#might make a smart choice (lie) and follow up this show by rewatching feel good for the millionth time

[gaystardykeco]

finally almost finished with the newsreader s2 but this show is genuinely making me insane i think like its soooo good but it is making my brain do things i havent experienced from a show in ages

[mikyouknow]

Please! Rewatch the quiz! I need something to remind me that that actually happened.

I still vividly remember that day. Going out on a chill bike ride with my two best friends for the first time in months. Sitting in the cool grass. Having a picknick. Not too hot out, nice weather. AND THEN I GET HOME TO THE ABSOLUTEL SHITSHOW THAT HAPPENED THAT DAY! Because what the HELL even was that, I still haven't processed anything. My mind keeps erasing that memory until some days the it just hits me square in the face and knocks me out 😀

So yeah! I would love it if you talked more about it, might help to cope a bit xD

Okay anon you motivated me, you were my Final push, I’m Doing it ! 🗣

Also I love that story tho you really have a Vivid memory connected to this whole thing and I’m living for it 😂 you were just having a nice day and then Boom, all this mess 💀

But aight so I’m Watching it rn and will be taking notes Live as I watch Here we go:

My first thoughts is, when Dream decides to do the quiz, he seems so like, confident? And then as soon as he reads the description, his voice falters at ‘and now things are changing’ and I’m Dead 💀 his confidence from two seconds prior in that moment goes like 📉 then cue flustered laugh lmao

“Do you ever catch yourself staring at your bff?” Dream’s flustered laugh and being all like “these questions are gonna be so weird” uhhhhh dude what are you expecting you’re taking a are you in love with your best friend quiz 💀

HES SO DEFENSIVE ON THIS ONE LIKE- he keeps wanting to make excuses aww drema aww 😭 it’s okay !! George is pretty we Understand you staring king 😌

Like legit that’s the first question and he’s already so flustered and- MY GOD GEORGE HASNT SAID A THING I JUST REALIZED WAIT HOLD ON I NEED TO GO BACK-

Two scoffs. That’s it 🧍‍♀️

GEORGE JSJWNSOWNEEJEN HES NOT SAYING ANYTHING IM DYING WHAT

Even when Dream first goes ‘aight imma take the am I in love w my best friend test’ George is SILENT 💀

Listen- listen, I’m having a moment over this cause I don’t remember him being silent from the start I thought it was like a slow descent into him just going silent eventually, BUT NO he’s just Silent from the moment the quiz is brought up 💀 but gives like a slight scoff when Dream’s voice wavered at “changing” like he’s very much Listening, just being So silent.

I just can’t wrap my head around how he doesn’t answer any of Dream’s comments, Dream keeps being like ‘right? Like that’s normal, right? Like that’s not weird. Right?’ And George is just SILENT 💀

“Do you get jealous if he or she has a bf or gf” LMAO THIS QUESTION MY BELOVED

His answer is so weird I will die on this hill.

ALSO GEORGE S P E A K S for the first time in the quiz 😭🗣 but not much, he says ‘but’, cause, yk, they both know he do get jealous so.

Which, again. Weird as hell. Imma say it, I’ve never felt jealous of my best friend getting a partner like what ???? W h a t

But ofc when they’re so clingy on each other, like a partner would take the others place because they pretty much have each other in that spot already, so it makes sense huh

And that’s not platonic btw I wanna make that clear LMAO

I think the points of which George laughs are interesting. And there’s something interesting to his laugh too. I don’t see his face lighting up with it, if that makes sense. It’s like a, I wouldn’t say ‘nervous’ laugh but, I struggle to find a better word for it 🤔

AYO MY MANS DREAM SAYS I DONT KNOW TO IF HE GETS BUTTERFLIES FROM GEORGE I- 💀

THATS NOT AN I DONT KNOW QUESTION KING

EITHER YOU DO OR YOU DONT AND YOU KNOW IF YOU DO OR DONT LIKE W H A T

I have to sit with this one for a second like . What ? 🧍‍♀️

Butterflies.

I’ve never. In my life. Like.

That’s not- you can’t say you don’t know- THAT MEANS LIKE-

Dear lord.

Aight I’m moving on (not actually imma be awake thinking about this later. Not by choice, absolutely not. This just won’t leave my brain unfortunately.)

Hang on. George says something here when Dream says ‘I have no idea’ but I can’t tell what he’s saying ? Like he mumbles something whilst Dream starts talking at the same time and I can’t make it out and I wanna know what he says 💀🗣

I Think he says ‘what do you mean you have no idea?’ Which like, YEAH, you Should question him on that king 🧍‍♀️ but it’s interesting how quiet he is, like he barely pushes the question, and this is like the second ?? Time he’s spoken so far. 🧍‍♀️

Also Listen to how flustered Dream sounds my god💀

This quiz never should’ve happened what’s Wrong with him like is he this blind ?? Did he Really think taking this quiz was gonna end well ?? 💀

“TecHniCally🥴”

“My future is your future”

I feel like we’ve talked abt these LMAO such Romantic phrasing my god

Again him going ‘right?’ And George is Dead Silent 💀

It’s interesting, like I’ve reached the ‘dreams’ question now, and it’s hitting now and throughout this quiz how, Dream is Loudly deflective, but George is silently deflective. If that makes sense? Like he’s choosing not to speak so his words can’t be thrown back at him cause he Knows if he speaks it’ll be obvious. Whilst Dream over explains and fucks himself over p much lmao. They’re both just a mess around this subject 💀

“How would You be in my dream” is such a funny sentence from George LMAO he’s so defensive 💀 like even I have had dreams abt Dream, like you’re his Best Friend, ofc you have dreams abt him my guy 💀 deflecting it is so weird. So Weird

“I’ve never hugged you” Sad hours 😔

It’s interesting here. Cause they speak abt the whole ‘do you go out of your way for this person’ and Dream is stuck on if he should say ‘more than anyone else I know’ or not. Which, there’s ofc observations to be had here as well.

But ! What I found interesting here was how George goes onto say ‘you made me pay you’ when Dream says he edited his video for him. And how George keeps the ‘lie’ going for a very short bit before laughing slightly, by god he sounds so.. different? Like when he usually makes little lies to troll or stuff like that, he’s much more extra and keeps the bit going and- idk how to explain it but the tone of his voice is usually way different. Here he seems to, idk, struggle to keep that up. His laugh is also just like, somewhat toneless?

LMAO The MOMENT Dream got the question ‘what do you think abt their laugh’ George’s laugh Stops. 💀

“Do you ever think abt what it would be like to Kiss your best friend?”

THE SILENCE

Also,

how Dream read ‘kiss’ 🤝 how Dream read ‘changing’

Some words hit this man different huh LMAO

“Why did that take you so long” on the kiss question, CALL HIM OUT GEORGE 🗣

HRKEJEKEEJEKJEEIEJ HOW ARE THOSE- SORRY WHAT DREAM ??

“HOW ARE THOSE THE ONLY OPTIONS” ???

God, for real, I wish Dream would get to sit down with someone one day who just Listened to him speak and allowed him to slip up and just sound so in love with George like give himself away simply because nobody is saying how weird he’s-

Hold on.

Wait. A minute.

George.

George is doing that LMAOOOO

Him sitting there silently and not responding to all his small questions abt what he Should answer and such, he’s so smart🧍‍♀️

AIGHT MOVING ON

George’s laugh keeps sounding very, like, strange😅

Anyways the way Dream Had to have a ‘yes’ answer to the kiss one will forever keep me up at night. Now along with the butterflies one🧍‍♀️

I rly wonder what options it is Dream is looking for when he says ‘none of these options’ so often. What is it you wanna say king ?

WHY IS THE BUTTERFLIES QUESTION TWICE AND WHY IS HIS ANSWER NOW DIFFERENT LMAO - drema it’s okay it’s Safe Space 🗣 I feel like he probably saw chat responding to his first answer and realized ‘oop, that’s not platonic’ and changed his answer LMAO 💀 he’s- Ahh hard to find the right words for my Thoughts here, but he’s doing that thing where he looks for others what is ‘normal’ instead of seeing what he feels, cause what He feels is, uh, well we all know what results he got at the end there,,

I mean the kiss question is all u need really. The butterflies one puts icing on the whole cake.

“Do you compare this person to others you’ve dated? Noo...” AIGHT AND THERE WE HAVE THE CHERRY ON TOP OF THE WHOLE THING

This was the one of the Most sus ones imo from when I first watched it. It had my head spin, head in hands for Days.

What do you MEAN you compare him to others you’ve dated? Why does he tell George to shut up, why do they both Know there’s a story there- I have so many questions on this and- this isn’t platonic 💀😭 AT ALL - and there’s no excuse or explanations for this one, they just Move On 💀

The Speed at which they move on 💀

And then George goes So silent 🧍‍♀️

Dream is cruising through the questions and George is so silent now. He was Stunned into silence from that shut up LMAO

I like how Dream picked ‘absolutely’ on being able to tell George everything :’)

So.

Why does George not say anything on the ‘do you think your best friend is in love with you’ question? No joke, no protest, no- no nothing?

That leaves us to fill in the blanks king, just saying🧍‍♀️

Why does Dream sound sarcastic when he says it’s a tough question LMAO

“I have no idea” aight good answer ig LMAO let’s Pretend

George’s silence is for real very sus there. Very. 🥴

Dream putting ‘no’ on thinking he’s in love, is Very funny and shows just how blind he is to himself.

He rly put ‘I don’t know’ for the butterflies one and found the nearest ‘yes’ option for the kiss one and then still put ‘no’ at the end - he’s a lost cause and owns no mirrors I see how it is. (/j btw lmao I have hope in drema ofc, he too can become more self aware one day<3)

“You are a little in love with your best friend” cue both of them laughing in just the weirdest ways. George just sounds absolutely toneless like, I don’t think he’s even smiling with that laugh, gaze absolutely dazed at what he’s being witness to, not even knowing what to do with himself in that moment. And Dream’s laugh is also just, weird?

“You don’t wanna ruin it, Dream.” Followed by Dream’s immediate, “oh what? It says-“ like immediately moving on lmao 💀 that “oh what?” Sounded like “oh what’s that there oh that’s rly weird wow let’s move on from what you just said ahem wow really weird thing over there” LMAO

“There’s a two percent chance there” LMAO

OH NO THE SILENCE WHAT

I THOUGHT I ACCIDENTALLY PAUSED THE VIDEO BUT THE SILENCE IS SO LONG AND SO LOUD

Then Dream going onto pretending like he’s gonna do another test As If he’s not been planning his escape excuse from the very moment he got those test results LMAO

And the silent pauses are taking me out 💀

‘I think we’re done’ HOW COULD HE LEAVE AT THAT POINT 💀💀💀

“COOL PODCAST” IM DEAD ON THE FLOOR

“WHY ARE YOU SO NOSY” DREAM I- WHY U SO DEFENSIVE GEORGE ASKING WHERE YOU’RE GOING IS A NORMAL THING TO ASK 💀YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S SUDDENLY LEAVING

NOT DREAM AWKWARDLY SINGING THE WIZARD OF OZ-

HE SOUNDS SO WEIRD-

The tone of his voice is so off my guy is so ready to leave and sit and stare at a wall whilst looping heatwaves for five hours 💀

:((((( drema my beloved :((((( it’s okay to be in love !!

Not him leaving- he full on ignored George’s ‘where are you going?’

He’s not going anywhere istg the moment he left that discord he put his head in his hands and just Stared 💀

Poor George 🥺

[shes-an-oddbird]

A Very long list of Season 5 Predictions/Wish List

I tried to hit as many of the characters as possible so this is really really long

The trickiest thing about this show seems to be the ever growing cast creating several stories at once and the fact that it’s a show about first responders so even characters that don’t seem like they would follow that career choice end up there and those that don’t sometimes feel out of place.

This is not to say that I don’t LOVE AND ADORE FIREFIGHTER ALBERT HAN! (but really kind of thought it came out of nowhere and yet I’m not surprised because what else were they going to do with him?)

It seems unlikely they’d assign Albert to the 118 unless Bobby requests him like he did with Eddie, but I think Bobby might have some hesitations about that. They’re already as close as family and sometimes make dangerous decisions because of it. He might feel its better for Albert to be with a different fire house or maybe Chimney would.

But he’s a regular so putting him with the 118 would be the best way to give him screen time

I personally think he’ll be assigned to the 133 since we’ve seen a bit of them this season. I’d love if there was a fun rivalry between the two firehouses (whichever one Albert ends up at.) I’ve said it before that the 118 is probably notorious at this point for the weird situations they get into. The teasing and the taunting would just be so much fun to watch. Albert talking to Chim or Buck and just being like, so the guys told me about this time…

Actually can we take a moment to appreciate that the 118 got ANOTHER firetruck destroyed and this one wasn’t even theirs. The 133 spends FIVE MINUTES with Buck and Eddie and their truck is in shambles.

On a more serious note, we might meet Chimney and Albert’s dad. I’m thinking he’s not going to be thrilled about his youngest joining the fire department and show up to talk some sense into him and scold Chimney for letting him do it.

I’m so confused about how much time has passed? How long does it take to become a firefighter? They must have some sort of plan for him because cutting out him going through training seems like a lost opportunity. It’s a story we haven’t really seen through anything but montages. Is it difficult? Would he try to quit? I’d have liked to see him making the decision in the first place.

putting the rest under here because its really a lot

We’ll also miss Eddie recovering (and Bobby too actually), which I’m a little bummed about but not devastated. It sounds like we won’t see much in the way of the effects of either shooting but can’t do anything about that now unless they flash back and have them work towards that moment on the roof.

My biggest concern with the time jump is missing literally any of Maddie’s story. I don’t know much about PPD or if its called recovery or overcoming it but I do want to see Maddie work through that and Chimney and the others supporting her.

I think her leaving the dispatch center will be temporary but it may take half or all of next season for her to return.

Maybe she’ll take over for May, if she does go off to school

Or May might continue working at Dispatch and going to school.

If she doesn’t go to school Athena is not going to be very happy with her. But maybe we could get Maddie and Josh being big siblings to May which is an underappreciated dynamic. Maybe it will help Maddie cope with how useless she’s feeling with Jee.

I’ll need to rewatch to see if they say what May wants to do but maybe she’ll study journalism or something that will keep her in the loop of the main characters the way it does Taylor.

And speaking of Taylor, she is actually a very interesting character, whether you like her (morally) or not. I think we’ll see more of her in season 5 and I genuinely think she’ll fall hard for Buck. And I think everyone needs to chill about how it’ll destroy her character.  We’ve already established that Taylor is like the female version of Buck (with a bit more sense maybe but a mirror if him non the less). If Buck is allowed to grow and want an actual relationship, is anyone really surprised they’d have Taylor go through that too.

She’s just a few steps behind, like he’s in relationship phase and she’s just coming to terms with her own feelings for him

My big concern, since they like to break Buck’s poor little heart, is that she’ll leave. She’ll get a job opportunity and pick it over Buck. I think it would be a hard decision for her but in character. Or maybe they’ll surprise us and make Buck and Taylor endgame (I know a lot of people don’t want to hear that but I could see it happening that way)

On the flip side I don’t know what’s going to happen with Eddie and Ana. I know she’s pretty much hated but its super unclear what the plan is other than that they’ll eventually break up per what Carla implied. I suspect they’ll be together for a bit of season five until Eddie figures out what’s up with what his heart wants. I don’t think Ana is some awful witch so the break up will probably be mutual or at the very least Ana won’t be surprised.

But hopefully we get more than just that as far as Eddie goes. The episodes we do get that are focused on him are really some of my favorites. They are wrapping up his moving on from Shannon arc which is cool. The trying to be a good father to Christopher will always be there, that’s something that will never change and always be a growing/learning experience.

I’d love to meet one or both of Eddie’s sisters. They don’t have to stick around long term like Albert did but to have them pop up with some crisis would be interesting and we could learn more about Eddie and the dynamic with his family which seems loving but strained.

Maybe we will see Eddie working more with Hen too. I was wondering if they’d make Eddie a full paramedic to take over for her eventually, which I decided they probably won’t do. But one episode of Buck distressed over the fact that he and Eddie wouldn’t be partners anymore would be fun drama.

The two really are just at a loss without each other and I love that. They get so pouty when they’re apart.

I don’t know what other plans they might have for Buck next season. I suspect we’ll see him worrying over Maddie and I’d kill to see him watching Jee-Yun.

I don’t know how old she’ll be because of the time jump but can you imagine Buck watching the baby and it just being an absolute disaster. So he starts calling everyone in a panic and we get firefam taking care of Baby Jee, maybe while Chim and Maddie are at a therapy session or just a weekend away for themselves.

I’m convinced the Baby would love Eddie. I think its just me projecting my desire for Eddie and Maddie to interact more. But like Hen teasing him because of course the baby loves him, all the girls love Eddie, he’s got the pretty face. Buck being super jealous that Jee likes him more. Eddie being genuinely surprised because he felt like such a failure when Chris was a baby. 

Denny, Harry and Christopher are all getting older too so there has got to be a story there with at least one, if not all of them. Harry was sidelined this season but I love that kid, he is the spawn of Athena and Michael and we already know he’s a little trouble maker. Match that with Christopher who is sassy and too smart for his own good and Denny who is clearly the good kid of the bunch. I don’t know, it’s another lost opportunity if they don’t do something with that.

They could assign Karen and Hen an older foster kid who’s maybe not such a good influence at first. Unless they opt for just younger ones, I’m not really sure how that works. But they could get one that’s not as easy as nia and they have to work for that bond.

Might be they adopt them at the end

I hope we see more of Hen’s mom and med school friends but not like a crazy amount. The cast is already too big but I love them so an occasional appearance would be welcome.

I love David and Michael too but they always seem like the hardest to work in because, as stated, they are not first responders. David is a doctor though so maybe we’ll see some interaction with him and Hen. And all the Bobby and Michael content is welcome.

I NEED A WEDDING NEXT SEASON! Just pick a pair and marry them please!!! Maddie and Chimney!!! Michael and David!!! Someone, please! Even just a proposal?! Maybe? Please?

And there will be another crossover event which is exciting because I really enjoyed the first one. I wonder if they’ll come to LA this time and what would bring them there. With the scheduling of the shows next season they won’t have to tie them together so much time frame wise. They literally could just be popping in for a visit. I’m not gonna lie when I thought about another crossover I really wanted Bobby the self-taught chef to meet Charles the actual chef but now I can’t have that and it makes me so sad.

Putting all this out there is a really good way to insure it never happens, but still, they seem like logical places to go as of the finale.

[odanurr87]

Flash Review: What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?

Park Seo-Joon as Lee Young-Joon, and Park Min-Young as Kim Mi-So.

Release date: June 6 - July 26, 2018

Episodes: 16

Available on: Viki

Summary: Lee Young-Joon is the Vice Chairman of the YumYung Group, a large corporation and the family business. He’s smart, successful, and supremely confident to the point of narcissism. Kim Mi-So has been his secretary for the past nine years, proving herself to be extremely efficient in the execution of her duties and the only person who can keep up with his ego and intellect, anticipating her boss’ will and seeing it carried out. One day, out of the blue, Kim Mi-So announces she has decided to quit her job and start a new chapter in her life, what takes Young-Joon entirely by surprise. This event forces the two to review their relationship, as Young-Joon realises he doesn’t want to let her go, and Mi-So starts seeing other sides of her boss’ personality as she realises he might have feelings for her. As this is a kdrama, the return of Young-Joon’s hated older brother, Lee Seong-Yeon, complicates matters when he suddenly enters Mi-So’s life, turning himself into a rival romantic interest. Meanwhile, Mi-So starts looking into an old kidnapping case connected to the two brothers.

What I liked:

The pacing and execution of the romantic relationship. One of my main complaints when I reviewed The Secret Life of my Secretary (TSLS for short) was that I felt that show took too long to develop the relationship between the boss and his secretary, dragging the deception more than it should have, and even when the leads eventually admit they have feelings for each other, 24 episodes in, it didn’t quite feel believable and the wrap up felt a bit rushed. The Vice Chairman and Secretary Kim manage to get there by Episode 8, selling it every step of the way, giving us another eight episodes to see how their relationship progresses and concludes. Romantic misunderstandings, that staple of most romcoms, are thankfully kept to a minimum, something I was extremely grateful for. For instance, when the beginning of one such misunderstanding rears its ugly head at the end of Episode 8, Secretary Kim doesn’t waste a second to clear the air with the Vice Chairman and declare her feelings for him, marking the beginning of their romantic relationship. They still have their disagreements (Secretary Kim is definitely not a pushover) and face their share of obstacles and objections to their relationship; we see how their relationship plays out in the workplace, sometimes with hilarious results (Mi-So can be very protective of her boyfriend!); we’re treated to the expected bouts of jealousy from the two leads, the apparently required drunk scenes, etc. In short, it’s what you’d expect from a good Hollywood romcom but longer.

The absence of the “family member X trying to usurp power from the lead brother” trope. So refreshing to do away with this trope every once in a while. You will find no evil conspiracy here directed at any of the leads, a staple of kdramas where a chaebol’s involved, giving us more time to explore the relationship between the Vice Chairman and Secretary Kim, which is frankly what this show is all about. We still have that jerk relative that shows up to cause trouble, but he’s mostly harmless. I will address this plot in the next section.

The humor. The humor in this show is comprised of four elements, which I’ll proceed to highlight in bold. If you’ve watched the show, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is Kang Ki-Young, who plays Young-Joon’s best friend, councilor, and president of the Yumyung Group, Park Yoo-Sik, as he does a fantastic job providing comic relief, taking advantage of the fact that he’s the only person who can make fun of Young-Joon and get away with it. I particularly liked his interactions with his clumsy and forgetful secretary, a pairing many viewers shipped. While I was taken aback by how much I liked him in Bring it on, Ghost, I was definitely less surprised to see what a great job he did here. Easily the best supporting character in the show. However, I feel Park Min-Young’s Kim Mi-So gives him a run for his money, not for being a prankster but because of how she reacts in any number of situations (as does Yoo-Sik), from trying to hide her boyfriend from her sisters, through punching a stuffed cow to make room for her virtual boyfriend, to trying to suppress her feelings of jealousy when faced with the prospect of having a rival for Young-Joon’s affection. You could call it situational humor perhaps, but seeing Mi-So’s facial expressions and her demeanor in these situations is priceless. These two are not the only actors/characters who partake in the show’s humor, but I believe they’re the standouts. Next on the list are the show’s well-placed sound effects, from weather effects to animal sounds, which really bring out the humor in certain situations. The sound effects in this show are 100% on point. Last but not least is the inclusion of a certain animated devil who pops up from time to time when Young-Joon or Mi-So are having lewd thoughts. As Young-Joon says at one point, “Fighting!”

Secretary Kim’s many facial expressions. Pity the sound effect wasn’t timed right in this scene.

What I didn’t like:

The older brother and the execution of his storyline. Perhaps I am less inclined to like his character because I initially watched the episodes out of order. During the first few episodes, Young-Joon’s brother, Seong-Yeon, clearly appears as the more likable of the two, returning home after years abroad, ready to make amends, only to find a brother who has nothing but contempt for him and a family who still favours Young-Joon. One should sympathize with him under the circumstances. However, for my part, Seong-Yeon showed his true colors even before he regained his memories. As I mentioned earlier, his return also results in the two brothers holding an undeclared contest for Mi-So’s affections, with Seong-Yeon believing he has the upper hand because of a past connection with her. When Seong-Yeon boasts how he’s going to exploit this connection to get her that was the moment I went, “This dude’s an asshole. He’s really going to exploit a painful memory simply to one up his brother.” Young-Joon, on the other hand, was actually doing his best to protect Mi-So from it, even at the risk of losing her. However, beyond Seong-Yeon’s likeability as a character, from a narrative standpoint, I just can’t believe the two brothers haven’t settled their score after two decades. Further, his transformation from jerk to good brother after he regains his memories seemed a little rushed, a little forced, with some scenes seemingly set up to cast him in a more favourable light. I have my strong doubts that someone who’s experienced that kind of mental trauma would make such a recovery in such a short amount of time (days? weeks?). Ultimately, he came across more as a plot device than a character.

How the parents handled the kidnapping. Letting your kids believe a lie for decades is not the way you handle a traumatic experience! It strikes me as unbelievable, irresponsible, and utterly reproachable, that the parents would rather scar their children for life than send them to therapy, especially when time proved that the lie had not improved the brothers’ relationship and possibly made it worse. There’s also some inconsistency with the character of the mother, who at one point looks to Mi-So to take care of Young-Joon, hinting she knows of their relationship, only for her to later ask Young-Joon not to date Mi-So because that would make Seong-Yeon unhappy. The gall of this woman. Fortunately, Seong-Yeon intervenes (this is the favourable light scene I mentioned earlier), as the mother was about to make yet another parenting mistake. I’m also slightly skeptical she didn’t figure out the truth behind the kidnapping earlier, specifically, the moment Mi-So’s involvement is revealed, a secretary Young-Joon personally selected over more qualified candidates. It’s a relatively minor detail though.

OTP: Damn, these two can kiss! If that’s not chemistry, I don’t know what is. Every moment these two are together is just perfect. I’ll admit I disliked Young-Joon’s unhealthy possessiveness, but I understand this was a conscious choice to show how much his character changes as a result of his love for Mi-So, eventually willing to let her go and choose a new path. I know some people disapproved of Mi-So’s decision to stay as Young-Joon’s secretary, seeing it as a regression and arguing she should try something new, but I disagree. At the end of the day, what’s important is that Mi-So is no longer pressured by circumstance to follow a path but is now finally able to decide for herself knowing she has someone in her life who will support her regardless. I’d question the timing of her decision but not the decision itself. She can always quit later. I also appreciated this show wasn’t afraid of showing the two characters actually tie the knot. Makes for a good change of pace.

Verdict: Initially, I dropped this show like a bomb in the middle of the first episode, as the thought of having a hardcore narcissistic boss as one of the leads did not appeal to me one bit, and having just finished watching the disappointing The Secret Life of my Secretary I really didn’t want to waste much more of my time on a show that promised to be similar. I was utterly wrong, as it turned out. What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? is a great office romcom, with Park Seo-Joon and Park Min-Young easily delivering on the romance and the comedy, aided by Kang Ki-Young and a solid supporting cast. This is an easy recommendation and definitely worth watching multiple times.

Rewatch meter: High

[hakurion]

The secret organization, D.I.C.E

I have rewatched Kokichi’s FTE to see if he revealed any specific about his organization and why his motive video says he has 10 subordinates but the video shows the group only has 9 subordinates.

I just think this is a possibility,  so I wanna share this.

“The ‘Ultimate Supreme Leader’ Kokichi Ouma…”

“He was rampaging around the world as the leader of the secret organization ‘DICE’.”

“’DICE’ repeats pleasant offenses with the motto [Do not kill people] and [Laughable crime]…”

“Ouma-kun had 10 excellent underlings working with him.”

“These underlings were like friends and family… more important than anything else in his life…”

As shown in the picture above, Kokichi is the only one holding his mask with two different sides on both eyes. His underlings are most likely wearing their masks with two sides are the same. Let look at the next picture for more details.

“But then, a terrible event befell those precious people…”

D.I.C.E members are being tortured in this, which must be the cause that makes Kokichi suffering all the time and hid his real feelings behind a “liar” mask… Except the girl in between and the guy from the second of the right side, we don’t see their full face, most of them wearing their one-face mask. I just made an assumption so since Kokichi is their leader so his mask is suitable for his duality personalities. Furthermore, Kokichi is the second one who received his own motive video beside Kirumi, it is possible that the mastermind want to twist his mind, to spice up the game. Kokichi actually shows the expression of sadness and hurting whenever his friends died in font of him, and he has a deeply hateful feeling towards the killing games toying with people’s lives, so his pacificism is real. D.I.C.E’s wounds have nothing to do with harmful things, the best change is they were kidnapped and being tortured.

We also know Kokichi can be truthful and lying at the same time, so it’s hard to tell his true nature but that is how Kokichi’s character is, its similar to his mask showing its two emotions on each side. He had to lie to himself to survive the death game, in contrast, to throw the mastermind off guard, so his lies are white lies (as white as his costume). If you ask how far in his lies, I think he lied about enjoying killing games and being the mastermind. Everything he does all have a specified purpose.

It is said Kokichi is the Ultimate Supreme Leader. He said he is the leader of an evil secret organization with over 10,000 members, but in fact, this group only has 10 members and causes ‘mayhem’ over the world. And in his FTE, he says he want to ‘trick the entire world, to make it become the truth’. So in reality, his group just wants to make the world believe they are truly evil, who belong to a secret evil organization with over 10,000 members, but that is just a harmless prank, non-existence, leading by their leader. In UTDP, Nagito isn’t able to find where this organization is, despite of his extreme luck, likely it has…no existence. Of course, how such a large organization like that gets no single one know about it? Kokichi’s prank is what misleading people into believe he was some kind of evil, nowhere in his lab contains a single murder weapon. The motive video can’t be a lie, we’ve Monokuma’s words confirming he never lies about motives. 

Speaking of the hat and the cloak. We don’t see those things while Kokichi receiving his Ultimate wardrope in the Prologue, which means it isn’t originally a part of his Ultimate Supreme Leader’s wardrope that given by the Ultimate Initiative. Maybe they were the extra stuffs Kokichi added to his wardrobe to make it looks like an evil dictator.  He only wears the hat and the cloak while playing with D.I.C.E, that seems like a kid disguising himself to be a tyrant, to play the game of how a villian should be. But due Kokichi wasn’t willingly playing the part of the killing game, he didn’t wear those things, because it is not like he playing a game with D.I.C.E, the group prefers non-violent games.

Perhaps in among of those 10 subordinates, them including Kokichi as well, so in general, he considers himself to be their Ultimate Supreme Leader and also one subordinate as well. Let’s look at his FTE.

He indicates that he hates lies and jokes but he could also lying about that, and he states his organization doesn’t need a leader, they would be happier with their boss gone. So what I meant is Kokichi in the motive video put aside his identity as the Ultimate Supreme Leader to be D.I.C.E’s boss, to make himself become the 10th subordinate and commit “laughable crimes” with them, in contrast, his true identity as the Ultimate Supreme Leader rules over D.I.C.E at the same time. His group might doesn’t like his role to be their boss but his role as a friend to them. That makes sense to me how D.I.C.E has 10 members but also 10 subordinates, including Kokichi at the same time.

About Kokichi’s talent, Ultimate Supreme Leader sounds massive to you but he is just a leader of a small group. Let’s consider his motive video says “he caused mayhem the world over as the leader of D.I.C.E”. We know Kokichi is pretty smart as though he has an Ultimate Analyst’s skill like Junko, like he could predict everything that is gonna happen, what people gonna do and who the future culprits are before Shuichi exposing them, he even wrote the script and gave it to Kaito because he knew what everyone would say. His talent is related to his intelligence to read through people, his leadership’s skill can drive people to do as his plan, Kokichi actually helps Shuichi a lot in collecting clues and discovering the true culprits from Chapter 2 onwards. He is good at manipulating people, and detecting lies. All of these abilities make him being a great leader, this part is true, he just lied about its core, I don’t have to say much, his motive video tells you his organization is all part of pacifist pranksters group, and his Ultimate Lab expresses Kokichi’s chair is too cliche although he named himself being an “evil leader”, the entire room feels like an elaborate prank with all comical objects around, all of this gives you the straight answer Kokichi lied about his evil organization with over 10,000 members. 

So what makes a Supreme Leader? According to some researchs, I’m gonna make some list :

- Have Faith in Their Beliefs

D.I.C.E can’t consider Kokichi being their leader if everything he does is purely “pranks”, he has to be something more than that, Kokichi must have a solid faith in his ideas. And build on it by being a good communicator, listening to others, setting examples. Leadership is all about being passionate about what to do, and having confidence in themself and their followers whom they have to motivate and inspire.

- Make the Hard Choice

There are times when Kokichi makes the hard choice, and self-sacrifice in order to enhance the lives of others around him. As in Chapter 4, Kokichi manipulated Gonta to kill Miu, he didn’t want to die, he wanted to do something more to help everyone, so he had no other choice but sacrificing Gonta for this task, because if he died, his friends might never find out Miu’s actions since she’s intelligent enough to deal all with this. Also, he decided to hide the truth behind ‘the secret of the outside world’, so this secret must be something else terrible more than the ruined world he showing them in Chapter 5, which he meant to control Gonta to give them “mercy kills” without letting them know about it. And he has to sacrifice himself by pretending to be the mastermind, being hated by his friends, to end this tragedy, to stop the killing game with all cost. Finally, sacrificing his own live for the sake of all. That’s how it makes him being a great leader.

I recommend you read a good analysis of Kokichi’s talent here of someone for more info about ‘what makes a leader?’ 

Just like Junko and Izuru, Kokichi seemingly hates boredom because his talent makes him easily predicting at people, but unlike them, he doesn’t meant to cause anyone in harm. Lies are things he could use for some extreme entertainment and stirring up people, make him overcome boredom in life. He hates despair and killing, as he confessed “a game you’re forced to play can’t be fun” and “the ones who enjoying to toy with our lives pissing me off”. That’s why he had to prevent the killing game even if it costs his own life. Kokichi is a pacifist, this part is for sure. 

How are his pranks harmless? By his words “Trick the entire world, and it will become the truth, the real truth isn’t that great anyway” and “Why do you guys hate lies so much? There’s only one truth, but endless possibilities for lies, y'know? And some of them are only white lies, or lies to be kind to people…” Kokichi’s subordinates lied to a victim in his terminal illness, that they were the culprit in that long case, so it’d become the truth to him. Kyoko exposed this lie and Kokichi accepted that was a lie. In other words, Kokichi meant to help this victim so he won’t leave any regret behind. He lies to help people. He talks about danger and death as if he’s involved a lot in dangerous cases but in the end, it doesn’t have a slightly harm behind those words. For example, Kokichi’s FTE, he threatened he’d take Shuichi’s life, but did he do it for real? NOPE. He stated “I made your heart *die* with worry, didn’t I?” and “I stole your heart, so I’m satisfied! I don’t need to steal your life anymore!”. That’s the different meaning behinds his deadly words and that’s why his motive video’s established his crimes are non-violent and harmless, he never kills people, D.I.C.E explicitly forbid murders.

Izuru is a genius with multi-talent who easily getting bored with predictable things, just like Junko, his Ultimate Analysist’s skill makes him boring with the world. He’s explicitly claiming this evil secret organization is absurd cuz it isn’t as it sounds, like it isn’t “real evil”. Kokichi’s motive video is a testament to that, nowhere states his organization is “evil”, it’s just told to be the secret organization. Although the “evil” word seemingly describes his trickish personality, like confusing and threatening his friends, lied about enjoying them in suffering (Ch4). Only someone as plastered in lies as Kokichi could look at a cruel thing like the killing game enforced by Monokuma and call it “not boring”. He hid his real feelings behind this lie to survive in such situation, he had to play along the game to make himself being hate by others, motivating them trust him being the mastermind, playing the mastermind’s part to confront the real mastermind. All of these doings just for ruining the killing game, he said he wants to win the game, in other words, whatever dangerous situations he’s in, he always think that he’s just playing some game. Izuru knows Kokichi’s organization involved in tough situations but he still finds it’s boring, this links to the high possibility of non-violence exists in this organization, cuz Izuru’s normally interested in escaping boredom from despair and chaos, things that cause unpredictable outcomes. Kokichi’s organization can’t make him seeing that.

If my words aren’t enough, read the articles link 1 and link 2, Kodaka actually confirmed Kokichi is a trickster and his case is completely different from Genocider Shou, Junko Enoshima or Nagito Komaeda. He is NOT a sicko or a murderous fiend.

Just a thought on why Kokichi collected all the evidences from the past incidents to his room :

The hidden camera from case 1 : How did the culprit turn off the sensor on the top of the bookcase without letting one photo of them being taken? Unless they hid their photos after developing all the film from the cameras. Also, the camera takes 30 seconds for the next photo… how was Rantaro’s 2nd photo near the bookcase taken while the interval he reaching to the camera can’t be that long? Or… did the culprit was hiding on the top of the bookcase, touching the sensor to make it taking Rantaro’s 2nd photo?

The inner tube from case 2 : one end of the rope tied on this tube suddenly came loose after Kirumi done with her crime, and made the tube dropped into the pool. But how can a perfect maid who can complete any task without a scrape likes Kirumi made such a huge mistake?

The Caged Child book from case 3 : Kiyo said he memorized the magic circle without seeing the book. However, the magic circle on the book is different from his memory, but why there are some short lines on each side of the circle on the book? It looks like… those lines had been erased from the book. So did Kiyo draw his magic circle wrong or the book did?

The helmet from case 4 : no need to say much cuz you know its error was set up by losing memories if you mess up the cords. Someone had to know what they should do with this… they know Gonta would mix up the cords and lose his memories from the Virtual World in order to extend the class trial.

With all of those evidences in Kokichi’s room, it is safe to think Kokichi got his doubt on those evidences because he realized that the mastermind did tamper on those evidences. Why did the mastermind do that? Cuz they know Shuichi couldn’t solve the cases if they don’t let those evidence presenting at the murder scenes and they had to make sure the killing game working well. They can predict everything.

Addition to this : Kokichi’s group is a secret organization, which is why his lab is burried in the underground and not shown on the map in Rantaro’s Monopad. However, I think they would have a method to go to his lab, it just hasn’t been finished since Keebo was in rampage at the end of Chapter 5.

There is a faint light radiating from above Kokichi’s lab here, so aside the staircase that is used to go to his lab, there is another way to getting in the lab from the ceiling above.

Chapter 6

There is a pillar in the garden at the prologue, but it was revealed to be an evelator hidden inside the pillar later in Chapter 6, there is a green and a red buttons on the door as well, so it’s mostly like an evelator. This evelator might have been built for Kokichi’s lab as the killing game started, but was not accessible until Chapter 6. And its likely to be the entrance going down to Kokichi’s lab, maybe the column and the interior of the evelator have some spaces allowing light to pass through, well, you might say no answer to it, so it’s just my deduction.

The Hope’s Peak History Book was buried along with Kokichi’s lab, which hadn’t been accessed until the last chapter, it’s very likely the Book was put there intentionally from the very beginning by the mastermind and Team Danganronpa. However, the Book has nothing to do with Kokichi himself, as you all know, Kokichi doesn’t get a slightly idea on who Remnants of Despair and Junko are. Otherwise, he should have known about Future Foundation and Remnants of Despair for at least. So Kokichi never touched that Book, it was the true mastermind. Kokichi was just set up to be a fake mastermind from the beginning after the killing game started, the mastermind is someone Kokichi got a lot trouble to figure out their identity, as you all know, he took all the evidences of the previous cases to his room and secretly investigated the mastermind’s motives alone, because, sadly, he got no one to trust him. But in the end, he failed to reach that goal, he couldn’t figure out the mastermind’s motives, that’s why he totally unexpected Maki trying to kill him. 

So Kokichi can predict “Hope” but it is useless when comes to “Despair”, the fact that Kokichi never knows how a despair person should be, that causes him falling into a stalemate, because he can’t understand an Ultimate Despair. One more reason for him being a Pacifist. And it’s also why he had to leave the last message because he knows his plan could be failed (you know what I’m talking about if you read my post on it) but they never found out the truth behind that message, unfortunately. And because Tsumugi is just too plain to be suspicious but she’s still the Ringleader of the game show. The best guess Kokichi got is that there is an audience in this show, because he knows Monokuma can’t break the rules whatever he wants, that is pretty much unfair. Monokuma prefers the killing game to be interested, which is why Monokuma agreed on his plan to put the motive in the Virtual World. The whole audience is real, they are an integral part of the Reality Show, the game was meant to be shown, just like Junko’s killing games in the past. The Hope’s Peak History Book was put in Kokichi’s lab from the start for the shocking revelation of the final trial at the end of the game, it is the evidence responses to “your memories are all fake” and the whole fiction twist that they’re all the part of the show after Tsumugi revealed herself to be the Ringleader.

The Hope’s Peak History Book is unrelated to Kokichi, it was the intention of Tsumugi and Team Danganronpa all along.

[ketzwrites]

Rewatch 109: Rise Up

This might be my least favorite episode of the whole show. I make no secrets that my biggest interest in Shadowhunters is the political scenario and the possibilities of it. 

This episode takes the political scenario and cynically destroys all the potential real-world criticism that could be done. Clary gets to play the white savior, the Downworlders are childish and incompetent, Alec is complicit to torture, and - ultimately - the Clave’s twisted distrust of Downworlders is proven right.

I really hate this episode.

Teaser

Alberto is such a good actor. I wonder if this is the first time Raphael is dealing with a fledgling. He seems to know what he’s doing.

Act One

It’s good that Clary intends to tell Simon that it was her decision to bring him back, not Raphael’s.

I don’t get why Alec can’t just Iratze his arm. I also don’t get how Jace didn’t feel it when half of Alec’s bicep was smashed away.

Oh, okay. So, the Forsaken was after the MC. Not exactly the best plan to send the Ogre-like creature for a heist, but it’s not like Valentine is supposed to be a mastermind- No, wait. He is.

Look, it’s great that Clary was able to fight one Shax demon. Really, kudos for her. But when every single person in the Shadow World is looking for her, she is not right to want to stay on the streets and look for Simon. I swear, I don’t get this logic.

I enjoy how we are always reminded that Magnus is performing magic for payment. It’s part of his autonomy as a warlock (in fact, as the High Warlock since Magnus doesn’t take other clients besides the Institute).

Izzy has zero qualms in hugging Meliorn in the middle of the Institute. Noted.

Again, it makes no sense whatsoever to think the seelies would be working with Valentine. This “seelie always take the winning side” doesn’t work when Valentine’s side means, at best, their permanent banishment to the seelie realms, and at worst, their annihilation. That’s why Shadowhunters never showed the conversation between the Seelie Queen and Valentine in 219. There is nothing that Valentine can offer the seelies that truly interest them.

Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Maryse and Robert made a deal with the Clave prior to the Uprising? The event that Maryse helped organize? Honestly, the history of the Shadow World is so poorly crafted. The Clave knew the Uprising was coming but still failed to prevent it. Oh, but one shadowhunter and a recently turned werewolf were able to stop Valentine. I’m not buying it.

Both Alec and Jace have good points about Maryse and Robert. They are hypocrites and Alec is right to refuse to do their redemption for them, especially since neither Maryse nor Robert shows any regret for their past actions. But Jace is right to doubt they are working with Valentine again.

Can you imagine if Clary had told Elaine that Simon died in an accident and then Simon showed up at home like that?

Act Two

Clary is smart again and looks for Simon at his own house. Though, the lighting of this scene is so weird. In Simon’s bedroom is night time, but the corridor looks like it’s illuminated by the sun. It’s really weird.

Shots fired. Spill the tea, Alec.

I’m glad we get Simon telling Clary off for turning him into a vampire. She did it for love and it wasn’t her fault that Camille is a murderous monster. But actions have consequences nonetheless.

Lydia is terrible at interrogations and Meliorn is great at shifting the focus. He was called in to talk about the seelie blood in the Forsakens and, instead, he got the shadowhunters investigating each other. Lydia walked out with no confessions, no leads, and inner division.

Act Three

Oh, look. Raj!

Anyway, here is where Jace puts Clary’s need above Alec’s needs. He isn’t just prioritizing Clary’s quest to get her mother back over the safety of the Shadow World – which is bad enough for other reasons. He is purposefully deceiving Alec in the name of Clary’s interests. This is a betrayal of trust.

The dispute between Luke and Raphael is a classic vampire vs werewolf dispute. Fair enough. But it’s a writing decision to keep that animosity in a context where both races are oppressed by a third race. A writing decision that will annoy me in a couple acts.

Izzy and Jace are correct: torturing Meliorn will lead nowhere. That decision, though, follows the modus operandi of the Clave: Lydia failed to properly interrogate Meliorn but the blame for her lack of success in getting information from him is blamed on Meliorn’s supposedly ability to skirt the truth.

That said, there is no logic casualty between the Clave getting the MC back and the Clave doing bad things to Downworlders. In fact, I’m surprised Izzy doesn’t urge them to give up the MC as a way to prove Meliorn is cooperating and, thus, spare him from torture.

“If the Clave is willing to do this to Meliorn, what do you think will happen when they get the Cup?” Logically, they’d stop. Like they will stop in a few episodes when Imogen gets the Cup and stops Izzy’s trial.

Not that keeping people in cells is a particularly nice move, but I'm surprised Raphael is the first to do it to Clary. Lucky her the person in charge of the Institute when the story started was Alec: had it been Lydia or Aldertree or basically any other shadowhunter, she would’ve been put in a cell in the first episode.

Act Four

Fun fact: Simon almost becomes a Daylighter this episode as he struggles not to feed on Clary.

The stele stealing scene is actually very entertaining to watch even if it’s about the two people Alec should trust the most betraying him.

This conversation between Alec and Magnus breaks my heart. Rewatching the whole season, I don’t have a problem with how Magnus reacts to Alec’s marriage announcement anymore. It’s a matter of miscommunication: Alec came to the conversation looking for a confidante, Magnus came to the conversation looking for a hookup. When Magnus realizes Alec is set on following shadowhunters costume in detriment of his own happiness, Magnus gets angry but ultimately minds his own business. It works for me.

Hodge’s character is all over the place. He is the opposite in this scene as he was with Alec in 103. It’s essentially the same thing: Hodge catches the Lightwoods preparing for an unauthorized mission. But, with Alec, he was ready to let him go without further comments until Clary was mentioned. Then Hodge got angry because she is Valentine’s daughter. Now, Hodge gets angry because Jace and Izzy were about to lie to him but lets them go if that means saving Clary. The only intention I can see behind this is that Hodge is supposed to be seen as a sketchy character.

“Do you think I’d be sending Meliorn to the Silent Brothers if I thought there was another way?” Yes, I do. Because you suck at interrogations and clearly doesn’t care about Downworlders. I’m glad Alec doesn’t answer, forcing Lydia to further explain herself. Also, it seems this isn’t Clave’s orders after all, but a decision that came from Lydia herself.

Lydia’s sob story perpetuates the shadowhunter biased notion that all Downworlders are the same. One warlock in Rio betrayed her – after being threatened with torture -, so all downworlders are liars and should not be trusted. The fact that Alec doesn’t realize that is a huge problem but at least the ominous music is proof of that the writers know that.

Simon forgives Clary because he sees her need for his support as an opportunity for them to get together romantically. Understandable reaction, though I wish it was revisited when they do get together and then break up.

Up until Clary meets with Raphael – a public meeting, for some very idiotic reason on Raphael’s part – I’m on board on Izzy, Jace, and Clary trying to protect the Downworlders side by side with Luke and Simon.

But then her first words are “we’re offering an alliance with the seelies”. No, you’re not. You have no authority to do so. Also, Luke still holding a grudge against the vampires at a time like this is childish and uncharacteristic of him.

“We are a new generation of shadowhunters. We believe everyone to be equal” said by one of the people who attacked a whole clan for the actions of a couple vampires with no way of knowing it had been the leader’s orders to kidnap Simon. The person that, up until a few minutes ago, had to be told by a fledgling that this world sees them as different. The person that, during that same conversation, presumes to speak for Simon and is against him joining the vampires, who clearly know how to take better care of him that she does.

Maybe it’s a good thing that this show doesn’t delve into politics. If this is the best they can do, I don’t want it.

Act Five

More childish animosity between werewolves and vampires to prove that, without Clary, they would be incapable of working together.

Clary doesn’t know how the portal shard works. She’s only ever activated it by mistake. Do the writers think the audience is stupid?

And, in the same episode that Clary is being glorified as the conciliator of the Shadow World, she is ready to “call the whole thing off” because it might inconvenience Jace to fight his Parabatai. Oh, I’m sorry saving Meliorn might personally affect your boyfriend, Clary. You’re right. Forget about it. It’s just a Downworlder life you believe to be saving. Jace’s feelings are more important. Fuck this episode and whoever came up with it.

No women among the shadowhunters with Alec, hm?

It’s a smart writing choice to have Izzy use the whip against Raj. It seems an insignificant thing in this episode, but it entails bitter consequences for the next one.  

As wrong as Alec is for going through with this plan, I’m happy he gets to punch Jace on the face for making Alec’s choices all about him. And for winning the fight and refusing to work outside the system again just because Jace asked him to.

Act Six

I’m really not interested in watching Jace being jealous of Clary and Simon’s friendship.

I ship Meliorn and Izzy so much.

Did Izzy also tell you Clary offered to call off your rescue if Jace felt uncomfortable in fighting Alec, Meliorn? Or are we ignoring that to sing her praises she does not deserve?

I guess the worst part of this entire episode is that, in the end, Lydia was right. Meliorn was being uncooperative. He knows a way to find Valentine and chose not to disclose it. That also shows that the seelies are rather incompetent: they can get to Valentine and kill him but choose not to.

[marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer]

MTVS Epic Rewatch #182

BTVS 7x03 Same Time, Same Place

Stray thoughts

1) I think it’s cute that Xander used a yellow crayon to write the welcome back sign for Willow. And the guy is right, he did save the world with his mouth. And his heart. Let him have that.

2) Buffy’s and Dawn’s concerns are 100% totally valid, though:

BUFFY Yeah. It's gonna be weird seeing her. What do you say to someone in this situation?

XANDER I'm gonna say "Hi, Willow."

BUFFY C'mon. You're saying it's not going to be the least bit strange? We saw her kill someone. She was about to kill Dawn—

XANDER And Giles wouldn't let her leave unless she completed that whatever recovery course.

DAWN Right. Right?

BUFFY She kinda didn't finish.

DAWN She didn't finish? She didn't finish being not evil?

3) I fucking love when shows pull this type of stunts, okay? 

Also, poor Willow. I mean, it’s kind of a bummer that she went all dark and veiny and murdered Rack and flayed Warren and beat the shit out of Buffy and Giles and kind of tried to end the world, but it doesn’t matter if you’re evil and trying-to-end-the-world-y, NO ONE deserves to be stood up at the airport!

4) Gnarl is definitely one of the creepiest Monsters of the Week. And the writers achieved the creepiness way before we actually saw the monster, you know? Just its sing-songy, taunting voice and eerie words are enough to give you chills.

5) This has nothing to do with the episode itself, but guys, I have to share this. So I’m getting to the part where Willow arrives at the Summers’, and I’m thinking about the plot of the episode, you know, how Willow can’t see the Scoobies because she’s ashamed of herself and doesn’t want to face them. And then I’m thinking, oh, but she does see Anya, I guess she didn’t feel guilty about any of the things she did to her. Or maybe it was because Anya was a demon, and that protected her against this accidental spell? And then I’m thinking, I wonder why she wasn’t nervous to see Tara, what would have been like if they had written Tara into th… ??????????????????????? Like, I actually forgot Tara was dead????? And I was like, happy???? And imagining what it would be like for them to meet again? And then, you know, I fucking remembered. Anyway, moving on. (I just thought I’d share because it’s the first time I’ve actually forgotten a character is dead….)

6) Willow remembers, though. Vividly. 

7) 

DAWN Well, if she's doing that—ducking Giles—then, she's evil, right?

XANDER Well, I've avoided Giles tons of times. Just meant I was lazy, not evil.

8) Dawn says it like it is, is all I’m saying…

BUFFY He's blaming himself pretty hard, like he should've known she wasn't ready to come back. I-I kept telling him, you know, it wasn't his fault. Maybe something about us she couldn't face.

XANDER Like she didn't think we were ready to forgive her? I get that.

DAWN So Giles is blaming Giles, and we're blaming us. Is anyone gonna blame Willow? Oh, don't give me shock face. I mean, will anyone around here ever start asking for help when they need it?

9) The Magic Box is out of business, and it’s so sad. I guess they couldn’t nab the same contractors the Bronze has, huh?

10) This is kind of rude of Willow, isn’t it?

ANYA They've been a little temperamental lately, just between you and me. We had this little mix-up a few days ago, and —

WILLOW That sounds great. So, um, where do you think they'd be?

I mean, she’s so insensitive towards Anya, even when Anya is the only person in Sunnydale who’s giving her the time of day (to her knowledge) and actually listening to her and answering her questions. Yet, when Anya tries to talk about her stuff, Willow immediately cuts her off. Rude much?

11) And then this…

I get that it looked too coincidental-y: Willow’s back and so are the flayed corpses. But… it’s pretty disheartening that they immediately assumed it had to be her. Even when she was dark and evil, she was only driven by revenge. She had only hurt or tried to hurt those who’d hurt her and those who tried to get in the way of her hurting those who’d hurt her. She didn’t go after innocent bystanders. So why would she flay a random guy in the school’s lot? Unlikely.

12) I really feel sorry for Spike, though. The fact that he’s the only one who can see and talk to everyone in the room makes him look extra crazy. But he is, in fact, the only one who actually gets what’s happening? Of course, he’s talking in riddles a la Drusilla and therefore he’s not conveying the message clearly. Kudos to James, though, because he reenacts the scene twice to a tee.

13)

SPIKE Look at you... glowing. What's a word means "glowing"? Gotta rhyme.

14) Anya is me.

EXHIBIT A

WILLOW I need help.

ANYA I don't have any money.

EXHBIT B

ANYA Come in. Enjoy my personal space. 

EXHIBIT C

WILLOW So, will you help me?

ANYA Is it difficult or time-consuming?

15) Character development + mutual understanding = perfection…

ANYA And the vengeance itself, it's not as fulfilling as I remember.

WILLOW Really? 'Cause I got the impression that you enjoyed—you know, inflicting.

ANYA Well, causing pain sounds really cool, I know, but turns out it's really upsetting. Didn't use to be, but now it is.

WILLOW Is it like you're scared of losing that feeling again. And that having it be OK to hurt people. And then you're not in charge of the power anymore because it's in charge of you?

ANYA Wow, that was really over-dramatically stated, but, yeah, that's it.

WILLOW I get it. Believe me.

ANYA I'm sorry, Willow. I wish it were better for you.

WILLOW You too.

16) This moment is fucking perfect…

Sign me up for the bisexual Anya mailing list.

17) Also, sign me up for the Dawn Watcher mailing list.

18)

XANDER Well, we could ask some questions over at Willy's place

BUFFY Or, we could be smart. Sorry, Xander

XANDER What?

19) See? She’s a dork. She’s already meeting the requirements to be a perfect Watcher.

BUFFY It's pretty easy. Spike follows the exciting smell of blood, and we follow the fairly ripe smell of Spike.

DAWN It's smellementary.

And let’s be real. Puns? She’s totally emulating her big sis.

20) I don’t know why this is such an iconic exchange, but it is.

SPIKE That's it. End of the line. Everyone off. Keep your ticket, you'll need that.

BUFFY That's a rock cliff.

XANDER Well, give him a break, Buffy. Maybe it's a vicious skin-eating rock cliff.

SPIKE There's a cave in it. Look. I'm insane. What's his excuse?

21) Creepy!!!!!!!!

And the slurping sounds!! Just ugh ew yuck!!

22) Paralyzed Dawn is one of the best things to come out of this season. I mean…

23) Didn’t they learn in Fear Itself to read the fine print before jumping to conclusions?

BUFFY Oh, got it. It says the paralysis is permanent. (Dawn squeaks) No, oh, wait, my bad. Permanent until the creature dies. Sorry. 

24) Your fave could never…

25) tHE ACTUAL BEST!

26) This scene is so beautiful and heartwarming and seven seasons in the making, you know? It’s such a hopeful and bright way to start this season, especially considering the last time we’d seen Willow and Buffy interact they’d been kicking each other’s asses. It’s kind of sad knowing that towards the end of the season they’ll be growing apart yet again. I mean, Willow is even admitting Buffy was right to doubt her because that’s what Buffy must do, she just has to be the person who considers the worst case scenario and ponders the tough choices because else, she won’t be doing her job right, you know? If she were an accountant, that’d be okay. But in Buffy’s line of work, not doing your job right equals dead people. And Willow gets it. It’s kind of ironic that this trait and thought process will turn out to be the very same thing they will throw on Buffy’s face when things get rough.

WILLOW It's nice to be forgiven. Too bad I need so much of it.

BUFFY I have a confession to make. I thought it might be you. With the flaying.

WILLOW I know.

BUFFY I wanna be the kind of person that wouldn't think that. Xander never thought it.

WILLOW He did, a little. Heck, I did a little. Xander has the luxury of not saying it, but you're the slayer. You have to say stuff like that. It's OK. It's OK too if you still don't think I can recover from this magic stuff, 'cause, honestly, I'm not that sure about it either.

BUFFY I thought you were too tired.

WILLOW It hurts too much not to try.

BUFFY I'm sorry.

WILLOW It just takes so much strength. I don't have that much.

BUFFY I got so much strength, I'm giving it away.

WILLOW Are you sure?

BUFFY Will it help?

WILLOW Much.

BUFFY Good.

Not gonna lie, I got all teary-eyed at Buffy giving away her strength to Willow. That’s what true friendship looks like, kids. When someone gives you the strength you can’t find in yourself to help you overcome something.