#it's time for some late s8 parallels

[irenespring]

Me: I've covered a lot of really intense and sad things both with the SGE setting and with canon Hilson parallels. I think I have gotten as angsty as I'm going to get with "A Clearly Discernible Line"

Chapter Eight:

[ananke-xiii]

"The Prisoner" is remembered for the destiel sex/fight scene which is fair. But do you remember how this scene parallelled Sam and Crowley previous scene where Sam plans to kill the King of Hell (because of Rowena but also because he wanted to) and THEN Crowley has the upper hand and SPARES Sam and tells him to REMEMBER that it was he, A MONSTER, as Sam called him, that decided to spare his life??

And how Cas wants to stop Dean but in the end he's the one whose life is spared because Dean's "connection" never really gets broken, everything stays connected all of the time for him, despite the mark and Cas' betrayal (from Dean's pov)?

And how, by the end of the episode, the big reveal is that the real "monsters" of the season were Sam and Cas? Or, at least, the people "in the wrong", whereas Dean and Crowley are framed as being if not good, better than them and decidedly in the right (even if they ALSO committed HORRIBLE acts too so we're led to choose which of the two evils is the lesser and pick a bloody side)? And they're the ones who actually hold the power of Death and Life over Sam and Cas?

Yeaaaaah, ngl, that's some intriguing stuff, quite different from both the early and the late seasons and their b/w mentality, although it's very grim because there literally is no morally good side, not even in the Winchesters ("good" as in: they're the main characters so we root for them), both brothers represent two different sides of morally bad behaviours and they are veeeery bad lol. They're fundamentally different but they're both based on the assumption that people can decide whether or not another person is good or bad and act for said person according to their belief system. But it's also problematic because by the end of the season Crowley is framed as this morally superior evil (but less evil than, let's say s8 because "The Power of Love") character but he is one of the main reasons they're in that mess in the first place and he did some awful manipulations to Dean's detriment and we're like, supposed to just forget about it (Sam didn't forget any of Crowley's shit and look where that got him). Lol. Mmmm yeah, it was a mess but, in retrospect, it's cool to analyze.

[subtlehaz]

guys I just had a thought and hurt my own feelings

(it’s probably wrong bc I know Buck technically died last season so it’d be insane to hurt him a lot again so soon)

but we’ve discussed how Tim is mirroring s4, so what if this time Buck is the one to get hurt in an emergency to parallel the sniper incident, and that’s why Eddie goes into s8 feeling isolated? and what would honestly stop Buck from being there for Eddie if not a physical barrier? or what if Buck gets hurt (but it’s minor) & Eddie feels insane guilt bc he was late (another theme this season) & couldn’t be there for Buck when he needed him, so that’s why he’s isolating

my new spec is some kind of feelings realization from one or both of them by the end of the season, possibly Buck’s loft burning down (maybe someone else in his building tries to burn it down bc they can’t afford it lol) and Eddie having his head so far up his own ass he’s late to the rescue and Buck gets hurt (maybe severely, maybe not) and Eddie hides away because he feels so guilty

bonus points if Buck witnesses Eddie losing his ever-loving mind at the thought of Buck getting hurt again AND REMEMBERS HIS REACTION

[tvckerwash]

oh I have very strong thoughts about s15-s18, but that's not a can of worms I want to open so I'm just going to say that the restoration trailer retconning all of that single-handedly rekindled my love of rvb after I'd finally jumped ship in 2019 because of the dumpster fire character butchering garbage it had become (absolutely no offense to anyone who enjoys those seasons though—I personally don't even think of zero as being rvb; they were basically just using rvb's characters and legacy as a popularity booster for their weird parallel universe spinoff fanfiction. s15-17 had some good ideas, but I, along with many others, was very deeply hurt by how poorly joe handled tucker specifically (the others were not much better, though). he didn't just assassinate tucker as a character—he massacred him, and his half assed attempt to right his wrongs in s17 were too little too late).

but anyway the bgc being inseparable is so important!! the only time they were separated in a similar way was in the recollection trilogy, but even then no member of the bgc was alone (sans alpha and caboose). tucker and donut were in the desert, grif and simmons went to the same base (and sarge was supposed to be with them, but he stayed at blood gulch because of kai). if I'm being honest I think part of the reason why the bgc accepted wash into their group so readily at the end of s8 is because he brought them all back together after they had been separated (even if they'd never admit to missing each other lol).

and building off of that, I think there was a very big missed opportunity to give carolina a better arc on chorus by putting her into a similar position as wash was in s10; that being that while tracking down freelancer equipment was part of the reason she left, the real reason is because while the bgc had accepted her, she didn't feel as though she was one of them.

wash is an extroverted person by default, reaching out and forcibly making connections with other people, and carving out a place for himself in already existing relationship dynamics is something he's very skilled at. carolina on the other hand is much more introverted, and she comes off as very distant and aloof (autism and npd go brrrr). even in pfl it's shown that she's not necessarily liked by the other freelancers, and while we know she cares very deeply for them, the only people we see her banter and be a bit more playful with on more than one occasion are york and 479er.

I would've loved to see carolina slowly warm up to the bgc on chorus as she realizes that they not only accept her despite all of her flaws, failures, and imperfections—but that they unabashedly embrace her because of them. so what if she's a ragtag colorful fuck up? they're all fuck ups, and she doesn't need to feel ashamed for not living up to the expectations she puts upon herself. she's one of them now, and they look out for their own.

I think we also really missed out on wash giving carolina some of his older brother treatment—because lbr; while I love carolina's sibling relationship with epsilon, it can't be healthy for her to have latched so heavily onto what is essentially a warped and distorted version of her father. this would also be a very good time to address epsilon's one sided anger with wash, if only because I despise how the fandom has twisted their dynamic and made it out to be something it isn't, along with completely misinterpreting and falsifying an aspect of wash's character (contrary to popular belief wash doesn't have any issues with having an ai in his head, and he has no hard feelings towards epsilon whatsoever—epsilon is the one who hates wash because he feels as though he was abandoned by him when he had to be removed; wash even tries to explain this to epsilon in s10 but he gets cut off, and then it's just. never brought up again).

I've kind of went off on a tangent but yes the bgc should've been more suspicious of felix; and going off of a few different posts I've made talking about how I feel felix would've been a better foil for wash (and locus for carolina), and wash's ability to weaponize people's perceptions against them for a second here, I think it would've been so cool if wash was extra suspicious of felix because he realizes right away that he uses the exact same psychological disarming and deflecting tricks that wash himself does; felix is only letting them see the carefully crafted persona as an asshole mercenary with a heart of gold and a score to settle—but unfortunately for felix, wash is far better at this game than he is.

where felix needs to expertly lie and spin complicated tales of the past to stay in control, wash just sits back and lets the whims of others guide him where he needs to be. where felix is afraid and let's that fear control him, wash bravely moves forward because he has nothing to fear. where felix needs to rely on others as broken shells of their former selves in order to survive, wash relies on no one but himself, and he continues to survive because he needs to fix what is broken or die trying.

felix is a post war washout turned gun for hire.

but agent washington is a freelancer, and that difference means everything.

felix knowing that wash is wash in s11 is a minor but extremely annoying plot hole because wash "dying" at the end of s8 was kind of a big deal??? like I'm sure the chairman knew wash wasn't actually dead because if they did an autopsy on maine then they probably did one on "wash" too—but otherwise no one outside of the bgc and carolina should've know that wash is himself. the reds and blues should've pointed their guns at felix when he said "you must be agent washington" and not when he referred to himself as a freelancer.

[fisherrprince]

touch-averse

[starksinthenorth]

you really should change your profile picture to daenerys, and change your name too, since you don't seem to care about the starks and only ever defend daenerys.

I am . . . so, so tired.

I always get questions or comments like this whenever anything I write about Daenerys gets notes. I almost never get hate from Dany or Jonerys people, despite the fact that I am very open about her being my favorite. There's several Jonerys/Dany people who have me blocked (ironically some still reblog my posts though, lol), but blocking =/= hate comments or just this odd amount of aggression.

I've written way more about Daenerys of late, sure, and engaged more with that fandom, probably for that exact reason. I'm in fandom to have fun. I really DO! NOT! CARE! who ends up in canon with who, even if I do speculate and write about it from time to time.

So, have an extra long, organized list of all the times I've talked about anything, which is mostly my girls SANSA AND ARYA.

Sansa

Sansa's intuition at a young age [link]

Sansa and a Sunderland and the Arya/Jeyne reveal in TWOW [link]

Sansa and Roles, Independence, and Authority [link]

Sweetrobin's hair growth and timeline of Alayne I [link]

Sansa's dark turn in TWOW [link]

Sansa's language to describe Jon softens across her perspective in ASOAIF [link]

Sansa + Jory's Death [link]

Sansa and Jacquetta of Luxembourg [link]

Sansa and Arya as protective older sisters and as members of Bran's Council [link]

How the show treated Sansa, as a female advisor, differently from how it treated Tyrion and Jon, and why that was a problem [link]

Sansa realizing she helped kill Joffrey before she's told [link]

Sansa meeting her Waynwood cousins [link]

Sansa and Arya

Hawking in the North, and Sansa and Arya's experiences with it [link]

Arya + Sansa in motherhood roles [link]

Sansa, Arya, Death, Killing, and Themes [link]

A series I never finished about the loyalty to Ned's girls [link]

A response to a post about Arya and roles and Sandor [link]

Ned's Failure to Communicate with His Daughters [link]

Losing their innocence and thinking they are unworthy [link]

Misc.

My endgame thoughts about the WftD, SanSan unfortunately being a likely canon, Jon, Tyrion, and Dany dying, etc. [link] Note on this one: my thoughts have changed drastically in the last 5 years since I posted this. It will someday be addressed, but I have so little time.

Potential Stark Foreshadowing in Bran VI, AGOT [link]

British Royal Children of George III vs. Jaehaerys' kids [link]

Analysis of Jon Snow's spoken lines in AGOT S8 [link]

"You Have A Choice" book and song analysis based on Jon's vows and who/what he'd choose [link]

The Rearranged Plot of Season 8 and the War for the Dawn [link]

Sansa, Dany, (and sometimes Arya)

Born Great, Achieve Greatness, Thrust Upon Them (Sansa/Dany/Arya) [link]

Sansa and Daenerys crossing paths at Harrenhal [link]

Sansa + Dany Romance Arc Parallels [link]

Jon + Tyrion and Dark Turns in TWOW [link]

Sansa + Dany Book Meeting [link]

Sansa, Dany, and Arya's Dreams [link]

Ladies and Ambition [link]

My description of the Eldritch Apocalypse Theory [link]

Predicting Daenerys' Death in Episode 6 Based on "Power Is Power" Lyrics [link]

Not Quite Meta

Approximate Ages of the Members of Great Houses [link]

Three Heads of the Wolf, aka the Rebuilders [link]

Location of all the POVs in TWOW [link]

Jon's soft power that Sansa would appreciate (songs) [link]

Daenerys' cousin relationship with the Starks through the Blackwoods [link]

Order of Heirs to the Iron Throne [link]

Most appearance description of slaves in ASOIAF [link]

Timeline of the Oldtown Plot [link]

Special Mention for All the Questions I've Asked Others

Where Bran makes his last stand [link]

Who survives the curtain of light at the end of the world, if anyone? [link]

POV prediction for the curtain of light? [link]

Euron and Bran's potential battle-of-the-minds in the future [link]

The role of the Children of the Forest in War for the Dawn [link]

Why/if Margaery knew about the plot at the Purple Wedding [link]

Sansa's high harp training in King's Landing [link]

Jon as the Targaryen Champion under the Ashford Tourney, from the original person who first imagined it [link]

Ned and Catelyn's future plans for their kids [link]

When Harry discovers Alayne's identity [link]

There, can I have my damn stan card back ffs?

[ilikemcdanno]

Hi! So I recently, late last year, became a H50 fan. I'm not really a TV person but I kept seeing one of my mutual blogs posting a lot of McDanno centric posts. So I became interested in their (B)romance thru her.

I've never watched every episode. Especially after finding out how the producer/writers fumbled the finale.

My question is, do Tani and Junior (not even bringing up Quinn or Lincoln since I don't know how long they were on the show or in what capacity i.e. regulars or not) bring substance to the show? Not their romance, but their characters.

This is in no way bashing Meghan or Beulah as actors, but were they basically Kono and Chin 2.0?

Maybe it's because I am so heavily invested in Kono and Chin as original H50 ohana. But I even tend to avoid fics that have Tani and Junior in them.

I'm still not even sure my feelings towards Lou.

Perhaps I'm just being too narrow-minded. And resentful of how Grace and DDK were treated in the end. Don't even get me started about how Scott was downgraded towards the final seasons. (I do know he started spending more time in LA with his family, but is that the only reason how character was treated so poorly. Who knows. I guess it's a "Did the chicken come first or the egg?!" scenario. )

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to my ask.

Hi. I’m so glad that you got into the show! To be honest, I'm not much of a TV person either, but this is the one show I do really love. And before you read all this, I am very honored that you came and asked me about this.

(Disclaimer: I’m sorry if people disagree, and you’re welcome to reply or reblog with your opinion because I would love to hear ‘em! But this is my personal thoughts and what I could type out.)

To answer your question, Anon. I do like Tani and Junior, and I like what they bring to the show. They are not Kono and Chin 2.0 and I’m glad. In simple terms, I wouldn’t trade them for anyone else. I think they did well. Both with the casting and character writing. (I'm forgetting the word for that.) So if you’re wondering whether or not to watch s8 onwards with them, I do suggest at least giving it a shot. And then you could decide for yourself.

Now, you could stop reading this post right here and that’ll be fine. You’ve got your answer but I shall go more in-depth. Because... why not. (I apologize if I get a little rambly.)

(edit: I realized you didn't ask about the romance, but since I typed this out already, I'll keep it in.) I do wanna say I appreciate the sorta ‘young romance’ they kinda had. Acting like teenagers in their flirting, even when they barely knew each other. It’s almost refreshing in my opinion. Since I feel like other couples in the show were never like that? Not they never had a chance to be. Since this show likes to keep people apart somewhat. (Especially when it came to Kono and Adam for example.) Now if you ask some people about Tani and Junior’s romance, they might be happy for them. But it does often get brought up that Tani and Junior are basically Steve and Danny but straight. And even the show itself has made parallels. But that’s a whole other conversation.

Now In all honesty, I do find myself caring more for subplots/episodes that were about Chin and Kono. I do love the core four more if I’m being completely transparent. I miss Steve and Danny having the cousins by their side. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love Tani and Junior.

However, as a whole, I think the entire show suffered as the seasons went on. Even (as you mentioned) Danny’s characterization suffered. And to answer your question about Danny/Scott: I do believe that Scott spent more time in LA (which I don’t blame him for) but I think the show was already losing some of the 'charm' it originally had. So it’s not so much that Danny’s character suffered, but other aspects did too. And even Steve somewhat suffered with his character as well.

Another person came and asked if season 2 was worth watching, and I told them yes. Seasons 1-3 are prime h50. Even season 4 was, debatably. But it’s hard to keep a show - especially one that has ran for so long - good.

But nothing is perfect either. No piece of media is going to stay good forever. And I’m thankful for all 10 seasons of h50. But of course, as time went on things changed for better and for worse. And Grace and Daniel realized they deserved more pay (or as much pay as Alex and Scott) and they do! But unfortunately, a big company is a big company. And they’re not always fair.

So once they left, Thus Tani and Junior came in. They aren’t Chin and Kono replacements in characterization. They’re their own people, and they’re interesting and they have their own backstory and as much depth as the show could muster. So does Lou, and Chi McBride is such a great actor, he’s made cry a few times already. Then as Quinn came in for the tenth season, even Lincoln. They were good as well. Everyone did their jobs.

However, adding all these characters still doesn’t change the fact that Chin and Kono are very much still missed. I wish we could have kept them. But unfortunately, Hollywood is the way it is, and actors deserve to get what they're owed. So I don’t blame them for leaving.

Anon, if you’re still reading then, feel free to ask more questions. I apologize if this was confusing to anyone, but I had run writing it. Thank you all for reading. ❤️

[casmybelovedass]

The Destiel Folder: Season 6

[Season 4; Season 5] Man, this season... an emotional rollercoaster

Episode 3:

Cas admits he and Dean "share a more profound bond." (15:35) uuuhmm okay

"You think I came because you called?" (16:31) cut to "I always come when you call" later on in E21

"When a claim is laid on a living sould, it leaves a mark, a brand." ... like a handprint maybe? (22:33) Cas basically called dibs on Dean and admits it

Dean, I get it, Cas looks hot when he fights, but you don't have to look at him like this (24:42)

The amount of eye-fucking in this scene (25:56) almost 30 seconds (of Dean checking out Cas) of Old married coupleTM moments. Dean is worried about Cas dying again by the hands of an archangel. He just got attacked and wants to go out. But Cas has to go save the universe from a holy war. Basically a wife asking her soldier husband not to leave for the war.

[(26:28-26:30) Dean was totally looking at the BOOTY]

NOW FOR THE JUICY STUFF: Cas and Balthazar obviously had a history. More than brothers or war buddies. We could parallel them to Dean and Lisa: both old flames coming back after a long time and all.

Also, Balthazar can sense something is going on between Cas and Dean. It's so clear he can (35:26). ICWAW, we would assume Balthazar was an ex, getting jealous over Cas' new love interest

Episode 6:

"You asked me to be here, and I came", OH what about the whole 'I don't come because you call' thing? (13:40)

How domestic is this moment. Cas pouring Dean a drink, trying to comfort him (14:03). He hates seeing Dean like this, and hates even more the fact he can't do anything about it

Cas knows Dean is hurt enough already, and doesn't want to get him involved with a war that's not his to fight (14:20), but still wants to help

Episode 7:

Second time Cas starts stripping in front of Dean and he just stares (2:32)

Look, all I'm saying is... they really don't have to stand THAT CLOSE to each other (4:07)

Episode 9:

[Not a destiel moment but Dean struggling to say the words "gay guy" is too fucking funny to me (33:45)]

Episode 10:

Dean, will you not check out the angel in front of your brother, please? (11:54)

Dean is visibly uncomfortable at Cas watching porn practically NEXT to him, and having a BONER practically next to him. Understandable, but still... kinda gay (15:58) Look at Dean's face, my God (16:07)

[I'm screaming Dean looks like he's wondering what it'd be like to kiss Cas (25:29)]

"CAS?!" (26:23) the way Dean gets progressively more worried about Cas fading/being taken away and shit, kills me

[Cas is so fucking confused as to why Dean would suggest he'd let him have an hour alone with Meg (39:25), either that or he's embarrassed he might've actually wanted to. Meg and Castiel were cute together]

"If there's anything we can do-" "There isn't. I wish circumstances were different. *stares at Dean with puppy eyes* Much of the time, I'd rather be here." (39:46)

Also, Dean stares at Cas for 15 seconds, but averts his eyes when saying "We're your friends"? (40:01) Denial? Something's off. ICWAW, this would indicate tension, unspoken feelings

Just... the way Dean looks at Cas, and when he flies away (40:17) HIS EYES

Episode 11:

Balth jokingly calls Cas Sam's 'boyfriend', and Sam reacts normally, letting it fly over his head. When later in episode 17, Balth calls Cas "the angel in the dirty trench coat who's in love with you", Dean gets pissy. Just like later in 10x5. Touchy much? (13:48)

Balth admits he doesn't like Dean, and that "screwing him would delight me", but calls the one brother who threatened to crisp his wings, a "capable young man" (14:46). Jealous much? ICWAW we would read some sort of romantic rivalry between those two.

Episode 14:

This face... where have I seen this face before?

Oh yes, here

Dean looks at Lisa, the so called "love of his life", the same way he looks at Cas. Fuck my life

Episode 15:

"Cas" (Misha) starts stripping and Dean... stares... again (9:23)

"Well, Cas... now that you have your sword, try not to die by it." (39:53) Is it a saying? Or a reference to Dean being Michael's Sword? As in "He is gonna be the death of you"? And Balth looks at Cas THAT WAY?! (40:01) You can't tell me there was nothing between these two. Kill me now

Fucking stop being an old bitching married coupleTM already (40:25) you are hurting me

Episode 17:

Balth 'jokes' about Cas being in love with Dean (18:48) ICWAW we would read this as an ex being petty about the new love interest and teasing said love interest about it

Wow, jealous much, Dean? Again, ICWAW, this would totally be seen as jealousy for your crush's ex (27:30). And Dean, you're staring at Cas' lips again (27:37)

[Sam: "So, you killed 50,000 people for us?" Cas: *looks at Dean* "... No, I didn't... They were never born." (37:49) This is so stupid, but... sure, Cas... sure. That's what you ment.]

Cas makes a small speech about fighting for freedom, choosing your fate and all, while looking at Dean (38:55). OKAY SUBTEXT!!!

[As soon as Dean mentions boobs, Cas is gone (39:36) LOL]

Episode 19:

"It's not like Cas lives in my ass. The dude's busy. [...] Cas, get out of my ass!!!" "I was never in... your-" (4:28) and then they stare... Were you having unholy thoughts guys?

"Without your power you're basically just a baby in a trench coat" #MARRIED (10:38), "My friend is very sick." "I have a, uh... painful burning sensation." OH COME ON!!! (11:22)

"You know who whines? Babies. *pats Castiel*" (14:28) I'm sorry, pats him wHERE??!!

Dean saves Cas again (19:38)

The way Cas says "Dean, Dean!" (23:09)... I'm so fucking weak, and look at those EYES! (23:41) kill me now

"The kid... The little kid, he's one of them." "... Unbelievable." "Yeah, I know, Cas. You told me, all right?" (37:48) #MARRIED

Sam and Bobby immediately think Cas might be betraying them (39:31), while Dean won't even immagine the possibility. "This is Cas we're talking about!" (39:52)

Episode 20:

Even tho Dean can sense something is off with Cas, he won't bring himself to admit it. And the eye-car-sex. That. (4:44-4:53)

"You're distracted. [...] Is that all you're holding, huh? See... the stench of that Impala's all over your overcoat, angel." (6:20) this has such sexual undertones. ICWAW, it would be MENT as having sexual undertones. Also Crowley ships it

Dean protects Cas even tho clear evidence is there, and even feels bad about lying to him (12:06). And Cas feels oh so bad about Dean trying to be loyal to him, even when he was starting to suspect (13:18)

Dean still refuses to acknowledge the possibility of Cas' betrayal (19:56). His speech about Cas... I'm weak. "He broke ranks, gone to the mat, cut and bleeding for us, so many frigging times. This is Cas!" (20:10). ICWAW, this would be read as Dean having feelings for Cas, and as those feelings were getting in the way of his best judgment

Cas goes against the King of Hell to save the boys... but Dean first (21:48), and Dean defendes him against Bobby and Sam, apologizing for doubting about him. Cas hates having to break their trust

The look on Dean's face as he realizes Cas had been lying the whole time... BROKEN (23:35-23:49)

Cas doesn't want Dean to have to sacrifice more than he already had for him (25:19), and when Crowley shows up, Cas' first instinct is to look back at Dean protectively (25:30), and does that again before following Crowley (26:17)

Cas wants Dean to be happy, stay retired, even tho he was so longingly looking at him moments earlier (29:09)

"You gotta look at me, man. [...] Look me in the eye and tell me you're not working with Crowley." (32:38) the absolute desperation in both Dean and Cas, how HURT they look. THEIR EYES! Dean looks devastated

"I did it to protect you, I did it to protect all of you!" (33:09) one of the many "you, all of you" no-homo saves Cas pulls while talking to/about Dean

"I had no choice!" "No, you had a choice... You just made the wrong one." (34:21) how fucking hurt Dean looks. "Where were you when I needed to hear it?" THE EYES

"I was there... Where were you? *flashback to Cas looking back at Dean*" I'M DEAD

"It's not too late. Damn it, Cas. We can fix this!" "Run. You have to run, now. RUN!" (35:33) and they do, but Dean looks back at Cas, and the way they look at each other... STOP (35:47-35:52) ICWAW, this whole scene would seem like someone trying to save their loved one, and OH boy, that stare exchange would seem either a silent confession or a reminder of their feelings for the other

Cas visits Dean in the night, even tho they clearly don't trust him and don't want him there, and Dean leaves it be (38:06), and even apologizes for having to angel-proof the house against him

#MARRIED (38:28), "I'm doing this for you, Dean. I'm doing this because of you." (38:35) ICWAW... do I even need to point this out?

"Next to Sam, you and Bobby are the closest thing I have to family..." the look on Cas' face as Dean says this (39:15) "... that you are like a brother to me." did Cas' eyes just get more glossy? Poor baby. Also, ICWAW, by the way they interact, this statement would feel wrong on so many levels

"You're just a man. I'm an angel." ... why does it feel like Cas is telling that to himself more than to Dean? (39:43) "I'm sorry, Dean." (39:55) Kill me

Cas questions his decisions, asks God for guidance, the moment he understood he hurt Dean. He doesn't want to hurt Dean, but will do what he has to do to if it means he will be safe

Episode 21:

[Not a destiel moment, but "fragile masculinity" much, Dean? (4:20) "I was too busy having sex with women." (why do you feel the need to specify 'women'?)]

This Dean-Balth bickering has such current-former love interest fight vibes (8:52). Come on, ICWAW, this would totally be the case

Here's another Cas/Lisa parallel: how Dean acts here, looking for Ben and Lisa (13:11), and how he acts in S8 while looking for Castiel ("WHERE'S THE ANGEL!?")

Cas saves Dean again (21:46). "I didn't ask for your help." "Well, regardless. You're welcome." #MARRIED

They are both on the verge of tears... "I thought you said that we were like family." (22:22) They hate this situation. They hate not being like always, close, friendly, family

"Dean... I do everything that you ask... I always come when you call. And I am your friend." (22:39) the way he says 'Dean' and how his voice trembles. Dean is basically almost crying now (23:45)

"Dean, I said I'm sorry and I ment it." "Thank you... I wish this changed anything..." "I know.. So do I." (37:45)

[Alright. I do believe Dean really grew to love Lisa during that year they spent together, but I don't buy the "I always loved you, ever since that one hook up on that one weekend we knew each other for" shit. Dean wanted to give a try to the whole 'apple pie life' he'd promised Sam, with a good woman he knew Dean had feelings for.

If he grew to love Lisa over a couple of years after 1 hook up, I'm sure he could do the same thing for Cas after over a decade (he for sure would have already If Cas Were A Woman)]

Episode 22:

["You've always got little old me." "Yes... I'll always have you." (30:26) These two... Come on, they HAD to be ex lovers!]

"We were family once. I'd have died for you. I almost did a few times (Cas did actually, twice). So if that means anything to you... Please... I've lost Lisa, I've lost Ben, and now I've lost Sam... Don't make me lose you too." (39:55) ICWAW, this would be seen as a straight up CONFESSION

The hurtful look on Dean's face when Cas says "You're not my family, Dean.", and the terror when he thought for a second that Sam might have killed him (40:39)

["You will bow down and profess your love unto me, your Lord... or I shall destroy you." ... okay, Cas, honey, I get you are tired of waiting, but this is not the right way to get a confession out of Dean (41:20)]

[Season 7>>]

[bitchatcloudtower]

Re: Darcy shapeshifting into Musa’s mom, you got me rethinking their battle episode in s8. We would see Darcy contemplating shapeshifting to manipulate Musa and get the star (so the earlier mentions of her mom in that ep would’ve been foreshadowing), only for her strategic plan to be interrupted by personal feelings/emotions due to Riven suddenly showing up, and her deciding to fuck with him instead. It would’ve been an ironic parallel/callback to the last episode where she makes fun of Flora for not using her head because of Miele. And she actually shapeshifted into Miele then. Why not now but with Matlin? Would this imply that Riven is her Miele (where Darcy = Flora)? Many thoughts… -lambofzenith (#late night rambles)

That was exactly my thought process but Riven being her Miele? Ouch. And the thing is, I think there’s some weight to that comparison: I’ve seen people point out how Darcy never actually attacks him and just avoids him in battle. I think she’s retained a soft spot for him and I want to see that blow up in her face at some point.

Also wish we’d seen more of her shapeshifting powers. It would have been cool for Darcy to have done the shapeshifting thing earlier in the show, perhaps around the time Darcy was dating Riven or around the time of Musa’s concert. It’d put her into the realm of “not fucking around” and would have made her (and the Trix) scarier. Also the idea of Musa being forced to face the memory of her mother over and over and being unable to let it go and then finally being able to let go in season 3? Like what a neat way to show development.

[heroesandmasterminds]

Hmmmmm 3, 11, and 35 for the unusual asks <3

3. Rant. Just do it.

I'm going with my favourite ranting topic: Voltron! VLD and its characters deserved so much better because it genuinely started out as such a good show! The characters were lovable and multifaceted, the plot was interesting, the relationships between the characters had so much potential and honestly any two members of Team Voltron could have an amazing bond.

Even as late as S8 there are individual scenes/episodes that are enjoyable enough to watch in themselves, except when you take a step back and look at them in the context of the whole show the problems start emerging; Hunk and Keith on Clear Day was adorable, as was Pidge bargaining with her mother and Shiro's arm wrestling with the team supporting him, but look at it in the context of the whole show and it's soured by the fact that Allura is doing her own thing yet again, and there's no connection between her and the rest of the team. Hunk and Keith's fledgling friendship will never develop beyond that scene. Shiro has no meaningful interactions with the team beyond that scene for a considerable length of time. It's sad!

And there are some great character or friendship moments that are so lovely to watch except then you look at everything around it and actually it makes no sense? The Sunset Scene! I love it so much but actually they haven't had a meaningful conversation since S3 and there's clearly a lot of hurt and miscommunication to sort through - they can't just automatically be at this deep-bond stage of friendship again.

Coran had about three meaningful scenes but they felt like random appearances in the middle of being a background character. I wanted to see more of how the loss of the Castle affected him, he who loved it probably more than anyone. How losing Altea hurt him, when he was awake to witness Allura going into the pod and likely had to say his last words to Alfor and others knowing they would be the last words. Not just him being totally chill giving away the last piece of his home to a random Earth warship. Comforting Allura about her father and Altea without getting the level of comfort he deserved in return.

Lance's death or Keith's almost-sacrifice at Naxzela, such important things for their characters, except they are never talked about. In fact Lance, shortly afterwards, seems to be daydreaming about Allura when surely the fact that he died affects him somehow? Same for Shiro, we never really see that affecting him the way PTSD did in S1. Keith was away from the team for so long but how did that affect him?

I love Pidge's bits searching for her family, or Allura missing hers, but over time they only seemed to pop up when plot-relevant so it takes away from how believable it is and how invested we can be. I wanted to say something about Hunk except there isn't really enough to talk about. Maybe that Shay, after S2 when she asks after Hunk once, disappears completely until S7? If you aren't in fandom, keeping that ship going, you basically stop caring and I know this because I've been showing VLD to my dad and we watched the end of S7 yesterday. Most fans freaked out over Shay appearing but he had no reaction because he hadn't seen her at all since S2.

Or Lance's broadsword? I LOVE that scene so much (as I messaged you about a few hours ago, Lizzie!) but it means nothing in the wider context of the show except that Lance has grown as a character, which we could see from other scenes, and it parallels Alfor which they were doing as early as S3 anyway. They needed to do something with it.

I loved James and Keith's interactions in S7 but in context, them being civil came kind of out of nowhere, they are just suddenly okay with each other or if they did talk about it we didn't see it. Which is a huge problem with this show, so many things happen offscreen or we're supposed to imagine they happened when they're things we should really be shown (e.g. Keith telling the team he's Galra! That was the first time I thought hey, something's a little lacking in the writing here...)

The Journey Within is the episode I dislike most of VLD except S8 which is on another level, to be fair. It's ok in itself, even if it hurts to hear them treat each other like this, but then instead of sorting through some of the long-term emotional baggage they add to it. And it never gets resolved.

I guess VLD's biggest problem is that everything is disjointed. Things that work individually don't work in the wider scheme of things because long-term arcs keep getting lost along the way. It isn't smooth storytelling. And especially for relationships (of any kind) towards the end it felt like they just didn't have time for most of them. I think this show could have benefited from time - both screentime and time to produce the seasons.

So yeah, long rant, practically a meta, but there you have it!

11. What unusual talent do you have?

I'm not sure actually. What counts as unusual? I guess I'm very intuitive when it comes to helping people with anything emotion-related?

35. What does home mean to you?

It's cheesy, but people. Home is anywhere I feel safe and can do the things I want and be the truest version of myself and for me that's with certain people.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

8x12: The Key - Re-Watch

Welcome to episode 12. Let me start by saying this episode had a lot of stuff with Simon and Dwight, which is kinda boring and I don’t have much to say about it. I didn’t see many TD smoking guns in it, so I won’t mention it.

We also have the Rick/Negan/Hell theme. I think when this aired (again, before we knew anything about Rick leaving) we just equated it with Beth because it’s all the same symbols we saw around her in Still. And just as Still was one season before her death fake out, this is one season before Rick’s. So it’s obvious that this pointed, more specifically, to his death fake out. I don’t have tons more to say about that. Re-read these posts for details (X, X, X).

At one point, Negan did call himself a cat. Rick asks, “Are you still alive?” and Negan says, “I’m a GD cat.” Now, if Rick represents Beth (because death fake out) then Negan might represent Daryl (who we know is a cat). But I’m still not sure exactly what the point of this line was. I mean, Negan isn’t one who’s had 9 lives or anything, but we equate the cat symbol with a resurrection symbol. So the only thing I can think of is that this line is there to equate this sequence with resurrection (Rick’s) or else to equate it with Beth and Daryl, because it’s a parallel to them. Either one works for me. ;D

Oh, and Rick and Michonne get to Hilltop. Once again (I’m sure you could have guessed this) I think this foreshadows Rick and Michonne returning from the helicopter group. Especially because Rick goes right over and hugs and kisses Judith, and thanks Daryl for keeping her safe. Just feels like something we’ll see on the show after Rick returns.

And this is also why I do think Rick and Michonne will return to the show, despite what they’ve told us to the contrary. It just feels like they’re setting up something where there will be a big war with the helicopter people, but Rick and Michonne will return to lead it. And I just don’t see all of that—including the entire cast of the series—being put into the Rick Grimes films, you know? It’s very possible that something will happen to make me realize I’m wrong about that, and I’m okay with that, but for right now, I just don’t see how anything but their return is possible.

Okay, let’s get to the big cheese TD stuff: Georgie and the “A Key to A Future” book. 

Honestly, I was kind of floored by it. And let me start by saying this. At first, I felt like I was waffling again, but then I read something that made me realize that maybe it doesn’t matter because all storylines point to the same thing.

I know that was vague. Let me explain.

We’ve all (especially me) waffled back and forth about how Beth will return. Will she return with Maggie? Is she the gray ninja? Even if she’s not, is the gray ninja with Beth’s group? With Maggie’s group? Or will Beth be with Stefanie’s group? We simply don’t know.

And I’ve been heavily leaning toward Eugene’s group lately, mostly because of what Nicotero has said (and the idea that this gray ninja is a new character named Melody.) But when I watched this stuff with Georgie again, I immediately thought I must be wrong and Beth really will come through Maggie, not Eugene. Because there’s just no way this DOESN’T point to Beth. I’ll explain in a second, but it simply HAS to.

So here’s another point that’s important to illustrate. In the comic books, Stefanie (yes, the one Eugene has been talking to on the radio) is part of the Commonwealth. Now, I’ve been kind of assuming that wouldn’t be the case in the show, for several reasons. 

1) The show always remixes what happens in the comic books, so chances are it won’t be exactly the same. 

2) Stefanie is acting really secretive with Eugene in the show, like her group is in hiding or something. I’ve kind of assumed they might be hiding from the helicopter group, which would make them different from the Commonwealth. 

3) If Georgie represents the Commonwealth (she’s one of the leaders of it in the comic books) and Maggie is with her, which we know she is, then why wouldn’t Stefanie know about Alexandria and the other communities, if she’s part of the Commonwealth too?

I ran this past my fellow theorists and they pointed out some possibilities. The Commonwealth is a big place, and maybe it’s a lack of communication. That sort of thing.

But I mention this just to say the following:

Maybe these are all part of the same story line, and that’s why we’re seeing signs of Beth in all of them. Maybe, just as all the tracks converged at Terminus, all the story lines will converge in the Commonwealth. So, even if, in the show, Stefanie isn’t part of the Commonwealth yet, maybe she will be at some future point, and that’s how they will remix the material from the comic books.

Okay, so let’s talk Georgie. She shows up and wants records in exchange for knowledge. Not only is that a musical theme, which I’m sure we connected to Beth before, but they specifically mention records at Grady. And then there’s the fact that since then, we’ve seen both Jesus and Beta listening to records with Emily’s Turtle and Monkey song on them.

The twins with Georgie are also a big deal to me. I don’t remember how extensively this was discussed back in S8, but at the very least, I don’t think I gave it its proper due. We saw the twin boys around Beth in 5x09. Beth was in that episode, next to the number 8 and a 5:10 clock. And train tracks. And ABIBEL suns.

Now, with Georgie, we see all these other Beth symbols, and a pair of twins. Not much happened with them back in S8, but in S10 (which is 8 years post Coda) Maggie will be returning and we’ll probably be kicking off the Commonwealth story line soon after. See what I mean? There’s no way this doesn’t tie into Beth in some way.

Not to mention, the water aspect. If you remember, when I talked about 8x10 HERE, I said I might have found something that points to the sequence with Aaron in 5x10 not only making him a Beth proxy but also pointing to the helicopter group, right? Well, here it is. Let me start at the beginning.

A couple of things Michonne said here in 8x12 really jumped out at me. Maggie, Michonne, Enid, and Rosita were all debating whether to go meet Georgie. Michonne was the only one who really wanted to. Maggie and Enid were both arguing that it was too dangerous, Rick wanted them to stay put, etc.

Michonne said (and I paraphrase) “The last time we took a chance like this, it changed everything, and Rick didn’t agree with me then, either.”

The “it changed everything” really jumped out at me because I was thinking that something about meeting Georgie would change everything, and that screams Beth to me.

So, take a step backward and look at this from a bird’s eye view. If all of AOW is a foreshadow for a coming war with the helicopter people (and I’m operating from the idea that it is), then we have Georgie showing up in the middle of it and giving them something that’s going to change everything.

Back in S8, I’m sure we all hoped that whatever that was (Beth) would show up right then and turn the tide of the war (AOW). Obviously, that didn’t happen, and Georgie hasn’t figured in that war or the Whisper War at all, which means this is symbolic and foreshadows something else (helicopter war, most likely).

But what Michonne is specifically talking about is when they took a chance on Aaron in 5x11 and it paid off because they found Alexandria, which became their new, permanent home. 

So, we have Aaron being a Beth proxy in those episodes for obvious reasons we’ve discussed before (Beth dialogue, symbolism, etc.). Plus, he left TF water in the middle of a drought, and we know the helicopter people will probably have clean water, when others don’t. And of course there’s that pesky music box.

But now we have Michonne referring to meeting him in the midst of this Georgie thing. So, if he’s a Beth proxy, I think Georgie must be as well.

There are also other things we can point to around Georgie. She’s blond. The two “As” in the title of the book: A key to A Future. Also Key Theory.

I also noticed that she said the book was full of medieval machines for them to build because she wanted them to “build a future from our past.” Given that Beth is a part of TF’s past, that line could definitely apply to her.

So yeah. Not tons more to say about this episode. (Again, I’m not going into the detailed symbolism because I’m only looking for new and more broad interpretations, so if you want the details, read these: X, X, X.)

But my basic thoughts are that Georgie definitely connects with Beth in some way. We all already thought that after seeing this episode back when it first aired, but I’m feeling it much more powerfully, now, and once Beta and the rest of the Whisperers are dispensed of, the Commonwealth story line will be right around the corner.

Thoughts?

[mittensmorgul]

Paging Mr. Werewolf

We were robbed of the Wayward spinoff, but s15 of Supernatural seems to be connecting the underpinning themes back into the main narrative. Rewatching 13.10 right now, and even from the opening scene, I can’t help but see Chuck’s hands all over the Wayward story and characters, and on s15 in some of the exact same ways. Like Chuck borrowed from an abandoned show, or in-narrative terms, an abandoned universe. The Bad Place. And I can’t help thinking of that world now as one of his abandoned drafts. The connection to that world was Kaia, and Chuck couldn’t quite figure out how to send Darth!Kaia back to her own world, or reunite her with her “dead” half.

But Claire and Kaia both are being mirrored in Eileen in s15, sometimes quite literally and directly. It breaks my heart that Eileen’s salvation has yet another casualty tied to it, in Kaia’s death and stranding in an “underworld” from which it seems there’s no hope of saving her now.

15.05, however, directly connects Wayward to Chuck’s “process” through the otherwise seemingly irrelevant-to-the-larger-narrative cold open to 13.10.

Claire shows up to rescue a kidnapped child from a pair of werewolf brothers (or at least they certainly seem like brothers) in a dilapidated and isolated cabin. The two werewolves bicker like brothers (one “playing with his food” by frightening the girl, the other chastising him for it while seemingly attending to more practical matters).

In 15.05, we know they’re werewolf brothers Chuck used as specifically as “foreshadowing” to show Sam and Dean a parable about themselves, and how Chuck intends their “story” to end. One werewolf brother kills the other. Those werewolves also lived in an isolated cabin together, but it was warm and homey, and they’d isolated themselves intentionally. They didn’t want to eat humans-- or at least one of them didn’t. The other had been humoring his brother, but then confessed that he had no intention to stop feeding on human hearts. And his brother killed him for it, and then killed himself. Because it became clear after both brothers were dead that THEY weren’t the point of this hunt, it was the supposedly innocent victim the brothers had kidnapped that was the actual danger to them.

In 13.10, Claire nearly missed the third werewolf while she was distracted untying their innocent victim, but she had just enough warning by the girl’s reaction that there was another danger in that cabin, and she easily pulls out her hidden gun and kills the third werewolf.

In 15.05, Sam and Dean never saw the true danger coming, Chuck’s “mole” in the story, that thier innocent victim was neither, and was actually Lilith acting directly and without artifice as Chuck’s Plot Device. Her goal was to destroy the one weapon they had against Chuck, and torturing them like a cat playing with a couple of mice was just gravy.

Nobody ever said Chuck was a subtle author.

In this way, though, Eileen is being paralleled to Claire. Claire wanted to hunt alone, to prove herself, to do what she could to save people and hunt things. That’s very much what Eileen had always done before becoming wrapped up in the BMoL nonsense that brought about her original death. Her communication came too late for Sam and Dean to have helped her (they only received her letter asking for sanctuary after she was killed). She’s also paralleled to Claire through Patience and her vision of the future.

Patience gave up everything-- her education, her relationship with her father, her entire life as she knew it-- to go to Jody and warn her about the vision she had of Claire’s death. Patience... is paralleled to Sam in 15.06-15.08, and his “agreement” with Eileen.

CLAIRE: If this is about me hunting alone, I know I should’ve called more, but I’m fine. I’m good! I’m safe. JODY: No, you’re not! Patience had a vision, that’s why she’s here. PATIENCE: I… I saw you die. [We see a flashback of PATIENCE’S vision. It is set in THE BAD PLACE, we see forest, a gigantic claw, a spear piercing a body and an unconscious CLAIRE in JODY’S arms.] JODY: Claire, she’s the real deal. CLAIRE: So every vision you have, it always comes true? PATIENCE: I don’t know. I’m still figuring all this out. CLAIRE: So you might be wrong. JODY: Claire this is serious, I’m trying to protect you! CLAIRE: Jody, that’s always your excuse. Every time we’d go out on a hunt together you’d take care of the monster while I’d just wait in the car. JODY: That happened one time! CLAIRE: It happened every time, Jody! You, you’ve never even seen what I can do. JODY: Claire, if I put the brakes on you it’s because you can’t go dive bombing into every fight… CLAIRE: Yes I can! That’s how you save people. Sitting back and making the perfect plan, losing time, that’s how people end up dead. JODY: And if you end up dead? [Both of them are now standing. JODY is visibly upset.] CLAIRE: I won’t. JODY: Claire, you can’t just run away from this. CLAIRE: Watch me.

Sorry for the length of this snippet, but it’s all there. Well, all except for this bit:

PATIENCE: Those monsters? They’re coming, lots of them. KAIA: They’re after me. CLAIRE: Then we should stay and fight. PATIENCE: There’s too many, they’ll kill us. CLAIRE: Maybe, maybe not. PATIENCE: Look, I gave up a lot to come here. To do what was right, to save you. You want to brush that off? You want to think I’m a fake, fine. But I’m telling you right now we’re all in danger. KAIA: Claire…

Because this is EXACTLY how I have seen Sam’s “visions” in s15. And exactly how I’ve seen his resurrection of Eileen, too. Just as Patience saw her own visions, and accounted for her own actions toward Claire. She gave up a lot to try and save Claire, and Claire... was just... dismissing that sacrifice. By the end of the episode, though, they had “reached an agreement.” Exactly like the agreement Sam and Eileen seem to have reached. Sam wasn’t being “overprotective” of Eileen, he was being reasonably protective based on everything he’d sacrificed to bring her back, and what saving her has become a symbol of to him as a result.

Eileen’s salvation isn’t his descent to the underworld, it was-- like saving Claire was for Patience-- The Illusion of Success. Claire was never the one in danger. It was Kaia all along, but Patience had an “incomplete vision,” that led her to believe that it was Claire in danger. Like Sam’s visions in s15, that seem incomplete, that only show confusing repetition of the theme of him and Dean killing each other over and over in different alternate scenarios of reality. Like Patience did in 13.10, Sam still lacks the complete picture to understand the context of what he’s seeing.

I’m looking forward to Sam’s talk with Chuck in 15.09, where he will finally understand the full context of what they’re actually up against in “Chuck’s story.”

Going back for a moment to The Illusion of Success, I’ve been thinking a lot about the meta @flyingfish1 wrote a while back (I believe the last update was during s12, actually) about The Heroine’s Journey. Because I believe with the re-incorporation of a lot of the Wayward themes into s15 that this is a structure that Supernatural has folded back into the narratives of TFW with a vengeance. For a quick refresher on this type of narrative, here’s a handy recap:

https://mythcreants.com/blog/using-the-heroines-journey/

And for more posts about Supernatural on the subject, starting with that original post I referenced above:

https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/heroine%27s+journey/chrono

Tell me this isn’t the journey all of TFW in s15, and honestly Chuck’s journey as well? And considering Chuck DIRECTLY painted crosshairs on Jody and Donna in 15.08 (apologies for the formatting, but the official transcript still isn’t posted so I’m working from my personal unfinished version, but this is the relevant bit of dialogue):

DONATELLO/CHUCK: Oh, Donatello's not here any longer. Hey, guys. It's Chuck. Prophets speak the word of God, sometimes indirectly. Sometimes they're my bluetooth. So, here's the thing. Usually, I really love our little... process. I toss something at you guys, and you slam it right back. It's fun, like tennis. With monsters. But this... Let this one go.

Or what?

CHUCK: Or I go all-powerful. Maybe not on you. Not right away. But, let's see, there's... Jody, Donna, Eileen. Pretty much everybody on your speed dial. So drop it. 'Kay?

Please also reference the post I made yesterday about 13.09 for additional reading on the subject of blood and death and monsters, and Chuck’s planned ending:

https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/189786572395/blood-and-death-and-monsters

The descent to the underworld of The Bad Place, and the descent to the underworld of Purgatory are beginning to look horrifyingly similar, yes?

Hell, and the Cage specifically with Michael’s return from the underworld, is Sam’s trial.

Purgatory and everything it represents from s8 is Dean’s trial.

Which leaves Cas... to confront his own trial, versus the Empty.

We’re going deeper and deeper through the layers here. TFW stood together in Hell, and failed. Dean and Cas will have to stand together in Purgatory (and I suspect they will fail on some level), and then Cas... I’m not going to speculate further outside of gesticulating wildly at what the logical progression of his personal arc must bring him to face.

The main thing I think it’s important to remember is that Chuck has deluded himself into thinking his story is a Hero’s Journey-- fighting the monster and returning victorious, but typically combined with a tragic loss. He’s entirely unaware of the fact that we’re not telling that story-- and HAVEN’T been telling that story-- since Amara was freed from her wrongful imprisonment. The Divine Feminine has returned to the universe to restore the balance, and this is now Her story to tell. If only Chuck will stop meddling in it and trying to make it all about him.

The goal of a Heroine’s Journey is, after all, the reintegration of the masculine and feminine, resulting in Union. The Heroine (male or female) must then fulfill the story by helping others find this balance themselves. And from the linked post about “Using the Heroine’s Journey,” the final step gives me hope that this is where Supernatural will find its ending:

“If it fits your story, this is also the time to discard your duality altogether. The heroine could reveal that it is false, arbitrary, or destructive.”

This seems to be where the narrative is pointing right now, at any rate. I wish I had enough time to address this more fully-- including Billie’s place in the story, as well as Mary’s, Rowena’s, and Amara’s. There’s just so much.

[misseffie]

Reminder that we didn’t even know if Arya and Gendry would reunite for sure in season 8. Hell, we didn’t even know if Gendry would ever return until season 7. And we had serious doubts about romantic feelings being even hinted at due to the age difference when Maisie was younger. I only casually liked the pairing, but I also thought that it was unlikely anything romantic would happen with them in season 8. Try to go back into the mindset we had prior to season 8. Now read through a list of what we got in season 8 thinking about the low expectations that we had. 

Read this as if these were spoilers and you haven’t watched s8 yet. So... SPOILERS AHEAD: 

Arya makes eyes at Gendry when he shows up at Winterfell

Gendry has an “oh no, she got hot” moment where his brain stops working when they reunite. Arya and Gendry start flirting. Arya tries to keep a cool facade but gets flustered and smiles when Gendry teases her with “As you wish, m’ lady” (what Princess Bride shit?!?!). Arya teases him and twirls and Gendry watches her leave in stunned silence.

Arya looks for Gendry in the forge and we get a parallel to season 2 of Arya checking him out (which I remember Gendrya shippers asking for, mostly as a joke). Except it’s 100 times hotter because they are both intensely eye-fucking each other. It almost feels like we are intruding, that’s how intense the eye-fucking is.

The scene is followed by the most aggressive form of flirting I’ve ever seen involving weaponry and some poor dude running away from Arya’s knives. Gendry is turned on. Arya is turned on. I am turned on. 10/10

Arya decides she wants to spend what might be her last night on earth with Gendry.

Gendry nervously gears up to tell Arya that he came North just for her “Last time you saw me you wanted me to come to Winterfell, took the long road, but...”

Arya asks about Melisandre and other women he’s been with and is weirdly possessive while Gendry is reluctant to tell her about them because he feels guilty for some reason lol. An entire conversation that’s just Arya gearing up to ask Gendry to sleep with her in case either of them dies.

Arya makes the first move and basically tackles him.

We get an actual sex scene! I wouldn’t have believed that before season 8. And it’s sweet and passionate and they giggle and shit. They undress each other and Gendry looks concerned about her scars. Gendry looks at her in awe as she tops him lmao. And it might not be forgesex but it’s pretty much forgesex.

Podrick sings a beautiful pre-battle song and we see them lying together before the battle with these lyrics playing “Spun away all her sorrow and pain, and she never wanted to leave”

Both of them arrive late for the battle - Gendry arrives with the Hound. They’re general badasses and survive. Arya is the motherfucking hero and saves everyone.

Post-battle Gendry anxiously looks for Arya. The Hound pulls his leg about it but tells him to go after her basically. We got The Hound’s approval!

Gendry is legitimized!!! Which is something that a lot of us wanted, and if we forget the rest of it this was so great.

Gendry tells Arya he loves her and proposes (If you told me this would happen before s8 I would laugh at you)

Try to imagine your reaction if you knew that Gendry would say this to Arya in season 8: “All I know is that you’re beautiful, and I love you, and none of it will be worth anything if you’re not with me. So be with me.” And Arya’s incredulous/awed face at him saying this.

Arya tells him she’s not really a Lady, but it’s all good because we know it’s just a misunderstanding and they’ll talk it out in the future lol. Arya’s still got a list and some serious PTSD. Arya tenderly kisses and cradles his face in her hands and raises him up. Good shit 👌👌👌👌👌

Sandor convinces Arya to live instead of living only for her list and revenge.

Gendry looks fine af as the Lord of Storm’s End. His outfit is designed to honour his wife as well. Bless.

Arya takes a gap year to recover from her trauma.

BOTH OF THEM SURVIVE!!! WE GOT ALL THIS AND THEY SURVIVED. Asides from Gilly and Sam they are the only couple with a chance of a future together.

[tomakeitbeautifultolive]

Hey! I recently found your blog and saw you believed in N+A=D, which is a theory I read a few years ago and really enjoyed,, I plan on reading your more in dept analysis on your site when I have time, thanks for putting it together! I really like this theory since it mirrors J and D even more and it also removes the rape and Aerys' madness in general from D. Now a question: do you believe this theory will be discussed in the show (only 2 eps left) or is it gonna stick to the books if it is true?

A woman after my own heart!  This theory is the dearest to my heart! @ktwrites and I have expanded the theory much more than wherever you last heard it, I assure you. (For anyone wondering, this is our site)

First, thank you SO much for recognizing that this theory mirrors Jon and Dany even further!

That’s the part that hooked me in, too. If Jon is rumored to be born of rape but actually born of love, shouldn’t Dany be, too? I think the pair of them having parents with star-crossed, tragic love stories is actually perfect for a pair that comes together to break the wheel that drove their parents apart in the first place.

All of the anti arguments about Daenerys vanish, since let’s face it, they usually come from (homogeneous) Stark stans. Dany gets the blame for what Aerys did before she was born, gets accused of sharing his madness, and also, the incest. If this theory is true, Jon and Dany are downgraded to cousins rather than aunt/nephew. Fucking everyone in Westeros are cousins. Rickard & Lyarra, Tywin & Joanna…

Also, then these lines about “I am the last Targaryen,” and “A Targaryen alone in the world is a terrible thing,” and “The last dragon.” Then actually mean something literal.

I do have a page on the site about show clues, but fuck it - I’ll add some here.

The Dragon and the Wolf?

But… Jon’s a dragon. I don’t make the rules. He is Aegon Targaryen - Dragon, fire. Sure, he has Stark blood. But if Jon is a Stark, then Sansa, Arya, and Bran are Tullys (I don’t make the rules). So… who is ice and who is fire? Right now it’s more like The Dragon and the Dragon and A Song of Fire and Fire.

Curiously, the new Mother’s Day card (I know, I know it has Targ symbols) features an icy border:

And okay. Dany’s aversion to fire, which many relate to her being a Targaryen… maybe it has more to do with the ice in her veins? After all, we see Jon burned by fire:

And later wearing a bandage on his hand:

Meanwhile, we have Jon able to survive a deep dive in freezing cold water that probably would’ve killed a normal person - maybe the fire in his blood? This is all wild speculation now, so I’ll stop lmfao. One other thing though, in Fire & Blood, Alysanne’s dragon Silverwing refused to go past the Wall, it sounds almost like there was some sort of magical barrier there. Meanwhile, Dany has no problem getting past it. Which could just be plot convenience, admittedly.

Like in the books, the fallen direwolf (symbolizing Ned) at the beginning of the series has six pups. Ned has five children (so far as we know).

Dany and the color blue:

Now, I know what Michelle Clapton says about Dany always wearing blue - “Dothraki power color” Which is strange to me, since blue is one of the rarest pigments during this time period. I know, it’s just a show. Dany looks good in blue. Maybe that’s all it means.

But Stark women have a tendency to wear blue, likely as a nod to the blue ‘winter rose’, in which the Stark lady in the Bael the Bard tale is literally referred to as a winter rose.

Likewise, Dany wears greys and purples (if she is Ashara Dayne’s daughter, then purple would be her mother’s house color):

The Starks have a tendency to ride white horses. White is a Stark color. Jon has always ridden a black horse, which is a Targaryen color.

(Yeah, Dany rides a black horse beside Jon in S8, but she also tends to wear red colors while in his presence… bride of fire, eh?)

While Ashara Dayne is never mentioned on the show (I don’t think Rhaella is, either… despite Dany always wearing that ring, which is never explained in the show proper, rather in BTS stuff or interviews). Ashara Dayne is mentioned in the history and lore for the Season 6 DVD Extras.

Daenerys’ costume also shares similarities with Ned’s, in the way she wears her cape as well as the diagonal chain across her chest:

Ned has interesting reactions toward Dany’s assassination attempt. He doesn’t seem to give two shits about Viserys, telling Robert that if he makes it to Westeros, they’ll throw him back in the Narrow Sea, meanwhile Ned is chin-wobbling upset after hearing it’s too late to reverse the hit on Dany’s life. Arguably more upset than he was after seeing the dead body of a freshly murdered child, Mycah (though that’s debatable, I’m sure). There are some interesting transition scenes between Dany and Ned, particularly my favorite:

And then there are early promo photos where Dany and Ned are put together:

In season 7, Daenerys says Dragonstone does not feel like a homecoming, and she goes and touches Dorne on the Painted Table immediately thereafter:

There’s a curious line from Cersei during the Dragonpit meeting, saying basically she couldn’t trust Dany’s word, but could trust Jon’s word because he’s Ned Stark’s son. The shot hangs on Dany as she speaks the line about Ned Stark’s son (watch the clip here):

We’ve got other lines too, about how when Jon is elected King in the North, Lyanna Mormont says, this:

“I don’t care if he’s a bastard, Ned Stark’s blood runs through his veins.”

(But it doesn’t…) Even Dany is talking about Ned:

“I was born at Dragonstone. Not that I can remember it. We fled before Robert’s Assassins could find us. Robert was your father’s best friend, no? I wonder if your father knew his best friends sent assassins to murder a baby girl in her crib. Not that it matters now, of course.”

Varys knows damned well Ned tried everything in his power to prevent her murder (I wish he’d fucking tell her, whether or not she’s Ned’s secret bastard).

There are rumors we’re getting Robert’s Rebellion/Tourney at Harrenhal flashback next episode (I don’t know whether I believe it), but Wilf Scolding did have a mysterious deleted Instagram post indicating he was filming - so maybe we’ll see Ned and Ashara, too? Fingers crossed.

If everyone is talking about how Jon and Dany parallel Duncan and Jenny, which is a pairing comprised of a common girl and a dark-haired Targaryen prince… then just maybe Jon gives up his claim for say, a bastard girl? Dany being a Stark bastard and associated with flowers/roses, possible CotF relation via Stark blood… might make her have more in common with Jenny than if she were a Targaryen? 🤔

There may be more, I haven’t done a full, proper rewatch in a while, I admit. Probably too late now, lol. I’d say that there is a big “WTF” twist coming so there’s a chance - many attribute this to a leak involving Tyrion but… I feel like that was something that was foreshadowed, unlike Hodor/hold the door.

All that said though, I’d say the likelihood of this ending up on screen probably is slim. But again, we have a wealth of evidence on our site that must mean something. GRRM basically admits that the lemon tree mystery means something (and no, I don’t buy that it means the betrothal to Quentyn because he was more or less a non-issue anyway).

And there may be a chance GRRM is saving twists for his book, especially considering this:

My best guess would be Barristan Selmy, since in the books, over in Essos, nowhere near Jon, he’s bringing up that Dany looks like Ashara’s daughter, and by this point we don’t really need a red herring for Jon Snow’s mother, since most readers had figured it out.

[chid-sen-gan-blog]

My Thoughts on GoT 8.01 (“Winterfell”)

So, this is late, but I watched S8, E1 (”Winterfell”) with my Dad and Brother and had some thoughts (these thoughts are from my first time viewing it, but I was too insecure to post them until a magnificent mutual of mine suggested it).

Spoilers, but the warning might be irrelevant by now. Featuring running commentary from my family because they’re amazing.

So, maybe I’m alone, but I’m not that fond of the new opening. Sorry, it just looks cheaper to me than the old one somehow, even though I read somewhere that more money was spent on it

That child climbing a tree gave my entire family and I some serious Bran/Arya nostalgia, as did that Baratheon theme

Arya’s little smile when she saw Jon half filled me with joy, and also half broke my heart. So much has happened since they last saw eachother. So fricking much

Arya looking at the Hound in a parallel to S1, E1 has been found

Non-verbal Gendrya is life

Oh, yay, an obligatory manhood joke to start off the season. Ugh. You know, I’m really tired of them at this point.

So......... can somebody remind me why Tyrion is even here anymore? And how he became the least interesting remaining Lannister by far?

Missandei and Grey Worm’s little “wow, they hate us” look is honestly the best thing. To quote my Brother: “Finally, two people that can take a hint”

Dany is upset at people not kissing her boots - shocker. Look, sweetie, it’s been a rough couple of years for the Northerners. Not to mention the last time they had a Targ in power he burned their liege lord and had his heir strangled. And that Targ was your father. So no duh they’re skeptical 

Yeeeeeeaaaaah... I don’t think giving a good portion of the people you’ve supposedly come to “save” heart attacks with your WMD children is the best way to establish you’re a “great” ruler

SHE SMIRKED THAT LITTLE --!!! 

(And the camera lingered on said smirk, hmmm, wonder why...)

Just a little over ten minutes into the episode and I’ve already reached new levels of Dany hatred

Entrance to the Winterfell courtyard parallel to S1, E1 spotted 

Jon riding in and seeing Bran is making me cry. Like, the last time he was riding towards a family member was with Rickon, the only “sibling” (aside from Sansa) he thought he had left - only for Rickon to die moments before he reached him. And here’s Bran, his “brother” who he thought was dead up until recently, sitting there alive and (mostly) well, and I just... *sobs uncontrollably*

Compare and contrast how happy Jon is to see Bran vs. how “who cares?” he was when finding out he was alive in S7 and tell me that political!Jon isn’t real. Tell me

... I thought we were supposed to get non-robo-Bran this season, but, so far, I don’t see it

My Dad is honestly cheering because Bran’s looking at Dany all creepily. He’s just thrilled someone’s giving her some variation of the stink-eye

That Jon and Sansa hug is not the same one that was released, and I’m a little disappointed. Let Jon give bear hugs to his entire family 2k19

Sansa/Ned parallels from S1, E1 and I’m loving it

Dany is literally the embodiment of all her stans who thought she and Sansa would be besties and braid eachother’s hair. Sansa is the rest of us who knew better

Bran cutting straight to the point adds years to my life

Sansa running things is my aesthetic

Dany seriously didn’t sit down till Ned Umber called her “my queen” and I’m rolling my eyes. So what if I’m too critical? I’m bitter

I love Jon getting called out if political!Jon isn’t real, but I’m honestly tired of Lyanna Mormont at this point. Sorry, unpopular opinion

......................... is it just me, or has Tyrion become a lot less smart in recent seasons? 

Wait until they find out who burnt the loot train * snicker snicker*

Sansa asks practical questions. Dany replies with an answer that basically gives the green light for eating innocent civilians. But, sure, Sansa’s a jerk

My Dad doesn’t even like Sansa and he’s scoffing that Dany couldn’t hold a candle to her when it comes to ruling

Yep, Tyrion’s become a lot less smart. I was right

Bran being creepy is actually great when it’s directed towards Dany and her team 

Awwwwwww... Jon and Arya. Don’t screw this up for me, please...

Parellel to Ned/Catelyn in the Godswood in S1, E1, I believe

Seriously, Jon is ecstatic to see his little “sister”. Don’t tell me he would’ve reacted with nonchalance to the news of her being alive if political!Jon isn’t true. Don’t even dare

Am I the only one who’s a little heartbroken that Jon is actually surprised that Arya still had Needle?

So....... I think that “Sansa thinks she’s smarter then everyone” comment was supposed to be an awkward joke. So therefore, I’m not going to get angry

STARK SISTERS AS A UNITED FRONT! YES!!! NED, YOU WOULD BE SO PROUD!!!

Yeah, Jon, don’t forget. I believe in you

I imagine everyone’s probably going to be really angry with Jon, but I kind of feel badly for him. He seems so insecure about everything in this episode. If the parentage reveal happens here, too, I’m a little worried how he’ll take it

My Brother pointed out that Jon’s homecoming in this episode kind of mirrors Jaime’s in S4 and I’m honestly living for it

I missed Cersei. I really did

I missed Yara, I really did

I didn’t miss Euron, not a bit

Wow, the Red Keep feels so lonely and I think that’s the vibe the showrunners were going for. Kudos if it was

Cersei seriously has some of the best lines and Lena Headey is brilliant in her delivery

Euron... yeah. Dude needs help

Oh, so that’s what happened to Ed Sheeran and co. Time to get started on my “I See Fire” tribute

Little parallel to Tyrion in the brothel with Bronn from S1, E1

“Which girl?” Poor Bronn in a world without modern medicine

Um, excuse me, but if you even think of using that crossbow I’ll make sure that Ser Bronn of the Blackwater becomes black and blue

Someone get Cersei her elephants

Okay, so what’s up with the pregnancy? Was it a hoax, or something else...?

THEON!!! Finally stepping up! Finally!

So... anyone else thinking that Yara believes Dany sent Theon to rescue her and that’s why she’s still loyal to this dragon brat?

Tyrion is on and I’m ignoring him.

Davos nooooooooooooo. No marriages!!!

I see you, Varys. I see you showrunners. Nothing lasts, indeed... *laughs evilly*

Aw, what happened to Dany and Sansa braiding eachother’s hair again?

I’m angry at Jon for not defending Sansa. Really. But how much could he actually have done without spelling potential doom for the North? Littlefinger didn’t have dragons. Dany does.

OKAY, NO. THAT WAS A THREAT. A FRICKIN’ THREAT. AND MY FAMILY AND I ARE NOT OKAY WITH IT!!!!!!!!!

........... the dragons are barely eating? Barely? And just how many Northerners could those 29 goats and sheep have fed?

“Um, Dany, giving Jon a dragon might be the dumbest thing you’ve done yet” - My Wonderful Dad

“And that’s saying something” - My Wonderful Brother

Wow, Dany doesn’t give two cents about Jon’s consent. Shocking

Wow, Dany doesn’t give two cents about Rhaegal’s consent. Actually shocking 

So... if no one knows how to ride a dragon until they do and you’ve already ridden one so therefore know, give the guy some pointers

Haha you might die. Isn’t that adorable?! *sarcasm sarcasm*

POINTLESS SCENE ENSUES

That boy kept his eyes open, honey. That’s not a good thing.

Drogon and Bran should have a staring contest. My money’s on Bran

(scratch that, my money’s on Jaime and Brienne whenever they see eachother)

Ugh. How many manhood jokes are we going to have before this season’s over?!?!

So... the Hound and Arya’s reunion was kind of underwhelming, imo

Gendrya awwwwww.

Ooh, new weapon. Wonder what it does.

“You don’t know any other rich girls” - Arya // “And with you around he never will.” - My Wonderful Dad 

Interesting point my Brother made about Lord Glover always being that guy never wanting to join the fight

Oh, Jon. If political!Jon is true, then stop handling this all on your own. Heck, even if it’s not. Your family is strong as steel. Trust them

Not sure if it’s intentional, but this scene kind of brings to mind shades of Ned and Catelyn in S1, E1 when discussing Ned becoming Hand of the King

Sansa is not helping those vibes. Oh, boy

“Why does everyone who claims Dany will be a good queen sound less like they believe it and more like they’re trying to convince themselves it’s true?” - My Wonderful Brother

SAM!!! MY DEAR CINNAMON ROLL!!! I’VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!!

Oh, shoot. Is this the Tarly reveal? I don’t think an “it was necessary” is going to work this time...

WOW. She didn’t even try to explain her actions. This somehow makes it far worse for me...

Jorah looking guiltier is actually unsettling

You made Sam cry, Dany. The gloves are off. You’re officially irredeemable in my books

Um, has no one wheeled Bran in yet? Like, he’s just been sitting there?

“Waiting for an old friend”? Is it Jaime? It’s got to be Jaime. Wonder if they’ll save the reunion for the end because more parallels

PARENTAGE REVEAL!!! PARENTAGE REVEAL!!!!!!!!

Jon looks so tired all the time in this episode, even with his family. Even if political!Jon isn’t real, Dany certainly isn’t doing him any wonders. And if you say she is, you’re not really watching the show

Awwww, Jon and Sam together again! And Jon is just as happy to see him as his “siblings”! My heart...

“So, are we ever going to find out if Little Sam’s alright, or...?” - My Wonderful Dad

Jon’s reaction to the burning of Sam’s dad and brother is kind of weak, but I”m hoping we get some more of his wrath directed at the source of this fiasco (Dany)

No, Jon. You and Dany aren’t alike in any way. Case and point - how you’ve been talking about how titles don’t matter every two seconds of this episode, while she was about to threaten your “sister” for not “respecting” her. See the difference, sweetie?   

PREACH, SAM! PREACH!!!

Um... it probably would’ve been better to lead with Ned’s wasn’t your father than Lyanna’s your mom, but other than that, you’re doing great, Sam

A man from the south tells his northern best friend with a man-bun some game-changing news in a crypt. Sam-Jon, Robert-Ned parallel from S1, E1 achieved

I’m going to take  a moment to appreciate how Kit subtly incorporated and conveyed each of the five stages of grief in this scene

“It’s treason”/”It’s the truth”. I mean, maybe it’s just me, but Jon seems almost terrified to hear this news. Which tells me he’s well-aware of how Dany could react to it. Which tells me he’s not as daft as he’s letting on. 

“You gave up your crown to save your people. Would she do the same?” Sam knows what’s up and I love him all the more for it

“No, no she wouldn’t” - My Wonderful Dad, Brother, and Less-Wonderful I all at the same time in response to Sam’s query

The score in the back, “Winter is Here”, when “Truth” might’ve been a more ironic, dramatic option - like with the last reveal. Hmmm. I see you, Ramin Djawadi. I see you

Edd! Beric! Tormund! Still stand by the idea that at least one of you should’ve died for emotional weight, but I’m glad to see you.

Okay. The blue eyes joke got a chuckle out of me, I admit

Child nailed at their torso thanks to white walkers parallel to S1, E1 achieved

Ned Umber opening his eyes seriously made me jump and I was expecting it

Child who is actually is a white walker nailed at their torso by white walkers parallel to S1, E1 achieved

And now I’m deaf. Thanks, Ned Umber

“Hey, don’t you think that creepy art piece kind of resembles the Targ sigil?” - My Wonderful Brother before the piece was set on fire

“Hey, now it really does.” - My Wonderful Brother after the piece was set one fire 

A rider riding into town and I think I know who it is...

JAIME!!!!!!! *has meltdown because he’s my second favorite character, okay?*

My Wonderful Dad and Brother are just as hyped as I am. Bless them.

Jaime taking off headwear and looking around Winterfell parallel to S1, E1 spotted

Is it just me, or does he actually look happy to be there? I mean, you’d think he’d be more uncertain...

Oh, there’s the uncertainty

Jaime and Bran ending off the episode on a cliffhanger parallel to S1, E1 unlocked

[ettadunham]

A Buffy rewatch 5x19 Tough Love

aka you are not immune to… internalized bi erasure?

Welcome to this dailyish (weekly? bi-weekly?) text post series where I will rewatch an episode of Buffy and go on an impromptu rant about it for an hour. Is it about one hyperspecific thing or twenty observations? 10 or 3k words? You don’t know! I don’t know!!! In this house we don’t know things.

And in today’s episode Tara’s not perfect and gets her mind sucked out for it, we kick off the season’s multi-episode finale arc by revealing Dawn to Glory, and we draw some weird parallels between two of our dynamics. Perhaps mostly though, I’ll just talk about Willow’s sexuality, because at some point, we need to properly address that elephant in the room.

Okay, so, let’s just kick this off. If you’ve been in this fandom long enough, you’ve been inevitably exposed to the discourse of Willow’s sexuality. And you might be asking now… what’s the big deal anyway? Isn’t art up to interpretation? Wasn’t that one of my main motivations for this rewatch? Why does it matter that parts of the audience ascribe different labels to Willow?

And well… that’s valid, but it also misses a crucial element of our media, one that I alluded to in my rant about Whedon character deaths. Art doesn’t happen in a vacuum. And the significance of that is only amplified for folks and groups whose experiences aren’t recognized or seen by society in the first place.

To them it will matter whether or not someone recognizes a character by a certain label. Because a refusal to do so feels like an erasure of their own identities. That’s what makes this whole discussion complicated in the first place.

Now, am I the best person to do a deep dive on this? No. Especially not in one of these barely proof-read long rant posts. I’m sure you can find much better sources, so please do that. But it’d feel disingenuous to ignore it too, so I’m just gonna address it to the best of my abilities as well as provide my own in-universe interpretation of what it could mean for the characters.

Great. Now for that pesky discourse.

Personally my go-to analogy to describe it is the classic Shrek onion one.

You see, you peel away a layer of the Willow’s sexuality onion… and it’s still an onion. You peel away all the layers, you chop it up, and sure, it remains an onion, but now everything’s a mess and you’re crying.

The issue is that you kind of need to peel those layers away anyway if you want to truly divorce yourself from the binary thinking that the show itself often engages with. Which is what’s arguably gotten us into this mess in the first place.

Because however you view Willow’s sexuality, you can’t deny that the show is doing a lousy job defining it. Willow does identify as gay/lesbian as of 5x11 and through the end of the series, but the language the show uses makes it impossible to just leave it at that.

In Doppelgangland, when Willow meets her vampire self, she describes her as “kinda gay”. Not gay, but kinda gay. We also see Vampire!Willow making out with Vampire!Xander in The Wish beforehand, so if Vamp!Willow is supposed to tell us something about Willow’s own sexuality, then it’d stand to reason that she’s bi. Right?

Well, apparently not. But then we run into her actual line in 5x11 where she first uses a label, saying “Hello, gay now!”. Notice, it’s gay now. As in Willow just woke up one day and turned gay. The same joke(?) is repeated in Intervention, where one of the characteristics that was programmed into Buffybot about Willow was saying Gay(1999 - ).

Now, that’s not to say that Willow can’t just have a fluid sexuality and identify anyway she fucking wants to, and she doesn’t need to justify her label to anyone. She fell in love with Tara, and that made her reconsider her own identity. Season 7 almost ends up addressing this too in a scene I think, so that’ll be nice to get to.

The issue mostly comes from the show skipping to engage even with the possibility that Willow (or anyone for that matter) might be attracted to more than one gender at the same time. The closest we get to this is with the love triangle setup in New Moon Rising, except I guess in this love triangle Willow also chose a sexual orientation?

It’s like that episode was the quantum superposition of Willow’s Schrödinger’s sexuality, and upon observation, it locked into either one of its two states. That’s why Tara’s been talking about getting a cat in that episode! Guys, we solved it!

Notice also that I’ve yet to really talk about Willow’s sexual history before Tara in regards to this… because for me that’s sort of less part of the point? If Willow was a real person, and you knew that she had this adorable boyfriend before she identified as a lesbian, you wouldn’t go up to her and question how she defines her own sexuality. I mean… I hope so? Don’t be a fucking asshole.

But that’s both the fallacy of the argument and the reason why you should still respect the label Willow identifies with. Because Willow is not real, she’s a fictional character, and therefore arguments can and should be made about how the show portrays her sexuality… And yet, the people who identify with Willow are very much real, and so are their own experiences of people dismissing their own chosen identities.

So, there you go folks. These are my two cents. Willow’s gay, but we need to acknowledge how the show appears to be either completely unaware, or actively dismissive of the existence of bisexuality. This even comes up in the S8 comics, where Buffy’s sexuality after having a relationship with a woman is continuously referred to as essentially “not-gay”. Because I guess in the Buffyverse canon these are your only two options.

Now that we got all that out of the way, we can briefly talk about this episode, I guess.

To keep it on track, I guess we should dissect the argument between Willow and Tara that sort of caused me to whip this whole discussion out here.

Now, this is a fascinating scene, because it pivots a lot, and reveals a lot about the characters and their insecurities. It also appears to be fueled by Willow’s own lack of self-reflection and Tara’s non-confrontational nature.

It starts with Willow complaining to Tara about how Buffy appears to be trying to be more strict with Dawn. Willow is obviously identifying with Dawn in the situation. But Tara says she completely understands Buffy.

This then probably reminds Willow of Buffy earlier telling her that she wouldn’t understand when she was talking to her about Dawn, which causes a mood shift in Willow. It also reminded me of season 3 of Buffy telling Willow the same thing regarding her connection with Faith, so as a Buffy/Tara shipper that association kind of delights me, ngl.

But as Tara pushes further, seeing that something is bothering Willow, she reveals the insecurity behind it. Willow isn’t just responding to Tara having this wisdom through this major, tragic life experience that she can relate to Buffy with; it’s that Tara’s done all of this so much longer than she has. She’s been a witch all her life. She’s been out much longer.

That however then triggers Tara’s own insecurities about Willow rapidly surpassing her in her own magical abilities, and says that that “frightens” her. She tries walking back on her choice of word later, but it’s too late, and Willow locks into that.

Now, this is some riveting stuff. Because with foreknowledge, the easiest interpretation here is that this will relate back to Willow’s abuse of magic in season 6. That deep down Tara already sees what having this much power will do to her girlfriend.

This is arguably even reinforced in the episode with Willow going after Glory. It’s once again foreshadowing, Willow attempting to take revenge for something that’s been done to Tara; but it also betrays a certain arrogance in Willow. She actually believes that she can take on Glory, a supposed God. (Which, honestly? She probably could by season 7.) That’s the kind of power that she wields and how she chooses to use it.

Still, in the argument itself Tara pushes this fear of hers in a slightly different direction, saying that she’s afraid that she wouldn’t be able to fit into Willow’s life, after all these changes. And that’s where the previous discussion fits in.

Perhaps to understand Willow’s response, we should remember how magic has been used as our lesbian metaphor for almost a whole season. Because she almost immediately jumps to the conclusion, that Tara’s afraid that she would… go back to boys? Which is of course a classic, toxic stereotype used against bisexuals, despite the fact that no one here canonically identifies as bi, so add that to the discourse.

More importantly, it’s said by Willow. Now, Tara totally drops the ball here, asking her “Should I be?”, which reinforces the validity of Willow’s assumption that it’s actually something that Tara is thinking. Even someone as perfect and precious as Tara is not immune to propaganda.

In Tara’s defense, she once again tries dancing back on it, and talking it out before Willow storms out, but yeah. While I’d like to think that Tara’s question came more from a place of general insecurity, regardless of the gender of Willow’s next possible love interest, she sure fucked up in that moment.

Still, the fact that it’s Willow jumping to this debate, might just tell us more about Willow herself and how she sees herself.

Let’s go back to Restless for a bit. In that episode, Willow’s fear was ended up being about how she was scared that deep down she was still the same girl that she was in high school. That all these things she developed through college that made her stand out were just a facade, and that she was merely hiding her true identity as the same lonely loser she believed herself to have been back then.

So… and bear with me here… if we take that fear as a core motivation for Willow’s character, we can interpret the way she identifies her sexuality as a means to distance herself from her old identity. From this perspective, it’d perhaps even make sense for her to feel insecure about a supposed attraction to men, because she sees that as a regression to her old identity.

I can not stress it enough that this is merely a possible interpretation though. And one that would really only become satisfying if season 7 - which was already largely about reconciling with these different aspects of her identity for Willow aside the obvious theme of power - ended up tying it all together with Willow re-defining her own sexuality. It didn’t though, so I’m still left with the same conclusions, and this thought experiment of a character analysis.

Anywho, this is getting so very long, and there are still a few things that I wanted to touch upon this episode. Mainly the parallel we’re drawing between Willow / Tara and Buffy & Dawn throughout.

Normally, I love a good parallel storytelling. It’s efficient and makes the whole thing more cohesive. Here however, they manage to drive the parallel home so hard, that it just becomes weird at some point.

Like the fact that we have these two conflicts in the two relationships, arguably anchoring the episode? That’s good stuff. I also like the fact that Willow and Tara’s argument grows out of their discussion about Buffy and Dawn’s situation.

There’s actually a lot of great interaction in the entire episode. I love Dawn opening up to Spike about how she feels responsible for what would happen to Tara, and how she feels like she can’t be good because of all the terrible things happening around her. That’s a brilliant scene. Spike’s “Well, I’m not good and I’m okay”? I actually love him in that moment, not even gonna lie.

Buffy thinking that she actually convinced Willow to not go after Glory reminded me of a scene in Angel the series, where the gang thinks they managed to curve Fred’s impulses to axe murder her old professor. Do you all even know these people you call friends??? But again, I liked that exchange.

And okay, Buffy needed to be reminded what she would do if something happened to Dawn to realize what Willow was planning. Fine.

But then you’ve got the doctor asking Willow if Tara was her “sister” (to which she of course replied “She’s my everything”, and it’s fine, I’m fine), and then in the last scene, Buffy explicitly equating Willow’s need to take care of Tara with her own feelings regarding Dawn.

Again, I understand parallel storytelling. I love it. But when you’re equating a romantic and a familial relationship there’s a point where it becomes weird, and for me, these two moments put it just over that edge. This is of course a deeply subjective perspective, and I recognize that.

And then you also get Buffy trying to take on these new adult responsibilities in the episode. She’s dropping out of college to try and care for Dawn, and is faced with the challenge to become a parental authority figure in her sister’s life. The scene where she explains to Dawn that the reason she’s being tough with her, is because otherwise she could be seen unfit to be her guardian just gutted me.

This episode is just way too much, guys. And we’re only just at the beginning of the big finish of this season.