#i want to protect this man and to banish his wife from the narrative so that she can't. yknow. plot to KILL HER HUSBAND???

[roboraindrop]

Movie: Here's a story about an old man named George and his young, beautiful wife who cheats on him with this rugged handsome younger man. The movie wants you invested in their romance.

Me, watching the movie: BUT GEORGE......

[bestworstcase]

do you have any thoughts on The Hunter’s Children? when i read it my immediate reaction was “this has to mean strq reunion” (and i have been banging that drum for years now) but i’m curious what you think about it

in general i read fairytales of remnant as an ozpin character study so i tend not to have STRQ at the forefront of my mind (see also: ‘the warrior in the woods’ was not originally about a silver-eyed warrior), and my immediate reaction to the hunter’s children was to look at this:

“No,” said the younger sister. “We need to study the Grimm, so we can figure out better ways to protect against them.” […] The younger sister ventured into the woods near her village and built a structure high on a tree branch from which she could observe Grimm safely. Whenever one came near, she calmed herself enough to avoid its attention while she made careful notes and sketches. But studying the Grimm in this passive state did not provide useful information about their strength and abilities in combat. […] “I was wrong. The best way to learn about the Grimm is by fighting them,” said the younger sister.

and then this:

This is one of my favorite fairy tales, and I include it here not only because its messages still resonate today—perhaps more than ever—but also because the hunter’s four children bear a striking resemblance to the four-student teams at each of our Huntsmen academies. One wonders if the king of Vale had this story in mind when he established them after the Great War.

and then exchange a meaningful glance with the corner of my brain where i just replay WOR: grimm on a continual loop and crack the fuck up. ozma modeled the curriculum of his academies on a story whose overt moral includes "scientific study of the grimm is a waste of time and useless, the right way to learn about them is killing them." and in the end killing is all that matters………

OUR marvelous capacity to learn from the experience of fighting grimm; THEIR perverse form of self-preservation making them more effective killers. salem is the funniest fucking person alive

also considering ozpin says it’s his "favorite fairytale" (and thus probably one he either made up in the first place or has retold often enough to have shaped the traditional narrative) and his CONSTANT PROJECTION,

“Because I hate the Grimm for killing your mother,” the hunter might answer. “And I hate myself for not being there when she died.” Dinner conversation was silent on those nights until one child would ask softly, “Tell us about Mother again.” And soon they would be sharing their favorite memories of her, such as her sharp sense of humor, her beautiful singing voice, and her gentle but firm hand in guiding their combat training.

<- this is about salem. or more specifically, it’s ozma’s grief and remembrance of salem refracted through an allegorical story about a man who couldn’t save his beloved wife from the grimm. (which. lmao.) and well. the lost fable begins with salem humming, and her way of teaching and training cinder is not far off from a twisted "gentle but firm" approach. that’s 2 of 3, and 3 of 3 taking into account her occasional moments of WITHERING DEADPAN SARCASM esp in narration and the "your mother said those words to me"/"hm! her again? :)" attitude she has adopted about these girls’ mother being her general and the "hm! you certainly do enjoy collecting assets!" gently ribbing cinder and the nasty "she thinks… she wants…" bit when she uses her sarcasm for evil. and "perhaps you and i can have a better working relationship :)" LISTEN TO ME. SALEM IS FUNNY. HUMOR IS HOW SHE COPES. OZMA MISSES HER JOKES…

ahem.

that said, rereading the story again i do see where you’re getting the STRQ parallels / reunion foreshadowing because yeah it’s.

younger sister: her semblance suppresses or banishes emotion with waves of "overwhelming calm," she uses it to go… live among the grimm…

younger brother: his semblance lets him hide in plain sight by closing his eyes, but grimm can still sense his presence; he stumbles around "safe" but blind until the younger sister rescues him.

older sister: her semblance leads her toward whatever she needs most, which in the story this turns out to be her younger siblings. she pledges her service to protect the village, but the grimm are so numerous and the villagers so upset that they’re forced to adopt a nomadic lifestyle to stay safe.

older brother: his semblance allows him to create a shared pool of aura between large groups of people connected by a rope; he travels around until he finds a surviving village and becomes their champion until they, too, are overwhelmed and forced to flee.

if summer willingly joined salem, then… yeah all four of these characters map very neatly onto team STRQ.

summer joined salem and learned from her how to tame / command / ally with / otherwise live safely among grimm; she’s the younger sister.

"bravado" is a description that suits tai’s character quite well, and when he’s "alone in the forest"—left by raven and summer and qrow—he winds up lost and blind, depressed, and he’s (emotionally) trapped there still, surrounded by grimm that have overrun vale and patch.

raven’s semblance links her to her family so she can always get to them; there’s some resonance too between the older sister’s leadership of the village and the branwen tribe in that the branwens need to stay on the move because, as bandits, they’re walking grimm bait. and the older sister is left behind, which is… pretty clearly how raven feels toward the rest of her team.

qrow as the older brother on the surface seems like he’s the odd one out but…considered metaphorically, the older brother’s semblance makes him weak when he is alone and strong with the support of a community, which is qrow’s emotional arc exactly; and the older brother also travels the world and (literally) binds people together, which, gestures at qrow telling yang where to find raven and bringing RNJR into the loop and so forth. also the clover pin semblance key change in v8.

…gonna put this one down as another tally in the "tai’s 'assignment' keeping him away from vacuo is summer" column.

[issela-santina]

Götterdämmerung Opernhaus Zürich (Noseda, Homoki) first impressions

for context I stumbled into the same event's Rheingold and Walküre during their back halves and either Mezzo TV skipped Siegfried or I missed it during the weeks I was out, shame

the Norns looked very Targaryen coded for me and this is a narrative with a Targaryen analogue aka Siegfried who to me is like Taylor Swift and Daenerys Targaryen at the same time. I will elaborate later

it's one thing to put on a horse helmet and gallop around and it's another thing to do that and then realise that you forgot your weapon. my ADHD ass felt that

Hagen is a walking gothic spire with that fucking bass to match and he can pin me to the wall with his spear any day

the color coding between the Gibichungs and the lead couple is sending me. Gutrune rocks that shade of red like a diva

Waltraute's eyes scare me more than her account of what happened after Brünnhilde was banished

it pierces me (pun intended) to see Wotan catatonic ngl, not just a how the mighty have fallen trope but it's also that he's got no voice in this finale (congrats Tomasz you can rest now) which scares me because this is a daddy whose issues fucked him so bad that his daughters feel like walking on eggshells waiting for him to speak

the funny thing about giving Gunther a lob while both his sister and Siegfried have one is that Klaus Florian Vogt could just put on the ginger wig and it would still work; instead we have of course the Tarnhelm as a hood (ok this is nice) and then Daniel Schmutzhard coming in with a blank face like an egg ghost from the Korean exorcist drama Sell Your Haunted House possessed the man

why is Hagen surrounded by John Wick variants. why is everyone in black. Wave-Götterdämmerung-Treffen? Goth-erdämmerung? goddamn. I want to join

I am also just enamored in the most childish way whenever somebody wears a robe and it swishes when they move; Hagen and Brünnhilde and Gutrune you all have me in a chokehold

Gunther should have married Siegfried

it gets even more ridiculous because Walküre specifically dealt with twincest and now we have a pair of siblings who consciously don't want to do that and still get their asses bitten because they chose an inbred with a violently protective gf

if I were to explain this opera to people who don't know shit it's “how to exploit the bro code when the inbred boyfriend you godmothered against your daddy's wife's wishes cheats on you with a couple that specifically isn't interested in incest”

maybe Siegfried wouldn't have been too faithful either if he didn't drink that love potion; it stretches the story but it adds intrigue and a bit of realism because honestly, men, but still, runtime, and also, men

Gutrune acting like a coquette for over half the number she spends alone with Siegfried and then shagging him at the end is very fan fiction paced

Camilla Nylund, I love you

the reason I said Siegfried is like Taylor Swift is that both of them are likable especially when you're a white supremacist

Hagen and Brünnhilde make an interesting parallel because both of them have beef with their dads and that beef is just left to rot with only Alberich still alive at the end

the tree trunk has a face on one of its sides, I wonder if it's intentional

camera focus on KFV's hand as he lies lifeless at the bed kinda lost its power when later Siegfried is shown to reanimate again to give the ring to Brünnhilde (her death being shown as him taking her and the horse helmet by the hand to exit stage left is quite cute though)

as with Rheingold the look of the Rhine girls just being in pajamas sharing a bed while the rotating set is almost entirely white registers to me like either The Matrix or an asylum — though because Homoki made the concept really sparse it does let the viewer fill in those blanks in their head

lol @ Hagen's defenestration. lol

[pendragonsclotpole]

it’s because 100% of merlin’s problems are caused by one person and one person only: merlin

what’s that? merlin’s crying about another one of his friend’s dying at the hands of one of camelot’s enemies. oh no, if only some overpowered character in this narrative could potentially wallop these enemies and pulverize them into dust! what’s that? he totally could but refuses to do so because it puts his place next to the love of his life/soulmate in jeopardy? wow, okay, thanks for that gut punch you useless clotpole.

what’s that? merlin’s crying over his best friend possibly marrying the wrong woman? and wait, it’s because said best friend’s wife was secretly enchanted by her sister-in-law and magically coerced to cheat on her husband/his best friend and even after finding out he chose to do nothing and never tell his best friend so said best friend spends episodes in emotional turmoil and heartbreak after banishing the love of his life? and double wait, best friend’s wife is also his best friend and her banishment gets her kidnapped by some neanderthal warlord with no concept of consent? wow, yeah merlin i totally feel bad for you.

what’s that? merlin’s crying over the death of his best friend, king, and soulmate??? wow how horrible it would be if i didn’t know that this was the consequences of his actions set in place three whole seasons ago after mercilessly poisoning his best friend’s sister and never telling her why, and then continuing not to tell her as he thwarted her attempts on their lives, killed her (secretly evil because he never told her the truth) sister, kept her best friend in the split despite actively/knowingly supporting their mentor’s gaslighting of his best friend’s sister for years, and then practically handing that best friend’s sister—oh wait, what merlin and morgana were also friends for two seasons? oh guess we should reword this all—handing the friend he gaslit and betrayed and made his enemy her best, most strongest ally aka mordred on a silver platter, which if we all recall, was a huge mistake once again caused by merlin doing the exact things everybody in the know (and sometimes not in the know) told him not to do: don’t listen to the dragon, don’t believe wholeheartedly in prophecy, don’t treat mordred cruelly, don’t betray him by hypocritically stopping him from doing the same exact thing you’ve done behind your best friend’s back for literal years just because you believe it’s the right thing to do, when it is in fact not because it’s just another instance of you putting your best friend above everyone else.

like come on! at some point in season 5 you as the audience realize that merlin, for all that he claimed to want to save arthur and bring back magic into the land, he was also very much willing to do everything it took to selfishly protect his own secret and never reveal it to arthur. every rewatch i become more convinced that merlin was so obsessed with protecting arthur and prioritizing him above everyone else that there was never any other option. at some point, merlin valued arthur over everything and everyone else. arthur’s safety and emotions were placed above everything else, hell, even more selfishly, merlin placed his relationship to arthur and closeness to the king above everything else.

the young man at the beginning of the series would have been horrified at the level of devotion the man at the end of the series held for arthur. sure arthur was a great man, but he wasn’t always a good man. he had the potential to be, if only merlin gave him the chance to be.

merlin, for me, is so anti-hero coded to arthur’s hero, morgause’s villain, and morgana’s anti-villain. and normally this would mean he’s someone you could instantly love, op, except that merlin kind of wrote himself into that role more than most characters. not to victim blame but like, what about merlin’s victims???

Gods but somebody should help me understand why I hate merlin so much, I truly have no idea, and it's not even hatred, it's apathy, it's indifference to anything happening to him...

And I don't understand, I think it's quite simple, I should move on and forget about the show but Idc about show, I want to understand why I'm so disinterested in a character's plight, I used to love.

For some time I thought it was just me hating all the main characters, but I tried analyse my own feelings and, just no, I don't, I love other of my fav main characters, some of them I love too much even. It's just merlin... And I've no idea how this happened.

here's the thing tho, I love happy Merlin, but I hate when it's well "merlin whump" Ig? Idk man and I'm so confused.

[precambrianhottopic]

TELLME ABOUY YOUR OCSSS PLEASE PELASE PLEASE

HI HELLO HEY THERE!!!! YOU DIDNT SPECIFY WHICH OC YOU WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT SO YOU GET TO HEAR ABOUT ALL OF THEM!!!! (not ALL of them but most of them- also im going to use a lot of terminology from my ocverse and explain none of it!! sorry!!)

two million words about my ocs under the cut

Era 1

Exikas Bloodreed (he/him)- a blood elf scholar and servant to two Tempulsars. He was the first to figure out that Thrae was doomed to destroy itself and died trying (and failing) to stop it. I like to call him Mister Hubris!!

Era 2

Evie (she/her)- Human paladin, I wrote her character because i thought the concept of a guy finding a legendary sword that no man could wield, being able to wield it, and just going "oh fuck i guess im trans now". She ends up sacrificing herself to save her valley from a blight.

Callister (he/him)- Fellow paladin and Evie's closest friend. He's like the fantasy version of that one dude who brings his guitar everywhere, if that guy had a huge sword.

Joseph Anderglow (he/him)- Noble heir turned gunslinging mercenary, left his wife to go on this adventure and also because he did not love her and still feels really guilty about it. Callister's future husband.

Era 3 (i have SO many characters for this era but youre only hearing about a few of them)

Gwynlais, The Frozen Prince (he/him)- first son of Kantomere ( and the only son of Gelfia, removed from the Draconic Homeland at an early age and grew up apart from his brothers. Arguably the rightful heir to the draconic throne. Really sweet, spent his life learning about the world.

Throxen, The Fern Prince (he/him)- the middle brother, son of Kantomere and Langalia, currently in line to inherit the throne. A fierce fighter and honorable dragon.

Elsewynd, Prince of Clouds (he/him)- the youngest of the three brothers and Grand Archivist of Drakenspiel. Awkward, flamboyant, and excitable.

Gelfia, The Starlit Despot (she/her)- Kantomere's former mate, a vicious and power-hungry dragon. She was banished for killing Hulamino's (Kantomere's brother) mate and son, and is currently at war with Drakenspiel because she wants Gwynlais to ascend to the throne.

Kantomere, King of Storms (he/him)- Draconic King. A strong, stoic, and fair leader, he still harbors guilt for what Gelfia did.

Era 4

Topher (they/them)- mostly-human, runs a small store in Star Creek during the summers and is one of the only humans allowed to stay there. Bitten by an angel last year, currently fighting off that infection. Anxious but friendly.

The Wizard (he/him)- half-woodfolk, protector of Star Creek and a powerful potionsmith. Created the magical protections surrounding Star Creek, removed its old, corrupt leader from power, and procMute. Aloof and eccentric. Topher's boyfriend.

Alice (she/it)- ex-journalist, fully converted angel. Got bitten by an angel while writing a piece on a nearby town overrun by an angelic infestation and REALLY leaned into the whole "Angel of Death" thing after the fact. Aggressive, violent, and fiercely protective.

Era 5 (this is my favorite era!! im telling you about all the characters i made up for it!! some of the descriptions are real short though)

Lucinder Aldebaran (she/her)- Shapeshifting Commander of DAWNBREAKER, a diplomat, former Creation Guardian, and master strategist. I wrote a whole thing about her a little while back and you can find that here.

Olivia Morcan (she/her)- Darksteel elf and leader of the Creation Guard. Tormented by all the people she let die and desperate to sacrifice herself. World's first childless female absentee father. Lucinder's former rival, they fuck sometimes. I love her so much.

Figus Summerpelt (he/they)- Woodfolk, Lucinder's childhood friend. Pretty much stays out of DAWNBREAKER and lives with his partner in a small cottage at the edge of The Hollow. Calm, wise historian.

Calyphonicus Blister (he/him)- Transgender. Half-Jackal. Doomed by the narrative. Flying too close to the sun. What CAN'T he do. Leader of project CATALYST, feels woefully unqualified for his job and is permanently and horribly overworked.

Thorn (they/them)- skeleton, DAWNBREAKER's airspace commander. Nonbinary because they've been dead for so long they forgot they had a gender. Watched their entire friend group become "boring" and is terrified of the same thing happening to them.

DAWNBREAKER's coolest undead (thorn's former friend group, I'm lumping them all together because I can) Xelia (she/her) vampire slut and professional Hot Woman, Hawk (he/him) chill stoner zombie dude, and Ambrosius West (he/she) angel from the moon and Hawk's boyfriend.

OKAY!! I THINK THAT'S ALL OF THEM!! I missed a few, but I don't have much characterization done for any of them so its fiiiine also i think ive maybe written enough about my ocs. for now.

[danwhobrowses]

Is Zuko the Best Redemption Arc Ever?

Now, I love ATLA and the character build of Zuko is great, I am not doubting that. But given my experience watching many other shows, I get to the point where I wonder why many fans cite Zuko as the template for a redemption Arc Because there are other great redemption stories out there. Spoilers Are Gonna Be Below For Some Shows, be Careful

The Art of Zuko’s Redemption

I have to repeat, Zuko’s redemption is brilliant. I believe this is mainly because the show slowly humanized him throughout the story as a parallel to Aang’s adventure. Zuko was never just ‘the villain’, he was the other side to Aang’s coin; where Aang seemed to avoid destiny Zuko coveted his desperately, his ‘honour’ had to be restored. Even through Book 1 we are provided with characters like Zhao who undermine Zuko in a way that made the audience root for the banished prince, we learned that his villainy was bred from tragedy and that in reality he was a victim. By Book 2 we saw Zuko try to avoid the life he strived for when Aang pushed further to complete his destiny, ‘Zuko Alone’ also fleshed him out more, showing how his heart is good but his image casts too large of a shadow to escape, he helped those Earth Nation villagers but they still rejected him. The perception that came with his appearance was key to Azula being able to lure him back to his old ways, but in Book 3 we learn the important part of Zuko’s redemption - Regret. Zuko suffered confusion in Book 2 that led to a fever, but in Book 3 his mind was clear, he got what he wanted but it wasn’t what he needed, because he had learned more when banished than he ever did at home and his morality was still intact. After deciding to follow through with his instincts and leave on his own volition Zuko found better fulfillment working with Aang than against him, being willing to die for a vision of a better world. As a whole this is a great redemption, endeared by the fact that we saw Zuko grow, falter and learn. But, has redemption been done better by others? Darth Vader

ATLA stands strong on its own, but it owes a lot to Star Wars. Many narrative beats match the original trilogy and the role of Zuko is partly inspired by Darth Vader. Through expanded storytelling over the last 42 years, we know that Vader too was a victim of tragedy; the slave who had to leave his mother behind, talented but always the outcast, his love was a notion his mentors rejected and so he was in constant conflict with himself. But, Vader committed atrocities that are beyond ATLA’s rating level; unprejudiced slaughter, genocide and a library of war crimes. And yet, Vader has a background redemption arc that is highly celebrated, Vader was considered ‘too far gone’ but the very thing that made him susceptible to the dark is what brought him to the light, his love. Redemption isn’t always clean either, Vader went through continual torment, even admitting to Luke that he could not go back to that way and he had accepted himself as merely a monstrous pawn of the Emperor (with deep impulses to overthrow him), instead Vader chooses to cut the head off the snake, at risk of his own life. What completed Vader’s redemption was the fact that he didn’t survive, he atones but isn’t forgiven. Van Hohenheim

A similar arc is found in Fullmetal Alchemist (in the anime it’s the Brotherhood one) with Ed’s estranged father. From the perspective we’re given of him by the main character he was a cold and neglectful man. It’s only later after we discover that Hohenheim and the villainous doppelganger Father are not the same do we discover that there is more to Hohenheim than what we are told. The flashback of Xerxes unveils all to realise that Hohenheim again was a victim of tragedy, a slave and lone survivor of genocide, ‘gifted’ with near immortality by a creature he considered a friend and a teacher. Hohenheim’s redemption turns out to be a slow burner, his love for his family being the reason he distanced himself, he accepted odium from his eldest son in order to save him and the entire country from Father’s ploy, never expecting forgiveness and regretting every moment he was away. Like Vader, Hohenheim dies but it’s much more peaceful, his redemption was a story of perception and sacrifice, in the end, Hohenheim clinged to his humanity and it’s key to his victory over the Homunculus that deemed itself superior. So now we have 2 characters, born out of tragedy like Zuko but were redeemed in different ways. Currently we can suggest that Zuko’s redemption still has a loose template; character is misidentified by the audience, toils over doing what’s right and was a victim of tragedy at his youth. But there is another redemption story that is a little different. Himura Kenshin

Probably the core argument I have with ‘Zuko has the best redemption’ arc is the main character of Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X. While there are some similar beats, Kenshin’s journey is a lot different to Zuko’s, his redemption arc is the main point of the story. When we meet Kenshin, he’s lighthearted, kind and a little goofy, you would not expect this young man to be Battousai the Manslayer, an assassin for the Ishin Shishi during the end point of the Edo Period, and that’s because it isn’t. The Battousai was the monster deep within him born from bloodshed and a war he willingly entered, unlike the other 3 who were forced or manipulated into downfall. Kenshin’s road to redemption begins with tragedy with the death of his wife Tomoe accidentally by his own hands, having previously murdered her initial fiance (something he learned after her death) during his time as an assassin, it is the pivotal moment when Kenshin turns his back on the life he lived, opting to become a peaceful protector rather than a bloody assassin. What makes Kenshin’s redemption so great is how he’s constantly having his redemption challenged, his notoriety had invited strong and vicious people to try and bring out the Battousai within him for hopes of glory, but each time Kenshin overcomes it and still manages to remain the Rurouni - a lot of the time with the help of his friends - he wished to be. Even when he willingly goes back into the warzone to fight Shishio he manages to return with his soul intact and rediscovering his own will to live, something he had rejected because he felt unworthy of it. Depending on whether you watched the anime or manga, Kenshin’s redemption ends two ways; in the anime’s OVA ‘Reflection’ he dies of disease returning to Kaoru after helping protect people from the Sino-Japanese War his X-shaped scar faded as his repentance comes to an end. The canon manga ending has Kenshin come to full terms with his past and live an actual life with Kaoru.  Personally, I prefer Kenshin’s journey to Zuko’s, although Zuko’s got a strong story of admitting fault after undoing progress Kenshin regained all his humanity and in the end earned a life he would’ve never even dreamed of. But that’s a subjective view. Conclusion Compared to Zuko, there are other great redemption stories out there, some even I haven’t seen yet and thus haven’t cited, or some I have seen but didn’t cite because I didn’t want this to be too long (Stitch and until the next book comes out, Book!Jamie Lannister). However through these stories it’s clear that there is no true ‘template’ to a redemption story, the art of the redemption depends on how far the redeemed has fallen and what they do to be redeemed. So, is Zuko the best redemption arc Ever? Not for me, but it’s a mighty good one, and it would be a disservice to other great redemption arcs to not spotlight them as well.

[outside-seoul]

Game of Thrones, 8.4

In case you had any doubts, I am incapable of shutting up about Jaime and Brienne.

Their pairing is as epic and elemental as storytelling has to offer. They were inevitable--the handsome rich boy met his match in the strong, hardworking girl, and sparks flew. It’s a tale as old as time. But the chemistry between Jaime and Brienne isn’t only visible to consumers of narrative like us. People in the story can’t miss it, either. Cersei, Vonn, and (tragically) Tormund all saw it without being told.

At this point in the show, Jaime and Brienne have been through a lot together. They’ve been enemies and allies, criticizers and conspirators. But it’s not until the celebration of the Battle of Winterfell that we really see them as friends just being together. 

Usually you have to be watching a Korean drama to see a hand touch as significant as the one that happens in this episode. Brienne puts a hand over her cup as Jaime tries to pour her wine, but he won’t have it. He reaches out and covers her hand with his own for a long moment--there’s no shyness or uncertainty here, just tenderness. It’s a simple physical touch that means something to both characters in a way Western entertainment rarely seems to imagine.

Finally, Jaime pulls Brienne’s hand away from her cup and says, “If this isn’t the time to drink, when is?” She smiles in response, an unguarded expression that doesn’t seem quite at home on her face. For possibly the first time ever, Jaime and Brienne make real, true eye contact as they sit across the table at the feast. Neither of them can quite manage to look away, even as they toast and drink.

Brienne’s face is colorful with bruises in this scene, which reminds me of a riddle I once heard. You arrive in a town with two barbers--one who’s sloppy with a terrible haircut, and one who’s impeccably groomed with an amazing haircut. If you yourself want to look good, you’re supposed to go to the sloppy barber--he’s the one who cut the other guy’s hair. In this scenario, Brienne is the sloppy barber. She’s a skilled swordswoman who took up the slack to protect her one-handed boyfriend in a fight, and her face shows how hard that was.

In the festivities that follow, Jaime and Brienne are finally relaxed and safe, and it’s increasingly obvious that they’re becoming a couple right before our eyes. “You have danced with Renley Baratheon,” Jamie says, and there’s betrayal in Brienne’s eyes when she looks at Pod. We know that she told Pod that story once, and now we know that Pod and Jaime talked about Brienne when she wasn’t around.

Tyrion, the only person who might ship Brienne and Jaime more than I do, decides to move the evolution of their relationship along. He quirks an eyebrow at Brienne as he takes a drink, then starts talking about the status of her virginity. (Which is, admittedly, a major dick move.)

I’ve read that some people don’t like what happens next, but I think it’s perfect. Brienne stands up and announces in a loud voice, “I have to piss.” This works for me both because that’s what drinking does to you, and also because it’s just the sort of thing a woman would say when she’s going out of her way not to be seen as a woman.

Unlike lone-wolf Arya, Brienne is a team player. She’s spent her adult life surrounded by soldiers, rough men who measure their worth in blood. To blend in with that crowd, she’s learned to minimize her femininity, behaving like one of the guys. So when she’s confronted with this somewhat embarrassing fact about herself as a sexual being, as a woman, she makes it clear to everyone around her that she’s not some swooning lady. She’s a rude, crude, dangerous solider. (Who was until just recently making heart eyes at her dream man.)

All this lasts until potty-mouthed Tormund shows up, at which point Brienne turns back into her chilly, aloof self. Brienne wants to keep Tormund at a distance--she’s not interested in being accessible to him. So instead of earthy soliderisms, her response is queen’s English. “Please pardon me for a moment,” she says, stepping around him. 

Tormund starts to follow her, but Jaime stands in his way. The rueful look Jaime gives him is worth about a million words: She’s mine, it says. You never even had a chance. As Brienne leaves the room, she looks back to see that Jaime is following her. She quickens her pace; he does, too.

In Brienne’s room, we see some of old Jaime. He’s disdainful of the north and almost looking for a fight with Brienne--"How about Tormund Giantsbane? Has he grown on you?” Jaime asks, his tone suggestive, his posture aggressive. 

Brienne has been drinking all night, but I think it’s Jaime who’s really drunk in this scene. Knowing what I know now, it seems like there are two things at play here. First of all, Jaime is afraid and uncertain about what it means to love Brienne. The buzz gives him the bravery he needs to move toward her. But deeper than that, his association with her has made Jaime see himself as he really is--as a flawed man who’s done terrible things, a man who probably isn’t worthy of her love. As he drinks, he forgets that being with him will sully her.

The eye contact in this scene is the most sexually explicit thing that’s ever been on my television set. It’s a miracle that the entire planet didn’t spontaneously combust when it was being filmed--Jaime looks at Brienne like a starving man would look at a thousand banquets.

When Jaime struggles to open his shirt, Brienne’s caregiving instincts kick in. She does it for him, and when she finally pulls his shirt off altogether, the scene looks like something that might happen between a mother and a child. Jaime raises his arms straight above his head, and she patiently tugs his shirt over his head. Even beyond desire, there’s trust in that moment.

And it’s a good thing the production crew threw us this bone, because from the kiss on, the relationship between Jaime and Brienne has changed, and not for the better. Afterwards, they settle into a domestic routine that involves sharing one bed. But while Brienne sleeps, Jaime watches her from the other side of that bed and broods. Is it because making love to her was a failed attempt to banish his demons? Is it because he loves Brienne and fears for her future in a world that’s so violent and awful? Is it because he wants to go home to his sister/wife?

Alas, by the end of this episode, we still don’t know what’s going on with Jaime. All we know is that in the middle of the night, he saddles up his horse, and prepares to leave Winterfell without even saying goodbye to Brienne. No matter what has happened to Brienne up to this point, she’s remained in control. If this show actually were the romance novel I wish it was, she would definitely be described as “haughty,” that most obnoxious of adjectives. But when she realizes Jaime will really leave her, Brienne falls apart. “You’re not like you’re sister. You’re not,” she says. “You’re better than she is. You’re a good man and you can’t save her.”

Cersei is what caused Jaime to leave Brienne. But I don’t think it’s because he wants to return to her as a lover--it’s because he feels obligated to save her or at least die with her, as Brienne acknowledges during their confrontation. “She’s hateful,” says a broken Jaime. “And so am I.”

Jaime has failed Cersei before. She suffered in prison and was humiliated by the high sparrow, all when he was powerless to help her. That hurt him, and it’s probably part of the reason he wants to leave. But could he be going to King’s Landing to offer Cesei another way out--to pour her a glass of poison, the same way he did Lady Olena? A painless death with dignity could be his final gift to Cersei.

For Brienne, this moment is excruciating. She fostered Jaime through so much, and she hoped they had finally arrived at a place where he was free to love her. But all her work building him into a better man seems at this moment to be for nothing--Jaime hates himself for what he’s done wrong, and he can’t allow himself to be happy. So off he rides into the dark night, leaving Brienne sobbing.

 Other thoughts

*One podcast I listened to correctly pointed out that it’s unfortunate that Sansa seems to consider repeated rape and physical and emotional abuse a valuable character-building experience. But that same attitude comes up again and again in this show, especially when Bran is involved. With both Theon and Jaime, Bran makes it clear that his horrible past was simply a way to his meaningful present--not something to be regretted or apologized for.

* In spite of Pod supposedly wowing some sex workers with his magic cock, he clearly drinks when Tyrion says “You’re a virgin” during their drinking game.

[runephoenix6769]

There is an entirely possible other (perfectly logical) reading of this line.  And that is, its Ozai that's about to be banished/discarded/ (whatever form that takes.) and have his head shaved/ topknot chopped off, outwardly signalling his dishonour.  And Ozai reacts to it. Hear me out.   Usually with Royal families there's a bunch of importance put on line succession and securement of such, its still bandied around to this day, the saying of  “an heir and a spare” Now you’d think it would make sense to keep the heir at home and send the spare off to the dangers of war, but historically, that isn't the case, cause ya don’t want the ‘spare’’ gaining popularity/ currying favour with the military, esp when youre relying on the military as the strong arm and protection of the King.  (History is smattered with Kings/Emperors/rulers who’ve nerfed Generals who were a little too popular among the men, and plenty of rulers have been permanently separated from their heads by said Generals. There's a reason why plenty of old timey kings were paranoid to fuck.) Importantly, the Fire Nation is in war time and is a meritocracy. Historically, the battlefield was the place were an heir apparent showed their judgement and leadership skills and fostered the loyalty of their men. You want, no need, the military to respect the future king and show him fealty. In fact, you were seen as a coward among the ruling elite if ya didn't ride out to war with your men. Picking up a sword, getting into the thick of it lopping people’s heads off gave ya added Kudos.  So it makes sense that Iroh would be sent on a military campaign, namely Ba Sing Sa, as a rite of passage, prove himself etc etc (no pressure) and secure his future. His success would show that the spirits shine upon him, (mandate of heaven, if we are pulling from Eastern Philosophies) and all that jazz. Now, we know that Ozai was kept at court. (its interesting that in any of his later titles, no titles are mentioned that would suggest he was a successful member of the military and being he's a glory hog ,so we can safely assume that he probably has none under his belt. It would certainly explain his later eagerness to be seen as the man who single handedly burned/conquered the world: after his daughter did most of the leg work ie: how he benched her at the last minute but that's a different post.) Id hazard a guess that after Ozai was sent after the avatar, in a bid to humble him, and failed (again another post), that he was being groomed into an advisory role to support his brother’s rule. (Narratively speaking -- never trust a Grand Visser. Lookit Long Feng.) Whilst Iroh studied the blade, Ozai was sharpening his wits learning how to navigate the muddy waters at court, state matters, political finagling and the subtle art of manipulation, whilst also relying on fear and intimidation of those he has direct power over. For all intents and purposes, he’s a chess playing bureaucrat.  We are shown multiple times throughout the show how Ozai utilizes these skills starting with his wife and children, (fear and intimidation, manipulation) then openly trying to take advantage of the situation during a time of grief. (manipulation.) I also wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t above blackmail, extortion, cohersion, and we know for a fact he's not above political assassination/removal of those deemed in his way, I mean, you aint gonna be swinging for the Fire Lord straight out the murder starting gate is all I'm saying.  Basically, I don’t think Ozai ever proved himself a leader via the usual channels, cause that was never his future, no matter how much he hungers for it. His future was to get his hands dirty in a way an Fire Lord can’t be seen doing, and weeding out those who may pose a threat to the state etc etc.  But when he approaches his father, Azulon, he shows his true colours and desires, and therefore implicates himself as the biggest threat to the throne, this honorless mf is willing to stab his grieving brother in the back whilst trampling on the still warm corpse of his nephew. And Azulon rightly calls him out on his traitorous bs.  Yeah, Iroh is grieving and he’s lost his son and heir, but Azulon.... he’s lost one of five potential heirs, leaving - in order:  Iroh Ozai Zuko Azula One has shown himself to be a leader and liked by his men One has shown he’s an honorless cur and can’t be trusted One is a child who is growing up to be compassionate And the last is a child whose a Fire Bending prodigy 

 What is stopping Iroh from getting remarried and having another child? Once a respectful amount of time has passed, Azulon can demand any woman of pedigree into the bed chamber. It’s not like it hasn't been done before *side eyes Ursa. If Iroh refuses, then c'est la vie, there's two royal bloodline children knocking around. Children can be molded, n there’s plenty of time for that being Azulon has a few good years in him and Iroh has his reign ahead of him.  By the time these kids have reached their late 20′s perhaps 30′s, they’ll be ready? If anything, Azulon doesnt need a snake like Ozai. In fact, this smarmy upstart needs to be taught a lesson. Say, i dunno, banishment to ember island, imprisonment, removal of his children from his care?  And now Ozai realises he's fucked up big time. There’s a small window of opportunity. He has to act fast if he wants to secure his place in the line of succession. Iroh has abandoned his men, does that mean he’s returning home? “Nobody knows what he and Azulon discussed, yeah, lets remove him and pretend that his dying wish was that I am next in line. “ Iroh is too honorable to contest it, or attempt a ‘coup’ n risk a civil war at such an important juncture during the wider world war. He wouldn’t risk the nation like that. Why didn’t Ozai kill Azulon himself? Murder would look suspicious, n no way is a now hyper aware/suspicious Azulon leaving himself open to attack. Ozai needs to get someone on his side who can get close to the Fire Lord without raising suspicion.  Ursa, whose a really good botanist and understands poisons, who loathes Ozai and Azulon would never suspect? The mother to the next in line to the throne. He will let her get close, perhaps share a spot of tea “But how do I get her onside? Lets tell her, Azulon is a threat to her favourite child, Zuko. Shes gotta help me or I’ll kill Zuko -- on dad’s orders.”   He then sets about shoring up his throne and eliminating any threats to it. With that in mind: It suddenly makes all the more sense why Ozai banishes Ursa immediately after. She’s the only one he’s genuinely afraid of. She can poison him at any given moment, make it look like a natural death, and put one of her kids on the throne. Get her the fuck out of the palace, pronto. But you don’t kill a great asset, in case you need their expertise later down the line. AND she's a great carrot to dangle in front of an unruly prince or princess who may get too big for their breeches, if the gaslighting stops working. 

Ozai then takes the first opportunity to banish Zuko -- a little too much like his mother/iroh.  He sends his son on a mission of folly. Sozin, Azulon, Iroh and Ozai all looked for and failed to find the Avatar. Ozai is probably of the mind, “If I can’t find the Avatar, then no one can.”  He literally sets his son an impossible task, from which he shall never return. Keep him occupied, discredit him, make it so the army and navy view him with derision and will never band behind him. No military accomplishments to speak of. The only men he has are a rag tag crew of sailors with no political connections or power. He’s thrown into the hostile world, where he will find no quarter or rest.  And Azula, well Ozai has always had his claws into her. She is a stiletto in the night, a weapon. Gaslight, gatekeep and hold her brother’s punishment over her head.  Phew, that got long.  P.S I also think Ozai is insecure about his lack of military accomplishments. 

This flashback in ATLA, Azulon becoming enraged with Ozai for disrespecting Iroh and the recently deceased Lu Ten, is usually interpreted as Azulon then ordering Ozai to kill Zuko. I disagree with this for two reasons. 1: We don’t actually hear Azulon say that, it’s only referred to by Azula (who was around seven or eight at the time and might have misunderstood what she heard) and by Ozai, years later, when he is taunting Zuko on the Day of Black Sun. Neither Azula nor Ozai are reliable narrators. 2: Azulon is, at the time of this flashback, the ruler of the Fire Nation who has just lost one of his only two grandsons and heirs. What kind of monarch loses one heir and then turns around and demands the death of another, especially when losing Zuko would hardly bother Ozai? My interpretation of this situation is Azulon ordered Ozai to give Zuko into Iroh’s care, replacing Lu Ten as Iroh’s heir, neatly removing any argument Ozai had about Iroh’s line having ended. Ozai of course would never accept this. He either lied to Ursa, claiming Azulon wished Zuko dead, or outright told his wife he’d kill Zuko before seeing him get ahead of him in the line of succession, thus manipulating Ursa to help him assassinate Azulon. I think this theory makes far more logical sense than ‘Azulon ordered the murder of his nine-year-old grandson’.

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT Rewatch 4X11 - Heroes and Villains

Wow, now that the Frozen Arc’s complete, all I can say is...HAT’S ALL FOLKS!

Don’t leave, Belle! There’s a lovely review just under it! XD

Main Takeaways

Past

I’m of a mixed mind about this flashback. On one hand, it provides some nice setup for the Queens of Darkness and provides a good plot reason for Belle to find the real dagger in the present line. In short, it connects to Belle’s character. Not only, that, but narratively, it works, it’s as long as it needs to be, and it sets up the counterpoint of Belle feeling betrayed well enough. It’s a solid as hell segment.

That said, given what happens in the present, I’m not sure this flashback is what the episode necessarily needed. And I feel bad about this because Belle gets so few episodes that focus on her and the ones she’s had haven’t really worked for me, so I don’t want to put down another one (especially when it’s pretty freakin’ solid as far as episodes go).

But, my mind goes back to (or rather forward to) the scene at the town line and the emotions we’re supposed to be feeling. And I just can’t help but feel like for that scene to be complete, something akin to seeing Rumple suffer under the dagger’s power would’ve been so much more appropriate here because it really paints how Rumple could’ve fallen so quickly from his Season 3 heroism without forcing the audience to bend over backwards to create theories to explain the change. Hell, given that Zelena comes back in the next half, having a Zelena flashback would’ve worked as foreshadowing for her return AND an establishment of just why Rumple’s so gung ho about his plan and the lengths he goes to to achieve it. And because of that, I can’t help but have a twinge of resentment towards this flashback because of that. We get a good enough introduction for the Queens of Darkness in the next episode and Belle surely could’ve found out about the dagger situation  through other means (Maybe when Henry knocks stuff down, it destroys the fake dagger and Belle then breaks into Rumple’s safe to find the real one?), but this was really Rumple’s last chance to flesh his motivations out in a way that narratively struck a chord. While I’ve pointed out glimpses of these motivations before, that’s just it: they were only glimpses. For a character like Rumple and for something that drives his character’s motivation for half a season in such a sharp twist to his character’s moral trajectory just a half season before, they really needed to do more than just glimpses here and there. And in this episode, the one where it should have the most focus, we only get a sentence discussing it. That’s not good enough.

Present

Like in “Family Business,’ the most interesting part of this episode can really be boiled down to a single moment, and that’s Belle banishing Rumple from Storybrooke with the dagger. It’s the most memorable part of the episode and if you’re reading this review, this is what you want me to get into. So here goes nothing!

Before I get into my feelings about Belle’s decision itself, I want to touch briefly on the moment from a storytelling perspective. But before that, because i’m gonna be a little negative here, I want to say that I do like this scene in a lot of ways. This is some of Emiliee de Ravin’s best acting on the show and the scene nails its tone, Additionally, as someone who likes Killian, this scene has one hell of a catharsis value after seeing him pushed around by Rumple for these past few episodes.

That said, I think that this scene is kind of messy.

It is framed as one that is tragic for Rumple and a tough, but necessary choice for Belle to make, and while the element of tragedy is present, the two parts lack potency. First, let’s go into Rumple’s share of the scene. Simply put, with everything Rumple has done and the real lack of focus on his motivations for going as dark as he did during this half season, I don’t feel sorry for him in the way the episode wants me to. This is something Rumple deserves for eleven episodes of lying, manipulation, kidnapping, and attempted murder and no amount of Robert Carlyle blubbering (Despite how good he is at it) is gonna make me change my mind about that. Additionally, Rumple’s lines are just not sympathetic. If they didn’t want to make this a sympathetic moment for Rumple, that would be one thing, but the music paints this as something tragic, even after Belle is out of Rumple’s sight. They want us to feel for Rumple to some extent, but he’s not talking about his weakness after losing Bae and his freedom for a year. He’s talking about how he wants his power and how they can have it all, and it doesn’t make this a complicated situation, but instead pushes the morality in this scene overwhelmingly in Belle’s favor.

And speaking of Belle, I wish that instead of going for a twist where Belle surprisingly stopped Rumple, that she had a bit of time to process the lie. I say this because Belle is very dramatic at the town line and while the buildup is good enough, Belle should get more focus beforehand as she discovers what Rumple’s really been up to as to really emphasize just how much he’s hurt her by lying to her so much. Her words in this scene are so powerful and speak of this moment as one of culmination as she realizes all of his sins, but the lack of focus on her in the present doesn’t set up the gravitas that’s needed to give birth to these words. He told a few big lies and the audience feels the weight of these lies because we spent eleven episodes seeing him lie, but Belle has seen that Rumple gave her a fake dagger and that Rumple was about to kill Killian. The first bit -- the most important one by the way the text is written -- happens off screen and the latter is presented as a twist, but is otherwise basically ignored by the scene, and that’s not even counting Rumple’s other lies. Do you see what I mean here? The heart of this banishing scene happened off screen and because of that, for all this scene’s gravitas, it feels a little narratively hollow.

Okay, now how do I feel about the banishing itself?

I think you’ve gleamed it by now, but I do agree with Belle’s decision. Granted, her scope of information is small unless in the intervening time, she learned about Rumple’s inaction during the casting of The Shattered Sight curse, but Belle does know Rumple is a threat. He lied about giving her the real dagger, nearly killed a man, and literally tried to take over the world (I’m gonna say she was able to piece that together). And not only that, but when given the chance to explain himself, he defaults to excuses. Belle was protecting everyone through this decision and herself too, and I can’t find fault in it.

Stream of Consciousness

-Okay, so is the king of the Southern Isles really okay with all of his thirteen children running off to go face a Snow Queen? Like, send a few, but ALL of them?! Like, isn’t he afraid of losing all of his heirs to a woman that his son most likely described as dangerous and mad?

-”I wanted to see how the mouse would play while the cat was away, so I lied.” Rumple is such a douche in this segment and I’m all here for it! XD

-”It’s time for you to see the world.” Welllllll, not just yet.

-Robin, your wife just came out of basically a coma. BE HAPPY ABOUT THAT. Seriously, CRACK A SMILE. Love who you love, but seriously, Robin acts like he HATES Marian in this scene. And it really sucks! Marian -- whether you love her or not, Robin, is the mother of your child. How can you not even be a little happy that she’s alive? It really does a disgusting job of painting Robin.

-I know the actress didn’t know she was actually Zelena at the time, but Christie Lang does such a job playing this scene with Regina at Granny’s so sympathetically and I just can’t help but imagine Zelena internally holding back laughter because of how she’s going to twist the knife when she fakes her side effects so that she and Robin have to leave town! XD

-”I want to be chosen.” Wow, Rumple’s right: When you can see the future, there’s really irony everywhere.

-”In the next life, things won’t be so pleasant for you.” ...Wow, Rumple’s right: When you can see the future, there’s really irony everywhere. XD Like SERIOUSLY! HOW DID THEY KNOW?!

-”He [Merlin] brought the Snow Queen from Arendelle to this world, which means his magic is strong enough to move between that world and ours.” It’s interesting how Merlin (And possibly The Apprentice) can move between realms and a reason why I understand why Merlin needed to ultimately die (Basically, he’s OP, but we’ll touch on that in Season 5).

-”So, I figured it out, why you collect so many magical objects. It’s because you have a hole in your heart.” ABC, I’m in this line and I don’t like it! XD

-I really like that we get a Belle and Henry scene! When this episode first aired, I was so surprised by its presence and I just adored the scene simply for having a dynamic like this. And together, they’re charming and cute! Honestly, given how Henry becomes the author later on, I’d have loved to see the two of them interact more as an author and a book fanatic! That said, this scene also goes to show how fucking pointless it was for Henry to work at Gold’s. Not only is his part in saving Killian only accidental (Something that was possibly implied by Gold seeing the hat and saying not to go into the back room), but in terms of his original goal of finding the Author, he’s not even snooping or working in this scene: He just blatantly asks about the Author. And it’s not like Henry and Rumple bonded at all in between these two scenes so why he’s not still snooping is weird. So why make Henry work here in the first place as opposed to Rumple just being a last option? Like, Rumple tells Regina he knows Henry was snooping, but they could’ve just had Regina bring up the Author instead or had Henry be more direct. I know it’s a small thing to get riled up about it, but yeah, it was kind of pointless.

-You know, I really FEEL for the writers. They build up these honestly pretty great twists, but the marketing exposed them prematurely.

-”Having Marian back in his life means so much to Roland.” Look, why can’t you smile like THAT for a fucking second when Marian came back?

-”If I went back to Marian, I’d be living a lie.” And setting Roland up for a life of his parents resenting each other, which wouldn’t be healthy.

-I really like Rumple and Regina’s conversation in the car. Rumple very clearly cares for Regina and wants her to be happy. As you can see by the harsh and honest way he gives her advice. He knows it sounds villain-y and kind of disturbing, but he’s sure it would be the way he could be happy.

-XD I kind of forgot that Mal could form herself via birds!

-I love Ursula’s tentacles! They’re slimy, scaly, and still malleable, giving them this gross yet cool sense to them.

-I love how Cruella has the most understated entrance, but is the most dangerous of all three of them! XD

-”Shall I get you a stepstool so you can look in my eyes when you threaten me?” Fucking iconic, Cruella.

-You know, we never did find out what the Queens of Darkness even want! XD

-I kind of wish we got more out of Emma and Elsa’s goodbye. Elsa says a lot, but Emma really doesn’t get the chance.

-Damn, the Sorcerer’s Hat is BEAUTIFUL when it goes off! I love the use of stars and the shades of purple! It’s just lovely!

-I know this is a super emotional moment, but I am curious. Given that humans are...well, humans, what would happen if we unknowingly built a town over the clearing that cloaks Storybrooke? Like, ordinary people can’t pass through the town line into Storybrooke, but what happens if they just build a town in the free space they enter when they do so?

-”Two.” Tow what? I know they’re getting shots, but what kind of stuff do you want to get drunk off of? If I were the bartender, I’d charge you for top shelf shots for such vagueness!

-I’m very glad that Regina and Emma didn’t drink before driving! XD

-Why are all these fairytale creatures moving to New York? I live in New York and it’s expensive as hell!

-”Demanding a ransom from the Dark One is not a deal. It’s a deathwish.” That is such a Rumple line and I love it!

Favorite Dynamic

Rumple and Killian. These two drive the tension of this episode flawlessly. This is the dynamic we worry about. The past is a foregone conclusion and the Queens of Darkness are at least a little distant. But Rumple having control over Killian’s life is what we worry about and serves as the ticking clock that makes this episode as exciting to watch as it is. It’s with Rumple and Killian that we get a good balance of plot and story. Rumple gives a lot of exposition about the Sorcerer and because he’s about to kill Killian, he can tell him anything he wants with no fear, allowing for this really intriguing honesty which we rarely see with Rumple. And Killian’s biting back at every chance he can, really showing off that hot headed personality of his. And let’s talk about Killian’s scene with Emma at Granny’s because EVERYTHING with them works and I would be remiss to not talk about it. The scene shows just how powerless Killian really is and builds the tension of how much control Rumple has. It’s where this dynamic shines the brightest and it brought to new heights by the terrifying music and the editing cuts between Rumple and Killian. It also shows just how both well and horribly Rumple knows Killian. While he can impersonate Killian’s speech patterns well enough, it’s the more down-to-earth mannerisms and subtleties that make it clear before we even first cut to Rumple that this is a facade and make it clear to Emma that something’s up. And once it’s revealed that this is indeed a facade, the scene grows so much creepier as we see Rumple literally putting words in Killian’s mouth. It’s an actual masterpiece of a scene.

Writer

Adam and Eddy conclude our half season. It’s definitely not their best episode, that’s for sure, but not at all their worst. Just maybe to this point. Anyway, I’ve been throwing around the word “gravitas” like a tennis ball to a puppy lately and that trend continues here. If emphasis is put onto something being set up or paid off, it at least needs an emotional backing that is reasonably strong. When characters make big and sharp decisions, there needs to be a good deal of substance to those decisions.

Culture

So, how about that Frozen Arc?

I went into this rewatch knowing that despite keeping an open mind, I would most likely dislike two episodes (The present segments of “The Apprentice” and “Breaking Glass”), but otherwise love the hell out of the arc as a whole. I left it...basically feeling the same way. While I didn’t adore “Family Business” in the way I used to, I still like it and the same goes for this episode too. Overall, the Frozen Arc succeeds more than it fails for me. It features two interesting villains with interesting schemes, more of a reminder that whoever runs OUAT’s casting is a god amongst us puny mortals, interesting uses of those characters, and boobs.

Now, let’s talk about the Frozen characters and balance. This is an incredibly unpopular opinion, but I think that the Frozen cast had fuck all to do with the balancing issues of this arc. Apart from the flashbacks in “The Tale of Two Sisters, “Rocky Road,” “Smash the Mirror,” and “Fall” (all of which were setup for the events in the main storyline), each flashback either didn’t involve them at all or had their characters act as support or a counterpoint to one of our mainstays. And these served as overall good moments of development for the characters they worked off of. Rumple got the most sympathy in his brief moment bemoaning his defeat at Anna’s hands then he did for basically the entire half season and David’s past with Anna not only was a great character episode for him, but unknowingly led to an entire arc for him later on. And in the present, it’s pretty noticeable to me that Elsa and Ingrid’s troubles are what give way to Emma, Regina, Belle, and everyone else working out their own shit with her as an excuse to be together. Some may say that makes them a plot device, but they’re given enough character and contributions to the story to not become that.

Anna, Elsa, and Ingrid’s stories were not at fault for the lackluster storytelling in some cases (Rumple’s motivation, Robin’s...just everything, Killian’s entire character in “The Apprentice,” Emma and Regina’s fight). Throughout my reviews, I’ve been posing small changes that didn’t need to even touch the Frozen segments to be enacted that would have better aided the storytelling for the characters and arcs as a whole. Now, that’s not to say they didn’t impose at all. I think when it came to Ingrid’s defeat, Emma and her magic should have played more of a part, even if it was just as someone who could protect Anna. But it was the minority of cases. Overall, the Frozen cast acted as support and led to interesting character moments. We see Emma learn to accept and love her magic as a part of her through Elsa, a different aspect of her magic that hadn’t been taught to her at this point. We see David grow into the hero he is through his lessons with Anna and struggles overcoming her grief. We see Rumple and Ingrid play a cat and mouse game with all of Storybrooke as their arena. We see Belle grow as a more selfless person through her friendship and somewhat betrayal of Anna. These are all interesting character moments that I don’t know could’ve been done without either the Frozen cast themselves or some other side characters and I’m glad it was the former. Not only did they make the arc more cohesive through having a more intimate cast of secondaries, but it ended up creating something visually striking from the rest of the series because of all of the ice imagery.

To sum it up, the Frozen saga’s pretty tight.

Rating

8/10. ...I feel like sometimes, these reviews don’t do my feelings justice. I feel like I do a bad part communicating during episodes where I have a lot to say negatively that most of the time, I am enjoying myself and the only reason I make it a point to elaborate on my rating for any given episode is so that I can discuss more positive elements. Because I did have a fun time watching this episode. While my criticisms were what they were, I was grinning like a dope for the entire thing. I liked the extra bit of focus on Belle, Rumple being Rumple, Rumple and Killian’s full on dynamic, and basically the entire flashback.

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

Rumbelle - Rumple waking Belle was cute as fuck! I love how he not only prepares breakfast for her, but basically tickles her nose until she wakes up. Also, I love Rumple and Belle banter in the beginning of the episode, too!

Captain Swan - Killian Jones can fight his heart being stolen so he can communicate for a second to Emma that something’s up and I LOVE IT! Like, it’s not even a second, it’s closer to three, and this is with the freakin’ DARK ONE in control of him! Also, THE NOSE SQUISHES!!!! That’s my fucking JAM!

Outlaw Queen - I definitely haven’t been the biggest fan of this relationship lately, but their goodbye at the town line really did get me. I felt so sorry for both of these two because they were so close to making things work and the circumstances that tore them apart were tragic, but (seemingly) necessary and the scene with them prior to this showed that they were going to handle their relationship the right way. Because of that (and the stellar and emotional background music), the scene really worked. I really felt bad seeing them have to separate and teared up a bit seeing Regina rip apart page 23.

Swan Queen - I love how supportive Emma was of Regina here! It feels really organic to them and the relationship they have to chill out over shots. And I love Emma’s enthusiasm to join Operation Mongoose! That was just too fucking cute!

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Another episode has come and gone and now finally, i can move onto the Queens of Darkness arc!!!

Thank you for reading and to both @watchingfairytales and @daensarah! See you guys next time!

Season 4 Total (95/230)

Writer Scores: Adam and Eddy: (24/60) Jane Espenson: (20/40) David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz: (30/50) Andrew Chambliss: (14/50) Dana Horgan: (6/30) Kalinda Vazquez: (14/40) Scott Nimerfro: (14/30) Tze Chun (8/20)

Tags: ouat, once upon a time, watching fairytales, ouat episode code, ouat rewatch, jenna watches ouat, ships mentioned, triggers mentioned

*Links to the rest of my rewatch will no longer be provided. They take posts with links outside of searches and I spend way too much time on these reviews to not give them that kind of exposure. Sorry for the inconvenience, but they still can be found on my page under Operation Rewatch.

[coffeebased]

It’s been a whole year since I posted last. Part of me wants to apologise for being gone so long, but mostly I’m just glad that I’m here.

Instead of doing a GIANT 2018 READING POST, I’m going to chop it up into three posts:

Favourite Books Read in 2018

2018 Reading Data and Goal-setting for 2019

2013-2018 Reading Data Trends

I was going to do a bigass one like I usually do but it just felt so daunting. Probably because I read 256 books in 2018 and it was pretty tempting to just close that Excel sheet and move on to an empty one for 2019. But what is the point of an unexamined life, anyway?

So this post is basically a listicle with summaries grabbed from Goodreads, as well as the complete list of the books I read in 2018. I really enjoyed all these books immensely and they’re all in my personal canon now.

My Top 10 Reads for 2018:

The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson

The first great adventure story in the Western canon, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty, and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home.In this fresh, authoritative version—the first English translation of The Odyssey by a woman—this stirring tale of shipwrecks, monsters, and magic comes alive in an entirely new way. Written in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, this engrossing translation matches the number of lines in the Greek original, thus striding at Homer’s sprightly pace and singing with a voice that echoes Homer’s music.

Circe by Madeline Miller

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

3. The World of the Five Gods by Lois McMaster Bujold

A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril, has returned to the noble household he once served as page, and is named, to his great surprise, as the secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule.

It is an assignment Cazaril dreads, for it will ultimately lead him to the place he fears most, the royal court of Cardegoss, where the powerful enemies, who once placed him in chains, now occupy lofty positions. In addition to the traitorous intrigues of villains, Cazaril and the Royesse Iselle, are faced with a sinister curse that hangs like a sword over the entire blighted House of Chalion and all who stand in their circle. Only by employing the darkest, most forbidden of magics, can Cazaril hope to protect his royal charge—an act that will mark the loyal, damaged servant as a tool of the miraculous, and trap him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death

4. Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal, Translated by Harold Augenbraum

In more than a century since its appearance, José Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere has become widely known as the great novel of the Philippines. A passionate love story set against the ugly political backdrop of repression, torture, and murder, “The Noli,” as it is called in the Philippines, was the first major artistic manifestation of Asian resistance to European colonialism, and Rizal became a guiding conscience—and martyr—for the revolution that would subsequently rise up in the Spanish province.

5. America is Not The Heart by Elaine Castillo

Three generations of women from one immigrant family trying to reconcile the home they left behind with the life they’re building in America.

How many lives can one person lead in a single lifetime? When Hero de Vera arrives in America, disowned by her parents in the Philippines, she’s already on her third. Her uncle, Pol, who has offered her a fresh start and a place to stay in the Bay Area, knows not to ask about her past. And his younger wife, Paz, has learned enough about the might and secrecy of the De Vera family to keep her head down. Only their daughter Roni asks Hero why her hands seem to constantly ache.

Illuminating the violent political history of the Philippines in the 1980s and 1990s and the insular immigrant communities that spring up in the suburban United States with an uncanny ear for the unspoken intimacies and pain that get buried by the duties of everyday life and family ritual, Castillo delivers a powerful, increasingly relevant novel about the promise of the American dream and the unshakable power of the past. In a voice as immediate and startling as those of Junot Diaz and NoViolet Bulawayo, America Is Not the Heart is a sprawling, soulful telenovela of a debut novel. With exuberance, muscularity, and tenderness, here is a family saga; an origin story; a romance; a narrative of two nations and the people who leave home to grasp at another, sometimes turning back.

6. The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk W. Johnson

A rollicking true-crime adventure and a thought-provoking exploration of the human drive to possess natural beauty for readers of The Stranger in the Woods, The Lost City of Z, and The Orchid Thief.

On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London’s Royal Academy of Music, twenty-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist boarded a train for a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History. Home to one of the largest ornithological collections in the world, the Tring museum was full of rare bird specimens whose gorgeous feathers were worth staggering amounts of money to the men who shared Edwin’s obsession: the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying. Once inside the museum, the champion fly-tier grabbed hundreds of bird skins–some collected 150 years earlier by a contemporary of Darwin’s, Alfred Russel Wallace, who’d risked everything to gather them–and escaped into the darkness.

Two years later, Kirk Wallace Johnson was waist high in a river in northern New Mexico when his fly-fishing guide told him about the heist. He was soon consumed by the strange case of the feather thief. What would possess a person to steal dead birds? Had Edwin paid the price for his crime? What became of the missing skins? In his search for answers, Johnson was catapulted into a years-long, worldwide investigation. The gripping story of a bizarre and shocking crime, and one man’s relentless pursuit of justice, The Feather Thief is also a fascinating exploration of obsession, and man’s destructive instinct to harvest the beauty of nature.

7. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

An unforgettable memoir in the tradition of The Glass Castle about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University

Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills bag”. In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father’s junkyard.

Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one’s life through new eyes and the will to change it.

8. The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 7 and 8 by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, André Lima Araújo, Matt Wilson, Kris Anka, Jen Bartel

In the past: awful stuff. In the present: awful stuff. But, increasingly, answers.

Modernist poets trapped in an Agatha Christie Murder Mystery. The Romantics gathering in Lake Geneva to resurrect the dead. What really happened during the fall of Rome. The Lucifer who was a nun, hearing Ananke’s Black Death confession. As we approach the end, we start to see the full picture. Also includes the delights of the WicDiv Christmas Annual and the Comedy special.

9. Mister Miracle by Tom King and Mitch Gerads

Mister Miracle is magical, dark, intimate and unlike anything you’ve read before.

Scott Free is the greatest escape artist who ever lived. So great, he escaped Granny Goodness’ gruesome orphanage and the dangers of Apokolips to travel across galaxies and set up a new life on Earth with his wife, Big Barda. Using the stage alter ego of Mister Miracle, he has made quite a career for himself showing off his acrobatic escape techniques. He even caught the attention of the Justice League, who has counted him among its ranks.

You might say Scott Free has everything–so why isn’t it enough? Mister Miracle has mastered every illusion, achieved every stunt, pulled off every trick–except one. He has never escaped death. Is it even possible? Our hero is going to have to kill himself if he wants to find out.

10. The Band, #1–2

Clay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best — the meanest, dirtiest, most feared crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld.

Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk – or a combination of the three. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay’s door with a plea for help. His daughter Rose is trapped in a city besieged by an enemy one hundred thousand strong and hungry for blood. Rescuing Rose is the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for.

It’s time to get the band back together for one last tour across the Wyld.

PHEW. Did you guys read any of those books? Did you like them? Hit me up!

The books I read in 2018:

Okay, thank you for reading. Keep a weather eye out for the next post, hopefully very soon.

My Ten Favourite Books from 2018 It's been a whole year since I posted last. Part of me wants to apologise for being gone so long, but mostly I'm just glad that I'm here.

[amostexcellentblog]

Classic Movies for Beginners: Case File #3: The MGM Musicals

The world is a stage, The stage is a world of entertainment!

Director(s): Vincente Minnelli; Stanley Donen; Charles Walters; and Others

Starring: (Deep Breath) Judy Garland; Fred Astaire; Gene Kelly; Cyd Charisse; Debbie Reynolds; Donald O’Connor; Frank Sinatra; Jane Powell; many more.

Watch if You Like: Musicals. Seriously, the MGM musicals still define the genre in the popular imagination. So even if you’ve never seen one (and you have seen one, The Wizard of Oz) you’re probably familiar with the style. Almost every recent hit movie musical--La La Land, Hairspray, The Greatest Showman, High School Musical--was shaped in some way by the bright technicolor sweetness of these movies. So if you’re a fan of any of those films, a theater geek, or just curious about what the movie musical was like at its peak, enjoy.

Since I could talk for days about these movies, I’ve decided to just do a quick list of the 10 most essential titles There are, of course, many other musicals from the studio that are worth a watch, but I’m trying to control myself.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952): Everyone’s favorite musical! In case you’ve been living under a rock: Don Lockwood (Kelly) is a silent movie star famous for his films with shrill-voiced Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). Talkies seem poised to ruin them until his pal Cosmo (O’Connor) gives him the idea to do a musical with his girlfriend (Reynolds) dubbing Lina’s voice. No summary can ever capture what makes this movie such a complete joy to watch. Every song, every dance, every performance is just flawlessly executed to put a great big smile on your face. It’s one of the few movies that deserves to be called perfect.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944): A year in the life of the Smith family in 1903 St. Louis, the year the world’s fair came to town. There are four daughters, second-eldest Esther (Garland) is on the cusp of adulthood, starry-eyed, and filled with young love for the boy next door (Tom Drake). Youngest is Tootie (Margaret O’Brien), mischievous and morbidly fascinated by death in a way only an innocent child can be. Father (Leon Ames) gets a job in New York, a move that threatens the family’s fragile innocence. Will they go? 

Minimalist plot doesn’t sound like much, but it’s actually a great coming-of-age movie. Beneath its nostalgic sheen there are some darker moments that deal frankly with the loss of innocence that comes with growing up. Garland debuts “The Trolley Song” and the holiday standard “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which she sings with a more heartbreaking style than you’re likely to hear now. “Have yourself a merry little Christmas, now...” she sings, as if you might never have another chance to. Appreciate innocence while you have it, the movie says, it can be taken away so easily.

The Band Wagon (1953): Washed up movie star Tony Hunter, (Astaire) heads to Broadway to star in a musical comedy written by his friends (Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabray), but they make the mistake of hiring a snooty director of dramas who promptly turns it into a heavy handed Faust adaptation. Tony is unsure of this, as well as the much younger ballerina (Cyd Charisse) hired to be his leading lady. The official favorite musical of people who think it’s too mainstream to pick Singin’ in the Rain. The satire of high art and low art can get heavy handed, and the movie’s ultimate assertion that Broadway musicals are meant to be light comedy is hopelessly dated in the era of Next to Normal and Spring Awakening. It’s real charms lie in the dances, from the joyful hoofing of "Shine on Your Shoes" to the simple romance of "Dancing in the Dark."

On the Town (1949): Three sailors (Kelly, Sinatra, Jules Munshin) on 24 hour leave in New York, New York (I hear it’s a wonderful town) find love and hijinks as they pursue a beauty contest winner (Vera-Ellen) across the city after one of them falls in love at first sight. Along for the ride are Betty Garret as their cab driver, and Ann Miller as a boy crazy anthropologist. Adapted from a Broadway hit, much of Leonard Bernstein’s score was replaced with original music for some reason (censors also required the lyric “New York, New York it’s a helluva town” be changed to “it’s a wonderful town.”) Fortunately, that doesn’t make it any less of a delight, with a perfect cast and great choreography celebrating the limitless possibilities of the city.

Easter Parade (1948): When his dance partner (Ann Miller) leaves him, Don Hewes (Astaire) plucks a girl out of the chorus (Garland) and sets out to make her a star. Shades of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (nobody tell Lerner and Loewe), with Peter Lawford in the Freddy role and a slew of Irving Berlin tunes along for the ride. The only movie Astaire and Garland made together, and it’s a fascinating pairing of the most carefree (onscreen anyway) musical star and the least. Astaire was rarely paired with singing stars (as opposed to dancers), and Garland was a bigger star than he was when this movie shot. As a result her character gets more solo numbers and feels more independent of Astaire’s than usual. On the flip side, Astaire does a better job at holding his own opposite Garland than most of her leading men. It’s a shame they never made another movie together as their chemistry makes the film.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954): Mountain man Howard Keel ventures into an old west town one day looking for a wife to play housekeeper. He finds one (Powell), who falls in love at first sight and marries him dreaming of a romantic life in the wilderness. He didn’t mention they’d be living with his unruly brothers. Fortunately she manages to tame them enough to go to town for a barn raising. That’s when the trouble starts, each brother meets and falls for a girl from town. After an iconic dance-off with their fiances, the brothers end up kidnapping the women for the winter, which does not go over well. 

Look, this is not as sexist as its sounds. This is not a Stockholm Syndrome thing, the narrative does not condone the kidnapping, the men are banished to the barn by Powell so nobody’s pressured to do anything, and if you look at the end of the barn raising dance you see that the women do initially to choose the brothers on their own free will, before their parents intervene. The movie ultimately comes down on the side of equal power dynamics in relationships. Anyway, the dancing in this movie is incredible. Watch it for that if nothing else.

The Harvey Girls (1946): Desperate to get out of her small town, Susan Bradley (Garland) moves west to marry her lonely-hearts pen pal. That falls through, so she gets a job as a waitress at the Harvey House, a (real) restaurant chain catering to train passengers. A lot of the town’s men don’t want the ladies there, because the chain’s strict moral standards has a reputation for civilizing wild west towns. Nevertheless, they persisted. The town is cleaned up, and the waitresses find true love. Great showcase for Garland’s comedic and dramatic skills. The movie’s slyly feminist defense of a woman’s right to see the world beyond her back yard and the boy next door, as well as its emphasis on female friendships, make up for a bland male lead and awkward third act. (A proper big final number was shot, but deleted for time so the whole thing kinda peters out.)

Lili (1953): Barely a musical, but it has one song and two dance sequences that are key to developing the characters and plot, so it counts. Recently orphaned Lili (Leslie Caron) is all alone and naïve about the ways of the world. She is charmed by a womanizing magician in a traveling carnival. After he rebuffs her affections she attempts suicide, but is stopped at the last minute by the carnival’s puppeteer, Paul (Mel Ferrer), who strikes up a conversation through his puppets. Lili’s natural interaction with the puppets attracts a crowd and she is made part of the act. Paul was once a great dancer whose career was ended by a war injury, lonely and embittered he is drawn to Lili’s soft heart but is unable to express his affection for her without his puppets. Touching story about the walls we build to protect ourselves from hurt, and the necessity of letting them down. Caron’s performance is incredible, it’s like she walked out of a fairy tale.

The Pirate (1948): Manuela (Garland) lives in a small Caribbean village and spends her days fantasizing of adventure and romance with the legendary pirate Macoco, so she’s heartbroken to learn she’s to marry the town’s boring mayor, Don Pedro. On a trip to the port to pick up her wedding dress she is spotted by traveling actor Serafin (Kelly), who falls instantly in love. She is unimpressed with his charms so he pretends to be Macoco in disguise to win her over. Mistaken identity hijinks ensue when he shows up in her hometown and realizes her boring fiance is actually the retired Macoco. This never takes off the way it should. Between the stars, the director (Minnelli), and original Cole Porter songs this should be a home run. Frustratingly, the story never comes together as well as it should, Manuela starts to feel like a supporting player in the second half which throws the whole movie off balance. Still, there are some great songs and dances, and the movie does manage to say a few interesting things about who we are versus who we pretend to be in life.

Royal Wedding (1951): Sibling song-and-dance team (Astaire and Powell) heads to England to perform in a new show against the backdrop of the upcoming wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh (what ever happened to those two?) While there both of them find themselves falling in love. Her with a penniless Lord (Peter Lawford), him with a newly engaged dancer (Sarah Churchill, daughter of Winston). This is primarily for Astaire fans who get to see two of his most famous dances. One with a hat rack, proving he could dance with anything, the other where he dances on the wall and ceiling of his room thanks to some clever practical effects.

[fartandsoul]

Does Johnlock make sense to casuals? A meta

Lots of discussion in the fandom after TST has centered around the fact that both TJLCers and casual viewers did not like the episode — it felt wrong, uncomfortable, and less like the Sherlock that we know and love. Of course this has to be part of the narrative arc; we know the writers are talented and good at storytelling. But is it going towards Johnlock? Does that ending make sense from a narrative perspective? Or are TJLCers twisting the narrative to fit what we want?

I thought I’d compile a “casual reading” of the show to see if a Johnlock finale would make sense to casual viewers. A quick disclaimer: Being a “casual” is not a bad thing, it only refers to people who don’t spend every minute of every day thinking about this hell show. In other words, people with a normal amount of interest in the show.

I consulted three casual friends to see their 3-5 sentence summaries of each episode. I’ve put these together below, then compared their readings to a TJLC reading to see where they overlap. I’ve put the rest under the cut since this is pretty long. 

I kept as much of my casual friends’ phrasing and spelling as possible, as well as any errors in their summaries. The numbers after each observation are to signify how many friends noticed how many things. If there’s a (1) that means only one friend observed that. If there’s a (2) that means two friends observed that. If there’s a (3) it means all of them observed that. If there’s a 1a, 1b, 1c it means I’m designating which friend observed what.

A Casual Reading:

“A Study in Pink”

Sherlock and John meet and become flatmates (3) We are introduced to each character and to their relationship (1a).

Mycroft abducts and unsuccessfully bribes John (1b), John gets “un-crippled” (1a)

Sherlock and John cover their first case together — mysterious suicides that turn out to be murders (3)

Sherlock confronts the villain/cabbie and almost takes a pill but John shoots the villain/cabbie (3)

“The Blind Banker”

Smugglers are bringing precious objects from China. Two of the smugglers steal an object and are killed (1a)

Sherlock deciphers a series of codes to unlock the enemy’s true intentions (1b)

John has a girlfriend and multiple failed relationships (1a)

John and Sarah get attacked by the enemies, but Sherlock saves them both (2)

Mysterious “M” snipes the enemy (1b)

[One friend remembered nothing and called it “the China one” (1c)]

“The Great Game”

Introduced to Moriarty, a criminal psychopath (3)

Moriarty starts his attack and his trap for Sherlock. Chosen citizens become human bombs and Sherlock has to beat the timer to save them (3)

Moriarty almost snipes John until Sherlock and Moriarty try to beat each other’s wits (2)

Cliffhanger: Moriarty gets a call and walks away (2)

“A Scandal in Belgravia”

Sherlock meets a dominatrix/woman, Irene (2), of extreme intelligence and beauty (1b). She is working for Moriarty (1a)

Irene has incriminating pictures of someone royal on her phone so Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to get them (3)

Sherlock figures out the password (2) and later saves Irene from terrorists (2: 1a, 1b). Sherlock is in love with Irene (2: 1a, 1b)

“The Hounds of Baskerville”

Henry’s father is killed by a giant hound. Sherlock disguises himself as a tourist and goes to investigate and sees the hound (2)

Henry’s father found out about the chemical experiments so the bad guy killed the dad (1a)

Sherlock finds himself being afraid and doubtful, emotions which he thought he would never experience (1b)

Sherlock solves it by showing that the gas is distorting Henry’s memory (3), but the episode ends with Moriarty being released (1b)

“The Reichenbach Fall”

Moriarty breaks into a museum to get Sherlock’s attention (2), then makes a plan to make Sherlock look like a fraud in front of all his friends (3)

Moriarty and Sherlock meet on top of a building and Sherlock has to commit suicide (3)

Sherlock says his final words to John and dies — or so everyone thought (3). The episode ends with John saying goodbye to Sherlock’s grave while Sherlock watches (1b)

“The Empty Hearse”

Sherlock returns (3). John has a moustache (1b) and is about to propose to Mary (2).

John is happy to see him but holds some resentment that Sherlock let him grieve for two years even though some of their colleagues knew he was alive (2)

Sherlock keeps solving cases without John (2), but hears John’s voice in his head and calls Molly “John” (1b)

Sherlock and John get back together to solve cases (1a)

Sherlock and Mary save John from a bonfire (2). They shut off a bomb meant to blow up Parliament (3) and Sherlock describes how he really faked his death (1b)

“The Sign of Three”

John and Mary are getting married and Sherlock is the best man (3).

While delivering his best man speech, Sherlock solves a mystery where the murderer has been sticking needles into belts, or something (3)

Sherlock never thought he would be anyone’s best friend (1b). He tells John and Mary that they’re going to have a baby (2), then leaves lonely without dancing with anyone (2)

“His Last Vow”

Sherlock investigates Magnussen, a criminal who uses people’s pressure points to bribe them (3). Sherlock is drugged up and claims it was for a case (1b). Sherlock tries to get Magnussen arrested but cannot (1c)

John is very surprised that Sherlock is dating Janine. Later it is revealed that this was a trick to get into Magnussen’s office (1b)

Sherlock discovers Mary’s past and she shoots him (3). Sherlock sees Moriarty in his visions and pulls through (1b)

John decides to throw away the disk that Mary gives him and they make up (2)

Sherlock confronts Magnussen and shoots Magnussen (3) to protect everyone (1c) / to protect John (1a)

“The Abominable Bride”

Sherlock gets high on the plane after being banished for killing Magnussen (2)

Sherlock tries to figure out how Moriarty could have faked his death by going into the mind palace (3)

Underground feminist network plotting against their horrid husbands (1a)

Sherlock and John have a conversation about feelings and what made him the way he is (1b)

John saves Sherlock from his fear of Moriarty and Sherlock jumps to wake himself up (1b)

Moriarty is dead for sure (1a)

“The Six Thatchers”

John and Mary have their baby and Sherlock goes case crazy following the “did you miss me” reveal (1b)

Sherlock investigates smashed Thatcher busts (3) and encounters AJ, who is out to kill Mary. Mary runs away, claiming she needs to move the danger away from John and Rosie. They find her again and AJ dies (3)

Sherlock discovers the secretary was at fault for the operation that “killed” AGRA. He confronts her in the aquarium and Mary takes the bullet (3). John is mad at Sherlock (2)

While my friends were sending me their summaries, I did my own reading of the show from a basic Johnlock perspective. I focused on what I associated each episode with, which is usually events or feelings between Sherlock and John. I also took into account TJLC metas which I’ve read over the years, some of which are reflected here. I kept it pretty brief since I’m assuming most of you have general knowledge of the Johnlock reading of these episodes lol

The (Most Basic) TJLC Reading:

“A Study in Pink”

John and Sherlock meet, feel an instant connection, and move in together

John flirts with Sherlock, Sherlock tells us he’s gay but not interested

They go on the pink lady case and John shoots a man for Sherlock

“The Blind Banker”

Sherlock and John grow more comfortable together. They begin to work together more on cases. Sherlock invites John on a date

“Friend?” “Colleague”

Sherlock interrupts John’s date (which Sherlock wanted to be a part of in the first place) and saves him and Sarah

“The Great Game”

John and Sherlock, as a team, go on cases Moriarty sends them

Sherlock trusts John with investigating on his own even more

They agree to die together

“A Scandal in Belgravia”

Irene and Moriarty work together against Sherlock

John thinks Sherlock is in love with Irene or that he “doesn’t feel things that way”

Sherlock’s experience with Irene makes him realize his feelings for John

“The Hounds of Baskerville”

John and Sherlock are pretty much ignoring what happened last episode

But John has stopped dating and stopped denying that they’re a couple

Their relationship status is updated: “I don’t have friends. I’ve just got one.”

“The Reichenbach Fall”

Sherlock and John don’t communicate on everything which leads to trouble from Moriarty

Sherlock sacrifices himself to save John

John mourns Sherlock and reveals some of his true feelings, but not all (See his conversation with Ella)

“The Empty Hearse”

John has tried to “move on” by finding a wife, but is still grieving #griefstache

Sherlock wants to come back in a romantic way but is thwarted

Sherlock jumps into a bonfire to save John, they have one (1) conversation about feelings that instantly gets brushed aside

“The Sign of Three”

John’s getting married, Sherlock is pining

Sherlock throws himself into wedding preparation to avoid the pining. The stag night solidifies the fact that there is sexual tension between them (“I don’t mind”)

Sherlock fully realizes his romantic feelings for John and leaves the wedding early

“His Last Vow”

Mary turns out to be an evil assassin and kills Sherlock

Sherlock comes back to life because he loves John

Sherlock kills a man for John and almost tells John he loves him but stops at the last minute

“The Abominable Bride”

Sherlock goes into his mind palace to solve Moriarty’s return but ends up confronting his feelings along the way

Sherlock realizes that “there’s always two of us”

Sherlock confirms that he’s gay and would be at home in a future world

“The Six Thatchers”

Who knows?????????

Mary is still evil

Sherlock and John are estranged and that is the major crisis at the end of the episode

As you can see, the casual reading and the TJLC reading are pretty different. They overlap the most in ASIP, ASIB, TRF, TEH, TSOT, and TST. Here’s a table of where they overlap:

*I added this as an overlap because it’s clear to everyone that Sherlock is feeling something significant in this episode, but heteronormativity changes who some people think his feelings are for

What do the episodes in which the casual reading and the TJLC reading overlap the most have in common? I think they have to do with big changes in the relationship between John and Sherlock. They meet, they are separated, they reunite, they are separated. This is the same pattern we are seeing with TST: Sherlock comes back from being “banished” (reunion) but he and John are separated at the end of the episode.

The casual reading focuses a lot on the cases, just as I expected, but when prominent changes are made to the Johnlock relationship, the casuals are paying attention.

Additionally, the casuals also miss some other big details. Nobody mentioned that Moriarty was “back” at the end of HLV but they all took his return as obvious in TAB. Only one person remembered that Moriarty was released at the end of THOB. Details of cases are left out. Only one remembered the baby at the beginning of TST, which they just watched. In fact, I was surprised at how many of the cases just don’t make sense when you try to explain them. The casuals asked me: “Why does Moriarty play a game with Sherlock in TGG?” “Why does Irene work with Moriarty?” “Why is Moriarty a consulting criminal in the first place?” I could come up with answers, but really these questions aren’t well-addressed, because it’s not about the cases.

Moriarty’s motivation is never really explained. To mess with Sherlock? Maybe, but that’s really a stupid motivation to be frank. Why go to all the risk? And why mess with him and then say he has to be stopped (TGG)? Is Moriarty out to get money? No, he never hints at this. To get power? No, he doesn’t seem to care about that or he wouldn’t shoot himself. So what is his motivation? I don’t know, the casuals don’t know, and it really doesn’t matter. Just like the way Sherlock survived doesn’t matter.

Now, some people may protest: The Johnlock relationship isn’t well-addressed either, that’s why you have to find subtext! But it is addressed, it’s addressed in the same way that any budding romance is addressed: With hints, glances, flirting, people assuming they’re a couple, sacrificing for each other, etc. And their motivations make much more sense when you read them as in love with each other. Why does Sherlock shoot Magnussen? To protect Mary. But she just shot him! So — to protect John.

Why does Sherlock lie about Mary’s reason for shooting him? The casuals are going to say he wasn’t lying, but the text explicitly says otherwise (Sherlock literally dies). Sherlock’s action here makes perfect sense with what the show actually says if you believe Sherlock is keeping John and Mary together because he thinks John will be happier this way.

Why does Sherlock leave the wedding early? The casuals are picking up on him being sad, but they think it’s because he doesn’t have anyone to dance with. It makes even more sense and adds another layer if you see him as in love with John. Plus, this reading makes sense of Molly’s comments earlier:

MRS HUDSON: What, the speech, dear? No, it’ll be fine.

MOLLY: It-it’s not just the speech, though, is it?  (x Thanks Ariane!)

If it’s not just the speech, what else is it? Obvious, Sherlock’s in love with John and this is hurting him. I could go on, but the point is that their relationship is addressed multiple times, while other things related to cases are never addressed.

So would a Johnlock finale make sense to casuals? I think it could, but they’d have to start thinking harder about what they missed in past episodes. They’re often so focused on the cases that they miss little clues about Sherlock’s sexuality, John’s dissatisfaction with his girlfriends, etc. But I believe, based on what my casual friends saw, that Johnlock could make sense to them.

So what can we expect from the rest of S4, especially TFP?

The powers that be have said (off the top of my head) that this season is going to be:

Groundbreaking

Television history

Something that’s never been done before

Insane wish fulfillment (my favorite)

What possible scenarios can happen in the rest of S4 to fulfill these criteria and make sense to a casual audience?

Here is a list of every single rug pull I thought of, including crazy scenarios:

Mary is alive and a villain: Definite plot twist, not really groundbreaking. The classic fake death scenario, and she’s already been set up as a villain

John is a villain: I hope I don’t need to explain why this is ridiculous. Anyway, we’ve already had this brought up and denied in TGG

Sherlock is a villain: I’m gonna assume nobody thinks this is even possible

Molly is a villain: Possible, but for a character who shows up like once an episode, if at all, not really groundbreaking

Hudders is a villain: Please don’t do this to my mom??

Sherlock was abused (Culverton = Savile theory): Unfortunately possible. Not sure why it would be insane wish fulfillment to hurt Sherlock even more? We know Mofftiss love his character. Not sure why it would be groundbreaking either, unless as a possible revelation from Sherlock’s past that has never been addressed before. I’m keeping this as a possibility but I hope and believe this isn’t it. It hasn’t been set up well, either — throughout the series there’s been very little allusion to anything in Sherlock’s past besides drugs and Redbeard

Sherrinford was abused: Since we know next to nothing about Sherrinford and that name was only introduced last episode, I’m gonna say this is not it

Sherrinford is Sherlock’s sister: Possible. Hidden sister isn’t really groundbreaking

Mary is Sherlock’s sister: This would be #wild but is possible. Why would this be insane wish fulfillment though? Or groundbreaking? Secret sisters are not TV history. TV Tropes has a whole article about long-lost siblings

Sherlock’s past with drugs is worse than we expect: This is possible. Mofftiss said they weren’t really interested in Holmes’ drug use in canon and they’ve clearly lied about that, though (I wonder what else they’ve lied about and denied hmm). But we’ve already seen this — in ASIP Sherlock’s past drug use is mentioned and it becomes worse than we thought in TAB. A main character struggling with drugs is not TV history either. Even if it is “groundbreaking” because it’s Sherlock Holmes, I’m pretty sure other Holmes adaptations have already tackled this.

John is the key to everything: I think this is going to be the case anyway. John is going to turn out to be much cleverer than he appears right now. This could be TV history within Holmes adaptations, since John is often pushed to the side, but it wouldn’t be TV history on a wider scale.

John shot Mary/alibi theory: I’m hoping this theory is true, but it would be just a plot twist, not groundbreaking.

Sherlock’s been dreaming since S3: The “it was all a dream” trope is honestly annoying. Why? Because it’s been overdone. Not groundbreaking then.

The whole show is a Victorian dream: See above.

ACD/Mofftiss are going to appear and break the 4th wall: Similar to the “it was all a dream” trope. See above.

TST was entirely fake/somewhat fake/skewed: I feel like this is happening anyway and will probably be the “rug pull” referred to in reviews of TLD. Still, see above, not groundbreaking.

TST was Sherlock on Culverton’s show: Possible, but see above.

M Theory: Mycroft has been working for Moriarty/Mary: This is the theory that I feel could most strongly contend as groundbreaking, since it is one of the most plausible. But Mycroft is not the most significant character of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I didn’t even know he existed until I watched Sherlock. My friend forgot his name while summarizing episodes above. And inner betrayal is not groundbreaking, it’s a trope.

TJLC: What fulfills all the criteria and is quite a rug pull for casual viewers? But still is something that has been foreshadowed and led up to throughout the show? And involves two very famous characters who have been adapted so many times, in so many ways except for this one groundbreaking way that fulfills all of our insane wishes? I hope I don’t need to spell it out in some kind of acronym…

Seeing Johnlock doesn’t necessarily require a deep, symbolic, subtextual reading of the show, though those layers do exist for very dedicated fans to pick up on. But Mofftiss don’t want this show to be simple either, and if Johnlock makes the casuals think a little bit at the end, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This show isn’t divided into casuals and TJLCers either. There are Johnlock shippers who have no idea TJLC even exists. Even before S3 much of the fandom shipped them. Making their relationship canon would be connecting the dots that existed even in S1 and S2. We just didn’t pick up on the final picture before S3.

The biggest obstacle to casuals seeing Johnlock (besides heteronormativity) is that they think it’s “not in Sherlock’s character” (my friend’s words). But if you don’t see how Sherlock has the most feelings of anyone on the show at this point, well...idk how to fix that for you. Canon Johnlock would force them to reconsider, especially if we get a montage of scenes where they were obviously in love.

But does it really make sense to a casual audience? That’s what I was really testing with this experiment, and I think that the answer leans towards yes. Maybe Johnlock won’t happen this season, and maybe it will. Maybe it will happen in S5, maybe it won’t happen at all. This experiment wasn’t testing that. It was just testing whether the clues are obvious enough to casuals, whether a TJLC reading of the show makes sense (spoiler alert: we knew it did before this), and whether we’re completely delusional in thinking Johnlock is where they’re going. I know I’m not the only one who was very doubtful after TST.

But casual viewers are picking up on the major events in John and Sherlock’s relationship. At this point, the casual audience is rooting for John and Sherlock to start speaking again; they want to return to the Baker Street duo from S1. I asked my friend as I was writing this: What do you want to happen in the next episode? And she said: “I want John and Sherlock to be friends. I always want them to be friends.”

But what if we take it one step further? Not just ammo, but amo. If Johnlock happens, I have faith in many casual viewers to figure out what they missed and figure out it was supposed to be like that all along.

Feel free to add, refute, or scream with me!

Tagging a few meta writers and mutuals who might be interested. Let me know if you want your tag removed!: @going-to-my-mind--palace @waitingforgarridebs @may-shepard @johnandsherlocks @jenna221b 

[angrycollectordaze-me-blog]

Paper代写：Cat in the rain

本篇paper代写- Cat in the rain讨论了小说《雨中的猫》。《雨中的猫》是美国著名小说家海明威早期的代表作品。该小说讲述了一位和丈夫在意大利停留的美国女子在一个雨天偶然看到一只试图躲雨的小猫，于是钩动恻隐之心，意欲将猫救下可是当女子冲入雨中找猫的时候小猫却不见了踪影，于是一整天女子都魂不守舍地在记挂着那只雨中的猫。傍晚时分，饭店老板却派人给她送来了一只漂亮的花斑猫，“猫”在小说中蕴含着丰富的隐喻意义。本篇paper代写由51due代写平台整理，供大家参考阅读。

The cat in the rain is a representative work of the early American novelist Ernest Hemingway. The novel tells the story of an American woman and her husband staying in Italy on a rainy day accidentally saw a cat is trying to shelter from the rain, so the hook move compassion, to save cat but when woman rushed into the rain to find the cat cat is gone, so women's spaced out all day in spite of the cat in the rain. In the evening the restaurant owner sent her a beautiful tabby cat. The novel embodies Hemingway's consistent concise style and the "iceberg theory principle" of his creation aesthetics. The plot of the novel can be simply condensed into "losing a cat, looking for a cat, and finding a cat". In my opinion, this circular plot clue is also an embodiment of the inner structure and form of the novel. As an important image of this film, "cat" also contains rich metaphorical meaning. New criticism theorists think that: "the key to read a story is to see the inner forms of the story and the vapor into the form of image", therefore, this article in the new criticism theory under the guidance of "cats" the main image of the novel and the deep structure to excavate the novel rich cultural metaphor meaning.

As one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, Hemingway wrote many classic works. Although in the light of so much of the world's shining work, "cat in the rain", Hemingway's early masterpiece, seems to be less than dazzling. However, it has attracted the attention of many Chinese and foreign literary researchers for decades. In particular, the main Hemingway researchers have conducted in-depth studies on the work from different aspects. The critics for the works of foreign research mainly from the new historicism, feminism, narrative and other aspects, but almost all these studies finally get the conclusion: "Hemingway used and its concise and powerful strokes, history will be written into the short novel, he tells the story of the real history in the form of text, or under the big historical struggle of gender identity" domestic also has many commentators on the theory of new criticism to research the main image of the novel Hemingway USES symbolic writing style in great quantities to mining. Major part of researchers from the novel image such as "cat" "rain" such as "candle", this paper analysis the image of metaphor meaning to conclude: "these women image is full of rich symbols, it expresses the author sympathy and concern of women's status. At the same time, it also expresses the decades of feminist struggle, but what women really want is a happy marriage and family... All of this seems to be back to the beginning, and Hemingway has revealed a profound cultural metaphor in this short story. Although these studies using different literary theory start to analyze it from different sides but these studies did not discuss the basic structure of the work, and according to the theory of new criticism, novel "inner form and structure is the foundation is to convey the meaning of literary works is one of the main body", so the author will mainly analyze the work of "organic form" to dig out the rich cultural implications.

The new criticism theory holds that "various images in literary works interact with each other in an organic form to create and convey meaning". As the "cat" contains the main image of the work and its rich connotation and its interaction with the main image of the novel form of the novel the inner structure and form of a "circle". The image of "cat" appears at the beginning of the novel, with the reader looking at a kitten "crouching in the green table" with the eyes of the "American wife". She rushed into the rain to save the cat who was trapped by the heavy rain. But when she came to the table, the cat disappeared. After that, the limited plot of the novel is centered around a cat that is only wanted. In the novel, the cat in the rain is not just an animal, it is a weak, helpless, waiting for salvation. And this coincides with the image of women in the patriarchal society for thousands of years. The bible, one of the sources of western culture, describes the origin of man. God created the first man Adam, a man, and the woman eve is a rib in Adam's body. Eve is the temptation of the devil by a snake eat first after wisdom had bewitched Adam ate the forbidden fruit, thus human against the will of god banished from the garden of Eden to human forever "suffering" tour, which is the so-called "original sin".

Therefore, the beginning of mankind is a man, and the source of sin is woman, therefore, women are regarded as the object of salvation in essence. In "cats in the rain", Hemingway takes a male, or even a god, view of the woman and the cat as two references. The cat is trapped in the rain and the American wife is trapped in marriage and self. To a certain extent, the cat in the novel, shivering in the rain, is the woman herself, or the one who makes the woman miss and feel so much love. The "American wife" in the novel is not named, but the husband is called George, which makes the image of the woman more imagistic. In a broader sense, the wind and rain the kitten is the middle of the twentieth century, after several times feminism women facing dilemma: feminist movement for women obtained the certain power, the new women "had a French short hair and wear a suit pants, like a man smoking, drinking, chatting loudly in the street... However, like the "American wife" in the novel, in the deep heart of women, these women's external liberation does not bring happiness and solutions to women. In the novel "the cat in the rain", Hemingway to its keen social insight, accurate with few words convey the "new woman" the plight of women return to room after find cats may not we can't forget and express themselves repeatedly has a the cat, she picked up a mirror to the left and pictures to the husband said, "I want to keep long hair... The way I look now really turns me off. I'm tired of looking like a boy."

So she continued to look into the mirror and imagined her long hair. In addition, the "American wife" in the novel does not come from the outside but from itself, which makes it more and more sad. The struggle, after the change, still wants to go back to the traditional woman's shell, to find the lost kitten in the storm. However, at the end of the novel cat this image concrete representation, only from restaurant owners is a big and beautiful spotted cat it brings to the "American wife" is amazed, as experienced all this after the baptism of women's rights and traditional woman again, more prominence and happiness does not come.

The whole story revolves around the discovery of the cat, the cat, and finally the structure of a tabby cat. This is a circular narrative structure. The structure itself represents a cycle of female identity, while the circle represents a blockage and a dilemma. Cat this image of the novel is the "American wife" in the novel a externalization of self-identification, although the novel space is limited, really only two lines of text to describe the cat, however, less than twenty words, but throughout and let the reader feel "cat in the rain" this name right, why such a contrast? Although in my opinion the cat just a moment, but over the whole, it is the no name woman oneself, even is to imagine a self in her mind, a former, weak, waiting to be protected and redemption of traditional women drive shell, it is one thousand to a symbol of expression of giving women in the patriarchal society, but affected by the feminist movement burst forth new brave women are in the inner depths of their longing for a return to the family, "lit candles" "stay up long hair. It is women themselves do not escape from a reincarnation, Hemingway here with a simple enough pieces, mix the writing technique of the outline of the era of women facing the reality of the dilemma, the dilemma does not seem to have a break. Because the blockade is within the circle.

The first paragraph of the novel USES a natural paragraph to introduce the geographical environment of the hotel. The author tells the story from the American couple's point of view: "there is no one in the column who they know. The seaside hotel in Italy, away from the city blatant "because the paper stressed several times the war memorial, which is opposite the hotel this is, of course, have the effect of the replacement time but it has also revealed the people to go a long way to the readers in the war memorial. Result from the geographical point of view, they stop to the hotel is a small self closed environment, the rain is an important image characterization, in the novel is caught in the rain the kitten, is stuck in the rain, and rain cut off to sketch artist. Rain also symbolizes the plight of the women encountered, this dilemma is not just about women in the process of struggle, stuck in the family, but also refers to women after protests from the outside into the new ranks of women after the actual inner anxiety and confusion. At the end of the novel, the rain was still falling, but at the end of the day, the owner of the restaurant brought a beautiful tabby cat to the American wife. From the perspective of narrative structure, the representation of the cat has completed a circular narrative structure, but it has made the female predicament more intense and profound. Although the cat may not be the "American wife" after the anxiety, in the room to the mirror to self-pity, disturbing. But when the hotel waiter holding the cat, knock on the door, obviously a woman's face is a face of surprise, because the waiter arms cat, that one is belong to her cat is not to let her/want to get and protect the cat in the rain, but a larger, more beautiful spotted cat. It symbolizes the women return home again after a struggle back to the original give up her image in the patriarchal society, but not as a once its regression, the regression does not bring happiness, so as if women are trapped in this kind of like the fate of reincarnation, I don't know whether to run away in brewing the next? But then the development of history also proves that the image and dilemma of the modern female state portrayed by Hemingway in the novel is indeed in circulation.

The readers and critics of Hemingway and most of his works have shown a strong style, with few female protagonists. "The cat in the rain" is Hemingway's one of the few women centered to explore modern women survival of the state of the novel, the novel use of "poetry writing skills" clever use of "rain" and "cat" two main image constructed a circular narrative structure, the structure symbol after several rights movement women seem to be difficult to escape a cycle: Through curing images of women in the patriarchal society, but can not get happiness has been as the cat in the rain, so want to regain the traditional female image self-salvation, finally seems to achieve a goal, as the "American wife" in a novel eventually got a cat, but the cat brought her more and consternation. Hemingway told the reader a cultural prophecy about the modern woman with his cold brushwork, which was infinite and sad but helpless.

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