#like aside from that first fake out moment there was nothing this season with ted and rebecca that couldn't have just been about a platonic

[bombshellsandbluebells]

I genuinely mean this in the nicest way possible and not trying to vague blog

but I think sometimes people get a little too convinced by their own theories or the theories floating around fandom that when something doesn’t work out that way, it doesn’t just feel like a let down because what they wanted didn’t happen, it feels like things were set up and then left unresolved when I don’t think that’s always the case

[vias-words]

13 Reasons Why SPOILERS

Okay so I have feelings and I need to express them so here goes

Season 3 had me angry the whole time but I needed to watch s4 just to know what happened to the characters. But I finished the series feeling like nothing had actually happened? Like yes, we saw some of the aftermath of all of the events, especially in Clay, but what was the BIG storyline? S1 was Hannah’s story, s2 was the trial, s4 was Bryce’s murder. S4? Trailers made it seem like it was that someone was going to reveal what happened to Monty and who murdered Bryce but was there wasn’t enough tension to keep the stakes up. Like we found out that a lot of it was Clay way too soon. Diego and Winston never really posed that big of a threat to carry the story either. So it ended up feeling like a weird mix of events that didn’t feel very cohesive to me. Maybe I’m just a bitter TV production major but the story just doesn’t hold up for me.

With that out of the way, there’s still so much I want to talk about. To make it easier, I will break it down into character starting with Clay.

Clay: First off, Dylan is an amazing actor and really sold his scenes. But Clay’s story this season just annoyed me. He was the king of bad decisions to the point where it was just hard to watch--and especially hard to follow. I think showing his metal health spiral is important but they did it in such an unrealistic way. There were way too many Monty and Bryce hallucinations. I think if he saw flickers of them, like if he a jock in the letterman jacket and he thinks its Monty for a split second and freaks out a bit before realizing it’s not him, that would make sense. Seeing them and talking to them all the time just felt a bit cheap. As for the disassociation and the other scenes like the car crash or the school shooter, I found them so confusing. There’s a way to fake people out like that, but they didn’t execute it well and I just found it kind of annoying. i think Clay is a good character but they could have done the metal health storyline much better.

Ani: In terms of writing, she wasn’t done well in S3 but I didn’t hate her as a person. I think she was better this season and I did actually like her. It seems like the backlash from s3 caused her to have very little screentime and it felt a bit weird for her to disappear or be left out. She didn’t have much to do this season overall.

Jessica: Love her. I just wish all her storylines weren’t boy-centric. Everything with HO and her being president should have had more importance. I like her with both Diego and Justin honestly but Justin would have been end game.

Justin: Deserved better. Wayyy better. His whole character arc and recovery was wonderful. Killing him off felt so wrong. So wrong. It would have been so much better if he found out he had HIV in the beginning of the season and showed him dealing with that, as well as recovery, and he overcame it. Because the message that his story ends with is that if you fuck up, your life is ruined forever, because he ended up dying young anyways. Not fair and felt so unnecessary, put in just for shock value. This death stuck with me because it was the least deserved and hurt the most. I could go on.

Tony: I wish his family’s deportation was talked about more but I’m glad he had the ending he deserved. Wasn’t really interested in the boxing storyline because I didn’t understand the point all that well. It felt like it was just a means to an end for the writers. 

Zach: Okay, they can’t show him struggling with a whole alcohol addiction and not even address it. He was always one of my favorite characters and I think it makes sense that he would spiral out of control, but he also deserved a recovery. There should have been more development to his story.

Alex: I liked Alex a lot this season. I’m glad they made him interested in guys, because I thought they’d never touch on it again after he got a boner with Zach that one time and they had me wondering. Since most of this season was about his relationships, I need to address them each. I wasn’t a Zalex shipper but I would have liked to see them together if they went down that road. Even though they didn’t get together, the way Zach treated the kiss was perfect and, even though they would have worked together well, I love their friendship--and that will last longer than a high school relationship. Now, I will get to my feelings on Winston as a character, but that aside, I got the most chemistry from this pairing. They had the best moments together where they both seemed very interested in each other and Alex seemed happy. It was a great chance for him to explore his sexuality. I wouldn’t say I ship it but I liked them together the best off of what we saw. Finally, Charlie. As much as I would like this to work, I did not get the same chemistry for them. The lockdown scenes were great but other than that, Alex didn’t show the same interest for Charlie as he did with Zach and Winston. He kept rejecting him, both before they started dating and for the prom, and was kind of mean to him when Charle was only ever nice. But then suddenly Alex says he loves him at the prom? They had so few positive scenes together before that. It was too rushed and I can’t see it lasting long at all. But the family dinner scene was really nice and it was sweet to see them as prom kings.

Charlie: I adore this man. Everything he said was so sweet and innocent. He was the only character I never got mad at. I wish Alex seemed to reciprocate his feelings more but I just don’t see them working out. Their personalities clashed too much and Charlie put in so much effort for Alex to give so little back. It just doesn’t work for me. But I’m so glad he was here to bring some postivity to this season. He’s a great character and they needed his voice of reason.

Winston: I had a fat crush on this man in s3 but that was gone by s4 when he turned out to be pretty weird. I think there was so much more that could have been done with this character. I think its due partly to the confused storyline that I talked about at the start but I think he should have been on one side or the other: either a real antagonist or someone who changes to be one the protagonists side. I though dating Alex would have done that latter but it ended so abruptly that it left Winston at their weird in between point where his dedication to the Monty and Bryce case just felt weird. Not to mention his obsessiveness. Like falling in love with Monty and Alex so quickly and being so hung up on Monty after they hooked up like twice and Monty beat him up. Maybe this could have worked if they explored his character more but he felt very undeveloped which didn’t work well for someone who could have been a great antagonist. I think this season could have been improved a lot with a strong antagonist. 

There’s more I could say and characters I missed but I’m going to leave it there because those are my biggest opinions. Feel free to disagree of course! I just think this season could have been a lot better if they went in a different direction and I will never be able to forgive what they did to Justin. 

That’s all from me. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[buffylikescoke]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 11#8

You're my dog, Y'know? ~ Faith Lehane

Ordinary People is an entertaining issue. There are some things I don't like about it but hey, it's fun, so, like, whatever, go read it!

Buffy and Willow are back in San Francisco, free but under constant surveillance - phones wiretapped, drones floating outside their apartment, drones hovering over the city watching them, drones seemingly following them everywhere they go. Basically, the logical next step of the modern surveillance state. Mentally, Buffy's deflated, as Dawn describes it, but there is a plan. At the moment, though, Scoobies need to stay put. Not that Buffy manages to. A few days after her release, while jogging ( Sweet! I adore jogging Buffy, OK? Lovely workout clothes too! ) Buffy witnesses some asshole harassing a Wiccan. Buffy steps in, confronts the aggressor and beats the crap out of him. Then, after it's over, Buffy melts down. Visually, the scene is amazing! It's brutal and kinetic and art team, you are so killing it but I don't understand Buffy's reaction, I don't understand why she's so affected by violence and it's not just me, wife of Riley actually asks her about it as well. Buffy says that it was about realizing that she could've killed that guy. And that he could've killed her. Sam counters with the obvious question - how is that different from any time you fight a monster, or some whacked-out cultist? Yes, tell me Buffy! It just is. I don't have to justify my feelings to you. Oh, are you serious? Get the fuck out! Look, I don't get it. Buffy has been killing daily for the last whatever years, she's been in countless life or death situations, she even died too! What's going on here? What, it's 'cause it's a human? Buffy killed humans before, she's been killing humans since she was a teenager, she Ichi the killed a human in half and found it hilarious. I mean, OK, it was hilarious and...and Ted! What about Ted? Sorry, I’m not feeling it. If you want a constructive take, here’s what I’d do. I sorta feel more when I don't have my powers, it happened in Tibet too. Boom! All the shock value you want and it still makes sense. Finally, I'm not sure what was even the point of that scene. That, even without her powers Buffy can still kick ass? Yeah, no shit. That even without her powers Buffy's still heroic? Duh.

But what about Willow? There's something interesting Xander says about her and can I just say how much I missed Xander? I haven't seen Willow like this since high-school, he says, making everything she says a question, spending all her time on the computer.... And true, Willow seems less confident in this issue, even her clothes reflect that but I'm not sure if the idea of explicitly tying Willow's confidence to her magic works for me. Willow had no magic in season nine and it didn't turn her into high-school Willow, I mean, she bitch-slapped Angel, right? And I understand that, in theory, it’s not the same thing, outside versus inside power but the effect, as in no magic, is basically identical. Moreover, Willow started becoming more confident before she discovered magic. She casts her first spell in Passion and that's after Halloween and Oz and whatnot. Of course, I don't know when exactly Willow started practicing magic ( high-school series, you're on it, right? ) so maybe it all checks out? Or maybe it's just like Xander said, after what they've been through, they deserve some space. Willow's romantic non-situation ties into this too. She bumps into Calliope and her girlfriend, happily on their way to watch a movie. Willow was right in the previous issue, it really is two different worlds and on the outside Calli's clearly not interested anymore. Now, I can't complain, Calliope is boring but man, aside from some character development, this non-romance seems kind of like a waste of page space. You know, another one. Oh, well, this is Willow, she'll be suffering from respiratory issues soon enough if you know what I mean.

A few days after Buffy’s fight Riley and Sam visit Scoobies' apartment and no, not to arrest Buffy because she beat up that asshole. They're in on Buffy’s plan! This is why, I reckon, Riley was so eager to convince Buffy to take the deal and leave the safe zone, I suspect that Lake is also a part of this. However, Buffy and Willow are suddenly not sure, hesitant to take action. Seeing that, Sam suggests that without their powers, Buffy and Willow are nothing. Of course, Ms Finn doesn't really mean it, it's a gym teacher mind game as Buffy puts it but it works. I mean, OK, it's clunky but you know what? Buffy’s and Willow’s dialog makes it worth it! Don't blame Willow for my problems, Buffy starts. She's never needed magic to be amazing! She's smart, and kind. She sees the big picture, but never loses sight of how it affects everyone. And draining her magic didn't affect her computer skills, which she's been putting to pretty damn good use lately. Wow! Haters are finished, done etc. I'm the one who's useless now, continues Buffy. Jesus, Buff, can you stop with this nonsense already?! Like, she beat up a guy twice her size just to protect a nameless innocent and she thinks she’s useless? Buffy, you beautiful dingus, just, just love yourself already, OK? Thankfully, Willow is quick to destroy her bullshit. Except that's a load of crap, she points out. Your powers aren't why you never give up. Why you refuse to leave anyone behind. Why you never accept anything less than what you know is right. Why have you done things no other slayer in history ever did, even though they had the exact same abilities? That's you, Buffy. That's who you are. Now kiss. No, I mean, this is almost like that Touched speech, don’t you think? Anyway, just like that, Buffy's and Willow's doubts evaporate. With a text send from Riley's burner phone the plan is put into motion. Outside a literal ninja goomba stomps the surveillance drones and stylishly lands on the apartment's balcony. It's Faith and she came to help. And Buffy hugs her! And gives her the scythe! L-look how far they've come! It's beautiful! Anyway, Sam suggests that Dawn and Xander leave the country, since Dawn is, you know, magical, she even has fake IDs prepared but well, you've seen Chosen so you know how that goes. Dawn and Xander receive an address they're supposed to show up at in two days but for their own safety, they're not given any details and the two groups split.

The Finns, Buffy, Willow and Faith travel then to the safe zone. Willow hacks into the facility's systems. This allows the team to simply drive into the camp through the front gate as the guards can't verify Riley's and Sam's bullshit because the system is down. When they're in Wi133t Rosenberg shuts down the electricity as well. Finns then drive out of the facility action movie style drawing all attention allowing Buffy, Willow and Faith to gain access unopposed. They make it to the power drainer room where they find Jordan and her slayers waiting for them. This is where the issue ends, yes, it's all very cliffhangery.

So yeah, this issue is pretty great! It's entertaining and packed with content. I recommend it!