#more like jack's weird flashbacks to the time and date he watched certain episodes and what else was going on at the time

[agave]

one piece is weird as hell because you watch a couple episodes and then you have to pause and stare at the wall to process the trauma that happened when you were 15. no? just me?

[keef-a-corn]

Dat’s right, People, it’s time for ‘Keef watches TFP and you just get the notes!’

This is for season 1, episode 12: Predatory.

I hate this episode so don’t read if you like it. I also don’t have any screenshots.

I write down the timestamps, but I watch Transformers Prime on Stan (an Australian streaming service) so they may be slightly off.

ALSO! I try my best to note points for every character, but tend to get a little caught up by Bee (although I think I do a pretty good job with the notes regardless) so do be warned.

~~~~Transition~~~~

00:40 - I get this is supposed to be important but it’s taking forever!

00:55 - It’s weird how Jack’s allowed to come with Arcee. I would’ve thought she’d be more concerned about him.

00:56 - Why is he comparing them to vampire bats? Why not just ‘bats’. Also unless they’re in Australia, I doubt those Mozzies are anything to ride home about.

01:02 - alright Arcee, settle down.

01:05 - No, she wouldn’t, instead she’d be making fun of the fact you didn’t bring it. Also he was very animated in that moment.

01:10 - The animation got a lot heavier. It works on the bots because their designs are awesome and because becoming more expressive is a rare sight on them. For Jack, it just looks uncanny.

01:22 - Those are a lot of big words. Maybe I’m just tired, maybe my brain ain’t working 100%, but I seriously doubt parents had a good time hearing their child stuttering their way through ‘what does________ mean?’

01:30 - As I stated earlier, I don’t like this episode. One of the reasons is because it’s very slow paced. I’m fairly certain this episode’s a placeholder (considering that Sick Mind and Out of His Head are coming up and those episodes are great) but it doesn’t mean that it has to be so boring.

01:56 - This would be a bigger reveal if we hadn’t seen the thing land.

~intro~ (never have I been so glad to see it.)

02:51 - Arcee is the worst guardian. Why wouldn’t she send Jack home before going in?

03:32 - that could’ve been cool if they did the flashbacks WHILE Arcee was looking around, like if it showed the corridor/hall whatever ya wanna call it without anything, then showed what Arcee saw, rather than just giving flashbacks while Arcee stands there. 

03:46 - finally, doing a smart thing! (Although credit to her, once she recognised something was wrong she got out of the ship.)

03:50 - missed opportunity for a suspense build up then ‘my ex wife’s’. They exes.

04:02 - credit where credit’s due, this is kinda realistic. Arcee’s in a sort of panic so much that she’s blocking out her surroundings and Jack’s trying to communicate with her to understand the situation and how worried he should be.

04:04 - NO! Dear frag have you learnt NOTHING, Arcee??

04:31 - this scene feels like it should be more intense… I don’t know why, but it’s just not hitting correctly.

04:38 - If she had more gone to the neck, rather than the face plates, I think it would’ve been more suspenseful because the face plates are more cosmetic injuries and rarely scar, while the neck on the bots could be hiding more scars and could be more life threatening. Then again, maybe they were right not to do that (if you know, you know)

04:57 - I’m sorry, but I have to share.. I’m so incredibly bored and it’s only been 4 minutes.

05:15 - I.. UGH! What the frag?! I get that Arcee’s upset and all, but I’m on Jack’s side rn.

05:27 - WAS THIS SERIOUSLY THEIR JUSTIFICATION AS TO WHY JACK WAS THERE?! NO RISK?! R E A L L Y ?! THEY WERE IN A NEW LOCATION WITH BAD SERVICE WITH ONLY ONE THING TO GUIDE THEM! IN WHAT UNIVERSE IS THAT NO RISK?!

05:44 - Jack the type to stand at the edge of a sinkhole.

06:24 - Tailgate sounds like he’s voiced by the guy who voiced Shiro in Voltron. I searched it up. He did :D AND APPARENTLY HE VOICED JACK TOO?!

06:50 - those two were dating, pretty obvious.

07:16 - H O L Y . Airachnid’s voice made me gayer. Although missed opportunity to give her an Aussie accent.

07:22 - GODDAMN She HAWT

07:45 - HOW THE FRAG DID HE KEEP ALL THAT IN A TINY BELT BAG.

07:49 - this is a still image.

07:54 - MMMM CURVES!

08:00 - makes me kinda uncomfortable seeing her spy on a child. Makes sense why the episode’s called Predatory.

08:01 - So Airachnid’s ran into no other animals?

08:22 - Airachnid’s moving side to side, why would her perspective be so steady?

09:06 - excuse me but WHAT THE FUCK?

10:01 - Jack, you actual idiot!

10:21 - No. We know she’s not down because she’s also a spider, they don’t stay down for long.

10:30 - …Someone should tell her that she’s the liability too.

10:33 - w h a t ? I can see it in your e y e s 👁👄👁

10:43 - you scratched her cheek and she gave up. The hell are you on about?

10:51 - I like that Airachnid is incredible at getting into someone’s head. She’s physically strong, yes, but she’s mostly talk because once she finds away to play her opponent like a flute she’s so much more likely to win.

10:57 - seeeee?

11:40 - Airachnid’s in Arcee’s head. Someone telling the truth would’ve acted more desperate and focus more on persuading them that their not lying rather thanspeakingallatoncetotryandgetthepointacrosstominimisethechanceofaccidentallytellingthetruth. (Just incase you couldn’t read it: than speaking all at once to try and get the point across to minimise the chance of accidentally telling the truth.)

11:56 - I thought that Airachnid was smarter than that. You never get rid of the only bargaining chip you have right away.

12:02 - that was quick…? Although dumb. Never have heartfelt moments until you’re completely out of the woods.

12:26 - let’s be honest here. She kinda does have to wonder.

12:46 - To be fair, it is working for her.

13:08 - DON’T LOOK BACK!

14:02 - YEAH! WOO! BUMBLEBEE!

14:06 - SLAY CLIIIIFF! Perhaps I shouldn’t say Slay tho-

14:09 - FRAG YEAH!

14:12 - okay, that looks so funny. With Arcee being dwarfed by Bee and Cliff.

14:16 - that couldn’t care less as Arcee screams ‘I couldn’t save him’

14:23 - I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel in this situation.

14:31 - She has SWORDS on her ARMS. Why is she trying to break the webs by force??

15:22- okay, that was kinda scary, ngl

16:25 - a lot of this is just a chase scene.

16:47 - she could’ve stepped over it.

17:18 - you and me both, Airachnid.

17:32 - WHY?! WHYYY?! WHY?! WHY WOULD HE GO IN THERE?! WHY?!

18:16 - she has a similar demeanour to Knockout. In a perfect world, the two get drinks together and talk about other people.

18:26 - smart, NOT going into the ship.

18:51 - you’re telling me he doesn’t have a match?.

19:15 - I’ve lost so many brain cells.

19:33 - his running cycle has me in tears.

19:52 - of course she’s still alive!

19:57 - oh.. Ew..

20:18 - see? Arcee had the odds with her as long as Airachnid didn’t talk.

21:02 - I’m sorry I had to witness it.

21:23 - oh, pretty- WAIT I GET IT. IT’S TO SYMBOLISE THAT THEY’RE OUT OF THE WOODS!

———————

So that was Predatory.

It’s very clearly a filler episodes (Very obviously because they didn’t bring in any other voices actors at a l l. That’s why they chose Bee and Cliffjumper to be the ones to help out Arcee, but didn’t give Cliff any speaking lines.

There was literally only three voice actors in the entire ep and it shows)

I despise this episode. I understand that Airachnid was messing with Arcee, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating to watch. It was also incredibly boring.

I thought an Airachnid central episode was a good decision as her debut, but this was not it.

[aion-rsa]

Clarice: How Does The Show Compare to Hannibal?

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Can a series be considered part of the Hannibal Lecter franchise if Hannibal Lecter never appears? 

Picking up in 1993, shortly after the events of The Silence of the Lambs, CBS’s new drama Clarice follows the continued trials and tribulations of Lecter’s most famous foil, originally brought to iconic, Oscar winning life by Jodie Foster thirty years ago. For long-time fans of Thomas Harris’ creation, Clarice is a contentious proposition. The idea of a TV series about Clarice Starling is neither a creatively bankrupt nor unappealing one, however it comes with a faint veneer of controversy due to a perception that its very existence potentially puts an end to revival chances for Bryan Fuller’s gone-too-soon cult classic Hannibal, which ran on NBC between 2013 and 2015. 

Due to complicated rights issues dating back to the 1980s, Thomas Harris’s stable of characters has been divided between different studios, with the DeLaurentiis company (who produced Fuller’s Hannibal) owning the novels Red Dragon, Hannibal and Hannibal Rising, while MGM have exclusive rights to The Silence of the Lambs. It’s for this reason that the TV iteration of Hannibal could never use Clarice Starling or Buffalo Bill, while conversely Clarice can’t directly mention Hannibal Lecter, Jack Crawford, Will Graham or anyone else who didn’t originate in Silence.  

Both shows find creative ways around this. Hannibal zeroed in on Lecter’s relationship with Red Dragon protagonist Will Graham, while winking to Clarice in the form of tenacious FBI trainee Miriam Lass. Clarice, for its part, refers to Starling’s interactions with a certain inmate at the Baltimore Hospital for the Criminally Insane and features several repurposed Lecter quotes from the movie, but never names Lecter directly. This is less of a problem than you’d think; after all, in the canon of both the movies and the books Clarice and Hannibal didn’t meet again until either seven or ten years after the events of Silence (depending on whether you go with the books or the film adaptations). 

But watching the new series it soon becomes clear that Clarice has little interest in the Lecter canon outside of the 1991 film.  

Read more

TV

Hannibal Lecter: History of the Character

By Gerri Mahn

From the first episode Clarice directly contradicts the plot of original Silence sequel Hannibal, scuppering any sense that it could be viewed as a bridging chapter. The inclusion of Ruth Martin, the senator whose daughter Clarice saved in Silence, is a savvy choice but it is quickly established that Martin is now the US Attorney General, whereas in the novels she remained a Senator (but left office prior to the events of Hannibal). The inciting incident of the show is Martin sending Clarice to work for VICAP in Washington, a department headed up by another familiar character for fans of the books; Paul Krendler, played here by The Walking Dead’s Michael Cudlitz. 

Krendler is a minor character in the film version of Silence, but is much more significant in the broader oeuvre of Harris’ writing. In the novels he is established as a misogynist who, smarting over Starling both beating him to the capture of Buffalo Bill and rejecting his sexual advances, actively works to impede her career. 

The Krendler of Clarice is decidedly not the same character as the books. Quite apart from the novel Hannibal including no reference to any significant prior working relationship, here he is a tough but mostly fair veteran of law enforcement, initially dismissive of Starling yet developing a grudging respect over the course of the three episodes provided to reviewers. If anything it feels like the series has opted to merge the broader trait of his dislike for Starling with the original mentor role filled by the now off-limits Jack Crawford. 

In isolation this is a fair choice. Once you accept that this Krendler is not the pre-established character, the tense yet warming relationship he shares with Starling works. However it does beg the question of why the show didn’t just create a new character to fulfil the role; it’s not as though Krendler is such a well-known name that not including him would be considered an unforgivable mistake by fans. If it were, he would certainly be written more in line with his textual counterpart or Ray Liotta’s slimy performance from the Hannibal film. 

It comes off as though the writers of the series chose to work exclusively from the film version of Silence, in which Krendler’s bit-part provides only the sense of him being a bit gruff. This, largely, summarises Clarice’s relationship with the source material; the 1991 film is its bible. The rest of the canon, not so much. 

Now contrast this with Fuller’s Hannibal. What started out as a slightly dreamlike procedural developed into a Grand Guignol opera about the yearning for human connection between damaged souls. It is a singularly beautiful TV show, but arguably its savviest choice is a fidelity to the ideas, spirit and characters, if not the specific plot, of its source material. Supporting players from the books are treated with the kind of fanfare that only an obsessive fan of Harris would either bother with or appreciate.

 Plot elements from the novels are remixed, allowing characters who never met on the page to interact, sometimes to spectacular effect. At times the show came across as giddy Thomas Harris fanfiction, a description Fuller himself actively encouraged. Hannibal was the perfect marriage of a unique creative vision with a classic text; it single handedly managed to revitalise the Lecter property after the film franchise’s ignominious farewell in the form of the limp prequel Hannibal Rising. 

I want to clarify here that I’m in no way trying to suggest that Clarice falls short due to not engaging with the source texts in the same way as Fuller did. For one, Clarice only has access to one of said texts, and does work to include every logical Silence of the Lambs character in a way that both serves its story and furthers that of the film (the film more than the book, as Krendler’s depiction can attest). But the approach is worth discussing as it does underscore a key difference between the two shows. 

Clarice largely adopts the look of The Silence of the Lambs, but to its credit the show uses the film predominantly as a springboard to tell new stories. While the first episode somewhat clumsily tries to pack in multiple Silence references, the second and third quickly find a more successful rhythm. A rhythm, interestingly, punctuated with unsettling dream imagery that would have been right at home in Fuller’s show. Vivid red blood squeezed from a hat in an almost greyscale kitchen. A human hand bursting from the back of a death’s head moth. Blood from the dying Buffalo Bill’s mouth racing back in, the nightmare suggestion of a monster coming back to life. Whether influenced by the earlier show or not, these moments clearly set out that this is a different vision to the film, which outside of a couple of pretty conventional flashbacks, eschewed fantasy. 

Read more

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Hannibal Season 4 Would Gender Flip Some Characters According to Mads Mikkelsen

By Kirsten Howard

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Why David Tennant Lost Hannibal Role According to Bryan Fuller

By Kirsten Howard

But that’s not the only way that the three episodes made available to reviewers parallel the Hannibal series. It’s no secret that the earlier show was initially constrained by a frustrating case-of-the-week structure. From out of the gates, Clarice has a similarly episodic approach but wears it slightly better. Based on the first two episodes you would be forgiven for writing this off as CSI: Silence, but the third episode unites the threads in a satisfying way, indicating that going forward Clarice could be predominantly a serialized conspiracy thriller with an occasional dip into isolated cases. And while aspects of the unfurling mystery are faintly ridiculous and don’t provoke flattering comparisons to Silence, it’s engaging and confident enough to indicate that this series is interested in more than just reminding you of a thirty-year-old classic. Which, given the current trend in reboots, is refreshing. 

There is however a sense that Clarice’s take on the procedural is a safer one than Hannibal’s. For example, the respective second episodes of both shows feature standalone cases. In Clarice the team are sent to deal with a cult-like militia who have injured a policeman. In Hannibal, somebody is turning drugged people into living mushroom farms. 

The seeds of that show’s evolution into a surreal, heightened melodrama in which murder became a kind of art form were in place from the start. Clarice is far more rooted in the real world, but given that the central character is a driven young FBI agent as opposed to a high-art loving cannibal genius who is also maybe the devil, the discrepancy isn’t exactly surprising. Of course Clarice should chart its own path, although when comparing the two it’s hard not to miss Hannibal’s delighted embrace of sheer weirdness. 

All of that said, there is a distinct pleasure here in seeing Clarice Starling back in action. Given that the novel and film Hannibal immediately got to work destroying her career, getting to see her achieve genuine success is nicely refreshing. Despite Starling’s status as an iconic part of a larger franchise, until now only The Silence of the Lambs ever really did her justice. The ending of the novel Hannibal was famously controversial, with Clarice’s final fate as Lecter’s brainwashed lover seen by many as a betrayal of everything she stood for. And while I will argue that it was misunderstood, that the conclusion was the inevitable result of the Faustian bargain Starling made by allowing Lecter inside her head in the first place, it’s undeniable that she was relegated to a reactive supporting role with very little agency, a sin that the film adaptation was also guilty of. 

No such problem here. As portrayed by Rebecca Breeds, this is the Clarice Starling you loved in Silence. Courteous, tough and direct when she needs to be, singularly skilled at negotiating with killers yet grappling with all-too-human demons and vulnerabilities. She’s an immediately interesting, likeable presence. And there is no danger of her being overshadowed; while Clarice sets up an appealing enough supporting cast, it never loses sight of whose story this is. 

Jodie Foster will always cast a long shadow, but Breeds captures the essence of the character without ever falling into a hollow impersonation. It’s a fantastic performance that holds the show together even when the writing falters. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It’s too early in Clarice’s run to fairly say whether it will be as good as Hannibal was. The other show overcame a shaky start to become an all-time great with a fervent cult following still hoping for a belated revival. Whether Clarice can stoke the same passion from viewers remains to be seen, but while its tenuous relationship to the literary source material may be frustrating to Harris fanatics, particularly those enamoured by how Fuller’s show engaged with the books, it’s only fair to judge Clarice on its own terms. And who knows? If it’s successful, maybe it will be the spark Netflix needs to revive that other Harris TV adaptation. For now though, plan to call on it; the world is more interesting with Clarice in it. 

The post Clarice: How Does The Show Compare to Hannibal? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3rL6dkE

[eldritchsurveys]

1033.

Have you ever felt a baby kick? >> I don’t think so. I mean, maybe? It’s possible? Maybe when Vlad was pregnant? But I don’t remember, so. What color pants/shorts are you wearing? >> Charcoal. When is the last time you did something truly fun, and what was it? >> Well, I played a couple of hours of FFXIV earlier? I also watched another episode of Blackish while eating dinner, and that show is a lot of fun for me. What was the scariest moment of your life? >> Oh, who knows. I was probably not fully aware of my emotions at the time anyway, so does it really count as scary if I can’t fully feel my own fear?

Have you ever heard of Leonard Cohen? >> Certainly.

Pancakes or flapjacks? >> I don’t know anything about flapjacks, but I’m not crazy about pancakes. What kind of computer are you on? >> A Lenovo IdeaPad. Do you eat Chinese food? If so, what’s your favorite dish? >> Sure, preferably of the less Americanised variety. I don’t have a favourite dish, though. What are you usually doing at midnight? >> Sleeping. If I’m not sleeping, I’m doing a crossword or reading. Have you ever developed feelings for a friend, but you were already with someone? >> --- If so, how did it turn out? >> --- Give me your brief definition of love. >> I don’t have a brief definition of love. What is the most beautiful part of the human body, male or female? >> --- What kind of shoes do you wear? >> Either sneakers or Docs-type boots. What is the worst thing you’ve ever done when you were really angry? >> I mean, physically hurt someone, what else. Are there any pills you take on a daily basis? If so, what? >> Yeah, I take CBD in the morning and I take the good old Period-B-Gon at night. Do you like the smell of coconuts? >> I do, but only in small doses. It gets overwhelming pretty quickly. What is the heaviest you think you can lift? >> I don’t know. Do you take Tums? >> No, I don’t need them. Have you ever walked on a pier at the beach? >> I’ve been on the Piers on the Hudson River, but I don’t think I’ve been on any legitimate beach piers. How about under one? >> No. At what age do you first remember feeling butterflies in your stomach around someone? >> --- Do you feel that way around anyone now? >> ---

Do you ever talk to yourself or think deep thoughts while on the toilet? >> I usually read on the toilet. Do you ever sing to yourself? >> In general, absolutely. Not on the toilet, though. Couldn’t tell if this was a continuation of the last question or not... What is a sound that relaxes you? >> Babbling-brook type sounds. Forest sounds. Can Calah’s voice. Bruni’s voice. How hard has it been to reach your main goal in life? >> Can’t imagine what it’d be like to have one main goal in life. Like... that’s wild. Do you remember the song about hoes in different area codes? >> Yes, lol. Ahh, what a throwback. What is your main heritage? >> Hm. What kind of pickles do you prefer, if you like pickles? >> I like regular sandwich pickles. I also like bread and butter, which makes me a heathen in Sparrow’s eyes even though we unite over our liking of pickles otherwise. What kind of cheese do you prefer, if you like cheese? >> On sandwiches, pepper jack. With crackers, some kind of brie or Kerrygold swiss, but I’ll take pepper jack or cheddar in a pinch (and usually cheddar if there’s also apple slices involved). In salads, feta. And so on. If you could have a sea creature as a pet, what would you want? >> I don’t want a sea creature as a pet. How about a farm animal? >> Or a farm animal. So, do you have hoes in different area codes? >> Back to this again, eh? What is the most annoying song you can think of that came out recently? >> --- What is a song that you hate to admit you like? >> I feel like it’s insulting to myself to hate admitting that I like something. Getting enjoyment out of something is something to be appreciated, for me... What inspires you to get off your bum and do something productive? >> Inspiration is not what gets me to do things. Executive dysfunction, emotional dysregulation, and random triggers all piss on “inspiration”. I get up and do things when I fucking can. Do you ever use Urban Dictionary? >> I really don’t ever have to. Even slang that’s new to me I can figure out by context clues... Do you find the definitions on there to be generally funny or stupid? >> They’re definitely... special. What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘transformation’? >> I have no immediate associations with that word.

What was something you regularly played with as a child? >> Paper dolls.

Have you ever given in to peer pressure? >> Sure. If so, what did you do? >> I mean, I don’t have specific examples right now because my memory sucks. But I cannot confidently say that I’ve gotten this far without ever giving into something my peer group wanted me to do. What part of your body have you had the most problems with in your life? >> My brain.

Do a lot of people check you out when you’re in public? >> I don’t know, I assume not, but even the suggestion that that’s possible makes me want to claw my skin off, so good job. What is a good name for a turtle? >> A name that matched its disposition and what type of turtle it was. Can you imitate any accents well? If so, which one(s)? >> No. Do you like having your ear nibbled on? >> Nooooo. What makes a good kisser a good kisser? >> I think it’s about whether the partner likes whatever it is they’re doing. Some people kiss in ways that would disgust the fuck out of me, but would be immensely pleasing to someone else. I guess the best kind of kisser would be the one who found out (either by asking outright or by trial-and-error/being guided) what kind of kissing their partner liked (and when!) and adapted to that. How many times a year do you have a family thing? >> --- What are the best things to put in a smoothie? >> I have no idea. Do you ever eat with your eyes closed and just focus on the taste? >> Sometimes. What do you dislike most about where you live right now? >> Oh, you want a list? Because I’ll make a list-- well, okay, mostly I just don’t like urban noise. I’ve grown really intolerant and skittish of the noises people make as they exist around me (this includes environmental noise like vehicles, airplanes, lawncare machinery, etc, as well). Has anyone ever given you a rose/roses? >> No. I’ve given roses a couple of times.

Are you watching your weight? >> I’m trying to not hyperfocus on my weight, actually. Have you ever become really good friends with someone you found online? >> I guess that’s what happened with Elle. “Really good” throws me off because I don’t know how good of friends we are...? I assume we’re just regular friends! I don’t know! Next! What makes your best friend your best friend? >> --- Do you have a drunk uncle? >> --- Do you hear weird noises in your house at night? >> No. What is something you do that is generally more like something the opposite sex does? >> --- What is the girliest thing you do, if you’re a girl? >> ---

What is the coolest tattoo you’ve ever seen? >> I don’t know, man, I’ve seen a lot of cool tattoos over time. In fact, just the concept of tattoos in general is cool. Have you ever created anything artistic that you’re proud of? If so, what? >> I mean, I’ve written some pretty sweet fanfic. Do you only eat the middle of the oreo, if you eat oreos? >> I don’t eat Oreos.

Do you know anyone with a huge ego? >> Maybe. If so, is there anything else about them you actually like? >> I mean, having a huge ego doesn’t automatically disqualify you from having anything likeable about you from my perspective... Have you ever used a racial slur, even jokingly? >> Yep. Considering a certain obvious racial slur is now a slang term... Do you have any friends who are more like siblings to you? >> ---

If so, what about them do you like most? >> --- What do you like on your hotdogs, if you eat hotdogs? >> On the rare occasion that I do, I like onions and sauerkraut and mustard. What is everyone else in your house doing right now? >> Sparrow is in her room, I assume watching more of the Amnesia Rebirth playthrough on YouTube. What is the most money you’ve ever had at one time? >> $10k. Retroactive payment from Social Security. (Yeah, that’s how long they denied me before I got approved. Long enough that they owed me a total of fourteen grand.) How long do you think it would take you to run a mile? >> I wouldn’t run a mile, so that’s that on that. Look down. What do you see? >> The dark void that is my clothing in this dim lighting. What is a subject that makes you uncomfortable? >> Can’t think of anything right now. Not that such subjects don’t exist, just that they’re not coming to mind. What is a subject you can talk on and on about and not get sick of it? >> FFXIV. What kind of mood were you in most of today? >> A hyperaroused one. Had a lot of emotions and then had to deal with the backlash to having too many emotions before noon. Has anyone ever walked in on you naked? >> No. Tell me an inside joke you have with someone. >> I can’t ever remember these at random. What is the worst thing someone could do to you emotionally? >> Let’s not. What is the worst thing you’ve ever done to someone emotionally? >> Let’s not. How do you feel now about the first person you ever dated? >> Nothing. He’s been dead for over a decade, any feelings about him exist only in emotional flashbacks. How about the last person (your last ex)? >> A little hurt still but mostly just pissed and disgusted. Most of the hurt I still feel now is grief towards myself and what I lost to someone else’s carelessness and self-obsession. What is the best invention ever invented? >> *shrug*

What is something that needs to be invented? >> *shrug* What always makes you burp? >> Carbonation. Well, not always, I guess? But often. What are you doing tomorrow? >> I’m not sure yet. I’ll know when it gets here.

[alexbreckenridgefans]

EXCLUSIVE: Justin Hartley talks Kevin's Rocky reunion with ex-wife (Sophie)

There have been plenty of surprises on This Is Us. But none more so than Kevin’s shocking revelation that he was once married to his childhood sweetheart.

Tonight’s brand new episode, titled “I Call Marriage,” explores the theme of marriage in its all its beauty and ugliness, from Kevin’s desire to reunite with his ex-wife and Kate’s young engagement to Toby, to Jack and Rebecca’s big day and possible marital strife between Miguel and Shelly. For Kevin, attempting to start anew with Sophie (played by Alexandra Breckenridge) marks a new beginning for the former Man-ny star.

“The more you get to know him, he’s not at all what I thought he was at first glance,” Justin Hartley tells ET ahead of Tuesday’s episode. “This whole thing Kevin’s fighting is this perspective that other people have of him and him being like, ‘That’s not me.’ And yet, here we are as audience members looking at him and going, ‘He’s totally different than what I thought he was.’”

“As a viewer, you’re experiencing the same thing that Kevin is experiencing in his real life and you’re watching it all happen. It’s hard not putting people in boxes, right?” the 40-year-old wonders. “I like that he has an ex-wife and that he has textures and that he’s lived. He’s not just a guy who hasn’t had a lot of life experiences.”

So what can fans expect from Tuesday’s episode? Hartley took some time out of his Monday morning to dish on how his perspective on Kevin has changed since the ex-wife reveal, his theories on what pushed them apart and why there are more storm clouds ahead for the Pearson brood.

ET: We have so much to unpack! The last episode featured a surprise with your character, Kevin, who we find out was once married to his one true love, Sophie. How did finding that out change your perspective on Kevin?

Justin Hartley: It did, definitely. At first glance, he’s just this guy who had these meaningless relationships -- if you even want to call them relationships -- and he probably doesn’t have a lot of friends and he probably doesn’t have prospective girlfriends, nothing really going [in his life]. Then you start to dig a little bit deeper, and you realize he’s a very deep guy. The ex-wife thing is really cool -- his one true love who he’s been in love with since he was 10 years old. At first, you think that’s not that guy. But once you get to know him a little better, you’re like, of course that’s Kevin. He’s a huge love bug. This guy is all heart and I love that about him. To tell the story about why they broke up, what happened with their marriage, why aren’t they married anymore and what went wrong there, that’s going to be a cool story to tell.

Early in the season, it seemed Kevin had a relatively easy life and was going through the motions. Was his speech in on Sophie’s doorstep the first truly raw moment where saw thereal Kevin?

It started when he was describing the painting to his nieces. That was the first time you may have thought, “Kevin thinks about things. He’s a thinker.” He kind of had that moment with William where William’s like, “You doubt yourself a lot.” And then decides to finance the play himself and not quit, which adds another layer, and then he gives the speech to his ex-wife. In the next episode, you see a lot more depth from him and the lengths that he will go to get what he wants. And you see how smart he is -- he’s a very bright guy, he’s just not taken very seriously. If he takes himself seriously, he’s bound by nothing and I think he falls into that trap. I look at him from the moment I met him when I read the pilot to where he’s at now, and it’s a completely different person.

How much progress do you think he’s made?

I think he’s done a lot in the past few months. We’ve walked along this ride with him, and we’ve laughed and we’ve cried. We’ve seen him making strides even though he stumbles and falls sometimes. He gets up and he continues to go forward. Maybe not at the pace at which he’s used to, which was easy breezy, but he’s also challenging himself with things that are a lot more serious. Look at his relationship with his brother [Randall], his relationship with his sister [Kate], his relationship with Sophie now, where he is with his job. He’s extending and challenging himself, which is kind of nice to see him do. And he’s winning.

Speaking of Sophie, we don’t know much about her at the moment -- only that she grew up with Kevin and became a couple. What is different about Sophie compared to Olivia and Sloane?

When you find your true love, I think it’s easier to explain the feeling -- the feeling that you get when you’re around the person that you truly do love, it’s palpable. You can see it from a distance and I think that’s what Kevin has with Sophie, it’s just a special bond. They grew up together so they have this familiarity that a lot of couples don’t have. For Sloane and Olivia, they were filling a void in Kevin’s heart that they were never going to be able to fill and in his heart of hearts, he knew that. It wasn’t like, “Boy, I’m in love with both girls, which one do I choose?” which is a ridiculous ultimatum he gave himself, which he sometimes does. It’s the feeling that you get when you can’t sleep, can’t eat and all you can do is think about them -- that’s Sophie for him.

We haven’t really seen Kevin’s romantic side. How far does he go to win her back?

Pretty far! He remembers a lot of stuff. Things stick with him and he understands important moments, why they’re important. He paints pictures in his head and he’s very in touch with the finer moments in life and how special they are, and he holds onto those. You definitely see a romantic side coming out in this next episode. You’ll just be like, “Wow, this guy is a romantic. I didn’t realize that.”

In an early sneak peek, we see Kevin winning Sophie back with a plate of lava fries, a clear reference to the past. Fair to say we’ll be getting more flashbacks to their childhood and courtship?

Yeah, and we touch more on that. You bring up the childhood and the past, we touch a little more on that and I think it’s going to melt your heart because you’ll be like, “Wow, this guy isn’t saying he’s in love with her… No one remembers stuff like that, how is he doing this? He must have been affected by this girl.”

Is Kevin’s ultimate goal to get back together with Sophie? Is he contemplating marriage again?

It’s to patch things up and try to pick up where they left off. That’s one of the things about Kevin that you realize; when he decided to patch things up with his brother, he’s like, let’s let bygones be bygones, what’s done is done, and we’re good here right? He fails sometimes to realize, or to take into account, the process. Just because you want to be friends with somebody again doesn’t mean it’s going to happen overnight. There’s a healing process and it takes time. He tries to do the same thing with Sophie -- let’s pick up where things left off, let’s get back together, but there are things to talk about. There is dirty laundry to be aired out. It’s not a fun thing, but to sometimes get what you really want, you have to talk about things that are uncomfortable and may be sad, and may be rotten, and things you can’t take back. But sometimes you need closure to open things back up.

Sophie mentions she hadn’t seen Kevin in over a decade, which means they married young and got divorced in their 20s. Is the cause of their split as simple as marrying too young or was it one big event that tipped the scales?

We talk about this very thing that we’re talking about in the next episode. It gets answered in the episode as to what happened and why they broke up. I don’t know that it’s one event, but it’s a series of things that led up to one event where you’re like, OK, this is not going to work. You hear both sides of the story, but we’ll touch on his side and her side as to what happened.

Kate is now engaged to Toby, so curious if there comes a moment when Kevin talks to Kate about his past experience or is that its own separate thing?

It’s its own separate thing. We haven’t had anything quite like that yet. All three of them grew up together and it’s a sore subject, as far as Kate is concerned, with Sophie. They were childhood friends and married to her twin brother and then divorced. That’s probably something Kevin’s not going to bring up or she’s going to bring up. (Laughs.) Are Kate and Sophie still on speaking terms? There was definitely something that happened in the relationship. It’s a weird thing, right? “I’m your best friend. You married my brother. You got divorced. Are you my best friend anymore? What am I supposed to do, abandon my brother?” It’s tricky.

Knowing now that Jack died when Kevin, Kate and Randall were teenagers, arguably the most pivotal time in a kid’s life when they need their parents the most, how devastating is that for The Big Three?

I love the way that they’re telling that story where he died at that pivotal time when they were 15, 16, 17 years old. There’s so much that you’ve learned from your father at that point in time, but there are so many more things that you would have to discover on your own in different ways somehow if you didn’t have your dad. It’s great for storytelling and it’s great for our show because we’re going to get people to cry a lot. (Laughs.) How did Kevin learn how to date? How did he propose? You’ll definitely see not only his death, but when it happened that will tell little stories as to why his kids act the way they do at certain times. They all have their own guilt and their own version of how it happened.

What sort of emotions should we expect to feel in the final five episodes of the season?

The show may take a dark turn. It may take a dark turn, so get ready for that. It gets real.

What's been the one scene that completely tore you up?

Oh boy. I loved the “Three Sentences” speech Kevin gives to Sophie, and Kevin’s got a speech in the next episode that will probably break me up a little bit when I watch it.