#it's also such a foreshadowing of what will happen later in the film and where arthur's story is going

[thehermitsacedia]

[miwiheroes]

Dropping Byler Evidence Every Day Until Season 5

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ Day 18: Mike's Bedroom Scene . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Everyone knows this scene, everyone here LOVES this scene (or they better love it). It's so ripe for analysis in every single way, not even just for byler, but for things that happen later on in the season. I think shots like this are extremely thought out. They chose a wide angle shot to show you Mike's bedroom for a reason. They also showed you this bedroom right after seeing El's, to show the contrast between their two lives and how they view each other.

I've already talked about this contrast between their two rooms and the fact that Mike has nothing from El in his room in this post.

1. Rainbow Letter + Closet

I want to talk about something else before the glaringly obvious queer coding first: and that is the fact that El has her own stationary specific for writing Mike's notes, while it is canon that Mike just writes his letters to El on some scrap pieces of paper, showing the unequal amounts they are putting into their relationship:

Anyways, back to El's letter to Mike having literal rainbows on it. For El, this is some clear foreshadowing for her being in the rainbow room, and we can all agree on that right?

So if we can agree on that, then I think we should agree that it could also be true this is queer coding for Mike. It's the first thing you see in this scene, even before you see a shot of Mike himself. Also the fact that the next shot of the scene is Mike next to the open closet with the light on, kind of implies or foreshadows his story being tied to queerness for the rest of the season.

Having the light on in the closet is also to draw your attention toward it. I've talked before about how often in film it is to use light to mean truth, meaning this would imply that being in the closet is the truth that Mike is hiding, since a lot of this scene is taken up by the fact El's lying to him. So what does he have to hide? The set designers utilise light in this scene very carefully, which I will touch on in the later sections <3

2. Posters

This is such a famous piece of evidence that I feel like I don't really need to say anything here lmaooo, like we can see in multiple different shots that instead of having posters of literally anything else on his walls, he has posters of men. Specifically buff men (or a dragon if u wanna be pedantic guys).

This seems so on the nose that it has to be queer coding, just like the scene where Mike goes to the wrestling gym while on his search for a DND replacement for Lucas, and stuff like this has been used on many different queer coded characaters in media for a long time.

I've heard people argue that there is also a girl character in the Conan the Barbarian poster, but honestly, if you watch the film you would know why this is not a great thing to say or equate women to lmao... Basically this film does not shy away from the fact that men in this time period treated women like property so I'd be careful saying that.

If you want to go past talking about the fact this CtB poster is just a poster of a buff man, I'd say that it could symbolise Mike's need to be normal and fit into the "male role" in society that we saw in S3. To be honest, if I saw a guy with this poster, I'd.....run, girl RUN

So anyways, not only is there one poster of a buff guy, there is another. The one on the left is a poster designed by Rick Ruhman, whose other posters can be seen in the show, like in Reefer Rick's house. Buff dragon poster you'll always be famous <3

This is two instances already of Mike being associated with buff men, um, and to be honest that should be enough, but it's funny that there are two other instances of this happening in the show. Another is literally in episode 1 of S4, where Mike goes to the wrestling gym, and another is when he mentions Superman in relation to El for some reason, rather than calling her 'Supergirl' like Argyle does 10000 times.

This is a pattern, everyone. And can be compared to the fact that other male characters who were around the same age as him have posters of women surrounding them in different scenes.

In Steve's room: he was 17

In Lucas's scene with the other basketball guys: he is same age as Mike

3. His Noticeboard

thanks to @runninguplenorahills for this very good photo haha

First of all, want to establish that the lamp is placed next to this notice board on purpose, in order to draw your attention towards it, just like his closet earlier on (and later, you shall see). So you are meant to view this notice board as having little hints on it.

And there are! Not just towards his queerness. and they are pretty much confirmed to be foreshadowing for some of the plot points in S4, so other stuff in his room could also be foreshadowing , but for his queerness too.

These Garbage Pail Kids cards clearly foreshadow some events of S4. I think Heavin Steven may have something to do with Steve literally biting the head off of a demobat, which makes sense, or it could be about him randomly pouring his heart out to Nancy in the caravan. Evil Eddie obviously foreshadows that everyone thinks Eddie is the head of an evil cult and has murdered a woman, which is what's happening in the card. Live Mike is either a reference to Eddie playing his guitar later on, or it could be a reference to Mike's monologue where there are many lightning strikes at the most interesting times... Finally, Mad Max's card shows a brain being outside someone's head, foreshadowing her mind visiting Vecna's mindscape and her being braindead by the end of the season.

Also on his notice board are:

Escape Fun City: reference to California

Pizza Sticker: foreshadowing his time in the surfer boy pizza van and the pizza place.

Will's Drawings: obviously showing that he places more care in Will's drawings than El's letters which I talk about on one of my previous posts. He also still has Will's drawings in his basement.

So how is this byler evidence? Well, I really think this proves just how much thought and care went into making Mike's room foreshadow some later plot points, because the audience can hardly see what's going on here, but it still foreshadows stuff. This leads me onto....

4. The One Way Sign ;)

This one is a classic, and if you don't know this already, then I guess you must be new here hello

I just want you guys to think for a second about the intentionality of this. And I want you to imagine people setting up his room for filming. Because it wasn't just created out of nowhere, people genuinely thought about each decision. Imagine this just being written off as a coincidence, because let's lay out some facts here:

A light has been set up in Mike's closet

That light has been pointed so that it is a beam towards Mike

The closet door has been opened for no practical reason

A one way sign has been ordered, put on the wall in this specific spot.

A one way sign does not foreshadow any other plot points in S4.

I am baffled when I talk to people and they don't think this type of stuff is intentional. It's a blink and you miss it hint, yes, but those types of hints are supposed to be subtle so that when you look back on them, they make a lot of sense.

Overall, this shot of Mike's room is the perfect introduction to his character this season and makes the most sense. There is no other way that he could have been introduced in S4, in my opinion. It's subtlety is only for people who care enough to look, but it heavily queercodes him nonetheless. Just because they're small, doesn't mean they are insignificant.

[kafus]

a likodot themed analysis of HZ049

hello it's been a while since my last truly longform post like this but guess who watched HZ049 today and is going absolutely fucking feral bonkers about it. it's me. and i have things to say about it of the likodot variety because if i don't get these thoughts out of my head i'll explode.

forgive me for my shipping bias because i'm not sorry. however i am slightly sorry for how messy this post ended up being my god i had a lot of thoughts but i did my best to make this at least somewhat entertaining to read and comprehensive. but it really is a long winding mess LOL. FULL OF PASSION AND ADORATION I LOVE THIS SHOW AND I LOVE LIKO AND DOT MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD

obviously there are heavy spoilers below the cut i'm going to be violently pulling apart all the scenes where these two interact and gnawing at all of it

so. first off. this episode displays massive growth in liko and dot's relationship by method of showing how much liko's behavior around gurumin has changed since these two met and since dot initially confessed to being gurumin. as we all know liko was a massive superfan of gurumin, and then when dot confessed to being gurumin... well liko's reaction was. Uh

well she was having a little bit of a crisis about it LOL. historically liko has gotten very flustered and panicked when reminded that dot is gurumin. and she has been really prone to fangirling still (ie. getting really excited about helping gurumin in HZ019 with the bakery stuff or helping gurumin with the pig town stuff in HZ036), despite knowing the person in the suit. she goes as far as to try to ignore that dot is in the suit entirely and keep them separate in her brain (shown for instance by her freaking out over seeing dot halfway in the gurumin suit in HZ039) because if she were to mentally cross those wires, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

but now in this episode, things have obviously changed a lot over time. the episode opens with a small scene that explains what dot is doing about gurumin while they are traveling on the terastal course (filming them beforehand and scheduling ahead of time lol) but liko and dot have a conversation about (a really CUTE conversation) about gurumin in the process.

do not get it twisted, liko is still very much a fan of gurumin, but this conversation is a lot more comfortable and grounded. she gets a notification about a new gurumin video and she's excited (and surprised because of the timing), but she is not panicking about it. and her first reaction to this information is to directly ask dot (with the softest expression fucking ever??) about it. this directly connects dot and gurumin together in a strong way. liko is no longer running from the fact that dot is the youtuber she looks up to, and in fact she's being pretty upfront about it.

not related to my main point, but i also just want to gush a little here about this scene more - dot reacts similarly to liko showing so much affection for her work in a similar way to how she reacted in HZ008 to liko complimenting her through the door - getting flustered about liko's genuine energy, but this time they know each other and are looking at each other face to face. liko's affectionate energy is enough to make her relent that maybe someday... she could film outside... which shows the sort of effect liko has on her. and also this becomes relevant later in the episode where dot literally does film gurumin videos outside - it's just good writing/foreshadowing lol

anyway, this continues later on when liko is the first to get worried about dot doing the battle livestream with nanjamo as gurumin instead of herself. i think if this situation had happened much earlier on, liko would have been thinking a lot more about the excitement of the idea of seeing gurumin battle in real life, but she doesn't even initially have that thought and have to backtrack, she's immediately worried about dot instead.

ironically, liko recognizing that gurumin isn't dot, as in gurumin is a mask that dot puts on instead of being representational of her true self, drives home liko's recognition of dot as gurumin even more. she understands the connection between dot and gurumin and what gurumin is to dot enough to have this concern in the first place - one roy initially doesn't understand, that is specific to liko. there is zero compartmentalization of dot being a youtuber here! liko is concerned about her friend who is an influencer, where she puts on a mask to be confident and outgoing. dot and gurumin are fully connected.

it's also worth acknowledging that liko holds the gurumin suit and is concerned about it being damaged but nothing more - unlike in HZ021 when she goes to dot's room to give her the suit after it's been washed and cleaned, and she's a little nervous and flustered about it still.

i've always talked about how there's a bit of a difference between shipping liko and dot, and liko and gurumin - not that those two sectors have zero overlap, but that to liko, gurumin and dot were usually kept so separate mentally that fans online could often be sorted into camps of being interested in the running silliness of liko's fascination and flustered behavior with the whole gurumin thing, and liko and dot's connection with each other as normal (girl)friends... liko has progressively adjusted more to dot being gurumin and has had moments where she is able to set aside her fangirl heart to be there for dot (like when she mentions dot being gurumin in her little supportive speech in HZ027), but this episode shows that in a much more drastic and meaningful way, and now those two sectors are FULLY overlapping canonically. i think it is overall a sweet and good thing for them that liko is able to see dot as a whole and directly appreciate her creative skills/work. it is obviously meaningful to dot!

TLDR;

HZ039:

HZ049:

you get the point.

NOW. onto the SECOND thing i want to talk about. the thing i've dubbed LIKODOT TELEPATHY. aka holy shit these girls understand each other without words. liko and dot understand each other on an intrinsic level and often notice when the other is worried, or pushing themselves too hard, or etc. that is EXTREMELY evident in this episode through liko's concern towards dot.

going back to the first scene before the opening theme, liko detects immediately when dot comments on roy's upbeat attitude that dot might be feeling nervous about her upcoming battle, and immediately offers reassurance.

(unfortunately i have to put aside my ramble about liko's continued lack of self esteem and her putting herself down here for another time because otherwise this post will get so off-topic and longer than it has any right to be, but you get the point. also holy shit dot saying "you don't have to fuss so much" but smiling and saying that line like she's happy to have liko fretting about her makes me CRAZY. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. BUT. coughs. ANYWAY)

then, like i mentioned earlier, liko is the first to be worried about dot in this episode. she's the first to notice dot's anxious/shutting down behavior:

the first to recognize that dot might actually walk away unhappy if she were to do her terastal exam as gurumin instead of herself:

and the first to recognize that her filming videos outside is not as genuinely upbeat and happy as it may seem:

(two quick side notes about this, i really like how the writing puts emphasis on liko's concern by contrasting roy's total lack of it multiple times - NOT that he doesn't care of course, but just that liko understands dot particularly well and is in touch with dot's feelings in a special way that roy isn't. additionally, it makes me feel crazy that dot probably got the idea to film outside from liko's affectionate encouragement in the first scene in the episode... like, she's basically trying to use liko's advice to hype herself up and get through this... of course she would!! trusting liko's words has always ended up positively for her!! liko is such a massive support for her!! and liko acknowledges herself that yeah she said that but that isn't what she meant. GOD. i'm so insane about these girls)

this is notable not only because it's very sweet that liko is so concerned about dot, but also because dot doesn't really understand this herself. she is trying so hard to put on the gurumin facade, to run away from her anxiety as far as possible, to avoid the bad. and yet despite her attempts to cover her true feelings up as much as possible, even from herself, liko sees straight through it. dot cannot mask around liko, she understands regardless, sees the parts of her she doesn't want to acknowledge.

the contrast between dot's understanding of herself and liko's understanding of her is immense. directly after dot boldly proclaims that she feels so much stronger as gurumin and happily mentions that she has nanjamo's permission to do their battle as gurumin is when liko finally confronts her. the difference in mood is startling, almost, and easily shows that contrast. i need to break down this confrontation in detail cause it makes me insane

first, liko is still too nervous to say what she wants to say, but as per usual with LIKODOT TELEPATHY (tm) dot immediately notices liko going into her polite i-don't-want-to-inconvenience-you voice and pushes for what the matter is. she can tell immediately that liko has a problem even though liko hasn't said anything yet.

liko doesn't want to rock the boat and is overly gentle with her words (once again i have to push aside my ramble about liko's confidence problems AGH) but finally speaks her piece about the situation.

i want to mention here as well, these two situations are very different, but the similarities of dot noticing liko pushing herself back in HZ027 and then liko recognizing dot pushing herself in kind... SIIIGH

dot's reaction is to stammer with MUCH less confidence than before that she wasn't forcing anything. she's taken offguard by liko's concerns, but it's evident she recognizes what liko is saying within herself and is grappling with trying to maintain her mental wall after liko has cracked it in half with her words. liko was right and saw right through her, and dot isn't sure how to handle it. she avoids eye contact and everything.

this is where i bridge my conversation about likodot telepathy into talking about dot's characterization and growth as a character, so bear with me - quaxly attempts to drive the point liko is making home by separating dot from the gurumin suit, but afterwards is... The Scene. liko tries to bring the conversation back to what they were saying before, but at this point dot is overwhelmed by quaxly's actions and feels socially/emotionally cornered and... she explodes and screams at liko.

i think it's an interesting part of her personality that she is prone to irritable/angry outbursts and yelling when she has her buttons pushed too far and i'm glad that remains consistent for her, especially because...

the last time dot yelled directly at liko like this was in HZ008. the situation is actually quite similar with dot being pushed too far into a situation she doesn't know how to handle by liko reaching out to her more than she is ready for, causing her to lash out. but some MAJOR things have changed since then - obviously, the first time was through the door before they really knew each other, before liko had even seen her face, but this time it's up close and personal and they know each other. but secondly, at the beginning of the show, dot is irritated and overwhelmed by pretty much any attempt at conversation. she has come such a long way that now she's brought to screaming by something much, much more massive, with the whole being streamed live while battling in real life thing, showing how much she has overcome since then... and not only that!! thirdly! the first time, liko was encouraging gurumin, sharing how much of a fan of gurumin she was, and now this second time, it's in reaction to liko essentially telling her "i don't think you actually want to be gurumin in this situation". point is, the amount of growth dot has had is ironically so easy to see in her screaming at liko here because of the sheer level of contrast between the two times it's happened.

by this happening again, it also gives dot the chance to recognize her own shitty behavior and apologize for yelling later even though liko (nor roy) were asking for an apology - in fact they seemed to be surprised that dot wanted to apologize in the first place, like they had forgotten all about it. i think both liko and roy are used to shrugging off some of dot's more irritable behaviors, but this time dot noticed herself that she messed up and takes that moment to say sorry, which is sweet of her and once again a moment of character growth.

considering that dot also follows this up with the statement that she will take her terastal exam as herself, the apology is also connected to it - like she recognized that what liko was saying, the thing that made her yell, ended up being true. it was liko's genuine attempt to help her. and now that she's come to that conclusion on her own, she can see that yelling was even more misguided.

and that's my final conversation topic about this episode - the fact that dot came to that conclusion on her own. yes, liko cracked the wall she was putting up and gave her that starting push, but dot went above and beyond to take that crack and then smash that wall into pieces without liko's help. which despite what it sounds like i think is extremely important for these two's dynamic moving forward.

i'm going to spare you the analysis of dot's fear of cameras, why she hides behind gurumin, as well as a breakdown of the whole part of the episode with varoom bc i'm trying to talk mostly about likodot here, but assuming you've watched the episode you know what i'm talking about. here, i'm focused on the part where liko exclaims that they have to help dot, and dot denies her help and says she wants to handle it on her own, and then from this experience she is able to conclude she wants to do her terastal exam as herself.

this is massive. for so long, liko has practically dragged dot along and held her hand through tackling new experiences... sometimes literally lol, thinking about the scene in HZ027 where liko drags dot to chase after terapagos by the arm. but anyway, on top of that, this is also different from her standing up to her mom in HZ041, which was ALSO massive, but a large part of that episode consisted of liko's interventions, and she was pushed into that situation where she really had no choice in the matter. she had to if she wanted to stay on the brave asagi which was non negotiable. but here? there was nothing stopping dot from just taking the help and running from the cameras. in fact it probably would have been much easier to do that. but she wants to prove herself, and not because she has to to get the thing she wants, but just because... she wants to. she wants to succeed on her own.

and i think that's really important in the context of not just dot herself, but likodot, because while it is very sweet of liko to constantly be pushing dot and leading her to further self understanding and more confidence, and i will always be emotional about liko essentially caring for her to the point of dot braving ending her time as a NEET, the end goal for that should always be that dot is given confidence in herself to exist as a person independently of liko's pushing, for her own sake.

i think it's also incredibly meaningful that liko saw this happen - she experienced running out to help dot like usual, and then actually having her advances denied, but not for bad reasons this time... she gets to see dot be a better version of herself and come to that conclusion liko tried to push earlier, on her own accord, in her own way.

i say all this because i want liko to be able to love dot not as a person to fix but also just... a person. i want what liko has done for her to cause dot to be a better person outside of what liko does, for herself. and i want liko to be able to love the wonderful and more confident person dot becomes as a result. do you understand. am i making sense. GAH. i am so worked up about this. i'm holding them both in my hands and shaking them violentlySJDFJFSD

god. thank you for reading if you've actually come this far. i am going to end off this messy and deranged casual "essay" with a couple of notes i wasn't sure how to fit anywhere else.

one, i think it's very nice that when roy thinks dot's in trouble, liko is sure enough in dot's intelligence and battling skills to say with great confidence that dot MUST have a plan

and TWO, AHHHH I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT EPISODE AHHHH AHHHHHH WE ARE GOING TO GET EVEN MORE DOT CHARACTERIZATION AND GROWTH AND SHE'S GOING TO FACE HER MENTOR FIGURE HOW AM I GOING TO HANDLE IT AFTER ALREADY WRITING THIS MUCH ABOUT THE FIRST EPISODE IN THIS TWO-PARTER AND ALSO WHAT WAS THIS GAY SHIT IN THE EPISODE PREVIEW AHHHH AHHH

thank you for coming to my ted talk. goodnight tri state area

[fire-of-the-sun]

Ilsa and Ethan: There's Still Hope

Spoiler Warning for M:I7!

I'm sure a ton has already been said about Ilsa in the new movie, whether it be lamenting her loss or developing theories as to her potential return in the next film, but here are some contributions I've been mulling over. This isn't going to be an exhaustive list of reasons why she's still alive, but I will try to address some and add my own thoughts into the mix.

I agree with the discussion that one of the best clues of this all being a fake out lies in Ethan and Ilsa's reunion near the beginning of the film. Ilsa plays dead during the fight and Ethan momentarily believes it before she attacks him and reveals herself to be alive. As it stands, this looks like a foreshadowing to her eventual, real death, however, I think it instead acts as setup to her still being alive. I think it's clear that her death fakeout exists to give us clues to her eventual return as well as deflect audiences from even considering it as we're trained to accept that foreshadowed events that transpire in most stories would simply be the end of it, but this isn't a typical story, this is Mission: Impossible, and nothing is as it seems and this film establishes that that's more true now than ever.

And if you're really going to kill Ilsa off, why do a fake-out at all? Why not just have her die later without warning and really shock the audience? Why already have the fans ruminating on the possibility early on and telegraph it long before it actually happens? Consider Julia's "death" in M:I3. The film starts in media res and there's a strong sense of tension throughout the whole film knowing that that's going to happen. Julia is going to get kidnapped and possibly die no matter what, but it's okay to spoil this scene in advance because she doesn't die. Because why would you tell the audience that's going to happen right away unless there's going to be some kind of twist where she lives? What's the point in watching the movie if you know that Ethan is ultimately going to fail and it's going to have a tragic, unsatisfying ending? Julia's death fakeout is a tactic meant to trick him and the audience and make him feel like he's lost only for the twist to be that he ultimately wins and Julia remains alive. I believe a similar tactic is being used with Ilsa which has the potential to be a very well-executed plot twist rather than a disappointing one if done correctly and not completely abandoned in the next film. I actually think that without the fakeout and just a sudden and completely unexpected death I'd feel more worried but, as it stands, I think the choice (among many others) actually serves to legitimize this all being fake.

After all, the best twists are ones that you can see coming if you're really looking for it and that's okay. It's okay that we've figured it out - that means the director ultimately did their job right. Some viewers, especially more casual fans, are taking what they were shown at face value and not considering there's any more to it. They're falling for the trick and that's fine too, because a good twist is one that is set up in a way that leaves clues but also remains largely hidden especially as the audience isn't looking for it. A magic trick that deflects us from seeing what the magician is actually doing. When Ilsa shows up in the next film, some people will feel rewarded for their observations and others will finally see all the pieces click into place that they disregarded before and both be satisfied, but I digress...

Another huge scene to look to for clues lies in the team discussing the severity of the threat and really cementing just how difficult it's going to be to trick the Entity before the party. I think it's very possible that there are missing conversations here that we will not be privy to until the next film as Ethan would never let his friends be in such danger without having a real plan on how to protect them and the audience always knows what the plan is so when things go awry we're aware the complications were unprecedented. In this case, we really have no idea what they're walking into, nor do we see them effectively prep for it. Unless I'm forgetting something, why did Ilsa need to be at the party at all? Why would Ethan put Ilsa in danger like that for no real reason especially after already enduring those brief, agonizing moments earlier when he truly believed she was dead and had to consider a world without her in it and knowing that Gabriel has taken someone from him in the past? Ilsa is her own woman and can do what she wants, but we don't see him even trying to protest her inclusion and voicing fear for her safety for her to even refute.

The scene where Ilsa meets Ethan on the balcony afterward is incredibly short and could feel tacked on given that there's no real lead up to it, but it could very well be the aftermath of a heavy conversation where - feeling burdened by the weight of what must be done - Ethan leaves the room to think and Ilsa follows. She looks particularly chipper here despite the seriousness of what's going on and I believe her benign comments about Venice are purposefully meant to distract Ethan in an attempt to cheer him up. Notice how he shakes his head a little after he answers, like he knows what she's trying to do before giving into her and hugging back. She's calm because she has faith in the plan while he's nervous about it. As a side note, I think it was a touching detail to have Ethan return to this same balcony to grieve (publicly).

We also see Ethan and Ilsa looking at each on the boat before he takes her hand on their way to the party. This, of course, acts as yet another sweet gesture to showcase how strong their relationship is at this point but, again, Ethan doesn't seem that happy. This isn't a relaxing date (which they deserve), he looks tense as he takes her hand. Notice how he's fidgeting as he strokes her fingers and rubs his own fingers together in his free hand. It's like he's trying to hold onto her as much as he can knowing what's going to transpire and, once again, Ilsa looks like she's trying to comfort him by stroking his hand back, never taking her eyes off him. It's a nice continuation of the dynamic of their previous moment together.

And, if this is truly Ilsa's last outing? Why hold back on basically every aspect of it? If it's truly Ilsa's last fight, why not make it her biggest, baddest fight yet that showcases all of her skill but also begins to feel truly unwinnable? We've seen her face intimidating foes before, so if she's truly going to meet her match, you really need to sell to the audience that all her usual tricks aren't working and let us see on her face that she knows she's losing this fight, which would also help build a sense of dread. I've only seen the film once at this time, but I don't recall her looking too worried at any point at the party or during her fight with Gabriel. She's a brave and skilled woman of course, but she seemed incredibly unfazed by it all, almost like she knew how it was going to go. I want to add that there's no way of knowing for sure when entering into any fight that you're guaranteed to survive. Gabriel could have stabbed her anywhere and there'd be no way to anticipate that beforehand but, as I've seen pointed out, her hand is also on the knife when it plunges into her chest. The only way to know for sure where the blade would go to look deadly but still survive it would be to guide it there herself and that seems like something the skilled Ilsa would be able to pull off.

And if it's truly Ilsa's end, why not go out of your way to make it as sad as possible? What if Gabriel leaves her just alive enough for Ethan to find her and they have a heartbreaking final moment together where they perhaps exchange a line or two before he watches her die? Of course, to add insult to injury, the grieving process is pitifully brief, focusing more on Grace's reaction than Ilsa's own friends. Why not have a stronger reaction from Ethan, Benji and Luther that absolutely breaks the audience's heart? Just compare Ethan's reaction to Ilsa's death to the assumed death of Julia in MI3, the other love of his life. Yes, technically, that was a very different situation and Julia was his wife after all and Ilsa isn't, but they don't even compare. Heck, we even get to see Ethan mourn Lindsey, a friend, in M:I3 longer than Ilsa. I understand that the movie can't languish in sorrow for too long and Ethan is used to compartmentalizing to get the job done, but this is also one of the biggest losses he's suffered and right on the heels of proclaiming to his friends how he'd never let anything happen to them. This is also the longest movie in the series so far and it has no excuse for skimping on the aftermath of the death of one of its biggest and most beloved characters. Ilsa's death is sad but leaves you feeling more empty and disappointed than utterly devastated - at least for me.

We've also seen Ethan act before, as is a necessary skill for a spy, and I think the fairly subdued reaction to her death speaks to his ability to act realistically sad (he's had practice for this exact situation too as he's probably channeling all the awful things he felt when he believed her to be dead at the beginning of the movie) but also speaks to the fact that it's not actually real because if it was I think it'd be a far stronger reaction. Yes, Ethan could just be becoming desensitized to losing people after enduring it so many times but I don't think he'd hold back for Ilsa. His partner. His equal. Someone he loves deeply and offers his only chance at a life beyond this. That chance, that love, that happiness, are now gone forever and that's not something you just take in your stride.

And yes, maybe Rebecca needed or wanted out of this franchise to film other projects but that's only more reason to give her the best sendoff you possibly can and I don't think anyone, not even the director himself would be able to admit that this was worthy enough of her character and respectful to Rebecca. If even her final fight was, for whatever reason, purposefully undercut, then what else did the director choose to take away despite having so little to begin with and why? If, historically, it's not in his nature to pull something like this based on his previous work in the series and his own passionate comments regarding the character, why would he now? It's the overall lack of care in regard to her character all of a sudden that makes it all feel fishy.

And if this is it for Ethan and Ilsa, why not push the romance? Instead of just a hug on the balcony, why not feature their first kiss or, at least, a much longer conversation that cements where they really are before it all gets taken away? If the director attempted to include a kiss in the past but scrapped it because it wasn't the right time, he probably intended it to happen eventually. Why not sneak it in right before she dies if these are their last scenes together anyway? Maybe a kiss would only serve to telegraph her demise further by making the audience more nervous about her fate, but it also would have made it even sadder knowing they had finally reached that point right before she died. If the intention of all of this is truly just to make Ethan and the audience sad and it's going to hurt one way or another, you might as well push it as hard as you can to achieve the desired effect. Regardless, I believe that when she comes back in Part 2, they'll finally get that well-earned kiss and that's what the director is waiting for.

But why have Ethan lose another woman he loves at all? Why watch him go through an entire series where all he does is lose lovers only to have him ultimately end up alone especially after developing the perfect romantic partner with him and getting audiences on board with it over the course of multiple films? It all just feels unnecessarily cruel and, as it's nothing new for him, what is it really adding to the story or his character? Losing another lover is predictable at this point but bringing one back and actually letting him be happy? Now that would be a twist! What a triumphant moment it would be for Gabriel to see Ilsa return in the next movie (and perhaps have a rematch) and realize that he's the one who'd been duped? That the Entity is not infallible? That Ethan has been one step ahead of him this whole time?

I don't think I'm alone when I say that the best possible ending for the series and Ethan's story is to get to live his life with Ilsa given he wasn't able to with Julia, trusting the IMF in the hands of new operatives like Grace to carry on in their stead (notice how they focused on that other new recruit during Ethan's introduction as well like they're preparing him to pass the torch). He finally gets to go with Ilsa like she asked him in Rogue Nation and in Fallout and they both finally get out of the game and live happily in the peace that they helped ensure and so deeply deserve. Ethan has sacrificed his own happiness to save the world so many times, why can't he and Ilsa finally get to find some happiness with each other? This series has had it's bittersweet moments but it's never been a tragedy. The conflict is meant to feel insurmountable (it is called Mission: Impossible after all) but the heroes still win and get to be happy and I expect that to continue to be the case in the very end.

Now, I understand and agree with confronting real consequences as we face our final antagonist of the series, but I would honestly predict an actual death from Luther or Benji in the final film - staples of the series and longtime friends of Ethan - that would hurt the audience too but not steal a future from him and perhaps Ilsa's "death" is also meant to deflect from the real death that's coming which would still, naturally, makes things very bittersweet. That being said, if this series wanted to continue to lean into happy outcomes over sad ones, then simply having Ethan get to live peacefully in the knowledge that he was able to keep all of his friends safe would be enough for him and for me.

As of now, I'm actually feeling hopeful about the potential for Ilsa to return. I think there are currently more viable reasons for why she could still be alive than dead and I think it would vastly improve the story they're telling rather than take away from it or feel forced because, as it stands, the execution of her death does feel less than the caliber of what this series is capable of and a surprise return would certainly remedy that. It wouldn't feel like a gimmick given the nature of the series, nor do I think it would undermine the death scene we got since it didn't have any impact on the plot and barely any on the characters anyway. Ilsa returning would improve things, not take away and if this all works to bring her back, it will take what was a lackluster plot point and unceremonious exit of a major character to a brilliant showcase of subterfuge both for the characters and the audience and the latter sounds more like the Mission: Impossible I know.

The first time Ethan faked the death of a woman he loved to protect her; he lost her. Now he's had to do it again and this time, he'll get her back. There's still hope.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

Angela Well, now Pam and Cece are in the car and they call Jim. They call daddy. This is really cute. So sweet. 

Jenna But this is where Pam is going to find out that Jim is still in Philly and he's not going to make the recital. This investor might back out and Jim can't leave. 

Angela So Jim says Pam will you please film the recital. And he sort of starts talking to her, kind of condescending about how to film it. And she's like, look, I know how to point a rectangle at something and film it. 

Jenna And then he's like, okay. And then it's time to say goodbye. And then there's this pause, and then he's like, hey, Pam, you have to press end, you know, which is sort of meant to be like a dig at her phone skills. Lady... 

Angela Why can't Jim just hang up the phone? 

Jenna This is the scene. 

Angela Oh, that people were pissed off about? 

Jenna For so many reasons. I saw the mail for this episode, and I couldn't believe it. Where should I begin? I'll begin with Amanda C from Montreal, Canada. Amanda says, I have to go on a little rant about Jim, but maybe not from the moment you think. What absolutely grinds my gears about Jim's behavior is when Pam is on the phone with him in the car, and he implies that she doesn't know how to use her phone to video the recital by saying, See, Pam, you still need to hang up the phone. Excuse me, sir. She is driving. Can you not hang it up yourself? And then it will automatically end the call on her phone. Samantha L from Tampa, Florida said, The thing I actually cannot get past is the incident when Pam is in the car on the way to Cece's recital. Why is Jim giving Pam such a hard time for being bad with technology because she doesn't hang up the phone? Pam is driving with your child in the backseat. You hang up the phone, Jim! You're not the one that would need to take your hand off the wheel of a moving vehicle! Let's see. Samantha goes on to say, Who's the one who's really bad with the cell phone technology, huh? Spoiler alert, not Pam. Another letter from Nora E in New Orleans, Louisiana. I want to go on record to say that the tipping point moment when Jim has clearly gone full ass (BLEEP) is in this episode, when he's on the phone with me and he berates her for not hanging up the phone. She's driving. He's at work. He's clearly not in a huge rush to return to his meeting, since he's able to stay at his desk and what? Have a gotcha moment with his own wife? This scene in the car makes me so deeply angry. I need this full dickhead moment to be acknowledged. 

Angela I love that she puts full in front of her curse word. 

Jenna I know. 

Angela Full (BLEEP). I want to use that. He's gone full (BLEEP). 

Jenna I know. I know. So Ange, it's literally what you said. You said it. You're like, why can't he hang up the phone? This is just three of the letters we got about this moment. But this is very good foreshadowing for what is going to happen later, and I think an interesting dynamic in their relationship, which is that and I think some relationships have this. They've got the gotcha person. Oh, I got to point out the little thing. Gotcha. You know, you said that you are good at cleaning out the fridge, but- gotcha. Found a rotten tomato or whatever it is. You know, the gotcha people, the gotcha moments which are just, like, so toxic for a relationship. 

Angela It's petty. 

Jenna Pettiness. 

Angela It's pettiness. 

Jenna Yeah. But Jim's in a mood. He's stressed. He's not handling it well. In conclusion, I hope that us discussing it today on the podcast has brought some of you relief, because the number of heated letters we got about this moment, I felt it. 

Angela We also asked Kelly Cantley about directing this scene, and here's what she had to say. 

Kelly Cantley Cece in the car. Surprisingly, Cece in the car was really hard to shoot because Cece was a little girl and little kids don't do lines. So Jenna, I don't know if you remember, we shot all of your dialogue and then we shot lots of both of us taking turns just saying the lines. I think we started with you doing it. And then we wanted to go from you to the little girl so we would see you talking. So you did it a few times where you would just say her line and she would say it back. And I believe I did it a bunch of times on the speaker in the car. So I actually had forgotten that until I watched the episode again. 

Jenna actually did remember that. I had such a great rapport with those little girls. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm 50 now, which is the decade of tooting your own horn. 

Angela It's time to toot. 

Jenna Bailey and Sienna. I just loved them so much, and we would do a thing where we would do, like, repeat me. So I would say their line and they would say their line, and we made a little game out of it. They did great. 

Angela I thought it was so cute. Those girls were so cute. 

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S02E14 - Tunnel Vision

We reached Tunnel Vision! Yes!

Filming an indie in an abandoned and dangerous mine. What could possibly go wrong?

Why? It's dark, muddy, cold... I really don't see why.

Oh, I forgot Sarah was annoyed to be working that case.

"And I took that personally."

Rex too, actually. He was like, "Sarah doesn't want to be with us?"

"You're not supposed to be friends with the talent when you're a PA". In this indie non-union production? Give me a break.

"I'm devastated about the murder. How soon can we continue filming?" Producers.

Oh, Jesse.

Rex: Oh, I'm sorry, were you supposed to be scary?

Last episode we uncovered how many crooked cops? And you refuse to believe that the SJPD is capable of leaking information to the press?

Jesse the drama queen.

"According to the legend's curse, we have 24 hours to live". First of all, what is this Walmart The Ring? Second, why would the curse extend to you?

Charlie: Don't tell me it was Caleb. Sarah: Ghosts don't typically leave prints. It's one of the perks of the afterlife.

"Antiques on wheels". Oh no lol. To be fair, and I don't know if anyone does this in other countries, but in Greece you will often come up on on-the-road junk dealers willing to help you part with your old stuff and load them in their truck to maybe find something useful later or just to sell them for scraps. They drive through neighborhoods announcing themselves on their bullhorn. I definitely can't call them antique dealers, though, because more often than not they'll leave with some old washing machine that someone couldn't bother to handle themselves rather than antiques. It's mostly junk.

"A lot of tunnels in this place. You go down the wrong one, I might never see you again". I'd worry about myself, Charlie. Rex has a giant nose to get himself out of that place.

Foreshadowing. Sorry, Charlie, but you'll have to get used to tight spaces.

"I hate mushrooms. They ruin pizza. And smurfs live in them". First of all, how dare you? Mushrooms make pizza awesome.

Jesse, come on.

Like any dog, Rex's ears are fine-tuned to recognize the word "walk" immediately.

Aw, Sarah chuckling as she sees Charlie putting the luminescent shoulder collar (I'm just spouting words at this point, I have not idea what it's called) on Rex. You cannot tell me that Charlie's care of Rex had not been one of the reasons she fell in love with him.

He truly is so caring with Rex, though.

Where are they getting this? I haven't found anything to support this.

We have established that we shouldn't yell in the mine and yet Rex is barking and Charlie is yelling at the suspect. And then Ian is yelling and Nell is yelling... I mean, do all y'all wish to die inside this mine?

The collapse scene and the scene with the cave-in afterwards are adequate. Especially since they don't have a major production's budget. Also, the ensuing whump is good.

Of course no one knows they're there. Why? Because they didn't learn from getting stuck in the freezer.

Why does Rex look like he wants to say hell no lol

The text was a smart idea.

I don't envy those who had to make gifs with that near darkness.

Rex while trying to make it through all the mud and debris: I hate it here.

Ian passed out. Good for us.

Translation: Who the fuck cares about him. I want you to live.

Hands. Also, his hand is huge???

Meanwhile, Jesse is reading about fictional people dying while ignoring his phone that could tell him that his ACTUAL FRIENDS ARE DYING!

Stop deflecting with humor. She's opening her heart. Also, I'm pretty sure it's "I'm happy here".

He called her Truong. I don't know why I liked that. It's one of the things that bother me in cop shows, when they barely say each other's first names.

"I just want you to know... I love working with you". Okay, and what else? "And Rex". And what else? Agh, why did you stop?

"I'm glad. Because you're going to be stuck with us for a long time". Normally, I'd be annoyed that an important conversation finally happened and it was in the dark in a collapsed mine but the drama!

Jesse: *finally reads Charlie's text* Oh my god, they're trapped AGAIN!

Can we do this again now??? Pretty please???

Rex: Oh no, I have to go back in there?

Charlie woke up immediately when he heard Rex lol

I know they probably ran out of budget and couldn't show how they dug out Charlie and Sarah.

And we have a murderer to unmask still.

Nice trick, pitting the couple against each other.

This is one of the many times that Charlie has been through a traumatic event and he just brushes it off. Just saying, in case any writers are listening and want to explore this on screen. (They're not. It's fine.)

Well, that was good. Also, if you didn't ship them after Over Ice, you'll surely ship them after this one.

[the-haunted-star]

The Marvels Deleted Scenes

The Marvels is a short film clocking in at 1 hour and 45 minutes. Such a brisk running time might lead one to believe that a lot of material was left on the cutting room floor. As with all films there's always stuff that's removed or changed during the editing process. However even with an overwhelming amount of marketing footage shown before the film's release and two early test screening leak descriptions, it appears The Marvels actually had its story and structure locked in pretty early on.

The trailers are often a good source for some bits of footage that didn't make the final cut but with The Marvels, there was very little that was shown in all the various previews that didn't make it into the final film. Once the Blu-ray/Disney+ material comes out we'll probably see more deleted scene evidence uncovered. For now here's what I've gathered together so far: (SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM)

The film's plot was leaked last year from an early rough cut test screening. Much of it proved to be very accurate. This summary was the first to report that Valkyrie would have a cameo in the film. This was true as Valkyrie appears aboard Carol's ship via the Bifrost to take the Skrull refugees to Earth after Dar-Benn attacks their sanctuary planet. According to the leaked summary there was originally another scene in which Valkyrie appeared. (I'm guessing here, but I'd assume this other scene most likely would have happened before the escorting of the Skrulls scene.) The leaked summary describes this scene as follows; at one point Kamala is alone on Carol's ship when Valkyrie calls. Valkyrie asks whom she's speaking to and where Carol is. Kamala responds, "I'm Ms. Marvel" and Valkyrie asks "She (Carol) got married again and didn't invite me AGAIN?" Kamala quickly clarifies the MISS part or her title. Valkyrie's line obviously foreshadowing the fact that would be revealed later in the film that Carol is married to Aladna's Prince Yan.

This early summary also described Dar-Benn as using her bangle to "power a weapon" which would steal the resources of the various planets. In the final film, there is no secondary weapon. Dar-Benn simply uses the bangle to both open up portals and extract the planet's resource. Due to the rough-cut state of the film shown in the test screening this could have been either a misinterpretation by the viewer or there actually was a separate weapon in that particular rough cut and they just decided to streamline things by having the bangle perform both tasks. Who knows. Based on this info I myself incorrectly predicted and assumed early on that the huge diamond-shaped ship might have been this "weapon" in the film. But it ended up being just Dar-Benn's Kree flagship of sorts.

Another test screening took place around June 2023 with a leaker corroborating on Reddit what was described in the first plot summary and adding a couple other details which had not been revealed up to that point. One being that the post credit scene would feature another variant of Monica's mother, Maria Rambeau and that Kate Bishop would make a cameo appearance. Both these details turned out to be true too but with one minor difference. This report described the film opening with Kamala recounting the film's events to a mystery person not revealed until the end. This person would turn out to be Kate Bishop. So while the scene with Kamala recruiting Kate still ended up at the end of the film, it appears that Marvel toyed with the idea of having the film's events being narrated retroactively, similar to how Iron Man 3 was Tony recounting his story to Bruce Banner.

As I stated earlier there wasn't much from the trailers that wasn't included in the film but there were a couple. One bit involved Monica during the initial round of location swapping. When Monica switches places while investigating the jump-point in orbit near Earth, she ends up on the barren planetoid where Carol was previously. In the film we see Monica crash onto the planetoid but don't see her get switched back to her original location. The teaser trailer shows a few seconds of Monica getting attacked by the same Kree soldiers Carol had just encountered on the barren planetoid. Monica attempts to use her powers to defend herself but switches again with Carol. You can see the insignia of Carol's suit begin to rematerialize before the trailer cuts away.

Another deleted scene that was described in the leaked plot summary involved Carol and Monica traveling to Hala where the Kree are celebrating the return of rain and water to their drought stricken planet. Carol has a crisis of conscience realizing that the "Annihilator" title the Kree labeled her with was accurate from their point of view. There's a brief shot from this scene shown in the theatrical trailer, with Monica and Carol standing in front of a rain soaked window with the Hala cityscape outside it. A line of dialogue from Monica plays over it, "You are not the only thing standing between this and the universe."

In recent interviews following the film's release, Iman Vellani has revealed details on some scenes that were either changed, shortened or cut altogether. From Yahoo:

Monica Rambeau was originally going to be christened with her codename, Photon during the climax of the film right before she repaired the tear in space-time. Vellani commented, "It was a cool moment, but I think they took it out for a good reason." The original scene had the Marvel trio using their powers together to repair the tear. "It wouldn't make sense tonally if Monica is about to sacrifice herself and we're like, 'But your code name!'"

The song/dance sequence on Aldna was originally longer. "The song itself was much longer, and so much fun. There was a beat where Carol starts singing before she dances with the prince - that was pretty funny. And there's a moment where Kamala starts singing, too." - This one isn't too surprising. The leaked summary even made a comment that the sequence went on for way too long in the test screening cut. This was a scene I thought would potentially be pretty cringey but didn't actually end up bugging me. Although a longer version of it most likely would have wore out its welcome pretty quickly.

Some other little beats that got scrapped from the theatrical cut included an early scene where Kamala switches places with Carol and ends up on her starship, not immediately realizing she's in the same domicile where her hero resides.

There was also a longer version of the final encounter with Kate Bishop. "Hailee and I had a really fun back and forth," "Tonally, it wouldn't have made sense if we kept joking about [the Young Avengers team], but we were having so much fun bouncing off each other."

Lastly, a few more cut tidbits via @CanWeGetSomeToast on X/Twitter:

Kamala wasn’t able to take off her bangle and was imprisoned/tortured by Dar-Benn.

Captain Marvel and Valkyrie were explicitly together in the past (cut quote: “we work better as friends”) but Disney are cowards.

Prince Yan was supposed to gift each of The Marvels with a new suit, right before gathering his army. Monica had her comic accurate wings at first, but it was too much for her so she tore them off.

Kamala’s new suit originally turned into a space-suit, which would’ve been used to join Carol and Monica to close the rip in space-time TOGETHER.

[cosmicgendershifter]

So Our Flag Means Death often functions as a metaphor where piracy represents the film industry. Ed is the burnt-out superstar actor/director, Stede is the wealthy but fumbling newcomer full of creative ideas, and Izzy is the power-hungry manager who fails to find success on his own. The crew represents the various support people in filmmaking, while the colonial powers represent the capitalistic system that does so much damage in so many parts of the modern world.

The traumatic nature of fame is explored in-depth throughout the show, including commentary on how people coming into places like Hollywood have often been inspired by family-related trauma, are running from more "typical" lives that they couldn't have survived, and continue reliving their past traumas in their current situations. There's a strong indication that Ed has had to mask his true self to fit the image expected of him as a celebrity. The inclusion of queerness/neurodivergence, I think, both reflects how many "atypical" people work in the arts and indicates how Stede's methods are more welcoming.

What I find interesting is how this topic is addressed with a further layer of metaphor through the curse of the red suit in season two episode five. The suit represents fame and the trauma that surrounds it, specifically following Ed's violent breakdown. The crew has seen the repurcussions of working in this industry too long firsthand now, and they are having A Response to it.

(GIF Source: skulandcrossbones)

Stede still wants to be the celebrity. He's waltzing around in that suit with massive queer flamboyance, and he's loving it. He doesn't think the trauma is going to be a problem for him. Izzy doesn't seem to believe the trauma should put people off of working to become successful/famous in this industry, but he also recognizes that things need to change for the crew to keep functioning.

Jim was the character who seemed the most clearsighted about what was happening during Ed's breakdown, probably because they've had similar experiences with trauma and masking and its mental health impacts thanks to Nana pushing them to "succeed", and they are also the first one to hear about and react to the cursed suit. Archie and Oluwande side with Jim. Frenchie, Roach, and Wee John take longer to recognize the problem, but they do get there.

Meanwhile, Fang, Ed, Lucius, and Pete are having more direct reckonings with fame-triggered trauma. Fang and Ed discuss Fang's choice to move on from both their actions, and Lucius has already expressed that "some people are just broken," which I think may be a reference to himself now too. They cope through sitting quietly with their feelings, connecting and celebrating with loved ones, making different kinds of art, and seeking a bit of retributive justice. (Though that last one is somewhat satisfying, it doesn't fix the trauma or the relationships.)

Stede finally comes around to the idea that he needs to let go of the suit for the crew's sake, which is foreshadowing for this season! He does keep a more muted version of the outfit, though: his delightful red-and-black ruffly shirt. Ed later compliments that shirt (he thinks Stede wears his own work/fame-seeking well 🥺), leading to their romantic moment on deck. So maybe the culture Stede is building for his metaphorical filmmaking work is okay, since it differs from the trauma-steeped fame full of abuse that Ed has been through as Blackbeard.

Now, I know the show does generally present the curse of the suit as a silly concept--except. Except magical things do happen on this show, like with Buttons. Except the Spaniards who first had the suit did look like they'd been through hell. Except demonic, haunting whispers do accompany the suit on its first and last appearances. I think the writers thus indicate that the curse (Hollywood fame being traumatic in our modern culture) is real--maybe only for people who aren't Stede, or maybe for everyone. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Who can say? Stede didn't stick with the typical way of doing things long enough to find out.

[foxes-that-run]

Golden

Golden and Fine Line are the bookends of the album and written first. Golden is so joyous, but also asking his muse to let him in, in Fine Line they cross the friendship line and the album ends on an uncertain note but 'we'll be alright'.

I have watched this video more than I'll ever admit, I love it so much. This section where he's running as hard as he can to catch up to her:

This is similar to this part of As it was, it tells of their break ups, hook ups, careers happen and he loses her, stops trying to catch up and runs alone, devastated (before he lets go of the past and dances off):

The film clip was in September 2020, 2 years after writing the song.

Writing

To Rolling Stone:

That places it around September 2018, after he broke up with Camille and the events of Fine Line(/Cruel Summer.)

To Zane Lowe, Harry said he started with an idea for the album but not the release date in mind. Harry talked about having a plan for future albums but he took Tyler's advice to make Fine Line the record he wanted to make now as opposed to what was planned. This is interesting because:

October 2012 - While they were dating, the Red Liner notes foreshadow a future album that included 'love shines golden'

August 2019 - Lover is released on the 13th year of her career, before her 30th birthday, ending on "Love is Golden like Daylight"

13 December 2019 - on Taylors 30th Birthday Fine Line is released, opening with 'You're so Golden, take me back to the light'.

Lyrics

[Intro] Hey! [Verse 1] Golden, golden, golden as I open my eyes Hold it, focus, hoping, take me back to the light I know you were way too bright for me I'm hopeless, broken, so you wait for me in the sky Brown my skin just right You're so golden

In the first verse is depicted in the film clip, working as hard as he can to win back this person with his own success and love for them. He often describes his muse as in the sky (here), chasing clouds (Story of my Life, Late night talking MV) and "I'm on the roof, you're in your airplane seat" in Daylight, also that MV has him climbs down a ladder in the sky.

[Verse 2] I don't wanna be alone I don't wanna be alone when it ends Don't wanna let you know I don't wanna be alone But I can feel it take a hold (I can feel it take a hold) I can feel you take control (I can feel you take control) Of who I am, and all I've ever known Lovin' you's the antidote Golden

The second verse is moving from desiring the muse to being vulnerable, As it was is more direct on this saying that "In this world, it's just us / You know it's not the same as it was" which means this muse is the only person for him. To me, that person is Taylor and there is an overtone of being isolated by fame here and finding someone who feels like home in an unmanageable life.

Thank you @womanexile for highlighting Anitdote which Harry refers to in:

Every since New York: " Choose your words 'cause there's no antidote / For this curse. Oh, what's it waiting for?"

Daylight: "You got the antidote / I'll take one to go, go, please"

And in One Directions End of the Day also likened being apart as an illness " You're the one that I want at the end of the day / She said the night was over, I said it's forever/ 20 minutes later, wound up in the hospital / The priest thinks it's the devil, my mum thinks it's the flu / But, girl, it's only you"

[Chorus] You're so golden I don't wanna be alone You're so golden You're so golden I'm out of my head, and I know that you're scared Because hearts get broken [Bridge] (Golden, golden, golden, golden)x7 I know that you're scared because I'm so open

I think Fine Line overall, and Harry's House to a greater degree show maturing. When talking to Zane about Cherry Harry said: "In the moment I felt like I was realizing some stuff about being more open and not being, like 'I don't care'".

I think, where the 1D songs are about young love and the debut songs are like an open wound - it is not until Fine Line he started to look with some distance on what was lost.

[tobiasdrake]

The ending to Alan Wake 2's NG+ playthrough leaves me with... questions.

Specifically: What is this? What is happening right now? Why does this exist?

"Final Draft" and its ending are post-launch updates to the game that introduce a NG+ mode with small changes to the story and a brighter, happier, and more conclusively explained ending to the game.

There are two significant changes that Final Draft makes to the ending. First, it's decisively stated in no uncertain terms that Logan IS FINE. The subtle artistic cliffhanger where the story cuts away before we learn Logan's fate - because the story is, itself, the threat to Logan and so the story must end for Logan to be safe - is gone. In its place is your standard "I had a bad dream but everything's fine now and we all get to live happily ever after!" bit.

The other major change is that NG+ unkills Alan. The bullet in his forehead fizzles away into nothingness and he springs up out of his chair like, "CUT! That's a wrap, everyone! Great work! We vanquished the darkness forever and nothing will ever be terrible again! I'm so proud of us!"

It's so tonally dissonant from the rest of the game. But also that's kind of the point; What Tom points out, specifically, is that Alan is the only true obstacle to ending things that way. NG+ reframes the difficulty of writing a way out of the darkness as "Alan's too much of an auteur, too stuck in his head about genre and narrative, to just put pen to paper and scrawl 'AND THEN WE FUCKING WON AND LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER, THE END".

That. Doesn't seem to gel with anything else in either of these two games; Tom Zane's downfall is a cautionary tale against this sort of thing. But that's the story that they're going with.

In fact, the NG+ ending doesn't come completely out of nowhere. Alan suddenly being unkilled as soon as the credits roll because it's just fiction, no big deal, was foreshadowed in the original version by Tom Zane's shooting. We dramatically shoot Tom in the head and then, on our way out, we see Tom get up and wipe the blood away 'cause that was all just acting. Filming's done. No one was really shot.

But also. Like. If this was where the story was really supposed to end then why wasn't it in the game to begin with? Why did they have to add it in two months later?

What is this?

Was it always the intended ending from the beginning, but they had to complete it post-launch because it wasn't done by release date?

Did audiences just not like the original ending so they changed it? I have no idea what the audience reception to the ending was like but I've seen other games do "extended cut" bonus endings in response to player criticism before.

Is it because they want to sell post-game DLC but they need Alan alive for that?

I get what Final Draft is trying to say but. Like. What is this? Why does this exist?

[thisselflovecamebacktome]

Sorry to ask this but what does “I am both kathy bates and stephen king” means, in that song? English is not my first language so i dont undestand the context

Kathy Bates is an actress who most notably played the main villain role in the film version of Stephen King's (arguably the world's most well known horror novel writer in case you don't know who that is) book Misery.

Throughout Misery, Annie (Kathy's character), forces the protagonist (Paul) to destroy the manuscript he is currently writing in order to write the story she wants and later cuts off Paul's thumb for telling her how the story ends before he had written it. Further, at the end of the novel, Paul is given the suggestion to write about what happened with Annie, but ultimately does not as he feels he would tell it incorrectly.

By Maisie using Misery as an example, she is foreshadowing History of Man where she wants a more favourable story, but she can't have that ending/story, in part because a man (in Maisie's case her ex) was busy "writing another story" (planning/being in the relationship with his new partner) but also in part because she knows the ending because it's already happened.

So, in my interpretation, ultimately what Maisie means is that yes, it is a story in which she is the main character/actress who wanted a different ending and is seen as crazy for it (Annie/Kathy), but she is also the writer (Stephen) and must adhere to the truth of what she feels truly happened. But, because she is Stephen, she gets to make sure that this story and its truth is about her, not the man who would or could not write her a "better" story (Paul) and she is ultimately the one who will tell the story and will be remembered as the main character in a similar way that more people talk about Annie than they do about Paul when it comes to discussions about Misery as a book/movie.

[darrisgrove]

A Clockwork Orange Notes

PART ONE

-Already the book starts differently than the movie, don't hate me for watching the movie before reading the book. The boys hassle a smoke shop before the homeless man, which was not included in the movie. They sweeten up some old ladies at a diner (?) as an alibi.

-"It's a stinking world because it lets the young get on to the old like you done, and there's no law nor order no more."

-"--The attempt to impose upon man, a creature of growth and capable of sweetness, to ooze juicily at the last round the bearded lips of God, to attempt to impose, I say, laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my sword-pen" pg 27. Foreshadowing.

-Alex is the alpha of the pack, just as he was in the movie.

-Alex is a teenager, or college age student.

-Alex's dream of Georgie being a general is also foreshadowing.

-P. R. Deltoid's warning to Alex tells us that Alex has been caught and in trouble before, enough times for him to have a post corrective advisor stop to visit him in his home. Sent there by Alex's mother.

-I think it's important to note that Alex using the same "my friend has fainted" play has it's own glimpse onto Alex's intelligence. While he does make himself appear to be high and mighty, no one is smarter than me, type character, why would he use the same play to lure people into opening their doors for him? If it's worked a few times in the past to get him what he wants, eventually people will catch the repetition and become warned of that phrase. Maybe that is why the cat lady was suspicious of the phrase from the start. She'd been warned and did the right thing but denying him entry and calling the police right away. Our Humble Narrator isn't as smart as he thinks.

-Alex is 15 at the the story takes place.

-Alex's lingo has a chokehold on my every waking moment. It haunts me how fluid it feels when I'm reading it, even though I have no idea what he's saying most of the time. I do find it interesting how the author indicates that the adults in the story speak without Alex's lingo, they speak "proper".

PART TWO

-Alex is now 17.

-It seems like in the film they completely removed the second murder Alex was convicted of, which I feel would have been important towards telling his story. In the film, they show Alex having taken responsibility and showing interested in becoming a better man. In the book, Alex is still manipulative and a bad character. He hasn't learned from his crimes. He's just annoyed that he is forced to be around people he considers to be lesser than him. He's disgusted by them. He's looking in the mirror and refuses to see his own reflection.

-Aversion therapy is what is happening here, where the patient is given an undesirable stimuli while being shown images, or in Alex's case, films, in order to treat the unwanted behavior. This was also administered as treatment for "curing" homosexuality back in the day alongside castration to cure gayness. While the practice has been looked down upon and shamed for the mental harm it causes patients who underwent this treatment, unfortunately conversion therapy and aversion therapy is still practiced today. However, there are proper non-harmful ways to use aversion therapy and is sometimes recommended by therapists. Aversion therapy is a type of behavioral therapy. It is sometimes used to help treat nail biting, alcoholism (some medications used to treat alcohol abuse trigger a sick feeling response when alcohol is consumed), and smoking.

-The "vitamin" injection was the undesirable stimuli, making Alex feel weak and the showing of the criminal activities on film made Alex condition criminal activity with feeling sick. Which is why later on when Alex is kicked around and shown breasts, he becomes sick. This is similar to the alcoholism aversion therapy medication which makes the patient nauseous when they consume alcohol. The author writing about this therapy did a great job at expressing the thoughts and actions and makes me wonder if he did this on purpose or if it was accidental.

-Alex is quickly beginning to realize the horrors he had committed. While it was fun and games for him before, now having the undesirable stimuli to punish his behavior is teaching him that crime is not fun and games.

-I wonder why they didn't show a scene of Alex hitting his head against the wall and showing sickness from it in the film. I feel they grazed over this part of the book, showing Alex and the films, his shouting and anger at the doctors playing his favorite music, but the read pain is in Alex's physical reactions. A duality can be found between pre-cured Alex and the correctional doctors, the violence is different but still violence. Same with the police violence towards the end.

-"Am I just to be like a clockwork orange?" page 129.

PART THREE

-Alex still feels higher than everyone else, that he's more important than everyone else.

-In the end, Alex didn't learn anything. He went right back to worshipping violence.

[thebreakfastgod]

Alien: Romulus Review

I liked it! As an Alien fan I thought that this was the best Alien movie that's been released in a while. Alien: Romulus takes place chronologically right after the first movie, and before Aliens. It follows a crew that wants to get off their mining colony planet which is owned by the Weyland-Yutani corporation, and make their way to the planet Yvaga. Our main character, Rain, thinks that she qualifies for a travel permit, but is denied. Then, Rain and the crew she works with decide to steal their own cryosleep pods from a defunct space station that is in orbit above their planet. The Remus & Romulus station is abandoned for reasons that are completely unknown and cannot be guessed :)

I thought the movie had really good tension throughout. You of course know that whatever is going to go wrong is going to happen on the space station, and with this knowledge comes the fear of what exactly is going to happen next. There was also lots of foreshadowing that I picked up on, and some that was not so subtle. Sometimes the camera would settle just perfectly on something in frame and I could tell it would come up later. The planet they are on has a large set of rings that are in the background of all the space shots, and once the crew dock their ship on the station they are informed that there will be a collision with the rings in 38 hours. One of them says, naturally, “We should be in and out in 30 minutes,” which knowing that this is an Alien movie just made me excited for whatever crazy and horrifying shit was yet to come. This deadline of the collision heightens the sense of urgency for the crew & the audience. This deadline quite literally looms large in the background of establishing shots, and at the beginning of the movie I thought to myself, ‘I can't wait until the ship is all the way over there’. The collision is inescapable, unlike the way that characters might override a self-destruct or something similar. The round shape of the rings reminded me of an analog clock that is counting down the minutes, and by the end of the movie the asteroid field was a visual feast.

I loved the music, it reminded me of the original in a really good way. It sounds classic to the alien franchise, and still like a really good modern movie soundtrack. It heightens the tension and creates a pervasive sense of dread and uneasiness. There was a big moment right at the end where the score and visuals gave me goosebumps. I also thought the visuals of this movie were incredible, and multiple shots had me noting how good they looked, and how they enhanced the mood of the film. The editing/pacing I noticed also had me really engaged, as the switching perspectives from where different people were separated always had me chomping at the bit each time to find out what happened to them. I didn’t find that one perspective outweighed the other in terms of how interested I was, which can happen sometimes.

The stand out performance is David Jonsson as Andy the synthetic. He’s my favorite and absolutely the best character. He is introduced to us telling terribly cute and cheesy dad jokes, and accompanies Rain to the market while she applies for a travel permit. He is a previously broken/disconnected Weyland-Yutani droid who was refurbished by Rain’s dad and given the operating directive to “Do whatever is best for Rain.” He is brought along for the mission because as a WY droid he can communicate with the ship's operating system. Ideas about being “real” or “alive” are explored with Andy, and that is something I looove in media involving robots. In canon he is not a human, yet is still constantly dehumanized by those around him. Rain cares about Andy and saves him from death, and he does the same for her, so what does it mean to be “real”, anyway? Rain views Andy as her brother, and infantilizes him, because as a repaired android his operating systems don’t work exactly as they’re “supposed” to, and because of this she treats him like a child that can’t be trusted on his own. I think that this is an obvious allegory to him being disabled/autistic, as he is shown to not understand human social cues, is easily overwhelmed, and has a stutter. He also will seize if knocked too hard and must be rebooted throughout the film in order to regain normal functioning. 

Partway through, in order to gain access to higher clearance doors, Andy gets a processor component from the android chief science officer of the Romulus station, which turns out to greatly improve his knowledge of the ship, ai, and motor controls. This disc also makes him an autistic supergenius, because now he is rational and calculating, he speaks extremely clearly with almost enhanced enunciation, and he moves in a way that is more “like a robot”. He also instantly does what I want someone to do in any Alien movie, he tries to KILL the person who was face-hugged. In Alien movies, the characters always want to help their friends (like, obviously.) which always leads to them inadvertently letting the alien gestate and chest-burst. It felt so satisfying to have a character who knows what needs to be done and will not hesitate to try and accomplish it. He knows that even if they have to kill this party member, it will be saving all of their lives. Insert Family Feud meme here. KILL!!!!!

There are also questions explored with Andy about the synthetics being able to harm humans. One of the other party members who is a total dick is given a bit of backstory where his parents died after being sealed into a collapsing mine. It was a synthetic who gave the order, and androids are not allowed to harm humans, but in order to save a dozen other miners, three people had to die.  This is almost immediately paralleled in the situation on the ship, where if Andy is able to kill the infected crew, it will save all of them, but the humans won’t allow him to kill her. Upon receiving the science officer disc, Andy also receives a new operating directive, which explicitly does not have Rain’s best interest in mind. There is such a fascinating interplay between the Andy that is trying to help Rain and protect the humans, and the Andy that has motivations set by the corporation. Once he becomes a corporate droid he instantly becomes way more sinister, and I loved Jonsson’s performance of this switch, it was absolutely captivating and I was most interested in what he would do in each scene. 

I did think it was kind of weird that the only Black character was a non-human robot, and I also know that the autistic robot  trope is both disliked and embraced, so I’d love to hear if other people have opinions on those things. 

The movie also had a tongue-in-cheek attitude about the Alien franchise, because the movie seemed to know that it was a better movie than the past few that have been made. There were multiple references to the original three movies, when Andy saves Rain from a Xeno he says, “Don’t touch her, you bitch”(Aliens), and there is a reference to that iconic shot from Alien 3 where the Xeno gets close to Ripley’s face. Also right before the climax of the movie, Rain is in her little sleep shorts and a tank top pajamas getting ready for hypersleep, and suddenly there's still an alien threat and she now has to get in a spacesuit and throw it out the airlock, which is exactly like the original. But it was fun, and the final monster was fucking wild. I liked how it all led up to the final confrontation of Rain vs. Monster and the shot of it getting pulled out the airlock was fucking awesome. It followed the first person perspective of Rain being dangled out the back of the ship in zero g. There are a few other scenes where the characters have to deal with zero gravity, and I really enjoyed how the camera would also stop being affected by gravity and take the audience with it.

Unfortunately, I thought that the main character Rain was pretty forgettable. She is just not the powerhouse of a character that Ripley was, and she is supposed to be the new modern stand-in for Ripley. She is trying to accumulate enough work hours on this mining colony to be approved for a travel permit to leave, and the rest of the crew are also trying to leave for Yvaga. Her parents are also dead so that the movie doesn’t have to worry about that. It just kind of felt to me that she is a blank slate audience stand in and all the other crew members are also a bit one-dimensional because the movie knows they’re going to die. 

Some jumpscares also felt extremely cheap to me, although there are some that are earned. I feel like I just could've done without some of them. Like, at one point the characters are trying to be quiet and sneak through a section of the ship, and a random dead body of a crew member comes down from the ceiling for a jumpscare. It felt so on cue that a guy sitting next to me in the movie theater said “jumpscare”!

But overall, I thought that this was a fun romp of an Alien movie. I enjoyed seeing it in the theater and will probably watch it again at some point. I had only seen a couple of trailers before going, and went in mostly blind, only knowing that there's a new Alien movie out! I was a little worried that it was gonna be bad but was so wonderfully surprised and pleased with this movie. You should check it out if you’re interested and if you got this far thanks for reading my review of something hope you enjoyed <3

[xycuro-illuminati]

Atsv spoiler discussion pertaining Gwen and her universe, Earth 65, in particular

The movie did everything accurate to the Spider-Gwen comics, from the art style, to the entire origin, and prominent/important scenes from the comics— such as earth 65's Peter's death. Getting to see Peter's death scene animated along with the constant guilt Gwen carries was heartbreaking to see but extremely well done in the movie. The same goes for the two scenes Gwen had with her father, Captain Stacy: both the tense reveal at the beginning, and the confrontation/reconciliation at the end of the film (the color theory bro UGHHH <3).

Now, bc I'm a DD fan and I know a good amount of yall follow me for that hornhead bastard, time to talk about earth 65 Kingpin, Murderdock.

Unfortunately, he was not mentioned at all in the movie. No cameo. No easter egg. Nothing.

However, I'm going to make the stretch that he's implied to exist for one simple line that Gwen said when she confronted the renaissance Vulture:

"You're not my Vulture."

And since the NYPD had a different photo of earth 65 Toomes with the exact same art style of the comic, both of these not only confirm that Gwen has fought Vulture before, but that Murderdock exists.

In the comics, the reason why Gwen fights Vulture is because Murderdock was the one who sent him after her. And if the movie is going exactly like the comic down to both every art and story detail, then I wouldn't doubt that they're keeping Murderdock hidden in the bg.

Obviously, he's not important to the movie's entire plot. The Kingpin was the antagonist for the first film and he nor any other version of the Kingpin needs to be involved in the sequels. But there was a plot point that happens later on in comics where Murderdock gets his hands on one of the spiderman dimension hopping wrist bands that they own.

I'm going to clarify that I don't want Murderdock to be the main villain of Beyond the Spiderverse– what I'm trying to say from all of this bs is that HOPEFULLY we'll get a cameo or an easter egg of Murderdock. Even a simple name drop or something. Maybe they could animate one scene with him and Gwen as a flashback or something lol. I'm completely fine with just a name drop or tiny easter egg. I'm good with bread crumbs. DD fans this is how we can still win lmao.

Also, very neat callback on the line "You wear that badge because you know someone who doesn't deserve it will." I'm glad they animated that scene, but also that line was basically foreshadowing to when earth 65 Frank Castle took over as police captain and he's a corrupt cop fucking shit up. Super interesting lol.

[behindthesefangirleyes]

Spoiler-Free Review - The Tutor

So I went to see the film with a friend tonight. To set the scene, we were the only ones in the theater. Which was good because we sure were reacting to certain moments obnoxiously LOL. Without giving too much away, I’ll try to review specific qualities of the film.

This is all my opinion. I am not an authority on what makes a good film, and I realize that.

Plot (3/10) - This was honestly the worst part for me. There were many times when things were unclear (i.e.: how did [character] get to this point, why did [character] have such an over-the-top reaction so soon over something so insignificant, why are these extra characters necessary, what is [character]’s current motivation). Which is unfortunate since they had the makings for a solid story. But it was - again, in my opinion - not well-executed. Some of it was due to pacing. Some of it felt like they bit off too much and threw in everything but the kitchen sink (if you’ll forgive the mixed metaphors). It seemed as though there were “twists & turns” for the sake of having them or some type of shock value, but they didn’t land as super shocking. Then when the climactic “twist” happened, it felt super abrupt and contrived. So I understand why Garrett was reluctant to sign on until he read it a few times (personally, I think he should’ve trusted his gut). I also understand what they mean when they said you’re there wondering who’s the actual villain (not at all once you know the conclusion, but as far as the plot goes because it’s just all over the place). There were also lots of moments where they sprinkled in “character history” and it was like, alright you’ve laid the “groundwork”, but maybe you a) should have incorporated the offscreen character rather than this other person or b) just not mentioned it at all. Also, by the end it seemed unclear how any of this was possible. It’s hard to explain without giving away spoilers, but basically nothing is as it seems and as a result, it’s unclear how a 17-year-old would pull it off, even with the help that he did have. All that said, there’s a moment that offered decent foreshadowing that wasn’t too on-the-nose. I still picked up on it as likely being relevant for later. I just couldn’t have guessed how it would be relevant until it happened.

Pacing (4/10) - This sort of improved as the film continued. In the beginning, things were slow. It was like, “Alright, there is a build-up here, but for how long?” This kind of goes hand-in-hand with the plot issues since there were times when I was like, this feels super rushed but of course it does because we’re all over the place with the story. The ending was also not it for me. It simply sort of ... flatlined, I guess is the best way to describe it. It was almost like when you conclude a presentation in school and go, “So ... yeah.”

Acting (7/10) - This was the best part of the film for me. By no means was it a show-stopping performance by any of the leading/supporting actors, but they definitely sold certain emotions. Unsurprisingly, Noah’s best work was with the scenes that required more subtle acting (i.e.: scared looks, teary eyes). I have always found those types of moments more compelling with him than the big reactionary moments (i.e. the preview they showed where he is banging his legs). That’s not to say he didn’t do those moments well to a degree, but the problem for me with them was that the context/pacing was so abrupt that it distracted from his performance. Like I said to my friend, it’s not good if you watch a thriller and see a high-impact moment & all you can do is laugh. One thing that I did enjoy was seeing him tap into certain other qualities that we haven’t seen him utilize before. Like when in the preview Jackson asks Ethan about how he feels knowing his son will be a bastard. Or in the tutor’s quarters preview when he goes from emotional to calm and detached smiling. He was pretty good when it came to turning it on and off like that. It was the same with Garrett. His great acting moment came at the end right at the descent of the climax. Again, it was more of a tight shot that focused on his emotions. As for Victoria, she was fine but it was a pretty forgettable performance. That’s not her fault, as I see it. The role was supporting and didn’t really lend itself to any big moment.

Directing (5/10) - The directing didn’t speak much to me. What went well was perhaps in part due to directing, but I would not doubt was mostly the actors’ own abilities shining through. Where I felt the director could’ve improved was making certain emotional scenes less outrageous. It almost felt like the train temporarily went off the tracks and I get it, it’s a thriller. You’re tapping into a certain amount of twisted emotions and exaggerating them, but it sort of came off as ham-fisted. They could have reigned it in a little more to make the scenes less comical or cringeworthy.

Overall, I would give the film 2 out of 5 stars. The two stars were hard earned by the actors for giving what they could with not a lot to work with for material.

[world-cinema-research]

The Deer Hunter (1978)

By Cris Nyne

The Deer Hunter was co-written and directed by Michael Cimino. It follows a group of Slavic-American friends that work together in a steel mill in Clairton, Pennsylvania, just south of Pittsburgh. The area in which they live is dilapidated, and the steel mill fuels most of the local economy, which isn’t much. Friends Michael (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken), and Steven (John Savage) are heading off to Vietnam after a weekend that includes Steve’s wedding and a trip into the mountains to hunt deer. The cast of friends is rounded out by Nick’s love interest Linda (Meryl Streep), Stan (John Cazale), John (George Dzundza), and Axel (Chuck Aspegren).

The movie begins in Clairton, where the group of friends are punching out of the steel mill and grabbing a beer at the bar to pre-game before Steve’s wedding that night. Steve’s partner, Angela (Rutanya Alda), is pregnant and they are having a grandiose Russian Orthodox ceremony before Steve heads off to Vietnam. The church hymns would return later in the film when Robert De Niro’s character, Michael, is stalking deer. This is where Michael finds his spiritual peace. After the wedding, the men head into the mountains for one last deer hunt before Michael, Nick, and Stevie are off to Vietnam. The film then hops the ocean to portray some very troubling scenes of war, along with the deadly Russian roulette “games” that the Vietcong imposed on captured US soldiers in the film. The movie then follows Michael’s returns home to depict the celebratory, yet grieving community of friends and family.

"The picture is a long, sprawling epic-type in many ways more novel than motion picture. It employs literary references stylistically, forecasting events which will happen in the film. Events are foreshadowed by the way the camera moves and by epigrammatic hints made by characters–techniques more frequently related to book writing. Cimino’s film is worthy of serious study and certainly will be treated to much analysis during the next year, and decade as well." -Charles Schreger for Variety, November 1978

What makes this film more touching, is that this would be actor John Cazale’s last film. He was diagnosed with lung cancer before filming and would pass on before The Deer Hunter was released in theaters. Mr. Cazale’s credits included The Godfather franchise, The Conversation, and Dog Day Afternoon. He would star in five films in the seventies. All five films were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. John Cazale and Meryl Streep were in a relationship together and his passing affected her greatly. Ms. Streep would accept the role as Linda so she could be by John’s side while filming. Robert De Niro paid for Mr. Cazale’s medical insurance to help save his friend and keep the production of the movie in motion.

The Deer Hunter was both critically and financially successful. With a budget of 15 million dollars, it would go on to gross just shy of 49 million, domestically. There were many glowing reviews for The Deer Hunter in major publication throughout the country. The amount of recognition the film received through accolades and awards is astounding, especially considering this was only the second film by director Michael Cimino. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won five of them. Amongst the awards were Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Christopher Walken. Rotten Tomatoes lists The Deer Hunter with an 86% on the “Tomatometer” and 91% audience score. The negative feedback about the film mostly revolved around Mr. Cimino’s bigoted depiction of the Vietnamese. The Russian roulette scenes were also derided by some for being historically inaccurate, as there were no such records of this ever happening.

“More terrifying than the violence--certainly more provocative and moving--is the way each of the soldiers reacts to his war experiences. Not once does anyone question the war or his participation in it. This passivity may be the real horror at the center of American life, and more significant than any number of hope-filled tales about raised political consciousnesses.” -Vincent Canby, The New York Times, December 1978

The film depicts hard times in America, and most certainly in Vietnam. Families don’t have much in terms of material wealth, but their lives and relationships are rich with endearing connections to one another. The cinematography brings you right into the scene with the actors and there is an abundance of grit throughout the film, both in style and substance. Although this was only the sophomore release from Mr. Cimino, the A-list cast of actors (especially De Nero, after starring in The Godfather II and Taxi driver) and the 15-million-dollar budget lends The Deer Hunter to be more of a conventional movie. The intense depictions of the Vietcong and the Vietnamese, along with the subject matter of putting a gun to your own head and pulling the trigger could upset, aggravate, or alienate certain audiences, which does add some elements of being unconventional, as well.

The Vietnam war left a massive stain on the quilt of American history. To this day, a lot of soldiers who survived the intense, dragging battle have permanent scars that cannot be seen. The Deer Hunter sheds some light on the scope of the experience, not only within the borders of Vietnam, but also how the war shaped and affected the lives of family and friends of the soldiers who either enlisted or were drafted. The film ends with the remaining group of friends singing the most somber, poignant version of “God Bless America”, leaving us with a stinging rebuttal for the cost of serving your country with a machine gun.