#i set it vaguely pre s1 just to start us off

[theseance444]

❛  i wish i could take away all your pain.  ❜

@magicalmystery-muses from Willow pls

On the ass end of a five day bender, Number Four could barely hold himself upright. Thankfully, his sister had come to find him--crumpled in an alleyway, looking like death, but still breathing. The bags under his eyes, the gaunt cheeks, the way his bones stuck out--they told what sort of life he was living, these days. One in which he would choose substances over sleep, food, and shelter.

Currently, Klaus found himself slumped in a booth at Griddy's. A classic "sober up" spot for him, historically. Diego, Willow, even Allison had taken him here before, giving him a talk about getting clean, before he inevitably went back to his ways. But Willow's words slowly seeped into the mush that currently made up his brain. Not harsh, not angry, but sad. Klaus would've rather her be angry.

"Nah, like three Percocets'll do the trick," he slurred, clumsily stirring sugar into his coffee. "Then I'll be outta your hair..." Though life had been rough since leaving the academy, Klaus had missed his siblings dearly. Especially shy little Willow.

[beevean]

What pisses me off the most about NFCV is the way it disrespects the original medium of video gaming. The show sets up a potential action setpiece similar to a level from the game (the turning wheel, s1e3 I think) and then just *walks around it*. Everything about the way "Devil Forging" works in the show demonstrates that Ellis didn't even consult a cutscene compilation, much less the game. And sure enough, the fucker admits he never played them. Why adapt source material you've never experienced?

*Captain N* (a show I defend to the death) was better than this. It embraces the action montage, and even if things aren't 1-to-1, they do capture the appeal of the gameplay they adapt. It understands people love the original work. NFCV plows through the formalities of adapting a guy skimming the wikipedia summary of the game and then sits everyone in a basement for a full season.

The only times I felt I was watching an adaptation of Castlevania was in S1, with things like the fight against the Cyclop who petrified Sypha and Trevor falling into the deepest catacombs where Alucard hid himself, and in S4, where the last fight before the final showdown with Death happens in a clock tower, his iconic hideout.

As for the rest, I remember some snarky fans defending the show's wildly different direction with things like "what, did you expect to see Trevor jumping on platforms?" I don't know but it sure as shit would have been better than the trio wasting the entirety of S2 cooped up in a library! Yes, I would have preferred to see them travel through forests and caves and swamps, instead of wasting my time watching N!Alucard being a complete jerk to N!Trevor for no good reason! (and no, defending vampires is not a good reason)

bro. bro not even the vampire killer is treated with respect. it's replaced with the morning star which is a different weapon, and then n!trevor drops it in favor of a knife pulled out of the story's ass. the morning star pisses n!dracula off, but a fucking stick is capable of killing him. are you doing this on purpose.

And don't get me started on Devil Forging. I actually don't mind too much the idea of making it more similar to necromancy, because it would fit with the idea that it's a cursed, disgusting, blasphemous art. I also can concede that the knowledge that Dracula infused Hector and Isaac with his own power is very obscure, vaguely implied in one cutscene in CoD and one panel of PtR, and confirmed in a pre-release interview. But everything else is so less interesting. It's an art that apparently N!Hector was born with for no reason and N!Isaac could study on his own, removing the personal connection between Dracula and Forgemasters. There are other Forgemasters in the world: those two are not special (which also makes me wonder why N!Dracula bothered to hire N!Hector with a lie when he could have travelled some more: I'm sure Miranda would have helped him). N!Isaac eventually becomes so OP he can stibby stabby to create new Night Creatures without any effort. None of the interesting themes about dehumanization or forcing pure creatures to sin are hinted at*. Even N!Hector's unique cavalier relationship with death, a genuinely but interesting childish mentality of "oh no, death is sad! but I can fix it!", is never explored, because the story was too busy making him look stupid and breedable. And to top it all off, Nocturne literally introduces the concept of a Devil Forging machine which is so bad it sucks even in universe.

*the closest thing to this is in S4 with this line from N!Isaac: "You believe you are tools of destruction only because this is how your kind have always been used". Admittedly, it's a cool line I would have loved to apply to Hector and Isaac. But it doesn't quite work because by definition Night Creatures are not innocent, being demons from hell... and anyway he keeps using them to kill people in Styria because N!Isaac is a bastard and unlike Isaac he won't even admit it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that line comes off as so self-aggrandizing and I hate how much the show shills him so I won't cut it any slack because I'm petty.

As for Captain N, I will say this: the inclusion of the Poltergeist King is, of course, totally wrong from a lore stand point, but to me it tells that the writers actually read the manual in search of information, and the American manual really was the only resource they had at their disposal at the time. Just like that, they put in more effort than Warren "somehow didn't realize on his own that Mathias Cronqvist was Dracula's human name while reading a wiki page" Ellis.

[chimeracorpse]

i might have missed it if it's in your carrd somewhere, if so, i am sorry but when did your version of theo become a dad? i originally thought after the show but i don't know if i got that right?

hi nonnie! i apologize for the confusion & vagueness on that end. i have all the information rattling around in my brain, but i’ve yet to actually write his bio. work has been crazy these past few months so i’ve had very little time to actually sit down & write his bio of his carrd, honestly. but here’s a little breakdown:

my theo was born in 2002, not 1995. i basically Upped the timeline from the start date of the series being 2011 circa the pilot episode to six~ years in the future. this was done so everyone’s ages could fit more with @cosmichunted / @taughtdefense [ ethan wilson(-keene)’s ] ages + my other characters, & @taughtpain’s robby / mads’ characters’ ages. robby was born in 2002, hawk was born in 2002, chase was born in 2002, etc. etc. i “slid” the timeline of the teen wolf universe up further to reflect that.

tldr: i was getting confused trying to figure out the timeline discrepancies between the two shows, so i decided to go “screw it, i’m slightly more modernizing teen wolf”. ie: the 2011 year of s1 doesn’t exist. instead, my version of s1 starts in, roughly, 2017. ( cobra kai’s timeline )

as such: my theo’s DOB isn’t 1995 like it is in canon. instead, his DOB is roughly 2001. as with my scott’s, my stiles’s, my lydia’s, my malia’s, etc. etc.

my version of theo became a dad pre his s5 debut. his children are informally adopted, but they take on the raeken surname regardless, because theo doesn’t know who their bio parents are. they’re not around at that time. my theo felt bad about them being basically kidnapped by the Doctors; the Geneticist specifically brought the cubs to the operating theatre to live there, like theo, but acting on the orders of the Surgeon. it wasn’t just theo growing up with the dread doctors, but multiple of my other original characters, & talia.

so, after he helps fight off belasko with scott & the pack, he is Already a dad. his children, shane & haley, are very young. (they are born werewolves with two sets of DNA that would make them chimeras is still TBD. the kids basically wound up imprinting on him because he was nice to them, & instinctually wanted to protect them from the dread doctors, & theo + his chimera Accepted the imprinting wholeheartedly.

(theo was roughly 14 at the time when he met/became shane & haley’s adopted father. the cubs really didn’t know any better… because they’re terrified, & were desperate to feel safe.)

shane & haley are not seen throughout s5 or s6— he asks talia / @vipersunion to take his children OUT of beacon hills, away from the Dread Doctors, & another villan oc of mine (his name is Oscar Dunbar). he would routinely harm the Dread Doctor Group (theo + ocs), doing whatever he wanted, & the Doctors just let him because he had been assisting them with their goal of achieving complete immortality/reviving the Beast.

theo didn’t want shane & haley to be poked & prodded any further by the Doctors, or tormented by Oscar. he also didn’t want them to become “candidates” for the Beast. that’s why he asked talia to take them out of beacon hills—so they’d be safe from harm.

theo not only wanted the beast's power to become a "real werewolf", but he also wanted to be strong enough to protect shane & haley from any & all threats... & based on the shit that goes down in beacon hills, it's not exactly a stretch as to Why he wants to protect them.

he works with the dread doctors to gain the power of the beast for himself. (he was most likely going to kill them anyway, had he successfully obtained the power.)

his driving goal behind everything he's ever done is to protect his children. trying to use liam to kill scott, so he could then kill liam for that power? he did that to ensure his spot at the top of the mccall pack, so he could be a co-alpha with the super pack ( stolen power ). he wants shane & haley to be back home with him where he can protect them directly from Every Conceivable Threat in beacon hills, or those who would travel to BH. he doesn't care who he has to hurt, kill or threaten in order to achieve that.

throughout s5, my theo is desperate to stay alive & gain the powers of an alpha for himself, & more importantly: his children. his cubs mean the entire WORLD to him.

i hope this answers your question, nonnie! let me know if you’d like any clarification on anything :) ❤️

[viscountessevie]

Regé Speaks Out on IG

Took me a couple of day but we finally made it! I hope I did him justice and  that you all enjoy reading this. Anyone who’s perpetrated the harm and hate mentioned below to him, I hope you read this all the way through and reevaluate. 

I honestly still can’t believe he posted this. I think this is the closest he’ll come to say anything against past productions in his career. 

Obviously, it may not be pointed only at The Bee Show but rather an overview stance he's taking against his whole career experience thus far as Mimi has said similarly here too but still it’s a pretty big step to come forward. 

Honestly, I’ve been waiting for a statement like this since S2 dropped or even when he left. I’m so so happy he’s gotten to a safe place where he feels like he can say this now without big repercussions. Then again he also kept it vague enough that no one particular production can say “Hey no slandering us” but still sends a clear message to those who have conducted themselves awfully on set and also by not protecting their cast of colour. 

I can’t speak to the previous productions he was a part of pre-Bridgerton but we’ve seen how superficial the Bton team has been this season especially and now that they have their white couple, they have already started promotion - they haven’t even finished filming yet. Now let’s take a look at the ‘fans’ who ‘loved’ his Duke so much that they ended up turning on him: 

[I was so relieved I couldn’t really find much on his farewell post on the Bton acoount but his own farewell post though? Hohoho - they came in even more hot after S2] 

NO MrsM77 YOUR mother is ashamed of you for leaving such a hateful comment. 

Hey privatelyinmybusiness maybe TIME TO GET OUT of HIS business also say that to all the huge movies he’s booked lately!

Danielle really thinks she’s all that huh that she’s personally offended that he didn’t say goodbye,,,ma’am I don’t know how to say this but you’re commenting on his goodbye post. 

Of course, are we all surprised that all these accounts (except the first one) don’t have posts? Of course, they are trolls who have nothing better to do. 

As always I asked my friends for their thoughts too so here are some quotes from them stating their opinions! Thanks for bouncing this off me guys @hptriviachamp , B who will be anon for now til she lets me know otherwise ​ @kateandanthonyaremyparents​ 

As Eef pointed out:

I think it's because ppl really loved him. And being in this shitty world as it is felt personal offended when he left. The love turned into a feeling of betrayal and that gives them some unreasonable validation to call him out?? 

I mean.. it's not normal, but the bridgerton fandom isn't normal [If I had to sum up my whole experience with this fandom its this,,,I’ve been writing this essay - a whole essay over someone’s IG story and not to miminise it their treatment in their work place - for a couple of days now. That’s a little insane]

I can't relate at all.. whyyyyy turn on him? I mean, good for him to have chosen his own path. He isn't obligated and the fact that all these ppl think they have a claim on him because they loved the duke is beyond me

To add on to this, I just find it so vile that it was most likely the same group of women who got #NotMyDuke trending when his casting as Simon was first announced but then latched onto him in S1 when they could project onto Daphne and sexualised him to the point of grossly objectifying and fetishising him. Then finally turn against him when he ‘dares’ to leave the show because he got other opportunities. If they loved him so much, wouldn’t they want better for him? They really showed themselves this way. They only like him for what he - well more likely his body - can provide for them. It’s honestly disgusting. Let him be happy for fuck’s sake. Which is why I’m elated he’s booked, busy and can actually say this. 

Here’s my friends for their takes on his statement: 

Trivia: 

There's also a vehemence to it, which tells me he's speaking from personal experience and he said "we went through" it so... def prior experiences. I imagine Bridgerton is among them. It definitely is him saying something about bton without saying something good on him though. yeah he doesn’t seem like one to make statements like this so something must’ve built up for him to speak out.

B’s POV

It just says a lot about a show that profits on being "diverse" probably has behind the scenes problems and they don't even think or protect their poc cast. And coming from a company started by a WOC too!? Shame on them

I was initially going to sum up all the anons I got in one post but the topic got way off track. I’ll be acknowledging and owning up to that in a second part but this is the main post and Regé & his treatment are the main focus. I do not want to dismiss or diminish his experience with production. Anyways, here are two that call out production and the cast as a whole and mention Regé (and by extension Simone as the other POC lead) deserve better. 

First anon pretty much said it all - I don’t expect shit from the same Production that gave us those horrible lines - so I don’t have much to add on that front for this post but will be expanding on the cast’s side in Part 2. 

Second anon: I mean I covered this before but IG likes aren’t reflective of anything but yeah ultimately there’s bigger and better things out there for them - hell we are already seeing it with Regé who got The Gray Man and signed on for the D&D movie. I’m sure he (and Simone) will be just fine!!

To sum up, Regé should have been treated better by the fans and production, he definitely should have been protected and I hope he’s living his best life right now! 

Part 2: What The Cast Should Have Done  [EDIT: Post is now up and link is live!] 

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Ep 34 S4: The Boys (and Mai) are Back in Town

OK, back to the writing table! It’s been a while! So I made the mistake of like...scrolling down on the playlist when I realized...

This duel is like 6 episodes long (7 even? It’s a lot) and like...yo I have no idea if we’ll finish this season in 2020! Damn you 2020. Damn you.

But wtv, what I like about this side project of mine is that I don’t have to rush things, and I can really spend the time with each episode and just...enjoy the moment. So often I watch a whole series in like half a week and then it’s like...I don’t get to enjoy it. This series I’ve enjoyed for years now. That’s kinda neat. So...we’re gonna be slow...but lets just enjoy this weird ass anime moment together. 2020 deadlines are all fake anyway. I’m not even sure if 2020 was a real thing that happened or like...an alternate universe opening a door and letting through just so many terrible ghosts. We might never know.

Last we left off, everyone has decided to hallucinate Dartz’ terrible backstory.

Unfortunately we have NO darts in the past. Was really hoping to see at least one darts reference in this entire season, just one darts board on his wall. But alas, we will not have a Season Zero death darts match with Dartz. (Man I need to get back to Season Zero. And FMA. And a lot of things)

I feel like if I watched the original version there would have been some things different. First off...what ocean? Second off...well, we’ll get to that. There’s some things I think were changed for English TV.

Including censoring the nude people like it’s James Cameron’s Avatar.

Fun fact did you know that James Cameron’s Avatar was supposed to be ass naked and that they were supposed to have like 8 cat nipples? Yeah.

Man, that movie was a mistake. I’m so glad we all decided to collectively forget James Cameron’s Avatar.

(read more under the cut)

The actual locations of anything in Atlantis does not match up with it when it’s zoomed out. We have giant cities, we have sprawling wheat fields, and we have...THIS situation. This active volcano next to...pine trees?

I feel like they wanted it to feel vaguely Pompeii, since I know people like to put Atlantis in the Mediterranean. Maybe? Maybe that’s what they were going for here?

One of my top ten favorite Yugioh plot twists ever was finding out this episode that this snake who has no limbs somehow created these...rocks...that all of our main characters have been wearing and obsessing over this entire time.

And so this is my theory, this is the thesis of my Yugioh college paper. These rocks are turds. There’s no way these rocks aren’t turds. There’s no way this snake didn’t poop out a bunch of glowy magic stones and then stuff them into a volcano.

THE ROCKS WERE TURDS THE WHOLE TIME.

God bless, Yugioh.

Seto spends this entire episode groveling that he isn’t playing cards that will absolutely kill him. Like Mokuba, Seto isn’t happy until he’s cheating death.

(I really wish we got more super past future tech. I love that type of concept art. Instead, we just got a lot of flying boats--the same boat that I think the team flew on in S1 when they went to Seto’s video game universe.

So those boats are 10,000 years old? They existed in the 10,000 year old Pangea, huh?

Neat.)

Anyway, lets take a gander at Princess Zelda circa Ocarina of Time.

SUPER princess Zelda, and I know it’s not 1:1 but damn it feels so much like a late 90′s Princess Zelda outfit to me. Check out that PURPLE. That low poly circlet. The random ass sword. The thick ass belt. 

Also check out this super dead family.

Yo so this is a 00′s thing, a period of time where we liked to tell stories like LOST, with just a bunch of random ass plot twists in flashbacks instead of just...telling a story from start to finish. And can be a great and fun way to do it--but at the sacrifice of actually making me care about these characters while they were still alive.

Like I would have maybe cared about Chris and Ironheart dying if I had known that Dartz was killing his whole family? With...lightning strikes? But alas, these dumbasses decided NOT to tell us they were royal. It’s so strange both from a logical perspective and a storytelling perspective.

Man...missed opportunity, IMO, but I can see why they did it. The wanted the ‘Gotcha!’ I feel ambivalent about it, honestly.

And who am I kidding, people are still doing unpredictable plot twists this. It’s a way to tell a story. Is it the most impactful way? No. It’s...it’s a gotcha!

It’s at this point in the story that things start ramping up, but it’s not clear if it takes place over years or just a couple hours. People just start going a little cray and turning into Monsters.

Straight up, though--did they turn into monsters that already existed and are modern Duel Monster cards, or are the monsters from modern Duel Monsters cards actually descendants of Atlantis who were once human?

They don’t say, actually. Maybe...maybe every card was a human once. That would be a freakin weird Yugioh twist if Kuriboh was like a 45 year old dude.

PS Dartz was married...soak that in.

ROMANCE ON YUGIOH ALERT.

Love it every time. She was there for like...half a second, and Dartz was like throwing so much shade about how “only the people with evil in their hearts were turned” and it’s like...

...dude that’s your wife? OK then. I can see you guys got along real well.

Anyway, so long to the ship of IonaxDartz, you were here for even less than the amount of time that Seto dated Blue Eyes White Dragon in a hallucination, which kind of sets a new record for us.

This might be the shortest-lived ship in all of Yugioh and they have a 12 year old daughter and what I assume was a 12 year marriage for that entire time.

that is if they...HAD the concept of marriage 10,000 years ago on Atlantis Pangea island. Maybe?

I mean they might have not had the concept of dating and marriage yet because he gets over this like immediately. The show will never hover back to that time Dartz watched his own wife turn into a creature. We have no idea if he was like “OK honey lets uh...let just get you a haircut and maybe no one will notice?” We have no idea how long he was desperately trying to remain married to the beast that was no longer human and was also trying to eat everyone else in his court. We just don’t know.

Dartz just had a lot of other things to think about. He’s been King for like...a year...he’s only 21...he’s just doing a bad job at everything.

(Biden opens Pres Trumps bedroom in the White House come January and it’s juts full of glowing green evil golf balls) (OK that was my last 2020 joke I swear to you) 

Anyway, Dad is here, but it’s a little too late to really do anything with the situation. Everyone is worshiping little snake turds. What can you really do about that?

One eye golden, the other eye, the color of a glistening Leviathan turd.

After the rest of the surviving royal family was chased out of the castle, Dartz decides to just wave his hands around a lot.

I’m not entirely sure what Kings do...never really had one...but I think they’re supposed to do more than wave their hands at a crowd like the Pope. Like...everyone’s dead right? Like everyone?

Who’s he talking to?

Meanwhile, Chris and Ironheart decide to revive some monster tablets to get some real actual duel monsters to do their bidding.

So apparently some monsters are in the tablets, and other’s have just always been here...and...

They didn’t know violence but they did have the cards?

There’s a lot of vague stuff they didn’t feel like ever writing, because it would have probably been boring to write about. I guess we’ll just let our imagination fill in the rest and ignore all the inconsistencies. It’s a kid’s anime. well........kind of a kid’s anime. A lot of people have died this episode and I don’t even know how to add it to the death count.

How many people live in Atlantis? I dunno.

Are the inhabitants of Atlantis even dead, or are they just turned into Monster cards? I dunno. Clearly the Great Leviathan wasn’t awoken this first battle so...did all those souls get returned? I dunno.

Either way I’m not gonna bother the death count about it because I just do not know if they died, and since it was neither an implied death or an on screen death...I dunno.

Just feels like a bit of a translation snafu--where maybe they couldn’t kill that many people on English TV, so they were like “AND IT’S A DRAW!” but also...it could be canon to both versions. The leviathan didn’t work the first time, maybe no one died? I dunno.

In this shot, PS, Raphael just gently backs up out of this flying plane, and it looked really funny to me. I probs won’t cap it because it’s split between two other cuts, but just...they just kind of moved that sprite to the right really slowly, no animation, it was great.

Dartz decides to end the backstory hallucination, and we get introduced to a new twist--a better twist than that last one, that’s right, all our boys are cards!

Including this asshole!

Been a while since our boys have been cards! Man, I miss Bakura!

Yes, I looked back to earlier episodes this season to see what was going on with Pegasus’ new look. I think what happened is that it’s always been this shade of gray purple--but when you put purple next to it’s opposing color (which is yellow colors) it looks even MORE purple. It’s just how color works. Love color theory. mm. Good stuff. Good purple hair.

I can’t wait until Yami kills Yugi for the 3rd time in one season.

Anyway, that’s all for now, and like always, here’s a link to read these in chrono order.

[sanoiro]

Lucifer 5x07 - Our Mojo - Spoilers & Speculation

Warning! There is always the possibility that certain scenes might have been mixed up under their non-respective episodes.

Written By: Julia Fontana

Directed By: Nathan Hope

Julia Fontana has written/co-written the episodes:

2x10 - Quid Pro Ho

2x15 - Deceptive Little Parasite

3x08 - Chloe Does Lucifer

3x16 - Infernal Guinea Pig

5x07 - Our Mojo

Cast: Tom Ellis as Lucifer, Lauren German as Chloe, DB Woodside as Amenadiel, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Maze, Kevin Alejandro as Dan, Scarlett Estevez as Trixie, Rachael Harris as Linda Martin and Aimee Garcia as Ella.

Season 5 Recurring Characters: None Officially Announced Guest Cast:

Giovanni Bejarano...Mario Canales

Nancy De Mayo...Nina

Glenn Fernandez...Danilo

David Figlioli...Les Klumpsky

Cara Koh...Madison Evans

Behind The Scenes

As we get close to the Midseason Finale S&S do remember the past seasons Midseason and Season Finales. There were never standalone. You see there is always a pattern to be followed and this will happen with 5x07 and 5x08. The two episodes 5x07 and 5x08 act both as a Finale but also as a medium to the story to move forward and for P2 to bring elements from P1.

Going back we should remember how the following episodes intertwined thus a recap is needed. 

1x12 - #TeamLucifer  & 1x13 - Take Me Back to Hell were based on three elements. One Lucifer’s vulnerability, Malcolm and the Pentecostal Coin. A bargain was made there which moved us to S2 and the introduction of Mum.

2x11 - Stewardess Interruptus, 2x12-  Love Handles and 2x13 - A Good Day to Die built up to the point of where the supernatural aspects of Lucifer’s mythos are explored with Chloe being revealed to be a Miracle while Dr Carlisle acted as a serial killer poisoning his victims and Chloe. What we also tend to forget here is that early in S2 Uriel’s threat was almost materialized as Chloe would have died if Lucifer had not gone to Hell and thus broke the balance of time and effect  Dr Carlisle had started. It is also why in that season we had to focus on Mum and the blade.

2x17 - Sympathy for the Goddess and 2x18 The Good, the Bad and the Crispy used the blade and Mum was set as yet another problem while Lucifer regained his wings. Again we needed two to three episodes if you add 2x16 - God Johnson into this, to build up the story.

In S3 3x09 - Sinnerman and 3x10 - The Sin Bin led to the Mid Season finale which foretold Marcus way of dying by a blade which Lucifer had struck. The end of S3 actually started from 3x19 and was led to the very end but again episodes 3x23 - Quintessential Deckerstar and 3x24 - A Devil of my Word delivered the conclusion of S3 and led to the issues of S4.

Now S4 actually help us structure S5. There were Kinley and the vial, in 4x04 - All About Eve we get Eve and the conclusion happens between the episodes 4x09 - Save Lucifer and 4x10 - Who’s Da New King of Hell. Also, certain episodes were connected like 4x06 - Orgy Pants To Work and 4x07 - Devil Is As Devil Does where Julian becomes the connection between the story as it involves

With all the above in mind, we see what the writers like to use but also how they pace their seasons and what is included.

In S5 up to 5x10 you will see this as far as I understand.

First 5x01 will set in motion an issue that needs to be resolved so Lucifer ascends but a new factor is introduced and that way the episode will end with a question of how things will move from there while the promise of Lucifer staying on Earth will not be that clear.

In 5x02 we get the realization that something is amiss and that action needs to be taken but that connects us to 5x03 so 5x02 and 5x03 connect through the lingering issue from 5x01, Lucifer’s desire to stay on earth or perhaps the insistence of others to keep him away from Hell. Hell you see is like a drug and it acts slowly so at some point we will get a cold turkey Lucifer in 5x02 with 5x03 acting as his re-introduction to society and his old life.

Amidst all that we get the consequence of Lucifer’s actions probably from 5x01 which I suspect will affect Dan and a more permanent solution will be sought which leads us to 5x04. 5x04 offers us a lot of answers but also questions and that is why it is tied so well with 5x05. Lucifer is not the same nothing is but a solution has been found as maintenance does not fix a hole in a sinking ship.

Along with all the above, we also have Deckerstar and revelations which are bound to be set in these episodes and which will lead to the rocky episode of 5x06. Fear not though as 5x06 opens the door to the last two episodes of P1. In these two episodes actions will be made that will turn the tables first to how our characters act but also what they expect from the future. It is also where we will understand why in 5x04 the title was “It never ends well for the Chicken”.

Divine solutions do not come without collateral and thus a sacrifice will be made yet to what extent and what that will mean for our leads it remains to be seen as we only have scattered pieces which hint that Chloe will take the blow but not in the conventional sense the fandom loves to lament over. Chloe dying is overplayed and in my opinion to fan fiction like to be put forward in the mid-season finale. No here we are talking about more revelations on Lucifer’s past but also Chloe’s which may date back to the Pre-Fall era.

So let’s try to go through 5x07 episode first as we connect it lightly to 5x08.

First of all, we know that we have a Serial Killer played by David Figlioli* in these two episodes so I would expect to see a plot similar to Dr Carlisle’s. That means that in one of the two episodes either the effect of the character will set in motion an unavoidable plot that will affect all the leads pr that past actions are bound to fade the immediate future.

*If you do not want to know who that is please do not look him up and think twice before spoiling that element to people who do not like spoilers or like the procedural subplot of the series. I do not add his bts here for that reason. 

Now our Serial Killer has been described as “Nerdy and Creepy” which fits the description from the locations they were used. 

At this point please remember that we usually LOVE to speculate only on Lucifer and Chloe but in reality their story is supported and the plot moves forward through the events on every single character’s life. So certain points might be considered from all angles meaning from every character’s point of view on 5x07 and 5x08. That is practically impossible as we have no idea what has happened to most of them during S5P1, we can only guess so let’s see.

Dan - We expect him to have a health issue that ties him to Lucifer for the most part of the season. As we have said Dan’s arc is very similar to Charlotte’s and also after 5x08 the bracelet disappears but that’s for the S&S of 5x08. So notice that Kevin Alejandro did not appear in the bts of 5x07 and 5x08 while the actor had some other engagement during the shooting of 5x07 and he directed 5x08. Of course, bts are not reliable on how much screen time a character has but is nonetheless suspicious. 

Amenadiel - It seems that Amenadiel according to his garments has decided run LUX early in S5 but in some bts there were some hints of boxing yet I cannot tie them to an episode so I’m just mentioning that here. We also know from the photos at Linda’s fridge is you look closely that he has a calm domestic life but here is the twist we do not know if he is romantically involved with Linda or if in S5 the usual working pair Maze and Amenadiel move from where they left things in S1-S2. Whatever happens, what we know is that Amenadiel is deeply involved in this seasons plot so keep an eye on him.

Maze - You have seen her in different clothes and it does not seem like she has left her demonic character attitudes and choice of wardrobe behind in S5. On the contrary, her relationship with humans like Ella and Linda seem to now be better and I do not think she will be bitter towards Lucifer although who knows, as he left her when he went back to Hell. In short, she seems to be coping well but there are a lot of fights which I’m not sure whether she acts out in S5 towards Lucifer and Amenadiel or tries to fend off whatever attacks them. Do not go to oh the demons have ascended scenario just yet…

Linda - Linda seems to be in a very good place we know she has her son, Charlie is growing and all the baby proof wrapper is still on so you never know when wings or powers might come forward in her life. We do know that she continues to have a close relationship with Chloe and Maze and also an amicable one with Amenadiel. Finally, we know that she resumes her sessions with Lucifer.

Charlie - Charlie is a bit of an enigma and he may be one of the contributing factors of these two episodes. For all, we know the kid finally gets some powers and do expect him to surprise you.

Ella - You just don’t know with this character as all of Aimee’s bts are vague at best yet I do not believe she has found out yet about Lucifer but P2 might be her time to do so. She does not seem to occupy much of S5’s plot but I would keep an eye on her on the second part of the season and especially on 5x10.

Trixie - Trixie’s role is doubtful to be elevated to something more in this part but she has some great moments with Lucifer. At the moment I cannot really speculate about her as whatever happens in the stages rarely gets out so we have very few appearances of Scarlet at the lot…

Lucifer - Lucifer seems to be getting a bit different, you see a different side of him one that the perhaps wanted to forget as his past comes knocking throughout the season. His evolution through the series is interesting but the supernatural elements worrisome. Again the fact alone he is willing to help Dan says a lot.

Chloe - As you saw I was very brief with Lucifer as I wanted to focus a bit more on Chloe. Aside from her relationship to Lucifer in S5 we get to see that every person has two sides even if for some they were unaware it existed. That’s not a good and bad side kind scenario but I’m talking more about Chloe being more than a miracle. Before you speculate and ask I would just say that her being a Miracle is not where S5 will step on so look for clues while you watch because all lead to 5x08. I may be right I may be wrong but I’ll spend some more time explaining this in the S&S of 5x08.

So let’s start with 5x07’s case. It’s the easy way to figure out what is going on or at least put in order the scenes. Here we have two plots and we do not know if the Serial Killer’s victim/s is the case of the week. We do know that the Serial Killer, for the most part, was in the lot so I do not think he was on location much. The reason for this is because we have two locations at the backlot where 5x07 was mainly shot.

The first one is a flower shop which if I can guess is connected to the Serial Killer perhaps. He might be this kind of peaceful guys who run a flower shop and who you would never suspect on killing people in their free time. It adds up a bit but I cannot be sure.

The second one is a house that was used as a crime scene location. In the heart of the WB lot they setup a house that exhibited a lot of wealth and eclectic taste. It’s only normal as this case is also connected to an opera?** performer or at least someone who is seen to be performing at the Los Angeles Theater a wonderful old Cinema and grand landmark in DTLA.

**We cannot know for sure of the genre he performs but the taste of his house shows he is into classical pieces so... 

(See the BTS video there I always include bts that I have not posted before and are all Lucifer related)

^The police car and the coronary’s car outside the lot house location. 

First, we need to remember that during a quick ext the cast and crew had to do from the Stages there was also an actress that played a human body. She wore a lot of grey and blue makeup and we can assume she was part of this story. I cannot tell if in 5x07 a body of that kind will make it to our screens but a cemetery will.

The cemetery most probably is though related to the season’s supernatural plot. They filmed at the Rosedale cemetery with several stunts and from the videos you can see that Lesley Ann had a lot of action scenes in this episode. At the same time, DB had twitted to have a lot of scenes with her in that episode. According to what DB revealed the two characters are working together. I would predict that this has to do with whatever Amenadiel is searching for since 5x05.

^In general D.B. has been thrilled with the final season and that pleases me a lot! 

The Rosedale cemetery has several wonderful tombs and crypts which some of them could be used to a similar theme that was used early in the season. Confusing I know but let’s say that in P1 it seems like they are trying to find something, an object perhaps and I wouldn't be surprised if it was either hidden in a cemetery or simply that the object that they are looking for is connected to the serial killer somehow… I mean remember Azrael’s blade… I doubt they will use the same scenario but the divine influence on mortals never ends well.

Now the second location which I mentioned before is the Los Angeles Theater. I do not know if Ellis and German were also in the cemetery but they will be at the Theater along with the opera? singer. There is also some stunts involved so I would keep an eye on someone escaping or at least putting a fight. For all we know this case might also be a bit similar to 3x17 one with Axara.

^The stand-ins taking notes for the scene

^We expect some to happen to that grand staircase oh and there were again a lot of stunts there so :D 

As you can tell the majority of 5x07 as an episode eludes us and there are bts we cannot really explain but we can only speculate about.

For example why Lucifer wears a budge and has a gun? Why now? Is he threatened or Chloe has decided that enough is enough. Perhaps even in order to not endanger her Lucifer might have taken her badge and gun. The possibilities are so many yet a definite answer cannot be given. If we take into account that the title is Our Mojo it can be a million different things. Like the opera? singer has the same captivating effect as Lucifer’s mojo for some reason but not a divine gift. It might have to do something with Charlie or it can be taken completely out of context. All we know is that Lucifer has to be armed so I would speculate this.

I admit I was not the one to notice that but my dear Amy was :P I just did the visuals a bit clearer. 

Let’s assume that Lucifer’s connection to Dan is weakened him and it goes both ways hence why we do not see Dan as much in 5x07 and a permanent solution becomes more urgent. His strength, mojo and overall his capacity to protect himself. Or perhaps he has to pose as Dan but that wouldn’t explain the protection of authority and a gun full of bullets. So we know things are dangerous when Chloe? caves in and hands Lucifer a gun to protect himself or if Lucifer has decided that in order to keep himself safe he has to play with human toys.

What we also cannot totally explain is the green screen *around* the penthouse. After discussing this with some friends we have agreed that it should be a large scale event or something. We do not know when or if Lucifer and Chloe get intimate, if that’s why that green screen is there or if there is a divine consequence that has to be shown through VFX. All we know is that there is something big coming. The last time they had used such a big screen well it was smaller actually was for the Fall nightmare scene of 3x15.

Additional Info

The stunts were rehearsing a fight at the stages but that’s normal for when they have to perform on location. 

Something seems to happen at the precinct and mainly in episode 5x08. Something like a fight 

^Naughty Woman? Perhaps I’m wrong...

The director posted this as a lucifer bts but here is the thing little Charlie as far as the babies used go cannot operate that but with CGI everything is possible. Also, the babies used were shooting for a different show at that time. 

[anotherjobwelldone]

A Trip to the Mall

[I wrote this during s1! So it sorta has that energy, it's pre-ep6, but I figured I'd launch it out of drafts during the hiatus because it's cute lol]

If anybody had announced an angel visitation at the Emerald Square Mall on a random August day, the cameras and busy-bodies (if any showed) would have surely gazed up at the glass-paneled ceiling or waited expectantly in the parking lot. But they would’ve missed the whole event. The angel sat in front of the Cool Kidz Fun Zone playground, next to the JC Penney, eating a whole cheese cup from Auntie Anne’s like a big fruit gusher.

Occasionally, children did point and stare and laugh, but it wasn’t Ariel they were noticing. On either side of the angel, who wore a haphazard bundle of perfectly normal clothes, two young men were arguing pettily about nothing, and both wore loud suits despite their lack of class.

“I saw something scurrying around in there and you know it, what’s wrong with Victoria’s Secret?” This was Lev, who wore a sky blue suit, and looked a little bit like a balloon animal in its folds.

“You’re kidding. You want to go in the bra store, and you want to make us come with you. You’re always right after all, you’re especially right when you want to waste time at the boobie mart when we already know where it is!” Silas pointed at Lev with a half-eaten pretzel, scattering salt onto Ariel’s lap.

“I liked that store,” Ariel said. “I don’t see anything wrong with it!”

Lev rolled his eyes. “Now I don’t wanna go in. Y’know, I thought it might be nice to do something lower-stakes for once, but no, it’s still all about wasting time. Whose time are we wasting here? And maybe I did want to go in there Who could blame me?”

Silas’ nose wrinkled and he let out a light, yet somehow threatening, little laugh. “Okay, Lev. Whatever you say!”

At that moment, Ariel swallowed the remains of a napkin and sat up straight. If they had visible wings, they would’ve jumped. “Hey, look over there!”

A puffy, grey tumbleweed—very hairy and rotund—scrambled up an escalator. Soon it was out of sight, gone onto the next ring of shops one storey above the ground floor. Damningly, the thing had a pink thong stuck in its fur, along with a lollipop and someone’s keys.

“I told you!” Lev shouted, louder than he should have. 

The kids in the play area stopped to look at him. “Mom, what’s wrong with that guy?” one of them asked.

Silas snorted, ignoring everything but the escalator. The sooner they could finish this dumb creature off, the sooner they could get back to meaningful endeavors, which may or may not involve necromancy. But that was Silas’ prerogative, and Lev didn’t need to know.

“I’ve got it,” Ariel called, leaping up the steps. 

Several meters away, the grey ball bowled at top speed through an earring rack in front of Claire's. At the end of the walkway, it bounced off a kiosk like a pinball, obliterating a mannequin. With a set of pointy white teeth, the creature began to gnaw on the mannequin’s arm, looking like a bootleg Pacman.

Customers fled from the creature, some yelling for security. Ariel made a dash for it, but in an instant, the ball glanced up (or presumably glanced, since no eyes could be seen through its fur) and tore off into a Forever 21.

“Dammit.” Lev sighed, a little out of breath. “We gotta corner it.” While they would usually have guns, the mall security would be on their backs in no time; and seeing as the creature was mostly harmless, Lev wanted to catch it without hurting it.

“I wish we could murder it,” Silas said wistfully.

Ariel frowned, starting after the ball. “It’s just a little guy. I like little guys.” Ariel had, at first, also wanted to do violence to the ball. But if there was still any semblance of a celestial Plan for Ariel to follow, Lev’s word was at the center of it, and ought to be followed. If Lev didn’t want to see the beast harmed, it was out of the question.

In the Forever 21, they followed a vague trail of disarray across the sales floor. “Wow Lev, some of this stuff would really fit you,” Silas said, his voice saccharine. He picked up a very bright tropical shirt with a deep collar. He used his powers of suggestion, reaching into Lev’s mind and planting—I dress like a homo.

“No I don’t!” Lev snapped, going pink. Ariel blinked, looking confused, before shrugging and pushing on. Silly Lev was always saying stuff like that.

Lev did not dress like a homo, or that’s what he tried to convince himself. His look was carefully cultivated, it had a cultural resonance, it was fitting and masculine! Didn’t everybody match their hat-band to their pocket square? His look had no bearing on whether he was a fruit. Silas had no idea what he was talking about.

But what if that thought had been his own and not Silas’? It was getting harder to tell these days. For a small moment, Lev wished he could put his own thoughts into Silas’ head, just to give him a taste of how it felt. What could it be like in Silas’ mind… Lev could barely imagine, but he got distracted trying.

“I have an idea,” Ariel said quietly, picking up a big, thick woolen coat from the clearance rack. The ball had rolled into the changing area. Following along, the three of them crept into the row of stalls. A shadow stopped at the end, snuffling softly.

Silas and Lev shared a look, then glanced in the direction of the ball. Unfortunately, they did not actually grasp Ariel’s idea before going into action, Lev trying to tackle the creature and putting his head through a bit of drywall, Silas nearly grabbing it but getting flattened in its wake.

Still, when the ball attempted to escape, Ariel leapt onto it with the coat, quickly zipping it up and creating a lumpy sack. The ball, knowing when it had been caught, went sadly limp.

Lev pulled his head out of the wall, dusting off his hat. “Nice,” he said after a moment. “Now how the fuck are we gonna get it out of here?”

[twdmusicboxmystery]

No Spoilers from the Spoiler Site - Good Thing for TD

Good morning lovely followers! I apologize for not being very active these past few days. It’s just been a rather busy week. But there’s been an absolute flurry of activity in my FB group about the spoilers (or lack thereof) for the MSF. This is REALLY good for TD, guys.

***I will be mentioning Carl spoilers here. I think most people are familiar with them now, but here’s fair warning that I’ll be discussing them.*** So let me start at the beginning. Back after the S7 finale (when we were all super-disappointed that Beth didn’t show up) @thegloriouscollectorlady and I were talking about screeners. Let’s start there, in case anyone doesn’t know how screeners work. (I didn’t either until it was explained to me a while back.)

Screeners are a pre-screening of the episode that is sent out to various news outlets. So sites like Geek.com, TVGuide.com, ComicBook.com, to name a few. They aren’t supposed to leak what’s in the episode (I’m sure they sign a contract to that effect) but they’re allowed to see the episode roughly a week before it airs so they can get their articles together and have them ready to post as soon as the episode airs. AMC gives these media outlet this advantage because it’s good publicity for the show and generates buzz and discussion when the articles get posted. As soon as the episode is over, people are instantly online looking for articles.

We’re reasonably certain that the big spoiler site that shall remain nameless (;D) gets their information from someone who receives a screener. That’s why, for the past few seasons especially, a few days before the episode airs, they get a play-by-play of what happens in the episode. Their source watches the screener, and then sends them information. I personally don’t think the spoiler site sees the actual script or the actual episode. I think their source just sends them a detailed summary. That’s why they often get details wrong. Small things can get misconstrued if the summary is vague.

Okay, hope that’s all clear. Let me know if it isn’t. So back when S7 ended, remember that in the TTD afterward, Gimple said the thing about the first four episodes being “brain melting,” which they kind of weren’t. So when we heard that, and coupled with the sunset at the end of Sasha’s arc, we thought/hoped Beth would show up after episode 4. So I made the comment to @thegloriouscollectorlady “Wouldn’t it be great if they didn’t send out screeners for those first four episodes?”

See, we’ve often discussed tptb trying to hide Beth’s return and that maybe they simply wouldn’t send out the screeners so no one would know.

Now, obviously we were wrong about that. They DID send out screeners (the spoiler site had spoilers) for episodes 1-4 and Beth  didn’t return.

But during the S8 preview show, Gimple said after the first four episodes, things would get “acoustic.” We didn’t know what that meant, but I’m gonna argue that things DID get acoustic. There’s been a TON of music in these past episodes.

So between that, where we are in the narrative (especially with Daryl), and this “shocking moment” they teased so much last week, most of us were very hopeful that we’d see Beth in the MSF.

So here’s a little convo about screeners we had in the group last Sunday:

Once again, we wondered if tptb would try to hide it. And guess what?

Low and behold, on Tuesday, we got confirmation that screeners were NOT sent out for this episode. Geek.com, at least, did not get a screener, which means no one did. And that means the spoiler site won’t have spoilers. That set off a flurry of discussion in our group. Check out this thread, which is just one of several on which we’re discussing this issue. 

Yeah, 81 comments, lol. I guess you can say we’re all pretty excited. And again, this is not by far the only thread we’re discussing this on.

I knew I wanted to post about this two days ago (on Tuesday), but I also wanted to wait because there was some speculation that, even if the spoiler site didn’t know what the “shocking moment” was, they might post some of the spoilers they had. And just because tptb are trying to hide it, doesn’t mean things won’t get leaked. It’s happened before.

So I wanted to wait and see what happened. Yesterday, the spoiler site posted something saying that after careful consideration, they’d decided not to post any spoilers at all for the MSF. They also say it’s not a legal thing and they’ll explain more after the MSF airs.

Guys, this is HUGE! And very good for TD. Mostly because it’s never happened before. We’ve also discussed (and I know I recently answered an Ask about it) whether or not the spoiler site would post spoilers about Beth’s return, even if they had them. The reason we wonder about that is because the site has been so horrible and petty to TD and Beth’s fans. They didn’t like her at all and have always been nasty to us. So we wondered if they would post her return if they knew or try to hide it. We still don’t have an answer to that because we don’t know if they know.

See, them being so secretive boils down to one of two things: 1) either they really have no clue because the screeners didn’t go out. 2) they got the information somehow and know she’s returning, but don’t want to post it because they know they were wrong and they’re gonna get backlash over it.

Those are really the only two scenarios that make sense. If you’ve been on the spoiler site forum or paid attention to what others are saying, they’re trying hard to push the idea that the “shocking moment” will be Carl’s death, which everyone’s been discussing for weeks. I’m here to tell you that it makes no sense for that to be the case.

As I said in my last, TTD post, they’ve never hyped a death this way. They always stay entirely away from deaths so the audience (those that don’t follow spoilers anyway) are surprised. But the other thing is that they usually send out screeners for deaths as well. We had spoilers for Sasha’s death, Denise, Glenn/Abraham, BETH. Just because someone is dying, they usually don’t cover to the point of not sending out screeners. This has to be something else, and bigger than that, for them to withhold the screener.

Plus, even the spoiler site themselves said they don’t think the big death is happening until episode 9. If that’s the case, it can’t have anything to do with the “shocking moment” in episode 8. 

Now they’re saying they think that character will be injured in ep 8 but not die until ep 9. 

Again, based on precedent, that makes no sense at all. They’ve never had a major character get injured in one episode and die in another. This is where half our survival evidence about Beth comes from. If the character is badly injured, but doesn’t die right away (think Carl’s various GSWs, Hershel’s leg, Tara’s head injury in 5b) they always survive. When we have a major character death it always happens all at once in the same episode.

The only possible exception is being bitten. Two characters, Jim in S1 and Bob in S5, were bitten in one episode but didn’t die in that episode. To be fair, neither of them were top-billed characters, and neither was as big a deal as Carl is. But could Carl be bitten? Sure. I know there’s been some speculation about him having been bitten when he was with Siddiq. For the record, I don’t think he was. It’s night time in the promo for episode 8, which means it’s been hours since he fought walkers with Siddiq, and I think he would at least be showing signs of a fever by then. So I personally doubt he’s been bitten.

But let’s say for argument’s sake that he was. So what would be the shocking moment in episode 8 then? To tell us he was bitten? Sure everyone would be surprised and sad, but it’s really not shocking enough to withhold the screener. Especially if he doesn’t actually die in this episode. And even if we do see him be bitten or seriously injured in episode 8…again, why withhold the screener? If Sasha’s death wasn’t shocking enough to keep it out of spoiler sites’ hands, why would an injury WITHOUT a death, be shocking enough? See what I mean?

Guys, I could go on and on and on. I won’t, but this is what my group’s been doing for the past few days: running through every possible argument and scenario to try and figure out what else it could be (besides Beth) and if we shouldn’t be getting our hopes up. Nothing else makes sense. We’re 99% sure the shocking moment isn’t a death, and honestly, what else would be so shocking to the audience? What else would tptb try so hard to hide? We really think we’re going to see her.

So one more thing about the spoiler site and then I’ll shut up. There was one comment made by one of the admins that make us think they know SOMEthing. We don’t have confirmation that they do. Maybe they really know nothing. Either way is good for us.

The comment was that, after the MSF, a lot of people were going to be “eating crow.” For those who don’t know, that’s an English expression that means “humiliation by admitting having been proven wrong after taking a strong position.” Eating “humble pie” is a similar expression.

So again, they’ve been so nasty to TD, we’re thinking maybe, somehow, they do know that Beth is returning, and this “eating crow” refers to them having been so wrong and us being right about her return. Nothing else makes much sense. Even if the Carl spoilers are wrong, no one’s known about them long, and even the spoiler site has always said their unconfirmed, and to take it with a grain of salt. So there’s no reason to shame anyone because no one’s had a super-strong opinion about it. Just conjecture. So why would anyone need to eat crow over that?

So we’ve discussed what they may post after the episode, per their comment that they’ll explain later. I seriously doubt TD will get much of an apology, but you gotta understand how weird it is for them not to post ANYTHING. And that also makes me think they know something.

Even if they didn’t get the screener and don’t have confirmation of what happens, their usual MO is to post what they THINK will happen and just put a disclaimer on it saying it hasn’t been confirmed and so to understand they might be wrong. Why not just do that if they don’t know? Sounds like maybe they DO know, and just don’t want to say.

And the ONLY thing we can’t think of that would make them do that is Beth’s return. People (non-TDers) have suggested all kinds of things, such as Chandler contacting them and asking them not to confirm certain things. (Again, these people are assuming Carl is dying, which I’m no longer totally convinced of.) But the spoiler site has always said that if they have spoilers, they’re posting them. End of story. Like most ruthless reporters, they don’t have much respect or sensitivity for the human element. They just want to be the first ones to report the big story. When John Bernecker died (he was the stunt guy who took a fall during the filming season and tragically passed away) they reported that with as much callousness as anything else. They wouldn’t not report something just to “be nice.”

On the other hand, we know they have an ego and they might not report something if it was going to threaten their reputation. And let me just say my intention here isn’t to slam or insult the spoiler site. I’m just saying that based on past behavior, this is a VERY odd decision on their part.

And of course I’ve gotten questions about whether it could be something else: the return of Heath or Sherry, something with FG or Eugene. Again, I just don’t think so. I know they’ve hyped things before and we’ve been disappointed, but they’ve never withheld the screener before. While any of those things would be big deals, would they be bigger than a major character death? Bigger than Morales’ return? Bigger than a new romance? (We totally got spoilers for Richonne, Ressie, and Carnid’s first kiss.) 

Do we have confirmation that Beth will return? No, we don’t, but we have more hope than we’ve had in the past three years. I would also like to take this moment to point one thing out. One of the first theories TD-ers pinpointed about Beth is that the rule of 3s is used around her. Everything happens in 3s. 8x08 will be exactly 3 seasons from when she was shot. 3 seasons from when we last saw her for real. (We saw her in 5x09 as Ty’s hallucination, but I’m discounting that for now because it wasn’t her in the flesh.) So 8x08 just makes a lot of sense.

So I’ll shut up now, but I encourage you to read what’s being said and just always ask, would that merit not sending out screeners? Because we can really only think of one thing that would.

Everyone have a great Friday! Can’t wait for Sunday. ;D

[yeastofeden]

Guys, both Shiros are the clone.

I’ll just start off hot with some comparison shots. I’ll be using S1Shiro and S3Shiro to differentiate the two.

Both S1Shiro and S3Shiro woke up on the same style operating table. If you watch the scenes in s2e3 and s3e5, you’ll notice a distinct similarity in the environment the two of them woke up in, similar also when compared to the “inactive” clone.

The bewildered looks S3Shiro gives his garla tech arm when he first sees it as compared to S1Shiro’s discomfort.

Headache. Head’s scrambled. If you watch Shiro’s escape scene, he seems to be having trouble seeing as he flees the facility. You get the idea, right?

The series has made a point of Shiro’s multiplicity on several occasions. Pre-kerberos Shiro, S1Shiro, kuro, sven, kuron… I can’t be the only one who has gotten the feeling that the series wants us to question who the real Shiro is. So taking into account the fact that S1Shiro and S3Shiro both have similar environments during their escape as well as reactions to their situation, the writers/directors/creators are trying to get us to make that connection.

We understand that Shiro memories of his time with the Galra are nearly nonexistent, despite the fact that Shiro spent about a year as their captive. He was hailed as the “champion,” implying that Shiro had to have been a servant to the arena for a long enough time to make a name for himself. If you think about it, his success as the champion is likely what encouraged the Galra to start making clones of him in the first place.

Despite Shiro’s vague memories of his time with the Galra, he clearly remembers Matt and Keith, both individuals from his life *pre*-Galra abduction; but he was unable to recall the aliens that he met during his capture. This could suggest a number of things; either Shiro’s DNA and memories were taken after he became champion and Shiro had his memory partially wiped, or they were taken as soon as Shiro came to the galra empire and memories were later implanted. 

That could go either way with S1Shiro, but with S3Shiro there has to have been some later memory implants made. We don’t technically know what Shiro remembers of his time with the paladins except that he absolutely remembers key facts and that the Galra could have information about. The thing about a memory (in reality) is that you don’t normally remember what you’ve forgotten - the void fills itself. There’s no reason Shiro would need to comment on a gap in memory if he doesn’t realize it’s there. Obviously, I shouldn’t need to prove

Here’s my theory on it: S1Shiro is a completed clone. S3Shiro is not. Let’s assume I’m correct:

S1Shiro’s operation was interrupted by an undercover BoM operative, Ulaz, who was presumably involved in the cloning process. Shiro’s hair is trimmed perfectly, much like the “inactive” clone we see in s3e5. It’s likely that Ulaz was aware of the particular procedures involved with the operation and waited until S1Shiro was as close as possible to the end of the operation before freeing him. 

S3Shiro’s operation may or may not have been interrupted, but given the fact that S3Shiro does not have the same trimmed hair as S1Shiro, it seems reasonable to say that Shiro’s operation was not complete or that S3Shiro is a kind of “failed” clone. When S3Shiro escapes, he’s met with adversary, suggesting that he wasn’t supposed to get out. I’d argue that the “inactive” Shiro we see in in this same scene is the Shiro that was meant to be released - another would-be completed clone, perhaps one that would fulfill the duties that S1Shiro was supposed to fulfill before the last portions of the operation were completed.

My guess is that the last step in the cloning process was to some how make S1Shiro a sleeper agent, and that S3Shiro actually saved the teams ass by busting out of the cloning facility before the “inactive” clone could be our next Shiro. 

Lbr, Shiro’s brain was definitely “hacked” somewhere along the road.

There’s more to my thought about why S1Shiro being a clone makes sense, and that has a lot to do with events that occur in s1 and s2 between Shiro, the Black Lion, and Zarkon. There’s a litany of suggestions that have been made about the mind and accessing it. Though there’s a particular irony to what Matt says when taking clones into account, there’s also a thread of truth when applying what Haggar suggests. 

In s1e9, the castle’s system ends up hacked by a Galra crystal, resulting in a number of (take note) *system malfunctions.* The way the episode is set up, however, it perfectly masks Shiro’s encounter as a result of the Galra crystal as possibly part of the malfunctions by applying Sendak to Alfor’s personality and Alfor’s interactions with Allura. But I don’t think that’s what happened to Shiro. Shiro seems to have an actual mental breakdown during this episode, hallucinating that Sendak is moving inside of the pod, and it’s possible that he imagines the voice as well. Sendak makes the connection between himself, Shiro, and the Galra empire. If Shiro is actually having the mental break down, visions and voices, then these are things Shiro knows of himself unconsciously.

I’m proposing that S1Shiro has a mental connection to the Galra empire some how, either through his Galratech arm or his mental status. S3Shiro does not have that same connection. And, on a similar note, I think it’s reasonable to guess that a clone’s mental state would be easier to manipulate than an original’s would be.

If Shiro is connected to the Galra empire, then it makes a lot of sense why Shiro’s connection with the Black Lion is so immediate; and I think it could even be the case that Shiro is connected to Zarkon himself.

Everyone’s lion takes a moment to warm up to their new paladin before accepting them, but the Black Lion responded to S1Shiro immediately. Black possibly senses the connection between Zarkon and Shiro, and responds to that. Conversely, S3Shiro goes through a deep struggle to reconnect to Black, meaning that something had to have been severed in the process of cloning. This is another reason why I’m pretty sure S3Shiro is a “failed” clone; S3Shiro doesn’t have the same connection to Zarkon that S1Shiro had.

In the Space Mall episode, Shiro hangs back to work on his connection with the Black Lion. During that, there is a scene where Shiro goes unconscious and is sucked into a kind of alternate dimension where he battles with Zarkon for an undetermined length of time. 

I think that we, the viewer, may have actually been deceived by Shiro and the other Paladins, i.e. the way the show has written has let us astray. It’s suggested that Shiro spends S1 and S2 battling against Zarkon’s influence over the black lion, but I think that there’s a hidden battle going on. It’s possible that Black is also trying to help Shiro fight off Zarkon’s influence over himself. 

So, where is Shiro now?

I’m definitely not the first to say it, but I’m pretty sure that Keith joining the BoM is going to result in the discovery of the cloning operation maybe as soon as next season. If S1Shiro *is* a clone, and I’m pretty damn sure he is, it’s also likely that Keith is going to discover that the real Shiro is still a Galra prisoner.

As for S1Shiro? You know how I mentioned that I think Shiro and Zakron have an unspoken connection? I’m almost certain that at the end of season two, when the battle comes to an epic conclusion, that he was transported into that same mindscape that he battled Zarkon in, this time located in Zarkon’s mind. It makes sense, seeing as Zarkon also goes out of commission after the battle against Voltron. I dunno’ about you guys, but I’m not convinced RoboZarkon in s4 is the *real* Zarkon, and that S1Shiro is waging war in Zarkon’s mind still.

EDIT: ONE LAST THING ABOUT ULAZ....

I got a really great question that I want to add to this main post so it doesn’t get lost:

INQUIRY But the only question I’ve is if: Ulaz knew, why hasn’t he told anybody and especially not BoM about it? Or do you think they know?

RESPONSE Good question! I can only offer conjecture, naturally, since I don’t? think? there would be any canon evidence leading toward it. So assume any of this could be wrong. 

If Ulaz had the intention of telling Shiro he were a clone at any point, he would have done it right away. The BoM seem to have a pretty direct approach to most things, so there’s no reason to beat around the bush. If Ulaz or the blades felt it was best for S1Shiro to know, they would have told him. And it’s probably not for the best that Shiro knows - every time I’ve seen clones brought up in fiction, it becomes an existential crisis for that character. Shiro’s mission was plainly put when Ulaz and he first met: Shiro was to find the blue lion on earth. Knowing that he’s a clone would just get in the way of that mission. The BoM almost definitely know about the cloning operation - even disregarding the possibility that S1Shiro is the clone, the facility that S1Shiro and S3Shiro woke up in are almost unmistakably the same place. I can’t imagine Ulaz not knowing about the facility S3Shiro wakes up in, and by extension that information has no doubt reached the BoM. Again, I mentioned that I’m pretty sure Keith is going to be a part of uncovering the cloning facility, so this months-long mission that he’s involved in is possibly related to that. Nobody can be sure what S3Shiro’s status is - how much of the operation he went through, whether or not he’s a sleeper agent for the Galra Empire, or even if he’s just a harmless escaped clone. Letting on that they suspect S3Shiro could just tip the dominos against their favor, triggering his operation code or what have you. For now, I’m sure the Blades are just keeping an eye on Shiro. I mentioned that i think S3Shiro is an incomplete clone, so I’m certain he’s harmless, but who knows!!! I’d assume the information is being withheld from the paladins of Voltron in s3-4 for the same reason Ulaz wouldn’t tell S1Shiro that he is a clone when they first met. If the paladins knew, they might start acting differently around Shiro, trusting him less, or flat out behaving adversely toward him. This behaviour would be a deadgiveaway that something is up, and it’s likely S3Shiro would find out through sleuthing. Including the paladins in on this knowledge just adds too many variables the BoM can’t control - and seeing as V:LD is told from the PoV of the paladins, there’s no reason to inform the viewers either. 

FOOTNOTES…

- As any theory I would present, this is not something you have to agree on, nor do you have to agree with every part of it! I just like pointing out oddities and allowing people to consider the possibilities available. I think that there is absolutely a chance I am wrong, but given the initial scenes we were given, I do want to talk about it. 

- Second of all, I absolutely do not mind people sharing their own thoughts on theories and like to respond here and there, but I’m not a particular fan of the “Not My Shiro” mentality, so if you could refrain from approaching me with that in an ask, I’d appreciate it!