#i just rewatched s4 because i saw it was on prime

[fereldanwench]

i finished my rewatch (well, rewatch of s1-s5 + first watch of s6 bc i hadn't seen it before) of lucifer last night so some thoughts

spoilers under the cut

the relationships--platonic, romantic, sexual, parent-to-child, all of them--is the absolute best thing about this show and what keeps me here even when shit gets dumb. the friendship between all the ladies is my fave, but i was extra fond of dan this run and his friendships with amenadiel and chloe were just 10/10. i always liked that he and chloe didn't fall into the hostile ex tropes and were good friends who could co-parent

s3 remains my least favorite and the biggest slog to get through imo, but i still get a kick out of the episode with the undercover sting that has lucifer and pierce pretending to be a couple

s4 also remains my favorite--i feel like it just best encapsulates everything that drew me into the show in the first place

perhaps an unpopular opinion, but i was never a big fan of deckerstar being a fully realized thing. it's obvious that was always gonna be the endgame, but i just like the dynamic between chloe and lucifer a lot more as platonic partners with a little sexual tension and a lot of good-natured ribbing

s6 has some individually good moments, like eve and maze getting hitched--although i saw some people say that came out of nowhere and i respectfully disagree. they're both incredibly impulsive, i think it was very fitting and adorable, and I'm getting teary-eyed again thinking about maze realizing she is capable of loving and deserving of being loved

but anyway the A plot is built off a premise i hate so much: time travel. i loathe time-traveling shit in stories like this, where could it be explained as plausible (and they try, with chloe, i think, pointing out like 'well your brother can freeze time, is this really that much different?' yes, writers-via-chloe, it is, because you used the time-freezing in interesting moments and time travel is all around stupid) but it otherwise comes out of nowhere. and with a fuckin' future kid driving that plot? gross, no thanks

i mean, rory was mostly inoffensive, minus her telling lucifer she wasn't going to the suit fitting and then getting mad when he wasn't there, like girl, you did that one yourself. but if you're gonna introduce a main character in the last season of a show, that character had better be fuckin amazing, and she was not

i suspected i was probably never gonna be wild about how deckerstar wrapped up just because that was like the only relationship i was never super into, but again, the time travel shit is just dumb. I'm just really annoyed at the time travel loop thing being essential to lucifer finding his true calling or whatever and it was nice to see that chloe was always surrounded by friends even after he was gone, but omg what a fucking sacrifice on her part for real. i think it was meant to be a mostly happy ending with their reunion and it just did not hit that way for me. chloe deserved better

but ranting aside, i do still think it's a really fun show and there are so many prime comfort-food-watching moments that were perfect for a little casual holiday viewing <33

[lockoutkey]

Saw your tags in that reblog and as someone who's seen every iteration of the TMNT show but 1987 (just haven't gotten around to it yet) 2003 is my personal favorite tbh! (Or at least through s5. s6 and s7 were...not as bad as I was led to believe but rather mediocre in comparison.)

I say that as someone who grew up with 2012 and watched Rise when it aired, and still loves both, but 2003 is grittier than Rise in a way that's more to my preference, it has my favorite individual characterizations of each of the turtles (particularly Donnatello), the voice acting is top notch, and as someone who's a big fan of whump in any form 2003 delivers (Shredder Strikes Back and that last episode of s3 are prime examples, but also all of Leonardo in s4 if emotional whump is more your style).

I'm really excited that it seems like plenty of other people like 2003 as well! I love it so much

i also grew up with 2012 and i’ve seen some of 03 and all of 2012 and rise multiple times but 2012 is my favorite because 1) angst 2) top notch skyblings dynamics and 3) greg cipes. 03 hits different tho cause it gives the old cartoon feel that i remember as a little kid and that makes me feel some type of way. 03 gives me power ranger vibes and reminds me of the batman cartoons from the 90s.

usually for cartoons what gets me is the va’s (ben schwartz is what hooked me on rise tbh) and whoever donnie’s va is is so good. i’m actually rewatching 03 rn since i’m basically finished with school and his va is so good. most people don’t have shows they’ll watch specifically if a voice actor is in it but i literally will watch a show if greg cipes is in it, or if it’s an anime todd haberkorn

[bloodbuzz-ohio]

#what all of our otps deserve

[cakemousse]

i saw your post about the superiority of the French dub, and I’m wondering what are some of the top episodes you’d recommend to watch in French, to someone who primarily watched the English dub, like instead of rewatching the entire series?

Hey, apart from the really important ones like Origins, Oblivio, Ephemeral, and so on, it really depends on what you are looking for in particular, so I’m just going to throw you some recommendations lol I've also asked my friends for some help with this.

Script differences: - Simon Says/Jackady Ladybug and Adrien to each other: "You have her smile" in French and "She's got your eyes" in English. 🔵🟢👁❓🤨 - Troublemaker/L'Insaisissable Adrien saying "I'm happy to have you as my friend" to Marinette in the French dub, while saying "I'm glad to have you as one of my fans" in the English dub… cheapens their relationship don’t you think? :| - Lady WiFi Marinette and Tikki were talking about different persons at the end. That being Alya in the French dub and Chat Noir in the English dub. - Chat Blanc When Chat Blanc was about to blow up whole of Paris, he calls for maribug, she replied with "Mon Adrien" (My Adrien) in French but "My Prince" in English… :| now what the fuc—

And plenty of others mentioned here, here, and here... and many many more...

The English dub censors how angry Gabriel actually is: - Felix/Félix The French dub does not joke around with this.

Ladybug in the French dub isn't as annoyed as how the English dub portrayed her to be: - Prime Queen/Audimatrix (she even calls him 'mon Chaton' here!! amongst other pet names!!! You will not be using pet names if you’re pissed at someone.) - Kuro Neko (her reactions to him asking her to take back his Miraculous is very different between the dubs. the English dub just sounds straight up done with him, which is definitely not the case in French.)

Chat Noir's musical style of speaking*: - Gabriel Agreste I recommend this episode because when I was sub encoding it, I realised that French dub adrichat does indeed sound different when he's one or the other, in the sense that he's more jovial as Chat Noir, thus the musical tone of voice. *honestly, every single episode ever, except I think later bit of S4?? where, you know...

Ladybug's singsong voice as she battles: - Copycat/L'Imposteur ("But me, I'm even way better~", "it's time for Akuma fishing~", "No more harm, little Akuma~", "Got you~") - Psycomedian/Psycomédien (I'm going to defeat him with my eyes closed~). There’s also a script change in this, English’s “Perfect for going out in style!” and French’s “But it’s useless, you’re naturally perfect!” what is this simp erasure?!

Chat Noir's French laughter: - Glaciator 2 His endearing laughter in French dub VS. his... I don't even know what to call it laughter in English dub, they did him so dirty in this 😤 I hate his laughter in the English dub, it's like he's mocking her.

Emotionally Heavy(?): - Glaciator How vulnerable marichat sounds in this, but especially the ladynoir scene at the end, and how soft they sound 🥺 - Gang of Secrets/Le Gang des Secrets Just how hard it hits when Marinette confesses to Alya who she really is. (When I first saw it of course, but the effect might be lesser now since we know what happened, but it was oomph when it first aired.) - Mr. Pigeon 72/M. Pigeon 72 You can just hear Adrien's adoration for Ladybug in this istg. And the Adrinette scene afterwards just flows and sounds so much better. And their giggling and chuckling omg it's so cute! - Strike Back/Réplique Okay I'm not gonna lie, the English dub in this is really not bad, but the French just takes the cake for me. I mean did you hear how hard Ladybug was breathing?! Her panic attack feels so real I just want to hug her and breathe with her, and of course Adrien the soft and supportive boyfriend is there to calm her down 🥺 also it’s ladrien, there’s no way i’m not including this.

Also I encourage you to watch the episodes cause you can understand why clownbug SIMPBUG and simpnoir exists in many of our minds. You can also really can hear the characters having a conversation, how flirty they can get, the undeniable affection they have for each other (all sides of lovesquare) platonic or romantic, how they are, by chatonnoir's tags, [so sweet, so warm, so full of love, so charming, so playful], and on and on it goes.

[rizahawkais]

I LOVED season 1 and 2 of the crown but found season 3 quite dull and difficult to get through. I'm enjoying season 4 (still havent finished bc I watch with my family and we're rarely all together) but I think that the earlier seasons were a lot better in my opinion

hi! i completely agree w you!

I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE REPLY! I replied to this the day you sent it but my laptop crashed and I lost everything I wrote so I put off till now!

All in all, the writing for the first two seasons were WAY better. My ranking is s2 > s1 > s4 >>>>> s3. In my opinion, season three was kind of terrible.

hahaha this is so so long.

In the first two seasons each episode’s mini story for the day was actually INTERESTING. Like, I loved where one episode was about the Mountbatten name and then the next was about the Great Smog! But, there was always an overarching plot and it always added up in the end. S1, S2 and S4 all had an overarching plot that worked! S1 was balancing family and the crown. S2 was balancing prime ministers and her husband. S4 was the downfall of Margaret Thatcher and Charles/Diana. S3 LITERALLY HAD NO PLOT! It was just a bunch of stories put together. The finale for season 3 was about the end of Margaret’s marriage! And although, it is an important event in the family’s history the fact that it was the finale episode????

Anyways, Season 3 genuinely just sucks. Season 4 is REALLY good. Yet, it still doesn’t leave as much of an affect on me like the earlier seasons. AND LIKE I KNOW BECAUSE I’VE REWATCHED THE FIRST THREE SEASONS SO MANY TIMES. I’ve only seen the fourth once because I’m too busy and it’s also too early for me to rewatch it. So, maybe my opinion of season 4 will change!

Now, because I am extra 😈😈 and crazy I will talk about every single episode IN ORDER. hehehehehehe. feel free to hate me

SEASON ONE

101 Wolferton Splash - 10/10 this episodes just sets everything up! we see how happy the marriage is and how loving king george is and we also see the FORSHADOWING!! we see lilibet and phillip making their life thinking they had time when we know they don’t and it’s just :( AN AMAZING PILOT EPISODE WITH AMAZING QUOTES!

102 Hyde Park Corner - 1000/10 this episode needs no explanation. the suspense and DRAMA right before lilibet finds out about her dad ALWAYS gets me!!

103 Windsor - 10/10 I hated this episode the first time I watched it! I didn’t understand the importance of her uncle and I didn’t understand the complexity behind the episode. I was 14 when I saw this episode for the first time! So, mind you I was quite ignorant. but, david basically represents the audience in the show for those who hate the monarchy and call them out on their hypocrisy. BUT DAVID IS A TERRIBLE PERSON! FUCK DAVID! i understand hating the monarchy and for him i know it was personal but the way he talks about his family in the letters UGHUGHGUHGUHGUHGUH this man is evil! there’s also the other story in the episode about the mountbatten name which is so brilliant!

104 Act of God - 15/10 this episode was boring on first watch but I WAS FOURTEEN! this episode took a break from the monarchy and concentrated on a british national horrific event THAT WAS IMPORTANT and i liked how it connected throughout the episode and all that and the CINEMATOGRAPHY OMGGGGG! anyways, something that pisses me off about this episode is that the crown kind of has the same kind of audience as euphoria! they only care about a hot actor or iconic character or the aesthetics AND THAT MAKES ME ANGRY! bc those are the ppl who call this episode the boring fog episode and the latest episode of euphoria a waste of time! they don’t understand the importance of what their watching. an event that killed hundreds by something that could have been avoided bc of science and for euphoria an ongoing pandemic of an ugly world and its affect on ppl not wanting to go on! IM SORRY THIS TURNED INTO A RANT but this episode is important in reminding audiences that disasters can be avoided but also once they happen anything can happen THIS WAS A SAD EPISODE OKAY AND I LOVED VENETIA SCOTT!

105 Smoke and Mirrors - 100/10 THE CORONATION EPISODE! Phillip tries to bring it to the common public and all the fighting between them just makes the coronation even more impactful when we watch it!

106 Gelignite - 8/10 I DESPISED MARGARET IN THE FIRST SEASON i saw her as a spoiled brat who wanted to marry her dad’s assistant! AND ALSO HOW DID SHE NOT REALIZE THERE WAS DEFINITE GROOMING INVOLVED! this episode is generally very good but margaret just pisses me off a lot! however, her not being able to marry peter boresend shouldn’t have been because of his divorcee status but bc he simply was a predator in anyone’s clear eyes IM SORRY IF YOU DISAGREE BUT SHE MET HIM SO YOUNG NO WAY THERE WAS NO GROOMING good episode but pissed off at margaret’s lack of critical thinking besides but I WANT HIMMMMM LIKE I WANT EVERYTHING

107 Scientia Potentia Est - 11/10 hated this when i first watched it! but now one of my favorites! lilibet feels dumb and needs a tutor! prime minister and wannabe prime minister have health problems and keep it from her! lilibet finds out by accident and they all get yelled at! I LOVE WHEN SHE YELLS AT MEN!

108 Pride & Joy - 10/10 this episode is just adds on to the overarching plot of the season: balancing the crown and family. margaret says disrespectful things to ppl who don’t deserve it in place of lilibet while she’s on the commonwealth tour fighting with her husband! then lilibet scorns margaret and we see an ugly papa loved me more argument! absolutely brilliant!

109 Assassins - 1000/10 hated it the first time but now I LOVE THIS EPISODE! it’s the painting and porchey episode and churchill leaving episode. It’s so so so good! i honestly have no words to describe the brilliance of this episode besides the acting done by almost the entire main cast CLAIRE WOW! MATT WOW! STEPHEN (THE PAINTER) WOW! JOHN WOW! HARRIET WOW! when we see the painting getting burned coincided w the downing st dinner GETS ME EVERYTIME I LOVE IT SO SO MUCH!

110 Gloriana - 100/10 the climactic fight between the crown and family! which will lilibet choose?? and the foreshadowing to suez MWAH!

SEASON TWO

201 Misadventure - 100/10 LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS EPISODE the cutesy lilibet and phillip until it all goes down WOW! and the suez stuff i love it all

202 A Company of Men - 100/10 this is where i think mike’s wife starts snooping or it’s the next episode BUT THIS IS WHERE SOMETHING BEGINS FOR SURE first of all it foreshadows the episode later in the season about philip’s childhood AND MATT’S ACTING!! it’s too good for words!

203 Lisbon - 100/10 i like it when they fight lol that’s the only way i know how to describe why i love it LILIBET WAS EXCITED TO SEE HIM AND SO WAS HE but then mike ruined it by being a disgraceful and dishonest man RUINING EVERYTHING

204 Beryl - 10/10 i start to like margaret bc i feel bad for her! she’s suffering she’s sad that her lil predator boyfriend is no longer w her but look who it is MATTHEW GOODE! he not suspicious at all but the writers are like here take 20 minutes of perfect chemistry between the actors!

205 Marionettes - 100/10 I LOVE THIS EPISODE basically someone who loves the monarchy insults the monarchy and lilibet actually goes to listen to them! w resistance of course but she still took everything he said to fix the monarchy !

206 Vergangenheit - 1000/10 one of my favorites! i didn’t know about david’s nazi past so when i watched this episode for the first time i was completely baffled! another episode where she yells at a man!!!! i’m always annoyed in this episode tho by all the talk from the priest about forgiveness bc im like why would u want to forgive david for being a nazi?? but i think it was intentional by the writers to show the importance of understanding forgiveness and the grounds for it! THIS EPISODE IS JUST PERFECT IM ANNOYED BC I DON’T WANT TO FORGIVE HIM

207 Matrimonium - 9/10 this episode is amazing BEFORE you’ve seen season three bc you root for margaret and tony! but, also throughout the episode there’s all that tony and family and his gf and bf stuff that you think is going to lead somewhere but doesn’t??? like what was the point of introducing his mother and his relationships if it was going nowhere and not even mentioned in season 3??? LIKE WHAT WAS THE POINT WHAT WAS THE REASON? but, also there’s lilibet and phillip fluff in this episode I LOVE

208 Dear Mrs. Kennedy - 10/10 this episode is fun as an american bc i think jackie kennedy and jfk are so idolized here in america it was so interesting to see this other pov! BUT I ALSO REALLY LOVED LILIBET DANCING W NKRUMAH! I THOUGHT IT WAS SO CUTE AND THE MARTIN CHARTERIS STUFF LEADING UP TO IT WAS SO FUNNY!

209 Paterfamilias - 100000/10 no words. IT WAS SO SMART TO PARALLEL PHILIP AND CHARLES this has a lower rating than the previous episode which makes no sense but only goes to prove the idolization of jackie and jfk

210 Mystery Man - 100/10 EVERYTHING FROM THE FIRST EPISODE IS ADDRESSED IN THIS EPISODE THE SEASON COMES FULL CIRCLE JUST LIKE SEASON ONE DID AND SEASON THREE DID NOT DO THAT AND SEASON FOUR DID IT TOO BUT NO WHERE AS GREATLY

every single episode of seasons two has a 9+ rating from me!

SEASON THREE (worst season)

301 Olding - 5/10 weak starter but good for introducing olivia as lilibet and harold wilson and departing churchill BUT THAT’S IT! like the whole spy thing just went bleh LIKE IT HAD POTENTIAL but it needed early seasons writing not third season writing techniques TOBIAS DID A GREAT JOB THO IN THIS EPISODE HE WAS A GREAT RECAST FOR PHILIP

302 Margaretology - 6/10 okay. just okay. margaret kind of bratty but you actually feel bad for her then she gets bratty again and then you feel bad for her again and the scenarios in the episode just didn’t feel real like the whole lyndon b johnson was so jealous of jfk that he was rude to the queen so they sent margaret JUST DIDN’T MAKE SENSE like i know this show is fictional but the fiction tends to be believable until i research the episode afterwards BUT FOR THIS it just didn’t make sense

303 Aberfan - 1000/10 ONE OF THE GOOD EPISODES OF THE SEASON! those first fifteenish minutes??? TEARS! i never knew about aberfan until this episode and seeing this episode made me cry!

304 Bubbikins - 10000/10 THIS EPISODE IS TECHNICALLY NOT AS GOOD AS THE ABERFAN EPISODE BUT THIS IS A PERSONAL PREFERENCE we meet anne and alice in this episode AND I LOVE BOTH OF THEM (erinsdoherty is my current url!) this episode is so sad and sweet at the same time and loving bc i’m a sucker for philip’s back story!

305 Coup - 8/10 this had potential I FEEL LIKE IF THEY WROTE THIS EPISODE DIFFERENTLY LIKE HOW THEY WROTE ONE OF THE SUEZ EPISODE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER the fact that it all went to nothing and nothing basically happened WHAT WAS THE POINT

306 Tywysog Cymru - 1000/10 this episode made me like charles! what a horrendous statement! but, like i thought his relationship w his tutor was so heartwarming and he actually seemed to care and all that and it just all in all MADE ME HAPPY like this episode isn’t sad it’s a happy episode until the last scene w lilibet BUT YEA they gave us this one good episode until we hate him which i appreciate makes the story telling better

307 Moondust - -100/10 hate this episode LIKE GENUINELY HATE IT HATE HATE HATE and tbh im generally very very nice w my opinions ANYWAYS I WAS SO EXCITED FOR THIS EPISODE BUT IT WAS SO STUPID LIKE THE ASTRONAUTS BEING ASSHOLES WAS STUPID PHILIP BEING AN ASSHOLE TO THE PRIESTS WAS STUPID LIKE PHILIP IS AN ASSHOLE BUT IT’S BEHIND PEOPLE’S BACKS AND THEN THEY KILLED ALICE OFF SCREEN I HATE THIS EPISODE

308 Dangling Man - -1000/10 HATE THIS ONE TOO this episode convinced me that the writers for the first two seasons to this season has changed all of a sudden we forget that david was basically a nazi and the charles we met two episodes ago sees him as exactly like this uncle who he swore he would be nothing like to the people of wales??? LIKE WHO WROTE THIS THEY WERE DOING CRACK WHILE WRITING THIS EPISODE and i felt NOTHING during the lilibet and david goodbye WHACK EPISODE TERRIBLE JUST BAD TERRIBLE

309 Imbroglio - 5/10 episode started off good but then just went a lil too crazy by making it seem like a whole secret spy mission going behind lilibet’s back

310 Cri de Cour - 4/10 bad just bad HBC GOOD ACTRESS AMAZING ACTRESS given bad material like NONE OF THIS FEELS CONNECTED THIS STORY IS ALL RANDOM AND WE HAD A WHOLE EPISODE ABOUT MARGARET AND TONY AND WE DON’T EVEN MENTION ANY OF THE CRAZY STUFF FROM THE LAST SEASON BUT WE CONCENTRATE ON MARGARET BEING A SUGAR MAMA MAKES SENSE YALL

once again i hate season three

SEASON FOUR

401 Gold Stick- 8/10 written weirdly but had GOOD SCENES such as meeting thatcher and diana! BUT THE SCENE STEALER WAS OBVIOUSLY MOUNTBATTEN’S DEATH AND PHILIP TELLING CHARLES THAT HE BECAME DICKIE’S SON INSTEAD OF HIM SAD STUFF so like the death was sad and dramatic and I FELT BAD but like i shouldn’t bc im south asian and mountbatten did bad stuff to us BUT IT DOESN’T CHANGE THE RIPPLE WE FELT

402 The Balmoral Test - 9/10 funny episode but needed early seasons’ writing

403 Fairytale - 9/10 good episode but needed early seasons’ writing BUT ALSO THAT SCENE BETWEEN CAMILA AND DIANA MWAH CHEF’S KISS THEY BOTH DESERVE ALL THE AWARDS but needed early seasons’ writing

404 Favourites - 7/10 this episode is good but frustrating bc u finally realize how terrible of a mother lilibet is BUT THE ANDREW STUFF WAS GOOD I AM GLAD THEY PUT THAT IN! i liked seeing thatcher’s non-existent relationship w her daughter NEEDED EARLY SEASONS’ WRITING

405 Fagan - 10/10 GOOD EPISODE I LIKE HOW WE WERE EMERSED IN FAGAN’S LIFE AND I LOVE THE ACTOR FOR FAGAN TOO AND I LIKE HOW IT WAS CONNECTED TO THATCHER AND FUELED THE OVERARCHING PLOT OF THE STORY!

406 Terra Nullius - 100/10 GOOD EPISODE CLOSEST TO EARLY SEASONS WRITING THAT’S WHAT MADE IT GOOD seeing them not get along and then get along and then not get along again through a series of montages made the episode brilliant!

407 The Hereditary Principle - 6/10 this episode. how do i explain? the material for this episode was absolutely perfect for the writers of the early seasons! POOR EXECUTION

408 48:1 - 100/10 i like the political episodes more than the family episodes SO THIS EPISODE IS SO BRILLIANT BC OF THE BACK AND FORTH AND I GOT TO SEE CLAIRE!!

409 Avalanche - 7/10 early season writers would have shown the arguing before the avalanche and diana’s reaction JUST SAYING

410 War - 9/10 THIS EPISODE HAD THE YELLING AT EACH OTHER SCENE THAT WAS SO GOOD BUT ANYWAYS THE PROBLEM W THIS EPISODE WAS THAT IT DRAGGED I FEEL LIKE THIS EPISODE AND THE ONE BEFORE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ONE EPISODE TOGETHER

ALAS, what i would like to say is that i feel that season 4 shouldn’t have been so diana centric! it was diana from the beginning of the season to the end! not, that i don’t love the whole diana story but it was dragged and i think she should have been introduced around the third/fourth episode of this season the same way tony was in season two! camilla should have arrived at the beginning of season 4 so that the intensity between camilla, charles and diana was more believable! if we season three wasn’t so spread out they could have had more brilliant episode.

OK HAHA I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS VERY LONG RANT ABOUT THE CROWN PLZ FORGIVE ME! AND IF U READ ALL THIS WOW! IDK WHAT TO SAY I THINK I TALK TOO MUCH HONESTLY :( anyways thank you for talking to me :)

[kittyprincessofcats]

She-Ra S5 E04 - Stranded

I probably don’t need to say this anymore at this point, but there will be spoilers for the rest of the season in this post.

- “She [Catra] said she was doing it for you.” Oh, the emotions on Adora’s face when Glimmer says this. Seriously, watch her face.

- Small detail when Glimmer first tries to apologize: When Bow pulls away, he says he’s “going to check on Entrapta”. Which makes sense, since something seems to be wrong with the ship, but I wonder if there’s also a silent accusation in those words - Up until this point, Glimmer didn’t know if Entrapta was alive. And whether they should save her from Beast Island or not was the last thing Bow and Glimmer argued about; it’s one of the big things that caused their whole fallout. So I wonder if this was also Bow subtly saying “Oh yeah, Entrapta’s alive by the way - no thanks to you.”

- While Glimmer and Adora’s reconciliation might be a little rushed when you consider how big their fight was, I get that the writers wanted to focus on Glimmer and Bow’s conflict here instead. And I still think their reconciliation and Glimmer’s apology were nicely done. I especially like that Glimmer acknowledges that Adora was “right about everything” and that the show didn’t try to pull some sort of “well, they were both right”.* And after everything that’s happened, I do think it’s in character that Adora would just be glad to have Glimmer back and would forgive her very quickly.

[*Small edit here just to clarify: I’m referring to the end of season 4 and what went down with the Heart of Etheria. In the beginning of s4, I think Adora and Glimmer’s conflict is very well-balanced and they are both right about different things. Also, this isn’t meant to be hate against Glimmer. I like characters who have darker sides and mess up and I think Glimmer’s s4 arc was great and made her infinitely more interesting. So yeah, this isn’t meant to be hate, I just like that the show let Glimmer acknowledge her mistakes and apologize to Adora.]

- In general, I like that the show’s actually addressing Glimmer’s actions and letting someone be angry at her. It’s also an interesting reversal since’s Bow’s not usually the one to hold a grudge - but it makes sense that he’d feel especially hurt since he and Glimmer are so close.

- “I’m great with secrets! Like, one time, Kyle told me he had a crush on Rogel...” THANK YOU NOELLE FOR GIVING THE GAYS EVERYTHING WE WANTED!

- “Darla and I are going to spend some quality time together.” I don’t know how Entrapta is somehow dating a literal ship, but she somehow is. I also love Adora’s weirded out expresion after Entrapta says this.

- “Bow’s usually the friendship stuff guy and I’m usually the “punch your feelings out” guy.” Yeah, basically.

- This exchange:

Adora: “I think I see a light. I’m gonna go towards it!”

Bow: “Don’t go towards the light!”

Adora: “It’s not that kind of light!”

😂😂😂 Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

- I know people love to hate Swiftwind, but his report about what’s been going on on Etheria is absolutely hilarious. My favourite part is definitely: “No. Bad Shadow Weaver. Bad.” “But magic, magic, magic, power, power, power, blah, blah, blah.” 😂

- Also, I think Swiftwind missing Adora and trying to contact her is really sweet.

- I’m pretty sure the reason the writers decided Glimmer can’t teleport in space is because she’d be pretty op and and it’d make things way too easy for the heroes. (It does also make sense that she can’t use her powers while away from her runestone, though.)

- I really like the Star Siblings, but it’s a shame they don’t really show up anymore after this.

- “If you’re smart, you’ll run away.” “Well, I’m not.” Amazing. 😂😂😂

- “He has to pay for what he did, and he... He has someone on his ship. Someone I... We’re stopping him. Period.” 👀 Yeah, Adora? Someone you what exactly? Finish that sentence, please? This was another one of those moments that had me all “omg, it’s actually happening, isn’t it?”

- Adora’s expression when Jewelstar tells her there’s no point in going back for Catra since “no one stands up to Prime and survives” is so heartbreaking.

- “Please, Bow. Just trust me, okay?” Yeah, I’m tearing up. 😢

- “My friends are on the other side. I am not going anywhere! I am not leaving anyone behind!” *cue She-Ra transformation music* And now I’m actually crying. This scene is so beautiful. (side-note: I also love how we didn’t have to wait the whole season to get She-Ra back.)

- I’ve got to say that whole scene of Bow and Glimmer hanging from that cliff and almost falling and the cave almost collapsing is almost too suspenseful for my taste. Even when I rewatch it, I still feel nervous.

- Glimmer’s apology to Bow in the end is a really beautiful scene. What I like the most about it is that it really nicely shows how to properly apologize to someone. Glimmer acknowledges that she made a mistake and that Bow has a right to be mad at her for as long as he wants. She’s not asking him to forgive her, she just tells him that she won’t stop trying to make it better and that she’ll be here when he’s ready. And Bow gets to accept the apology without being pressured into ignoring his feelings or forgiving her right away. A very well-written scene.

- Also, talking Glimbow for a second: I was a blind idiot when it comes to this ship. I saw Catradora coming a mile away (before seeing season 5, I gave it a 70% chance of canonically happening, which turned to 100% after I saw Save The Cat), but it literally took me until Failsafe to realize that Glimbow is a thing. In retrospect, I feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. The parallels to Catradora were there all along, in season 1 there was Glimmer’s jealousy over Bow and Perfuma at Princess Prom, and in this episode they got their own “hanging from a cliff” moment and that really beautiful apology scene (and the whole Catradora parallel of having to reconcile after one of them almost destroyed the world). Them being in love makes so much sense, but somehow it completely flew over my head when I first watched the show. I think I was so focused on all the same-sex ships in this show that I just didn’t register anything m/f as a possibility unless it was super obvious. I also tend to generally be a little blind in regards to friends-to-lovers pairings, unless the romantic undertones are very hard to miss - it’s like I mentally sort those pairings into a “just friends” box, and then I proceed to be blind to any romantic hints from there. So yeah, in an ironic “oh how the turntables” way, I actually wasn’t surprised when Catradora happened in the finale, but I was surprised about Glimbow. That said, it wasn’t an unpleasant surprise - it was just a ship I hadn’t considered before. But it’s now been a while since the finale was released and since then Glimbow has become a ship I really like. So when I rewatch an episode like Stranded now, I’m always wondering how the hell I didn’t see the beautiful shipping potential there sooner.

- So Adora watches Glimmer and Bow make up with each other, then sighs and looks at the stars while thinking of Catra. Seriously, how did I not see this?

- The scene where Adora tells Glimmer and Bow she wants to go back for Catra messes me up every time. I love how Adora looks so desperate (probably thinking about what Jewelstar said), admits that it’s dangerous and reckless, probably feels guilty for wanting to save one person and possibly endangering all of them and the rebellion through it - but Glimmer and Bow are so understanding and agree to help right away. Also, I’ll admit when I first watched it, as much as I love Catra, I wasn’t sure if going back for her would be the right thing to do (meanwhile my sister who watched with me said right after Corridors that she’d be disappointed in the BFS if they didn’t go back for her).

- “I can’t just leave her there. I have to try.” Can we talk about how beautiful this is? For the entire show, Catra has always accused Adora of leaving her behind in the Horde and not caring enough about her. And now, when everything already seems to be too late, Adora is willing to walk right into the heart of the way more evil version of the Horde because she doesn’t want to leave Catra behind there. IT’S POETIC CINEMA.

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[mittensmorgul]

Heya, quick question on my spn rewatch. Lucifer was able to escape the cage in season 11 via The Book of the Damned (+the codex and translation) and a powerful witch. From a Watsonian perspective, why didn't Hell attempt to free Lucifer and start the apocalypse this way in season 4? It seems easier than breaking all the seals like they did. Did they just not know about that route? Or did they want to play things out how "destiny" wanted them to?

Hi there! Poor Watson’s head’s probably spinning trying to pin down an answer, because that answer has evolved over the years. Let me try to explain...

Back before s4, in the setup to everything that exploded after Dean returned from Hell and Sam was being primed by Heavenly misinformation into killing Lilith and freeing Lucifer, we didn’t know the Book of the Damned was even a thing at all. As far as we know, Heaven didn’t know of it, or didn’t know it had the potential to free Lucifer... which it didn’t actually...

Let me back up and explain that one first, I guess.

Actually, let me go back to the beginning, and explain this from Heaven’s perspective, because I think that’s actually the key to everything. The beginning and the end.

The Apocalypse was “prophesied.” It was the Will Of God. The angels had a divine playbook they were operating under, attempting to follow all the steps exactly as Chuck laid them down at the start of the universe. Even if they had a key (which honestly Michael probably knew about all along, since he was the one who locked Lucifer in the Cage to start with), it wasn’t just about freeing Lucifer and getting on with the Apocalypse. It was about the exact process and procedure for doing so that was so important.

Like the Apocalypse was a spell, cast by the angels with the hope that following Chuck’s instructions would bring him back to preside over the end of the world. All the “ingredients” had to be combined in just the right way to please God and bring his Grand Plan to fruition.

And in the end, that’s exactly what we’ve discovered Chuck has been tinkering with in every last one of his universes, too. He kept altering the spell, the structure of each universe, to see it play out with every possible variation, and yet “our universe” in show is the one he’s most intrigued by, because despite everything being set up over and over again to work out as planned, it just... keeps on going.

Okay, back to the details of the Cage in 11.10.

Rowena used the book of the damned not to free Lucifer, but to bring him from the Cage into what I referred to as the “stage Cage.” Lucifer wasn’t free until after Castiel said yes to him. The book of the damned was only able to move him from The Cage into a secondary cage in Limbo. From 11.09:

Crowley: Clearly, if Sam enters the Cage he’s gone. And yes, it’s on my bucket list, now is not the time to be selfish. Need a secure site, a way to neutralize Lucifer’s powers. Sam: In Hell? Crowley: Yes, in Hell! So we have a modicum of control. You think I want that abomination running amok upstairs? Dean: Is it possible to control the situation because if Sam’s not safe it’s not happening. Crowley: Goodness mummy, loosen the grip. Theoretically it’s possible, with challenges. I can arrange for transit into Hell. Opening the Cage, that’s another matter. Dean: You’re the King of the joint. Don’t you have a key? Crowley: It was sealed by God Himself. Of course I don’t have a key. The mechanisms of divine manufacturer, I believe its secrets, along with the spells for warding Sam were recorded where many such mysteries are found – the Book of the Damned.

They don’t  ~actually~ open the cage. It remains locked after Lucifer is freed, but from the superwiki’s description of the events of 11.09 and 11.10:

Having captured Rowena; Sam, Dean and Crowley make a deal with her -- she figures out a way to communicate with Lucifer without opening the Cage, and Crowley will call off his assassins. Having studied the Book of the Damned, Rowena finds a spell that will work for what they need. Sam, Rowena and Crowley gather the ingredients needed and descend to the furthest reaches of Hell -- Limbo, where they will perform the spell to allowing communication with Lucifer in relative safety.

We know that the release of the Darkness upon the “curing” of the MoC was what fractured the cage enough for Lucifer to whisper through the cracks to Sam, but he used the same crack to whisper to Rowena.

Do we really think Rowena was able to crack the cage herself, with just the info from the Book of the Damned? Or did her dreams of Lucifer also give her information she needed in order to facilitate that entire scenario, enabling Lucifer to pull Sam into the Stage Cage with him? Which I’ve always believed was the case, because it’s so reminiscent of how Azazel gained the information he needed to kick off the apocalypse the first time-- by having a little conference with Lucifer in that nunnery in Ilchester. I believe he conveyed information to Rowena about breaking him out, or at least manipulating himself into the most convenient position for then effecting his own escape. The rules still applied-- he couldn’t leave the cage without a consenting vessel, and he came moments from being returned to the actual cage without that, so his freedom wasn’t even guaranteed after all of that.

So no, back during the original apocalypse, that wouldn’t have been a viable method of cracking the cage in the first place.

But also, like we saw with the Hammurabi gun Chuck invented on the spot because it was convenient, things like the Book of the Damned may never have even existed before Chuck decided they should, you know? So whatever explanation works for you-- until Canon clarifies or eliminates it as a potential explanation-- is probably legit. ;’D

I love this show, one great big ouroboros.

[carolinahope]

A little birdie told me some kind soul uploaded pretty much all Gallavich and Gallavich-adjacent scenes on Youtube so I had me a lovely evening because who needs sleep, right?

And while I’m not really interested in the show itself, their relationship was always interesting ever since I have seen them popping up on my dash around about their first kiss - which I just now found out was after they have been banging for about two years. 

And it really was a ride. For the characters, their relationship, and for sure the viewers. And now I found out they are getting married and I’m so here for it. 

I will definitely rewatch some of the scenes but from the first round some of the ones that stuck with me are their kisses - the first one, the one in the club, the Spider-man kiss, the engagement kiss. All the forehead and cheek kisses - I’m a sucker for them. And season 10 is really not stingy with them. Mickey’s coming out was wonderful. As was his next time at the bar. That was such a wonderful scene. He was so scared but nobody really gave a shit. I have seen very little of Kevin but what I saw is truly awesome. That scene is a gem. I also loved Ian having a go at Terry. 

I also loved the two scenes were Ian dragged Mickey to a party and the guy asked him what he was doing and was really thrilled when he found out - Mickey’s confusion at that reaction was too adorable. And then the next morning and Mickey saying they were together - be still my heart. 

I really liked all the scenes of them waking up next to each other. And them coming home from, I think it was the fight over taking pills Ian initiated, singing Love is a battlefield and agreeing to go on a date. 

That little bit of domestic bliss in S4 and S5, too precious. That last goodbye on the boarder when Mickey can’t really stay away, like he never could. Broke my heart. Oh, and their hugs when Ian was being admitted to the hospital. Prime heartache material. 

And I love pretty much everything in S10. The prison, especially them racing to stab Chester. Asking for advice from fellow inmates. The reunion. The first proposal. THE SECOND PROPOSAL. And Mickey throwing himself in the wedding planning. He said it was to piss-off Terry but I really do think that was mostly just a front so he could let his desires run wild. Ian tagging along and arranging for the musician was then the perfect cherry on top of a wonderful cake. 

And don’t even let me start on the acting. 

[miscellaniaofself]

Unpopular SPOP S5 Opinions

It seems like for the past week, about 85% of my internet time has been filled with people being absolutely ecstatic over She-Ra. Multiple people sent me messages, clearly expecting me to also be over the moon. And like, I get it. But I just don’t feel the same way. To be entirely honest, season five was my least favorite season. Maybe it’s partially because I was tired while watching most of it, but that definitely doesn’t explain everything. It was still REALLY good, but it didn’t quite land with me, and I want to talk about why. Please don’t try to come at me - as one person already has with “WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT” - I’m talking about my opinion. We can disagree. 

Warning that this will be spoilers all the way down, so if you haven’t watched every episode of season five and don’t want to have everything spoiled for you, don’t read the rest of this. 

I do want to start off by talking about things I actually really liked about this season before I delve into the shit I didn’t care for. For starters, I’m so glad that we finally got to see a Catra redemption arc. It wasn’t surprising to me at all, given the end of S4 and things Noelle has said, but still - it was nice. I’d spent four seasons caring about Catra like she’s a real person, so it’s nice to see her on the road to healing. Also, I’m glad we got to see substantially more of Catra purring. Horde Prime was appropriately creepy and I fucking LOVED the body horror aspect that came with being under Prime’s control. The fight between Adora and Catra? Sick as hell. 

I also really liked that we got hints that Scorfuma (which Lauren and I were lowkey shipping before the two of them even met) was happening. Melog has my entire heart.  I was in no way prepared for Horny Entrapta, but it amused me greatly. Speaking of which, I’m officially no longer alarmed by Entrapta.* That scene with Mara that I keep seeing gifs of fucking destroyed me (a type 2 ENFJ Hufflepuff recovering from a martyr complex). The message of this season was SO important and the plot was fabulous - but I’m not here for the plot and never was. 

My favorite thing about fiction (both as a creator and a consumer) is characters. My favorite thing about She-Ra was that we got to know and become deeply attached to a wide variety of amazing characters. It helps that many of these characters are either queer-coded or canonically established as queer. In season five however, most of the secondary characters were essentially out of commission. I realize that in order to sufficiently raise the stakes, at least some of the characters in the Princess Alliance needed to get chipped and have their characters supplanted by Horde Prime’s purity programming - but I didn’t care about what the plot demanded. I wanted to see more of Mermista, Scorpia, and Micah - and especially how they interacted with each other. 

Then there’s the Horde trio (Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio). I appreciate that there were mentions of them sprinkled throughout the season - but I both wanted and expected to see more of them. Over the course of the series they were slowly built up to be just as prominent secondary characters as anyone in the Princess Alliance, but in season 5 I don’t think we see them at all. Season four was mainly about how the Horde members (aside from Hordak) weren’t so different from the Princess Alliance members, which seemed to me to be setting them up to work with them in the final season. At least some members of the fandom - myself included - fully expected the last season to involve literally everyone working together to beat Horde Prime. Maybe the writers thought that since Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio had already left the Horde that their storyline was wrapped up? But that definitely wasn’t my impression at the end of season four. 

Speaking of areas where I really expected something, but nothing happened: Shadow Weaver. I’m incredibly relieved that neither Catra nor Adora forgave her and of course I’m happy she’s fuckin dead. But it’s very weird to me that she went from being a horrifying, deeply antagonistic figure who had a shit-ton of power and wanted to obtain more to...someone who just kind of hangs out and occasionally tempts people to the Dark Side like Darth Vader with a moving target. I fully expected her to make a last minute power grab and probably become a huge threat again by the end of the final season. And/or for her to have a karmic death. My dream scenario was that Scorpia would fuck her up, considering that Shadow Weaver used Scorpia’s own runestone to inflict pain on her and Catra. I didn’t think that was likely to happen though, since it’s so specific - but I would’ve been happy with someone else dealing her some karmic blows. But instead we get her being lightly roasted by Catra and Adora before pulling a heroic sacrifice and having her last words be “You’re welcome.” What a bitch. Now, I do think it’s interesting that Shadow Weaver’s death demonstrates the idea that sometimes abusers genuinely care about those they abuse(d) and are just EXCEEDINGLY bad at showing it - but still. It feels to me like Shadow Weaver as Threat was another thing that was built up but never actually played with to a real extent.

Speaking of Shadow Weaver’s abuse, it’s time for my single most unpopular opinion about She-Ra, which has basically always been my most unpopular opinion about She-Ra. I don’t ship Catradora. Obviously (I would hope) it’s not because of the gay shit - they’re both very clearly queer-coded. It’s not because I have anything against the enemies to lovers trope. Confession time: I was complete Zutara trash back in the day, so I fuck with that sort of dynamic. I

 actually did ship Catradora for most of season one. I absolutely lost my shit during “Princess Prom.” But then I saw “Promise” and had a mental shift to “HOLY SHIT no they’re sisters.” 

I viewed seasons two, three, and four with that lens. I rewatched most of those seasons with that lens. I walked into season five with that lens. And then Those Lines started creeping in and my watching buddy was getting more and more hype as I felt an increasing level of confusion and low-degree panic. And then they smooched and my brain pretty much broke. 

To be clear, I’m not anti Catradora. I don’t have that tag blacklisted on Tumblr the same way I do Reylo. I somehow seem to be literally the only person who viewed them through a sisterhood lens and the show never actually uses sibling terms to refer to them (*cough cough* UMBRELLA ACADEMY) so I don’t see it as a gross incest ship the way I otherwise might have. 

As someone who’s very unlikely to ever see representation of my own sexual orientation(s) - I understand how important the representation is to so many people.I understand why people are excited and I don’t want to put a damper on it

Here’s the thing though. I know that Noelle and Co. wanted to tell a narrative about abusive family dynamics. I know that they wanted to tell a lesbian love story. Those are both important and lovely stories. But I feel weird about how they intersected. They could’ve had one character to perform the Catra-As-Sibling role and another to perform the Catra-As-GF role. But they combined them and that’s weird for me.

And I really just don’t appreciate the idea everyone seems to have that just because I’m queer and love Catra that I naturally must ship Catradora. 

I feel like doing a rewatch of the entire series might help me do a factory reset of my brain and make that aspect of the show less jarring for me, but I don’t know. 

Also, WHY did Glimmer and Bow get paired up? Again, not a bad ship. Just a weird one in my eyes. And it sort of feels like the writers wanted to pair them together just for the sake of having two members of the original heroic triad get together. Because Bow is definitely gay and THAT is a hill I’ll die on. 

*-Until like, midway through season four she really unnerved me since I dated a number of people who bear a lot of similarities to her