#leverage 3x12

[leveragecentral]

LEVERAGE (2008-2012) 3.12 - The King George Job

[lehdenlaulu]

Leverage 3x12

...I may have just image-searched the stock footage to make sure that really is the Logan International Airport. I have trust issues after the whole "Moscow as Kyiv" thing, okay? 😜

Okay, jumping back into the main plot, I see.

Looking good, boys!

...I wonder what would happen if Eliot actually had to fly a passenger plane.

Those identical maintenance overalls sure are handy, eh?

Would be funny if they never even changed the name tags.

Polyglot Eliot and Friend To All Children Eliot at the same time? I feel spoiled. 🥰

Arabic, I think?

I already hate this guy.

Hah, the young couple snoozing on the sofa is a nice touch.

Wow, Sophie's taking this personally. Huh.

Gotta love it when British swearing flies under the radar, but oh dearie me, what a scandal if someone says 'fuck'. 😆

Or imagine if someone just said 'jerkoff' instead of 'wanker'.

Whoo, change of scenery!

"Possibly steam-powered, which would be cool." ILY Hardison.

But yeah, that's like... Windows 3.1.? Sheesh.

Yeah, I don't think "believing in tradition" explains using ~25-year-old OS...

Ooh, Parker looks cute.

ILU Parker, never change.

We're also getting quite a lot of cleavage from her, I see. 👀

Nate, do I even want to know what you're up to now?

Oh Hardison.

Cromwell! That's Cromwell from Tudors! That's why he was so familiar.

Huh, interesting.

I see Hardison decided to balance out Parker's cleavage. I don't mind. 🤭

Meanwhile, Eliot's dressed like he's trucking across Canada. 😂

Again?? What am I forgetting?

Also, I'm way too ill for the constantly spinning arc shot.

Aaand Sophie joined Team Cleavage!

Huh, that's cool. I need to look into that.

Poor Hardison. You can do it, though, don't worry.

Shut up, Nate.

Hmm, I may not be super well-versed in British royalty, but wasn't George III famous for not having a mistress, ever? Or wait, is this George IV?

Okay, okay, I know. Whatever. This is AU. We'll roll with it. This is a pretty cool plot.

Oh boys. 😆 Hmm, has he called Eliot 'E' before? I don't think so? But Eliot doesn't seem to mind.

Oh Hardison, even if your boos don't appreciate your impressive work, I do. ❤

Shut up, Nate. I know you're not saying anything, but shut up.

Eliot 'Distinctive' Spencer strikes again!

Right, so that's what we're doing, eh? Ugh.

Poor Sophie.

Okay, Eliot, that was new. 👀

Yeah, fuck you dude.

Again Eliot saying something complimentary "sarcastically", aww.

Bless. ❤

Also, Parker's boots. 😍

This was fun. Nice change of scenery, more backstory for Sophie (whether she's really British aristocracy or not), and Hardison gained enough XP to add another class to his repertoire: forger. So, yeah, he'd totally be Artificer in D&D.

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

Leverage 3x12 - "The King George Job"

[leverage-ot3]

eliot with kids make me want to DIE ITS SO CUTE

him stopping his part in the con to help the little girl that looked so lost and scared

him speaking to her with her native language

WHEN SHE HUGS HIM AT THE END

HIS SMILE

[eliotspencerr]

Bonus:

[leverageclips]

In this house we stan a genius capable of learning highly complex forgery in a very limited amount of time.

Request by @nonbinarywithaknife 

[eg515]

Nate: Stall!

Eliot: You want me to stall them? They're former British paratroopers!

Nate: How do you...?

Eliot: Haircuts, all right? It's very distinctive haircuts!

*camera cuts to three guys with wildly different haircuts*

[exactingleverage]

↪The King George Job

[aceofwhump]

ooo just saw your top 5 tropes and do you have any good trapped under rubble recs?

I SURE DO!!!!

Tv Episodes:

Stargate SG-1 2x05

Hawaii Five-0 4x19

Arrow 7x20

Torchwood 2x12

Teen Wolf 3x12

Krypton 2x09

Hudson and Rex 2x14

Stargate Atlantis 5x01

Lost 1x07

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Lost in Space 2x05

BBC Casualty 34x01

Transplant 1x01

Castle 6x11

Agents of Shield 5x22

see this whumptober set for several examples

Fanfics:

My OCs:

Lucifer - Before I Go by Kay_kat: Chloe finally knows— finally believes the one thing that he’s been telling her since the beginning. That he is the Devil. By some miracle they’d worked past it and picked up where they’d left off, solving crimes together and maintaining a loosely defined and somewhat confusing personal relationship. He’d told her a lot of things since she found out, only... there is still one thing that he hasn’t told her that weighs on him every time he sees her beautiful face. It threatens to slip from his lips every time she rolls her eyes at one of his puns. The feelings that had bloomed that night on the balcony. So, when he ends up trapped under a building, with Chloe by his side as he struggles to hold on, will the feelings he’s been keeping inside finally spill free? He’s not sure he can go without telling her.

Hawaii Five-0 - Baby, Stay With Me by Horndog333: Steve and Danny are trapped inside when an explosion destroys and levels a parking structure. Danny is seriously injured by the falling cement and debris. Seeing no way out, Steve confesses something that will change both of their lives forever.

Leverage - but don't you shake alone by tragicallynerdy: Trapped in a collapsed building, an injured Eliot and panicking Hardison do what they can to keep each other alive, safe, and whole.

911 - Thicker Than Blood by altschmerzes: Bobby and Buck are in a parking garage when part of the structure collapses, trapping them both inside. The collapse itself isn't too bad. The problem is that Bobby can't find Buck, and is too concussed to remember that Buck is no longer on the blood thinners that could make even a minor injury lethal. Bobby struggles to communicate to the incident commander outside, a stranger, as well as to Athena, exactly why it's so important that he remain inside the collapse. But Buck's never left him behind, even when ordered to. He's not about to betray that in return.

Murdoch Mysteries - S-O-S by Horatio13: He was pinned in a pretty tight pocket, but not tight enough that it was impossible to breathe. Uncomfortably difficult, yes, but definitely possible. His ears were ringing. Something sharp was stabbing in his thigh. He couldn’t feel his fingers on his right hand, but he couldn’t see enough of them to figure out what the problem was. He could feel something wet and sticky starting to pool underneath his legs and stomach. Well, thought George numbly. This is fun.

Loki - you must know you are beloved; by unintentionallyangsty: When Loki risks his own life to save Thor's, he ends up trapped aboard the Statesman in a room quickly draining of oxygen. Thor is, understandably, less than thrilled at this development.

911 - the urgency of now by wayfarer: Buck is pretty sure the universe is actively trying to murder him at this point. There’s just no other explanation. In the last two years he has been blown up and subsequently crushed by a fire truck, suffered from a pulmonary embolism, nearly drowned in a tsunami and now this. How many times can he almost die before it stops being an accident and starts being some kind of cosmic hit put out on his life? Or, a building collapses on Buck and Eddie. Confessions ensue.

Tony Stark - To Prove a Hero is Allowed to Have Some of His Own by Era_Penn: Or, five(ish) times Tony thought a teammate would leave him behind, and one time he knew they wouldn't. (Chapter 7)

The Man From Uncle - One Day in Morocco by el_spirito : A fulfillment of the following prompt: One where they're in a building that collapses for nefarious reasons and Napoleon is injured and Illya, it turns out, is severely claustrophobic, so Napoleon has to simultaneously try and keep the giant Russian calm and not die. Featuring trapped boys, determined Gaby, and Waverly being great.

[dr-lizortecho]

Nora’s Story (Part One: Oasis)

There isn’t much to go off in weaving together Nora’s life story on Oasis. The first mentions, chronologically are of her infiltration into Ophichus and her attempt to earn Jones’s trust. It’s mentioned in 3x02 that she “convinced The Dictator that she was on his side”. And that she used that opportunity to steal Jones’s DNA. It’s unclear how long she spent in Ophichus* before making her move to make Max. However, it’s most likely that she spent roughly five to six years within its confines (if she became pregnant with Michael shortly after infiltration). During the time period she spent in Ophichus Jones learned of Theo’s work** to clone the flora and fauna. He decides to use this to his advantage by coerceing Theo to make him clones, so he can live longer and gain access to more abilities. Which Theo of course denies until the crucial moment that Dallas mentions in 3x11 “{the} next memory that I have, it's of a five-year-old boy. With a blade under his neck. Jones used me as leverage against my dad to force his hand. And that's how the clones got made”.

Sometime after the clone technology is created and Jones has already accumulated more abilities, Nora flees Ophichus (this could be anywhere within a two year period, according to Dallas’s age). She’s shown destroying the remaining clones, before hightailing out with the DNA needed to make Max. This is presumably when she starts hiding “underground” as mentioned by Jones in 3x02, in which he allows her to “evade him” for Michael’s sake as mentioned by him in 3x12. During her time in hiding, Nora&Louise&Theo either start building their rebellion (under the assumption that they fled shortly after the cloning began) or they finally had the strength to rely on it (under the assumption they’d been building it while in Ophichus).

After Max’s creation and subsequent depoding, he is observed to have the same powers as Jones and none of his mannerisms. This leads to the realization that he can be the hope of the rebellion. Dallas notes that Theo’s memories (notably curated and selected for Dallas) showed that they believed Max “symbolize{d} the future that they were fighting for”. This is depicted in 4x13 when Nora informs Tezca (again notably a selected memory for the same end all goal) that she selected a name for Max “savior”. Something Max would be aware of since he recognized the symbol for savior as his name in 2x12. This choice by Nora to call him as such is an interesting one. Since she’d already spent time in Ophichus where savior was Jones’s title/name (as seen in 4x03 and 4x11). So though she’s acknowledging his differences (as Dallas mentioned in 3x11) from Jones she’s also permanently linking them, much like the tether her and her triad are attempting to manipulate for their own gain. During this same scene, Nora mentions that Max is what they will build their rebellion on (the same rebellion that already existed according to Dallas and her about a minute earlier cause writing consistency). Nora also mentions that her new plan is to leave the planet with Max and let him grow into his powers fully. This decision is mentioned by Jones in 3x02 saying “they decided to plan their escape instead” when they realized they couldn’t stop him. In Tezca’s memory Nora says they would “flee to raise the child elsewhere, holding strong that one day he will return to restore life back to our home”.

It’s after this decisive moment, Nora begins building the ship and pods to store their passengers. And during this time period that Max is chained up, allowing a rebel to disclose his existence to Jones through the psychic connection created while he healed them (mentioned in 3x02). With this knowledge Jones raids the rebel’s hiding place, deciding his clone with access to all his powers is much more valuable than allowing Nora and Michael to continue thriving. The memory of this moment is directly from the source, unlike most others previously mentioned, as Max was there (making it more reliable then those passed through machines and such, idk guys truly). Max remembers being chained to the floor with sounds of a fight going on in the distance (presumably between Jones and other rebels), before Louise breaks the chain binding him to the floor and offers him her hand. Max shies away giving Jones time to catch up to them, forcing Louise to fight him. Nora comes (from somewhere, idk) to grab at Max, smiling as she rests a hand over his heart. But Max feels the start of his draw to Jones (the tether isn’t actually in place until 2x13 and crashcon, though according to 4x03 Jones was siphoning power from Max all along). It’s in this moment that Max brushes Nora aside and goes to Jones, because he “felt safe”. The narrative never explains how exactly Nora and Louise escape this entanglement with Max in tow, however, they manage to board their ship and head off to their unknown destination. Though Jones (and other members of Ophichus, quite probably plants he set up during his time allowing Nora to “evade” him) managed to stow away. Notably Jones is responsible for crashing them into Earth or so Nora claims in 2x13 while talking with Tripp.

part two can be found here

* alternatively Nora could have fled Ophichus while still pregnant

** if Nora fled while still pregnant she would be on the run from Jones while he knew of Theo’s whereabouts, alternatively Jones’s coerceing of Theo could have spanned years much like Nora’s involvement in Ophichus

[what-isright]

There was no in-between for her. It was either all or nothing. She wanted everything, but in the end, she settled for nothing.

[kiss-my-freckle]

The mark: Neville or Constantin

Red: A confluence of peril had entered your life, and I wanted to be within reach, to have influence.

I started theorizing Tom’s character in 2x19 due to Red’s confluence of peril reference. imo, a second “unknown” employer for Tom was introduced in that moment.

Red: The secrets she took with her could compromise any number of players on that map. They’ll be coming. They’ll be coming for you.

In Arioch Cain (3x5), the enemy coming for Masha branched off. It’s my opinion that Red was preparing for a war against Neville Townsend up until the moment he received the “Rostova” painting, but once he received the painting, knew that it was Constantin Rostov coming for her. imo, those “secrets” Red spoke to in 3x11 would be the secrets contained in the Sikorsky Archive that Katarina stole in 1990. 

Red: As I feared would happen, elements from Katarina’s past are circling Elizabeth like a pack of wolves in the night. I put Tom Keen in her life to keep an eye on her, and he married her. Kate: This isn’t about Tom Keen. It’s about your need for control. Red: Indeed. I need to control the danger to Elizabeth. I’ve built a vast criminal network predicated on that very principal. It’s time to live up to my mission statement.

In 4x17, Red connected Tom to Katarina in his own dialogue. One must consider her deceased since 1990 given her fake death and change of identity. That’s why her name had been lost to history. 

Red: Katarina Rostova was a name that had been lost to history. 

To connect Tom to Katarina Rostova specifically, he had to be connected to her through someone or something that existed up to but not surpassing 1990. The only thing I saw (at any time throughout the series) connecting Tom to the past was the mark in his go-box. This mark immediately connected him to the night of the fire because the mark had to be there in order to scar her.

Forget about Berlin. He had NOTHING to do with Red's surrender.

What I'm stuck with now, is choosing which of these two men Tom worked for because both are directly connected to Katarina Rostova, while only one was said to be the reason Red turned himself in.  

Constantin Rostov vs Neville Townsend

1. Both connect to Katarina Rostova in 1990 (or prior to). 

Katarina: Seeing Masha with Constantin makes me think of my own father. I wonder what he would say now about the choices I’ve made.Look at me - in love with the man I was sent to seduce and betray. An American. Raymond wants me to run, take Masha and disappear with him. But how could I do that to her? She’s my entire life. She’s everything.

Woman: N-13 is an operative. The “N” stands for “neopoznanny,” the Russian word for “unidentified.” 13 represents the 13 packets of intel he stole from Lubyanka Square in 1990.

2. Both could’ve been at the fire, but I lean toward Neville. 

Kirk: Do you know what I’m thinking, Raymond? That house by the water, holding a gun in your mouth… I should have pulled the trigger.

Kirk: One day I came home, and you were gone. He’d taken you. I never thought I’d ever see you again… until there you were - in the news, you… and Reddington - the most wanted fugitives in the world.

While Constantin spoke of the house by the water, he never thought he’d see Masha again after she was abducted, which means he didn’t see her after she was taken from the campus. He could’ve went after Reddington at the beach house at any time prior to that. 

Katarina: Listen, carefully - you stay here with Masha. Speak to no one. Do not answer the door or the telephone. Don’t go out unless you absolutely have to. Listen. When it’s safe, I’ll call with instructions. I’ll ring once, hang up, and call back. Understand? Lock the door behind me.

Katarina's actions at the motel room with Kate gave off the impression that she and Masha were already being tracked by someone even though the motel was an hour’s drive away from the fire. 

Either one could’ve scarred Masha, but I have a hard time believing Constantin left both Katarina and Masha at the fire. I believe he would’ve waited for them to exit the beach house and made sure they got home safely.

3. Masha’s paternity and the fabricated DNA report. 

In 1x22, Tom whispered to Liz that her father’s alive. Despite what many believe, he had no idea Raymond Reddington was her father. I believe he was speaking of Constantin Rostov. 

Kirk: I had proof that she was my daughter. A DNA test. Red: You saw what Katarina wanted you to see. She lied to you about everything.

If Neville is connected in any way to Constantin, the KGB, Moscow, or perhaps even a Russian official, he may have been given a copy of Rostov’s fabricated DNA report. Constantin had reason to believe he was the father because Red told him Katarina fabricated it. Either way, either of these two men could’ve given Tom a copy of Kirk’s fabricated DNA report, but I don’t believe it was in Kirk’s SVR file. Neville would have to believe Constantin was the father, despite the possibility of him questioning Masha’s paternity after the fire. 

4. The Russian connection. 

Gina Zanetakos, Berlin and fake Berlin, Constantin and his possible fake are all of Russian descent. If Neville connects through Russia, he could be connected to one or all of these characters. Same can be said of Constantin. If Tom was employed by either one, they could be how he connects to all of these characters. 

Tom: Did the same thing last month. It’s probably why you don’t recognize me. Constantin. Berlin, man, he’s tough. I had to get away for a while, go to Germany, figure a few things out. Constantin: I come here for the peace and quiet. Tom: Sure. Sorry. Gosh, you know, I just thought maybe you could help me. Man: He said to piss off, pal. Tom: Just take a minute. Constantin: I don’t know who that is. Tom: I think you do. Why don’t you take another look?

5. The Drexel painting, the blood pool, and the Devry map.

While it's hard to say what woman commissioned the painting of Masha Rostova on behalf of Alexander Kirk, it could've been anyone. Gina, Odette, and Scottie are my suspects. I'm not even sure the woman who commissioned the painting is relevant at this point, only that Kirk was the one who had it sent to Red. 

What I am interested in is the Devry map and the message Red sent in blood in Arioch Cain. If he were doing as I believe - preparing for a war against The Townsend Directive in 3x12, then I believe his message in that blood pool in Arioch Cain was directed toward Neville. Because Neville could be connected to Constantin, he may have reached out and waited to see if Constantin would force Katarina to surface. After all, Constantin had no idea his wife was a KGB agent, so it's likely he had no idea she had a bounty on her head. 

The Devry map makes more sense for Neville because of the parallels they’ve thrown in to the Fulcrum and the Cabal with that Sikorsky Archive. I'd expect Cabal’s competition to be much larger and consider the Townsend Directive a better fit for actual competition against them. And as I’ve said before, the way Red spoke of those secrets Katarina took with her fits more in line with Neville than Rostov. He was after a woman he believed could save his life, not secrets Katarina had. If Constantin had no idea his wife was a KGB agent, he’d have no idea she took these secrets with her anyway. Certainly not secrets that could compromise any number of players on the map. It just fits more in line with Neville.  

6. Tom’s three passports.

Either Neville or Constantin could've issued those three passports Red mentioned in 1x18 and Liz questioned him about in S2. imo, he lied about Red issuing those passports.

Red: Lizzy, I’ve been monitoring Tom since he entered your life. About a year ago, I discovered that he had purchased three passports from a trusted forger I use in Warsaw.

Liz: Can you be honest about the passports? Tom: The passports? Liz: They’re real - Government issue. Where’d you get them? Tom: Berlin had a guy. Liz: I guess not. Tom: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I can’t. Not about this. Liz: That’s not how the truth works. You don’t get to pick and choose. Not if you want to learn how to swim.

Tom: I’ve been thinking about what you said – About needing to tell you the truth. So I’m gonna tell you the truth. Liz: I don’t understand. Tom: The passports - The passports came from Reddington.

What it would look like....

Red told Liz in the pilot, “Someone tried to hurt you.” Liz herself made several mentions to the idea that she got the scar from her father. This could speak to either Raymond or Constantin. However, if she’s getting the roles reversed in her head (as Dr. Orchard spoke of in 2x10), it could’ve been anyone. 

Constantin

If employed by Constantin Rostov, would simply appear that he was trying to reunite Masha with a man he believed to be her real father. He’s a quick and easy connection, but he’d need to be the reason Red reentered Liz’s life when he did. Did Red kneel on the seal because he saw this mark and connected it to Constantin Rostov? I doubt it. Red's pre-pilot scene with Kate in 4x17 came off urgent and rather desperate. He considered this enemy an immediate threat. 

Neville

I can’t even begin to describe how this looks in current story. Neville put a bounty on Katarina's head. He wanted her dead. Period. Setting up the woman from Paris (imposter Katarina) was done in an effort to protect Masha, so Dom felt she was in direct danger of Neville using her as leverage to get to Katarina. 

Young Dom: Do you know they’ve assembled a directive? The Russian Vory, KGB, the Americans - her enemies - have pooled their resources and put a bounty on her head. They’re calling it the Townsend Directive. Young Ilya: Neville Townsend? Young Dom: He’s at the top of a very long list of people who want her dead. Young Ilya: Are you worried they’ll find you? Young Dom: I’m worried they’ll find Masha, try and leverage her. Young Ilya: Look, Dom, I - I can’t help you. Young Dom: You made a promise! To Katarina. You told her you would look after Masha if anything happened to her. Young Ilya: Yes, but I can’t call off Townsend. And he will not stop looking. Young Dom: Sure, he will. He’ll stop looking. And so will the rest of them if Katarina’s dead.

Young Dom: He’ll never stop. And instead of protecting my granddaughter, we’ve put a target on her back. Young Ilya: Oh, stop using the child as an excuse! This was about you, Dom. Young Dom: This was about Masha!

In seeing Tom with this mark, Red would see Neville in Masha’s life and consider her in immediate danger because Neville would use her as leverage. This would give him enough reason to turn himself in. 

If he's connected to the mark in Tom's box, Neville was introduced in the very pilot and had been discussed several times since then.

Red: But if I die you’ll never know the truth about your husband.

Red: You’ve discovered something curious about your husband, haven’t you, Lizzy?

Red: Tell me about your husband. Does he know you as well as you know him? Does he know about you as a child? Does he know about the fire?

Red: Right now, the only thing that matters is the immediate threat - your husband - finding out who he is and who he works for. The rest will come. I promise you.

If he's connected to the mark, in framing Red and Gina with it, Tom removed his own association to Neville and made it appear as though Red and Gina were assisting Neviille in finding and killing her mother.

Red: God willing, Katarina’s daughter will live a private life of quiet courage. But if anyone learns her identity, the only way I can stop the threats from rising is to rise up as a greater threat than all of them.

Liz already sought revenge against Red for Tom's death in S5. In 8x4's sneak peek, she's having pretty little flashbacks of Tom proposing to her on the pier in S3. She pulled Tom's go-box from her vent in S7. There are parallels to future episodes from what I've seen of audition spoilers, so Tom's box continues to play into the storyline through dialogue. There have been numerous mentions to him throughout the series since his death in S5. In current storyline, imagine what it would look like for Liz to be seeking revenge against Red for killing a woman she believes is her mother, only to turn around and find out that her dead husband worked for the very man who put a bounty on her mother's head.

Red: I turned myself in to the FBI to point you toward a truth that inevitably you would have to discover for yourself.

If he's connected to the mark, Neville Townsend and Tom’s connection to him was the truth Red was trying to point Liz to from the very beginning. The very man who would’ve scarred her at the fire, which would've given him reason to question her about it in the pilot. 

Red: Someone tried to hurt you.

Even better if I’m right about Liz’s second memory wipe and Tom was involved in Red’s Vanessa Cruz shooting. Because Red is Liz’s mother.

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

Leverage 3x12 - "The King George Job"

[leverage-ot3]

I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY DID THE DOES THIS RAG SMELL LIKE CHLOROFORM TO YOU JOKE

[multimetaverse]

Andi Mack 3x11 Review

One in a Minyan was a truly historic episode and one of the best, if not the best, episode of the series so far. Let’s dig in!

Positives: 

Cyrus saying the word gay was such an important moment; the kind of moment that will long outlive the show itself. There’s a power in naming things and Cyrus not being allowed to use the word gay was a black mark on the show that has now been scrubbed clean. I never thought we’d see this day until Josh hinted at it last week; we’ve come so far from the days when the Mack chat kids were visibly straining to avoid saying the word gay after Cyrus came out to Buffy in 2x01. I commend Terri for getting this approved which I’m sure wasn’t easy. It will really help a lot of kids and adults to see an openly gay boy on a Disney show say that he’s gay and will hopefully open the door for more moments like this on other shows and networks

And such growth for Cyrus; he was so sad and scared when he came out to Buffy and now look at him

Stellar acting and writing all around. Josh delivered a show stopping performance and Asher did great as well. Jonathan Hurwitz should be commended for such a great script; there were some really sharp lines

Loved the dark humour in this ep. Cyrus saying they just buried Bubbe so she’s probably not coming, to the old ladies wagering on who would die next, and Cyrus telling Jonah that if he died they were set up for Shiva

And some very heart warming lines as well. It’s always nice when Andi can be involved in Cyrus’ sexuality story line as it makes it more powerful when lines on Andi Mack are being delivered by Andi Mack herself. Her telling Cyrus that it was his choice when to come out or to whom but he didn’t need to be afraid as people love and care about him was very moving.

I liked the poignancy of Cyrus regretting not telling his Bubbe. He’ll never get to tell her but he still has a life to lead and people he can tell

Andi hugging Cece and telling her that she still has her Bubbe was lovely, we don’t get to see too many moments like that between them. Loved Celia still not liking being called a grandma in any language

Jonah’s chill reaction to Cyrus coming out to him is very in character. They’ve done a wonderful job of building a deep friendship between Cyrus and Jonah that they weren’t allowed to focus on while Cyrus still had a crush on Jonah

TJ’s scene was brief but very nice, it was a sweet gesture for TJ to bring challah. Having Andi ask if that was TJ was a sly way for the show to direct more attention to his presence there. It wouldn’t shock me if we see a callback to the ‘’You came/Of course I did’’ moment towards the end of the season. I liked the subtle touch of Cyrus smoothing his shirt as he stood up to greet TJ. And interesting call back to have the same music for their scene and there was for Cyrus’ first kiss with Iris though only the most dedicated of fans will know that

It’s subtextual but I’d hope the casual audience would clue in to TJ arriving right after they discuss Cyrus’ former crush on Jonah and right before Cyrus and Andi tease Buffy about Marty not to mention the very fact that he even showed up in this Cyrus focused episode and realize that he’s Cyrus’ love interest

This marks the 3rd ep in a row where a love interest has shown up briefly at the very end of the ep: Walker, Marty, and TJ. 

As an aside it’s noteworthy that they’re flying in recurring characters for such small scenes when they didn’t really do that for S2; a sign of the shows increased budget and a side-effect of Bowie being a main and needing more screen time

I think this ep was probably the most successful at balancing the Macks and the other characters so far this season. The Cloud 10 scene was out of place but otherwise they all fit in very nicely. Bowie’s dramatic exit was funny and I think this may have been one of the eps with the least amount of Bex screen time which worked in its favour 

Celia was used perfectly, I loved the cold open with her and Andi. It really showed how much Andi and Celia have in common; they can both be brusque and can have a harshness to them that Bex and Bowie lack. 

I liked the callback to the pilot with Andi making a lamp out of Bex’s old cd’s. We know that Andi explores her art later on in the season and I wonder if we’ll see her centrepieces at the wedding

It was great seeing the focus on Jewish culture; all the small details were interesting to see and look up later. And I liked that they got the same Rabbi they used for 2x13 back, a nice little bit of continuity

I’m glad that Andi and Cyrus aren’t even pretending that Buffy isn’t interested in Marty romantically to some extent, it’s going to make the dramatic journey from here to Machel sinking in 3x17 that much easier

It was nice seeing Cyrus’ parents even if briefly. They didn’t bother bringing back the step parents which isn’t super surprising; it was great to have Cyrus come from a complex family but having 4 parents makes it way too hard for the show to give them any focus

I’m assuming Bubbe Rose was Norman’s mother since Leslie referred to her as Rose rather than as her mother

Aunt Ruthie being so hetero-normative was realistic and I’m glad they had Andi have that encounter with her rather than Cyrus

I’m glad they went with One in a Minyan as the title especially as it doubles as a touching tribute to Terri’s father it being the inscription engraved on his headstone

Looking Ahead:

I’m going to skip the negatives section for this ep; we all know the restrictions imposed on Cyrus’ story line and there will be plenty of time in the coming months to dig into the price the show paid for what got approved this episode. It’s a shame Cyrus won’t come out to his parents though it wouldn’t shock me if we get a brief mention of it in the show or in the texts towards the end of the season

We already knew from Josh showing that title page for 3x12 that they filmed on the day they also filmed at the amusement park which was in the middle of filming ep 13 but it looks like all the park scenes are for 3x12. I trust Luke’s imdb which has been very accurate so far so I’m inclined to think that him and Raquel were just at the park to hang out once the other kids were done filming

Finally the wish gets revealed; I wonder how much of the audience still remembers it by this point

If Buffy assumes that Jamber is back together then that likely means Jibby is already sunk; we’ll see what the texts mention these next couple of weeks

I don’t think Jamber is back together though I do hope we at some point get Amber apologizing for her mistreatment of Jonah 

The promo certainly makes it look like Andi knows for a specific reason that Jamber aren’t back together and if the wish is Jonah’s and it is about Beck family issues then I could see his closeness with Amber being because they are supporting each other with their family problems

Not happy to see Miranda or Morgan back. I wonder if she causes trouble by trying to plant the seeds of doubt that one of either Bex or Bowie really wants another kid or if she mentions being married and getting divorced

Peyton’s dad guest stars next ep though he had been listed for 3x13. Bex does look like she could possibly be getting cold feet and if the wedding will go awry before being brought back on track it has to happen soon

I think the set up of this ep is close to what we’ll see in the finale; lot’s of small moments with lots of characters mostly taking place in or around the Mack house

It will be very interesting to see if they let Cyrus or TJ use the word gay again or if this was a one time deal. If TJ could tell people he was gay in 3x19 it would make it much easier to get to the Tyrus confession scene in 3x21; presumably Cyrus and I’d hope his friends, would have to have some reason to believe that TJ could reciprocate his feelings 

I’ve never subscribed to the Jonah will figure out Tyrus’ feelings and play matchmaker theory because it’s wildly out of character, his obliviousness has been his most consistent trait. But I do find it noteworthy that they’ve spent all this time building up the friendship between Cyrus and Jonah and also dedicated an ep to having Jonah and TJ become friends. It would be very subversive to have Cyrus go to Jonah for romantic advice; it’s not often we see a straight guy giving his gay best friend advice on guys and it does make some sense with Jonah having had the most relationships of any of the characters. The safest and easiest route is just have Cyrus talk to Buffy about his feelings in 3x19 and there would be nothing wrong with that especially as Terri wouldn’t have had much leverage left when negotiating the final eps with Disney but it does seem like the kind of progressive move she would go for if allowed

It will be interesting if anyone else other than TJ finds out that Cyrus is gay. If Marty and Amber and Kira can never find out then that limits what can be done in the finale

And one last interesting thing is that unlike the Tyrus bash mitzvah scene their scene tonight didn’t get cut and partly that is because it involved other characters in a way that makes it much more difficult to cut or edit. I’m sure the Tyrus confession scene will be just the two of them but I do think there will be some linkage before or after to other characters to make it harder to cut should Disney have gotten cold feet (which I don’t think they will at this point)

Only 10 eps left! There’s really no other show like Andi Mack out there. It’s going to be a wild ride these finals eps

[lynne-monstr]

Writer’s Month Roundup

I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did! As you can see, my job got in the way at around the halfway mark but overall, I’m pleased with the end results.

Day 1 - Annoyance ( Alec, his laptop, and an airport mishap.)

Day 2 - Hurt/Comfort (Magnus rebuilds his wards post 3x12)

Day 4 - Road Trip Head (malec, nsfw)

Day 5 - Sound (Magnus rescues Lorenzo and makes fun of him the whole time. Secretly, Lorenzo loves it. Very, very secretly.)

Day 7 - Sports (”They used to hunt us for sport.” Magnus and Alec post 2x13)

Day 12 - Dreams (Post bodyswap. Magnus wakes up screaming. Part 1/2)

Day 13 - Feelings (He can’t keep Alec at bay forever, even if it’s for Alec’s own safety. Part 2/2)

Day 14 - Fairy Tale (Alec sets off to rescue the prince and earn himself a husband. Also, there’s a dragon. Of course there is, this is a fairy tale.)

Day 16 - Soulmates (my one lonely leverage fic in the bunch. eliot/aimee/quinn)

For the people who sent me prompts, I’m still planning on getting to those as real life permits!