#mismag 2 spoilers

[sootchild]

Some magical Misfits from ep 9 of second season.

SAM!!! I love her so much.

I was saying earlier I would be fine with Sam and Evan being like platonic life partners but I change my mind and want them to smooch. I mean I'd still be fine with them not but I am Mike Tyson with those pigeons about them.

EDIT: I might draw them smooching because as an artist, I have that power. I can manifest that shit!

[thekoldun]

I think at the core of it is that Evan will always approach the Quohlye looking for a way to Win The Exchange, Obtain the Maximized Win Condition, and that's simply not the kind of knowledge that the Quohlye deals in. The Quohlye deals in understanding, connection, and that entails knowing that the best, most useful knowledge you could attain from it will still not lead you to the ultimate good. I think Evan chafes against this, against the idea of this mystery and ambiguity, but he also fundamentally understands that he simply is not compatible with that kind of magical knowledge. Sam is. The gift you receive from the Quohlye is not a server full of raw potential. It is not an antler shaped scar across your pectoral that is the mark of something ancient and cthonic protecting you. It is not raw creation smoldering off the surface of your skin, making you six and a half feet tall. It is understanding. It is knowing you have power and the amount you have is enough. Sam took understanding, and when Evan fought so that she could have even more, she was given something that would make that understanding shine bright and gold in her hair and in her hands. Evan knows that Sam made the right choice between understanding and power. Evan will still choose power. Evan will still demand power. The Quohlye offers an alternative. Does magic have symmetry or does it not have symmetry? Will you also get a cool color-coded set of powers or will you gain a gift that actually matches the magic you are approaching?

[xaverie]

So. I love Evan Kelmp. And - imagine that I'm trying to choose my words carefully here.

I've been getting annoyed with him over the last three episodes. Because. I don't like how he tends to impose his beliefs. About what is correct and should happen. On the other characters. And our Black characters, specifically. Which. Was really put on clear display by his interaction with The Qohlye.

Evan seeks to be understood. But I don't think he has.. put in the required effort to reach that same level of understanding with his friends, or in general. Perhaps because they haven't said things in the exact way that he needs to hear them. But he behaves as though he does understand, even though I personally think. That there are things he's missing.

The treehouse conversation. Lots of people seem to get and relate to Evan's side of the convo, which is fantastic! But not as deep an understanding of Jammer's side. Evan decides that the correct thing is for Jammer to come out not hide his magical experiences. He jumps to a few conclusions about the reason - first that maybe Jammer was ashamed, then that he wasn't confident it would go well.

Instead of asking for clarification about what "They need me to be Whitney, you guys need me to be Jammer" means, he had made up his mind. Evan likes that Jammer is magic because that is the way in which Evan feels most connected to Jammer, thus everyone should admire Jammer for his magical abilities the way Evan does. And if Jammer hasn't allowed for that it's some kind of rebuke of Evan, of magic, and of Jammer's own self. Therefore the only correct thing is to merge these identities, but really just be the Jammer that Evan knows.

And I'm not saying Evan is wrong here. But in the same way he's missing the fact that Jammer did try to expose his magic in S2E1, but he couldn't prove it because magic is fucking broken. He's also missing how naturally we, as Black people, fall into code switching. Not just historically as a method of survival, but for practical reasons, privacy reasons, or just to keep our peace. To treat that unilaterally as the same thing as a kind of toxic compartmentalization, or hiding the true self (all of them are true selves), was. Kinda. Sad to me.

Not to take away from Jammer's triumphant success on Galamanis or the freedom represented by growing wings, because this is what he chose and I love that he made those choices. But it also represents potentially giving up fitting into his mundane life and dream career, something he had fought so so hard to keep thus far, and destroying 'Whitney'. This, more than anything before it, might be a fundamental shift in identity.

The same way it made me a little bit sad that Evan had assumed Jammer didn't mean "family" literally, when I immediately recognized that of course he did. There has never been a point in American history where part of being Black and being family hasn't meant - we may have to be apart, but as soon I'm ready (as soon as we're safe), I'm coming back for you, no matter what. It is THE very first promise, the foundational truth, or the only thread of hope that tied so many Black families together through all these generations.

So while everyone recognizes what a sweet moment it was, I also hope people feel the gravity and the history behind "I dream of making that space for you." And the weight of how many people must have said that before him. And what a profound act of love it's always been because sometimes that's all we have.

When Evan tells Sam, "I think you are the most powerful wizard," she instantly replies, "I hope not." Evan's response to this was essentially - who were are is true whether we want it to be or not. Which, to be fair, is both consistent with what he expressed to Jammer and with his own experience. What it leaves out is that our hopes are also who we are. And that maybe the same way he mistook her love toward him for general gregariousness, he is still misunderstanding her a little.

While he deferred to Sam on the matter of whether they should pursue the Qohlye or not, I think it was still Evan's (or Brennan's) idea that not only must all four of them be chosen, but that The Qohlye must be the best choice for Sam.

When the Qohlye says 'I think you're only here because you're convinced you need to be the same as your friends,' is he wrong? When he asks why she needs to be chosen by his magic specifically, she can't answer on her own. When Sam was given the choice between Power and Understanding she immediately chose understanding because of COURSE she did. (She instantly replies, "I hope not." I hope not. My heart breaks.)

And yet. Evan insists that she's given the power anyway. Because that's what fits neatly into what he already believes is correct and should happen. He believes in winning and rewards. He believes she deserves that power and that they need it. So even though I know he does this out of love, he doesn't even consider for a moment that he might be wrong.

Because Sam does get the power, she does thank him, and again not to diminish Sam's accomplishment - once again Evan gets what he wants and is proven right.

Except.

When The Qohlye doesn't give him the answers he wants in the exact form that he demands them. Evan decides that this is a crime for which The Qohlye deserves to die. The Qohlye, who helped return him to life. Who has a strong connection to his friends. (Who chose to be Black, which meant so much to Jammer that he cried.) Who asked each of his friends, in turn, if they thought The Qohlye meant what Evan thought he meant. Who demonstrated that he is not (and cannot be) obfuscating something that is apparently obvious to everyone else.

Evan refuses to accept that yes, The Qohlye can give him information, but cannot understand it for him. And Evan is not ready to Understand because Evan keeps choosing Power. Understanding takes work, even (or especially) when it doesn't come naturally to you. And answers will not always come in a clear and concise way. And this makes him so angry that he wants The Qohlye dead.

While Evan always presents his beliefs and demands as logical and rational, his reaction to The Qohlye's refusal to engage on his terms was simply entitled and immature.

[goathouseofficial]

jammer with wings scooping evan up and carrying him off while he rages and threatens is so funny and good and also I'm. I. fuck.

[patchdonal]

The real question is: What’s T2’s jumpsuit look like? What about Teddy and Spaulding? What would a jumpsuit on a basketball even look like?

[miscellaneousrenaissant]

Ah, The Ancient Magus' Bride of it all...

[angelwiththeblue-box]

if not poly then why are they like this

[respectissexy]

I have a bad habit of waiting a few hours to watch the new Dimension 20 episode and accidentally scrolling tumblr, which for me is nearly all Dimension 20 accounts, while it's airing. Thus I get spoiled a lot.

Thankfully, the spoiler I got tonight before I closed the window was "The Qholye is so hot" which, before watching tonight's episode, I was unable to parse enough for it to be a spoiler.

[bekabloodhound]

Anyone else catch this from Tabby?

Protect him too? We know Tabby is from Gowpenny, though a version of Gowpenny that's different from what the Pilot Program knows. I want to know exactly how he fits into the whole picture!

[roxyaddams]

"i think jammer is nervous because he cant see his friends" THE ORPHEUS OF IT ALL WOOOOOOO

[skuttlesstrawberry]

Evan asking Sam what she wanted to do, because it was a quest for her apotheosis felt VERY sweet.

[sootchild]

Post ep9.

Got a full set of Chosen!

Some misfits.

EDIT: Realized I could be witty when it comes to Evan.

[xaverie]

Also I would have liked to see if Miskoro was a better fit for Sam, I can see her vibing with Transformation, and I'm just a little salty we won't get to know that (even if she ended up choosing Qohlye afterward) because Evan tunneled on Qohlye so hard lol.

Also... what do we think the Weugan's human form looks like? Asking for a friend.

[acourtoffeyandfables]

I respect her so much for this decision

[patchdonal]

The cast bending over backwards so they don’t have to go back to Seeganpeleter was a joy to behold. The interaction with the Qohlye was cool af and I like that Aabria gave a good amount of pushback.

[miscellaneousrenaissant]

Can't wait for this week's episode

Bonus Guest Star: