#i was a wreck at even just the FORESHADOWING of the hospital scene

[bikananjarrus]

let it be known that the second— the instant pedro as joel says “baby girl” to ellie i will simply cease to exist thank u and goodnight xx

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Anyone who thinks MC wasn't too affected, have y'all not seen "Head Boys and Girls"?? They're a wreck. (Also featuring Chiara helping to put their broken heart back together, bless her) It is a little odd though that Penny brew her own Draught of Peace instead of going to the Hospital Wing (when she even said it is commonly administered for anxiety). And Barnaby did snap when MC and Rowan were fighting and it was a key moment in his character.

I think MC absolutely is falling apart over the course of Year 6, and...holy heck, the Head Kid TLSQ may just be my favorite one of all time for a number of reasons, including the scenes with Chiara, including MC dealing with what happened, and just overall, the honoring of Rowan that it does. That said, technically it is “just” a TLSQ. So in that sense it is optional. I believe a lot of people are waiting for MC to have some kind of breakdown in the main story itself, and are also expecting it to be an intense one. That there will be tears, anger, or both. That they’ll lash out. This didn’t happen in Year 6, which I don’t mind, but the weird thing is that it was totally foreshadowed. Right down to Dumbledore directly telling MC that something like this could happen. And it was bold-faced text, so you know that mattered. 

Barnaby did snap at everyone to stop fighting, and that broke my heart. I mean, that entire scene did. It felt like a teaser for what everyone would feel like in Year 6, in hindsight. It gave us such a terrible insight into Barnaby’s history, especially when coupled with what we later see through legilimency, that he oh so cheerfully brushes off. That poor guy...he, like Ismelda and Tulip and Merula, so badly needs to be rescued. As for Penny, I’m fairly sure her not going to the Hospital Wing was probably some combination of her not thinking clearly (which seemed to be a theme throughout her depression in Year 5) as well as wanting to take matters into her own hands because she thought she could make the potion herself, and so long as she was making it herself, no one could cut her off. In the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey would be the one to decide if and when Penny got the potion. If she makes it herself, she’s the one who gets to.

[argentdandelion]

That One Sad Fic Where Noelle’s Dad Dies

“Noelle.” “Wha—? Kris, it’s 3:00 AM….” Noelle said, squinting at her bedazzled cell phone in the darkness. (Ever since it assassinated her actual clock, she had to adapt.) “Skip school today. Go to your dad.” “…what? Why?” “Choose a game,” Kris said, with all the concision and emotion of a very ticked-off grandma.

“Alright, Kris! I got it!” Noelle turned on a lamp and hurriedly scanned through the video game titles.

Mario Kart, Professor Layton, Grand Theft Auto…

Noelle smiled and pulled out a title. “Ah, the perfect one! Silent Hill!”

“And for the love of Dog, do not bring Cooking Mama. Sweet Angel, that will only make him die faster!”

“Oh. Right. Shouldn’t bring anything too relaxing.” Noelle put down Silent Hill and chose Dragon Blazers III.

Noelle’s ears perked up. “Did…you just say ‘die faster’?”

But Kris had abruptly hung up, like clothes in a closet.

—–

“Dad? Dad?” Noelle gently shook her father from his sleep. The lamp was on, beaming light onto his face.

Rudy blinked blearily into the intense light. “Oh dear…now I’m getting medical care from aliens.”

Noelle frowned. “Come on, Dad! You said it yourself, we’re deer monsters.”

Dimly, Rudy noticed the furniture setup was different from what he remembered. He glanced across the room: the flowers in the glass cover had been put on the small counter by the sink, leaving the angel doll dethroned and emanating an aura of rage. The Nontondo console, sitting on a bedside table, was hooked up to the hospital TV and trying to keep its relationship discreet.

Emblazoned on the TV screen were the words “Dragon Blazers III”. It was drawn in fire-coated letters, as if overcompensating for a lack of innate coolness.

Rudy yawned and looked outside. The sky was still dark. “Noelle, why are you waking me up in the middle of the night?”

“It’s not the middle of the night, Dad.” Noelle said sheepishly.

“Oh, good.”

“It’s 3:20 AM.”

Just then Rudy noticed the bags under his daughter’s eyes, her messy hair, and the few crumbs stuck to the fuzz of her lips.

“Noelle.”

“Yes, Dad?”

“Lick those lips of yours.”

Noelle stared at him awkwardly.

“You got crumbs stuck to your fuzzy lips, and I don’t think you’re going for a flavor saver.”

“Dad, a flavor savor is a soul patch, not a mustache!”

“We’re covered in fur. It’s kind of hard to tell the difference!”

Rudy laughed, before pausing thoughtfully. “Eh, it doesn’t matter much. It’s not realistic for society to expect women to constantly shave.”

“I mean, of course,” Noelle wrinkled her brow. “There’s no way anyone has the time for full body shampooing and hair removal.”

Noelle moved a tacky little chair closer to the bed (clearly intended for smaller visitors), and cringed at the squeak. Noelle smiled, and handed her father the other controller.

She yelped.“Oh! Darn! It’s a single-player game!”

“Ah, good. It’d be messy to be a player and also married.” Rudy winked.

“How’d you know it has a marriage option?” Noelle asked, befuddled. “….Never mind.”

Rudy slowly leaned over, looking at the item Noelle held. “You only got one controller? Oh, it’s fine. I can always watch. You’re much better than me at these games anyway.”

—-

“Gosh darn it, Shella.”

“Come on, Noelle! You can swear harder than that.”

Noelle blushed.

“This is the last time I’ll ever be able to see my little girl swear a blue streak.” Rudy said solemnly.

“It’s the wish of a dying man, Noelle. Now let it rip!”

“Fu–”

—-

Noelle painted the room blue as the ocean with the intensity and number of her swears…including two Rudy had never even heard before.

Noelle hunched over with an exhausted look, panting. Suddenly her cheeks bulged, and she spat out one little swear lingering in her throat.

Rudy sat in his bed, stunned at the depths of foulness to tumble out of the mouth of a sweet-natured teenage girl. “Wow, Nolle…

I am so proud of you.”

Noelle beamed, still flushed with the exhaustion of releasing sixteen years’ worth of repressed cussing. Noelle’s cheeks bulged again….only to erupt into laughter. Soon, Rudy, too, was laughing, and the room itself was filled with laughter (and swear residue).

Rudy’s ears flailed out, and with a bug-eyed look Rudy coughed out some dust.

Noelle stared at the dust smeared on her father’s hand. Rudy looked solemn. “Noelle, I think it’s time I told you the truth…”

“I’m part vacuum cleaner.”

—-

They had traveled deep into the dungeon in the bowels of the earth. Suddenly, the claustrophobic halls expanded into a greater room….

“A cutscene!”

Noelle perked her ears up and forward, leaning closer to the TV with a gamer’s hunch. She sat there for a few seconds, straining her ears, but the sound had been turned too low for that sweet, sweet cutscene music.

“Oh, darn. Wish I could hear the music.”

“Oh, Noelle, you can turn it up. The only other guy is the Warrior, and he’s delusional. Guy thinks he’s a NPC spouting foreshadowing for an incomplete game.”

Noelle adjusted the hospital TV’s buttons the old-fashioned way, as the remote was on paternity leave after irresponsibly siring tiny music players.

Atmospheric music ran through that quiet hospital room.

“You dense son of a submariner! Wither away!”

Smiles filled their vision as they enjoyed the scene together, as they witnessed the bizarre scene of characters innocently smiling while delivering scathing dialogue. Ill-advised ‘cultural translations’ for a tougher audience, Noelle thought. But I love it.

A room away, a patient quietly fumed and flailed his limbs, ranting again. Muffled as it was through the sounds of battle, and laughter, and conversation, none heard him. He shed a single manly tear through his costume.

—-

Swarms of Modiglettes tread towards them in the darkness.

Noelle tensed up with a little “eep”, and Rudy turned to his daughter’s terrified face. “What are you waitin’ for? Flare ‘em!”

Noelle shook off her fear…and decided to upgrade the spell to ZettaFlare, for good measure. The vastly over-levelled scale of the spell wrecked the swarm of Modiglettes…and the entire dungeon. The enemies soundly defeated (as well as most of the party), the scorched, half-dead remainder of the party weakly cheered.

"Creepy! Just like that angel doll!”

“Heh, you think so?” Rudy said with relief. “That thing’s a nightmarish abomination!” Rudy glanced toward that faceless angel doll on the counter top, still a little askew after all those hours beside the flowers. He felt it glaring at him judgmentally…as if wishing for his death.

Rudy noticed, just then, the petals falling from the wilting bouquet…onto that letter enclosed within.

"Kris…they’re a good kid.”

“Earlier, they told me to come visit you.” Noelle replied offhand.

Noelle had never seen her father’s brows rise higher. “Huh. That’s awfully out-of-character for them. I sure hope that isn’t a clue they know something we don’t.”

Noelle laughed nervously. “Yeah, I sure hope so! It’s….probably a sign of some turmoil or trauma that occurred off-screen. That totally happens in RPGs, so it’s not that weird.”

—-

As Noelle defeated foe after foe, progressing on her journey, she spoke less and less. The same went for her father. He reclined in his bed, his head heavy.

Noelle said nothing: not of her anxiety, not of her sadness, not of her ever-growing desire for soda and cheese chips.

“Dad? You haven’t said anything in a while. It’s getting kind of awkward. ‘Companionable silence’ is, uh…not something I’m very good at.”

“Oh, you don’t have to narrate everything,” her father said. “It’s not like you’re playing it for an Internet audience.”

“After all, video games can be…” Her father looked down before looking back at her. “an activity well-suited for urban hermits.”

—-

“THE END”, it said.

Noelle stared at the screen. “What happens next?” Noelle asked, her voice laden with tension.

“The credits screen, of course!” Rudy replied.

“No, no…I mean…what happens to the characters?” Noelle said, glancing towards the window. Her hands still clenched the controller.

“…Y’know…I like to think they all went home after beating the final boss, and had that long-awaited cake.”

“I don’t think they’ll ever get the cake,” Noelle said quietly, looking down. “They always thought they could, but then things happened no one could predict, and now they have to live a cake-free life.”

“You’re right. Come to think of it…a lot of games have cake you can’t get…” Rudy looked out into the distance, up towards the ceiling. “I suppose all they can hope for is finding joy in cupcakes, muffins and brownies. After all, it’s not like having a cake-free life stops them from finding happiness. There are a lot of caloric baked goods in the world.”

Noelle stared at her father, her eyes wet. “Are we…are we even talking about cake anymore?”

Rudy lifted an eyebrow. “It’s good advice, literal or not, and it’s straight from my supply of fatherly wisdom.”

Then, suddenly, there was a weight on Noelle’s hands, and Noelle’s eyes went wide open. Her father weakly squeezed Noelle’s hand, looking straight at her with a wan smile.

“Noelle, dear. Life stinks. But video games make life stink less. When I’m gone, game so much the WHO gives you a disorder.”

“I promise, Dad.”

Her father laid back on the bed, staring up towards the ceiling again.

“DAD OUT!” He shouted. His tongue stuck out and his eyes turned to X’s.

Tears bubbled in Noelle’s eyes. “His eyes turned to X’s…just like the video games…”

—-

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming. On days like these, kids like Kris should be inside playing Nontondo games, but no, Kris had to go be all nice-like and visit someone whose dad had died.

Kris found Noelle standing by the window, light streaming past her silhouette in the early morning light. Kris stared at Noelle’s back in a way that definitely wasn’t creepy.

The two of them stood like two islands in a quiet ocean…but for the malfunctioning air conditioning system, which was quite terrible at imitating calming ocean waves.

Kris observed a massive snarl in Noelle’s hair. It was so big it looked like her hair had gotten pregnant. Dear sweet angel mother of Dog could she not have combed her hair a little before visiting her dying father at 3:30 AM?! Kris thought. But Kris kept quiet.

“Yo, Noelle, your hair is awful,” Kris said. Kris cringed, hurriedly adding: “Also, sorry ‘bout your dad. Obvious foreshadowed deaths are still super sad.”

Noelle spoke in a voice drained of tears, due to a quick surgery she had to improve tear evacuation in her face. Thankfully, Kris wasn’t looking at Noelle’s face.

“I suppose so,” Noelle said quietly. “But if it means I got to spend time with my dad, one last time…then it was worth it for my hair to look like it got goshdarn pregnant.”

Oh thank Dog we agree, Kris thought. Would have been awkward if I brought it up.

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do next,” Noelle said, almost to herself. “Life’s…never going to go back to normal, with my dad being all corpsey.”

Kris looked at the bed. It felt empty. “It’s kind of ambiguous whether he’s a corpse or dust.”

“You don’t know…maybe we scheduled a cremation service ahead of time, ‘cause he was on his way out anyway.”

The room was quiet again, but for the annoying creak of the malfunctioning air conditioning. It sounded like a wooden ship breaking apart in a storm-tossed…No, no. Make for a more subtle metaphor, Kris told their own brain.

The moment carried on, stretching out like a lazy morning. In that unhurried moment, where a person could simply be alive, Kris lost track of time. It didn’t matter: it was either 9:27 AM or croissant o’clock.

What did Noelle see, in one of the best views in all of Hometown? The houses below? The woods beyond? Undyne arresting Snowdrake for streaking?

“Thank you, Kris,” Noelle said quietly. “Thank you for somehow knowing roughly when my dad was going to die, despite having zero medical knowledge.”

Noelle’s ears floated up. A few seconds passed. Noelle turned around, exposing her hideously enlarged tear ducts.

“OH MY DOG KRIS DO YOU HAVE TIME TRAVEL POWERS?!”

But Kris had long since bounced the joint.

—-

Everyone knew it was coming. The foreshadowing was very obvious.

Kris stood stiffly in the doorway, a sense of unease building in their various body parts.

At first, the room seemed unoccupied. Then, Kris caught a soft, high-pitched noise. Kris caught Noelle sobbing, her face concealed under a waterfall of hair. (Much like a waterfall was wet, it was also wet. But with tears.) A thought occurred to Kris, unbidden, that her hair was beautiful: long, and blond, and finely combed, and increasingly stained with tears and snot. Her arms wrapped her arms around her body.

Kris did a double-take.

“Noelle…why are you brandishing a disembodied pair of your own arms?”

Noelle coughed out her sobs and swallowed.

“These are my sorrow arms, Kris….I grow them whenever I am enduring the crushing pain of existence.”

Kris’s blank face somehow looked hesitant.

“I doubt that. I’ve never grown any sorrow arms.”

“…oh. I’m sorry, Kris,” Noelle said, a little subdued. “Growing a second pair of arms under overwhelming sorrow must be a monster-only thing.”

“I only wish…I could have played Dragon Blazers III with him.”

Kris paused, tilting their head just a fraction of an inch. “How long would it take to finish Dragon Blazers III?” It was a mundane inquiry, very similar to “Do you have croissants?” in how mundane it was.

Noelle sniffed. In a brittle voice, like a piece of plastic (the brittle kind), she said: “It’s pretty big. About eight hours, I-I think.”

“If you could finish the game with your father, would you?”

“I’d do anything for it.”

“Would you give me hair-care tips?”

“…what?”

“’Cause I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful your hair was, despite the fact it’s increasingly stained with tears and snot.”

“Kris, I am mourning my dead dad. Please read the room before asking for hair care tips.” Noelle’s arms tightened around herself. “But, yes…theoretically, I would provide hair care tips.”

“Despite that unwanted tone of voice, I’m gonna be the better person and rewind time so you can play a video game with your dad, all good Samaritan-like.” Kris said.

“…what? Rewind time?”

—-

“Yo. Red SOUL.” Kris said blankly, sashaying towards a SOUL in a birdcage.

“I need you all up inside me.” Kris said, as seductively as a teenager of unclear age could while still being legal. Kris opened up the cage and their SOUL eagerly jumped into their chest cavity.

“PSYCHE!” Kris exclaimed. “I knew you’d automatically rewind time, sucka! And I’m gonna make Noelle slightly less sad!”

[tsuyoi-hikari]

Memories of the Alhambra Review & Ending Explanation

I really love this drama as a whole. I love how groundbreaking and interesting it is that each episode seemed like its only 15 to 30 minutes long. I love how unpredictable it is like literally, you cant guess whats coming and I love how it is structured to make you speculate and ask questions. The editing was made to show the future first and later flashback scenes will follow aka Christopher Nolan’s ‘Momento’ kind of storytelling. You know that a story is great when it can evoke you all kind of emotions and this drama is exactly that. It made you care for the characters, only to play you around and makes you wanting for more. And I salute the writer for her ability to engage the viewers like she did in this drama.

Aside from that, I really love the writer’s little clues here and there. She did a looooot of foreshadowing in this drama. It sure raise a lot of questions but you know whats coming with that. I mean, we after all can predict Jeong Hun’s death the moment Jin Woo asked Jeong Hun to join him at Granada (as in the train flashback scene, Jin Woo is alone and not with Jeong Hun). We also know right away that Marco is the one who hunt Se Joo the moment he made his appearance in the drama (as a blue checkered guy is the one who shot Se Joo). We also know as early as in Episode 2 that Jin Woo’s leg will be injured but his limp is cured the moment he’s playing the game. The dynamic of Jin Woo and Hee Joo’s relationship is also foreshadow since in the earlier episode on how she’s sitting in front of Jin Woo in the rain is making him feel protected and safe. Hee Joo didnt kill the enemies like Jeong Hun would (since after all she cant see Hyeong Seok's NPC), but her presence and existence is like a buffer between Jin Woo and the game and that particular scene perfectly show what would her role be in Jin Woo’s life in the future. 

Jin Woo has become one of my very fave Kdramas’ lead characters ever. And I have to give credit to Hyun Bin for that. He played Jin Woo in such a depth that you literally feel his pain just by looking in his eyes. I have watched Hyun Bin for the past 15 years and I have to say that this is simply his best role to date (although Hyun Bin's Robin from 'Hyde, Jekyll, Me' is my soulmate :P). Its been a really long time that I’m this emotionally invested in a character and Hyun Bin portrayal of Jin Woo made me feel Jin Woo’s soul. Aside from his outburst in Episode 1, Jin Woo is actually a really nice, humble and level-headed guy. Its evidenced with the way he talk to other people despite their status – he actually use a polite language (instead of Banmal) to everyone even to his low-level workers. And not to mention that despite his trouble with the game, he still treat people with utmost respect and care despite he himself is facing a real life and death situations.

Now regarding the romance part of the drama, I thought it was done very tastefully and slowly -- in a mature kind of way. You could see clearly why Hee Joo falls for Jin Woo. The mixture of Jin Woo kindness (still giving her the full amount of the contract), to him touching her soft spot (playing guitar), to him still taking care of his ex-wife (despite he didnt need to), to him facing real & death situation when he falls at her hostel, to her taking care of him and Jin Woo asking her to stay... And later when she realised the length Jin Woo went through to find Se Joo. All this small details contribute to why she loves him. And as for Jin Woo, its obvious that he falls for Hee Joo's kindness and strength. He was impressed with her ability to feed her family and was also taken back by her kindness (the length she is willing to go to help him either in interpreting to taking care of him when he's sick), to her quirkiness on how she explodes when she's mad. Plus, the most important of all is how her presence made him feels safe -- even when Hyeong Seok NPC is in front of him (during the rain scene). Hee Joo is like a buffer between the game and Jin Woo. He just unintentionally ask her to stay by his side since he is just too scared to be alone. He didnt understand it either but later, he realised that he likes her for her sincerity -- the one he never get from Su Jin or Yu Ra. And he actually smile and laugh when she is around him which he never did the whole 1 year after their last meeting at Granada when the game make him question his sanity. That is why he had the urge to see her before he completed the final mission since she is someone important in his life. IMO, the romance part was dealt with many minor details and mature way thats why I ended up really liking how their relationship grows despite the horrible situation they're in -- its not too much nor too little. When you are deal with real life and death situation, your feelings intensifies which explain their relationship perfectly.

All in all, I give the drama 9.5/10. It is not perfect but it was interesting as hell and full of unpredictable plots. I would love it more if the writer actually explain how the characters die because loss of blood when they were killed in the game but I guess she just lump sum it up as part of the 'fantasy and mysterious’ part of the game when Emma made the reality and game world collide when Marco stabbed Se Joo with real knife. But aside from these minor details, this drama has become one of the most nerve-wrecking Kdramas in my book. Its rare for me to have palpitation when I watch Kdramas but this drama is one of a rare case and it will always be special in my heart because of that. :D

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Explanation on the Ending:

ITS OBVIOUSLY A CLEAR CUT HAPPY ENDING. WHY?

I know that many people are really dissatisfied with this drama’s ending. I personally thought the writer trying to be creative with her ending but kind of backfired as many people got confuse with the game concepts and thought that the bug cycle was repeating themselves over and over again now that Jin Woo is still stuck in the game. 

On the surface, the drama ended with a bittersweet note with a glimmer of hope at the end. However, after a second viewing, I have to admit that it is after all a clear cut happy ending. I realised many small details that the writer gave to us – that it was clear that despite the ending is ambiguous, the writer aimed for a happy end to both of our main leads. First of all, lets clear the confusion regarding the concept of the game world.

1. At first, I thought that Emma, while one of her features is to delete bugs, is a bug itself as she’s the reason why the game world and the reality world collide when Marco stabbed Se Joo with real knife. I mean, if she’s not there, the whole mess of the game become real wouldn’t happen as Se Joo will just bleed after the stab and probably recover after he go to the hospital. Jin Woo wouldn’t be in that mess and the only one suffers is only Se Joo with the stab wounds on his stomach. 

2. Marco is Se Joo’s bug thus he do not need to be deleted for Jin Woo to reset the game. Plus, Jin Woo can't see Marco anyway unless he made an alliance with Se Joo. Bear in mind that Se Joo is the one who create this game and he set the rules. Among the rules are those who gave Fatima the Key to Heaven will win the game and become the new Master. And he also put one of Emma’ s features is to delete bugs and once bugs are deleted, the game will reset. And that is exactly what Jin Woo did; level up, get the key, kill the bugs and hand over the key to Emma and Emma reset the game. Now, why Jin Woo is a bug and need to be deleted? It is because he played the game while the game is in error state. Had other testers of the game made a duel and killed their opponents like Jin Woo, they will be in the same position as Jin Woo as well.

3. Jin Woo made sure he killed all of the bugs and also sacrificing himself in the process to end the game’s sinister elements. Since he already do this and reset the game to zero, there are no more evil cycle of one has to sacrifice themselves to save the others. Once Emma reset everything, it is a new game without bugs/errors/glitches. J One lost all the data and build the game back from scratch that is why it took them another 1 year to release the new game as they have to rebuild everything. The good thing about the whole thing is that is game is finally safe to be played unlike Se Joo’s original game which mix game world and the real world. The writer made it clear that the evil part of the game was buried once and for all when Jin Woo sacrificing himself at the end. 

4. It was obvious that Yang Ju finally delete Emma from the new game when we hear that he regretted of keeping Emma where Emma in the end reset the whole game and delete all their hard work for the past 1 year. So no Emma, no more error in the game. There is no more Emma so the features of her to delete bugs and reset back the game is no longer there as well. 

5. Regarding whether Hee Joo can see Jin Woo or not, she can see him as she is wearing lenses. All game users can see Jin Woo if he made an appearance that is why the guy at the restaurant insisted that Jin Woo is not NPC but an advanced user. But why there's no name for Jin Woo in the new game? It is because Emma has deleted everything including Jin Woo's game name 'Zinu' that is why he is without name. ‘Instance Dungeon’ is to make one become invisible from the enemies and hide themselves. Se Joo did hide himself for 1 year as Marco is there to hunt him so he keep using the instance dungeon feature to remain safe. Jin Woo in the other hand just use the feature to save himself from getting deleted by Emma. So if he didn't use the instant dungeon feature, other game users can see him. The problem is getting him out of the game and I believe that is Se Joo's task to do that. 

And now the for ending, the writer purposely tell us about the 'Instance Dungeon’ and how a user can use it to hide themselves. And later at the end, it is shown that Jin Woo after all did use that feature to save himself. But why is he helping in killing low-level NPCs for other game users just days after the game was released? It is not actually a 'Master’ task to do that and he knew the game is now free from bugs and no one is getting killed for real. But he did it anyway. Why? He did that as a call of help to alert everyone that he is after all still alive but somehow still stuck in the game. He clearly let them know that he is still alive by helping the other game users. Now that Hee Joo knew that he is alive and hidden, it is only a matter of time for him to be saved just like how he saved Se Joo the year earlier. So, technically, it is only a matter of time before he can get his happy ending. 

I am pretty much disappointed with the ending but upon second viewing, it wasn’t really that bad like I initially felt. The writer for surely aimed for a happy end, it just that, its not in-your-face type of ending like other dramas.

[storytime-reviews]

Teen Wolf Review-Genotype and Broken Glass

I can’t believe that next week is the series finale of Teen Wolf. I can’t believe that there is only one more episode of this show left to watch. Because, after everything, I’ve really enjoyed this show. I started watching Teen Wolf just before season 3B began, and quickly fell in love with the characters. So as much as I think that it’s time for Teen Wolf to end, I’m definitely going to miss these characters. These two episodes reminded me of what I loved about Teen Wolf in the first place. I wasn’t here for the plot (which let’s be honest, has had some pretty confusing moments), but rather for the relationships between the different characters. More than shipping, I fell in love with the strong friendships and interesting dynamics between allies. 

I’ve been pleased with the run of this season, although I do believe that some relationships could have done with more time to develop, especially considering that we are now left with only one episode. This season 6 B concept was so great, but I think it would’ve been much more effective if the events could unfold over a much longer period of time, a whole season would’ve been best. That way, the plot could spread out the fear for much longer and still focus on the main characters as well as providing scenes with the new hunters (which have taken quite a bit of screentime from the main characters in their final few episodes). Whilst I believe this concept could have been executed much more effectively, I have enjoyed this season so far and cannot wait for the final episode. 

GENOTYPE:

Your Other Half

As much as I’ve seriously come to love all of the scenes we’ve gotten with Liam and Theo recently, it was nice to see Theo interact with someone else for a change. It’s actually interesting to compare his scenes with Mason, because until now I would’ve said that of all the characters there, Liam hated him the most and trusted him the least. But, over the last few episodes, there’s been some real teamwork and perhaps even trust between the two of them, which is heavily contrasted against Mason’s outright wariness of Theo. On Theo implying that he’d like to become a part of the pack, Mason gets angry, saying that pack means trust, and obviously none of them trust Theo after everything that he’s done. Whilst Mason and Theo are clearly antagonistic towards each other, they do manage to find Aaron together, even though they don’t stop him from finding his other half. What was interesting however, is when Theo tries to take Mason’s pain and cannot, with Mason stating that you have to care to be able to take someone’s pain. Surely this is foreshadowing, meaning that Theo will take someone’s (Liam’s!) pain next week and demonstrate that he actually cares about them!

Hiding in Plain Sight

Whilst Mason agrees with Theo’s suggestion that they focus on Aaron, Scott and Liam aren’t entirely convinced, and so they spend this episode trying to find the identity of the other half of the Anuk-ite. Liam is the one with the breakthrough, recognising the voice of the biology teacher, therefore, she must know the person that has become the other half of the Anuk-ite. Liam of course is no fan of Scott’s plan, after all it wasn’t that long ago that Nolan and Gabe were beating him up at school, and he certainly gets a shock from his biology teacher at his reappearance. Of course the strong Nazi allegory begins in this episode, with Liam calling Nolan and Gabe Nazis, obviously due to their testing of every student. It takes a lot for Liam and Scott to get the truth out of the teacher, and it turns out that Quinn, who we met in a recent episode, is her daughter, and the other half of the Anuk-ite. What was most surprising is that the biology teacher has been a werewolf this whole time, and she even managed to pass the sound and wolfsbane tests that Scott and Liam created. In fact, she hid it all down so well that Scott has to help her trigger her shift in order to heal, after being attacked by Quinn. It’s also interesting that all this time, so many of her biology lessons have been used to explain supernatural changes, particularly chimeras, and this whole time she has not only been a werewolf, but an alpha. 

What was ridiculous is that Scott choose to send Liam after Quinn and Aaron whilst he stayed with the teacher who is bleeding out. Scott has much more experience, and so this is honestly terrible decision making by Scott in this instance, especially because Liam ends up having to face both Quinn and Aaron. He is easily defeated by them, and so the audience has to watch as they pass spiders through each other’s mouths whilst kissing (super gross, wish I didn’t have to see that), and this makes me think that they deliberately chose for one side to male and the other female so that they could do this. Afterwards, there is some kind of struggle for dominance, and Aaron comes out on top, becoming the full Anuk-ite. Liam is simply lucky that Lydia gets to him in time, otherwise he would’ve been turned to stone. Now, the pack realises that they need to learn to fight without eyes, and so this sets up Deucalion’s next interaction with them, which I looked forward to. 

Bullet or Poison?

The Lydia and Malia scenes in the hospital lighten the tension at first with some truly comedic moments, courtesy of Malia. Malia is always one of the go to characters when the writers are aiming to inject some comedy into the script, and her constant interruptions of Lydia’s attempts to connect with the hellhound are amusing. This of course is thrown on its head towards the end of the episode when the two girls managed to save the hellhound from the bullet, only to submit him to silver poisoning as they try to get information from him. Whilst Lydia and Malia’s scenes began as attempts to lighten the episode’s tension, they end with both girls distraught in the knowledge that they literally brought someone back from the brink of death, only to knowingly kill them in only a couple of minutes. Malia does however make a valid argument when Lydia is hesitant to go ahead with the plan because they do not have his consent. Either way, they learn very little of use in his dying words. It’s hardly helpful to suggest they keep the two halves apart, and they already know that. The only new information they gather is that the Anuk-ite can turn someone to stone if they look at it. So basically, it’s Medusa. Thankfully however, Lydia is able to save Liam because of this.

Unholy Alliance

The Anuk-ite searches for the hellhound in the morgue, only for creepy ass Gerard Argent to speak from the shadows, saying he is already dead. Of course, Gerard was never going to put himself in harms way unless he had a plan, and it’s certainly a strange one. Gerard correctly assumes that the Anuk-ite wants to be free, and therefore, they may become allies in order to kill Scott and get what they both want. This is Gerard however, and I’m sure he has some kind of plan for getting rid of the Anuk-ite once Scott’s pesky pack has been dealt with, but he’s not one to shy away from holy alliances in order to succeed in his ambitions. Just like the Sheriff warned Monroe in the previous episode. So Gerard offers to weaken Scott for the Anuk-ite, suggesting that the monster is too weak to take on Scott alone. Whilst I didn’t have much interest in this scene, Gerard is always up to something shady after all, I did get chills when Gerard said, ‘The rumor is you need silver to kill a werewolf. The truth? You need an Argent.’ 

BROKEN GLASS

This title is haunting when we learn its meaning towards the end of the episode. As Mason and Corey drive along an empty road to the hospital, Mason comments that tonight is like Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass), and this comment simply highlights the Nazi Germany allegory that has been present throughout season 6B. Throughout this episode, the tension is heightened as the various groups discover that tonight is the night that Gerard and Monroe truly start their war. This tension is simply highlighted by the use of the soundtrack in pivotal scenes, which do send chills down your spine at some points. 

Torture Chamber

The scene with Ethan being tortured by Monroe in front of the new members of Gerard's army simply furthers the Nazi Germany allegory that has been portrayed throughout season 6B. This scene very much plays out as a fascist terror group, ready to wreck havoc and violence on innocent people out of fear and hatred. It’s actually such a disturbing scene to watch, particularly due to the presence of actual kids there. Even more so, with Monroe actually putting the spotlight on the kids as examples for the adults to follow. It’s no wonder that Nolan looks so frightened and disturbed listening to her rhetoric and violent promises. This scene, however, is effective in emphasising the obstacles that the pack will face, countless townspeople and plenty of weapons for all. 

It’s no wonder that Nolan starts to regret his actions when he sees everything that Monroe is willing to do. It’s all started to become too real to him, and so of his own accord he decides to help Liam and the pack. Even here, the immense enemy that the pack faces is emphasised, as Nolan points out to Liam the doctors and nurses in the hospital that are part of the army. The power of this fascist group is further highlighted by the reactions of other students to Nolan. They flinch away from him, afraid of what he might say to Monroe and the others about them. In stirring up anger and hatred towards the supernatural outsiders and joining a fascist group, Nolan himself has become an outsider of sorts. But even his attempts at redemption cannot save him, for though Liam appears to accept that Nolan has changed and is regretful of his actions, Monroe has been using him, and the last we see of Nolan in this episode is being beaten up by Gabe. This is what Nolan gets for changing sides. 

‘You’re coming for me’

One of my favourite scenes in this episode would have to be when Sheriff Stilinski gets pulled over by one of the deputies, who advises him to stay out of their way, because they’re not coming for him. The classic Sheriff Stilinski response? ‘If you’re coming for my friends, you’re coming for me’, and combined with the music which really sets the tone of this moment, I genuinely did get chills watching this scene. The war finally feels real now, as people are choosing sides, are choosing whether to stick with their friends and innocents, or give in to fear and hatred. Parrish tells the Sheriff that both deputies and nurses have started to collect reports of accidents in which patients healed miraculously in order to find supernaturals, and it really starts to hit home that Gerard’s army is making lists so that they can systematically eliminate them all. 

Legend

I absolutely loved the way that Derek’s story was framed in this episode, with Chris listening to the cop tell a ‘legend’ about someone even more interested in finding out the truth about a mass murder, and hunting down the men responsible for it. It was actually a rather brilliant way of reintroducing Derek into the show, with his scenes partnered with the voiceover, emphasising that the tale is shrouded in mystery and superstition, even though the audience, like Chris, are aware of the truth of the situation. I was also very much looking forward to Chris finding Derek, because I always really enjoyed their changing dynamic in earlier seasons, as they went from enemies to allies. Derek learns that Gerard is after him, just as Chris is coming to try to bring him back to Beacon Hills. Derek is not enthused by the idea, but he and Chris do appear to be getting onto the same page, that is, until Kate shows up.

In some way, I was disappointed by Kate’s reappearance, especially because she interacted with Derek. Surely Derek has been haunted long enough on this show, and I thought it was too much for him yet again to be faced by his abuser, who also murdered most of his family. Derek deserves better than that, so I honestly hope that in the final episode Kate gets her comeuppance, and that Derek isn’t forced to endure her for too much longer. But after reading a post by another fan, I must note that this time he sees Kate, Derek is much more sure of himself, and he’s able to handle it better than previously, without being utterly destroyed, and I’m glad for that. A clearly vengeful Kate takes Derek’s wolfsbane and so he must go after her, but not before telling Chris to warn Scott about Kate. I hope that we’ll get to see these two characters interact more in the final episode. It’s always strange seeing Chris and Kate together after Chris changed, because they have such wildly different approaches and views. Whilst Kate is willing to do anything to get revenge on Scott, for Allison’s death I suppose, Allison’s own father is willing to risk his life time and time again to help Scott and the rest of Allison’s friends. One of my predictions for the final episode is that Chris will save Scott but end up dying. But it’ll be ok-because he’ll get to be with his daughter again, and he died saving Scott, the first person she loved, and who held her as she died. It’ll all be very poetic. 

Blind Optimism

The scenes between Lydia and Peter, and Scott, Malia and Deucalion produced most of the comedic moments of this episode, which helped to relieve the tension somewhat, and allow for shifts in atmosphere. This was necessary in order to allow other scenes to have a fuller impact, but it’s also significant to note that once these two groups are together at the end of the episode, the optimism and hope has almost completely dwindled, and the previous humourous effects become negligible. Malia and Scott provide much of the lighthearted moments of the episode, as they attempt to learn to fight blind, thanks to Deucalion, who gives them lessons on sound, heat, balance and pressure. Deucalion's frustration at Malia and Scott (‘I’m starting to wish I was blind again’) provides just as much of an amusement for the audience as well as the inability of both Malia and Scott to really make much headway in this fighting style. Deucalion of course has had years of practice, whilst Scott and Malia are just looking for the highlights, but it’s not that simple. Scott remains optimistic, although Deucalion is far from convinced that this will work out. I did very much enjoy the dynamic between these characters however, especially seeing former enemies Scott and Deucalion working together, with Deucalion as the strategist imparting his wisdom. It’s honestly such a shame that Deucalion dies, because I was really enjoying their scenes together and had been hoping for more of them. Just as Scott starts to get a handle on this style of fighting,  Lydia and Peter bring with them some extreme pessimism on their future in this war. 

Lydia and Peter’s initial meeting at Scott’s house was particularly amusing as they both tried to dodge the other’s questions, before realising that they weren’t moving forward. The awkwardness due to their past history also helped deliver their amusing lines, although even these quickly decline as Peter realises that Lydia is hiding something from him. The crux of the matter is that Lydia dreamed that they were all turned to stone. Every single one of them, suggesting that they would lose. This, in effect, is what she says when she and Peter manage to figure out where Scott and Malia are. Whilst Deucalion has just witnessed Scott finally succeed at fighting him blind, and states, ‘you might just survive this,’ Lydia adds, ‘None of us are going to survive this.’ Because this is literally what she has just witnessed. Whilst Lydia earlier suggested that her dream could be optimistic if they prevent it, so far on this show we have seen her predictions come true, even if they came true in unexpected ways. What I’m suggesting then is that perhaps they are all mostly turned to stone, but perhaps they also manage to break free from it. I wonder if Jackson’s kanima abilities are somehow related to this, for Lydia wakes from this dream asking ‘where’s Jackson’. 

I can’t believe that next week’s episode will be the final episode of Teen Wolf. I love these characters so much and will miss them, but it’s time to say goodbye. 

[midorisekaii-blog]

Run MV: Theories and Thoughts

Long post ahead~ 

Jin is dead

Other members mourn loss of Jin

Jin seen with camera at party scene- Relates to Prologue - Recording all the good times

Tae falling in water

Black clothes that symbolize mourning

Water - Drowning in emotions?

Confused/hurt

Doesn’t know how to react

Doesn’t swim even when in water - Can’t move on

Floating in water - In stasis - Ticking time bomb

Thrashes in water as MV progresses - getting more uncomfortable and unstable

Rapmon 

Appears with coffee and a lollipop - Coffee = adult, lollipop = child

Halfway between adult and child

Throws away coffee/lollipop disappears - Doesn’t want to grow up

Hair colour changes once entering train - shift in time to the past 

Birds migrating in group

Change

Symbolizes BTS sticking together and moving on 

Train carriage

Relates to Spring Day

Like a house - Surroundings change considerably after going through door 

Run aways? If so, who are they running from?

Running from the inevitability of growing up?

Eventually accepts the idea of growing up and moves on leaving everyone but Jungkook

Scene change

Melancholic and lonely scene with Rapmon becomes a party - Emphasizes that the party is in the past

J-Hope messing around in wheelchair

Foreshadows Jungkook in Love Yourself? 

V’s stack of cups knocked over

Could mean the friendship falling apart when Jin dies? 

V pushes Jin against the wall

Beginning of friendship falling apart

Possible argument with Jin, so when Jin dies, V reacts the worst as he blames himself

Draws cross on Jin - Crossing Jin out - Jin ‘no longer exists’

V, Rapmon and Graffiti

Rapmon with lollipop - Childish

Rapmon only watches and nods when V innocently looks at him for guidance

Rapmon leading V down the wrong path? 

Outfit of Rapmon suggests it’s present day again

V’s graffiti appears to be a childish drawing of someone- Jin, perhaps?

V and Rapmon running - V appears arrogant as though he didn’t care if he was caught - Giving up/Reckless

Jin with card tower

Tower falls down like with the cups 

V is the one that knocks the tower away, ruining everything Jin created - Childish mistakes 

Jungkook pats Jin on the shoulder whilst Jin appears awkward and upset that V destroyed his work 

Jin first starts realizing that this was a flashback and that he was dead after that because in reality, he felt that V would never do that - Flashback is distorted

Group Running whilst Jin appears shook

Jin’s shook look could imply that he is starting to realize that everything has already happened and he is having a flashback to all the good moments in life before he dies 

BTS seen running again - Once again, probably running from responsibilities 

Solo shots of members 

Suga staggers rather than walks - Drunk - Drinking away his problems

Jungkook appears unable to cope and has to rest against wall- Needs someone to support him now that Jin is gone

V walking alone at night - Should be asleep at this time - Lonely - Dangerous - Getting more out of control - Wipes tears - Becoming more frustrated than sad 

Jimin screaming out at the place where they used to run- Letting out frustrations, confused and doesn’t know what to do without Jin 

Group running scene again - Close-up on Jungkook whom appears anxious like he doesn’t want to run - Being forced - Jin appears in the group running in the present - Could imply that they still feel his presence though he’s gone - Jungkook doesn’t want to run as it reminds him of Jin’s death

Rapmon and V arrested

Rapmon smiles first at V despite being pressed against the car and V smiles back - Could imply once again that Rapmon is being a bad influence on V 

The smile from Rapmon could also be seen as a way to reassure V that everything was fine, but Rapmon grimaces due to the roughness of the police officers and V appears worried for his friend again 

J-Hope and Jimin in white room

J-Hope’s bed has hospital equipment nearby- At a hospital? 

The two seem fine, implying that it’s a psychological disorder 

There is a theory that J-Hope has Munchausen’s syndrome, which could explain why he’s there

Jimin is probably there due to depression/anxiety after having seen him screaming alone at night where they used to run

J-Hope initiates pillow fight- Resulting in another flashback to when they used to have pillow fights together - Could be considered payback as Jimin is seen hitting J-Hope hard with a pillow, causing him to fling his head back 

Pillow Feathers

Feathers - Relates to angels - Feathers were white at the time, they were all innocent when they were with Jin - Like children 

Feathers can relate to Jin’s solo song, ‘Awake’ - When performed on stage live, there are even feathers floating in the background (I won’t go too in depth to this as I will also analyse their solos)

Rapmon finds card

Rapmon goes back to the place where they had a pillow fight - I assume in the present and finds a card 

The card is the ace of clubs 

In card decks, the club represents fall, winter, night, darkness, males, fire, energy, will, wealth, worth, luck and happiness 

The butterfly in the centre of the card is black, contrasting to the previous scene and emphasizing how clubs represent night and darkness

Butterfly also hints at Wings naturally

Butterflies have many connotations - In Christianity, human souls are represented as butterflies, so it could refer to Jin’s soul now that he has died

Butterflies can also reference hope, change, endurance and life - This symbolizes that things may get better as the other members have hope

Run doesn’t show how Jin dies, so the other members may not know and he could have been only pronounced dead, when he is actually alive- This could explain why the members have hope 

Suga and Jungkook fight

Suga is staggering around again and has an unnatural temper, implying he is drunk... again. This could hint that he has become an alcoholic after the loss of Jin - This is furthered by how he knocked over many drinks on the counter 

Jungkook tries to stop him, probably because he didn’t want Suga hurt, nor did he think this was what Jin wanted

Jungkook hugs the raging Suga, hoping it will calm him down, only for him to be thrown away into the wall and discarded

At this point, Jungkook gives up on reasoning with him and decides to punch some sense into his hyung - Once again, Suga throws Jungkook away

Suga is then seen throwing a chair into a mirror - This could be because he didn’t want to see his reflection because of what he had become or simply because he was that angry

Smashing a mirror causes 7 years of bad luck typically, which could suggest that more bad things were to come 

V is seen for a second turning around to face the camera whilst underwater just before the chair hits the mirror, that could imply that he caused it in someway- V was the symbol of bad luck 

When the chair hits, the cards that Jin stacked fall down again, proving my point that their friendship and all Jin built began to fall apart

There is also a quick moment showing blue/pink flowers that are clearly fake- They could be roses or possibly lisianthus but I’m unsure on that 

If the flowers were lisianthus it would have the nickname ‘poor man’s rose’ and mean ‘Dissolution flower’ - Dissolution meaning something falling apart in basic terms, which could once again symbolize the friendship

After the mirror crashes there is another close-up of Jin holding a drink and appearing confused/worried, implying how he is watching over the boys as they become worse 

Another flashback to the past is then followed after Jungkook is pushed away- He then comes back to the present and Suga is gone, leaving only the wrecked and empty room 

Running again and flashbacks

The MV then gives more running scenes and flashbacks, showing how restless the boys were

They enter a photobooth in a flashback, preserving their happy memories, once again linking to how Jin is constantly seen in MVs with a camera trying to capture the moment. Eg. In the Prologue and even in Spring Day when he pretends to take the photo

J-Hope collapsing

J-Hope falls back on his hospital bed and hasn’t been shown outside yet unless in a flashback, implying how he is in quarantine 

He triggers another flashback after lying down, implying just how much of an effect Jin had on them

J-Hope’s Flashback

In the flashback, everything is relaxed rather than them all running again, this could imply the calm before the storm as J-Hope and Jungkook appear lost in their thoughts 

Rapmon is seen blowing a dandelion and it’s seeds, implying he is making a wish (perhaps wishing for good times to continue) 

As Dandelion’s are a flower they also have meanings, with it being ‘Lion’s tooth’ in flower language and meaning that it is a gift to a loved one that will supply happiness and faithfulness - The dandelion may have been for Jin, as they all wish him happiness in the afterlife

All the other members are seen standing whilst Jin is sat down and lost in thought - He is clearly detached from the others 

Tunnel Scene

Past tense

Members seen being reckless and rowdy, all except for Jin in the get-away car - Jin doesn’t want to be like them and is the responsible one

Suga is staggering again, perhaps out of arrogance, perhaps because he’s drunk- Other members may have also been drunk due to the drinks in their hands and their rash actions 

V draws another cross on one of the cars - Crossing it out like he did with Jin - V is the one that controls what happens to the other members 

Members start running ahead without Jin, leaving him behind - Jin dies whilst they live on - Jin is detached from the group again

The other members get in the truck but there is only 5 in the back- This could mean 2 things

One is that one of them is sitting to the side of Jin

The other is that Jin is only there in spirit, and another member had to drive because Jin wasn’t even there in the first place  because he was already dead 

Party Scene... Again

Jimin runs in with feathers in hair, probably from the pillow fight - Past tense again

On the door it says: ‘Inhale, Exhale, Breathe’ with something crossed out above the word ‘inhale’ - This is written in an imperative manner and could reference to Jin’s death somehow

There is a poster on the wall saying ‘Find your soul’ - This could be talking to the other members, wanting them to find Jin- Which Rapmon had found a clue to finding Jin’s soul with the butterfly card

Jin comes up to Jimin and welcomes him to the party whilst the others mess around - The first time that Jin actually appears as though he is part of the group  

Jimin is thrown in the bath - Could relate to how V is underwater for many of his scenes - Note how V hasn’t been seen at all after being arrested unless it was showing him underwater or in a flashback

Someone tries to push Jimin’s head underwater as either a joke or not and judging by the clothing it was Rapmon 

Ending Scenes

V is seen thrashing even more in the water, implying that he is running out of time before he goes ‘crazy’ so to speak, as he is unable to deal with Jin’s death

Rapmon and V are seen running and escaping from the police, how though? They were being shackled and yet they managed to escape 

Jungkook is seen pushing himself away from the wall, which could mean that he can support himself a little more now without Jin and has accepted it to some extent

Close-up of V looking at the camera in confusion/horror - He doesn’t know what to do now Jin is gone 

Flashback to the party- V is in the bath instead of Jimin, relating to how V is in the water 

Jin faces away from the camera with what appears to be a train behind him, relating to Spring Day 

V turns around underwater with a look of regret/fear on his face, showing how he blames himself for Jin’s death

Music stops and 6 members are seen walking from the perspective of Jin, who was in the car - Jungkook turns back to look at Jin and stops following the others - This could imply that he wants to be where Jin is or that he doesn’t want to leave Jin behind

The final scene could also be filmed not via from inside a car but maybe as though we are watching through someone’s eyes- An unknown person or Jin- The person seems to stop and only Jungkook can notice them, giving a small smile - Jungkook is the only one that can see Jin, be it his ghost or that he is actually alive but unbeknownst to the others

V finally comes out of the water like a caterpillar from his cocoon- Being in the water may have been the process that changed V from good to bad

Conclusion: Jin is dead. Rapmon could be the devil on V’s shoulder that led him astray, V was an innocent angel but when Jin died he slowly becomes closer to falling - Just like how he fell in the water. Jungkook is the only one ‘awake’ and aware. 

[fallendeckerstar-old]

Lucifer 2x12 random thoughts

So disappointed the sex scene was a dream. I feel like the writers couldn't push their relationship that far without it going too fast, but they were definitely using sex to get better ratings. Tom mentioned in an interview that it was a "true plot point" and I'm just like "Nope." The only thing it shows is that Chloe still has doubts about whether Lucifer is the actual devil, which could lead into 2x13, I suppose, but meh.

OMG, the ass slap!!! I literally screamed. Also, you can tell Chloe is vanilla, 'cause a) she doesn't cup her hand properly and b) she had to extend too far and lost some momentum. She should take some pointers from Maze.

Chloe's giggle. My life is Chloe's giggle after slapping Lucifer's ass. How many takes did Lauren get to slap Tom's ass? Do actors have to consent in their contracts to sexual contact? Are their agents like, "Please take special note of Section IV on consent for ass slapping." *ponders*

"Sex with friends." OMG, Chloe’s wink. *snort* Someone is horny. And that someone isn't the devil.

LUCIFER SPENT 21 MINUTES TALKING ON THE PHONE WITH CHLOE AT 9:23PM YESTERDAY! I can only imagine the awkward/cute conversation as Lucifer tries to figure out whether Chloe actually likes him, and then Chloe starts falling asleep because she's used to waking up early to get Trixie to school and Lucifer just listens to her gently snore for a couple minutes before whispering sweet things in her ear... which leads Chloe to dream about him... Someone write this fanfiction, stat!

(Cut for length and cursing like a sailor)

I'm not quite sure what made Dan finally snap, "Dick," back at Lucifer calling him, "Douche." Is is because Charlotte was there and he felt he needed to defend his manhood? He heard about Lucifer and Chloe's kiss? Lucifer and Dan were so chummy in the last episode.

Chloe is so frustrated with Lucifer ignoring her advances and it's so cute! "Have you ever made out in a library?" Fluffy Chloe pick up lines for $100, please.

"How do I look?" "Beautiful" Awww!!!

Lucifer, don't drink from random cups at parties. You're going to get yourself roofied. Huh, that could be an interesting fanfic.

I like the fact that Lucifer brings in actors of color. I'm totally down for a dreaded African American woman being a selfless doctor. Not down for the carnage that follows. Holy shit, Lucifer writers decided to take the M rating all the way. I was fine with the steamy sex scenes, but ugh!

Chloe's jealous face. Must gif all the faces of Chloe being jealous.

Aw, Lucifer was smoking pot with the sorority girls and talking about romance. Takes me back to many a drunken conversation I had in college (although with the nerds, not the sorority girls). We had less bean bags and much smaller dorm rooms.

MUM, STAY AWAY FROM LINDA!!!

I really don't get what Mum's game is. Why does she want to tell Lucifer that Chloe is a gift from god? She realizes he may be upset and not believe her, but why would she provide that information? Doesn't she realize this will wreck her plan to bring them together? Ah, right. "It might send him over the edge against his father." Mum wants to turn Lucifer against his father and convince him to rise up and rebel and reinstate Mum to Heaven. She's too narcissistic to realize how he's going to take this revelation.

"So what you're saying is I need to find someone Lucifer trusts who is foolish enough to help me tell him." My first though was Dan. Second, Amenadiel. Maze was not in my thought process.

Ugh, I did not sign up for disposal splatter. *shudder*

Lucifer's hurt face when Chloe says they can't get emotions get in the way of them being a team and he admits someone might get hurt. ALDKFJLIEOWAFLASDKJF!

Lucifer's honest, "Get well soon," to the poison victim is so innocent and cute. And then I think about the fact that Chloe's going to be in the hospital next week, and it's suddenly heart-wrenching.

The professor saved his laptop rather than the college student. One word for the poor sap. "Backups.”

Seriously, I even have my fanfiction under revision control. Use google docs if you must, it at least keeps a record of your changes.

Dear Lucifer writers, "Lame" is an ablist slur. Please remove from your vocabulary.

Dan: "That's a rash move." Says the man who turned Warren Smith over to the mafia to be killed.

Lucifer emailed Chloe, saying "I found this video on the interent [sic] last night". I wonder what video he found? More fanfic fodder.

Chloe's username is c_decker and her user ID is 03-33658-1. Saving for the final round of Lucifer trivia whenever we finally get to season 5 and start having Lucifer conventions.

OMG, PEOPLE! Ok, so the Lucifer writers have triggered my pet peeve. Lucifer said, "We proved your theory wrong." A theory is a proven fact. You test a hypothesis. Be smart like Ella and use science jargon correctly.

"Granny panties Decker, a miracle?" Gotta love Maze.

Oh FFS Lucifer, not the wrists. Just prick your finger or something. Ok, writers, that was gratuitous. Someone should have put a trigger warning on that. Oh, wait. Shit. Maybe it's foreshadowing for next episode because Lucifer needs to kill himself to get to hell? Oh, this is bad. Like worse than when Killian Jones stepped off a roof to get the attention of his dark one girlfriend.

Yeah, uh, that was a bit much. Professor Creepy Mask doesn't have a fast-acting poison he'd rather use that will be less painful than bleeding out? Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the gratuitous violence in this episode.

"This is real, isn't it?" Forehead bumps are the best! And that moment where he finally puts his arms around Chloe and AHHH!

"The Detective and I--sorry, Chloe and I are real." F*CK ME GENTLY WITH A SPOON, he used her actual name! Next, he needs to actually use it to her face. But baby steps. *breathes deeply*

Amenadiel's 70s patterned shirt and leather jacket cracks me up. Plus the velvet curtain and towel dress. Tattered edges and washed-out exposure on the photo. A+ to the props team.

It was real Lucifer. It's going to take him a bit, but deep down he knows Chloe is honest and true. He's said so on the stand.

Peace out! Hope you enjoyed my colorful rant/review!

[its-just-like-the-movies]

A Cure For Wellness (2017) B-/C+

At eight films into the year, who’s to say if Gore Verbiski’s A Cure For Wellness will still be the strangest film I’ve seen from 2017? Get Out, Raw, and American Fable have rolled on by, with Personal Shopper waiting right around the immediate corner, in all of their own distinct flavors of horrifying, strange, and discomfiting, and that’s nothing to say of films like The Beguiled off in the distance. But with a budget at least nine times higher than Shopper’s and eight times higher than Get Out’s (Fable and The Beguiled don’t have a reported budget, as far as I can tell), Wellness’s weirdness has been its primary selling point, both within itself and as a child of the studio system with tens of millions and a name-brand director of popular money-makers behind it. Its reputation for being absolutely batshit has superseded most conversation about it, even acknowledging lapses in plot, theme, length, and characterization. And Wellness lapses in all of these areas, regularly. The obviousness of where it will go is so heavily thudded in its first half that it keeps working against itself in moments that should be wonderfully odd. But once everything officially goes to shit for our hero, and the film finally stops pretending to hide what it’s doing and starts luxuriating in its own insanity, all that foreshadowing is recuperated in the service of executing these story beats in even stranger ways than I could have possibly expected.

Let’s start from the beginning, or maybe the prologue, where an initially nameless CEO dies of a heart attack working late in his company’s office space. The dead man’s body bathed in the light of - and dwarfed by - a seemingly infinite number of desktop computers is both the first in a multitude of striking imagery and a red herring, implying the film will have a long-reaching thesis about how American business-people are literally working themselves to death. From there we see the ascension of corporate cog Lockhart, only to be sent to off a mysterious resort in Sweden by the partners of his corporation, blackmailing him to retrieve their missing partner so that they can bring him home and lock him up as a patsy for their own shady dealings. The casting of Dane DeHaan, already so gaunt, is enough to reinforce the idea of death by overworking as Lockhart heads off on his assignment, seemingly peeved at the tremendous effort he’s undertaking simply to go and pick up this rogue suit. Not until he lands in the limousine taking him to that gothic wellness center do we see or hear anything of real value to the plot, establishing not just the truly bizarre story of how the hospital came to be but the contentious relationship between the hospital and the village leading up to it, rooted in said bizarre goings-on. This only really matters for a single detour into town, though, as Lockhart spends the rest of the film trapped in the wellness center as a patient and a test subject.

I do hope that calling him a test subject isn’t considered a spoiler, but it’s hard to call that overarching narrative all that shocking. From the moment we arrive the wellness center has a sterile, menacing aura that’s only enhanced once we get inside the institution and meet director Dr. Volmer and his ward Hannah, played respectively by a slimy Jason Isaacs and young Mia Goth, looking like Shelley DuVall as a Tim Burton ingenue. Like a lot in Wellness, the exact nature of their relationship is one you’ll likely realize long before you’re told about it; the first eighty minutes of the film are torn between trying to maintain some impression the hospice is normal enough and DeHaan is just imaging things or either going full bore up its own ass. And since the entire plot is built on how goddamn bizarre everything actually is, there’s not much going on for the first half outside of the few moments Verbinski goes “fuck it” and lets everything happen all at once. I spent those eighty minutes longing for the sheer, sporadic insanity of moments like the deer limping its shattered body off the road and away from the car wreck, the missing CEO slinking into a pool and spending too much time getting his head wet, Lockhart’s first treatment in the tank that may or may not have been infested with dozens of eels. A trip into town wherein Lockhart takes Hannah with him as he tries to establish contact with his employers is perhaps the first scene that manages to genuinely build its own kind of tension as we watch Hannah float around the bar, orbited by intrigued and skeevy punks, unaware of the dangers these kids are to her as she wanders into the bathroom and steals an abandoned tube of lipstick before dancing to the jukebox with the other kids. Meanwhile, Lockhart meets a farmer who becomes the thirty-eighth person to dish out something about the legend of the mad baron who opened the institution before comparing Lockhart to an injured cow the farmer has to slaughter.

From here we have about two more labyrinthine explorations, each more unraveled than the last one, before Lockhart confronts Dr. Volmer at a dinner table sequence that finally lays bare what he’s doing to the patients bare- involving even more eels and the suspiciously ineffective water that isn’t stopping teeth from popping out due to dehydration. And once we learn this, A Cure for Wellness at last stops trying to resist its strangest impulses and doesn’t just jump full bore up its own ass, but starts actually driving forward in the narrative after spending so much time trying to obfuscate its mysteries. Scenes start landing punches, stakes really matter, and the reveals land with such potency that it doesn’t even matter you already figured out this mad tale of incest and genetic experimentation over an hour ago. The real surprises in the institution are not the horrific farming of its patients, but the sheer gusto and fright with which these moments are finally visualized instead of whispered at us by a doomed woman cutting up newspaper scraps (Celia Imre, not given enough screen time to contribute her own brand of spookiness).

But what’s most striking is how assured and confidently the film reveals its layers of madness and human experimentation once it gets there. Never have I seen a man rip off what’s left of his face with such vigor, or the burning of a ballroom be shot with the same sweeping gorgeousness, if not more, as it had been when it was a party celebrating a truly awful success. Its set pieces had always been effective and well-shot, but the vigor in those moments has spread to the rest of the film, now that it’s given itself over to its own strangeness. The ending is, if anything, bigger than I had expected in its rampaging through the institution and its characters as Dr. Volmer sets his final plans in motion, and as Lockhart raced to find him I genuinely wondered how on earth he could pull this off. Wellness’ weirdness is not just potent but utterly grandiose, going full-scale melodrama in its last half hour in order to fulfill a story with fewer layers to it than Raw or Get Out, in realizing a plot it was too happy to telegraph from its earliest moments, and I’ll be damned if the sheer spectacle didn’t bowl me over better than any “event” blockbuster I’ve grumbled my way to a ticket for with my boyfriend.

Looking it up, I can’t say I’m shocked about the critical mixed reception, perhaps even the poor returns financially, but I wish things had gone a little better for this odd little fucker. If you’re hoping for more out of a film than strangeness, perhaps check out the talents of Eve Stewart, shuttled off from the greater horror of Tom Hooper’s sets, striking a fine balance in her realization of the institution that can flip from perfectly normal, uncomfortably sterile, and truly haunted, and that’s before we even get to the underground lair or some crazy aboveground shit. Bojan Bazelli’s cinematography, operating within the spa’s blues, the cast’s whites, and whatever flourished of color are called upon amongst all this pale, does similarly skilled work realizing set pieces like Hannah wading through a pool or the ballroom escapades horrific to watch and visually stunning. Bazelli and the makeup department must get credit for accenting DeHaan’s sickliest features, and making Goth look so much like she’d never touched sunlight, like every Victorian heroine meant to symbolize The Hopes And Dreams Of The Oppressed or something like that. I can’t say you’ve really missed much if you missed this film while it was in its theatrical run, but I know seeing that crazy shit on the big screen was enough of an amplifier to keep it in my head for a while. Then again, maybe it’ll feel even more at home on the Syfy channel when it isn’t showing one of its delicious, homemade fish-beast movies. If it’s ever there, I encourage you to give it a shot, even if you hop in an hour late. You probably haven’t missed the good stuff, you can easily catch up, and it’s better than you’d give it credit for just by looking at it.