#i need another watchthrough

[pastafossa]

PASTAAAA I JUST FINISHED TONIGHT’S EPISODE AND I’M SO DISTRAUGHT NOW I’M GONNA MISS THE WEEKLY EPISODES SO BAD 😭💔 WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS??

I SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO WITHOUT THE WEEKLY EPS. 😭 We only just got our beloved man back, and now he's off again. Even if I support why he's gone (I am all in support of them splitting the seasons so they could write a new script and do the reshoots and bring everyone back), it's still like... but, but, but, I missed him for so long, wait come back matty

Me just waiting for S2 and the return of our husband again like

SOME THOUGHTS CAUSE I'M SO GD HAPPY

We continue to get an explosion of stylized color now that Matt's let go of his false life. That cold, washed out, very sterile lighting was VERY sorta Twilight Zone feeling, and it gives all the color and lightning now even MORE of an impact. Those splashes of red when Frank was killing outside the Port, the washes of blue whenever we're seeing from Dex's perspective, the flashes of red with Matt, just (chef's kiss)

Blowing up Matt's new apartment felt like the new writers going 'FINALLY, WOOOOOO OLD SHIT GONE, LIGHT IT UP! LIGHT IT UP! (explosion) WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' I didn't know they'd get QUITE that literal when it came to torching Matt's false life but here we are (moment of sadness for all his treasures he probably had up there though like his dad's trunk unless he hid that somewhere else, we got the torching but at what cost 😭)

Hilarious realization that the reason Frank was like, 'what, are ya gonna fight em with your ass hanging out???' when Matt got up to go get his suit on while still in the hospital gown, was because Matt really would have just had his bare goddamn ass just out to the breeze in front of Frank. He really didn't give two fucks by that point (probably still a little drugged), and for some reason that had me wheezing over it all over again despite having laughed my OWN ass off when Frank said it in the scene (and then laughed harder when Matt just flipped him off, Matt's NOT had a good day). FRANK GOT TO SEE THE CAKE, WHEN IS IT OUR TURN

Oh Heather, oh Heather, that ain't the way baby. I'm still processing it - like... her vigilante thing I could sorta get. I said last week that I was looking at it a bit like, if you'd never gotten close to a dog before and the first time you do it winds up mauling you, yeah, you're going to be afraid of dogs or hate them for a while even if later you realize that's not necessarily logical and that not all dogs are bad. But her complete disregard for Matt's legitimate fear on the danger Fisk represented, to the point of going to work for Fisk? Like... girl no. I'm going to see what they do in S2. Hell, everyone in the Netflix series pulls a major fuckup at least once and they were all given chances to make up for it, so we'll see.

JOSIE, JOSIE IS A PART OF THE GOOD FIGHT, FUCK YES JOSIE, FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES

ARMY. ARMY. JESS??? JESSICA????? LUKE???? MY BABIES???/ THEY GONNA GET MY BABIES???? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEEEEEEEEEASE

I won't lie, the head squish was one of the grossest things I'd seen in a long time, well played Disney, you did not Disney-fy the show.

Ya'll gonna regret putting Frank in that cage, YA DUN MESSED UP A-A...NTHONY.

[clumsy-mudpuppy]

hes so edgy and cool. very calm and collected mage, no silly business. he has zero attachment to material things or relationships to weigh him down (lying) (hes just the party kitty cat. silly little meow meow)

closeups under the cut

[parachutingkitten]

Okay, new theory on my ninjago/dragons rising dissonance- I need would love to hear your thoughts:

Maybe it's their differing approaches to being an ensemble show?

Like, ninjago is an ensemble show in that the dynamic between the differing personalities on the team makes up a good chunk of the entertainment value. Dragons Rising is an ensemble show in that it has a large cast- but personality driven interactions between the core cast aren't really the meat of the show. It's more focused on individual character plots to keep things interesting.

I might just be hallucinating this difference out of nowhere- again it has been a while since I last watched DR, but this also feels plausible, because I also tend to dislike when ninjago would try and dial in on a focus ninja at the cost of the team stuff.

[stromblessed]

Mizu, femininity, and fallen sparrows

In my last post about Mizu and Akemi, I feel like I came across as overly critical of Mizu given that Mizu is a woman who - in her own words - has to live as a man in order to go down the path of revenge.

If she is ever discovered to be female by the wrong person, she will not only be unable to complete her quest, but there's a good chance that she'll be arrested or killed.

So it makes complete sense for Mizu to distance herself as much as possible from any behavior that she feels like would make someone question her sex.

I felt so indignant toward Mizu on my first couple watchthroughs for this moment. Why couldn't Mizu bribe the woman and her child's way into the city too? If Mizu is presenting as a man, couldn't she claim to be the woman's escort?

However, this moment makes things pretty clear. Mizu knows all too well the plight of women in her society. She knows it so well that she cannot risk ever finding herself back in their position again. She helps in what little way she can - without drawing attention to herself.

Mizu is not a hero and she is not one to make of herself a martyr - she will not set herself on fire to keep others warm. There's room to argue that Mizu shouldn't prioritize her quest over people's lives, but given the collateral damage Mizu can live with in almost every episode of season 1, Mizu is simply not operating under that kind of morality at this point. ("You don't know what I've done to reach you," Mizu tells Fowler.)

And while I still feel like Mizu has an obvious and established blind spot when it comes to Akemi because of their differences in station, such that Mizu's judgment of Akemi and actions in episode 5 are the result of prejudice rather than the result of Mizu's caution, I also want to establish that Mizu is just as caged as Akemi is, despite her technically having more freedom while living as a man.

Mizu can hide her mixed race identity some of the time, and she can hide her sex almost all of the time, but being able to operate outside of her society's strict rules for women does not mean she cannot see their plight.

It does not mean she doesn't hurt for them.

Back to Mizu and collateral damage, remember that sparrow?

While Mizu is breaking into Boss Hamata's manse, she gets startled by a bird and kills it on reflex. She then cradles it in her hands - much more tenderly than we've seen Mizu treat almost anything up to this point in the season:

She then puts it in its nest, with its unhatched eggs. Almost like she's trying to make the death look natural. Or like an accident.

You see where I'm going with this.

When Mizu kills Kinuyo, Mizu lingers in the moment, holding the body tenderly:

And btw a lot of stuff about this show hit me hard, but this remains the biggest gut punch of them all for me, Mizu holding that poor girl's body close, GOD

When Mizu arranges the "scene of the crime," Kinuyo's body is delicate, birdlike. And Mizu is so shaken afterward that she gets sloppy. She's horrified at this kill to the point that she can't bring herself to take another innocent life - the boy who rats her out.

MIZU'S ONE MOMENT OF SOFTNESS AND MERCY, COMING ON THE HEELS OF HER NEEDING TO KILL A GIRL TO SPARE HER THE WORST FATE THAT THIS RIGID SOCIETY HAS TO OFFER WOMEN, AND TO SPARE A BROTHEL FULL OF INNOCENT WOMEN WHO ARE THE CASTOFFS OF SOCIETY, NEARLY RESULTS IN ALL OF THEIR DEATHS

No wonder Mizu is as stoic and cold as she is.

And no wonder Mizu has no patience for Akemi whatsoever right before the terrible reveal and the fight breaks out:

Speaking of Akemi - guess who else is compared to a bird!

The plumage is more colorful, a bit flashier. But a bird is a bird.

And, uh

Yeah.

I like to think that Mizu killing the sparrow is not only foreshadowing for what she must do to Kinuyo, but is also a representation of the choice she makes on Akemi's behalf. She decides to cage the bird because she believes the bird is "better off." Better off caged than... dead.

But because Mizu doesn't know Akemi or her situation, she of course doesn't realize that the bird is fated to die if it is caged and sent back home.

Mizu is clearly not happy, or pleased, or satisfied by allowing Akemi to be dragged back to her father:

But softness and mercy haven't gotten Mizu anywhere good, recently.

There is so much tragedy layered into Mizu's character, and it includes the things she has to witness and the choices she makes - or believes she has to make - involving women, when she herself can skirt around a lot of what her society throws at women. Although, I do believe that it comes at the cost of a part of Mizu's soul.

After all, I'm gonna be haunted for the rest of this show by Mizu's very first prayer in episode 1:

"LET" her die. Because as Ringo points out, she doesn't "know how" to die.

Kind of like another bird in this show:

[wren-kitchens]

i can’t find the words

1492 words

the infirmary is silent, save for the raspy breathing of its only inhabitant. it took a long while for him to ignore the pain enough to drift off, but I doubt his dreams are being particularly kind to him; getting tortured does that to a guy. apollo left after he was certain he had done all he could, and is currently resting. if you think harming a god like that takes a lot of power, healing a god tends to take twice that much —you can’t pour from an empty oinochoe, as they say, and if poseidon's sorry state is anything to go by, he'll be needed again pretty soon. 

okay this one is pretty much entirely based on @neal-illustrator's famtheon hkfdj this is also partly inspired by luke Sobbing in the live-streamed watchthrough of the ithica saga songs

have some zeus & poseidon hurt/comfort 👍 a part 2 to this!

cw: mentions of torture and injury!

the infirmary is silent, save for the raspy breathing of its only inhabitant. it took a long while for him to ignore the pain enough to drift off, but I doubt his dreams are being particularly kind to him; getting tortured does that to a guy. apollo left after he was certain he had done all he could, and is currently resting. if you think harming a god like that takes a lot of power, healing a god tends to take twice that much —you can’t pour from an empty oinochoe, as they say, and if poseidon's sorry state is anything to go by, he'll be needed again pretty soon. 

of course, all of olympus has heard the news—courtesy of hermes, to no one's surprise—and yet even the trickster god himself has not set foot in the healing chambers. if you ask me (and really, who else is there to ask?), they’re all rather frightened. not of poseidon himself, or the injuries, but of what the two combined represent: if the god of the ocean, all-powerful and second strongest deity in all the land, can be taken down by a mere mortal.. what does that say for the rest of them? 

no one other than I actually dare to voice this sentiment, but it hangs heavy in the air near the silent infirmary. the area is usually less bustling, due to its solemn nature, but athena's brief visit after her.. little spat with zeus brought flocks of siblings and uncles and cousins to simper and sympathise and bring flowers of every kind. after all, a god wounding another is hardly an uncommon sight—and not even remotely cause for concern. now, poseidon's chamber remains empty of any signs of life other than the god himself in the bed, and smears of golden ichor on the bedsheets from what his bandages could not contain. a grim sight indeed.

although- I tell a lie. for the first time since poseidon arrived, someone other than apollo enters the chamber—uncharacteristically hesitant, almost walking back out as they feel the crushing silence in the place. the god carries an almost amusingly small flower when compared to their size, but the expression on their face erases any hilarity the situation may have created. after all, it's one thing to hear the god of the ocean was struck down by a mortal—it's another matter entirely to see your elder brother near-lifeless after being tortured with his own weapon. 

the fact that his brother remains asleep is both a source of anxiety and relief for zeus. it's not news to anyone that the king of gods does not like to show weakness, let alone affection, and poseidon's lack of consciousness combined with the rest of the pantheon's aversion to the infirmary allows for him to act unobserved (of course, they are not entirely unobserved, but they are unaware of my existence, dear reader). on the other hand.. the empty look on the sleeping ocean god's face, accompanied by the ichor-stained bandages across his torso and eye brings a mortifying dread to zeus' heart that he would vehemently deny ever experiencing, even to himself.

poseidon stirs, muttering something inaudible, and zeus practically freezes in place. he makes to turn over, and immediately groans in pain, startling awake. it takes a second for him to regain his bearings, but when he does, he practically stares at zeus, visibly surprised. momentarily, the brothers gape at one another, both feeling somewhat caught out, before finally, zeus speaks. 

"I- brother!" he says, making an attempt at his usual bravado and falling ever so slightly short. "I see you are- making a speedy recovery?"

blinking back sleep and lasting confusion, poseidon clears his throat- and suppresses a wince as his wounds protest. "yes, I- apollo has been doing.. good work."

"I can see." zeus tries for a confident smile. it doesn't quite reach his eyes as it typically does. "that- the colour of your skin is.. coming back, I believe."  

"oh." poseidon raises a hand, glancing at the back of it. "I suppose- yes, it is." he looks back at zeus. "brother.. what are you doing here?"

zeus scoffs. "what- I cannot visit you when you are ill?" he says, hoping he sounds more flippant than he suspects he does. "am I not typically kind?"

poseidon decides not to answer the second question. "it's simply out of the ordinary for you." he says cautiously, on instinct. "besides, do you see another soul here?"

"you need rest!" zeus says, as if it was meant to be obvious. "it would be rude to interrupt-"

"zeus," poseidon says, and zeus stops in his tracks. "why are you here?" 

zeus opens his mouth to say something along the lines of 'it's my duty', or 'do you think me so heartless?', but nothing of the sort comes out. in fact- nothing comes out at all, to both his and poseidon's surprise, other than a painfully quiet exhale, containing far more emotion than he ever wants to express in his life again. something shifts in poseidon's expression, as if he understood what that meant, and zeus is about to blast them both into ash when poseidon reaches a hand out. 

"brother, I will be fine." he says, and it suddenly occurs to zeus that he's offering to hold his hand. without his say, zeus' eyes dart to poseidon's amputated arm, something seizing in his chest in a way that has not occurred in centuries. "if kro-"

"I know." zeus says before poseidon can continue, like he can dispel the realisations from the two of them if he just talks loud enough. "you shall make a full recovery. apollo is an excellent healer- he is my son, of course." 

"yes." poseidon says, dropping his hand. zeus can’t help but feel as if he’s lost something. "but I will not let that mortal wipe me off this earth." he says, with a bite of malice in his words that suggest he’s being a little more truthful than he probably should be. "I will not give him the satisfaction." he looks at zeus. "just as I did not give our grandfather the satisfaction. I have dealt with worse."

"must you-" zeus starts with the intention of criticising his brother, when his voice fails him as it has never done before. "must you say that?"

poseidon gives a little smile. "brother, it has been millennia. you cannot fault me-"

"you did not have to watch." zeus hates this—the way his voice betrays him, the sympathy in poseidon's eyes, the memories his injuries bring to the surface of his mind. hating it does not make it disappear, no matter how much he wished it would. "both times- I had to watch. I cannot- I will not let you leave once again."

poseidon raises his hand, and this time zeus does not hesitate in taking it, desperately trying to convince himself it is for poseidon's comfort, rather than his own. "I have no intentions of leaving. you are king of the gods."

"in which case, I order you to remain." zeus says, and he feels just as he did all those years ago—playing make believe with his brother, imagining what life would be like if they were on top. "you cannot disobey a royal order."

"I would not dare." poseidon says in that mock solemn voice zeus remembers all too well. he finds that his throat is suddenly tight at the memory. "the all-powerful zeus could strike me down if he so wish-"

zeus decides not to remember what he does next. he does not recall how he ended up with his arms around his brother, nor does he recall blaming the dampness on his face on poseidon's hair. he most certainly has no memory of the way poseidon's embrace felt so painfully similar to how it used to, and it'd be impossible to say if his brother muttered comforting words into zeus' hair as he once did. 

poseidon remembers, though. the gentleness that was so clearly out of zeus' nature as he did his best to avoid upsetting his tender wounds, the familiarity of his brother in arms mixed with how bizarre it felt to be equal in size after centuries of memories of his baby brother. he remembers feeling silently grateful for zeus' sobs masking his own, for odysseus—somehow—landing them both in this situation, and he certainly will not forget the whispered 'I think I missed this,' for a thousand lifetimes. 

[looking-for-wisdom]

one of the aspects of rgu that can get overlooked, I think, once you finish that first watchthrough and start looking at the story in a new light, is that anthy — at the very least — has already started caring for utena by the time she loses her duel to touga.

which, in fairness, is the natural and arguably correct response. because when you learn anthy has been all but omniscient the whole time, and that each act by utena to “save” her is just another diminishment of anthy’s autonomy, you begin to understand that in those early episodes, utena is a tool to her. an object of disdain or pity, maybe, if you’re going to argue that anthy thinks anything of her at all. utena is a means to an end.

and somehow, that has to coexist with the fact that anthy missed utena when she’s touga’s bride.

anthy is a tough character to read, but I think the simplest break down of her relationship with utena is that the more emotion she shows, positive or negative, the stronger their bond in anthy’s eyes. poisoning her cookies is an act of care. stabbing a sword through her chest is a love confession. because for a character like anthy, who’s natural state is ambivalence, any deviation is an expression of affection the only way she knows to express it.

And the easy to grasp, natural progression, is that she starts at zero on the scale of caring utena exists, and moves towards the other end of the spectrum as the show continues, coming to a head in the finale.

but it doesn’t work that way. by all accounts, anthy shouldn’t be missing utena by the end of the first arc. utena has steamrolled her the entire time, deciding what she needs without consulting what anthy wants. it’s not dissimilar to any other duelist.

it’s fascinating that their interactions during that arc meant something to anthy. it’s necessary, of course, for utena to realize she cares for anthy but it didn’t have to be reciprocated.

but it is, and in that we find fantastic juxtaposition: anthy does not care about utena as much as utena cares for her — not at this point. she’s not even really at a point that she’s frustrated with utena. if she feels guilt over how upset utena was after the duel, she doesn’t show it. and knowing what we know about the rest of the show, we can’t really blame her. utena is another cog in the system and anthy sees right through it.

and, at the same time, she’s grown to care for utena. she’s become accustomed to her presence and when it’s gone, she misses it. she’s never missed a duelist before. so, somewhere in all of utena’s misguided actions and sometimes outright disregard for what anthy wants, anthy sees something.

It’s not as simple as anthy not liking or caring about utena at the start and then they come to understand each other over time. there are interruptions in the pattern — moments of connection that occur regardless of where they are on the path to mutual understanding. and that’s what makes it so complicated and so interesting. there are no absolutes. there’s no saying that utena’s aim to be a prince and save anthy was hopeless, because somewhere in the midst of all that they were bonded together. perhaps in spite of it, perhaps because of it, perhaps a bit of both — that’s the sticking point.

their relationship is a melting pot of contradictions, but none of them can be removed and still lead to the same ending.

there is no pinpointing the moment anthy began to care for utena. she always does, in a fractured sort of way. you see it throughout, in bits and pieces.

[curio-queries]

ARE YOU SURE?!

Episode 3 production Notes

I genuinely wasn't expecting to have much to say on this when I started it but there are definitely some things to chat about with this episode. Get comfy, it's another long post!

Here's a link to my post on eps 1 & 2.

(I guess this is a series now)

The Tone

I was curious about how a few things would be handled with the remainder of the show, and some of the answers are starting to unfold. We definitely have to see how the upcoming episodes play out but there's at least something to evaluate.

My main takeaway from episode 3 is that the tone is so very different from the previous ones. In my last post, I spent quite a bit explaining why AYS was a successful mix of Bon Voyage and In The Soop. That's definitely not the case here. This episode is a mix of Bon Voyage and Run BTS tonally. This episode is more what I was expecting they'd try to do with the edit to highlight the chaos and shenanigans that were a main ingredient in the content of BTS as a full team, especially to cover for the reduced member count from the full group.

Some of the main items that make this episode seem more energetic than the previous ones are:

The timeline. Episode 3 covers far less time than 1 or 2 did. It makes it seem like there's just too much going on to fit in the same parameters, which again makes the tone seem overall more rushed and hectic.

The music: far higher bpms consistently on all of the backing tracks.

The choppy edits. When we recognize that there was something missing in the middle of an interaction, our brains are still processing what we might have missed and orienting to what we're seeing next. With all of that going on, it easy to feel 'left behind' in even the most casual of scenes.

The intended audience. I just had one moment here that bumped me. At some point one of the members clearly says 'Fighting' but the translation wasn't just that word. It was a whole sentence about wishing for encouragement or something. These episodes have been very clearly laid out for an audience that is not only familiar with BTS but enough so that we know who each of these members are and why they might be doing these kinds of activities. If you had none of this basic knowledge, I genuinely don't think this show is even watchable...so why would people with that level of understanding need an alternate translation to 'Fighting'? Idk, maybe I'm being overly sensitive but like I said, it bumped me enough to question who their target audience was. Something I didn't even question with the prev eps.

Edited to add: an example of the tone influenced by the edit. Can't believe I forgot this one. It stood out to me in my first watchthrough. Thankfully our beautiful giffers captured the story beats for us all.

The Edit

Like I said at the beginning, this episode was far less a blend of ITS and BV and more a mashup of BV with Run BTS. The only thing in this episode that reminds me of ITS is the extremely choppy edit, which i think most would agree was not one of the highlights of those shows.

There are so many unresolved story beats in this episode of AYS! If you're not used to noticing something like this, here's an example:

In the car after their meal, vmin discuss that it'd be nice to pull over for some pics.

At the coffee drive through, Jimin makes a point to coordinate a stopover with JK so he can have his drink.

...and then we arrive at the house with no resolution. Did they stop? Did JK get his drink? We don't know, the only evidence we have is Tae carrying his partially consumed drink. So IF they stopped, Tae either didn't drink his or it was a very brief stop to not finish.

Here's another one:

When arriving at the house, the guys are all commenting bout how nice the place is.

Jimin exclaims about the pool.

...we don't get an establishing shot of the pool. On a rewatch of the episode, once you already know where it is, you're able to notice it for the slightest of moments but that's it. No hint of how big the pool is or even where in relation to the members it's located. It's just a tiny thing, not even important to the storyline but it leaves the audience without a reference to what the members are talking about.

There are dozens more of examples I could list but I think you get the idea. Again, not a big deal on small productions but you KNOW there was plenty of b-roll footage of the place. We see some of it. These are mostly just tiny observations that, if isolated wouldn't mean anything, but repeatedly set the tone for how the audience will be experiencing the rest of the episode.

The Guest

Another choppy edit is how they handled the introduction of Tae and the narrative that explains his presence here when he wasn't in the previous episodes. They either didn't get any good footage explaining it or they decided to purposefully try to cut it 'dynamically' for a reveal... in my opinion, this was not successfully done and just leaves the viewer feeling like we just need to accept the confusion and enjoy the endearing moments....which is exactly one of the main things I comment on in my Run BTS series. The BTS production team is astoundingly terrible at entertaining exposition. Long time armys are just used to it by now and I really don't see them changing anytime soon. They know ppl will watch the content for the moments we get to spend with the members, whether there's a proper narrative or not, so why bother?

Anyway, it's clear to see why those who have a bias against Tae have been using this as ammunition in their fanwars. It's just an awkward narrative that was poorly presented. (Personally, I'd rather everyone just focus on celebrating the members moments with each other rather than warping them to win imaginary points in a pointless battle but alas, I'm just an aging fan in a space that rewards useless vitriol).

Jimin's sickness...again

Poor guy just can't catch a break! At least that was the point they were trying to make editing it this way. Honestly, Jimin has so far been not as impacted as he was the previous episodes. Likely due to this upset being far more mild than the last one. However, there's so much more tension with it cut the way it was in episode3. It's not just that we're aware of it upfront unlike we were in episode 1. It's only highlighted in moments where Jimin is NOT participating in whatever the others are: not eating, not swimming, not climbing. In episode 1, most of the scenes that included any mention of Jimin feeling unwell also included some hint of JK wanting to take care of him or inquiring after his health. Episode 3 includes no such scenes. The overall impact is a much lighter view of how the members spent an exciting day rather than a genuine look into how they're interacting with each other as humans.

One last note: The Sound

There are definitely some horrific sound moments this episode! So much so that I noticed some on my first watchthrough! Again, there are allowances to be made, this is not a show being shot on a sound stage in controlled conditions but some moments were just plain misses in the edit.

For example, when vmin is listening to music in the car, the balancing of SEVEN from vmin's audio is horrific. The way to do this properly is manage the audio levels of their voices alone and overlay with the music track. This will help mask any audio that leaked into their mics. Something that can be easily done with rights to the music...which they have. And oh look at that, they do it correctly for J-Hope's Arson! It honestly is just coming across as a missed correction on the edit but I'd expect more from a BTS show that's licensed to Disney.

That's it for now. Overall, I'm disappointed in the edit of this episode but moreso because of how pleasantly surprised i was by the previous episodes. This one was very much kn par with other BTS content. Im also looking forward to the remaining episodes as I estimate we'll see a little more liveliness from our latenight-loving Jimin now that he's had his nap! 😆

Edited to add:

Are You Sure?! MasterList

[jennelikejennay]

In my watchthrough of second-tier TOS episodes (having watched the good ones first) I think a few loathed ones maybe aren't so bad?

Well, they're still bad. But they have more redeeming qualities than I thought.

Gonna talk about The Omega Glory, just in passing about Bread and Circuses (because that was pretty good), and about The Paradise Syndrome.

The Omega Glory

The Omega Glory is about 3/4 of a good episode. Basically, it's the plot of Insurrection: rogue Starfleet officer wants to break the Prime Directive because he thinks a primitive planet has the secret of immortality. And we get some good points about interfering with things we don't understand and the purpose of the prime directive. (Which, by season 2, exists a lot more than it did in season 1.) Plus, our heroes get the chance to show their worth by their resistance to this guy.

And then it takes a sharp left turn into absurdity. It's not enough for it to be a gentle Cold War metaphor. No, we need to write HI THIS IS ABOUT THE COLD WAR on its forehead and play the Star-Spangled Banner. The point being that you can't say "our side is better than their side because of our cherished founding principles" and then completely ignore the cherished founding principles to be a bigot. Which isn't a bad point but we don't need to be kicked in the face with it.

There's been a recurring theme (I'm not sure it's the first time it turned up, but this was the most pointed occasion) that development of other planets mirrors the development of Earth. Apparently it's a known scientific law: Hodgkins's law of Parallel Planet Development.

I thought this was pretty stupid. Why would planets all develop the same way? Why not jump between parallel universes if what you wanted to talk about was planets going in different directions from the same starting point? It's one thing to have themed planets, that's just a clever way to reuse whatever costumes they had lying around. But couldn't they just have an Earth-like planet, without having them actually have the paper Declaration of Independence lying around? It strains credibility and makes it look like history is some kind of inevitability instead of relying on thousands of factors and choices.

However, I'm not entirely sure I was right.

Bread and Circuses

This is a much better-appreciated episode, for good reason. It has some great Spock and Bones moments, Kirk showing his stubbornness strength of character, the crew loyally standing by to follow orders even though they know their captain is in trouble.

One brief off-topic moment: this guy is queer-coded, right? Extremely?

When he asks for Kirk to be sent to his room, Kirk gives a look that suggests to me he very much worries what this obviously gay Roman wants with him. But actually, he's given a nice meal and a female slave to obey his every whim. Which I think I will write a different post about sometime because it may be Kirk's most problematic moment. OR IS IT?

But anyway, it's another parallel Earth, Earth from a single point in history with one specific difference (the Roman empire never fell. No this does not make historical sense especially given they speak modern English). Yet again there is a twist ending where we realize an important parallel to Earth history and get a 2x4 sized moral lesson. But as this one is more of an afterthought, it didn't ruin the episode the way Omega Glory's ending did.

The Paradise Syndrome

Commonly reviled as one of the worst episodes, and yet....I kind of liked it?

I mean, yes, the stereotyped portrayal of Native Americans is a problem. It's positive, but in that weird idealizing way that media tends to be about Native Americans. The Chakotay problem, we could call it.

But all of the scenes that take place off the planet, between Spock and Bones, are great. Spock won't eat and won't sleep because he wants to save Kirk and all the people on the planet. Bones at first thinks he's being heartless, but he soon recognizes that Spock cares very deeply and made all of correct decisions. So let no one ever say Bones doesn't know how to be nice to Spock. He just usually does it when Kirk isn't in the scene, because Kirk isn't there to do it. He knows he's the guy on the spot and it's time to put the banter away.

This episode also has the first mind meld between Kirk and Spock! Spock struggles with it, saying Kirk's mind is "extremely dynamic." Okay, Spock, keep your fra'als in your pants.

But it was interesting, near the end, when Spock said that the Native Americans down on the planet weren't a perfect parallel of Earth development, they were actual Earth people taken from Earth by a species called "the Preservers," who scattered various human people all over the galaxy.

Bones says, "I'd wondered why there were so many humans around," and that's it, that's all we get on the Preservers. But if we assume this explains the other two episodes, I'm not so mad about it after all. A retcon when they realized they were doing it too much, or a trace of a long arc? Who knows. But I'm adopting it now: that old paper Constitution was stolen from Earth along with a bunch of Americans and Soviets and planted on the planet in The Omega Glory. Some Romans got planted on the planet in Bread and Circuses. It's not parallel development—it's branching development from a common source.

Why does this matter to me so much? I guess I just like things to make some amount of sense. It's always nice when they do. It doesn't redeem that obnoxious lecture on the Constitution or a planet of Native Americans thinking Kirk is a god, but it redeems a little bit the stupidity of those cultures existing at all.

[erika111111]

The Quarry and queer-baiting, part 2, AKA things I forgot to mention the first time and it was so much I might as well just make another part

See the first part here (it makes more sense to read this first if you haven't already)

On the topic of there being some underlying feelings between Abi and Emma, after they return from their little ride and Nick asks where they've been, Emma mischievously answers, "Wouldn't you like to know," which causes an annoyed Abi to inject "Ignore her, please!" Maybe it's just me, but I swore that was Emma alluding/joking about her and Abi having some kind of romantic getaway in the woods. And maybe Abi got annoyed because she said this in front of Nick, who she's crushing on, and didn't want him to think there was something going on between her and Emma already; little did she know her repressed feelings for Emma would come out in full later on in the game. Maybe I'm reaching as far as the eye can see with this one, but that was just my interpretation from the scene.

Back to the Laura/Max/Ryan/Dylan/Kaitlyn chain, I can actually make a bit of a comparison between how they treat the straight couple of Abi and Nick and how they treat the gay couple of Ryan and Dylan. A lot of people say that Ryan seems uninterested in Dylan (and everybody else), but people always point out the "Ryan seems interested" pop-up when Dylan is teasing about asking him out on a date. I mean, that should be game, set, and match for Rylan, but apparently not... I'd like to point out that when Abi and Nick kiss, the pop-up very directly says "Nick is falling for you." Not "he seems to be falling for" or anything like that, he very matter of factly IS falling for you. Whereas Ryan only "seems" interested. Again, it gives me queer-baiting vibes, as the game is very straightforward with explaining the state of the straight couple to you, but then it only gives you all these mixed signals and unclear crumbs for the gay couple. Not to mention, from my playthroughs and watchthroughs, it's much harder to get the "Ryan seems interested" pop-up than the "Nick is falling for you" pop-up as well. It's like they shove these things in your face on purpose yet make it extremely difficult to actually get at the same time.

Some people do like to argue that the "Ryan seems interested" pop-up is just from Dylan's perspective and probably not true, but that seems like a bit of a reach to me. I really don't think the pop-ups are supposed to be from the characters' perspectives, I think they're just supposed to give the player some insight and foreshadowing. For instance, "Travis will kill you." There's literally zero reason for Laura to assume and know that Travis will indeed kill her later, so it really doesn't make sense for that pop-up to be from her perspective. So I think that's a pretty weak defense for the Rylan antis. However, even if you get the "Ryan seems interested," pop-up, the firepit kiss, and every other positive thing about Ryan and Dylan's relationship, when talking to Laura later, Ryan can still always say his "maybe neither" line. So... you got me.

And yes, he doesn't always say the "maybe neither" line, but I also think that's a weak defense for the Lyan antis. I kind of doubt that Ryan only developed feelings for Laura during that very conversation itself. Even if he doesn't say that line/have that conversation, it doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings for her. Again, I don't think that conversation itself is what made him fall for her. Although, to be completely fair, it's not like they have very many positive experiences with each other prior to that moment, but Dylan and Kaitlyn insist on the sexy sparks, so... I don't know. I think the whole thing is rushed and Ryan really needed more time/positive moments with Laura before he started crushing, but I digress. The game's pacing can be extremely wonky at the times and I guess they worked with what they had...

Another defense people have for Ryan seeming uninterested in Dylan at times is that he's autistic. And while I 100% believe this and headcanon it myself, I don't believe this is ever stated directly in the game, so again, it's a bit of a weak defense. Please correct me if I'm wrong, though. Either way, it's obvious that Ryan is socially awkward and has a hard time communicating his thoughts and feelings with everyone. But people saying he's autistic and that's the reason he's unclear with Dylan as a fact is a bit weird to me because, as far as I know, it's not true/confirmed. But again, correct me if I'm wrong. Although, either way, it's not just his relationship with Dylan that's affected by this, it's his relationship with literally everyone. Dylan, Kaitlyn, Laura, Chris, Jacob, Emma, literally everyone he communicates with, and that is pretty clear. So it's not something that can just be applied to Dylan either way. This is more of a fanbase thing than an actual game thing, but I felt it worth pointing out because I see it a lot.

I believe I mentioned in my previous post about this that I feel the biggest Rylan scene, even more than their kiss because it was partially forced by Emma, is their conversation on their way to the radio hut, because for once Ryan seems 100% interested in Dylan and what he has to say. However, I believe this conversation wasn't included in the original version of the game, you could only get it from the pausing glitch. I could be mistaken, but I remember all those pause glitch videos from back when the game first came out and that they were considered these secret or removed dialogues and that Miles Robbins even alluded to it himself. So... there goes the biggest Rylan moment. The developers deliberately cut this moment out. It's literally like they fear actually pleasing the LGBTQ+ with the content they themselves created. I imagine they decided to add this scene back in the DLC due to the popularity of the ship, but still.

Another thing that's brought up constantly is the camera angles between the Ryan and Dylan kiss and the Ryan and Kaitlyn kiss. The straight couple, Ryka, gets a close-up zoom-in of their kiss. But the gay couple, Rylan, only gets the faraway shot. Seriously, what is the reason for this besides to annoy/disappoint the LGBTQ+ audience? Again, it's like they do this stuff on purpose. On a similar note, if you kiss Kaitlyn, you'll get the pop-up "Dylan seems a little disappointed." But if you kiss Dylan, it won't say anything about Kaitlyn. So this would seem to emphasize that Dylan might actually like Ryan a little more than Kaitlyn does. Or maybe he just takes rejection harder, who knows. But I thought it was something worth pointing out.

I'd also like to bring up the huge missed opportunity during Dylan and Kaitlyn's conversation on their way to the scrapyard. They joke that they finally found out Ryan's type, and that it's "pirates," because Laura is heroic and has an eyepatch. But literally two seconds ago, Kaitlyn is making a joke that they'll attach a hook to Dylan's hand and call him "Hooky McHook Face." You know... like a pirate?? I get that you wouldn't always get this opportunity given you can choose not to cut Dylan's hand off, but come on now. They make such a huge point out of it if you do, including in this very same conversation about the pirates, so why did they not add something here? Kaitlyn could literally just have one little line like, "Well then, maybe you do still have a chance after all," and Dylan could let out a small laugh or something. I mean, maybe they just didn't think of the idea. Maybe they thought it'd be insensitive for Kaitlyn to keep joking about it. I don't know. I just think it's a missed opportunity.

Another thing I theorized about is if the writers intended to pull the trope of "the rejected love interests wind up together" and pair Dylan and Kaitlyn up together; Ryan goes off with Laura and then Dylan and Kaitlyn are the duo now opposed to Dylan and Ryan. But, correct me if I'm wrong, the developers confirmed that Dylan is gay so... can't be that either. Regardless, I do know some people still ship them together. What is there ship name? Do they even have one? I'm calling it LynLan until further notice.

Lastly, as I said before, this post isn't intended to insult any ships, characters, or shippers mentioned. I just wanted to give the facts and also explain some of my personal opinions. At the end of the day, there's actually no endgame ships in The Quarry, which I guess is a good thing? Every shipper can enjoy whatever they want since we get no aftermath and they left it open anyway. It's totally okay to ship non-canon/non-confirmed ships, trust me, I've been there.

[writebackatya]

Do you think there should be justice for Alistair Boorswan?

#ReleaseTheBoorswanCut #ReleaseTheDeweyDuckCut

Oh Boorswan, I do legitimately feel bad for him but at the same time I find his situation hilarious. I loved him as a one-time character but he was someone who I would have loved to see return. Mainly because Edgar Wright (director of some of my favorite action comedies) was casted as him which for another layer of funny, was almost the director of Ant-Man but left the project since Disney didn’t want to make the movie he wanted to make. I always looked at this role and the whole episode as a giant middle finger to Disney for the way they treat their creative people

But back to Boorswan because I find him to be a fascinating character in his own right. Something that didn’t really occur to me till like my second or third time watching the episode is that Boorswan himself, is a Darkwing Duck fan and does have an understanding of the character

Mind you, my first watchthrough of the episode I had not watch a single episode of Darkwing Duck prior, it wasn’t till after I finished DuckTales 2017 I started to watch DT87 and DWD. (So if anyone tells you that people only like the Darkwing Duck episodes cause of nostalgia, tell those dummies they are wrong! Both episodes are phenomenal and don’t rely on nostalgia to carry their episodes)

Anyway, Boorswan’s take on Darkwing Duck as a sorta anti-hero while a bit edgy (he’s definitely a riff on Christopher Nolan but I also love to think there’s a bit of Zack Snyder in him too, he’s so pretentious!) isn’t too far off. In the original show, Darkwing Duck isn’t a beloved superhero at all. He has his fans for sure, but he’s mostly seen as a nuisance by the average St. Canard citizen.

But of course Darkwing Duck means well for the most part. He can be very egotistical in pretty much every episode. He has a lot of flaws. And honestly I have an understanding where Boorswan was coming from with his take

Something I would love to see explore if he were to return would be his relationship with Drake Mallard. Clearly Drake was not a fan of Boorswan’s vision and Alistair obviously saw something in Drake to cast him as the titular character in his overbudget movie.

It just makes me wonder how often Drake spoke up about some of Boorswan’s creative decisions as well as how Alistair responded to his star’s criticisms. Creating any form of art with multiple people can be difficult, heads are gonna butt since everyone has their own creative vision

I think it would be funny if Alistair Boorswan does not recognize Drake Mallard when he’s Darkwing Duck in St. Canard because that Darkwing Duck is nothing like the one he imagined for his movie

Also I love to think Alistair Boorswan blames Dewey and solely Dewey for his project getting cancelled. Just because I think it’d be funny if there was yet another adult that has beef with a preteen duck. Honestly, I think Alistair should be a sorta anti-hero to reflect his art. He lives in his own world and has a creative vision he wants to share and will do whatever it takes to make it happen. He’s kinda like Dewey when you think about it.

But the short answer, yes I do think he deserves some sort of justice. In fact, I’m working on a fic that I really need to continue working on right now where basically no one except him (and a few others) wants the Darkwing Duck movie to be made so instead he reworks his script into a Gizmoduck Movie

Someday I will finish it. Someday.

[officiallordvetinari]

Language and the Mind on Deva Loka

So we've reached the 5th Doctor in our watchthrough, and yesterday we finished Kinda. Lots of good stuff in this episode, but I was particularly interested in the Kinda's relationship to language. We first learn about the Kinda through the eyes of human colonists, who see them as "primitives" lacking a culture and incapable of communication (because of course they do). However, we soon find that they are an advanced culture of sapient beings, and that this went unnoticed by the humans because the Kinda communicate telepathically.

So far, pretty standard sci-fi material. It's the next thing we learn that piqued my interest: the Kinda are physically capable of speech, although only certain wise woman use it. We meet two, the Wise Woman Panna and her young apprentice Karuna. The obvious question - if the Kinda have language, why do most of them not use it? (it's said that men are mentally incapable of it, but that still leaves half the population who could be speaking but aren't.) The obvious answer is that they don't need to - they're telepathic, so language as a tool of communication has no use to them. But that opens up a second question - why do any of them use language? And why are those people given such high status?

On several occasions, Karuna telepathically "reads" other Kinda and reports the results to Panna. These communications take the form of emotions, basic concepts, and some simple sentences:

Fear. And hurting. And confusion. Where is my brother?

Darkness. Understanding nothing. Hurt. Heal me.

It's not just that most Kinda don't physically speak with the mouth - their mental communications are structured differently to Panna and Karuna's verbal communications. It's not "thought-speak", it's more impressionistic. It looks to me like the wise women's minds actually work differently to their fellows. I think this is the purpose of language in Kinda culture - not a tool for communication, but a tool for complex conceptualization.

Language serves this function on Earth too, of course. The psychologist Lev Vygotsky analyzed children's language acquisition in terms of tool use. Infants are born into a world full of tools they don't know how to use - physical tools like spoons, shoelaces, bicycles; and cultural tools like timekeeping, table manners, and language. Children learn to use these tools because their interactions with other people are mediated by them. In Vygotsky's view, children often narrate their actions out loud because they are practicing the skill of thought, and haven't mastered the tool of language well enough to use it internally yet.

For another, more sci-fi approach, consider the view of language as a memetic organism that engages in symbiosis with humans - we give it a place to live and a way to reproduce, and it gives us a new way of interacting with the world. (We could combine the two ideas to describe language as a parasitic tool - now that's pretty sci-fi.)

For humans, this process goes mostly unnoticed. By definition, it occurs before we're fully conscious. The conceptual world of language is just the water we swim in. For the Kinda, it would be strange and unusual! Their conceptual world would be alien to us, and the wise women's conceptual world is at least partly alien to them.

Back up for a second. We know that only a few Kinda use language. In humans, language is learned by immersion from birth. Young Kinda are born into a community with language users, and yet they don't learn to use it themselves. That's not something that happens with us! What's different for them? Maybe it's paucity of input - if there are only two language users, the baby won't interact with them enough. Maybe it's simply that telepathy is so useful, there's no pressure to use neurological resources on learning language. Or maybe - if you'll permit me to speculate wildly - a telepathic species would never evolve the capacity to learn by immersion. They lack the language instinct. Such a species would still be able to invent language, just like they can invent anything else, but they might require more intensive, formal instruction to learn it - more comparable to human mathematics or engineering than human language.

So how does your average Kinda think about language, then? It's a skill of wise women, much too complicated for a layman to understand. Sometimes a wise woman will select a young child as an apprentice and take her away for training. Nobody sees the child for a long time, maybe years, and when she reappears she's... different. When you reach out to her telepathically, her mind doesn't feel like your friends and neighbors. Still recognizably Kinda, but strange, full of concepts you don't understand and going in directions you can't follow. The skill/tool/memetic parasite has moved into her head and given her wisdom, and now she is a new kind of thing. A wise woman.

So at this point, I'm thinking that this is all a bit Faction Paradox. Memetic entities, conceptual realities, culture and technology are that series' bread and butter. The writers of Kinda may not have been thinking about it in those terms, but a FP reading of the episode would be very easy to do.

And then, in the last part of the episode, something else happens. Panna dies:

DOCTOR: Panna's dead. (Karuna takes Panna's staff.) KARUNA: Idiot. Don't you know anything? Of course I'm not dead. ... TODD: Ridiculous. I mean, if she is Panna, the wise woman, then where is Karuna? Answer me that. KARUNA: Well, Doctor? DOCTOR: Er, well, it's a good scientific question. Where are you? KARUNA: I am her. DOCTOR: Both of you. KARUNA: We are one. DOCTOR: So, when Panna died, her knowledge and experience were passed over to you. TODD: But how? KARUNA: It is our way.

So, did Panna literally transfer her consciousness into Karuna's brain? Maybe. They are psychic. This raises some questions - did Panna have two consciousnesses as well? Did her mentor's mind make the trip to Karuna's head, or did it die in Panna's? Is this a Bene Gesserit thing where Karuna has generations of wise women's consciousness now?

Or maybe it's not as literal as that. To me, "it is our way" sounds like it's describing a cultural practice. Put yourself in Karuna's shoes. You were raised by this woman for as long as you can remember. She taught you all her knowledge of history, medicine, etc., and more than that, she taught you her arcane methods of thinking about that knowledge. She is the only person you know whose mind works like yours. And she has always made it clear to you that you are her successor, and when she dies, you will become her. Isn't it possible that when she does die, you just sort of... do? Nothing physically or psionically passed between you, you simply start being her. To humans, identity isn't shareable or transferable - one person cannot be another person. But is that a fact of nature, or is it another cultural construct? Perhaps the Kinda constructed it differently.

And this, too, is Faction Paradox! The Remote in that series reproduce with remembrance tanks, in which a lump of raw biomass is bombarded by the thoughts of the entire society until it becomes a person. Using this method, dead Remote can be resurrected, but the more it happens the more the person will become a reflection of the way people saw the original. Still, there is continuity of a kind. Immortality not through physical, biological technology, but through cultural technology. Conceptual cloning.

I don't really have a conclusion here. Uhh... Kinda is a good episode, and social technologies are pretty cool. Thanksforreadingbyeee!

[parasafterdark]

a. why does squid game annoy u (if its not just vague bad vibes which is valid n relatable hahaha)

b. what r ur suggests for media w death games that u like 👀

Thank you for making me have this conversation in public instead of just circling the room rambling at imaginary people! :D

One Groundrule: This is all about Season 1. As I'm writing this I have seen what's available of S2 and I am totally normal about it! They took my Blorbo and put xym in the shows! ;_;

The thing is I only really have 3 notable gripes with "Squid Game" itself. Only one of which that really pisses me off, while the other two are more...hmmmm let's call it mixed.

For one, I do not care for the mass death aspect of many deathgames. It's great for shock and awe at the start, but imo if you have a set cast of players throughout then the second to last game shouldn't feature nameless fodder. It's clearly something the show does deliberately and it fits with the overarching theme, so I don't really fault it for it I just *shrug* sure whatever.

The thing I keep flip flopping about are the games and how much I like them. First watchthrough I found them kinda boring. Second I recognize how they play into the theme, but still found them meh. Third one now is after I started Hunting Grounds and opinions have gotten complicated!

Game 1+2 are great actually. "Red light/Green Light" is amazing shock and awe and "Dalgona" is really good for character work. No notes, I did not appreciate them enough.

Game 3+ 3.5 are mostly player reduction. There is also setup for some bit players and reinforcing the underdog theme. They are not bad per se (3.5 is pretty needed for other things) just...idk have fewer players to begin with.

Game 4 will rip your heart out. It's the one game I loved from the first time I saw it. Everything I love about this genre compressed into one challenge, it's fucking beautiful! One day I'm gonna figure out how to riff it into Hunting Grounds.

Game 5 is an absolute mess on every level. As a game, on the themes, where it is placed in the story, all of it bad. I get why it's here and why it is the way it is but oof does it not flow. Can't even think of a way of fixing it without doing major rewrites to everything around it.

Game 6. *deep sigh* Ok, rationally it's fine. There is a solid emotional core and it plays out in what I can recognize as devastatingly. Too bad I'm still angry at what happens right before we get here :)

This show is so lucky it's post games finale is pretty good.

[Spoiler]

Sae-byeok gets fridged purely so we can have a two man ex besties finale. There is nothing else to it. It doesn't really play into any themes and doesn't tell us anything about the other charas. She just dies in agony for no good reason. I hate it so much.

[/end Spoiler]

But yeah, if it was just that then this would be another show I would maybe rewatch occasionally but otherwise not think too much about. Alas this is not the context it exists in nowadays.

Tbh, I don't know if this is really a thing orjust another instance of tumblr pseudo philosophy, but: There is this notion of Capitalism co-opting it's critics and then marketing them back to you and Hooo boy is "Squid Game" the posterchild of all that.

That is not the Shows fault! It just happen to come out a the exact right time, with the exact right look to catch on with the right amount of people. After which some of the worst people got their hands on it and fucked it.

And I am not capable enough to not think about all that while watching.

During my first rewatch I kept thinking of all the Dalgona/Ikonography ASMR Slime and challenge videos that flooded Youtube for a while. This time through it was that + all the Beast Game reports. I wish I could enjoy "Squid Game" for what it is but the world is making that really annoying!

Anyway here is where this post would have ended if I hadn't noticed something while writing so instead we are now doing a detour to visit Grandpa! :D

At it's core "Battle Royale" is about the disposability of a vulnerable group in the eyes of society and how those People deal with that.

By attacking fellow victims in desperation. By fighting for what is precious to you. By giving up. By building community. By accepting the game and reveling at the carnage. By building a bomb to attack the people that put you here.

Yeah it's dated and janky in parts (especially the charas), but underneath that is a cause and depth that has aged exceptionally well! It shows that the genre lends itself so easily to systemic critique (to then get boiled down to just the spectacle).

"Squid Game" is about Besties being underdogs and if they're gonna make it through or not. That is what the story is interested in.

Sure there is also a scathing depiction of capitalist society and what it does to it's people....in the first 2 episodes and a bit at the end. It's a framing device. A really good one, but for the most part really just that.

I wish it was woven throughout the rest of the show in a more tangible way. But instead the story leans a lot more on it's characters and imo they aren't stable enough to carry that theme through.

For example Gi-hun has a background as a strike worker and the one time that comes up is a harrowing parallell. And then we go straight back to focusing on besties making it through as if this isn't something that should deeply reflect on the character.

I've seen this show 3 times now and I still can't tell you what Sang-woo's deal is. That's the second most important Player.

Meanwhile, even with all it's datedness, "Battle Royale" still manages to give it's evil Psychopath Stereotype enough Nuance that you get why he's here, doing what he does.

Because it focuses more on it's themes, groundworkand making those cohesive with the charas, "Battle Royale" stands the test of time in a way that I don't see "Squid Game" managing. Even if it weren't getting cannibalized as we speak.

I think that's the conclusion I'm coming to with this. There is a brilliance in "Squid Game" that you can clearly see! In the first 2 episodes, in Game 4, in Game 6 (even if I don't care), in the post games part.

And I want that to be more than maybe a third of the show!

[rileylastname]

LAUREN LOPEZ QUEEN OF MY EVERYTHING really went off with the choreography of this number. I’m so grateful for her thank you ma’am I owe you my life

I love all the cameos in the Hatchet Town proshot but it’s nice to see the live version too, I was wondering how they’d done that. I do miss Ziggy and Karen Chasity’s respectful pronoun use though

[precuredaily]

Precure Daily's Sixth Anniversary

On April 10, 2018, I posted the first review in the project that became Precure Daily. It wasn't actually on tumblr at that time, but on Facebook. The plan was to watch an episode every day and just post some thoughts, but it evolved into reviews and screenshots and that necessitated a whole blog, and here we are. That was six years ago today!

Six years. It's hard to believe. I honestly, truly didn't think I'd still be doing this. Whether I petered out before the end, or managed to get it all done in the 2-3 years I anticipated, I figured I'd have stopped by now. But somehow I haven't given up yet! I'm still watching, still writing, and still getting new fans to share with, and that makes it all worth it.

The past year was slow, I will readily acknowledge it. I only got about 7 reviews out in that time, including the one that just went up earlier today, but one of those was the Go Go movie. That was a whole undertaking, it took me nine months to get out. Granted, for about 6 of those 9 months it was just sitting there unchanged. I'd open it occasionally to poke at it but then not end up getting much done. Maybe it still wasn't the best it could have been but I'm proud of it nonetheless. It was a good review for a good movie. Also, I got to review the very first All Stars, even if it was a short film. Having recently wached the most recent All Stars brings that experience full circle and it's real nice.

One small hiccup is that, at the time of writing, I haven't yet gotten out the traditional Honoka birthday post. I just haven't had time to sit down and gather artwork for it. Hopefully that'll come out in the next day or two!

Outside of the blog, let's look at the wider world of the Precure series over the last year

I said last year that I hadn't finished Delicious Party, and that's still true. When it was on air, I was watching it with a friend and she was really into it; we are going to resume watching together to finally push through it.

HIrogaru Sky's second half was good, it lacked a little bit of the driving power of the first half and the villain plot never properly came together in my opionion. I still love the characters, I think they're my favorite cast in a good while.

I did not watch Otona Precure. Although I've watched Go Go before, I want to finish this current watchthrough for the blog before I jump into it. Maybe I'll even review it as I go, that remains to be seen. I've heard mixed things about it and I'm not very big on the idea that the girls just go back to teenagers when they transform, but I'll reserve judgment.

Wonderful Precure did not appeal to me when information started coming out, and I fell off it for a few weeks when the first couple eps didn't impress me, but I decided to keep going and it's thoroughly enjoyable. I don't think it's going to crack my top 10 but it should be a solid middle of the road series.

I watched the Delicious Party Precure movie and Precure All Stars F with friends in fairly close proximity, and wow do those movies exist on opposite ends of the spectrum. DeliPa's film was one of the weakest Precure movies I've seen, while All Star F was phenomenal. I need to rewatch it.

I did say last year that the blog would look different when I finish Go Go. That is still true. I should be able to wrap that up in a few months, then comes the next phase of things. Deets when it happens.

And also just because I can, here's some recommendations for shows outside of Precure you should watch that came out in the last year-ish:

Oshi no Ko

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (featuring Wonderful Precure's Tanezaki Atsumi as a monotone elf)

SPY x FAMILY (featuring Wonderful Precure's Tanezaki Atsumi as a psychic toddler)

Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger

The Last of Us

And I think that's it for this year's update! Here's to another year of watching and writing about Precure! Thanks as always to my loyal friends and fans for making this project a success: @sailorzombiestar, @vertixscribe, PaintedOutlaw, @hanasaki-tsubomi, @yugimon35, and my newest fan @nono-bunny.

Here's all my previous sappy anniversary posts if you want to go back and read them.

First Anniversary

Second Anniversary

Third Anniversary

Fourth Anniversary

Fifth Anniversary

[calliecat93]

ST: DS9 Episodes 15-20 Watchthrough

Last batch of Season 1 episodes! Lets go!

Progress: I felt so, SO conflicted about this one and even now I STILL don't know how I feel about it. It has so many good elements, like Kira having to confront the fact that after having been fighting against the Cardassians for so long, she is now in a government position like the ones she fought against. The conflict makes sense, and the acting? Dear Lord the acting in this episode is phenomenal! And Sisko talking to Kira? Such a good, good scene! The Jake and Nog subplot isn't as fun as the previous episode, but it's still fun and a nice breather from the more emotional main plot. I want to like this episode, I really, REALLY do.

But I just hate, HATE how it ends. Kira burns the old stubborn man's house, essentially destroying everything that he lived for. There's never any kind of effort or anything to truly help this guy and come up with another solution. The poor guy doesn't even get to decide anything for himself, Kira forces him to leave. I understand what the episode is doing, I really do, but I just feel so fucking empty and unsatisfied at the end and even fi that's the intent, I am not at all required to like it. But it has so much good... I'm just gonna shoot down the middle. 3/5.

If Wishes Were Horses: Time for another weird episode. This... where do I even start? Essentially people's imaginations come to life and everything goes insane from there. It was okay, it had a few entertaining bits like Odo imagining Quark in jail, and O'Brien reading to Molly is fucking adorable. Julian's imaginary Dax made me uncomfortable though, even if Dax herself was amused. But otherwise... it was pretty boring? IDK how an episode with Rumplestiltskin running around could be boring, but here we are. Its a "well... that happened" episode for sure. 2/5.

Forsaken: If you read my TNG watchthrough, you know that I am not a fan of Lwaxana so you can only imagine how I felt when I found out she was in DS9. Indeed, the first half of this episode? Garbage. Lwaxana making Odo uncomfortable and pretty much trying to force herself on him like she did Picard, I hated it there and I hate it here. To make it worse when Odo goes to Sisko and tells him this, Sisko essentially blows him off and tells him to deal with it himself. Maybe that was funny in the 90's, but DEAR GOD it looks HORRIBLE now. Fortunately for this episode, the second half is a HUGE improvement. Lwaxana actually NOT being a creep and being understanding and compassionate the way her daughter would be. Odo opening up, especially as he runs out of time and has to revert to his natural liquid form. The scene where Lwaxana takes off her wig as she can relate to not wanting someone to see her in a way no one has? Damn... just damn. So yeah, the first half sucks, but the second half made it worth it. 3/5.

Dramatis Personae: Tensions are rising between the Starfleet characters and the Bajorans, with Kira suddenly deciding on a coup and Sisko further becoming paranoid. Everyone, except for Odo, seems... off. The tensions make sense, but the way that everyone is acting feels so wrong, which it's supposed to given what we find out later. Odo's left in the middle of both sides as he tries to figure out WTF is going on before it's too late. It's a tense episode for sure, though I struggle to find much to say about it. The scene where Kira is 100% trying to flirt with Dax to get her on her side? As if I needed more convincing to join the bandwagon for the ship XD Also you can tell that Avery Brooks and Nana Visitor are having way too much fun being crazy and I love it. 4/5.

Duet: Ah man this episode... I knew going in that this was one of the heavier ones, and BOY was it no joke. Kira arrests a supposed Cardassian war criminal, and the rest of the episode is her questioning him as the others try to confirm his identity. It is... damn. Most of the episode is Kira and the guy talking, and both Nana Visitor and the guest actor Harris Yulin do so, SO good. The episode deals with the horrors that Cardassia brought upon Bajorans which Kira holds no detail back, even begging Sisko to let her handle the interrogation as she feels a Bajoran needs to do it. I don't want to spoil this one, but there is so much emotion and the big reveal and Yulin's performance int he climax truly breaks my heart, for both his character and for Kira. Then the literal last final minute... it's the only thing that brings this down (for me personally), and even then IDK if it was a good or bad decision to do. It does show how the damage done isn't going away anytime soon however, a sad reality for many in this kind of situation. An overall incredibly moving, yet heartwrenching episode that made me tear up. 4.5/5.

In the Hands of the Prophets: Our season finale, and the end it with a bang. A Bajoran named Winn, who is seeking to become the new Kai, causes trouble when she denounces Keiko teaching science over Bajoran religion regarding creation and the like. Now this is a very nuanced topic, but I do mostly side with Keiko. She's not Bajoran and isn't qualified to teach it for one, but even if she was science is still an important topic to teach and can at least offer another viewpoint. But I do understand where Kira comes from when she points out that that's a human philosophy and maybe Bajoran kids need a different type of education. I personally am not a fan of teaching religion in schools since not only is everyone's different, but it is my opinion that school is about providing education, not forcing down beliefs. But that is only how I see it, and I certainly understand that it's more complicated than that for everyone. Keiko could have handled it better for sure, maybe she could even get a Bajoran to help with the education, but I still mostly side with her stance. Also Sisko's talk to Jake when he brings up the whole thing is really great and shows why I fucking love Sisko.

Regardless, this causes tensions that Winn fuels and causes Keiko and O'Brien to be discriminated against, and ultimately leads to Keiko's classroom bEING FUCKING BOMBED. No one was there at the time Thank God but Dear Lord Keiko didn't deserve to have THAT happen. It's awful to watch, and Sisko feels things are getting so bad he tries to get help from another Bajoran spiritualist seeking to be Kai, Beriel. Yep, after Opaka was left behind, we are actually seeing the consequences in its wake and in a Star Trek show! Winn is fucking awful, clearly causing all of this intentionally and while I won't spoil, she is incredibly manipulative and uses religion and spiritualism, something the Bajorans turned to when under Cardassian rule to keep their hopes, as weapons to get her way. It's disgusting and scarily realistic, though her actress, the great Louise Fletcher, does an AMAZING job.

The ending is utterly wild and again I will not spoil it, but at the very least Kira realizes that Winn is awful which makes her even more grateful for how far she and Sisko have come, and he shares the sentiment. He also has an amazing speech when Winn tries to portray him as essentially the devil, dear God he may not have beaten Kirk for Favorite Captain yet (yeah he's a common der rn but meh) but I fucking LOVE Sisko.

This might be the best season finale to a Trek show since the first half of The Best of Both Worlds back in TNG S3 and as you can see I have a LOT of thoughts. It ends all that we've worked towards in S1 well while setting up for so, SO much more in the upcoming seasons. Things are about to get intense, and I cannot wait to see how it turns out~ 5/5.

[morethanthatfic]

Hello. First of all, I wanted to congratulate you on your blog. I found it by chance and I really enjoy the content you post.

Second, I finished watching The Office for the first time last week. It's a great series, by the way. But one thing that caught my attention is how much Jim and Pam are hated. I finished the series loving every interaction, romantic scene and even the conflicts. It's not a very complex romance to understand, but I notice, especially on the 'Dunder Mifflin' sub-reddit, how much people distort certain moments of the couple.

I also see that, I don't know if it's a recent trend, but a lot of people prefer Karen as Jim's romantic partner. I just don't get it. It's so obvious at times that she's just the catalyst that Jim and Pam needed to finally get together and how Jim and Karen have personality conflicts that would occasionally end in a breakup.

Other things that bothered me are how people demonize Pam and soften Roy's attitudes.

Another thing that bothers me is how people say that Pam sabotaged Jim and Karen's relationship, when in reality their relationship was doomed from the moment it began (the night of The Merger episode) with the character ignoring countless red flags.

I can name countless moments that people use to demonize Pam and I can just relate and realize that if I were in her shoes, I probably would have done the same things (except maybe get back together with Roy).

Why do you think this movement is so strong against the character and the couple? Mainly because the show is about characters with questionable personalities with morally questionable attitudes. Why do you think the bar is set higher for both of them?

Sorry for the long text. I was just so surprised to see that Pam is so hated. She has simply become my favorite character. With such human and relatable dilemmas.

If there are any grammatical errors, I apologize! I used the translator to help me.

Well first off I’m happy you found us at MTT. In addition to this blog, MoreThanThat is the largest and best collection of Office and JimPam fanfic on the internet so if you want to continue to the JAM love there’s many many great fics to read. And congrats on your first watchthrough of the show!

Next, I understand how you ended up at Reddit looking for fellow flans, and it’s good for memes, trivia and some general discussion. But when Jim and/or Pam is the topic, things can get toxically bad fast, especially regarding Pam. A good amount of that is Reddit being Reddit. Redditors love trying to be different and edgy, which is hard with a show that’s as popular and has been around as long as The Office. As a result you’ll see lots of contrary opinions that are often thinly veiled hate-posts. A post titled: “Jim’s a cool character,” will get some likes, maybe a reply or two. However, a post called “Jim is a bully and the actual villain of the office” will get 2k likes and 400 replies passionately debating if that’s right or wrong. Redditors are also not known for being the biggest fans of women in general, and a normal woman just trying to live her normal life like Pam will get unfathomable amounts of vitriol (do yourself a favor and never go to the Office Ladies subreddit).

Sadly, Jim & Pam hate is not contained to Reddit. I’ve run the MTT Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts and have seen plenty of it there, even Tumblr isn’t JAM-hate-free. So what’s the deal? It’s again some of that trying to get likes for different, contrary opinions. It’s also the fact that Jim and Pam are written very realistically with realistic flaws that are usually not played up for laughs, flaws that often strike a cord in viewers. Many if not most people will sympathetically relate to Jim and Pam’s flaws, they themselves might do things differently but they understand where the characters are coming from. But a very loud minority are contemptuous of Jim and Pam and need everyone else to know about it. They’ll write off Creed canonically killing at least one person as just Creed being Creed, but somehow are ready with a ten-point essay explaining why Pam having low confidence and being mopey when Jim was with Karen makes her the actual devil. 

The “Jim was better off with Karen” crowd has always been around, but are maybe more vocal now than they were when the show was airing. I felt the show made it pretty clear, especially in the season 3 finale “The Job”, that Jim and Karen weren’t that compatible and would not have lasted even without the Pam factor. But the “Jim should have ended up with Karen” argument persists on Reddit. There she seems to have come to represent Jim escaping his small hometown for something bigger and better while Pam represents Jim being stuck and stagnant. Nevermind that Karen ended up settling into a life not all that different from Pam’s life in a town not all that different from Scranton. Also nevermind that Pam eventually agrees to go with Jim onto “bigger and better things”, she just needed some time (and the characters needed the show to end to be free to move on). 

We also just never really get to know Karen that well, she never has a storyline outside of Jim, she’s just kind of a vaguely defined “cool girl”, and people can easily project their preferred traits onto (in deleted scenes and in the Superfan episodes she’s much sassier and occasionally kind of mean but overall has much more of a personality so it’s interesting how a lot of that got cut).

During the three seasons Roy’s regularly on the show, he’s pretty consistently portrayed as unsupportive of Pam’s interests and dreams and largely unenthusiastic about marrying her. So the wider fandom (or at least the Reddit part) slowing kind of “woobifying” Roy and treating Pam like the bad guy in that relationship is maddening, and I‘ll never forgive the writers for seeming to give some credence to that in season 9 with the preposterous Roy’s Wedding storyline (his send-off in S3 was already the perfect closure for both him and Pam, and his S5 cameo was fine and appropriate). 

I suppose what I'm trying to say is since the show's long ended and so much has been said about it, the larger fandom is kind of down to overanalyzing and 'what-if'ing everything. A big problem with fandom in general is how toxic fandom can get and how much hate seems to develop for the source material and for certain characters and pairings (and fans of those characters and pairings). And the Office fandom is pretty tame! But it's still far from immune. To find fun and positivity in any fandom you need to find your like-minded group of fans and (to paraphrase a famous tumblr post) block approximately two-thirds of the rest.