction to Vaggie’s but I’ll tell why I’m not as disappointed anymore.

Alastor was behaving a little bit like Charlie’s father figure in this which is funny considering episode 5. (But I know Chalastor shippers are gonna be weird about it and use the scenes for their fuel. Smh.) Not to mention I can see Camilla becoming a mentor/motherly figure for Vaggie in the future. But oddly enough I can also se Rosie being a mother figure for Charlie too.

Camilla’s song is probably my favorite out of the song list so far and while I’m a little disappointed it wasn’t a duet between her and Vaggie like the first song kinda was, we did get a training montage out of it and the explanation about Camilla defeating an angel leading up to it was freaking cool. (I really like how Camilla’s footwear was used as instruments in the song, I love stuff like that)

And now….for episode 8

I really liked Vaggie’s war outfit, Charlie’s was okay too.

I’m not gonna lie to y’all, I lowkey was kinda rooting for Adam when he was going up against Alastor. I’m sorry but I just…do not like him…or his fans for that matter. And GOD DAMN was it refreshing when Adam broke his staff, that man needed to be humbled….I just wish it wasn’t Adam that did it…cus I don’t like Adam either. And I feel like Alastor’s fans are coping with the fact that their precious deer demon daddy lost to a damn angel. (And yes he did loose to him. Cope and seethe) My guy wasn’t gonna land a scratch on Adam without an angelic weapon, what did people think was gonna happen?? But I’ll give Alastor props for holding out as long as he did.

Speaking of him, the reason why I didn’t mention the deal he made with Charlie yet is because it connects with this episode. So I’m 95% certain he has a contract with Lilith and it had something to do with that stick of his. His staff was probably the source of a lot of his power and it can’t be regenerated because it was broken by Adam’s guitar/axe. That “favor” that Alastor wants from Charlie might be to have her make him a new one, a more powerful one that he could possibly…idk…kill Lucifer or Lilith with? Idk dude, the man’s be scheming. But I’m like…98% certain his gonna be the BBEG by the end of this…and if not him, than Lilith.

CHAGGIE DUET- STARMOTH DUET- I’m so ill about them. This is why I wasn’t so mad about them not talking because of THIS SCENE. At this point, I could care less if people still think they have no chemistry after this or they think they’re boring. They’re real, they’re canon and they are beautiful. COPE AND SEETHE, BITCHES! I just hope they get more original duet pieces and not reprises in S2 but the fact they used the same song from Charlie and her dad is really cute.

I liked Vaggie calling Charlie petnames during battle. Little things like that is what makes these two so nice to watch.

Vaggie Vs. Lute…dispite me hoping Vaggie would be on even footing with Lute, it wasn’t realistic, and I’m glad they kept it realistic. Vaggie was out of practice for YEARS meanwhile Lute was not only going at it after Vaggie’s falling but she was also the lieutenant. But this is where Camilla’s advice came into play. Lute fought Vaggie with vengeance in mind as well as her thinking she was indestructible. This lead to her downfall when Lute was so caught up in mocking Vaggie, she accidentally gave Vaggie time to think of a way to outsmart her. Lute fought hard but Vaggie fought smart and it paid off in the end. And we got that BADASS line from Vaggie at the end of it. I love it when my girl gets W’s.

I’m disappointed how Charlie was overpowered by Adam though. I was so ready for her to throw hands with him. But I can see why this is the case as well. Charlie never really had to go all out before in her life. So she’s kinda rusty and inexperienced compared to Adam and Lucifer. (Also rip Razzle or Dazzle. You will probably be missed) But she did get two good hits which I can appreciate and she was the first to actually do damage to Adam. Something I can also appreciate.

Speaking of which, Lucifer absolutely OWNED Adam as he should. We stan a short king who loves his daughter.

Sir Pent was absolutely ROBBED of his moment by Adam and I don’t care that they made up for it by him going to heaven (I do care but sksnjs I’m still salty) And am I the only one that like…didn’t care all that much for his crush in Cherri? Like, I do like it in theory but the pacing…OH THE PACING IS THE REAL VILLAIN OF THIS SHOW. I wish they had a little bit more build up to that kiss. But hey, at least we have confirmation that the hotel does work. Rip Sir Penny. You WILL be missed.

I don’t know how I feel about Nifty of all people being the one to end Adam. On one hand it WAS foreshadowed at the beginning but one the other hand..it felt cheap(?). Like it would have been more satisfying for say Vaggie or Charlie to land the final blow, from a narrative standpoint at least. But…it was Nifty. And uh…was I SUPPOSED to feel bad for Lute seeing Adam die? I’m sorry but they both deserve to get their wings cut off. Adam was a fun villain but I’m glad he’s dead.

Hopes/Predictions for S2

I want more Early Stage!StarMoth. One of the criticisms people have with their relationship is how little set up they have. The best way to rectify this is to show how they were when they were still crushing on each other. A good example of this is Ruby and Sapphire from Steven Universe. Ruby and Sapphire were already established as a couple for Y E A R S but because we got to see how they fell in love and how they worked in the early days, people got more invested in their love story. So I hope Hazbin does the same with Charlie and Vaggie.

I also want Vaggie on her own. I know this is contradictory to my first want but I’ll explain. The theory as to why Vaggie seemed a bit shallow for a lot of people in the show was because they felt like Charlie was Vaggie’s whole personality which is something that I semi do agree with. So I want Vaggie to pick up a new hobby in S2. Whether it be her doing some dancing or maybe she becomes a musician. I just want more of VAGGIE.

And speaking of…I want Camilla to become some sort of mentor for Vaggie. I mentioned it earlier but I’m gonna do it again. Lute’s gonna come back in S2 and she’s gonna want revenge on Vaggie. We’ve seen how underpowered Vaggie is compared to Lute when it came to raw skill. But Camilla knew how to fend off from the angels and Vaggie did use her advice. I think and hope that if Vaggie keeps on training under Camilla, she can definitely surpass Lute and become a better fighter from it. Hell, Camilla can even help Vaggie deal with her anger issues.

It would also be fun if Lucifer trained up Charlie to be a better fighter (or Vaggie and Charlie can train together. It would make for some good moments between them)

This is a smaller want but I want Vaggie to cut her hair…she looks so much more cooler with shorter hair. And maybe a name change??? Maybe?

I want Charlie and Alastor to fight. It’s probably gonna happen with that deal and all. Some one is gonna suffer and Charlie (after having more experience) is gonna take on Alastor and I want her to remind him why she’s the damn Princess of Hell.

I just want the cast to interact with eachother more. Don’t let it just be Charlie and Vaggie or Angel and Husk. I wanna see how Vaggie and Husk would interact. They’d seem like a pretty chill duo.

I predict Lilith is gonna be the BBEG if not Alastor. She’s either gonna have to throw down with Charlie or Lucifer. And if somehow Alastor reforms, he may throw down with her. Lilith is gonna fight SOMEONE. (And Charlie may have to do a sing-nu-jitsu on her)

I predict Angel and Husk are gonna have to face with their soul binders (Alastor and Valentino) and both of them are probably gonna be rushed.

I predict Lute and Vaggie are gonna fight again and I HOPE Vaggie is more ready for it than in the finale.

I predict either Angel or Husk is gone be next in-line to be redeemed (which means either one is gonna “die” next season)

I predict another standoff between Alastor and Vox…and this time Vox is more cocky since Alastor took a BIG hit in the finale.

I predict Emily is gonna become a sinner.

And last but not least…I predict Vaggie and Charlie are gonna have a wedding at the end of the show.

My “final” thoughts for Hazbin Hotel S1: Pacing and tone shifts were the biggest flaw for this season. Moments, relationships and topics suffered from the poor pacing and while some of the blame goes to the lack of episodes, most of it goes to the writers. I can’t tell you how many moments fell flat due to the rushed episodes. You don’t really have time to breath with this show and the moments that you do get to breath are some of the best moments of the show.

(There’s also bias issues but that’s a separate topic-)

But for what it had…it wasn’t the worst. And I’m actually kinda looking forward to season 2.

[zalrb]

can you talk more about papi and angel and what you think made them work well as a couple?

OK so I've spoken about why I liked how they got together:

Lil Papi and Angel are absolutely adorable. I did a vid of them and you’re right they were just together in every scene the last episode and it just felt right? I think it’s also because they don’t force it? They’re not like LOOK AT THEM BEING TOGETHER, they’re just together and it’s a fact, I can believe their relationship blossomed in the span of three years more than I can believe that Damon and Ricky’s went through as many bumps as I’m supposed to believe it had and I’m not sure if it’s because they’re handling Papi and Angel more lowkey or if it’s because Indya and Angel have a different kind of chemistry, where they’re just very grounded and “at home” with each other.

And so yes, there's the fact that they have chemistry

and that they're so soft, like this is a soft ship

but I think what makes them work so well as a couple is that they both have so much love to give to each other. Papi naturally gives what Angel yearned for and hoped Stan could give her, like he adores her

and Angel saw value in Papi as a suitor, she did see him as a prize

they found worth in each other.

[poohsxhunny]

I finally finished season 3 part 2 of bridgerton! I feel like I didn't hate this season like how everyone else was talking about it, but it def had its issues. I kind of just want to ramble about it just for myself (I've never read the books).

Pros:

I liked Penelope owning up to being Whistledown, taking pride in it, and her lowkey outsmarting the queen.

I appreciate Penelope and Portia bonding over the trauma of being a woman in society and the way they fixed their relationship

Love the queer rep this season!! I clocked Francesca as gay the second she showed little interest in marriage. I am sure she loves John as a friend but it'll be heartbreaking to see Francesca having to confront her realization that she's gay and has feelings for Michaela. Also, of course Benedict is bi but I'm also curious what they'll do with him. I still can't see him getting married ever! tbh he gives off aro vibes but I can also see him being poly - just can't picture him being happy in a monogamous relationship. And finally Eloise is 100% aroace and i hope she never marries.

Kate and Anthony's few moments were the highlight of the season. I was literally kicking my feet and giggling when Anthony was so concerned when Kate said their marriage isn't perfect while trying to comfort Colin lmao

Love the Featherington sisters, no notes

I did like Cressida this season and how she juxtaposed the Bridgertons and even Penelope. Similar to Penelope, she doesn't have the same privileges as the Bridgertons in terms of both money and family support, but Cressida takes that pain and bitterness and shows it very openly and is quick to be a mean girl/call people out as herself while Penelope is the same but just hides behind Whistledown. I liked how she called out both Eloise and Colin on their privilege!

Generally enjoyed the plots with Lady Danbury, her brother, and Violet!

Cons:

It took Penelope way too long to accept the part of herself that is Lady Whistledown. I thought most people loved Lady Whistledown?? And I actually think gossip is important!! I was surprised why Penelope was so ashamed of being known as Whistledown?? I get her not wanting Colin to know since he hates Whisteldown but I'm surprised it took her several episodes of her to be proud of that part of herself. Girl you are a published writer making BANK and are calling people out on their shit to the point where you are going toe-to-toe WITH THE QUEEN!! WEAR THAT NAME LIKE A BADGE OF HONOR! I wanted to slap Pen when she told the clothing store owner that she doesn't think she deserves Colin because she's whisteldown. GIRL YOU ARE THE PRIZE!! HE NEEDS TO GET ON HIS KNEES AND THANK THE LORD HE HAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL AND INTELLIGENT AND POWERFUL WIFE!

I dislike Colin and don't see what Penelope sees in him. I didn't hate him in the first half of the season except for his weird rake behavior. I did see him as the romantic sweetie in the first half of the season but that disappeared so fast in the second half. I get that he was mad about the Whistledown thing, but I hate that he immediately iced her out and for so long at that instead of trying to understand why she became Whistledown and what it means to her. He clearly doesn't understand Penelope or his own privilege as a man. In a society where women have little power, gossip is the only power they have! imo he should have been on his knees apologizing to her and begging her for forgiveness for that behavior the second he understood where she was coming from!!

And with all that being said, I didn't like Polin's story. I feel like Penelope and Colin's chemistry and tension fizzled in the second half of the season. After the carriage scene, I was excited but everything got stalled and awkward because of the Whisteldown reveal drama. By the end i was neutral about them getting together. Tbh I was more excited that Pen made up with Eloise and her mom and got the notice of Lady Danbury compared to her making up with Colin. IMO the whistledown reveal should have happened episode 5 itself and then they should have made up before the wedding and then worked together as a team to figure out what to do. I just can't believe THE QUEEN FORGAVE PENELOPE BEFORE COLIN!! THAT IS LOSER BEHAVIOR!! I just can't comprehend enjoying a romance plot where the man isn't simping over the woman for most of the story. We only really saw him simping for Penelope episodes 3-5. That's not enough!!

I hated Cressida's treatment by everyone else. WHY DID NO ONE HELP HER???? WHERE DID LORD DEBLING GO?? SOMEONE SAVE HER!! WHY DID ELOISE JUST ABANDON HER??? ELOISE YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN HER WITH YOU!!! FUCK YOU ELOISE!!!

I'm saying this again because I just am so annoyed by this, women will only enjoy a romance if the man is more in love with the woman and simps over her and is absolutely feral for her. Penelope clearly loved Colin more than he loved her and I just can't get behind that. COLIN IS A LOSER!!! I LITERALLY KEPT SCREAMING AT THE SCREEN IF HE DOESN'T WANT HER I WILL TAKE HER!!!

[ruby-red-inky-blue]

Carrie reads and watches Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

so because I have no impulse control where my time management is concerned, I not only binged a 32h audiobook in an abhorrently short amount of time, but followed that up with the entire miniseries immediately. Now I have opinions. (Spoilers below!)

First of all, what a book! I’m most impressed by the fact that my main criticisms somehow feel more like my own fault than the book’s? Because yes, the book is very slow especially in the beginning (read: the first 400 or so pages), touches on some things more briefly than i’d have liked and rambles on like nobody’s business - but that’s perfectly in keeping with the literature it’s borrowing its style from! In fact whenever I got actively bored, it made me smile. Because it was as if the author was winking at me, going, man, 19th century lit, eh? And the pseudo-academic style really worked for once, and I really enjoyed the footnotes. Especially because again, the sudden rambly asides and stories-within-stories even in the middle of an action scene felt very classic literature (side-eyeing Dostoyevsky).

The adaptation is interesting in that it is both a pretty faithful adaptation and a good example why book-to-screen transitions are difficult. I mean, they cribbed entire conversations wholesale from the novel, and didn’t really skip any plot points until the last one and a half episodes (unsure if this was at all times a good choice because the novel got to spend much more time on all those story threads and the show *breezes* through them).

The casting was similarly often pitch-perfect and sometimes a slightly but consistently different thing altogether. I do like Carvel a lot, even though his Strange seems like a much cleaner and nicer version of his book counterpart (more below). Norrell was somehow both a little too stiff and not crotchety enough, but pretty on point most of the time. I was a bit thrown by Stephen’s actor’s age, I’d imagined him younger, but I’m assuming it adds up. The fairies overall were a bit meh - why did they all look dusty? - but I guess ethereal uncanny beauty and magic are hard to translate into costume and make up. What puzzled me a bit was the casting for Lady Pole and Arabella, who should have maybe been swapped just looks-wise? Then again, I loved the way Lady Pole was portrayed (though they went maybe a little too hard on the firm anti-men stance towards the end? I’m undecided, it seemed a little too... modern somehow). Wasn’t a huge fan of Charlotte Riley - she didn’t have much chemistry with Carvel and sometimes it felt like they were in different shows alltogether, especially in Lost-hope (where she gave off the vibe of being in an actual made-for-tv classics adaptation). John Uskglass, while book accurate (I think?), looked hilariously emo, full on girl-from-The-Ring, and Lascelles discovered his cut-throat streak way too late. He seemed more clueless than sociopathic, which made his turning on Drawlight at the end seem like it came kinda out of nowhere. Childermas and Segundus were *chef’s kiss* though.

Now onto the biggest changes: Obviously most adaptations heighten their characters slightly because we don’t get to hear their thoughts like we do in a book. This works fine in the beginning here (they made both Norrell and Strange a little more absurd and silly via this slight exaggeration and honestly, it was pretty funny) but is a detriment to staying faithful to the characters and genre. The emotional distance between the characters and the reader that is only really broken a few times is a really big part of making the book read like a book from the period, and losing that distance makes the show feel very different (and to me also less English, but this may be personal).

Strange is much more *into* his wife throughout. This is a script choice from the get-go (”The only thing I’ve ever really wanted is Arabella” - lowkey love that though because it introduces the uncomfortable but period-appropriate view of Arabella as a treasured object very early on) but also really comes through in the acting. Carvel gives such a charming performance I didn’t mind this most of the time, and I get it. When you’re not forced to spend a thousand pages with them, you don’t get attached to characters as easily, so the easy thing to do is make them more likeable. It also makes the story much less dark-academia-esque though: Now it’s a guy desperately trying to bring his wife back to life instead of a guy going a little insane with grief over the wife he barely paid any attention to and then proceeding to get lost in his research so far that even when he does manage to bring her back, he kind of just... keeps doing... his research? Book!Strange is the “I want to watch him spin in a microwave” kind of character. Show!Strange is endearing, and consistently sympathetic. Both is good, but the vibes are different. So different, in fact, they had to make a pretty impactful change to the ending: Now Strange can’t go back to his wife because he has no idea where he is, instead of kind of going “hey I still have this darkness issue and I could probably just solve that but really we’ve been doing other more interesting things, so I’ll be just sort of gone indefinitely along with our entire property, I’m assuming this will not be an issue for you”. (Again, they’re making him much more sympathetic and I both like and hate it - I *so* wanted Strange to just be better, but also... it was more interesting that he wasn’t).

Also, his confrontation with Norrell was way more dramatic: Strange is suddenly intensely aggressive (he went to strangle him??? I think??) and Norrell was being much less repentant and reconciliatory, and there was so much push and pull before they start to work together. And it kind of broke my heart because their immediate familiarity and genuine support despite all the shit that’s been happening was an incredible move and I hated losing a second of it. Also they went hard on making Strange the prodigy and giving all the good ideas to him when half of them were Norrell’s in the book. Not a fan. (This man thought destilled mouse juice was a sensible course of action to solve a problem. He may be a genius but not... consistently.) This is all a part of the more action-heavy finale, which I understand but didn’t love. While Strange breaking into Norrell’s place to yell at everyone and throw things was in character (at least for the character the show was presenting), I *liked* how underwhelming and English their falling out was in the book, and preferred the “nothing in life matters so I’m going to Italy with Lord f***ng Byron” storyline over Strange fleeing the law (but again, it wouldn’t have meshed with how they chose to play Arabella’s “death”). Basically, I felt like the book had more interesting things to say about grief than the show storyline.

Overall I appreciate the show but it doesn’t hold a candle to the novel. It never stood a chance, really, because it was like having incredibly engaging cliffnotes on a book whose charm is less than 10 percent due to the plot. But some shots really looked like they were pulled straight from my brain, and you’ve gotta respect that.

[lovelygirlinbleu]

Thoughts & comments on HIMYF 2x11 excited

It was an okay episode

Jesse is so obsessed and down bad I can't deal with this anymore give him a personality or make him date Sophie

Why aren't there any glances from Valentina and Charlie so much happened in their love life and you wanna tell me they don't feel some type of way

anyways Jesse and Val have chemistry

but she has chemistry with every character so that's problably normal chemistry

they need to stop talking about memories I need to see them if so

crazy because I thought that Sophies mom and Robert could be a match

lowkey wanna see them dating

glad she broke up with the grandpa it became weird

Sid and Hannah are lowkey the best characters but they are not lasting at all

I'll kill him myself if he physically cheats but I wouldn't be mad If he keeps crushing on Taylor

emotional cheating is a pass and important in fiction I'm sorry

I'm happy about her actually coming back because I was so excited in their scenes

a very funny scenario would be Drew and Hannah calling out the gang (they're lowkey bad people but my bad people)

also very happy about Valentina and Swishs story to continue I hope they bring in Charlie to help her

like give them another shenanigans storyline I need them to be a team again I don't care about the outcome for now

and Sophie looking for her dad means more family stories from the gang

so there's no reason for Sophie and Jesse to not date atp it's just unnecessary and forced "tension" and it's becoming really annoying

I mean her reason for not dating Ian was that she wanted to find out why she ran but we a)haven't seen her trying to find out or deal with this subject and b) she's been jumping from "I really like him to I really like him" with two different guys ever since

So what's the reason for keeping Ian away? boom forced again

they need better arguments and explainations for their decisions

[poppin-fandoms]

Bro i just finished season 3 and there’s too much mileven ;-;

I mean I do think they’re cute but NOT ROMANTICALLY. Platonic eleven is where its at.

It makes me lose hope lowkey but then I remember that season 4 exists and Mike Wheeler is NOT straight at all. As straight as a mfin circle. You cant tell me he wasn’t infatuated with Eddie CMON its confirmed he even grew his hair out to be like him 😭

I get scared sometimes tho 💀 like what if they don’t break up. But they def will. Honestly as long as Mileven breaks up PLZ

Mileven just doesn’t have that chemistry that Lumax and Jancy and even Elmax and Byler have. And they never will and its so OBVIOUS like you don’t even have to be a Byler to notice it. Bro even one of my teachers said Byler has so much more chemistry than Mileven and she thinks will and Mike should get together and I love her for that 😭 and shes like in her late 40s sooo

It’s not even delusional to think it’ll be canon like there’s stuff everywhere cuz everything is so intentional. Its so POSSIBLE and in my opinion they ARE endgame 100% idc you cant change my mind.

I mean the szn is really good and I like the aesthetics too like the MALL and the OUTFITS r all so cool. it’s fun I mean I love Stranger Things but I just hate how apart Will and Mike were the whole season and the way Mike ACTED like dude chill tf out 💀💀 and then Will was hardly ever shown again, this is like the last few episodes of the season.

But ofc we have the famous “its not my fault you dont like girls!” Mike, your internalized homophobia is showing 🤭

Its funny cuz I always LOVE the first 2-3 episodes of each season and then obviously it gets sad 😭 and hella action too but its still good BUT I HATE WHEN CHARACTERS DIE LIKE POOR ALEXAI WTF?? He deserved better and so did Bob obviously.

Nobody better die in season 5 istfg. Like all of the OG cast has to survive PLEASE LET THEM LIVE.

I also watched the first ep of season 4 and I love Chrissy but ofc, vecna put her out of her suffering, and unfortunately I think Will is also gonna get vecnad in szn 5 cuz my boy has been thru it ALL. When is he not being hurt in some way he deserves nothing but happiness.

Like whats gonna happen after Will confesses to Mike? I mean I still can’t believe it, it’s actually happening and the painting and all that and then he’s gonna be so sad cuz he’ll think Mike doesn’t feel the same and I have SO many fanfic ideas honestly

Also I adore Elmax SO MUCH I honestly wish they could be canon I just love them they’re so prefect for each other. Max is the #1 Mileven anti lmao. I keep remembering how she wanted to be friends with Mike in szn 2 but he was so rude to her like BRO WTF. I still like Lumax but like…consider Elumax.

But El deserves better and she does deserve to be on her own away from Mike.

Also Robin’s coming out scene will never not get me I LOVE HOW SUPPORTIVE STEVE IS i freaking love Steve I mean like honestly who doesn’t?

BUT CAN YOU BELIEVE STRANGER THINGS LITERALLY STRAIGHT BAITED EVERYONE WITH STOBIN? LMAOO

So is it rlly a reach to say Mileven was straight bait cuzzzz

I rlly love Robin and Vickie which r definitely ending up together (with Byler cuz they also kinda parallel each other) but I am very fond of Ronance I love it.

AND THEN JOPPER I ALSO LOVE THEM. Remember when they were like “theres nothing romantic between us we’re just friends.” And then the “we’re a team” and it reminded me so much of that one Byler scene in szn 4 which im pretty sure has been pointed out but yeah the PARALLELS.

And also Jancy had that “oh we’re just friends” moment before they got Murrayed like Jopper. Murray getting matchmaking all the Byers? PERIOD. He better finish that in season 5.

Also why do I lowkey ship Murray and Alexai like that wasn’t just me right? Fuck it

But yeah just some thoughts…

[aylinaliens]

It's really obvious that they want to make a couple minwoo/suyeon but at this point in the drama I just don't understand how it will ever work considering they are always fighting (with good reasons for suyeon)

i love me the whole enemies to lovers constantly bickering and fighting couple where one of them is a literal sunshine and the other has a…questionable moral compass but if minwoo/suyeon end up together i think it’ll be all of our villain origin stories.

the thing is we have four episodes left. minwoo is STILL his usual ableist pos self. he has shown no development or change on that front. i hope that the preview will subvert us. we know that minwoo is attracted to suyeon (that makeover scene really can’t blame him there) but suyeon is in a constant state of 🙄 whenever minwoo so much as breathes in her direction. i kind of hope he tries to shoot his shot and she immediately says no in the next episode. i hope that the writers are not doing that thing where a ‘bad’ character miraculous becomes ‘good’ simply because he fell in love. that trope is good as long as we have development and we can see the change happening. literally what are they going to do in 4 eps to redeem minwoo? his whole entire personality and mindset needs to change. it would feel so cheap if he did a 360 just because of suyeon. since everyone is going to be together next ep and they are teasing that something is happening. i’m honestly rooting for min shik (hairy boss) since they won’t give us suyeon and geruami those cowards

yes the blind date was a disaster but suyeon needs someone who is genuinely a nice person and minshik is such an endearing dork. i bet he’s going to make attorney jokes while on the Jeju Island trip djjajds but in all seriousness: i hope they don’t try to force minwoo/suyeon. although i looove suyeon and think she deserves the world i’m not opposed if she ends up single at the end. i’m also lowkey rooting for attorney jung even though that’s a bigger crack ship than geurami + suyeon djsjjsjd. i’m not sure if this will happen but i also thought that maybe geurami and minshik would end up together. they have such a fun dynamic and chemistry. OH and if they even try to make the geurami x minwoo x suyeon love triangle a thing i’ll riot. literally all he has to do is run his mouth about youngwoo and it’ll be on sight for geurami. i need a scene of geurami trying to flirt only to hear/see minwoo be nasty so she switches from 😉 to 🤬 real quick

anyways. @ eaw no one wants minwoo/suyeon or minwoo/geurami we want geurami/suyeon

[fromiftowhen]

The Rookie: 3x09 Amber Thoughts/Spoilers

I have… a LOT of thoughts about this episode. Unsurprisingly, the majority of them are Chenford related, but I had a LOT of West and Lopez feels too, so. Here we go. I started to try to get my feelings out, but it just became me copying quotes that I either laughed or had other feelings about, so…

“Grey’s busy, and Smitty’s getting a back tattoo.”

“That’s --”

“Don’t ask.

-- When I say I laughed out loud. Jackson and Smitty’s relationship is one of the best callbacks this show does, and every mention of that ridiculous man is hilarious.

“But it’s super important she doesn’t get shot today.”

“No promises. You ride with me, you ride the rollercoaster.”

-- Nyla Harper is my favorite person. She was excellent in this episode, from the very beginning to the sweet moment at the end (that ending scene did NOT need to be about Nolan, this should have been solely focused on Lucy and Jackson and what they accomplished today, but I can’t say I’m surprised. But Harper made it better.)

Tim tossing the list out the window immediately.

“You know, littering is a $250 fine.”

“Worth it.”

Lucy pulling a backup list right out. They know each other SO well.

-- HILARIOUS. Although I’ll admit my guard was up the moment she pulled that list out and used the word “trickery.” It worked out differently than I thought it would, but… well. We’ll get to that.

“I knew my TO would be important to my career. But I don’t know. I didn’t realize how important you’d be to my life.”

-- I should have been more prepared for the Lopez and West feelings today. Their relationship probably started out the rockiest of all the TO/rookie pairings, and maybe rightfully so… but it’s become the least complicated, the closest to friendship the fastest, and their bond is just really something. Jackson was right - a LOT has happened in their 13 months together (yes, show, I remember exactly how long it’s been -- do you?) and they’ve both grown and changed in such wonderful ways. Angela looked sentimental the whole episode (while still being her badass, hilarious self) and West looked SO relaxed, it was such a lovely bookend to their first days together.

“I wish someone taught me how to be in this one.”

“Oh, so we are in a relationship.”

-- All the references to a relationship were good, if not entirely baity. But Tim’s delivery of that line was amazing and made me laugh out loud. He sounds so long-suffering and very much like an exasperated husband, and it really pinpointed one of the ways they interact that just WORKS so well. It just feels natural, and Eric Winter’s delivery was great.

“Tell me the truth -- Am I gonna poop myself?”

-- This entire conversation was so randomly hilarious (but added levity they all clearly needed then). Harper and Lopez are hilarious together and I truly wish the show gave us more of that.

“Don’t worry -- I will personally stand watch over your kid until you leave the hospital.”

-- Jackson West. I love you.

“I really hope our last shift together doesn’t end with that.”

“Yeah, me too.”

-- EMOTIONS.

Tim distracting her with her list. The man KNOWS her. And him acknowledging that she’s been to hell and back. Again, I say -- EMOTIONS. It was such a good callback to him knowing she needs to focus on work and order and process to remain calm in some situations.

“One look from you could send me into a tailspin.” And one day, it will again -- in an entirely different way, I am SURE. The way they both knew she was referring to Plain Clothes Day was great.

“I dunno. Smitty is surprisingly maternal.”

“That is the most horrifying idea I’ve ever heard, and I want it to be a reality show so bad.”

“Right? I would watch the hell out of that.”

-- Lowkey this was the most hilarious exchange of the night. I would also watch the hell out of that reality show. All these little moments made me miss Lopez and West together so much. Their scene at the end of the episode was lovely. All the times he thanked her. Please still let them interact often. The show NEEDS it.

“We did it.”

“No. You did it.” THE MOST TIM BRADFORD THING I’VE EVER HEARD.

“Office Chen impressed me with every decision she made today. I will miss riding with her.”

The callback to the evaluation in Plain Clothes Day. My heart skipped a beat, honestly. The way that Tim was looking at her in this scene while she read the note was… it was a lot, and apparently too much for me to process currently because that’s the most intelligible thing I’ve got to say about it.

“You don’t let anyone ever tell you you can’t do something. Not even me.”

-- WHILE HE HELD THE HANDSHAKE. This one line tells you all you need to know about Tim Bradford and his RELATIONSHIP with Lucy Chen, honestly. He knows she’s “as tough as they come” and has “been to hell and back” and he knows, even if it scares him, even if it gives him flashbacks to Isabel, that she can do it.

Her gift to him was such a nice callback. For a show that doesn’t seem to track or care about its actual timeline, they’ve done a wonderful job with callbacks especially this season, and especially Tim and Lucy related ones. All the Caleb/Rosalind stuff. All Isabel mentions. Multiple mentions of Plain Clothes Day and their first day riding together, etc.

Every. Single. Time. He has called her Lucy this season, I have had to compose myself, none more than in this episode. I do kind of wish they’d waited until that last moment to have him call her Lucy (to her face, we all know I don’t think the phone call scene from season one, although one of their very best moments, counts)... it might have felt slightly more impactful (although the moment in the season premiere was great in its own way.)

Honestly, it was a little weird for me watching the show tackle their final moments as TO/rookie because I’ve written so many versions of that myself? (And look, I’m not gonna lie, their version gave me feelings, but I liked mine better). I wish that truly lovely garage scene hadn’t come on the heels of that “confession” scene, but it did help make up for it.

You might have noticed that I specifically skipped over that “confession” scene in the shop. As soon as he started talking about lying and UC work, I said “ugh” and then immediately wrote the scene in my head -- down to her laugh, it was that predictable once you got the gist. And I’m going to be honest -- if I had written it, I would have deleted it.

I KNEW going in -- and I think most people will agree -- that this was not going to be a true confession. That we weren’t going to get a Chenford love confession tonight (and please, can we discuss that ‘canon’ and ‘endgame’ are not interchangeable for just a sec.) But the way it happened just felt SUPER ship baity, and using it in the promo even more so. I just felt super pandered to in a ridiculous way that didn’t leave me with the most pleasant feelings about the writers… the garage scene at the end definitely helped, but overall the confession scene left a sour taste.

The thing is -- the things she said? How he saved her? How the reason he’s protective of her is that he might have feelings too? Those are all valid things! And things that, at least in fic, I believe. But watching that scene, me, someone who can read something shippy in the TINIEST glance? I didn’t FEEL those things. I wasn’t nodding along like “yep, yep, that’s all true” -- there wasn’t a moment during that scene where they looked at each other and I thought “yes, this is hitting too close to home for one of them.” Maybe that’s just me. I don’t know.

And I don’t know if that’s because I was too in my feelings about being badly pandered to, or if it just wasn’t there, or what. But… just overall I’m left with a feeling that it was just an entirely unnecessary scene that probably didn’t serve the ship well, just judging by some reactions I’ve seen.

Those feelings though? The ones I wanted to feel in that confession scene? I FELT THOSE, every single one of them, in the parking garage scene at the end.

Every look was perfect. Every pause, the handshake (a hug would have truly saved the confession mess, let's be honest, but can't be picky), the way he looked at her as she read, THAT is the writers do SO perfectly right for Tim and Lucy (and I know the majority of that credit goes to Eric and Melissa, because the moments that are the most impactful are the looks that just can't be entirely scripted.)

Do I still ship them with every fiber of my being? Yes, and nothing the writers do or don’t do will change that. Will I still (eventually again) write a million words about them falling in love how I think they should? Yes. Do I need the show to stick to moments like in the parking garage -- real, honest moments between them? YES. That is what the show gets right about their relationship. If they can just stick to those moments -- and somehow continue them and make them believable even if they’re no longer riding together -- I’ll be happy.

Am I worried about their interactions now that they’re no longer riding together? Yes. Their chemistry is honestly the best thing on this show. Giving less screen time to Lopez and West together has been rough -- not only on the relationships aspect that so much drives the show but on the timing/pacing as well -- and I worry that their best characters/best ship not sharing as much screen time will not help either of these issues.

Maybe they’ll surprise me. I hope -- I think -- they will.

(Random, but things I still need from this season: A Rachel mention? Don't get me wrong, if they want to forget her, I'm cool... but it feels like (even a fake love) confession should have been the right time to be like "I know this is awkward, you're dating my friend..." Come on, show. I don't care about her, but you tried HARD to sell us on her last season, so at least give her a two second mention to update us on what is actually going on. The Lopez-Evers wedding. (Do I think it'll be THE Chenford event most people are hoping for? No. But I'm ready to be proven wrong.) A continuation on Harper's love life. UPDATE ME on my girl.)

[cocogukkie]

2020 in review: kdramas (the heart fluttering, the disappointing, the saviors of 2020)

it’s december 31st! the new year is quite literally upon us (some of y’all are already in 2021) and my procrastinating self has chosen to upload this today. i’ve always loved these rec lists and I wanted to do one for 2020! this year was a rollercoaster for kdramas with some excellent ones and some not so excellent ones. i watched all of these in 2020 but not all of them were released in 2020.

if you want to use my questions to make your own list please do!! or give your favs in the tags, i’d love to read them. (fair warning, some of these have multiple answers bc i just can’t choose one!!)

drama that made me laugh

When The Camellia Blooms (2019)

i finally got around to watching when the camellia blooms this year and it. was. so. funny. oh my goodness, the comedic timing in so many scenes was pure excellency and im kinda mad at myself that i didn’t watch this last year. this isn’t just a comedy for those who are interested, its a thriller/romance but its also so fucking funny. definitely watch this if you want to laugh (and be touched bc the emotional scenes in this one are beautiful)

drama that made me cry

Sweet Home (2020)

hahah….. um this one is gonna go to sweet home friends. i went into this one with zero expectations and the first couple episodes didn’t really wow me? but i kept watching and holy shit fam. this show really picks up story-wise around ep 4 and makes the viewer love a lot of these initially unlikable characters. all i can say is that the end was devastating for me and i cried quite a bit. (warning, there are a lot of mature themes in this one so make sure you look for trigger warnings or send me an ask and i’ll list them all out for you) 

best OST

Itaewon Class (2020) 

i loved the ost for itaewon class!! the music is just so inspirational and pump up music, its so good. my favorites are ‘you make me back’ by woosung and ‘start’ by gaho.

drama with chemistry royalty (aka the best couple) 

i have three for this one because i just cannot choose one. 

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)

we recognize this one as one of the best things to come out of 2020. go moon young and moon kang tae have some of the best chemistry i have ever seen in a drama couple. i waited on the edge of my seat every single week for the next couple of episode just so i could fawn over these two. they work so well together, lift each other up, and so fucking funny together and support one another. while they’re not the chillest couple (lmao) they’re most certainly one with the most personality. they’re so cute and bicker and they just get each other. who could ask for more.

Flower of Evil (2020)

our badass mom and dad 😭😭. this was another peak drama that came out this year and our married partners-in-crime-but-not-really had amazing chemistry. baek hee sung and cha ji won were so cute as a married couple but they were even more precious later on in the drama after certain things unfolded (no spoilers). they both just get each other and protected one another as well as on the most precious kdrama children this year, their daughter eunha. they were so wholesome, flower of evil is so very worth a watch.

Into The Ring (2020)

this was one of the more underappreciated kdramas of the year but hoo buddy was the main couples chemistry top notch. they were so friggin cute and i just couldn’t. goo se ra is highkey one of the best female characters i’ve ever seen, she’s absolute chaos, lawful chaos, but chaos nonetheless. her other half, seo gong myung is opposite from her as lawful neutral. he’s just along for the ride that is se ra and loves her. they’re both so very fond and protective of each other and back each other up!! very very cute and you’ll definitely replay more than a couple of their scenes together.

most disappointing

Record of Youth (2020)

it’s sad but true… i went into this one with so much hope and excitement (i was riding off that ‘psycho but its okay’ high) and i was vastly disappointed. the plot mostly focused on the male lead, and there wasn’t much characterization for the female lead which i didn’t like. honestly, i only cared about maybe 3-4? characters in the whole drama. the rest were absolutely terrible or plain boring and i ended up skipping eps 14 and 15 and just watched the finale. i would not recommend tbh.

drama you can’t really get through

Crash Landing on You (2019)

this one is absolutely on me, i want so badly to love this one. but i just… can’t seem to get past ep 2? i’ve tried!! i swear, but i just cannot get through it. maybe in 2021, i can try again and i’ll enjoy it more.

drama everyone else liked but was meh

Kairos (2020)

i though kairos was a bit predictable tbh. i know those of us who did end up watching it really liked it but maybe its because i watch so many crime/mystery shows that this one didn’t really do it for me. the writing is quite solid and everything connects well, i would recommend that those who don’t really watch thrillers, to watch this one. (also the friendship between the female lead and her two friends is suuuper cute and worth it alone to watch kairos)

favorite romance

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)

yeah… this one wins again lol. what can i say, i just loved it so much and the main theme of the show is romance (its also a comedy and a mental health/healing drama) all i can say is watch this if you haven’t yet, its definitely worth it!! 

favorite mystery

Memorist (2020)  & Watcher (2019)

i really enjoyed these two mystery dramas. both were super fun to watch and very kinda unique in their own ways. i liked memorist because it was lowkey funny and i liked the relationships between the characters, but most importantly i couldn’t guess the main antagonist by the end! i really thought i knew who it was and then i was completely wrong lmao. watcher was also very good, the main trio had really good chemistry and i really cared about all the characters. (also i’ll never say no to watching seo kang joon) plus the plot twists threw me a bit at the end which is always a feeling i welcome, i love being surprised and wrong (as long as it makes sense)

favorite slice of life

Hospital Playlist (2020)

oh my goodness, i was late to the hospital playlist party and i regret it because this show is so. so. good. its just a slice of life following 5 friends who are doctors and work at the same hospital together but its so much more than that. this is honestly one of the first shows i’ve seen that are optimistic? in the show, every time i thought a plot was going to play out a certain way (usually negatively, as tends to be life unfortunately) it surprised me by taking the more optimistic wholesome route. characters in subplots changed for the better, became more understanding, chose to do the right thing, etc. if you want a feel good drama where the main characters have wonderful platonic chemistry and just care about each other but is also super funny, watch hospital playlist!! (season 2 is coming out early 2021 and im so pumped)

favorite fantasy

The Untamed (2019)

this one is a cdrama but i watched it in 2020, mostly because of how many people on the internet were adamant that the rest of us watch this and ngl they were v right. the untamed was very very good and im really glad i gave it a chance and watched it, its also my first cdrama ever. the chemistry between the male leads is honestly what makes this show and its worth the 50? i think? episodes. to be completely honest the fanfiction for the show are peak and if you do watch this, go straight to ao3 and you will not be disappointed.

dramas that saved 2020

The Uncanny Counter (2020) & Run On (2020)

these two dramas are among those that started airing at the end of the year and will go into the beginning of 2021 and absolutely saved the end of 2020 for me. while neither of these are finished, both have been excellent so far and worth starting. uncanny counter has the best use of the found family trope i have ever seen. i fucking love the four counters and their relationship with each other, how protective they are of one another. they all have amazing chemistry and the actors have amazing chemistry in the making films.

run on has one of the cutest couples that will definitely make my best chemistry list for next year. i didn’t put them on this list bc they actually haven’t gotten together yet but once they do, they’re gonna be freaking adorable, i can already tell. there’s no specific grand events propelling the plot forward, but just following the lives of these unique, interesting and relatable people who have casual yet entertaining conversations with each other. the show is super soft and the main couple are so straightforward and honest (plus theres mutual pining!!)

best dramas of the year

here are my best dramas (and one movie) watched this year, no further explanation given lolol. just watch them and enjoy because these are fucking excellent in the feels department. trust me 💞

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)

Flower of Evil (2020)

Itaewon Class (2020)

Hospital Playlist (2020)

One Spring Night (2019)

Midnight Runners (2017)

Hot Stove League (2019) 

I hope this gives you some fun stuff to watch!! or convince you to start that drama in your watchlists! 

[thepigeonsopinion]

And it starts a new…

So I just saw the trailer for “Glaciator 2” and heheheh all I can say is this is getting really annoying at this point.

Ok, lets start from the beginning! So first of all I don’t know if I should be happy that Alya was being a “good” friend to Marinette by deleting those pictures of Ladybug and Chat Noir (Not to mention, the amount of pictures she has of them I mean those alone can fill a whole gallery :0) or if she just did it reluctantly and didn’t see the problem of having them in the first place, I think in the end it’s probably going to be the lateral with the addition of everyone seeing Marinette as a hypocrite because that’s how the show usually sadly goes.

AND OF COURSE we get a “sad boi Adrien” moment in an episode where the WHOLE EPISODE is supposed to put the reverse LS into the picture heheheh we all love that don't we :,) ( I just realized that Adrien is in the middle of the park, sitting on a bench, looking at a billboard of Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing, while crying... Now THAT'S a new level of sad boi dramatics.)

AnYWaY! Why was Chat Noir on the bus when he could literally, like, travel on foot with his superhero abilities, unless there's an actual reason other than it being for the convenience of the LS than I don't see why this scene is even necessary.

Now we all knew that Master Fu was watching Marinette and Adrien in the background in most of seasons 1-3, Andre the ice cream man is now doing it. And judging by his facial expression when he sees both Chat Noir and Marinette laughing together on the bus (which I still don't get.) that he probably believes that Chat Noir is cheating on Ladybug with Chat Noir (I lowkey thought he already knows there secret identities because of that one scene in "Miracle Queen" but I digress.)

Not to mention, the amount of MariChat scenes there are in this episode. Now to be honest MariChat is the one ship in the LS that I don't really care baout because it isn't shoved into our faces constantly, but don't get me wrong I still think that the LS is toxic as fuck (and if you think I should go deeper into my thoughts of why I think that the LS is toxic just comment on the post or reblog or whatever and I'll consider it.) I can also already tell that this episode is only going to thrive on the idea of Marinette and Chat Noir building "chemistry" and maybe Chat Noir having more "character development" (if that is even possible.) And with the addition of the time Marinette and Chat Noir spent together I know that this is probably going to make Ladybug's sympathy for Chat Noir grow which will cause the ripple that we call the LS to start once again.

Moving on! Ladybug literally just went ZOOOOOOOOMMMMM. You know all these Lucky Charm's are starting to get really ridiculous I mean first it was the vespa and now it's a literal race car. Not to mention, the giant ass cookie that Tikki conjures up in "Dearest Family". Man, I miss the old days when the Lucky Charm's were just house hold items like forks, spoons, and vacuums, now there just things that can murder you if they fall on top of you.

And with that it's the end of the trailer. Now, I will stand by my word---aka what I said in my post that I ranted about the synopsis of this episode in --- I am still dreading the release of this episode because not only will this probably serve as evidence that the reverse LS starting to come into view, and the inner conflict of Ladybug and Marinette with AdriChat (not to mention, the amount of repetition this episode probably will have.), but it's also just going to be a huge disappointment in the end.

Anyway! that is the end of this rant, I hope everyone has a great rest of their day or morning(?) (Because I'm doing this at like 3:00 in the morning :0((again))) and as always remember...

But that's just my opinion (・ε・)

[emotionalsupportshelby]

Hi, I'm depressed it's almost 1am and I'm gonna blog my Peaky episode watch:

Episode: Series 4 episode 3

Let's go

My dad said Paul walks like a ape, and it's, all I see now... Like with both arms at the same time

Michael gives me so many mixed feelings but it's cute that his, adoptive mum showed up in the hospital

Village Michael was the best Michael

Does the adoptive mum know it was Michael's decision not to go back? She's out here, blaming Tommy, like babe... Tommy wanted Michael to go, he refused

ADA MY BABY

Polly counting the days she's gone without a fuck 😭 legendary behaviour only, you go be with someone unsuitable ma'am, we rooting for you

Hi Ada saying "behave yourself" is lowkey fucking hot

You never behave yourself Pol you go down with legends

Only Cillian could rock Harry Potter glasses with that Haircut and I am here for it

I'll make a post on this, later but Tommy needs a, woman like Linda, a women who gets him away for the Buisness

Im not a fan of Linda but Kate is gorgeous 😍

Why is everyone in this cast so hot though

No but I had to watch the Arthur and Linda, sex scene with my dad 😭😭 there's others but this is by far the worst 😭 I hate every time we get there 😭

"keep his balls empty and his belly full" Linda's mum >>>>

I hate myself for thinking this but I wonder if Helens hair drastically changed to this shorter one because she was going through treatment..it looks similar to my aunts, who went through breast cancer so I'm like 👀

Probably not cuz it's years before but.... Who knows

The paint fight scene must have been so fun to film... I love watching it each time

"I'm here as a lover of theatre" Me introducing my theatre nerd ass

I alwaud forget how good Adrien is in Peaky... Season 4 is one of my least favourite seasons but Adrien kills it as Luca even though I dislike his character in general

Arthur he had a fucking vote because it was planned to have the vote Just because you were getting fucked doesn't mean that stops

Arthur... John shoulda killed his teacher... Its not on you it's on his dumb ass

Kates smile is GORGEOUS

Arthur and Linda are a toxic relationship on each end and I hate that neither of them are getting happiness

She's trying to help you get out of the life which is damaging you Arthur, don't go Bat shit at her

100% found out that I've developed a new crush on Kate just now...can't wait to rewatch with this knowledge

"you have a lot of enemies" no shit mate... No fucking shit

JESSIE BABY HOW I HAVE MISSED YOU

and your muppet dress

You cannot say that that dress don't look like it's got muppet on

Ti's the Muppet dress..

Okay I made a post on this before but Cillians subtle yet heartbreaking acting when Greta gets brought up is a hyper fixation every damn time I watch this episode... Here's, my gif from last time

He looks so broken and I can't explain how much I love his acting choice there... Whether he even knew he was doing it or not

I'm so angry Jessie isn't coming back next series 😭

Her and Cillian had so much on screen (for lack of better word) chemistry and I'm sad we won't get any more of it 😭

Greta is still Tommys truest love and possibly his ownly love and I will go to my grave thinking that

Jessie/Charlie deserves SO much more love than she got and I'm forever bitter about how dirty she was done

Cillians acting in this scene is heartbreakingly subtle yet beautiful and I'm in awe

Arthur firing the bullet, I'm not a HUGE Arthur fan but he needs to go and get therapy and find happiness

Lizzie is under appreciated as the woman who isn't with Tommy... She is so much more than Tommy's wife

"Tommy said yes, Arthur said yes"

"but did God say yes" - I love Polly 😭

Finn trying to be in charge, bby no

As someone who has been to Blackpool... That is the happiest look you will ever see... I stayed at a hotel there for a con and it didn't even have a fucking window... We were in a box... I feel Tommy had the same experience

Lizzie, Polly and Linda arranging a girl for Finn gives more proof that he's fruity 🍓

"nice women don't do that sort of thing"

"yes they do, look at you" - we love sweet Tommy one liners 🥺

Hi if tommy wants to take me to the docks Id love that because it's, precious as fuck 🥺

He is fully in his head fucking Greta here but its still a fucking sweet moment and I love it

HE PROMISED GRETA HE WAS GOING TO CHANGE THE WORLD GUYS I CANT 😭

The way he goes back to talking business straight after having sex 😭 boy, rest dammit

"I don't want it like that ever again Tom" cuz you are interested in the other gender?

This scene woulda been a great one for Finn to come out to Tommy and I'm bitter it didn't happen, Steven recognise he ain't straight dammit

I remember watching the scene where Polly 'betrays" Tommy the first time and being so fucking pissed 😂 Still lowkey stresses me the fuck out

I always think I dislike S4 until I watch it and then I'm like damn... What a masterpiece ✨

Top 3 thinks I've thought:

1. Wow Kate is gorgeous and I hate that I've ignored it this long

2. Tommys romantic side who has his guard down needs to be shown more

3. It's not gonna be the same without Helen, I just pray they do it respectfully 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Ahhh that was fun... Hope you enjoyed my commentary 😂

(it's now 2am...oops 🙈)

[hawkinsgsa]

okay okay . alright some real thoughts under the cut:

general: 

- i DID really like a lot of vol2?? like it was such an immersive and intense watch and the last episode was a fucking roller coaster of tears, some of the thing they did like the gate splitting through hawkins and the ways they figured out how to have them all team up at the end just not physically was really creative?? they way they edited it together was just fucking SPECTACULAR too - does feel a little rushed when you think about it probably because of all that separation.... like the two days later are you kidding me what the fuck HAPPENED i have so many questions...... how did they get out of the upside down did they go through the big gate or back to eddie’s trailer, did they find his body, how did they REACT...  - honestly lowkey disappointed with the “deaths” they teased like... of course i don’t want a lot of them to die either but when you ONLY have the guts to kill off new characters it gets so... predictable, and the stakes feel less intense.... they need more courage to kill members of the main group for good or else the stakes are gonna feel nonexistent in s5  - so fucking glad they’re all back together now though, i really hope it stays that way for s5 i miss the party with all my heart

robin:

- MY BELOVEDDDD i don’t really have any problems with her in these episodes honestly i just love her so much DHDSSD - her and vickie have... potential, i like the potential a lot, however i’ll like it a lot more if they let vickie into the group in season 5, let her be an actual character and form a real connection/chemistry with robin, she deserves a real romance not just an afterthought for rep points ( love that she’s someone robin can find solace in relating to tho !!! ) - i’ll make a separate post to really talk about this but the only things i think i Really Need To Address that they didn’t is her reaction to eddie’s death and almost dying in the upside down

will:

- oooh boy . okay . Okay - will my absolute beloved you’ve done nothing wrong ever and i love you so much - slightly controversial take maybe but i?? really like his scene talking to mike in the van actually.... not a fan of when people use “it’s the 80′s” as an excuse for why they can’t be gay, but you really do have to remember that......... it’s the 80′s, if he’s going to talk about his feelings ( which i wanted to see ), he’s NOT in a place where he’s able to outright say it yet... he admitted he feels like a mistake, hell the only people i think he could manage really admitting it to right now are jonathan and joyce......... letting his emotions out under the guise of talking about el, holding onto the smallest sliver of a chance to say it even though it just makes him feel even more isolated... idk something about that just Gets Me - although, what i do NOT appreciate is him and his queerness only being used to further develop a het ship... this could and Should have been made up for with a longer talk with jonathan, one where will actually gets to sort through his feelings a little without constantly centering them around someone else ( i also think there should’ve been more conversations with him and mike like that, Not just surrounding el, plus i don’t think mike Noticed will trying to hide his crying... if he Did, he would’ve acted on his concern, i accept nothing else ) - OH I ALMOST FORGOT i don’t think the painting was el’s idea... why would she comment on him acting weirdly and not showing him what he’s painting in her letter if it was, i do think it’s something will would SAY to hide the fact that it was his idea but whether or not that’s true, that is the case for my portrayal, it was all him - will’s connection with vecna is... really interesting, i want to explore that more, and NOT just in a “sensing him” way, either.... will needs to be INVOLVED again, he’s directly connected to the upside down, i want him part of the confrontations or even especially targeted by vecna.. absolutely here to explore this in rp  - overall while i understand that he does not have to and probably Won’t outright “come out” and have a relationship, i do think he deserves better treatment by addressing BOTH the trauma he carries and his sexuality in some way, without just pushing him to the side or using him to serve other characters

[reverse-the-jellybaby]

thoughts on combat and captain Jack Harkness

- for both of them: GAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY! SO SO SO SO GAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

combat:

(unfortunately I have to talk about Noel Clarke as a writer in a positive way bc he wrote a great episode…as much as he’s a piece of garbage. I can only offer my apologies)

- he really said Torchwood but also make it Fight Club huh?

- he also said make Owen the biggest cunt he’s been all season and I admire that. Because it kick starts his wonderful character development.

- I also admire him for writing Gwen’s cheating confession with a dash of Retcon involved. Like, damn. Way to show Gwen just cannot face the consequences of her own guilt, huh? But that’s the kind of character stuff that I LOVE in Torchwood. Really deplorable shit. Characters making the worst decisions possible that you can scream about and analyse. Gwen often gets treated with kid gloves but this episode really went in on her worst qualities.

- ooofffff the energy in the room after Owen and Gwen end the affair and return to the hub pissed at each other. The angry glares. The snark. Oh lord. And then it’s still lowkey reeeeeeally awkward when we get to Captain Jack Harkness but they’re trying to be cool and professional now.

- as much as I don’t support Noel based on recent events, he wrote a bloody great episode. He took Owen and Gwen in particular down as dark as they could go, a feat I can only hope to achieve in my fanfics.

- the crazy frog ringtone absolutely took me out

- forgot that Gwen didn’t actually know that Owen had fallen for Diane but plays it off like she does when Tosh mentions it. Speaks volumes about how badly damaged that relationship had become by that point, and I’ll definitely have to work that into my series somehow.

- I made a seperate post about this but why would the show continue to push Jack and Gwen when Jack and TOSH is RIGHT THERE. There’s a moment in combat when Jack holds tosh close while hiding from the villains and I felt more chemistry in that tiny moment than in all of the Gwen/Jack scenes iM SORRY I JUST DONT GET IT.

- speaks volumes about Gwen’s professionalism that despite how angry she is with him, she still runs right into the cage to help save his life.

- as much as I hate to say it…this may be one of my favourite episodes. Siiiiiggghhhh.

Captain Jack Harkness

- SAME DEAL IN THIS EPISODE. So much Jack/tosh material here! And YET.

- the Owen and Ianto moments in this episode were just 🤌🤌🤌🤌 incredible. Top tier. Vitriolic work buddies, then the arguing. So spicy.

- remembered that in End of Days, Owen looks shocked when he sees Jack and Ianto holding each other and now that I remembered him mocking Ianto about the relationship being in his “sad wet dreams” I’m thinking either he boils it down to just sex or he thinks Ianto’s just lying. So when he sees them in End of Days and he reacts in the way he does he’s like oh…I guess it was more than that.

- something this show does so well is male intimacy, showing men at their most vulnerable in so many ways. We see it here with both Captain Jack’s. So much emotion in their final kiss before Jack and tosh return to the present. So much unsaid, so much that doesn’t need to be said.

- Captain Jack’s theme was just fucking beautiful and I got a little choked up because I’d forgotten how gorgeous it is. The score for this show is just 👌👌

[ultimatetrashgoblin]

My thoughts on Immortal Heart Society

DISCLAIMER: These are my OPINIONS. I do not claim any of this as fact, you are allowed to disagree with me. (Spoilers for Cassius and Alanna season 1)

First impressions for this series could have been better. There are plenty of problems with this series so far that I will address, but for now, let’s focus on the positives.

The writing is beautiful. As an avid reader and writer, one of my biggest pet peeves is lazy and unimaginative writing. IHS had some incredibly written lines, and I was immediately hooked even if I hated the love interests.

(I don’t have many screenshots but here are a few I did take)

The plot is interesting. While the pacing is a bit off at times, I found the concept of a corrupt secret society intriguing, and the mysteries surrounding the father was enough to get me invested.

The Inner Circle is (mostly) likable. I’m a sucker for found family, and my favorite series on this app (EAA, QoT, GIL, etc.) will usually have plenty of group banter, and the Inner Circle is no exception. One of my favorite scenes in Alanna’s route was in Richard’s office when everyone realized Alanna and FMC were exes.

Kiran. No further explanation. Lovestruck let me date her please.

For the most part, IHS seems like a promising series. But of course, when you have plenty of amazing side characters who would make wonderful LIs, you decide to premiere your series with the arrogant asshole and the compulsive liar.

Cassius Tarkhan

I should probably begin by saying I’m usually not a fan of the “rude, snarky, arrogant” LIs and read Cassius’s route solely because I was excited for the new series. So please take what you’re about to read with a grain of salt, since I am probably extremely biased against him.

This is a direct quote from me reading Cassius’s first few episodes: “I want to punch this man in his stupid fucking face.” I said this out loud, which should give you an indication of what’s to come.

As far as first meetings go, Cassius was probably one of the worst. At first it was all “fun banter oh look at the chemistry” until he sees the invitation and becomes the most insufferable pricks I have ever seen. (I’m sorry, but was that supposed to be romantic?! If I were in FMC’s position, I would be terrified!)

Most of the season went by with Cassius being infuriating and not telling FMC anything, and me questioning if I was actually supposed to like the guy I was supposed to be romancing. The villain dude (I don’t care enough about him to try to remember his name) was boring and creepy. I also had a strong desire to punch him in the face, but I’ll settle for him turning to stone.

It wasn’t until the season finale that I actually started to like Cassius. He started to open up more to FMC, he showed vulnerability, and was generally more tolerable. Hopefully we’ll be able to see more of this Cassius in later seasons, because I believe that it might save his route and maybe I won’t want to punch him in the face as badly.

As for the ending, I’ve read the final episode multiple times and I’m still not exactly sure what happened in that final scene. Cassius tells FMC that he won’t let her meet with the Society on her own and then... is he about to kiss her? This is a genuine question I’m asking I honestly couldn’t tell. It seemed like he was going to but it was very unclear to me.

If I was going to rate this season as a whole, I’d give it a 3 out of 10. Hope to see better next season, because he does have the potential to be better, but that wasn’t shown until the end of the season.

Alanna McKenna

At first, I liked Alanna’s route. I was excited about have an LI who was an ex, she was attractive (except for that weird smirk expression what was that???), she was funny, and I’ve already talked about how much I love the writing.

Then the lying started. I’ve had the misfortune of dealing with my family, many of which are narcissistic pathological liars, so I consider myself pretty decent at figuring out patterns in their behavior. And Alanna fits them to a T.

Please note that I am in no way educated on this topic and do not have the authority to state anything as fact. I am making observations based on personal experience dealing with people like this, and I encourage you to view Alanna’s behavior for yourself and come up with your own conclusions.

My first red flag was the emotional manipulation. Near the beginning, this was in the form of flattery. If FMC started asking questions, Alanna would flirt with her, which would cause FMC to either become flustered or flirt back, both outcomes momentarily distracting her from the original topic.

To FMC’s credit, she does notice when Alanna starts deflecting (she mentions recognizing certain behaviors from when they were together), but she backs down. As someone who hates confrontation, I can understand FMC’s reasoning for this. I find trying to communicate certain issues with these people exhausting. It tends to feel like speaking to a broken record, and can become emotionally draining. However, this is the exact outcome that these people want. They hate being called out on their lies, and when pushed further (in my experience), they tend to result to guilt tripping.

The flirting I could ignore. When I first read it, I thought that was just her personality (which is partially true). But then FMC stood her ground more, and Alanna fell apart. She started crying, talking about how much pressure she was under, making up excuses (a prime example of this was her saying that she thought ghosting FMC would make it easier, which I’ll touch on later), and causing FMC to doubt her (valid) reasons for being angry with Alanna.

I feel like it’s also necessary to talk about Alanna interacting with the other society members. FMC was noticeably uncomfortable with how genuine Alanna seemed to be, and I understand the feeling of betrayal of thinking you know a person, only to see them act like a complete stranger at the drop of a hat. The mental turmoil of wondering which version of this person is the real them, and whether your entire relationship was all a lie.

That part was way longer than I expected, so let’s talk about the “villain”. I’m glad that Arabella isn’t the big bad even if she tried to kill FMC, because she seems like such a genuine person and I’m tired of season WOC be villainized in visual novels (I’m not naming names but you know what apps I’m talking about Choices). I hope that FMC and Alanna will be able to help her and her sister, and that Arabella will get a redemption arc in the future and maybe a route.

The cliffhanger was actually sort of unexpected. FMC finally called Alanna out on her bs (GOOD👏FOR👏HER👏) and tried to leave the Society. Lowkey kind of scared to see how they follow this up in season 2, because it seems like they’re ready to murder FMC.

If we ignore the LIs themselves, I did prefer Alanna’s route to Cassius’s. I feel like we got to see more of the other characters, and I thought the pacing was better. But I don’t like either of them. As I’ve said Cassius seems like he’s improving, but Alanna? Nope. I’m staying for the plot and Arabella, but I’m more than willing to drop her route if this pattern continues (especially if I decide it’s too triggering for me, my mental health is more important).

Rating: 2/10

Final thoughts

As I stated previously, while IHS’s initial premiere wasn’t the best, I believe this series has the potential to be good. My main issues are with the pacing, and above all, the LIs (which isn’t good for a visual novel story centered around romancing the LIs).

Overall rating: 3/10

This is my first time doing something like this so any feedback would be very appreciated. Feel free to offer any criticisms, and let me know if I should make a series out of this! (This did take me a while so if I decide to continue doing this it might not be posted until a day or two later)

[mc-critical]

your analysis of selim? i think he's hated way more than he deserves. hating him for valid reasons is fine but telling that he's gonna be such a bad sultan is really stupid [and especially because only now do they bring out history & say selim was bad which is historically inaccurate as well]. out of all of suleyman's sons, it was only mustafa who was loved by all & talented [show only cuz apparently mehmet was also extremely talented & selim wasn't a bad sultan] enough for the throne. bayezid was extremely hotheaded and you can't tell me that a prince who can't control his emotions, especially in front of state officials, will be a good sultan. everyone tells selim was extremely selfish & the instigator of all their fights, when they were younger & older. siblings are always like that?? mustafa obviously wasn't like that because he was way older than mehmet, mihrimah, selim, bayezid & cihangir to get into stupid fights w/ them. mehmet & mihrimah had frequent & annoying arguments because they were closer in age. selim & bayezid had frequent fights because they were closer in age. this is a thing with many siblings; the elder provoking the younger & the younger disrespecting the elder. why do people point out their sibling fights as evidence for selim's personality? i feel sorry for bayezid as a kid but i feel less remorse for him as he's older. i don't say he deserves execution, especially at the hands of his own father, but he did rebel against his father's order & then proceeded to flee to another empire; like, the punishment for that is execution, what did he expect after rebelling? i feel extremely sorry for all his sons though, they didn't deserve this fate when they were just victims of their father's rebellion. also, unpopular opinion but bayezid is lowkey overrated pls don't cancel me i love him but he's annoying at times like all characters & no one really acknowledges it back to selim, he was honestly very underrated. he was really slandered in the series and he didn't have any real support w/ him until nurbanu & sokollu. although hurrem did vouch for him to go to manisa, it was literally only because he was 'peaceful' [we can read that as untalented as well] and no harm would reach him because he wasn't a threat [i actually really liked this plan of hurrem's, tough & clever; only if she was actually supported in this]. even mihrimah, till the end, is quite unfair to him. he had a problem w/ alcohol & people telling him to just stop? like, it doesn't work that way? people have to suffer so much in order to stop their addictions & they're actually restricted from their addictions; selim was a prince, no one around him could restrict him [his parents could but they weren't w/ him in his provinces]. he did become politically active w/ nurbanu's growing ambitions & he took smarter, more cunning & dirtier measures than bayezid to win the throne. the battle for the throne was bloody; resorting to honour like mustafa did was obviously not the best decision & people insult selim for being cunning enough [or being influenced by cunning people] to win the throne. let's also keep in mind that selim didn't even have much of an interest for the throne until manisa & nurbanu. i also like his relationship w/ nurbanu. it paralleled suleyman & hurrem's w/ the concubine arcs but selim did end up being monogamous to her in the show. their chemistry was fantastic [props to engin & merve for their acting] and although i don't really enjoy the 'a woman makes a man strong & influences him in everything; good or evil' kind of take, i did enjoy their relationship [he also sometimes looked at her like she was this ethereal type miracle, appropriately so w/ her courage]. i like what the show did w/ bayezid's execution a lot, the whole scene was such a wonderful cinematic experience; the music, bayezid's agonizing screams, his sons falling one by one, selim crying because he didn't want it to end up this way, bayezid falling & his screams ceasing, selim's heartbroken face because he was always a soft person & he always loved bayezid;

ahh, what a scene, so much love for it. anyway, that's just my opinion; i think he's hated way more than he deserves, especially in comparison to other characters & he's actually one of my most favourite characters from s4 [but i honestly love all characters w/ their good & bad, mc has many complex characters & i live for it]. what do you think about selim? sorry if you got annoyed at the long ask, i can get really heated when talking about selim [especially in reference to his historical figure], hope you don't mind if❤ [if it is annoying i'll stop it]

(okay, I'll talk strictly about the show, since I don't feel like delving deep into historical waters. There is still stuff we don't know for sure and I do want to keep the line between show and history in my head, except for the similar themes.)

While he isn't particularly my favorite character, I appreciate MC Selim and he is a very interesting subject when it comes to analyzing him. I'm actually amazed with what the show did with him in the span of a season (and something, counting some S02B and S03B moments) - he was one of the most fleshed out characters in S04 and we could get a clear picture as to why he does what he does.

Some people consider his debut to be an insult, for it immediately showed some of his weaknesses, putting him in a bad light right out of the gate. But all I can see in this debut is a showcase of his predicament of the prince no one sees as a capable heir of the throne. It’s as if he sleeps with women and drinks as a coping mechanism he’s delved into, with Mihrimah having to do effort to snap him out of it. The Selim we see in the beginning of S04 is a hopeless person. He doesn’t have dreams and ambitions, it’s as if he’s a already a lost cause and he has no one to truly support him. Even Hürrem wanted to send him to Manisa not because she deemed him as worthy, but to use him as a shield in order to deceive her enemies and protect the actual favorite. That may seem like a clever plan, but in actuality, it failed spectacularly - not only did her enemies not get confused for a second and didn’t attack Selim at all, but she forgot to tell Bayezid why she did it and made Selim confused to the point of demotivation, because none of his brothers were truly happy with this decision and they were all opposing it, directly and indirectly. And while he may not show it that much, because of his more composed and pragmatic nature, Selim is sensitive to the opinions of his brothers and the people around him and their prevailing disapproval may be a part of why he became so different than the rest. It’s like no one wanted to get to know him.

Nurbanu’s entrance in Selim’s life is very cathartic in this aspect, for she actually worked with him and gave him the needed motivation and ambition to fight, awaking sides of him that were dormant for a long time. And yes, I do think that Selim’s pragmatism is something he always had, if the whole arrow incident in S03B where he sabotaged Bayezid’s arrow, which caused him to lose is any indication. 

{I don’t think that the quarrels Selim and Bayezid had when they were little are so much indicators of Selim’s personality as they are foreshadowing of their future conflict. Right, these quarrels are normal for siblings and Mehmet and Mihrimah also fought like that (heck, even little Mehmet and Mustafa had a fight once in S01 and that fight was used as the conflict of the remainder of that one episode), but they weren’t as frequent as the ones of Selim and Bayezid. I don’t know, it’s just the atmosphere of these scenes was different and hinted at something more. It could be because we know the historical events and we could see every tiniest bit of early sibling rivalry between them as build-up, but still, I always felt there just was something else. Like the whole arrow incident I mentioned, a presumably harmless little situation gains a whole other meaning later on. It sets up neatly Süleiman’s opinions of both of them (his reaction to apparent disobedience and the making of a scene by someone he doesn’t expect to, by which I mean Bayezid), Hürrem’s retroactive ignorance of a possible bigger enmity and the roots of the whole conflict. It’s not Selim deciding to sabotage Bayezid’s performance as a last resort, maybe knowing that he surely won’t do better than his brother (doing a pretty typical ,,prank’’ for a little, naughty kid) that is exemplary of his cunning later, it’s his validation and him getting away with it that eventually becomes it, just like how he ends up getting away with stuff in the next season. Selim definetly isn’t the instigator of all the fights, especially because Bayezid, thanks to his more impulsive nature, is much more likely to start a fight in the first place and contrasts to Selim’s overall better composure. Provokations among them were mutual and both were consistently throwing darts at each other, one after another. Their conflict is a very nuanced issue: while people try to play right and wrong, both sides were at fault one way or another. The conflict between them is mostly caused by insensitivity, favoritism and ignorance and the desperation of both to try to prove themselves to their parents and win their support, at the end of the day. Why did they always calm down in front of their mother? Not only because of their joint respect for her, but also because of these same attempts to earn her support. Even Bayezid, who obviously had to be sure of her support, wasn’t completely certain of it after Hurrem turned it on Selim for a while. Selim, on the other hand, obviously never felt her support, it’s like something was missing right from the start. Combine that with their completely opposing personalities and the whole system encouraging competition for the throne and there you have the inevitable ultimate conclusion. That’s why I also love the set-up, the pay-off and the aftermath of Bayezid’s execution. It may be historically inaccurate that Selim, not Süleiman, executed Bayezid, but when you think about it, it was the most logical thing that could’ve happened, ending their conflict with a heart-wrenching bow. I love the scene of the execution itself, too - the action, the dialogue, the direction, the character moments, the themes... I don’t know whether Selim loved Bayezid by that point, per say, after all they went through, but it was clear that he knew that he had to do it, that it couldn’t have ended any other way, but he was broken over it. He was aware that it was, ultimately, a sin, which would continue haunting him. He couldn’t catch a break afterwards, he couldn’t stop. All was solved, but at what cost?}

I love his dynamic with Nurbanu - they balanced each other off so well, their chemistry was amazing, such a power couple. Nurbanu’s biggest contribution is hiding some of his flaws and mobilizing him to fight. Her cold pragmatism ,,grounds’’ Selim’s softer side, she’s there to always remind him of the stakes of the game and to shut off the last ounces of his vulnerabilities after Hurrem died. He sure is influenced by her, but that doesn’t mean that he blindly takes her word for everything - he is always ready to call her out when necessary and assure her that there are lines she shouldn’t cross. Despite of her pleas, he kept having affairs with other women (that is honestly a trend with all the men of the show, but still..), he got mad at her after what happened to Huricihan and most notably, after he found out that she possibly stole his mother’s ring. A part of why their dynamic works so well is precisely this strenght of character and their awesome compatibility. 

I have heard affirmations that Selim doesn’t care about Mustafa, which... simply isn’t true? While they have the least scenes together and Selim is the one that considers him most as a rival and his most dangerous competitor for the throne (which would explain his startled reaction after Musti saved him from the janissary), it’s precisely Mustafa’s death that is the turning point of his character arc. He was upping his game slowly but surely and before then, but he didn’t do much in terms of attacks. Neither Selim, nor Nurbanu once considered attacking Mustafa, the supposed biggest danger to them, which I find respectable and admirable. The bomb with the death drops and then every hope about a fair game is abandoned. Selim gets the realization that being honorable won’t work. The only way to win is bend the system and play dirty. There’s no time for sitting around or looking nice. And even though Nurbanu realized this, too, as well as Selim, Nurbanu was always more inclined to act this way than him and now the righteousness of her methods were only getting confirmed. It was Selim that had to reach this end. Discovering that he is no longer allowed to show any kind of weakness. Every chance that appears on the horizon, he’ll take it. That brings him to his first true dirty plan - the trap he set through the fake Mustafa rebellion.

Speaking of which, the worst deed of Selim’s for me is connected to that rebellion. I know I may be very biased in this regard, since it affects my personal favorite character and isn’t as recalled as others, but I hated when, in Selim and Sokollu’s attempts to wash their hands from the pulled off stunt, Sokollu, his man, told SS that Mahidevran was giving money to the rebellion. Okay, it’s not said outright whether is this directly tied to Selim or it was something Sokollu himself came up with out of desperation or something (though it was hinted that both thought something through in a scene where both were saying that they should come clean out of this all somehow) and it’s not outrightly confirmed whether Mahidevran gave the money or not (I highly doubt she did it; not only because it would destroy her whole S04 arc and she would become, well... MCK Gulbahar, but also because after the messenger told her of her alleged blame in E129, her eyes widened in surprise.), but all it does is be the only explicit case where Selim indeed looks bad, for his proposal to return Mahidevran in the castle doesn’t seem to stem from genuine guilt and remorse, but rather a late and empty attempt to placate his own conscience. Oh, not to mention (for the upteenth time, sorry in advance) how the scene back in E58 where Hurrem tells Mahidevran that her kids will be there taking care for her when she’s alone, which was treated as some big foreshadowing in the show, as well, by both the voice of the S02B narrative and the fandom alike, loses its value even more with that framing, because Selim and Sokollu themselves brought her to this state in the first place!!! Despite it making sense anyway, it’s still such a disservice to Selim as a person both inside and outside of the writing. 

One aspect of Selim’s pragmatism I find most interesting is his ability to turn his enemies into allies, knowing exactly how to amass them and get them on his side, be it through giving them more money and promising them the world. These alliances are all opportunistic in nature and may not be as loyal as those of Mustafa’s or of Mustafa’s people (like Atmaca) with Bayezid, but I think Selim knows this and wants to keep them steady enough for the common goal. As for what kind of a padisah he’ll be.... I believe that state matters would be the least of his concerns, since he was shown to not care so much about them, compared to his other brothers (but then again, the show itself doesn’t put the political capability of the princes at center stage - their personal virtues are always the determining factor of what makes a good padisah and what doesn’t, more of a psychological outlook, if you will.) and he perhaps won’t plan as many campaigns or conquer as many territories, maybe he won’t be that successful at all, but his cunning would bring him advantage in front of his people, he will be at least a bit careful of who he’s choosing and won’t simply lose it in front of everyone, compared to Bayezid’s impulsive temper.

[I love Bayezid as a character, but the shadier aspects of his personality sure tend to be overlooked. While his anger is directed mainly at Selim and Suleiman, it often reaches such extremes to the point it becomes destructive and affects everyone. He doesn’t deserve his execution at all and most of his actions stem from a very sympathetic place, given how SS never truly gave him a chance and he went on the inevitable path, because he, just like Selim, realized that honor won’t work in this war, but took the opposite approach from Mustafa, direct rebellion. And predictably, both approaches didn’t work since Bayezid, too, was taken advantage of. While he didn’t get justice, the lead-up to his execution is a character arc of his and there are many reasons and events linking it all together and showing us why it took place the way it did.]

Selim’s dynamic with Suleiman is proof of how you can be presumably favored, but you have to work to get there. The reasons Suleiman favored him are very telling and sad and we see that he also doesn’t favor him because of any and all capabilities he may have, but because of his self-imposed distorted view of loyalty Selim has to do a lot to preserve, actually. He constantly has to make it so it looks like he’s loyal and obedient and doesn’t work behind his back. He doesn’t get the fullest appreciation from his father, as well, and I certainly feel it impacts him, in a way.

I agree that Mihrimah could be unfair to Selim. They weren’t that close and she had this open preference to Bayezid. Most annoyingly is when, in their confrontation in E139, which highlights even more their parallel sins, Mihrimah doesn’t seem to face that sin of hers when Selim calls her out on it. She has a reason to deeply resent him after what he did to Bayezid, but was offended when he reminded her of the crime she also committed. More solidarity on that front would be a bit better, at least a hint of like recognizing like even for a moment. (but maybe then her scene with Mahidevran later wouldn’t be as impactful? Huh.)

And lastly, about his drinking - Nurbanu tried to restrict him, but it’s true that such habits aren’t easy to give up on, especially knowing how his drinking is a coping mechanism as much as it is something he enjoys. He knows he shouldn’t do it, he’s told he shouldn’t do it, but he can’t help it. He doesn’t drink when he’s planning or scheming, but he keeps on doing it more and more with every problematic action of his. It’s an attempt to supress his otherwise strong conscience to the max, seeing how after his brother’s execution he apparently always took a drink when he was alone at night, fighting an inner conflict with himself. I don’t think there was a way he could stop doing it permanently in the show. It was a part of who he was, unfortunately or not.